Ezekiel 3:17

Ezekiel 3:17 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me.
• English Standard Version (ESV)"Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me.
• New King James Version (NKJV)“Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore hear a word from My mouth, and give them warning from Me:
• New Living Translation (NLT)“Son of man, I have appointed you as a watchman for Israel. Whenever you receive a message from me, warn people immediately.

Context of Ezekiel 3:17

15I came to the exiles who lived at Tel Aviv near the Kebar River. And there, where they were living, I sat among them for seven days—deeply distressed. 16At the end of seven days the word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. 18When I say to a wicked person, ‘You will surely die,’ and you do not warn them or speak out to dissuade them from their evil ways in order to save their life, that wicked person will die for their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood. 19But if you do warn the wicked person and they do not turn from their wickedness or from their evil ways, they will die for their sin; but you will have saved yourself.

Ezekiel 3:17 word by word

בֶּן־אָדָ֕ם צֹפֶ֥ה נְתַתִּ֖יךָ לְבֵ֣ית יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל וְשָׁמַעְתָּ֤ מִפִּי֙ דָּבָ֔ר וְהִזְהַרְתָּ֥ אוֹתָ֖ם מִמֶּֽנִּי׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Sonבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
• of manאָדָם'âdâm · manH120
• I have madeנָתַןnâthan · to give: makeH5414
• thee a watchmanצָפָהtsâphâh · to watchH6822
• unto the houseבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: householdH1004
• of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
• therefore hearשָׁמַעshâma‛ · to hear: hearH8085
• the wordדָּבָרdâbâr · wordH1697
• at my mouthפֶּהpeh · lipH6310
• and give them warningזָהַרzâhar · to warnH2094

Cross-references for Ezekiel 3:17

• Ezekiel 33:2“Son of man, speak to your people and say to them: ‘When I bring the sword against a land, and the people of the land choose one of their men and make him their watchman,
• 1 Corinthians 12:28And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues.
• Isaiah 21:6This is what the Lord says to me: “Go, post a lookout and have him report what he sees.
• Isaiah 52:8Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices; together they shout for joy. When the Lord returns to Zion, they will see it with their own eyes.
• Isaiah 56:10Israel’s watchmen are blind, they all lack knowledge; they are all mute dogs, they cannot bark; they lie around and dream, they love to sleep.
• Isaiah 62:6I have posted watchmen on your walls, Jerusalem; they will never be silent day or night. You who call on the Lord, give yourselves no rest,
• Jeremiah 6:17I appointed watchmen over you and said, ‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’ But you said, ‘We will not listen.’
• Jeremiah 31:6There will be a day when watchmen cry out on the hills of Ephraim, ‘Come, let us go up to Zion, to the Lord our God.’ ”
• Acts 20:28Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood.
• Hebrews 13:17Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority, because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account. Do this so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no benefit to you.
• Ezekiel 33:6But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people and the sword comes and takes someone’s life, that person’s life will be taken because of their sin, but I will hold the watchman accountable for their blood.’
• 2 Chronicles 19:10In every case that comes before you from your people who live in the cities—whether bloodshed or other concerns of the law, commands, decrees or regulations—you are to warn them not to sin against the Lord; otherwise his wrath will come on you and your people. Do this, and you will not sin.
• Isaiah 58:1“Shout it aloud, do not hold back. Raise your voice like a trumpet. Declare to my people their rebellion and to the descendants of Jacob their sins.
• Jeremiah 6:10To whom can I speak and give warning? Who will listen to me? Their ears are closed so they cannot hear. The word of the Lord is offensive to them; they find no pleasure in it.
• Habakkuk 2:1I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts; I will look to see what he will say to me, and what answer I am to give to this complaint.
• Matthew 3:7But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?

Commentaries on Ezekiel 3:17

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 17I have made thee a watchman - The care and welfare of all this people I have laid on thee. Thou must watch for their safety, preach for their edification, and pray for their eternal welfare. And that thou mayest be successful, receive the word at my mouth, and warn them from me. God is particularly jealous lest any words but his own be taught for Divine doctrines. He will not have human creeds, no more than Traditions, taught instead of his own word. No…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 17Watchman - The priests and ministers of the Lord were often so called. Ezekiel is especially distinguished by this title Ezekiel 33:7. The duties of a watchman are twofold, (1) to wait and watch what God will order, (2) to watch over and superintend the people. Isaiah describes and censures unfaithful watchmen Isaiah 56:10.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 12-21Verses 12-21 This mission made the holy angels rejoice. All this was to convince Ezekiel, that the God who sent him had power to bear him out in his work. He was overwhelmed with grief for the sins and miseries of his people, and overpowered by the glory of the vision he had seen. And however retirement, meditation, and communion with God may be sweet, the servant of the Lord must prepare to serve his generation. The Lord told the prophet he had appointed…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 16-19Ezekiel was called to be a watchman, a common role for Old Testament prophets (see Isaiah 56:10; Jeremiah 6:17; Hosea 9:8). The watchman looked out for the community. He had to warn people about approaching enemies so they could find safety in time. In this case, the enemy was not a human invader but God. If Ezekiel stayed silent, he would be responsible for the blood of those he failed to warn.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1717. watchman--Ezekiel alone, among the prophets, is called a "watchman," not merely to sympathize, but to give timely warning of danger to his people where none was suspected. Habakkuk (Ha 2:1) speaks of standing upon his "watch," but it was only in order to be on the lookout for the manifestation of God's power (so Is 52:8; 62:6); not as Ezekiel, to act as a watchman to others.Read the comment

Topics related to Ezekiel 3:17

• Minister, Christian
• Prophets

In the dictionaries

• Israel
• Son of man
• Hard
• Living creatures
• Warning
• Agabus
• Creature

Commentaries on Ezekiel 3

• 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