Ezekiel 3:8

8 Now I will make you as stubborn and as tough as they are.

Ezekiel 3:8 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 3:8

Behold, I have made the, face strong against their faces
Not that the prophet should have the same sort of impudence and confidence they had; but that God would "give" F14 him such a face, as it is in the Hebrew text, such spirit and courage, that he should neither be ashamed of the words of the Lord, nor afraid to speak them to this people; so that he should be a match for them; they should not be able to outface him, or look him out of countenance; he should behave with an undaunted spirit, and with great intrepidity, amidst all opposition made to him: the Lord fits his ministers for the people he sends them to, and gives them courage and strength proportionate to the opposition they meet with; as their day is, their strength is; and all that invincible courage, boldness, and strength, with which they are endowed, it is all from the Lord, and a gift of his: and thy forehead strong against their foreheads;
which is the same thing in different words.


FOOTNOTES:

F14 (Kynp ta yttn) "dedi faciem tuam", V. L. Vatablus, Cocceius, Starckius.

Ezekiel 3:8 In-Context

6 If I sent you to great nations that spoke difficult languages you didn't understand, they would listen to you.
7 But none of the people of Israel will be willing to listen; they will not even listen to me. All of them are stubborn and defiant.
8 Now I will make you as stubborn and as tough as they are.
9 I will make you as firm as a rock, as hard as a diamond; don't be afraid of those rebels."
10 God continued, "Mortal man, pay close attention and remember everything I tell you.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.