Say, I am your sign: like as I have done, so shall it be done unto them: they shall remove and go into captivity.
Parallel translations
- WEB “Say, ‘I am your sign. As I have done, so will it be done to them. They will go into exile, into captivity.
- BSB You are to say, ‘I am a sign to you.’ Just as it happened here, so will it be done to them; they will go into exile as captives.
- NKJV Say, ‘I am a sign to you. As I have done, so shall it be done to them; they shall be carried away into captivity.’
- NASB Say, ‘I am a sign to you. Just as I have done, so it will be done to them; they will go into exile, into captivity.’
- NLT Explain that your actions are a sign to show what will soon happen to them, for they will be driven into exile as captives.
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
Ezekiel tells the people, 'I am your sign'—what he has done will be done to them in exile and captivity.
Overview
The prophet's actions are a mirror of the nation's near future: deportation is certain. Identifying himself as 'your sign' presses the application home personally. God's enacted word guarantees that judgment long announced will surely come to pass.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- Jer 15:2And it shall come to pass, if they say unto thee, Whither shall we go forth? then thou shalt tell them, Thus saith the LORD; Such as are for death, to death; and such as are for the sword, to the sword; and such as are for the famine, to the famine; and such as are for the captivity, to the captivity.
- Jer 52:15Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive certain of the poor of the people, and the residue of the people that remained in the city, and those that fell away, that fell to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the multitude.
- Jer 52:28–30This is the people whom Nebuchadrezzar carried away captive: in the seventh year three thousand Jews and three and twenty:
- Ezek 12:6In their sight shalt thou bear it upon thy shoulders, and carry it forth in the twilight: thou shalt cover thy face, that thou see not the ground: for I have set thee for a sign unto the house of Israel.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 12:11 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
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.