And the people said unto me, Wilt thou not tell us what these things are to us, that thou doest so?
Parallel translations
- WEB The people said to me, Won’t you tell us what these things are to us, that you do so?
- BSB Then the people asked me, “Won’t you tell us what these things you are doing mean to us?”
- NKJV And the people said to me, “Will you not tell us what these things signify to us, that you behave so?”
- NASB And the people said to me, “Will you not tell us what these things mean for us, that you are doing?”
- NLT Then the people asked, “What does all this mean? What are you trying to tell us?”
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
The people, struck by Ezekiel's strange behavior, ask what it means for them. Their question opens the way for the message the sign was meant to convey.
Overview
The prophet's unusual restraint in grief provokes the exiles to ask its significance. Sign-acts in Ezekiel were designed to arrest attention and prompt exactly such inquiry. The people's curiosity becomes the occasion for God's word to land, showing how God uses even our questions to draw us toward His truth.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Ezek 12:9Son of man, hath not the house of Israel, the rebellious house, said unto thee, What doest thou?
- Ezek 37:18And when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not shew us what thou meanest by these?
- Mal 3:13Your words have been stout against me, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, What have we spoken so much against thee?
- Ezek 21:7And it shall be, when they say unto thee, Wherefore sighest thou? that thou shalt answer, For the tidings; because it cometh: and every heart shall melt, and all hands shall be feeble, and every spirit shall faint, and all knees shall be weak as water: behold, it cometh, and shall be brought to pass, saith the Lord GOD.
- Ezek 20:49Then said I, Ah Lord GOD! they say of me, Doth he not speak parables?
- Mal 3:7–8Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the LORD of hosts. But ye said, Wherein shall we return?
- Ezek 17:12Say now to the rebellious house, Know ye not what these things mean? tell them, Behold, the king of Babylon is come to Jerusalem, and hath taken the king thereof, and the princes thereof, and led them with him to Babylon;
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 24:19 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.