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Ezekiel 12:6

in Ezekiel 12

And 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 the house of Israel.”

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

In their sight shalt thou bear it upon thy shoulder, and carry it forth in the dark; thou shalt cover thy face, that thou see not the land: for I have set thee for a sign unto the house of Israel.

KJV

In their sight shalt thou bear it upon thy shoulders, and carry it forth in the twilight: thou shalt cover thy face, that thou see not the ground: for I have set thee for a sign unto the house of Israel.

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This verse in Ezekiel 12

Commentary

8 notes on this verse

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

Thou shalt cover thy face, that thou see not the ground - Referring to the blinding of Zedekiah: even the covering of the face might be intended to signify that in this way Zedekiah should be carried to Babylon on men’s shoulders in some sort of palanquin, with a cloth tied over his eyes, because of the recent wounds made by extracting them. All the prophecies from this to the twentieth chapter are supposed to have been delivered in the sixth year of Zedekiah, five years before the taking of Jerusalem. How accurate the prediction! and how exactly fulfilled!

This site's exposition

pack your bags for exile

on Ezekiel 12:3-7

Ezekiel is told to “pack your bags for exile” with the hope, “Perhaps they will understand, though they are a rebellious house.” He digs “through the wall,” for “I have made you a sign to the house of Israel.” He performs it to the letter before any explanation.

This site's exposition

cover your face so that you cannot see the land

Ezekiel carries his bags on his shoulder at dusk with his face covered, so he cannot see the land. Albert Barnes reads the covered face two ways: as mourning, as in 24:17, and as a sign of the blindness of Zedekiah. The prophet himself is the sign.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers1 voice

A commentator

Jerome

Commentary on Ezekiel · Written before 420.

proposed

(Ver. 4 seqq.) And you shall bring out your baggage like the baggage of an exile by day in their sight. And you shall go out in the evening before them, as one goes out into exile before their eyes. Dig through the wall for yourself, and you shall go out through it in their sight. You shall bear your baggage on your shoulders (Vulgate: you shall be carried): you shall escape in darkness (Vulgate: you shall be brought out).

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

) as being ashamed to be seen and afraid to be known, or in token of very great sorrow and concern; he must go away as a poor broken tradesman, who, when he is forced to shut up shop, hides his head, or quits his country.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens

In their sight shall thou bear it upon thy shoulders,.... The bundle, packed up for his use and service, carried out through the wall dug by him.

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

in . . . twilight--rather, "in the dark." So in Ge 15:17, "it" refers to "thy stuff." cover thy face--as one who muffles his face, afraid of being recognized by anyone meeting him. So the Jews and Zedekiah should make their exit stealthily and afraid to look around, so hurried should be their fight [CALVIN]. sign--rather, "a portent," namely, for evil.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase

Thou shalt cover thy face - A sign of mourning (see Eze 24:17); also of Zedekiah’s blindness Eze 12:12.

The words behind it

17 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • לְעֵ֨ינֵיהֶ֜םto eyes their

    leeineihemH5869 →887 times

  • עַל־on

    ʾal-H5921 →5755 times

  • כָּתֵ֤ףa shoulder

    katefH3802 →67 times

  • תִּשָּׂא֙you will lift [it] up

    tisa'H5375 →656 times

  • בָּעֲלָטָ֣הin the darkness

    baalatahH5939 →4 times

  • תוֹצִ֔יאyou will bring [it] out

    totzi'H3318 →1067 times

  • פָּנֶ֣יךָface your

    paneikhaH6440 →2123 times

  • תְכַסֶּ֔הyou will cover

    tekhasehH3680 →152 times

  • וְלֹ֥אand not

    velo'H3808 →5168 times

  • תִרְאֶ֖הyou will see

    tirehH7200 →1300 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • הָאָ֑רֶץthe land

    haaretzH776 →2504 times

  • כִּֽי־for

    ki-H3588 →4482 times

  • מוֹפֵ֥תa sign

    mofetH4159 →36 times

  • נְתַתִּ֖יךָI have made you

    netatikhaH5414 →2011 times

  • לְבֵ֥יתto [the] house of

    leveitH1004 →2046 times

  • יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃Israel

    yisraelH3478 →2507 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

9 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Ezekiel 4:3Then 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 be a sign to the house of Israel.5 worksEzekiel 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.’4 worksIsaiah 8:18Here 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.4 worksEzekiel 12:12And at dusk the prince among them will lift his bags to his shoulder and go out. They will dig through the wall to bring him out. He will cover his face so he cannot see the land.4 works1 Samuel 28:8So Saul disguised himself by putting on different clothes, and he set out with two of his men. They came to the woman at night, and Saul said, “Consult a spirit for me. Bring up for me the one I name.”3 worksEzekiel 12:11–12You 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.3 works
The other 3 cross-references, with their words ▾
Isaiah 20:2–4the 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.2 worksJob 24:17For to them, deep darkness is their morning; surely they are friends with the terrors of darkness!2 works2 Samuel 15:30But David continued up the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went up. His head was covered, and he was walking barefoot. And all the people with him covered their heads and went up, weeping as they went.2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each 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

    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.

    it leads to

    • Hebrews 2:13–14

      And again: “I will put My trust in Him.” And once again: “Here am I, and the children God has given Me.”

    • Luke 2:34

      Then Simeon blessed them and said to His mother Mary: “Behold, this Child is appointed to cause the rise and fall of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken…

    • Zechariah 8:3

      This is what the LORD says: “I will return to Zion and dwell in Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the City of Truth, and the mountain of the LORD of Hosts will be…

    • Hebrews 12:22

      Instead, you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to myriads of angels

  • Through

    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…

    it leads to

    • Isaiah 20:3

      Then the LORD said, “Just as My servant Isaiah has gone naked and barefoot for three years as a sign and omen against Egypt and Cush,

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • Ezekiel 12:11

      You 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.

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • 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.

  • Through

    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.’

    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…

About Ezekiel

Ezekiel’s Vision of the Valley of Dry Bones, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Ezekiel’s Vision of the Valley of Dry Bones, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Ezekiel: the study guide →Read Ezekiel 12 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Ezekiel; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

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