“Son of man, set your face against the mountains of Israel and prophesy against them.
Parallel translations
- WEB “Son of man, set your face toward the mountains of Israel, and prophesy to them,
- KJV Son of man, set thy face toward the mountains of Israel, and prophesy against them,
- NKJV “Son of man, set your face toward the mountains of Israel, and prophesy against them,
- NASB “Son of man, set your face toward the mountains of Israel, and prophesy against them
- NLT “Son of man, turn and face the mountains of Israel and prophesy against them.
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
Ezekiel must set his face toward the mountains of Israel and prophesy against them. The mountains were sites of idolatrous worship now under judgment.
Overview
God directs the prophet to address the mountains of Israel, the high places where idol shrines were built. By targeting the very landscape of false worship, the oracle exposes how deeply idolatry had spread. Setting one's face against them signals God's firm opposition to every place where His glory was given to idols.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Ezek 19:9With hooks they caged him and brought him to the king of Babylon. They brought him into captivity so that his roar was heard no longer on the mountains of Israel.
- Ezek 34:14I will feed them in good pasture, and the lofty mountains of Israel will be their grazing land. There they will lie down in a good grazing land; they will feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel.
- Ezek 36:1“And you, son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel and say: O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the LORD.
- Ezek 13:17Now, O son of man, set your face against the daughters of your people who prophesy out of their own imagination. Prophesy against them
- Ezek 21:2“Son of man, set your face against Jerusalem and preach against the sanctuaries. Prophesy against the land of Israel
- Ezek 25:2“Son of man, set your face against the Ammonites and prophesy against them.
- Ezek 37:22I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel, and one king will rule over all of them. Then they will no longer be two nations and will never again be divided into two kingdoms.
- Ezek 33:28I will make the land a desolate waste, and the pride of her strength will come to an end. The mountains of Israel will become desolate, so that no one will pass through.
- Ezek 20:46“Son of man, set your face toward the south, preach against it, and prophesy against the forest of the Negev.
- Ezek 35:12Then you will know that I, the LORD, have heard every contemptuous word you uttered against the mountains of Israel when you said, ‘They are desolate; they are given to us to devour!’
- Mic 6:1–2Hear now what the LORD says: “Arise, plead your case before the mountains, and let the hills hear your voice.
- Ezek 4:7You must turn your face toward the siege of Jerusalem with your arm bared, and prophesy against it.
- Josh 11:21At that time Joshua proceeded to eliminate the Anakim from the hill country of Hebron, Debir, and Anab, and from all the hill country of Judah and of Israel. Joshua devoted them to destruction, along with their cities.
- Ezek 38:2–3“Son of man, set your face against Gog of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. Prophesy against him
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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 6:2 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.