Ezekiel 2:1-5

Ezekiel’s Call to Be a Prophet

1 He said to me, “Son of man,^[a] stand up on your feet and I will speak to you.”

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.

Ezekiel 2:1-5 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO EZEKIEL 2

This chapter contains me prophet's call, commission, and instruction to prophesy. The preparation to it is in Eze 2:1,2; being fallen upon his face, he is bid to stand upon his feet, with a promise to speak to him; and the Spirit entering into him, he is set by him on his feet, and he hears what is spoken to him; then follows his mission to the children of Israel, who are described as rebellious, impudent, and stiff-hearted; and to whom he is sent, to render them inexcusable, Eze 2:3-5; and he is exhorted not to be afraid of their words, nor dismayed at their looks, however fierce and furious they might be; but faithfully declare his message, and not be discouraged, should it be without success, Eze 2:6,7; and he is instructed not to be rebellious, as they were; but open his mouth and eat what should be given him, Eze 2:8; when, in a visionary way, a hand was seen, and a roll in it, and this spread before him, written within and without, full of lamentation, mourning, and woes, as a symbol of the substance of his prophecy, Eze 2:9,10.

Cross References

• 1. S Job 25:6; Psalms 8:4; S Ezekiel 1:26; Daniel 7:13; Daniel 8:15
• 2. Daniel 10:11; Acts 14:10; Acts 26:16
• 3. Acts 9:6
• 4. Ezekiel 3:24; Daniel 8:18
• 5. S Jeremiah 3:25; Ezekiel 5:6; Ezekiel 20:8-24; Ezekiel 24:3
• 6. S Exodus 32:9; S Isaiah 9:9; Ezekiel 3:7
• 7. Amos 7:15
• 8. Ezekiel 3:11
• 9. Ezekiel 3:27
• 10. S Jeremiah 5:3; Ezekiel 33:33; John 15:22

Footnotes

• [a] The Hebrew phrase "ben adam" means "human being" . The phrase "son of man" is retained as a form of address here and throughout Ezekiel because of its possible association with “Son of Man” in the New Testament.