Ezekiel 12:9 kjv
Son of man, hath not the house of Israel, the rebellious house, said unto thee, What doest thou?
Ezekiel 12:9 nkjv
"Son of man, has not the house of Israel, the rebellious house, said to you, 'What are you doing?'
Ezekiel 12:9 niv
"Son of man, did not the Israelites, that rebellious people, ask you, 'What are you doing?'
Ezekiel 12:9 esv
"Son of man, has not the house of Israel, the rebellious house, said to you, 'What are you doing?'
Ezekiel 12:9 nlt
"Son of man, these rebels, the people of Israel, have asked you what all this means.
Ezekiel 12 9 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Ezekiel 12:9 | "Son of man, has not the house of Israel, every one of them, said, ‘The vision that he sees is for tomorrow, and he prophesies for a distant age’?" | Ezekiel 12:27 |
| Isaiah 58:1 | "Cry aloud; do not hold back; lift up your voice like a trumpet; declare to my people their transgression, to the house of Jacob their sins." | Jeremiah 7:29, Micah 3:8 |
| Jeremiah 14:14 | "Then the LORD said to me: “The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I did not send them, nor did I command them, nor did I speak to them. They are prophesying to you a false vision, worthless divination, and the deceit of their own minds." | Jeremiah 23:16, 29:8-9 |
| Jeremiah 23:32 | "Behold, I am against those who prophesy lying dreams, declares the LORD, and who tell them and lead my people astray by their falsehoods and their recklessness. Yet I did not send or command them, and they do not profit these people at all, declares the LORD." | Jeremiah 29:31-32 |
| 1 Kings 22:13 | "Then the messenger who went to call Micaiah spoke to him, saying, “Behold, the words of the prophets with one accord are favorable to the king. Let your word be like the word of one of them; tell me what is good.”" | 1 Kings 18:19, 22:24-28 |
| 2 Peter 2:1-3 | "But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you... and in their greed they will exploit you with false words..." | Matthew 7:15, 24:11, 24:24, 2 Thess 2:9 |
| 1 John 4:1 | "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world." | Acts 17:11 |
| Revelation 19:20 | "And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who worked signs on its behalf by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur." | Daniel 7:8, 11, Rev 13:11-18, 16:13, 20:10 |
| Ezekiel 13:6-7 | "They have seen falsehood and lying divination, saying, ‘Declares the LORD.’ But it is the LORD who sent them, and they have spoken falsely when they say, ‘The LORD promises.’ You have seen false visions and spoken lying divinations. Thus declares the Lord GOD: You shall say what I have not said." | Ezekiel 13:1-3, 22:28 |
| Psalm 78:36-37 | "Yet they flattered him with their mouths and lied to him with their tongues. For their hearts were not steady with him, nor were they true to his covenant." | Psalm 17:1, 73:14, 105:2-3 |
| Hosea 6:3-5 | "Let us know; let us press on to know the LORD. His appearing is as the dawn that advances surely. He will come to us like the rain, like the spring rain that waters the earth.”... What shall I do with you, O Ephraim? What shall I do with you, O Judah? Your love is like the morning cloud, like the dew that goes early away." | Hosea 5:4, 9:12, 10:13, 12:1 |
| Matthew 24:4-5 | "And Jesus answered them, “Take care that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will deceive many." | Mark 13:5-6, Luke 21:8 |
| Matthew 24:11 | "And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray." | Mark 13:22, Acts 20:29-30, 2 Thess 2:10-11 |
| 2 Timothy 4:3 | "For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions," | 2 Tim 3:1-5 |
| John 10:8 | "All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them." | John 8:44, 1 John 2:18-19 |
| Ezekiel 2:5 | "and whether they hear or refuse to hear—for they are a rebellious house—they are to know that a prophet has been among them." | Ezekiel 3:11, 18:10, 20:3-4 |
| Isaiah 30:10 | "who say to the seers, “Do not see,” and to the prophets, “Do not prophesy to us what is right; speak to us smooth things, prophesy illusions;" | Isaiah 29:10, Amos 7:10-13 |
| Amos 7:14 | "Then Amos answered and said to Amaziah, “I am no prophet, nor a son of a prophet, but I am a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore trees," | 1 Sam 9:9 |
| Zechariah 13:4 | "And if anyone prophesies again, his father and his mother who bore him shall say to him, ‘You shall not live, for you speak lies in the name of the LORD,’ and his father and his mother who bore him shall pierce him through when he prophesies." | Jeremiah 23:14 |
Ezekiel 12 verses
Ezekiel 12 9 Meaning
The Lord asked Ezekiel a rhetorical question, expressing disbelief and astonishment at the people's behavior. He questioned whether the prophets, who were supposed to be wise, had truly seen or heard the word of the Lord, or if they were fabricating their visions and messages. This highlights the disconnect between the true prophets and the false ones who were deceiving the people.
Ezekiel 12 9 Context
Ezekiel 12 takes place during the Babylonian exile of Judah. The people of Israel, despite the severe judgment of God already executed upon them through the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple, are still in denial about their fate and the reality of God's judgment. They are listening to false prophets who are offering them false hope and reassurances of peace and prosperity. This verse highlights the Lord's exasperation with their continued self-deception and their refusal to accept the prophetic warnings delivered by Ezekiel. The surrounding verses describe Ezekiel performing symbolic actions to illustrate the impending exile of the leaders and people of Judah.
Ezekiel 12 9 Word Analysis
- Son of man (Hebrew: בֶּן־אָדָם, ben-adam): This is a title God uses to address Ezekiel throughout the book. It signifies his humanity in contrast to God's divinity, often used to emphasize that Ezekiel is a messenger receiving God's word. It can also imply a position of being accountable or representing humanity before God.
- Has not (Hebrew: הֲלֹא, haloh): A Hebrew particle of interrogation, expressing surprise or emphasis, akin to "Is it not...?" or "Surely not...?"
- The house of Israel (Hebrew: בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל, beith yisrael): Refers to the entire nation of Israel, encompassing all twelve tribes.
- Every one of them (Hebrew: אִישׁ וָאִישׁ, ish va'ish): Literally "man and man," signifying each individual person within the nation. This emphasizes the pervasive nature of their disbelief and rationalization.
- Said (Hebrew: אָמְרוּ, amru): They have spoken; they have declared.
- The vision (Hebrew: הַמַּרְאֶה, ha'mar'eh): Refers to prophetic visions, supernatural perceptions, or symbolic experiences. It encompasses the entirety of what Ezekiel has been shown and told to convey.
- That he sees (Hebrew: אֲשֶׁר־הוּא רֹאֶה, asher-hu ro'eh): Pertaining to what Ezekiel experiences and perceives.
- Is for tomorrow (Hebrew: לְמָחָר הוּא, lemachar hu): It is concerning the future, for a time yet to come, implying it is not immediate. This expresses their tendency to postpone or dismiss the urgency of the prophetic message.
- And he prophesies (Hebrew: וּלְעִתִּים מְקַלֶּה, ul'ithim mekaleh): The phrase "and he prophesies" is actually a misrendering in some English translations, as the Hebrew can also mean "and for future times he prepares" or "he makes light of." The original Hebrew here, (וּלְעִתִּים לְיִרְאֵי פְּרָקִים, ule'ithim ləyir'ei pereqim), is more complex and could be interpreted in various ways. Some scholars suggest it means "for distant times" or that he prophecies for detached or irrelevant times/people. Another interpretation points to them belittling or making excuses for the prophecies. The sense is that they see the prophecies as being for a remote and unimportant future.
- For a distant age (Hebrew: לְיִרְאֵי פְּרָקִים, ləyir'ei pereqim): This can be interpreted as "for those who see divisions" or "for future times" or "for people far off." It suggests that they view Ezekiel's messages as pertaining to a remote, perhaps unimportant, future, and not relevant to their present situation. This word choice underscores their denial and minimization of the divine message.
Words-Group By Words-Group Analysis
- "The vision that he sees is for tomorrow, and he prophesies for a distant age?": This collective statement by the people of Israel reveals their strategy of temporal deferral and trivialization. They are actively refusing to accept the present implications of God's judgment and are framing Ezekiel's prophecies as abstract future predictions rather than imminent warnings. This pattern is a common theme of those who resist God's word.
Ezekiel 12 9 Bonus Section
This verse reflects a recurring problem throughout biblical history: the tendency for people to reject or reinterpret God's warnings to suit their own desires. The "false prophets" they preferred spoke "smooth things" and "illusions" (Isaiah 30:10), avoiding the difficult truth of God's judgment for sin. The prophecy here by Ezekiel is a prelude to the heavier pronouncement in verse 27, which reiterates the people's dismissive attitude. It is a stark reminder of the danger of hardening one's heart against the truth of God's word, especially when facing times of testing and judgment. The contemporary relevance lies in discerning true spiritual teaching from that which merely offers comfort without accountability.
Ezekiel 12 9 Commentary
The people of Israel, even in their exile, were in a state of hardened disbelief. They characterized Ezekiel's visions and prophecies not as divine pronouncements to be heeded immediately, but as distant future events or simply as baseless pronouncements. This served to neutralize the message, allowing them to continue in their disobedience without immediate consequence, or so they thought. The question from God to Ezekiel highlights the widespread nature of this deceptive mindset within the nation. They were more inclined to believe reassuring falsehoods from their own prophets than the solemn truths delivered by God's authentic messenger. This verse acts as a critique of the spiritual blindness and self-deception that pervades the people, ultimately leading to further divine discipline.