to break apart · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
before
לְפָנַ֔יle.fa.Nai
H6440
the face (as the part that turns) · preposition + noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix
written
כְתוּבָ֖הkhe.tu.Vah
H3789
to grave · verb, qal passive participle, feminine singular absolute
within
פָּנִ֣יםpa.Nim
H6440
the face (as the part that turns) · noun, common masculine plural absolute
without
וְאָח֑וֹרve.'a.Chor
H268
the hinder part · conjunction + noun, common masculine singular absolute
written
וְכָת֣וּבve.kha.Tuv
H3789
to grave · conjunction + verb, qal passive participle, masculine singular absolute
lamentations
קִנִ֥יםki.Nim
H7015
a dirge (as accompanied by beating the breasts or on in… · noun, common masculine plural absolute
mourning
וָהֶ֖גֶהva.He.geh
H1899
a muttering (in sighing · conjunction + noun, common masculine singular absolute
woe
וָהִֽיva.Hi
H1958
lamentation · conjunction + noun, common masculine singular absolute
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
Isaiah 30:8-11 Now go, write it before them in a table, and note it in a book, that it may be for the time to come for ever and ever:
Revelation 8:13 And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth…
Isaiah 3:11 Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him: for the reward of his hands shall be given him.
Jeremiah 36:29-32 And thou shalt say to Jehoiakim king of Judah, Thus saith the LORD; Thou hast burned this roll, saying, Why hast thou written therein, sayin…
Habakkuk 2:2 And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.
Revelation 9:12 One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.
Revelation 11:14 The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Ezekiel 2:6–end
The prophet, having received his commission, here receives a charge with it. It is a post of honour to which he is advanced, but withal it is a post of service and work, and it is here required of him,
I. That he be bold. He must act in the discharge of this trust with an undaunted courage and resolution, and not be either driven off from his work or made to drive on heavily, by the difficulties and oppositions that he would be likely to meet with in it: Son of man, be not afraid of them, Eze 2:6. Note, Those that will do any thing to purpose in the service of God must not be afraid of the face of man; for the fear of men will bring a snare, which will be very entangling to us in the work of…
within and without--on the face and the back. Usually the parchment was written only on its inside when rolled up; but so full was God's message of impending woes that it was written also on the back.
Next: Ezekiel Chapter 3
Adam Clarke on Ezekiel 2:10
It was written within and without - Contrary to the state of rolls in general, which are written on the inside only. The Hebrew rolls are generally written in this way. There are several of such Hebrew rolls before me, all written on the inside only, consisting of skins of vellum, or parchment, or basil, a sort of half-tanned sheep or goat skin, sewed together, extending to several yards in length. Other Asiatic books were written in the same way. A Sanscrit roll of sixty feet in length, also before me, is written all on the inside; and a Koran, written in exceedingly small characters, about two inches broad and twelve feet long, and weighing but about half an ounce. But the roll presented t…
And he spread it before me,.... Unrolled it, that what was written in it might he seen and read; that so, understanding it, he might deliver the contents of it to the people: thus the Gospel, and the mysteries of it, must be explained by Christ to his ministers; and their understandings must be opened before they will be capable of making them known to others: and
it was written within and without; on the back, of the vellum or parchment as well as inside; and such writings were called "opisthographa"; of this kind was the book John saw Revelation 5:1. It was usual only to write on the inside; but when they had a great deal to write, then they wrote on the backside also (d); so that this ro…
The Church Fathers
I take it to be similar in the case of the book mentioned by Ezekiel, in which had been written lamentation, mourning and woe. The whole book contains the "woe" of those perishing, and the "mourning" of those being saved and the "lamentation" of those in between. John, too, who eats one roll on which there is writing on the back and the front, considered the whole Scripture as one book, which is thought to be sweet at the start, when one chews it, but bitter in the perception of each of those who come to know it.
What then, brothers, what must we wretched ones do, except that we awaken to the words of this book and punish with tears the evils we remember having committed, so that through the laments of repentance we may arrive at the song of life? Lest, if we are unwilling to be afflicted now by repenting, we feel woe afterward without end. Nor should the multitude of our wounds cast us down into despair, because the power of the physician is greater than the magnitude of our weakness. For what is there that he cannot restore to health, who was able to create all things from nothing? For he is the Only-begotten, coeternal with the almighty Father, who lives and reigns with him in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God through all ages of ages. Amen.
In this volume, therefore, all things that edify, all things that instruct, are contained in writing. For you have sinned, and now you repent of having committed unlawful deeds—that you may be taught to do penance, there you find lamentations. You desire to refresh your mind with hope of heavenly joys—there you find a song for your consolation. But if you have both committed evils and do not repent of having committed them, but raise the neck of your mind, bow down to no lamentations of penance, and are corrected by no expectation of heavenly joys, whether you will or not, you shall hear the woe written there, so that he whom neither fear humbles to repentance nor hope exalts to heavenly rewards may now foresee the punishment of his damnation and fall into eternal torment without excuse.
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
Book — This word has a comprehensive meaning in Scripture. In the Old Testament it is the rendering of the Hebrew word sepher, which properly means a “writing,” and then a “volume” (Ex. 17:14; Deut. 28:58;…
Roll — The common form of ancient books. The Hebrew word rendered “roll” or “volume” is meghillah, found in Ezra 6:2; Ps. 40:7; Jer. 36:2, 6, 23, 28, 29; Ezek. 2:9; 3:1-3; Zech. 5:1, 2. “Rolls” (Chald. pl.…
Tale — (1.) Heb. tokhen, “a task,” as weighed and measured out = tally, i.e., the number told off; the full number (Ex. 5:18; see 1 Sam. 18:27; 1 Chr. 9:28). In Ezek. 45:11 rendered “measure.” (2.) Heb.…
Books · Often written on both sides — Often written on both sides
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 2:9-10
9. And when I looked, behold, an hand was sent unto me; and, lo, a roll of a book was therein;
9. Et aspexi, et ecce marius emissa ad me, et ecce in ea volumen libri;
10. And he spread it before me; and it was written within and without: and there was written therein lamentations, and mourning, and woe.
10. Et explicuit coram facie mea, et ecce scriptum erat volumen a facie et retro, [64] et scriptura [65] lamentationes, et carmen, et we.
Now the Prophet more fully explains what we have just dwelt upon. He narrates how a volume of a book was offered to him: that is, a book in the form of a roll was offered to him. For the noun which he uses, mglt, megleth, comes from gll,…
After the Lord had pointed out to the prophet the difficulties of the call laid upon him, He prepared him for the performance of his office, by inspiring him with the divine word which he is to announce. - Eze 2:8. And thou, son of man, hear what I say to thee, Be not stiff-necked like the stiff-necked race; open thy mouth, and eat what I give unto thee. Eze 2:9. Then I saw, and, lo, a hand outstretched towards me; and, lo, in the same a roll of a book. Eze 2:10. And He spread it out before me; the same was written upon the front and back: and there were written upon it lamentations, and sighing, and woe. Eze 3:1. And He said to me: Son of man, what thou findest eat; eat the roll, and go and…
There was so much judgment on the scroll that both sides were covered with writing. Ezekiel had to declare the curses for covenant breaking (Deut 28:15-68) to a rebellious people (cp. Zech 5:2-4). The scroll covered with messages of judgment is an apt image of the content of Ezek 1–24.
Rashi on Ezekiel 2:10
before and behind That which existed from the beginning and that which is destined to be in the end.
lamentations The retribution of the righteous in this world.
and murmuring Heb. וָהֶגֶה. The gift of their reward, over which they will sing in the future.
and woe The woe of the wicked in the world to come.
