Son of man, set thy face toward the south, and drop thy word toward the south, and prophesy against the forest of the south field;
Parallel translations
- WEB “Son of man, set your face toward the south, and preach toward the south, and prophesy against the forest of the field in the South;
- BSB “Son of man, set your face toward the south, preach against it, and prophesy against the forest of the Negev.
- NKJV “Son of man, set your face toward the south; preach against the south and prophesy against the forest land, the South,
- NASB “Son of man, set your face toward the south, and speak prophetically against the south and prophesy against the forest land of the Negev,
- NLT “Son of man, turn and face the south and speak out against it; prophesy against the brushlands of the Negev.
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
God tells Ezekiel to set his face toward the south and prophesy against its forest. The prophet is directed to announce judgment on the land of Judah.
Overview
Setting the face toward the south and the 'forest of the field' is symbolic language for the territory of Judah and Jerusalem, which lay south of Ezekiel in Babylon. The forest imagery prepares for the picture of an all-consuming fire. The threefold mention of 'south' heightens the certainty and intensity of the coming judgment.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Ezek 21:2Son of man, set thy face toward Jerusalem, and drop thy word toward the holy places, and prophesy against the land of Israel,
- Amos 7:16Now therefore hear thou the word of the LORD: Thou sayest, Prophesy not against Israel, and drop not thy word against the house of Isaac.
- Jer 13:19The cities of the south shall be shut up, and none shall open them: Judah shall be carried away captive all of it, it shall be wholly carried away captive.
- Ezek 4:7Therefore thou shalt set thy face toward the siege of Jerusalem, and thine arm shall be uncovered, and thou shalt prophesy against it.
- Ezek 6:2Son of man, set thy face toward the mountains of Israel, and prophesy against them,
- Jer 22:7And I will prepare destroyers against thee, every one with his weapons: and they shall cut down thy choice cedars, and cast them into the fire.
- Zech 11:1–2Open thy doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour thy cedars.
- Isa 30:6The burden of the beasts of the south: into the land of trouble and anguish, from whence come the young and old lion, the viper and fiery flying serpent, they will carry their riches upon the shoulders of young asses, and their treasures upon the bunches of camels, to a people that shall not profit them.
- Deut 32:2My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass:
- Mic 2:6Prophesy ye not, say they to them that prophesy: they shall not prophesy to them, that they shall not take shame.
- Job 29:22After my words they spake not again; and my speech dropped upon them.
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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 20:46 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.