And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thine hand before their eyes.
And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thy hand before their eyes.
And the sticks on which thou writest have been in thy hand before thine eyes,
And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thy hand before their eyes.
Ezekiel — The exile prophet — priest taken to Babylon in 597 BC, writing to a community still convinced the exile is temporary. Wheels within wheels, the glory departing, dry bones coming to life, and the city whose new name is YHWH Shammah — ‘the LORD is there.’
Voices3
And the sticks whereon thou writest,.... Or art about to write the above things, according to order and direction: shall be in thine hand before their eyes; shall be held up to them to look at for some time, and observe the cement of the two sticks; and learn and lay up in their minds what is meant by this emblem; and be assured that what is hereafter said as a further explication of it shall certainly be fulfilled.
John Gill· Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763)reformed
(Verse 15 and following) \"And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: And you, son of man, take for yourself one piece of wood and write on it 'Judah' and the children of Israel, his companions, and take another piece of wood and write on it 'Joseph, the wood of Ephraim,' and all the house of Israel, his companions. And join them one to another for yourself into one piece of wood; and they will be in unity in your hand.
Jerome· Commentary on Ezekiel, 420patristic
In this there was a type of the uniting of Jews and Gentiles, Jews and Samaritans, in Christ and his church. And so the prophet slides into a prediction of the kingdom of Christ, which should be set up in the world with God's tabernacle in it, and of the glories and graces of that kingdom,
Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible, 1710puritan
Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread — the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.
The walk8
Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first — the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.
Through
Ezekiel 12:3Therefore, son of man, pack your bags for exile. In broad daylight, set out from your place and go to another as they watch. Perhaps they will understand, though they are a rebellious house.
leads to
Perhaps when the people of Judah hear about all the calamity I plan to bring upon them, each of them will turn from his wicked way. Then I will forgive their iniquity and their…
He must gently reprove those who oppose him, in the hope that God may grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth.
Perhaps they will listen and turn—each from his evil way of life—so that I may relent of the disaster I am planning to bring upon them because of the evil of their deeds.
‘What shall I do?’ asked the owner of the vineyard. ‘I will send my beloved son. Perhaps they will respect him.’
Through
Hosea 12:10I spoke through the prophets and multiplied their visions; I gave parables through the prophets.
leads to
Yet through all His prophets and seers, the LORD warned Israel and Judah, saying, “Turn from your wicked ways and keep My commandments and statutes, according to the entire Law that I commanded your…
Then I said, “Ah, Lord GOD, they are saying of me, ‘Is he not just telling parables?’”
This is what the LORD says: “Go and buy a clay jar from a potter. Take some of the elders of the people and leaders of the priests,
the LORD had already spoken through Isaiah son of Amoz, saying, “Go, remove the sackcloth from your waist and the sandals from your feet.” And Isaiah did so, walking around naked and barefoot.
The whole web at once: see the Arc.
The verses this one reaches4
Therefore, son of man, pack your bags for exile. In broad daylight, set out from your place and go to another as they watch. Perhaps they will understand, though they are a rebellious house.
I spoke through the prophets and multiplied their visions; I gave parables through the prophets.
So Moses spoke to the Israelites, and each of their leaders gave him a staff—one for each of the leaders of their tribes, twelve staffs in all. And Aaron’s staff was among them.
But you, son of man, groan! Groan before their eyes with a broken heart and bitter grief.
