New International Version
Ezekiel 2:4
4The people to whom I am sending you are obstinate and stubborn. Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says.’
Ezekiel 2:4 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)For they are impudent children and stiffhearted. I do send thee unto them; and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God.
- English Standard Version (ESV)The descendants also are impudent and stubborn: I send you to them, and you shall say to them, 'Thus says the Lord God.'
- New King James Version (NKJV)For they are impudent and stubborn children. I am sending you to them, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’
- New Living Translation (NLT)They are a stubborn and hard-hearted people. But I am sending you to say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says!’
Context of Ezekiel 2:4
2As he spoke, the Spirit came into me and raised me to my feet, and I heard him speaking to me. 3He said: “Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against me; they and their ancestors have been in revolt against me to this very day. The people to whom I am sending you are obstinate and stubborn. Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says.’ 5And whether they listen or fail to listen—for they are a rebellious people—they will know that a prophet has been among them. 6And you, son of man, do not be afraid of them or their words. Do not be afraid, though briers and thorns are all around you and you live among scorpions. Do not be afraid of what they say or be terrified by them, though they are a rebellious people.
Read all of Ezekiel 2Ezekiel 2:4 word by word
וְהַבָּנִ֗ים קְשֵׁ֤י פָנִים֙ וְחִזְקֵי־לֵ֔ב אֲנִ֛י שׁוֹלֵ֥חַ אוֹתְךָ֖ אֲלֵיהֶ֑ם וְאָמַרְתָּ֣ אֲלֵיהֶ֔ם כֹּ֥ה אָמַ֖ר אֲדֹנָ֥י יְהֹוִֽה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- impudentפָּנֶהpânîym · faceH6440
- impudentקָשֶׁהqâsheh · severeH7186
- childrenבֵּןbên · son: descendant/peopleH1121
- and stiffheartedלֵבlêb · heartH3820
- and stiffheartedחָזָקchâzâq · strongH2389
- I do sendשָׁלַחshâlach · to send: departH7971
- thee unto them; and thou shalt sayאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- the Lordאֲדֹנָי'ădônây · LordH136
- Godיְהֹוִהyehôvih · YHWH/GodH3069
Cross-references for Ezekiel 2:4
- Ezekiel 3:7But the people of Israel are not willing to listen to you because they are not willing to listen to me, for all the Israelites are hardened and obstinate.
- Deuteronomy 10:16Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and do not be stiff-necked any longer.
- Deuteronomy 31:27For I know how rebellious and stiff-necked you are. If you have been rebellious against the Lord while I am still alive and with you, how much more will you rebel after I die!
- 2 Chronicles 30:8Do not be stiff-necked, as your ancestors were; submit to the Lord. Come to his sanctuary, which he has consecrated forever. Serve the Lord your God, so that his fierce anger will turn away from you.
- 2 Chronicles 36:13He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him take an oath in God’s name. He became stiff-necked and hardened his heart and would not turn to the Lord, the God of Israel.
- Psalms 95:8“Do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah, as you did that day at Massah in the wilderness,
- Isaiah 48:4For I knew how stubborn you were; your neck muscles were iron, your forehead was bronze.
- Jeremiah 3:3Therefore the showers have been withheld, and no spring rains have fallen. Yet you have the brazen look of a prostitute; you refuse to blush with shame.
- Jeremiah 5:3Lord, do not your eyes look for truth? You struck them, but they felt no pain; you crushed them, but they refused correction. They made their faces harder than stone and refused to repent.
- Jeremiah 6:15Are they ashamed of their detestable conduct? No, they have no shame at all; they do not even know how to blush. So they will fall among the fallen; they will be brought down when I punish them,” says the Lord.
- Jeremiah 8:12Are they ashamed of their detestable conduct? No, they have no shame at all; they do not even know how to blush. So they will fall among the fallen; they will be brought down when they are punished, says the Lord.
- Matthew 10:16“I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.
- Proverbs 21:29The wicked put up a bold front, but the upright give thought to their ways.
- 1 Kings 22:14But Micaiah said, “As surely as the Lord lives, I can tell him only what the Lord tells me.”
- Jeremiah 26:2“This is what the Lord says: Stand in the courtyard of the Lord’s house and speak to all the people of the towns of Judah who come to worship in the house of the Lord. Tell them everything I command you; do not omit a word.
- Acts 20:26Therefore, I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of any of you.
Commentaries on Ezekiel 2:4
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4Thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord - Let them know that what thou hast to declare is the message of the Lord, that they may receive it with reverence. Every preacher of God's word should take heed that it is God's message he delivers to the people. Let him not suppose, because it is according to his own creed or confession of faith, that therefore it is God's word. False doctrines and fallacies without end are foisted on the world in this way…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4-5Israel was stubborn and hard-hearted (unwilling to listen and obey). They would not listen to Ezekiel. His message would not show results right away. However, they would later know that a prophet had been among them speaking God’s word.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. impudent--literally, "hard-faced" (Eze 3:7, 9). children--resumptive of "they" (Eze 2:3); the "children" walk in their "fathers'" steps. I ... send thee--God opposes His command to all obstacles. Duties are ours; events are God's. Thus saith the Lord God--God opposes His name to the obstinacy of the people.Read the comment
Topics related to Ezekiel 2:4
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Ezekiel 2
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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