Ezekiel 6:3 kjv
And say, Ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD; Thus saith the Lord GOD to the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys; Behold, I, even I, will bring a sword upon you, and I will destroy your high places.
Ezekiel 6:3 nkjv
and say, 'O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD! Thus says the Lord GOD to the mountains, to the hills, to the ravines, and to the valleys: "Indeed I, even I, will bring a sword against you, and I will destroy your high places.
Ezekiel 6:3 niv
and say: 'You mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Sovereign LORD. This is what the Sovereign LORD says to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys: I am about to bring a sword against you, and I will destroy your high places.
Ezekiel 6:3 esv
and say, You mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD! Thus says the Lord GOD to the mountains and the hills, to the ravines and the valleys: Behold, I, even I, will bring a sword upon you, and I will destroy your high places.
Ezekiel 6:3 nlt
Proclaim this message from the Sovereign LORD against the mountains of Israel. This is what the Sovereign LORD says to the mountains and hills and to the ravines and valleys: I am about to bring war upon you, and I will smash your pagan shrines.
Ezekiel 6 3 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Ezekiel 6:3 | "And say to them, thus says the Lord God to the mountains, hills, ravines, and valleys..." | Ezekiel 6:3 |
| Deuteronomy 12:2 | "You shall surely destroy all the places where the nations whom you shall dispossess served their gods, on the high mountains and on the hills and under every green tree." | Deut 12:2 (Similar command concerning high places) |
| Isaiah 14:13 | "You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high...’" | Isaiah 14:13 (Pride associated with high places) |
| Jeremiah 50:6 | "My people have been lost sheep. Their shepherds have led them astray, turning them aside on the mountains; they have gone from mountain to hill, they have forgotten their fold." | Jeremiah 50:6 (Mountains as places of straying) |
| Micah 3:12 | "Therefore because of you Zion will be ploughed like a field; Jerusalem will become heaps of ruins, and the mountain of the house a hindrance to the beasts of the field." | Micah 3:12 (Destruction of Zion and its mountain) |
| Psalm 50:2 | "Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God has shone forth." | Psalm 50:2 (Zion, a mountain, as God's dwelling) |
| Isaiah 2:2 | "It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established as the highest of the mountains..." | Isaiah 2:2 (Future exaltation of God's mountain) |
| Revelation 21:10 | "And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great high mountain, and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God..." | Revelation 21:10 (Symbolic mountain in New Jerusalem) |
| Leviticus 26:30 | "And I will destroy your high places and cut down your incense altars and cast your dead bodies upon the bodies of your idols. And my soul will abhor you." | Leviticus 26:30 (Destruction of high places) |
| Jeremiah 17:3 | "O my mountain in the open country, I will give to the fields as plunder the flocks and the voices of your shepherds." | Jeremiah 17:3 (Judgment on mountain cities) |
| Ezekiel 33:28 | "I will make the land a desolation and an object of scorn. And the desolate land shall become a pasture for the sheep of Edom, and the wicked of the nations shall possess it for plunder and so forth." | Ezekiel 33:28 (Land desolation as judgment) |
| Zechariah 7:14 | "But I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations that they had not known. And the land became desolate behind them, so that no one could pass through or return, for they made the pleasant land a desolation.”" | Zechariah 7:14 (Land desolation due to scattering) |
| Amos 4:1 | "Hear this word, you cows of Bashan, who are on the mountain of Samaria, who oppress the weak, who crush the needy, who say to husbands, 'Bring, that we may drink!'" | Amos 4:1 (Critique of those on mountains of Samaria) |
| Psalm 121:1 | "I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come?" | Psalm 121:1 (Contrast: seeking help from hills) |
| Hosea 4:13 | "They sacrifice on the tops of the mountains and burn incense on the hills, under the oak, poplar, and terebinth, because their shade is good. Therefore your daughters play the whore, and your brides commit adultery." | Hosea 4:13 (Idolatry on mountains) |
| Joshua 24:24 | "And Joshua said to the people, 'You are witnesses against yourselves that you have taken the LORD as your God.'" | Joshua 24:24 (Covenant renewal, obedience expected) |
| Isaiah 55:13 | "Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress; instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle; and it shall be to the LORD for a memorial, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off." | Isaiah 55:13 (Transformation after judgment) |
| Jeremiah 2:24 | "A wild donkey used to the wilderness, in her season, blows the wind from her desire. Who can turn her back? All who seek her will not weary themselves; in her month they may find her." | Jeremiah 2:24 (Fervor for idolatry) |
| Acts 19:35 | "And when the town clerk had quieted the crowd, he said, 'Men of Ephesus, what man is there who does not know that this city of the Ephesians is the temple keeper of the great goddess Artemis, and of the image that fell from heaven?'" | Acts 19:35 (Association of cities with deities and sacred sites) |
| Ezekiel 36:1 | "And you, son of man, prophesy against the mountains of Israel and say, 'O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the LORD.'" | Ezekiel 36:1 (Parallel prophecy about mountains of Israel) |
Ezekiel 6 verses
Ezekiel 6 3 Meaning
This verse is a prophetic declaration by God, specifically directed at the mountains of Israel. It signifies a pronouncement of judgment and devastation against the land and its people due to their idolatry and disobedience. The mountains are personified as receiving a direct message of impending destruction.
Ezekiel 6 3 Context
Chapter 6 of Ezekiel is part of a larger oracle of judgment against Israel. This oracle follows visions of Jerusalem's sin and impending destruction. God, through Ezekiel, is proclaiming a severe judgment that will affect the entire land of Israel, specifically targeting the places associated with pagan worship and Israelite apostasy. The pronouncement is against the mountains, hills, ravines, and valleys, which were all typical locations for idolatrous practices. This was a direct response to Israel adopting the Canaanite religious customs of the surrounding nations.
Ezekiel 6 3 Word Analysis
- וְאָמַרְתָּ (we’amarta):
- וְ (we): "And." A conjunctive particle, connecting this statement to what precedes or establishes its flow as part of God's directive.
- אָמַרְתָּ (amarta): "you shall say." The masculine singular Hiphil perfect of the verb אמר (amar), meaning "to say," "to speak," or "to declare." In the Hiphil, it indicates causative action. God commands Ezekiel to be the instrument of His speaking.
- אֲלֵהֶם (aleihem):
- אֶל (el): "to," "towards." A preposition indicating direction.
- -הֶם (-hem): "them." A masculine plural suffix referring to the mountains mentioned implicitly or as the recipient of this prophetic message.
- כֹּה־אָמַר (koh-’amar):
- כֹּה (koh): "thus," "so." An adverb of manner, introducing the divine pronouncement.
- אָמַר (’amar): "says." The masculine singular Qal imperfect of the verb אמר (amar), meaning "to say," "to speak." It signifies a continuous or present declaration by God.
- אֲדֹנָי (Adonai):
- "the Lord." The plural of אדון (adon), "master," "lord," "owner." Used here as the divine title, "Lord God." It denotes sovereignty and authority.
- יְהוִה (YHWH):
- The Tetragrammaton, the personal covenant name of God in the Old Testament. Often transliterated as "Yahweh" or translated as "the LORD." This is the most sacred divine name, emphasizing God's eternal presence and relationship with His people.
- אֶל־הֶהָרִים (el-hehaharim):
- אֶל (’el): "to," "towards."
- -הֶ (he-): The definite article "the."
- הָהָרִים (haharim): "the mountains." The masculine plural construct state of הַר (har), "mountain." This word is central to the verse, identifying the primary audience of God's judgment. Mountains in the ancient Near East were often seen as sacred sites, places of encounter with the divine, but in this context, they represent places corrupted by idolatry.
Words-group analysis:
- כֹּה־אָמַר אֲדֹנָי יְהוִה (koh-’amar Adonai YHWH): This phrase, "Thus says the Lord GOD," is a characteristic formula of prophetic speech, establishing the divine origin and authority of the message being delivered by the prophet. It signals that Ezekiel is speaking under divine commission.
- אֶל־הֶהָרִים וְאֶל־הַגְּבָעוֹת (el-hehaharim we’el-hagg'va’ot): The listing of "mountains" and "hills" signifies comprehensive judgment across the geography of Israel. These were places where illegal worship (high places) occurred, and God is decreeing judgment upon these very locations, highlighting the totality of His displeasure with the nation's practices. The "ravines and valleys" (in verse 3 in Hebrew, though the question specifies verse 3 which often starts with "And say to them... and to the mountains, hills, ravines and valleys") further emphasizes that no part of the land's topography, especially those associated with worship, would escape the divine reckoning.
Ezekiel 6 3 Bonus Section
The personification of the mountains and hills as direct recipients of God's word is a powerful literary device. It conveys the extent of God's judgment, which will impact the very fabric of the land. Scholars note that in ancient Near Eastern thought, mountains were often seen as powerful dwelling places of deities, and this language may be polemical, asserting Yahweh's absolute sovereignty over all deities, including those Israel implicitly revered by adopting their worship practices in these geographical settings. The judgment is a form of divine clearing or purging, addressing the corruption that had seeped into the nation’s spiritual and geographical landscape.
Ezekiel 6 3 Commentary
God commissions Ezekiel to pronounce judgment not just upon the people, but upon the very land where their sins were committed. The mountains and hills of Israel were places of intimate association with God for His people, particularly the high places of Mount Zion. However, Israel had perverted these sacred locations into sites of Canaanite Baal worship and other detestable practices. God declares that because these topographical features have become complicit in Israel's idolatry, they too will become targets of His wrath. This demonstrates the seriousness of sin; it not only affects individuals but also brings judgment upon the very environments where it occurs, symbolizing God's ultimate displeasure and His determination to cleanse His land from pervasive apostasy.