Ezekiel 20:49

49 And I said: Ah, ah, ah, O Lord God: they say of me: Doth not this man speak by parables?

Ezekiel 20:49 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 20:49

Then said I, ah Lord God!
&c.] The Septuagint version is, "by no means, Lord, Lord"; that is, let me not be sent on such an errand; at least, let it not be delivered in such figurative terms; or let not such a general calamity befall the people. The Targum is,

``receive my prayer, O Lord God;''

the prophet here either complains of the usage he had met with after delivering the above prophecy; or rather of what he had met with before, and which he expected again; and therefore desired either that he might be excused delivering the prophecy; or, however, that it might be delivered not in obscure and enigmatical terms, but in plain and easy ones: they say of me, doth he not speak parables?
as before, of a lion and her whelps; and of a vine, and its rods and branches, ( Ezekiel 19:1-14 ) and now here again, of a fire, and a forest, and trees of it, green and dry; things not easily understood, and so not attended to and regarded; as if they should say, this man brings us nothing but parables, riddles, and enigmas, and such sort of unintelligible stuff, not worth minding; and rather appears as a man delirious and mad than a prophet. Wherefore Ezekiel seems to desire that he might be sent to them with a message more plainly expressed; and which might excite their attention and regard, and not expose him to their ridicule and contempt; and accordingly we find it is explained and expressed in clearer terms in the next chapter.

Ezekiel 20:49 In-Context

47 And say to the south forest: Hear the word of the Lord: Thus saith the Lord God: Behold I will kindle a fire in thee, and will burn in thee every green tree, and every dry tree: the flame of the fire shall not be quenched: and every face shall be burned in it, from the south even to the north.

48 And all flesh shall see, that I the Lord have kindled it, and it shall not be quenched.

49 And I said: Ah, ah, ah, O Lord God: they say of me: Doth not this man speak by parables?