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Read Ezekiel Chapter 2

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1And he said unto me, Son of man, stand upon thy feet, and I will speak unto thee.

2And the spirit entered into me when he spake unto me, and set me upon my feet, that I heard him that spake unto me.

3And he said unto me, Son of man, I send thee to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that hath rebelled against me: they and their fathers have transgressed against me, even unto this very day.

4For they are impudent children and stiffhearted. I do send thee unto them; and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD.

5And they, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear, (for they are a rebellious house,) yet shall know that there hath been a prophet among them.

6And thou, son of man, be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns be with thee, and thou dost dwell among scorpions: be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house.

7And thou shalt speak my words unto them, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear: for they are most rebellious.

8But thou, son of man, hear what I say unto thee; Be not thou rebellious like that rebellious house: open thy mouth, and eat that I give thee.

9And when I looked, behold, an hand was sent unto me; and, lo, a roll of a book was therein;

10And he spread it before me; and it was written within and without: and there was written therein lamentations, and mourning, and woe.

You are readingKing James Version

Explanation

Ezekiel 2

In short

God calls Ezekiel to be a prophet and sends him to warn Israel, even though they will not listen. God tells Ezekiel not to be afraid of their rejection and gives him a scroll filled with messages of sadness to eat and speak to them.

What the text says

Verses 1-2: A voice tells Ezekiel to stand up. When the spirit enters him, he is able to hear the speaker. Verses 3-4: God sends Ezekiel to Israel, describing them as a nation that has broken faith with him from long ago. Their people are stubborn and thick-headed. Verses 5-6: Whether or not Israel listens, they will know a prophet has come among them. God tells Ezekiel not to fear them, to not be afraid of their words or their looks, even though they are hostile. Verse 7: Ezekiel must speak God's words to them whether they listen or refuse. Verse 8: God warns Ezekiel himself not to be stubborn like Israel, but to open his mouth and eat what God gives him. Verses 9-10: A hand appears holding a scroll. The scroll is written on both sides and contains "lamentations, and mourning, and woe".

Takeaways

  • A prophet's job is to speak God's message even when people refuse to hear it.
  • God promises protection and steadiness to those he sends into hard situations.
  • The scroll Ezekiel eats stands for the sad message he must deliver.

Explanation written with the help of AI. The Bible text above is not changed. Context and interpretation are flagged as such; always come back to the text itself.