Ezekiel 40:4

4 And the same man spake to me, (saying,) Thou, son of man, see with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears, and set thine heart on all things which I shall show to thee, for thou art brought hither that those be showed to thee (for thou hast been brought there so that they could be shown to thee); tell thou all things which thou seest to the house of Israel.

Ezekiel 40:4 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 40:4

And the man said unto me, Son of man
The glorious and illustrious Person before described, who appeared in a human form, spoke to the prophet, calling him "the Son of man", a title often bestowed upon him in this prophecy; and here used to put him in mind of his original and decent, and of his meanness and unworthiness; thereby teaching him humility, which is necessary in order to receive instruction, and learn the knowledge of divine things: and also he might use this free and familiar way of speaking, both to express his philanthropy or good will to men, and to take off all terror from the mind of the prophet at his appearance; that he might more diligently attend to what he should see and hear, which he next advises him to: behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears;
look with both eyes, and hear with both ears; that is, look wistfully, and hear attentively; for if persons only have a glance or superficial view of anything or hear in a careless and indifferent manner, what they see and hear will make little impression upon them; nor will they retain, but soon forget it, and be incapable of relating it unto others: and set thy heart upon all that I shall show thee;
let thy mind be intent upon it; thoroughly consider it, and ponder it within thy heart; let it engross all thy thoughts and affections; so it will be imprinted upon thy mind, and be remembered by thee; for, unless a man's heart is taken with what he sees and hears, it will soon be gone from him; and besides, these were things of great moment and importance, which were about to be shown the prophet: as Moses had the pattern of the tabernacle shown him in the mount; and as David had the pattern of the temple given him by the Spirit and in writing, which were both typical of the church; and as John had a view of the New Jerusalem; so the prophet here is shown the form and order of the Gospel church in the latter day: for to the intent that I might show them unto thee art thou brought
hither;
this was the design of his being brought in a visionary way out of Chaldea into the land of Israel, that he might have a view of the fabric after described; and there it was highly proper that he should diligently view it, and listen attentively to everything that was said to him about it; and the rather, as he was to relate the whole to others, as follows: declare all that thou seest to the house of Israel;
to the people of Israel then in captivity; and to the church of God in every age, to whom this prophecy should come, and by whom it should be read; that the people of God in all succeeding times might know what will be the state and condition of the church of Christ in the latter day; and how far they now come short of Gospel order and discipline; see ( Ezekiel 43:10 Ezekiel 43:11 ) . It becomes the ministers of the word faithfully to declare what has been shown them, whether respecting doctrine or practice, even all things, and keep back nothing that may be profitable and useful.

Ezekiel 40:4 In-Context

2 in the revelations of God. And he brought me into the land of Israel, and he let me down on a full high hill, on which was as the building of a city going to the south; (in a vision from God. And he brought me into the land of Israel, and he let me down on a very high hill, on which were like the buildings of a city going towards the south/on which were like the buildings of a city in front of me;)

3 and he led me in thither. And lo! a man, whose likeness was as the likeness of brass, and a cord of flax was in his hand, and a reed of measure in his hand; forsooth he stood in the gate. (and he led me in there. And lo! a man, whose form was like bronze, and a cord of flax was in his hand, and a measuring reed, or a measuring rod, was in his hand; and he stood by the gate.)

4 And the same man spake to me, (saying,) Thou, son of man, see with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears, and set thine heart on all things which I shall show to thee, for thou art brought hither that those be showed to thee (for thou hast been brought there so that they could be shown to thee); tell thou all things which thou seest to the house of Israel.

5 And lo! a wall withoutforth, in the compass of the house (of the Lord) on each side; and in the hand of the man was a reed of measure of six cubits and a span, that is, an handbreadth; and he meted the breadth of the building with one reed, and the highness by one reed. (And lo! a wall outside, all around the House of the Lord, or the Temple, on every side; and in the man's hand was a measuring rod of six cubits, reckoning by the long cubit, that is, a cubit and a hand's breadth; and he measured the breadth of the wall, one rod, and its height, one rod.)

6 And he came to the gate that beheld the way of the east, and he ascended by [the] degrees of it; and he meted the lintel of the gate, by one reed the breadth, that is, one lintel by one reed in breadth; (And he came to the gate that faced east, and he went up by its steps; and he measured the lintel of the gateway, one rod in breadth, that is, one lintel was one rod in breadth;)