Ezekiel 2:4

4 The people to whom I am sending you are obstinate and stubborn. Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says.’

Ezekiel 2:4 in Other Translations

4 For they are impudent children and stiffhearted. I do send thee unto them; and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD.

4 The descendants also are impudent and stubborn: I send you to them, and you shall say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD.'

4 They are a stubborn and hard-hearted people. But I am sending you to say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says!’

4 They're a hard case, these people to whom I'm sending you - hardened in their sin. Tell them, 'This is the Message of God, the Master.'

4 The children are obstinate and hardhearted. I am sending you to them, and you must say to them: This is what the Lord God says.

Ezekiel 2:4 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 2:4

For [they are] impudent children
"Hard of face" ^F23; as is commonly said of impudent persons, that they are brasen faced; they had a whore's forehead, and refused to be ashamed, and made their faces harder than a rock, ( Jeremiah 3:3 ) ( 5:3 ) ; they declared their sin as Sodam, and hid it not; they sinned openly, and could not blush at it: and stiffhearted;
or, "strong of heart" ^F24; whose hearts were like an adamant stone, and harder than the nether millstone; impenitent, obdurate, and inflexible; they were not only stiff-necked, as Stephen says they were in his time, and always had been; but stiff-hearted; they were not subject to the law of God now, nor would they submit to the Gospel and ordinances of Christ in his time, and in the times of his apostles, nor to his righteousness, ( Romans 10:3 ) ; I do send thee unto them;
even to such as they are: this is a repetition, and a confirmation, of his mission; and suggests, that though they were such, he should not refuse to go to them, since he had sent him: and thou shalt say unto them, thus saith the Lord God:
that what he said came from the Lord, and was spoken in his name.

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FOOTNOTES:

F23 (Mynp yvq) "duri facie", Pagninus, Vatablus, Calvin, Cocceius, Starckius.
F24 (bl yqzx) "duri corde", Pagninus, Montanus; "fortes carde", Vatablus, Polanus.

Ezekiel 2:4 In-Context

2 As he spoke, the Spirit came into me and raised me to my feet, and I heard him speaking to me.

3 He said: “Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against me; they and their ancestors have been in revolt against me to this very day.

4 The people to whom I am sending you are obstinate and stubborn. Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says.’

5 And whether they listen or fail to listen—for they are a rebellious people—they will know that a prophet has been among them.

6 And you, son of man, do not be afraid of them or their words. Do not be afraid, though briers and thorns are all around you and you live among scorpions. Do not be afraid of what they say or be terrified by them, though they are a rebellious people.

Cross References

• 1. S Exodus 32:9; S Isaiah 9:9; Ezekiel 3:7
• 2. Amos 7:15