Behold, I have made thy face strong against their faces, and thy forehead strong against their foreheads.
Parallel translations
- WEB Behold, I have made your face hard against their faces, and your forehead hard against their foreheads.
- BSB Behold, I will make your face as hard as their faces, and your forehead as hard as their foreheads.
- NKJV Behold, I have made your face strong against their faces, and your forehead strong against their foreheads.
- NASB Behold, I have made your face just as hard as their faces, and your forehead just as hard as their foreheads.
- NLT But look, I have made you as obstinate and hard-hearted as they are.
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 makes Ezekiel's face and forehead as hard as the people's. He gives the prophet resolve to match their stubbornness.
Overview
God graciously equips Ezekiel with firmness so he will not crumble under opposition. The prophet's God-given hardness is steadfast determination, not sinful stubbornness. Divine strengthening enables faithful endurance in a hostile setting. This shows that God supplies what He demands, fortifying His servants for difficult tasks.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Jer 1:18For, behold, I have made thee this day a defenced city, and an iron pillar, and brasen walls against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, against the princes thereof, against the priests thereof, and against the people of the land.
- Acts 7:51–56Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye.
- Exod 4:15–16And thou shalt speak unto him, and put words in his mouth: and I will be with thy mouth, and with his mouth, and will teach you what ye shall do.
- Heb 11:32–37And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets:
- 1 Kgs 21:20And Ahab said to Elijah, Hast thou found me, O mine enemy? And he answered, I have found thee: because thou hast sold thyself to work evil in the sight of the LORD.
- Mic 3:8But truly I am full of power by the spirit of the LORD, and of judgment, and of might, to declare unto Jacob his transgression, and to Israel his sin.
- Exod 11:4–8And Moses said, Thus saith the LORD, About midnight will I go out into the midst of Egypt:
- Isa 50:7For the Lord GOD will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed.
- Heb 11:27By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.
- Jer 15:20And I will make thee unto this people a fenced brasen wall: and they shall fight against thee, but they shall not prevail against thee: for I am with thee to save thee and to deliver thee, saith the LORD.
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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 3:8 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.