Ezekiel 12:3 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Ezekiel 12:3
Therefore, thou son of man, prepare thee stuff for removing, and remove by day in their sight; and thou shalt remove from thy place to another place in their sight: it may be they will consider, though they be a rebellious house.
a son (as a builder of the family name) · noun, common masculine singular construct
man
אָדָ֗ם'a.Dam
H120
ruddy i.e. a human being (an individual or the species · noun, common masculine singular absolute
prepare
עֲשֵׂ֤ה'a.Seh
H6213
to do or make · verb, qal imperative, 2nd person masculine singular
stuff
כְּלֵ֣יke.Lei
H3627
something prepared · noun, common masculine plural construct
removing
גוֹלָ֔הgo.Lah
H1473
exile · noun, common feminine singular absolute
remove
וּגְלֵ֥הu.ge.Leh
H1540
to denude (especially in a disgraceful sense) · conjunction + verb, qal imperative, 2nd person masculine singular
day
יוֹמָ֖םyo.Mam
H3119
daily · adverb
sight
לְעֵֽינֵיהֶ֑םle.'ei.nei.Hem
H5869
an eye (literally or figuratively) · preposition + noun, common feminine dual construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
remove
וְגָלִ֨יתָve.ga.Li.ta
H1540
to denude (especially in a disgraceful sense) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential perfect, 2nd person masculine singular
place
מִמְּקוֹמְךָ֜mi.me.kom.Cha
H4725
properly · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
another
אַחֵר֙'a.Cher
H312
properly · adjective, masculine singular absolute
place
מָק֤וֹםma.Kom
H4725
properly · noun, common masculine singular absolute
sight
לְעֵ֣ינֵיהֶ֔םle.'Ei.nei.Hem
H5869
an eye (literally or figuratively) · preposition + noun, common feminine dual construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
consider
יִרְא֔וּyir.'U
H7200
to see · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
rebellious
מְרִ֖יme.Ri
H4805
bitterness · noun, common masculine singular absolute
house
בֵּ֥יתbeit
H1004
a house (in the greatest variation of applications · noun, common masculine singular construct
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Jeremiah 36:3 It may be that the house of Judah will hear all the evil which I purpose to do unto them; that they may return every man from his evil way;…
Jeremiah 26:3 If so be they will hearken, and turn every man from his evil way, that I may repent me of the evil, which I purpose to do unto them because…
2 Timothy 2:25 In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;
Jeremiah 36:7 It may be they will present their supplication before the LORD, and will return every one from his evil way: for great is the anger and the…
Luke 20:13 Then said the lord of the vineyard, What shall I do? I will send my beloved son: it may be they will reverence him when they see him.
Deuteronomy 5:29 O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and…
Deuteronomy 32:29 O that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end!
Psalms 81:13 Oh that my people had hearkened unto me, and Israel had walked in my ways!
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Ezekiel 12:1-16
Perhaps Ezekiel reflected with so much pleasure upon the vision he had had of the glory of God that often, since it went up from him, he was wishing it might come down to him again, and, having seen it once and a second time, he was willing to hope he might be a third time so favoured; but we do not find that he ever saw it any more, and yet the word of the Lord comes to him; for God did in divers manners speak to the fathers (Heb 1:1) and they often heard the words of God when they did not see the visions of the Almighty. Faith comes by hearing that word of prophecy which is more sure than vision. We may keep up our communion with God without raptures and ecstasies. In these verses the prop…
stuff for removing--rather, "an exile's outfit," the articles proper to a person going as an exile, a staff and knapsack, with a supply of food and clothing; so "instruments of captivity," Jer 46:19, Margin, that is, the needful equipments for it. His simple announcements having failed, he is symbolically to give them an ocular demonstration conveyed by a word-painting of actions performed in vision.
consider-- (Deu 32:29).
Adam Clarke on Ezekiel 12:3
Prepare thee stuff for removing - Get carriages to transport thy goods to another place; signifying by this the captivity that was at hand.
John Gill on Ezekiel 12:3
Therefore, thou son of man, prepare thee stuff for removing,.... Or, "vessels of captivity" (s), such as persons take along with them when they go a journey, or into a far country; such as a staff, scrip, purse, shoes, &c. or household goods; such as tables, chairs, and the like, which are removed when a person goes from one house to another; by which sign they of the captivity were to be taught that Zedekiah and the people of the Jews should in like manner be carried captive into Babylon; which they were not willing to believe, and the false prophets had told them the contrary:
and remove by day in their sight; be carrying the stuff out, day by day, several days running, as Jarchi from Men…
The Church Fathers
(Verse 3) Therefore, son of man, prepare for yourself the vessels of exile, and you shall go into exile during the day in their presence. You shall go from your place to another place in their sight, in case they might look upon it, for it is a rebellious house. LXX: And you, son of man, prepare for yourself the vessels of captivity, and you shall be held captive during the day in their presence. You shall be held captive from your place to another place in their sight, so that they may see that it is a rebellious house. There is no doubt that the entire extent of this place indicates the future captivity of King Zedekiah of the tribe of Judah, who was captured with Jerusalem. But since some desire to precede the captivity of Zedekiah, which is interpreted as the just Lord, as a type of the Savior who descends from the heavens to earth and assumes a human body, and these things are said to be vessels of captivity: therefore, I think it is necessary to warn the wise and cautious reader and to present these things, so that we may not seem to leave anything unmentioned, but not to prove them. For an impious king cannot surpass the example of piety shown by him who is the epitome of all piety. However, it is narrated in the history of Jeremiah the prophet and the Kings that Zedekiah was captured by the Babylonians and Chaldeans and was taken from place to place (Jeremiah 39 and 2 Kings 25), that is, from Jerusalem to Babylon, and other things that Ezekiel speaks of in the following passages. But those who refer to the Lord Jesus Christ believe that his captivity and migration from place to place signify his descent from heavenly to earthly realms.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Ezekiel · .Removes his belongings to il — .Removes his belongings to il
Travellers · Preparations made by, alluded to — Preparations made by, alluded to
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
Ezekiel 12:3
3. Therefore, thou son of man, prepare thee stuff for removing, and remove by day in their sight; and thou shalt remove from thy place to another place in their sight: it may be they will consider, though they be a rebellious house.
3. Et tu fili hominis, fac [245] tibi vasa transmigrationis: et transmigra interdiu in oculis ipsorum: migrabis autem a loco tuo ad locum alium in oculis ipsorum, si forte videant, quia domus rebellis strut.
Now God instructs his Prophet in what he wishes him to do: he orders him to take vessels for journeying, that is, he orders him to prepare for a long journey, even for exile: for exile is the subject here. But he who is compelled to leave home…
Symbol of the Emigration
Eze 12:1. And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, Eze 12:2. Son of man, thou dwellest amidst the refractory generation, who have eyes to see, and see not; and have ears to hear, and hear not; for they are a refractory generation. Eze 12:3. And thou, son of man, make thyself an outfit for exile, and depart by day before their eyes; and depart from thy place to another place before their eyes: perhaps they might see, for they are a refractory generation. Eze 12:4. And carry out thy things like an outfit for exile by day before their eyes; but do thou go out in the evening before their eyes, as when going out to exile. Eze 12:5. Before their eyes break through the w…
This section collects diverse prophecies and sign acts that are united in their condemnation of Jerusalem and its leaders.
12:1-2 The inhabitants of Judah were not the only ones who had stony, stubborn hearts that were reluctant to hear the prophet’s message (11:19). The exiles among whom Ezekiel lived were also rebellious people who would refuse to see that their ways were evil and decline to hear his message, just like those left behind in Judah.
Rashi on Ezekiel 12:3
implements for exile A vessel from which to drink and a small earthen bowl in which to knead a cake, as a sign for the house of Israel in Jerusalem to do likewise, so that they would not have to knead dough in a hole on the ground with the gravel going into it. But they did not heed him, and they had to do just that. This is what is written in the Book of Lamentations (3:16): “Indeed, He made my teeth grind on gravel.” In Midrash Lamentations.
and go into exile day by day Heb. יוֹמָם, from day to day, two or three days, behave like a man preparing his steps for exile, so that the people of the exile will see and ask what you are doing, and you shall tell them that it symbolizes Zedekiah and…
