Ezekiel 12:11
in Ezekiel 12You are to say, ‘I am a sign to you.’ Just as it happened here, so will it be done to them; they will go into exile as captives.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Say, I am your sign: like as I have done, so shall it be done unto them; they shall go into exile, into captivity.
KJV
Say, I am your sign: like as I have done, so shall it be done unto them: they shall remove and go into captivity.
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This verse in Ezekiel 12
Commentary
7 notes on this verseI am your sign - My person is the emblem of yours, and my actions of that you shall do. And the like shall be done to you, O inhabitants of Jerusalem. We cannot say concerning our dwelling place, that it is our resting place.
This site's exposition
in the morning the word of the LORD came to me
on Ezekiel 12:8-11
The explanation comes the next morning. The Lord names the target: “This burden concerns the prince in Jerusalem and all the house of Israel who are there.” Ezekiel is to say, “I am a sign to you,” his own actions a small enactment of the exile to come.
This site's exposition
I am a sign to you
Ezekiel tells the people he is a sign to them. What he did in their sight will be done to those in Jerusalem, who will go into exile as captives. Matthew Henry put it this way: the judgments of God can turn a prince into a porter.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 10 and following) This burden is upon the prince who is in Jerusalem, and upon all the house of Israel who are among them. Say: I am your omen: as I have done, so it shall be done to them. They shall go into exile and captivity. But the prince who is among them shall be carried on shoulders, he shall go out in darkness; they shall dig through the wall to bring him out; his face shall be covered, so that he may not see the land with his eyes.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
The unsettled state and removals of ministers give warning to people what they must expect in this world, no continuance, but constant changes. When times of trouble are coming on Christ tells his disciples, They shall first lay their hands on you, Luke xxi.
Note, The judgments of God can turn a prince into a porter. He that was wont to have the regalia carried before him, and to march through the city at noon-day, shall now himself carry his goods on his back and steal away out of the city in the twilight. See what a change sin makes with men!
Say, I am your sign,.... Which represents you, and shows what will befall you: like as I have done, so shall it be done unto them; as he had carried out his stuff, and had removed it from one place to another, so they should be carried away out of their own land into a foreign country, as follows: they shall remove, and go into captivity; the Babylonish captivity.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
[Concerning] the prince is this burden Concerning King Zedekiah, I am showing this מַשָּׂא, burden, an expression denoting prophecy.
2 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
He will cover his face because of shame, that he is fleeing from the city at night.
Say to them, 'Thus said Hashem Elokim: This burden of nevuah is upon the prince in Yerushalayim, and all the house of Yisrael who are among them.'
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
11 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אֱמֹ֖ר | ʾemor | say | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֲנִ֣י | ʾani | I | H589 → | 874 times |
| מֽוֹפֶתְכֶ֑ם | mofetkhem | [am] sign your | H4159 → | 36 times |
| כַּאֲשֶׁ֣ר | kaasher | just as | H834 → | 5497 times |
| עָשִׂ֗יתִי | ʾasiti | I have done | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| כֵּ֚ן | ken | so | H3651 → | 771 times |
| יֵעָשֶׂ֣ה | yeaseh | it will be done | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| לָהֶ֔ם | lahem | to them | ||
| בַּגּוֹלָ֥ה | bagolah | in <the> exile | H1473 → | 43 times |
| בַשְּׁבִ֖י | vashevi | in <the> captivity | H7628 → | 49 times |
| יֵלֵֽכוּ׃ | yelekhu | they will go | H1980 → | 1546 times |
אֱמֹ֖רsay
ʾemorH559 →5305 times
אֲנִ֣יI
ʾaniH589 →874 times
מֽוֹפֶתְכֶ֑ם[am] sign your
mofetkhemH4159 →36 times
כַּאֲשֶׁ֣רjust as
kaasherH834 →5497 times
עָשִׂ֗יתִיI have done
ʾasitiH6213 →2628 times
כֵּ֚ןso
kenH3651 →771 times
יֵעָשֶׂ֣הit will be done
yeasehH6213 →2628 times
לָהֶ֔םto them
lahem
בַּגּוֹלָ֥הin <the> exile
bagolahH1473 →43 times
בַשְּׁבִ֖יin <the> captivity
vasheviH7628 →49 times
יֵלֵֽכוּ׃they will go
yelekhuH1980 →1546 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 15:2If they ask you, ‘Where shall we go?’ you are to tell them that this is what the LORD says: ‘Those destined for death, to death; those destined for the sword, to the sword;…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 43:11
He will come and strike down the land of Egypt, bringing death to those destined for death, captivity to those destined for captivity, and the sword to those destined for the sword.
- Zechariah 11:9
Then I said, “I will no longer shepherd you. Let the dying die, and the perishing perish; and let those who remain devour one another’s flesh.”
- Ezekiel 5:2
When the days of the siege have ended, you are to burn up a third of the hair inside the city; you are also to take a third and slash it with the sword…
- Revelation 13:10
“If anyone is destined for captivity, into captivity he will go; if anyone is to die by the sword, by the sword he must be killed.” Here is a call for the perseverance and…
- Revelation 6:3–8
And when the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!”
- Jeremiah 43:11
Through
Ezekiel 12:6And as they watch, lift your bags to your shoulder and take them out at dusk; cover your face so that you cannot see the land. For I have made you a sign to…
it leads to
- Ezekiel 4:3
Then take an iron plate and set it up as an iron wall between yourself and the city. Turn your face toward it so that it is under siege, and besiege it. This will…
- Isaiah 8:18
Here am I, and the children the LORD has given me as signs and symbols in Israel from the LORD of Hosts, who dwells on Mount Zion.
- Ezekiel 24:24
‘Thus Ezekiel will be a sign for you; you will do everything that he has done. When this happens, you will know that I am the Lord GOD.’
- Ezekiel 4:3
About Ezekiel
This page draws on 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, An Exposition of Ezekiel.