“And when the children of your people speak to you, saying, ‘Will you not show us what you mean by these?’—
Parallel translations
- WEB When the children of your people shall speak to you, saying, Will you not show us what you mean by these?
- KJV And when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not shew us what thou meanest by these?
- BSB When your people ask you, ‘Won’t you explain to us what you mean by these?’
- NASB And when the sons of your people speak to you, saying, ‘Will you not declare to us what you mean by these?’
- NLT When your people ask you what your actions mean,
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
When the people ask what the sign means, Ezekiel is to explain it. The acted parable invites the people to inquire and understand.
Overview
God anticipates the curiosity the sign will provoke and prepares Ezekiel to interpret it. The prophetic action is meant to teach, not merely to intrigue. God graciously makes His purposes known to those who seek understanding, as He does fully in the revelation of Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- Ezek 24:19The people said to me, Won’t you tell us what these things are to us, that you do so?
- Ezek 12:9“Son of man, hasn’t the house of Israel, the rebellious house, said to you, ‘What are you doing?’
- Ezek 20:49Then I said, “Ah Lord Yahweh! they say of me, ‘Isn’t he a speaker of parables?’”
- Ezek 17:12“Say now to the rebellious house, ‘Don’t you know what these things mean?’ Tell them, ‘Behold, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, and took its king, and its princes, and brought them to him to Babylon.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Commentaries & study tools
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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 37:18 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.