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Now behold, I will put ropes around you so that you cannot turn from your one side to your other until you have completed the days of your siege.
Ezekiel 4:8 · New American Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB Behold, I put ropes on you, and you shall not turn yourself from one side to the other, until you have accomplished the days of your siege.
  • KJV And, behold, I will lay bands upon thee, and thou shalt not turn thee from one side to another, till thou hast ended the days of thy siege.
  • BSB Now behold, I will tie you up with ropes so you cannot turn from side to side until you have finished the days of your siege.
  • NKJV And surely I will restrain you so that you cannot turn from one side to another till you have ended the days of your siege.
  • NLT I will tie you up with ropes so you won’t be able to turn from side to side until the days of your siege have been completed.

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 binds Ezekiel with ropes so he cannot turn until the days of the siege are complete. It pictures Jerusalem trapped under inescapable judgment.

Overview

The Lord declares that Ezekiel will be restrained, unable to shift sides until the symbolic siege is finished. The image conveys that the coming judgment on Jerusalem is fixed and inescapable once decreed. God's patience has limits, and persistent rebellion leads to a confinement of judgment that only His own provision of a Savior can finally release.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 1

  • Ezek 3:25But you, son of man, behold, they will put ropes on you, and will bind you with them, and you will not go out among them.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (3)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Ezekiel videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Ezekiel 4:8YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on EzekielMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

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 4:8 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.