Ezekiel 2

He said to me, "Son of man, stand up on your feet, and I will speak to you."

1And he said unto me, Son of man, stand upon thy feet, and I will speak unto thee.

Note"Son of man" translates a Hebrew phrase meaning simply "human being" or "mortal." It is not a title of honor; it marks the distance between the speaker and the man being addressed. God calls Ezekiel by this phrase, and almost never by his name, throughout the book, about ninety times.

2As he spoke to me, the Spirit came into me and set me on my feet, and I heard the one who was speaking to me.

2And the spirit entered into me when he spake unto me, and set me upon my feet, that I heard him that spake unto me.

NoteThe Hebrew word here, *ruach*, covers wind, breath, and spirit all at once, and translators must choose. Older English Bibles print "the spirit"; the sense is a force from God that enters the prophet and moves his body.

3He said to me, "Son of man, I am sending you to the people of Israel, to a nation that keeps turning against me and has rebelled against me. They and their ancestors have disobeyed me right up to this very day.

3And he said unto me, Son of man, I send thee to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that hath rebelled against me: they and their fathers have transgressed against me, even unto this very day.

NoteThe word translated "nation" is *goy*, the ordinary Hebrew term for a foreign, non-Israelite people. Applying it to Israel itself is pointed: they are being spoken of as though they were outsiders. Ezekiel himself was among the Judeans deported to Babylon, so his audience is a community already living in exile.

4They are children with hard faces and stubborn hearts. I am sending you to them, and you are to tell them, 'This is what the Lord GOD says.'

4For they are impudent children and stiffhearted. I do send thee unto them; and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD.

Note"This is what the Lord GOD says" is the standard opening a messenger used when delivering a ruler's words verbatim: it identifies the speech that follows as quoted, not as the speaker's own. In English Bibles, GOD printed in capitals stands in for the personal name of Israel's God, which Jewish tradition did not pronounce aloud.

5Whether they listen or refuse to listen, since they are a household of rebels, they will still know that a prophet has been among them.

5And they, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear, (for they are a rebellious house,) yet shall know that there hath been a prophet among them.

Note"House" in Hebrew means a household, family line, or dynasty, not a building. "A rebellious house" plays on the standard phrase "the house of Israel", the whole extended family of the nation.

6And you, son of man, do not be afraid of them or of what they say. Do not be afraid, even though sharp briers and thorns are all around you and you live among scorpions. Do not be afraid of their words or shaken by the looks on their faces, even though they are a household of rebels.

6And thou, son of man, be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns be with thee, and thou dost dwell among scorpions: be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house.

NoteBriers, thorns and scorpions are figures of speech for hostile people, not literal hazards. The two plant words are rare in Hebrew and their exact species are unknown; the point is that they sting and catch at anyone who moves among them. "Their looks" means the expressions on their faces.

7You must speak my words to them, whether they listen or refuse to listen, because they are full of rebellion.

7And thou shalt speak my words unto them, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear: for they are most rebellious.

8But you, son of man, listen to what I tell you. Do not be rebellious like that household of rebels. Open your mouth and eat what I give you."

8But thou, son of man, hear what I say unto thee; Be not thou rebellious like that rebellious house: open thy mouth, and eat that I give thee.

NoteBeing told to eat something handed to you is an acted sign, prophets regularly performed physical acts that stood for their message. Taking the words in as food pictures making them entirely one's own before speaking them.

9Then I looked, and I saw a hand reaching out toward me, and in the hand was a rolled-up scroll.

9And when I looked, behold, an hand was sent unto me; and, lo, a roll of a book was therein;

NoteA book in this period was a scroll: a long strip of leather or papyrus rolled up on itself and unrolled to be read. "A roll of a book" in older English means exactly that.

10He unrolled it in front of me. It was written on both sides, on the front and on the back, and written on it were words of sorrow, mourning, and trouble.

10And he spread it before me; and it was written within and without: and there was written therein lamentations, and mourning, and woe.

NoteScrolls were normally written only on the inner face, so that the writing was protected when rolled. Writing on both sides means the text has overrun the space available: there is more to say than the scroll can hold. "Lamentation" is a technical word for a formal funeral song, the chant sung over the dead.