(The Lord gave this message to Ezekiel son of Buzi, a priest, beside the Kebar River in the land of the Babylonians, and he felt the hand of the Lord take hold of him.)
Parallel translations
- WEB Yahweh’s word came expressly to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and Yahweh’s hand was there on him.
- KJV The word of the LORD came expressly unto Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and the hand of the LORD was there upon him.
- BSB the word of the LORD came directly to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the River Kebar. And there the LORD’s hand was upon him.
- NKJV the word of the Lord came expressly to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the River Chebar; and the hand of the Lord was upon him there.
- NASB the word of the Lord came expressly to Ezekiel the priest, son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and there the hand of the Lord came upon him.)
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Yahweh's word came to Ezekiel, a priest, in Babylon, and the LORD's hand was upon him. God commissions and empowers His prophet even in exile.
Overview
Ezekiel was a priest by lineage, now unable to serve in the temple, yet God redirects his calling to be a prophet. The phrase 'Yahweh's hand was there on him' signals divine empowering and compulsion for the task ahead. That God's word comes 'expressly' in the land of the Chaldeans shows His sovereign reach beyond Israel's borders. Like the prophets before him, Ezekiel speaks not his own words but the LORD's, pointing forward to Christ, the perfect Word and Prophet.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Ezek 3:14So the Spirit lifted me up, and took me away; and I went in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit; and Yahweh’s hand was strong on me.
- Ezek 3:22Yahweh’s hand was there on me; and he said to me, “Arise, go out into the plain, and I will talk with you there.”
- 1 Kgs 18:46Yahweh’s hand was on Elijah; and he tucked his cloak into his belt and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.
- 2 Kgs 3:15But now bring me a musician.” When the musician played, Yahweh’s hand came on him.
- Ezek 33:22Now Yahweh’s hand had been on me in the evening, before he who was escaped came; and he had opened my mouth, until he came to me in the morning; and my mouth was opened, and I was no more mute.
- Ezek 37:1Yahweh’s hand was on me, and he brought me out in Yahweh’s Spirit, and set me down in the middle of the valley; and it was full of bones.
- Ezek 8:1In the sixth year, in the sixth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I sat in my house, and the elders of Judah sat before me, the Lord Yahweh’s hand fell there on me.
- Ezek 40:1In the twenty-fifth year of our captivity, in the beginning of the year, in the tenth day of the month, in the fourteenth year after that the city was struck, in the same day, Yahweh’s hand was on me, and he brought me there.
- Ezek 1:1Now in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth of the month, as I was among the captives by the river Chebar, the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God.
- Hos 1:1Yahweh’s word that came to Hosea the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel.
- 1 Tim 4:1But the Spirit says expressly that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons,
- Joel 1:1Yahweh’s word that came to Joel, the son of Pethuel.
- Jer 1:2Yahweh’s word came to him in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign.
- Jer 1:4Now Yahweh’s word came to me, saying,
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Christ at the center
The promise of one Shepherd-King David, a new heart and new Spirit, and the river of life flowing from the temple all stream toward Christ, the good Shepherd who gives the Spirit.
How Ezekiel 1:3 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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