Ezekiel 3:25

25 But thou, O son of man, behold, they shall put bands upon thee and shall bind thee with them, and thou shalt not go out among them.

Ezekiel 3:25 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 3:25

But thou, O son of man, behold, they shall put bands upon
thee
Or, "bands shall be put upon thee"; either visionally, or really; not by angels, but by the Jews, who, taking the prophet for a madman by his motions and gestures; would bind him, and keep him within doors: or figuratively this may be understood of the sins of the people, their rebellion and obstinacy, which hindered the prophet from prophesying among them as yet; and so this is observed to conciliate his mind to the divine order, to shut up himself for a while in his own house, and be silent: or else by these bonds may be meant the divine order itself, which restrained him from doing his office as yet. So the Targum,

``behold, I have appointed the words of my mouth upon thee, as a band of ropes with which they bind;''

and shall bind thee with them;
which some think is emblematical of the Jews being bound by the Chaldeans: and thou shall not go out among them;
to converse with them, or prophesy unto them. The Septuagint version renders it, "shall not go out from the midst of them"; as if he should be taken out of his own house by the Jews, and be bound by them, and kept among them, and not able to get away from them; but it is to be understood of his being bound in his own house, and not able to go out of that to them; and may signify, that in like manner the Jews should not be able to go out of Jerusalem when besieged by the Chaldeans.

Ezekiel 3:25 In-Context

23 Then I arose and went forth into the plain, and behold, the glory of the LORD stood there, as the glory which I saw by the River of Chebar; and I fell on my face.

24 Then the Spirit entered into me and set me upon my feet, and spoke with me and said unto me, "Go, shut thyself within thine house.

25 But thou, O son of man, behold, they shall put bands upon thee and shall bind thee with them, and thou shalt not go out among them.

26 And I will make thy tongue cleave to the roof of thy mouth, that thou shalt be dumb and shalt not be to them a reprover, for they are a rebellious house.

27 But when I speak with thee, I will open thy mouth, and thou shalt say unto them, `Thus saith the Lord GOD.' He that heareth, let him hear; and he that forbeareth, let him forbear; for they are a rebellious house.