Ezekiel 33:33
in Ezekiel 33So when it comes to pass—and surely it will come—then they will know that a prophet has been among them.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And when this cometh to pass (behold, it cometh), then shall they know that a prophet hath been among them.
KJV
And when this cometh to pass, (lo, it will come,) then shall they know that a prophet hath been among them.
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This verse in Ezekiel 33
Commentary
8 notes on this verseAnd when this cometh to pass,.... The prophecy before delivered out, concerning the desolations in the land of Israel, by the sword, pestilence, and wild beasts: lo, it will come; whatever is predicted by the Lord; in the mouth of his prophets, certainly comes to pass: then shall they know that a prophet hath been among them; and acknowledge it; and particularly that Ezekiel was one, a true prophet of the Lord, by the exact accomplishment of his predictions.
This site's exposition
your people are talking about you
on Ezekiel 33:30-33
The people gather to hear the prophet as an audience gathers for entertainment. Verse 32 names the comparison, “you are to them like a singer of love songs with a beautiful voice”. The closing verse makes the city's fall the proof that “a prophet has been among them”.
This site's exposition
then they will know that a prophet
The line repeats the promise of 2:5, spoken at Ezekiel's call. Deuteronomy 18:21-22 made fulfilment the test of a true prophet. The fall of Jerusalem has now passed that test for him.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 30 onwards) And you, son of man, the children of your people speak of you beside the walls and in the doors of the houses, and they say to one another, each to his brother, 'Come, and hear what is the word that comes forth from the Lord.' And they come to you as the people usually come, and they sit before you as my people, and they hear your words, but they do not do them, for they show my words of their mouth in song, and their heart follows their covetousness.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
But now that Jerusalem is taken, two years after, he is appointed again to direct his speech to them; and there his commission is renewed. If God had abandoned them quite, he would not have sent prophets to them; nor, if he had not had mercy in store for them, would he have shown them such things as these.
Note, Those who will not consider that a prophet is among them, and who improve not the day of their visitation while it is continued, will be made to remember that a prophet has been among them when the things that belong to their peace are hidden from their
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
when this cometh to pass--when My predictions are verified. lo, it will come--rather, "lo it is come" (see Eze 33:22). know--experimentally, and to their cost.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
When this cometh to pass - then shall they know that a prophet hath been among them - What I have predicted, (and it is even now at the doors), then they will be convinced that there was a prophet among them, by whose ministry they did not profit as they ought.
The words behind it
8 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּבְבֹאָ֑הּ | uvevoah | and when comes it | H935 → | 2568 times |
| הִנֵּ֣ה | hineh | there! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| בָאָ֔ה | vaah | [it is] coming | H935 → | 2568 times |
| וְיָ֣דְע֔וּ | veyadeu | and they will know | H3045 → | 945 times |
| כִּ֥י | ki | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| נָבִ֖יא | navi' | a prophet | H5030 → | 314 times |
| הָיָ֥ה | hayah | he has been | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| בְתוֹכָֽם׃ ס | vetokham | in midst of them | H8432 → | 418 times |
וּבְבֹאָ֑הּand when comes it
uvevoahH935 →2568 times
הִנֵּ֣הthere!
hinehH2009 →843 times
בָאָ֔ה[it is] coming
vaahH935 →2568 times
וְיָ֣דְע֔וּand they will know
veyadeuH3045 →945 times
כִּ֥יthat
kiH3588 →4482 times
נָבִ֖יאa prophet
navi'H5030 →314 times
הָיָ֥הhe has been
hayahH1961 →3559 times
בְתוֹכָֽם׃ סin midst of them
vetokhamH8432 →418 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Jeremiah 28:9As for the prophet who prophesies peace, only if the word of the prophet comes true will the prophet be recognized as one the LORD has truly sent.”
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 18:22
When a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD and the message does not come to pass or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. The prophet has spoken…
- Jeremiah 6:14
They dress the wound of My people with very little care, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace at all.
- Jeremiah 8:11
They dress the wound of the daughter of My people with very little care, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace at all.
- Deuteronomy 18:22
Through
Ezekiel 2:5And whether they listen or refuse to listen—for they are a rebellious house—they will know that a prophet has been among them.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 3:27
But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you are to tell them, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says.’ Whoever listens, let him listen; and whoever refuses, let him…
- Matthew 10:12–15
As you enter the home, greet its occupants.
- John 15:22
If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now, however, they have no excuse for their sin.
- Ezekiel 2:7
But speak My words to them, whether they listen or refuse to listen, for they are rebellious.
- Acts 13:46
Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: “It was necessary to speak the word of God to you first. But since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we…
- Ezekiel 3:27
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Ezekiel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Ezekiel; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Patrick Fairbairn, Ezekiel and the Book of His Prophecy.