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The Prophets · Old Testament

Ezekiel 3

Ezekiel 3: eating the roll, seven days at Tel-abib and the watchman's charge

General context

The prophet is told to eat the roll and go speak to the house of Israel; he eats it and "it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness." He is told he is not sent to a people of strange speech, who would have listened, but to the house of Israel, who "will not hearken unto thee; for they will not hearken unto me." His forehead is made "as an adamant harder than flint" against theirs. He is to receive all the words in his heart and go "to them of the captivity," whether they hear or forbear. The spirit takes him up; he hears a great rushing, "Blessed be the glory of the Lord from his place," and the noise of wings and wheels. He goes "in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit," comes to the captives at Tel-abib by the river of Chebar, and sits astonished among them seven days. Then the word of the Lord makes him "a watchman unto the house of Israel": if he fails to warn the wicked, the wicked dies and his blood is required of the watchman; if he warns, he has delivered his soul. The same rule is stated for a righteous man who turns to iniquity. He is sent into the plain, sees the glory of the Lord as by Chebar, falls on his face, and is told to shut himself in his house; bands will be put on him, his tongue will cleave to the roof of his mouth, and he will speak only when the Lord opens his mouth.

Cited passages: Ezekiel 3:1, Ezekiel 3:3, Ezekiel 3:5, Ezekiel 3:6, Ezekiel 3:7, Ezekiel 3:9, Ezekiel 3:11, Ezekiel 3:12, Ezekiel 3:13, Ezekiel 3:14, Ezekiel 3:15, Ezekiel 3:17, Ezekiel 3:18, Ezekiel 3:19, Ezekiel 3:20, Ezekiel 3:22, Ezekiel 3:23, Ezekiel 3:24, Ezekiel 3:26, Ezekiel 3:27

Ezekiel 3 (KJV)

1Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, eat that thou findest; eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel.

2So I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat that roll.

3And he said unto me, Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee. Then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness.

4And he said unto me, Son of man, go, get thee unto the house of Israel, and speak with my words unto them.

5For thou art not sent to a people of a strange speech and of an hard language, but to the house of Israel;

6Not to many people of a strange speech and of an hard language, whose words thou canst not understand. Surely, had I sent thee to them, they would have hearkened unto thee.

7But the house of Israel will not hearken unto thee; for they will not hearken unto me: for all the house of Israel are impudent and hardhearted.

8Behold, I have made thy face strong against their faces, and thy forehead strong against their foreheads.

9As an adamant harder than flint have I made thy forehead: fear them not, neither be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house.

10Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, all my words that I shall speak unto thee receive in thine heart, and hear with thine ears.

11And go, get thee to them of the captivity, unto the children of thy people, and speak unto them, and tell them, Thus saith the Lord God; whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear.

12Then the spirit took me up, and I heard behind me a voice of a great rushing, saying, Blessed be the glory of the Lord from his place.

13I heard also the noise of the wings of the living creatures that touched one another, and the noise of the wheels over against them, and a noise of a great rushing.

14So the spirit lifted me up, and took me away, and I went in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit; but the hand of the Lord was strong upon me.

15Then I came to them of the captivity at Tel-abib, that dwelt by the river of Chebar, and I sat where they sat, and remained there astonished among them seven days.

16And it came to pass at the end of seven days, that the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,

17Son 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.

18When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.

19Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.

20Again, When a righteous man doth turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumblingblock before him, he shall die: because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thine hand.

21Nevertheless if thou warn the righteous man, that the righteous sin not, and he doth not sin, he shall surely live, because he is warned; also thou hast delivered thy soul.

22And the hand of the Lord was there upon me; and he said unto me, Arise, go forth into the plain, and I will there talk with thee.

23Then I arose, and went forth into the plain: and, behold, the glory of the Lord stood there, as the glory which I saw by the river of Chebar: and I fell on my face.

24Then the spirit entered into me, and set me upon my feet, and spake with me, and said unto me, Go, shut thyself within thine house.

25But thou, O son of man, behold, they shall put bands upon thee, and shall bind thee with them, and thou shalt not go out among them:

26And I will make thy tongue cleave to the roof of thy mouth, that thou shalt be dumb, and shalt not be to them a reprover: for they are a rebellious house.

27But when I speak with thee, I will open thy mouth, and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; He that heareth, let him hear; and he that forbeareth, let him forbear: for they are a rebellious house.

This page shows the King James Version. In the app, reading opens in the Berean Standard Bible unless you have chosen another translation. The reader includes five translations: the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), the King James Version (KJV), the World English Bible (WEB), the Bible in Basic English (BBE), and the American Standard Version (ASV). Search covers three of them: Berean Standard, King James, and World English. Basic English and American Standard readers search the King James words.

Historical context

The chapter fixes the prophet's audience and place. He is sent "to them of the captivity, unto the children of thy people," and he arrives at "Tel-abib, that dwelt by the river of Chebar"; the text gives no other description of Tel-abib. The seven days he sits "astonished" are counted, and the watchman word comes "at the end of seven days." The watchman passage is a set of four cases stated as law: the unwarned wicked, the warned wicked, the unwarned righteous who turns, and the warned righteous; in each case the text says who dies and whose blood is required. This is stated as the Lord's word to the prophet, not as a report of anything that has yet happened. The chapter says the house of Israel "will not hearken," but no meeting with the people is narrated here. The command to be shut in and made dumb is given with the bands and the tongue described; the text does not say who puts the bands on him ("they shall put bands upon thee") and does not say how long the dumbness lasts. The phrase "the hand of the Lord" occurs twice, once as "strong upon me" and once as simply "there upon me," and the glory seen in the plain is explicitly identified with the vision of chapter 1.

Cited passages: Ezekiel 3:11, Ezekiel 3:15, Ezekiel 3:16, Ezekiel 3:18, Ezekiel 3:21, Ezekiel 3:7, Ezekiel 3:25, Ezekiel 3:14, Ezekiel 3:22, Ezekiel 3:23

Literary context

The chapter has four movements: the eating and the sending, the transport and the seven silent days, the watchman law, and the shutting in. Sweetness and bitterness sit close together: the roll is "as honey for sweetness," and a few verses later the prophet goes "in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit." The contrast between the foreign people who "would have hearkened" and Israel who "will not hearken" turns the usual difficulty inside out, and the hardness of Israel's foreheads is answered by a harder forehead given to the prophet. The watchman section is built as paired cases with parallel wording, "he shall die in his iniquity" and "but thou hast delivered thy soul," so the prophet's responsibility is defined precisely by what he says or fails to say. The final scene reverses the commission: the one sent to speak is told to shut himself in and made dumb, and speech becomes something the Lord will switch on, "when I speak with thee, I will open thy mouth." The refrain "for they are a rebellious house" closes the last two verses, and the formula "He that heareth, let him hear; and he that forbeareth, let him forbear" restates chapter 2's open-ended charge.

Cited passages: Ezekiel 3:3, Ezekiel 3:14, Ezekiel 3:6, Ezekiel 3:8, Ezekiel 3:19, Ezekiel 3:21, Ezekiel 3:26, Ezekiel 3:27

Key moments

  1. Eating the roll (Ezekiel 3:3). The prophet eats the roll and it is sweet as honey in his mouth.
  2. Israel will not hearken (Ezekiel 3:7). The house of Israel will not listen to him because they will not listen to the Lord.
  3. A forehead like adamant (Ezekiel 3:9). The Lord makes his forehead harder than flint against their looks.
  4. Seven days at Tel-abib (Ezekiel 3:15). He sits astonished among the captives by Chebar for seven days.
  5. Made a watchman (Ezekiel 3:17). The Lord makes him a watchman to warn the house of Israel.
  6. The glory in the plain (Ezekiel 3:23). He sees the glory of the Lord as by Chebar and falls on his face.
  7. Shut in and made dumb (Ezekiel 3:26). His tongue will cleave to the roof of his mouth until the Lord opens it.

For reflection

The roll tastes like honey, and then the prophet goes "in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit" and sits speechless for seven days. What might it mean that receiving the message and delivering it feel so different in this chapter?

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