Ezekiel 2:3

3 He said to me, Mortal, I am sending you to the people of Israel, to a nation of rebels who have rebelled against me; they and their ancestors have transgressed against me to this very day.

Ezekiel 2:3 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 2:3

And he said unto me, son of man
Now follow his mission and commission, and an account of the persons to whom he was sent: I send thee to the children of Israel;
that were captives in Babylon, in Jehoiakim's captivity; so Christ was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, ( Matthew 15:24 ) ; to a rebellious nation, that hath rebelled against me;
or, "rebellious Gentiles", F21; not the nations of the earth, though Ezekiel did prophesy many things concerning them; but the Jews, the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin; or the twelve tribes of Israel, called Gentiles, because they joined with them in their idolatries; and, as Kimchi says, were divided in their evil works; some worshipping the gods of the Ammonites; and some the gods of the Moabites; and all guilty of rebellion and treason in so doing against the God of heaven: they and their fathers have transgressed against me, [even] unto this
very day;
which is an aggravation of their rebellion; their fathers had sinned, and they had followed their ill examples, and had continued therein to that day; and as they, did to the times of Christ, when they were about to till up the measure of their iniquity, ( Matthew 23:31 Matthew 23:32 ) .


FOOTNOTES:

F21 (Mydrwmh Mywg la) "ad gentes, rebelles", Junius & Tremellius, Polanus, Starckius.

Ezekiel 2:3 In-Context

1 He said to me: O mortal, stand up on your feet, and I will speak with you.
2 And when he spoke to me, a spirit entered into me and set me on my feet; and I heard him speaking to me.
3 He said to me, Mortal, I am sending you to the people of Israel, to a nation of rebels who have rebelled against me; they and their ancestors have transgressed against me to this very day.
4 The descendants are impudent and stubborn. I am sending you to them, and you shall say to them, "Thus says the Lord God."
5 Whether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are a rebellious house), they shall know that there has been a prophet among them.

Footnotes 1

New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.