Ezekiel 3:25 kjv
But 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:
Ezekiel 3:25 nkjv
And you, O son of man, surely they will put ropes on you and bind you with them, so that you cannot go out among them.
Ezekiel 3:25 niv
And you, son of man, they will tie with ropes; you will be bound so that you cannot go out among the people.
Ezekiel 3:25 esv
And you, O son of man, behold, cords will be placed upon you, and you shall be bound with them, so that you cannot go out among the people.
Ezekiel 3:25 nlt
There, son of man, you will be tied with ropes so you cannot go out among the people.
Ezekiel 3 25 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Ezek 4:8 | "And behold, I will lay bands upon you, so that you shall not turn from one side to the other, till you have ended..." | God's control over Ezekiel for symbolic acts |
| Ezek 24:27 | "On that day your mouth will be opened to him who has escaped, and you will speak and be no longer mute..." | Prophetic silence ends when judgment comes |
| Ezek 33:22 | "Now the hand of the LORD had been upon me in the evening, before he came who had escaped...and my mouth was opened..." | The end of the period of prophetic silence |
| Isa 20:3 | "Just as my servant Isaiah has walked naked and barefoot for three years as a sign..." | Prophet acting as a sign |
| Jer 13:1-7 | "Thus says the LORD to me, 'Go and buy a linen loincloth...'" | Prophetic act of symbolism |
| Jer 19:10-11 | "Then you shall break the flask in the sight of the men...So will I break this people..." | Destructive prophetic sign-act |
| Hos 1:2-3 | "Go, take to yourself a wife of harlotry..." | Profound prophetic symbolic act |
| Acts 20:23 | "except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me." | Divine pre-determination for the servant |
| Job 36:8-9 | "If they are bound in chains and caught in the cords of affliction..." | Bondage and affliction as divine purpose |
| Ps 107:10 | "Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, bound in affliction and irons..." | Captivity and imprisonment |
| Lam 3:7 | "He has walled me about so that I cannot escape; he has made my chains heavy." | Sense of divine restraint and inescapable woe |
| Hos 6:5 | "Therefore I have hewn them in pieces by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of my mouth..." | Prophetic message leading to judgment |
| Luke 19:43-44 | "For days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you..." | Prediction of siege and confinement |
| Zech 11:7 | "So I became the shepherd of the flock doomed to be slaughtered...and I took two staffs, one I called Grace..." | Prophetic shepherd sign |
| Gen 49:11 | "He tethers his donkey to the vine..." | Literal use of binding |
| Matt 16:19 | "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven..." | Binding as spiritual authority |
| Rev 20:2-3 | "And he seized the dragon...and bound him for a thousand years, and threw him into the pit..." | Binding as a divine act of restraint |
| Judg 16:21 | "The Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes and brought him down to Gaza and bound him with bronze chains..." | Literal capture and binding |
| Acts 9:2 | "and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way...he might bring them bound to Jerusalem." | Human action of binding, highlighting danger |
| 2 Tim 2:9 | "for which I am suffering, with chains, as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound!" | The unhindered power of God's Word despite binding |
Ezekiel 3 verses
Ezekiel 3 25 Meaning
Ezekiel 3:25 describes a divinely imposed restraint upon the prophet Ezekiel. The Lord declares that cords will be placed upon him, binding him, thereby preventing him from moving freely among the people of Israel. This physical or symbolic immobility serves as a powerful sign-act, reflecting the coming spiritual and physical confinement of the rebellious house of Israel. It limits Ezekiel's direct interaction and public ministry for a period, signifying God's temporary withdrawal of direct prophecy and the imminent siege and captivity of Judah.
Ezekiel 3 25 Context
Ezekiel 3:25 occurs immediately after God has given Ezekiel a dire commission to a rebellious people (Ezek 2:3-8). Following his call to be a watchman (Ezek 3:17-21), Ezekiel is commanded by the Lord to go into the plain (Ezek 3:22), where God reiterates His intention to open and shut Ezekiel's mouth (Ezek 3:26). The specific action described in verse 25, being bound with cords, is thus a further physical and public manifestation of the divine control over Ezekiel's ministry. It is not an arbitrary affliction but a crucial prophetic sign-act designed for the people of Judah in Babylonian exile. Historically, Jerusalem and Judah are on the brink of complete destruction and captivity (after the first deportation in 597 BC), and Ezekiel's experiences vividly portray the impending doom and their inability to escape or respond effectively to God's warnings.
Ezekiel 3 25 Word analysis
- And behold, (וְהִנֵּה - vehinnêh): This Hebrew particle serves as an emphatic interjection, drawing immediate attention to the coming action. It signifies something unexpected, profound, or vitally important that the audience (both Ezekiel and, by extension, the exiles) must take note of. It highlights the divine initiative in the upcoming event.
- cords (חֲבָלִים - ḥavālîm): Refers to ropes, fetters, or binding straps. In this context, it implies physical constraint. Symbolically, cords often represent the bonds of captivity, affliction, or even the power of a covenant. Here, they vividly symbolize the coming siege of Jerusalem, where the people will be confined and unable to "go out."
- will be placed upon you, (וְנָתְנוּ עָלֶיךָ - venātĕnû ‘āleikā): The verb "to place" (nathan) used in the impersonal plural, "they will place," is a common Hebrew idiom to indicate divine agency without directly naming God. It implies that these cords, whether literally applied by others or symbolically by divine power, are God's direct doing. It shows the passive nature of Ezekiel in God's plan.
- and you will be bound with them, (וַאֲסָרוּךָ בָהֶם - va’ăsārûḵā bāhem): The verb "to bind" (asar) reinforces the imagery of constraint. The repetition of the idea of binding (first with "cords," then with "bound with them") intensifies the sense of inescapability and total restriction. It emphasizes the complete immobilization, making the prophetic sign undeniable.
- so that you cannot go out (וְלֹא תֵצֵא בְתוֹכָם - velō tētzē’ betōḵām): This clause expresses the purpose and direct result of the binding. "To go out" refers to freedom of movement, interaction, and participating in public life. The inability to do so speaks to isolation and incapacitation.
- among the people. (בְּתוֹךְ הָעָם - betōkh hā‘ām): Specifies the setting of Ezekiel's enforced immobility. It implies that his direct, public interaction and persuasive ministry will be halted. This restriction is critical for a prophet whose role is often public communication.
Words-group analysis:
- "cords will be placed upon you, and you will be bound with them,": This phrase emphasizes the inevitability and comprehensiveness of the divine restriction. The passive voice and impersonal agent point to God as the ultimate source of this binding. It conveys a strong sense of forced inaction.
- "so that you cannot go out among the people.": This directly links the physical restraint to the consequence for Ezekiel's public ministry and, by extension, the state of the people of Judah. It underscores a period of God's silence or restricted communication through the prophet, reflecting the spiritual hardness of the nation and their approaching "bound" state in captivity.
Ezekiel 3 25 Bonus section
Ezekiel's experience in 3:25, combined with other passages like 3:26-27 (where his mouth is sometimes shut) and the later opening of his mouth (24:27, 33:22), forms a period of symbolic 'dumbness' or limited public ministry. This wasn't merely a personal affliction for Ezekiel but a significant prophetic statement. It symbolized God's judgment upon a people who had refused to listen. Their spiritual deafness resulted in God's prophet becoming 'dumb' in public. Such dramatic actions, known as 'sign-acts,' were common among Old Testament prophets, including Isaiah and Jeremiah, and were intended to make God's message undeniably clear and impactful to an unresponsive audience. They often required the prophet to endure personal discomfort or unusual behavior for the sake of the message.
Ezekiel 3 25 Commentary
Ezekiel 3:25 describes a powerful prophetic sign-act. The binding of Ezekiel by cords, whether a literal physical restraint imposed by others or a divinely induced paralysis preventing his free movement, served as a tangible message to the exiles. It demonstrated the future reality for the people of Jerusalem and Judah: they too would be bound, shut in, and unable to escape their impending siege and subsequent captivity by the Babylonians.
This act limited Ezekiel's freedom of movement and public proclamation, paralleling the people's impending confinement and their "deafness" to God's word. It was a visible metaphor for the unresponsiveness of the house of Israel. Just as Ezekiel would be unable to move among them, so too would Judah be confined within their city walls and later deported, unable to escape God's judgment. The "silence" implied by Ezekiel's binding and inability to address the people also foreshadows the temporary withdrawal of active prophecy during the worst period of judgment (as noted later in Ezek 24:27 and 33:22). This painful sign underscores God's sovereignty and His unyielding commitment to judgment when warnings are ignored, even to the extent of silencing His own messenger for a season.