Ezekiel 12:27
in Ezekiel 12“Son of man, take note that the house of Israel is saying, ‘The vision that he sees is for many years from now; he prophesies about the distant future.’
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Son of man, behold, they of the house of Israel say, The vision that he seeth is for many days to come, and he prophesieth of times that are far off.
KJV
Son of man, behold, they of the house of Israel say, The vision that he seeth is for many days to come, and he prophesieth of the times that are far off.
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This verse in Ezekiel 12
Commentary
9 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Not a mere repetition of the scoff (Eze 12:22); there the scoffers asserted that the evil was so often threatened and postponed, it must have no reality; here formalists do not go so far as to deny that a day of evil is coming, but assert it is still far off (Am 6:3).
This site's exposition
the word of the LORD came to me
on Ezekiel 12:26-28
A second proverb targets Ezekiel’s own words: “The vision that he sees is for many years from now; he prophesies about the distant future.” The people grant him a true prophet while pushing his warnings into a far future. The answer matches the first proverb’s.
This site's exposition
he prophesies about the distant future
A second saying goes around the house of Israel: the vision is for many years from now. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown contrast it with verse 22. Those scoffers denied the judgment, and these people granted it and pushed it into the distant future.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 21 and following) And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Son of man, what is this proverb that you have in the land of Israel, saying: The days are prolonged, and every vision fails? Therefore say to them: Thus says the Lord God: I will make this proverb to cease, and it shall be used no more in Israel. Speak to them, and say: The days are at hand, and every vision shall be fulfilled. For there shall no longer be any false vision, nor ambiguous divination in the midst of the children of Israel.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
But it was a great mistake, and they did but deceive themselves into their own ruin; and God is here much displeased at it; for, 1. It was a wretched abuse of the patience of God, who, because for a time he kept silence, was thought to be altogether such a one as themselves, Ps. l. That forbearance of God which should have led them to repentance hardened them in sin.
Son of man, behold, they of the house of Israel say,....
Faith comes by hearing that word of prophecy which is more sure than vision. We may keep up our communion with God without raptures and ecstasies. In these verses the prophet is directed, I.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
ONE would have thought that if the glorious Lord condescended to send His servants to speak to men of the way of salvation, all mankind would delight to hear the message. We should naturally conclude that the people would immediately run together in eager crowds to catch every word—and would at once be obedient to the heavenly command. But, alas, it has not been so! Man's opposition to God is too deep, too stubborn for that. The Prophets of old were compelled to cry, "Who has believed our report?"
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
ONE would have thought that if the glorious Lord condescended to send His servants to speak to men of the way of salvation, all mankind would delight to hear the message. We should naturally conclude that the people would immediately run together in eager crowds to catch every word—and would at once be obedient to the heavenly command. But, alas, it has not been so! Man's opposition to God is too deep, too stubborn for that. The Prophets of old were compelled to cry, "Who has believed our report?" and the servants of God in later times found themselves face to face with a stiff-necked generation who resisted the Holy Spirit as their fathers did. Men display great ingenuity in making excuses for rejecting the message of God's love. They display marvelous skill, not in seeking salvation, but in fashioning reasons for refusing it. They are dexterous in avoiding Divine Grace and in securing their own ruin. They hold up, first, this shield and then the other to ward off the gracious arrows of the Gospel of Jesus Christ which are only meant to slay the deadly sins which lurk in their bosoms. The evil argument which is mentioned in the text has been used from Ezekiel's day right down to the present moment, and it has served Satan's turn in tens of thousands of cases. By its means men have delayed themselves into Hell. The sons of men, when they hear of the great Atonement made upon the Cross by the Lord Jesus, and are bid to lay hold upon eternal life in Him, still say concerning the Gospel, "The vision that he sees is for many days to come, and he prophesies of times that are far off." That is to say, they pretend that the matters of which we speak are not of immediate importance, and may safely be postponed. They imagine that religion is for the weakness of the dying and the infirmity of the aged, but not for healthy men and women.
The words behind it
16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| בֶּן־ | ben- | O son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| אָדָ֗ם | ʾadam | humankind | H120 → | 551 times |
| הִנֵּ֤ה | hineh | there! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| בֵֽית־ | veit- | [the] house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| אֹֽמְרִ֔ים | ʾomerim | [are] saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
| הֶחָז֛וֹן | hechazon | the vision | H2377 → | 35 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| ה֥וּא | hu' | he | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| חֹזֶ֖ה | chozeh | [is] seeing | H2372 → | 55 times |
| לְיָמִ֣ים | leyamim | [is] of days | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| רַבִּ֑ים | rabim | many | H7227 → | 454 times |
| וּלְעִתִּ֥ים | uleitim | and of times | H6256 → | 296 times |
| רְחוֹק֖וֹת | rechokot | distant | H7350 → | 84 times |
| ה֥וּא | hu' | he | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| נִבָּֽא׃ | niba' | [is] prophesying | H5012 → | 115 times |
בֶּן־O son of
ben-H1121 →4930 times
אָדָ֗םhumankind
ʾadamH120 →551 times
הִנֵּ֤הthere!
hinehH2009 →843 times
בֵֽית־[the] house of
veit-H1004 →2046 times
יִשְׂרָאֵל֙Israel
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
אֹֽמְרִ֔ים[are] saying
ʾomerimH559 →5305 times
הֶחָז֛וֹןthe vision
hechazonH2377 →35 times
אֲשֶׁר־which
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
ה֥וּאhe
hu'H1931 →1879 times
חֹזֶ֖ה[is] seeing
chozehH2372 →55 times
לְיָמִ֣ים[is] of days
leyamimH3117 →2304 times
רַבִּ֑יםmany
rabimH7227 →454 times
וּלְעִתִּ֥יםand of times
uleitimH6256 →296 times
רְחוֹק֖וֹתdistant
rechokotH7350 →84 times
ה֥וּאhe
hu'H1931 →1879 times
נִבָּֽא׃[is] prophesying
niba'H5012 →115 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
2 Peter 3:4“Where is the promise of His coming?” they will ask. “Ever since our fathers fell asleep, everything continues as it has from the beginning of creation.”
it leads to
- Jeremiah 5:12–13
They have lied about the LORD and said: “He will not do anything; harm will not come to us; we will not see sword or famine.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 17:15
Behold, they keep saying to me, “Where is the word of the LORD? Let it come now!”
- Malachi 2:17
You have wearied the LORD with your words; yet you ask, “How have we wearied Him?” By saying, “All who do evil are good in the sight of the LORD, and in them He…
- Luke 12:45
But suppose that servant says in his heart, ‘My master will be a long time in coming,’ and he begins to beat the menservants and maidservants, and to eat and drink and get drunk.
- Isaiah 5:18–19
Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of deceit and pull sin along with cart ropes,
- Jeremiah 5:12–13
Through
Daniel 10:14Now I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the latter days, for the vision concerns those days.”
it leads to
- Daniel 8:26
The vision of the evenings and the mornings that has been spoken is true. Now you must seal up the vision, for it concerns the distant future.”
- Daniel 2:28
But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in the latter days. Your dream and the visions that came into your…
- Daniel 8:26
Through
Ezekiel 12:22“Son of man, what is this proverb that you have in the land of Israel: ‘The days go by, and every vision fails’?
it leads to
- Ezekiel 18:2–3
“What do you people mean by quoting this proverb about the land of Israel: ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the teeth of the children are set on edge’?
- Ezekiel 18:2–3
About Ezekiel
This page draws on Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 1164: “Now, A Sermon for Young Men and Young Women” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Patrick Fairbairn, An Exposition of Ezekiel.