Ezekiel 3:27 kjv
But 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.
Ezekiel 3:27 nkjv
But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you shall say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD.' He who hears, let him hear; and he who refuses, let him refuse; for they are a rebellious house.
Ezekiel 3:27 niv
But when I speak to you, I will open your mouth and you shall say to them, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says.' Whoever will listen let them listen, and whoever will refuse let them refuse; for they are a rebellious people.
Ezekiel 3:27 esv
But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you shall say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD.' He who will hear, let him hear; and he who will refuse to hear, let him refuse, for they are a rebellious house.
Ezekiel 3:27 nlt
But when I give you a message, I will loosen your tongue and let you speak. Then you will say to them, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says!' Those who choose to listen will listen, but those who refuse will refuse, for they are rebels.
Ezekiel 3 27 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Ezekiel 3:26 | "I will make your tongue cleave to the roof of your mouth" | Ezekiel 3:26 (Immediate context) |
| Psalm 137:6 | "Let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth" | Psalm 137:6 (Figurative for silence) |
| Acts 4:20 | "For we cannot but speak" | Acts 4:20 (Contrast to silence) |
| Isaiah 53:7 | "He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth" | Isaiah 53:7 (Silence under suffering) |
| Jeremiah 20:9 | "Then I said, 'I will not mention him, nor speak any more in his name.'" | Jeremiah 20:9 (Prophetic reluctance) |
| Lamentations 4:4 | "The tongues of infants cling to the roof of their mouths" | Lamentations 4:4 (Deprivation) |
| Ezekiel 33:22 | "But before he had come to me, the hand of the Lord was upon me there." | Ezekiel 33:22 (Restoration of speech) |
| Ezekiel 4:12 | "You shall eat it as a barley cake, baked on dung laid by human beings." | Ezekiel 4:12 (Dehumanizing actions) |
| 1 Corinthians 14:34 | "Women should remain silent in the churches." | 1 Corinthians 14:34 (Specific silences) |
| Acts 14:3 | "So they remained there for a long time, speaking boldly in the Lord" | Acts 14:3 (Bold speaking) |
| Jeremiah 1:17 | "But you, gird up your loins; stand up, and tell them everything that I command you." | Jeremiah 1:17 (Command to speak) |
| Ezekiel 3:24 | "Then the Spirit entered into me and set me on my feet" | Ezekiel 3:24 (God's empowerment) |
| Matthew 15:18 | "But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart" | Matthew 15:18 (Source of speech) |
| Luke 1:19 | "I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God" | Luke 1:19 (Servanthood) |
| 2 Peter 2:16 | "He was rebuked for his wrongdoing by a donkey speaking with a human voice" | 2 Peter 2:16 (Unusual speech) |
| Revelation 10:11 | "You must prophesy again about many peoples and nations and tongues and kings." | Revelation 10:11 (Future prophecy) |
| John 1:1 | "In the beginning was the Word" | John 1:1 (The Word of God) |
| Romans 10:14 | "How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard?" | Romans 10:14 (Importance of hearing) |
| Genesis 11:7 | "Come, let us go down and there confuse their language" | Genesis 11:7 (Confusion of tongues) |
| Deuteronomy 28:49 | "The Lord will bring a nation from afar, from the end of the earth" | Deuteronomy 28:49 (Foreign invasion) |
| Psalm 119:130 | "The unfolding of your words gives light" | Psalm 119:130 (Power of God's word) |
Ezekiel 3 verses
Ezekiel 3 27 Meaning
The Lord God enables Ezekiel to speak His messages. His tongue will cleave to the roof of his mouth, rendering him mute, until the promised day of His intervention. This enforced silence serves as a sign to the rebellious house of Israel, signifying that he will be a mute prophet unable to prophesy until God restores his speech.
Ezekiel 3 27 Context
Ezekiel chapter 3 begins with God commissioning Ezekiel to prophesy to the people of Israel. After a personal experience of God's power and word, Ezekiel is instructed to go to the exiles in Babylon. He is warned that they will not listen because they are stubborn and rebellious. The preceding verses detail God's action to seal Ezekiel's lips, indicating a period of imposed silence that precedes a renewed outpouring of God's message. This enforced muteness is not a punishment but a divine sign and a prelude to the fuller prophetic burden he is about to carry. The context is the critical situation of the exiled Jews, facing God's judgment and in need of divine instruction, yet resistant to it.
Ezekiel 3 27 Word Analysis
- and (וְ - we): A conjunctive particle, indicating a continuation of action or a sequence of events. Here it links God's decree of enforced silence to the act of causing him to be mute.
- I will make (נָתַן - natan): Literally "to give" or "to put." In this context, it signifies God’s sovereign act of imposing something upon Ezekiel. It is an active and deliberate impartation.
- your tongue (לְשׁוֹנְךָ - l'shoncha): The organ of speech. This directly relates to Ezekiel's prophetic role, which involves speaking God's word.
- cleave (דָבַק - davak): Means to cling, adhere, stick fast, or cleave. It signifies a very firm attachment, so much so that it becomes difficult or impossible to separate.
- to the roof (אֶל־סָרוּחַ - el-saruaḥ): "Saruaḥ" refers to the palate or the roof of the mouth. This phrase describes the physical manifestation of being rendered speechless.
- of your mouth (פִּיךָ - pīkha): Reinforces the organ of speech.
- and you shall be (וְהָיִיתָ - w'hayītā): Connects the enforced state with the resulting condition. It marks a transition into a new state of being.
- mute (דּוֹמֵם - dōmēm): Means silent, dumb, speechless. This is the state Ezekiel is placed in.
- and you shall not (וְלֹא־תִהְיֶה־): Introduces the negation of his ability to speak to them, specifically in his prophetic capacity.
- be a reprover (מוֹכִיחַ - mōkīaḥ): To convict, rebuke, prove, or chastise. Ezekiel is commissioned to reprove and warn the people. His silence means he cannot fulfill this aspect of his mission directly at this moment.
- for they are (כִּי־בֵית־ - kī-veīt): "Ki" means for, because, or that. "Beit" means house, but here refers to a household or family, thus "house of Israel."
- a rebellious house (מְרִי — meri): Rebellion, obstinacy, revolt. This describes the spiritual and political state of the people.
Word-Group Analysis:
- "your tongue cleave to the roof of your mouth": This is a vivid idiomatic expression for complete silence or being rendered speechless, implying a strong and unyielding restraint on speech. It’s more than just not wanting to speak; it's an enforced inability.
- "you shall not be a reprover": This phrase emphasizes that Ezekiel will not be able to issue condemnations or pronouncements of judgment. His function as a direct admonisher is temporarily suspended.
- "for they are a rebellious house": This clause provides the divine reason for Ezekiel's enforced silence – the extreme stubbornness and recalcitrance of the people of Israel, who are described as an entire "house" given to rebellion.
Ezekiel 3 27 Bonus Section
The phrase "cleave to the roof of his mouth" is a strong Hebrew idiom emphasizing complete inability to speak. While Ezekiel’s tongue is literally described as sticking, it is a figurative representation of God’s control over his prophetic voice. This enforced silence serves a didactic purpose for the people, visually demonstrating the consequences of rejecting God’s messengers. This specific silence is not for the entire duration of his prophetic ministry, but it precedes a particular phase of his message delivery. The ultimate restoration of his speech, detailed in chapter 33, shows that this silence is temporary and under God's ultimate sovereign control.
Ezekiel 3 27 Commentary
God intends to communicate through Ezekiel, but first, He imposes silence. This silence is not abandonment, but a preparatory phase. It signifies that Ezekiel's prophetic power and direct pronouncements are not his own, but entirely dependent on God's will and timing. His enforced muteness acts as a physical sign to the rebellious house of Israel. They, who refuse to hear God's word spoken through their prophet, will witness their prophet himself being made unable to speak by God. This illustrates the gravity of their rejection of divine communication. The silence is not absolute, as indicated by the following verses, but specifically relates to his ability to "reprove." It is a symbol of divine judgment that falls upon the communicator when the audience rejects the message. The people are so resistant to God's truth that even their prophet must be silenced, reflecting the divine sorrow and seriousness of their obstinacy.