Ezekiel 33:22

22 Now the hand of the Lord had been upon me the evening before the man came who had escaped. And He had opened my mouth; so when he came to me in the morning, my mouth was opened, and I was no longer mute.

Ezekiel 33:22 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 33:22

Now the hand of the Lord was upon me in the evening, afore he
that was escaped came
The prophet felt a divine impulse on his mind; he was under the influence of a spirit of prophecy, and knew before the messenger came to him what his message was, and was prepared to receive it, and to prophesy upon it; for this is to be understood of prophecy, as the Targum,

``prophecy from before the Lord was with me in the evening ^F11;''

see ( Isaiah 8:11 ) : and had opened my mouth, until he came to me in the morning;
the hand of the Lord, or the power of the Lord, had done it, as he promised he would, ( Ezekiel 3:27 ) so that he spoke freely and boldly, and continued to do so from the evening, to the time the messenger came to him in the morning, to all those that were with him: and my mouth was opened, and I was no more dumb:
as he had been for three years past; for though he had been prophesying against several nations, yet these prophecies were not delivered, it is very likely, by word of mouth, but by writing, and sent into those countries by proper messengers; but now the prophet's mouth is opened by the Spirit of God, as it was said it should, when this messenger should come to him, ( Ezekiel 24:27 ) and from this time he was not silent, but prophesied to his people, the Jews, verbally, as he was bid to do by the Lord.

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FOOTNOTES:

F11 So R. Sol. Urbin. Ohel Moed, fol. 54. 2.

Ezekiel 33:22 In-Context

20 Yet you say, 'The way of the Lord is not fair.' O house of Israel, I will judge every one of you according to his own ways."

21 And it came to pass in the twelfth year of our captivity, in the tenth month, on the fifth day of the month, that one who had escaped from Jerusalem came to me and said, "The city has been captured!"

22 Now the hand of the Lord had been upon me the evening before the man came who had escaped. And He had opened my mouth; so when he came to me in the morning, my mouth was opened, and I was no longer mute.

23 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

24 "Son of man, they who inhabit those ruins in the land of Israel are saying, 'Abraham was only one, and he inherited the land. But we are many; the land has been given to us as a possession.'