So the Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit; but the hand of the Lord was strong upon me.
Parallel translations
- WEB So 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.
- KJV So the spirit lifted me up, and took me away, and I went in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit; but the hand of the LORD was strong upon me.
- BSB So the Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness and in the anger of my spirit, with the strong hand of the LORD upon me.
- NASB So the Spirit lifted me up and took me away; and I went embittered in the rage of my spirit, and the hand of the Lord was strong on me.
- NLT The Spirit lifted me up and took me away. I went in bitterness and turmoil, but the Lord’s hold on me was strong.
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 Spirit carries Ezekiel away, and he goes in bitterness and heat of spirit, with God's hand strong upon him. Faithful ministry brings both compulsion and inner anguish.
Overview
Though the scroll tasted sweet, Ezekiel now feels bitterness and turmoil over the hard message and rebellious people. God's strong hand presses him to obey despite his distress. This honest portrayal shows that prophetic ministry can be costly and emotionally heavy. It reflects the burden borne by all who proclaim God's truth in love, supremely fulfilled in Christ's sorrow over Jerusalem.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- 2 Kgs 3:15But now bring me a musician.” When the musician played, Yahweh’s hand came on him.
- 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.
- Jer 20:7–9Yahweh, you have persuaded me, and I was persuaded; you are stronger than I, and have prevailed. I have become a laughing-stock all day. Every one mocks me.
- Ezek 8:3He stretched out the form of a hand, and took me by a lock of my head; and the Spirit lifted me up between earth and the sky, and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the gate of the inner court that looks toward the north; where there was the seat of the image of jealousy, which provokes to jealousy.
- Ezek 1:3Yahweh’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.
- 2 Kgs 2:16They said to him, “See now, there are with your servants fifty strong men. Please let them go and seek your master. Perhaps Yahweh’s Spirit has taken him up, and put him on some mountain, or into some valley. He said, “Don’t send them.”
- Ezek 3:12Then the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me the voice of a great rushing, saying, “Blessed be Yahweh’s glory from his place.”
- Jer 6:11Therefore I am full of Yahweh’s wrath. I am weary with holding in. “Pour it out on the children in the street, and on the assembly of young men together; for even the husband with the wife shall be taken, the aged with him who is full of days.
- Num 11:11–19Moses said to Yahweh, “Why have you treated with your servant so badly? Why haven’t I found favor in your sight, that you lay the burden of all this people on me?
- Jer 20:14–18Cursed is the day in which I was born. Don’t let the day in which my mother bore me be blessed.
- 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.
- John 4:3he left Judea, and departed into Galilee.
- John 4:9The Samaritan woman therefore said to him, “How is it that you, being a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.)
- John 4:1Therefore when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John
- 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.
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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 3:14 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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