And when I looked, behold, an hand was sent unto me; and, lo, a roll of a book was therein;
Parallel translations
- WEB When I looked, behold, a hand was stretched out to me; and, behold, a scroll of a book was therein;
- BSB Then I looked and saw a hand reaching out to me, and in it was a scroll,
- NKJV Now when I looked, there was a hand stretched out to me; and behold, a scroll of a book was in it.
- NASB Then I looked, and behold, a hand was extended to me; and behold, a scroll was in it.
- NLT Then I looked and saw a hand reaching out to me. It held a scroll,
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
A hand stretches out holding a written scroll. The scroll represents the divine message Ezekiel must take in and deliver.
Overview
The outstretched hand and scroll dramatize the giving of God's word to the prophet. Written content underscores that the message is fixed and authoritative, not invented by Ezekiel. This visual sets up the symbolic act of eating the scroll. It pictures the prophet receiving a message wholly originating from God.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Ezek 8:3And he put forth the form of an hand, and took me by a lock of mine head; and the spirit lifted me up between the earth and the heaven, and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the inner gate that looketh toward the north; where was the seat of the image of jealousy, which provoketh to jealousy.
- Rev 10:8–11And the voice which I heard from heaven spake unto me again, and said, Go and take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth.
- Ezek 3:1Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, eat that thou findest; eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel.
- Dan 10:10And, behold, an hand touched me, which set me upon my knees and upon the palms of my hands.
- Rev 5:1–5And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals.
- Jer 36:2Take thee a roll of a book, and write therein all the words that I have spoken unto thee against Israel, and against Judah, and against all the nations, from the day I spake unto thee, from the days of Josiah, even unto this day.
- Dan 10:16–18And, behold, one like the similitude of the sons of men touched my lips: then I opened my mouth, and spake, and said unto him that stood before me, O my lord, by the vision my sorrows are turned upon me, and I have retained no strength.
- Heb 10:7Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.
- Dan 5:5In the same hour came forth fingers of a man’s hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaister of the wall of the king’s palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote.
- Jer 1:9Then the LORD put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 2:9 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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