Son of man, set thy face toward 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,
- BSB “Son of man, set your face against 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 19:9And they put him in ward in chains, and brought him to the king of Babylon: they brought him into holds, that his voice should no more be heard upon the mountains of Israel.
- Ezek 34:14I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be: there shall they lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel.
- Ezek 36:1Also, thou son of man, prophesy unto the mountains of Israel, and say, Ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the LORD:
- Ezek 13:17Likewise, thou son of man, set thy face against the daughters of thy people, which prophesy out of their own heart; and prophesy thou against them,
- Ezek 21:2Son of man, set thy face toward Jerusalem, and drop thy word toward the holy places, and prophesy against the land of Israel,
- Ezek 25:2Son of man, set thy face against the Ammonites, and prophesy against them;
- Ezek 37:22And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all:
- Ezek 33:28For I will lay the land most desolate, and the pomp of her strength shall cease; and the mountains of Israel shall be desolate, that none shall pass through.
- Ezek 20:46Son of man, set thy face toward the south, and drop thy word toward the south, and prophesy against the forest of the south field;
- Ezek 35:12And thou shalt know that I am the LORD, and that I have heard all thy blasphemies which thou hast spoken against the mountains of Israel, saying, They are laid desolate, they are given us to consume.
- Mic 6:1–2Hear ye now what the LORD saith; Arise, contend thou before the mountains, and let the hills hear thy voice.
- Ezek 4:7Therefore thou shalt set thy face toward the siege of Jerusalem, and thine arm shall be uncovered, and thou shalt prophesy against it.
- Josh 11:21And at that time came Joshua, and cut off the Anakims from the mountains, from Hebron, from Debir, from Anab, and from all the mountains of Judah, and from all the mountains of Israel: Joshua destroyed them utterly with their cities.
- Ezek 38:2–3Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and 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.