Ezekiel 12:3

3 And you, son of man, prepare for yourself [the] baggage of an exile, and go into exile by day before their eyes. And you must go into exile from your place to another place before their eyes; perhaps they will see that they [are] a house of rebellion.

Ezekiel 12:3 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 12:3

Therefore, thou son of man, prepare thee stuff for removing,
&c.] Or, "vessels of captivity" ^F19, such as persons take along with them when they go a journey, or into a far country; such as a staff, scrip, purse, shoes 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 Menachem interprets it; that they may see and take notice of it, and ask the reason of it; which, when known, they might send to their correspondents at Jerusalem, and acquaint them with it: and thou shall remove from thy place to another place in their sight;
from the house in which he dwelt, to another house at some distance; yet so as to be seen by them, both from whence and whither he moved: it may be they will consider;
or "see" ^F20; make use of their eyes, and of their understandings, and think better of things. The Targum is,

``perhaps they will fear;''

the Lord, and regard his prophets, and be afraid of his judgments: though they [be] a rebellious house;
such who are the most obstinate may be reclaimed.

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FOOTNOTES:

F19 (hlwg ylk) "vasa transmigrationis", Pagninus, Montanus, Starckius; "instrumenta migrationis", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Polanus.
F20 (wary ylwa) "fortasse visuri sunt", Junius & Tremellius, Polanus; "fortasse videbunt", Piscator, Starckius.

Ezekiel 12:3 In-Context

1 And the word of Yahweh {came} to me, {saying},

2 "Son of man, you [are] dwelling in the midst of the house of rebellion {who has eyes to see and they do not see}; {they have ears to hear}, and they do not hear, for they [are] a house of rebellion.

3 And you, son of man, prepare for yourself [the] baggage of an exile, and go into exile by day before their eyes. And you must go into exile from your place to another place before their eyes; perhaps they will see that they [are] a house of rebellion.

4 And you must bring out your baggage like [the] baggage of an exile by day before their eyes, and you must go out in the evening before their eyes like {those who go into exile}.

5 Before their eyes dig through for yourself, through the wall, and you must bring [the baggage] out through it.

Footnotes

• [a] Or "mortal," or "son of humankind"
• [b] Hebrew "you"
• [c] Hebrew "in"