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Ezekiel 2:1

in Ezekiel 2

“Son of man,” He said to me, “stand up on your feet and I will speak to you.”

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And he said unto me, Son of man, stand upon thy feet, and I will speak with thee.

KJV

And he said unto me, Son of man, stand upon thy feet, and I will speak unto thee.

This verse in Ezekiel 2

Commentary

13 notes on this verse

A commentator

Jerome

Commentary on Ezekiel · Written before 420.

(Chapter 2, Verse 1) And I saw, and fell on my face, and heard the voice of the one speaking. The greatness of the visions did not lift me up, but the awareness of human frailty caused me to fall on my face. Therefore, even the Apostle Paul, after the ascent to heaven and paradise, and the hearing of ineffable words, says that a messenger of Satan was given to him, who would buffet him so that he would not be exalted (1 Corinthians 12). And Abraham fell on his face after hearing the words of God.

This site's exposition

stand up on your feet

on Ezekiel 2:1-2

The address “Son of man” opens the commission and names the prophet as a mortal man before the glory of chapter 1. He is told to “stand up on your feet.” The prophet who fell facedown in Ezekiel 1:28 is raised by the Spirit to hear the word.

The record, by era

The Medieval Church4 voices

A commentator

Gregory the Dialogist

Homilies on Ezekiel, Book 1, Homily 9 · Written before 604.

proposed

"Stand upon your feet, and I will speak with you." So the prophet describes his own experiences in order to signify ours. For what does it mean that it is said to him while lying down: "Stand upon your feet, and I will speak with you"? For He who was speaking to the one lying down, why does He promise that He will speak only to one standing? But we must know that there are some things we should hear while lying down, and other things while standing. For to one lying down it is said that he should rise; but to one standing it is commanded that he should go forth to preach. For to those still lying in the confusion of weakness, the authority of preaching ought not to be given. But when we now rise up in good work, when we have begun to stand upright, it is fitting that we should be sent forth to preach for the winning of others. Therefore the prophet standing saw a spiritual vision, and he fell; but falling, he then received the word of admonition that he should rise, and rising, he heard the command that he should preach. For we who still stand on the height of pride, when we have begun to feel something of the fear of eternity, it is fitting that we should fall to repentance. And when, subtly recognizing our weakness, we lie down humbly, we are commanded through the consolation of the divine word to rise up to strong works. And when we now persist in the solidity of good works, it is necessary that from the same source by which we have corrected ourselves, we should now also lift up others by preaching. Therefore to one lying down it is not commanded that he should go forth to preach, lest anyone who is weak should destroy by his conduct what he can build up by his word.

A commentator

Gregory the Dialogist

Homilies on Ezekiel, Book 1, Homily 9 · Written before 604.

proposed

Hence it is also rightly said through the Psalmist concerning "Stand upon your feet": "He brought me up out of the pit of misery, and out of the miry clay; He set my feet upon a rock and directed my steps; and He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn to our God." For first he is brought out of the mire of wickedness, so that his feet may be made solid upon the rock through faith. But because right action should follow right faith, his steps were directed, so that after the directing of his steps, that is, after the perfection of good work, he might receive in his mouth also the new song of preaching. Thus Saul, while he was going proudly to Damascus, lay prostrate, struck down by the voice of the Redeemer. And he who was to be a future preacher did not immediately hear that he should preach what he had seen, but to him lying there it is said: "Enter into the city, and it will be told you what you must do." Therefore lying down he could only hear this: that rising he should learn what he would hear; but rising he learned this: that he should preach what he had come to know.

A commentator

Gregory the Dialogist

Homilies on Ezekiel, Book 1, Homily 9 · Written before 604.

proposed

But we must ask why Ezekiel and Paul fall on their face, while of the horseman, that is, of him who is exalted in the glory of this world, it is said: "That his rider may fall backward." And again of the persecutors of the Lord it is written: "They went backward and fell to the ground." What does this mean, that the elect fall forward and the reprobate fall backward, except that everyone who falls behind himself doubtless falls where he does not see, while he who falls before himself falls where he sees? Therefore the wicked, because they fall into invisible things, are said to fall backward, because they collapse where they cannot now see what will then follow them. But the just, because they willingly cast themselves down in these visible things so that they may be raised up in invisible things, fall as it were on their face, because, pierced with fear, they are humbled while seeing.

A commentator

Gregory the Dialogist

Homilies on Ezekiel, Book 1, Homily 9 · Written before 604.

proposed

"Son of man, stand upon your feet, and I will speak with you." The order of speech and work must be noted by us, because first the likeness of the glory of the Lord appears in order to cast down, afterward He addresses in order to raise up, then He sends the spirit of superabundant grace and lifts up, and sets upon the feet. For unless we saw something of eternity in our mind, we would never fall upon our face in repentance. But already as we lie prostrate the voice of the Lord consoles us so that we may rise in work, which nevertheless we cannot do by our own power. Therefore His spirit fills and lifts us, and sets us upon our feet, so that we who lay prone in penitence for our fault may afterward stand upright in good work.

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

A commentator

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)

And - He that sat upon the throne, Jesus Christ. Son of man - A phrase which is ninety-five times, at least, used in this prophecy to keep him humble who had such great Revelations.
6 more voices on this verse

The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices

And he said unto me,....

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

His lying prostrate was a posture of greater reverence, but his standing up would be a posture of greater readiness and fitness for business. Our adorings of God must not hinder, but rather quicken and excite, our actings for God. He fell on his face in a holy fear and awe of God, but he was quickly raised up again; for those that humble themselves shall be exalted.

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

He was now to be employed as a prophet, God's ambassador, and a ruler over the kingdoms ( Jer. i. 10 ), a post of great honour, but he must remember that he is a son of man, and, whatever good he did, it was not by any might of his own, for he was a son of man, but in the strength of divine grace, which must therefore have all the glory.

The Nineteenth Century3 voices

Son of man - This phrase (which occurs elsewhere in Scripture) is applied especially to Ezekiel and Daniel, the prophets of the captivity. Ezekiel is thus reminded of his humanity, at the time when he is especially permitted to have contact with God.

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

He is appropriately so called as being type of the divine "Son of man" here revealed as "man" (see on Eze 1:26). That title, as applied to Messiah, implies at once His lowliness and His exaltation, in His manifestations as the Representative man, at His first and second comings respectively (Ps 8:4-8;

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

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

And he said unto me - In the last verse of the preceding chapter we find that the prophet was so penetrated with awe at the sight of the glory of God in the mystical chariot, that “he fell upon his face;” and, while he was in this posture of adoration, he heard the voice mentioned here. It is evident, therefore, that the present division of these chapters is wrong. Either the first should end with the words, “This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord,” Eze 1:28; or the first verse of this chapter should be added to the preceding, and this begin with the second verse.

How the passage was read

What the Jewish commentators add

On the verses either side of this one

what was being spoken to me Heb. מִדַבֵּר. What was being spoken with me.
Rashi: France, 1040–1105 · Rashi on Ezekiel 2:2:1, via Sefaria, The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg

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

9 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.

  • וַיֹּ֖אמֶרand he said

    vaiyomerH559 →5305 times

  • אֵלָ֑יto me

    ʾelaiH413 →5510 times

  • בֶּן־O son of

    ben-H1121 →4930 times

  • אָדָם֙humankind

    ʾadamH120 →551 times

  • עֲמֹ֣דstand

    ʾamodH5975 →521 times

  • עַל־on

    ʾal-H5921 →5755 times

  • רַגְלֶ֔יךָfeet your

    ragleikhaH7272 →247 times

  • וַאֲדַבֵּ֖רso I may speak

    vaadaberH1696 →1141 times

  • אֹתָֽךְ׃<obj.> you

    ʾotakhH853 →10935 times

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

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

    Ezekiel 3:17

    “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from My mouth, give them a warning from Me.

    it leads to

    • Hebrews 13:17

      Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they watch over your souls as those who must give an account. To this end, allow them to lead with joy and not with grief, for…

    • 2 Chronicles 19:10

      For every dispute that comes before you from your brothers who dwell in their cities—whether it regards bloodshed or some other violation of law, commandments, statutes, or ordinances—you are to warn them, so that…

    • Isaiah 52:8

      Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices, together they shout for joy. For every eye will see when the LORD returns to Zion.

    • Isaiah 62:6

      On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have posted watchmen; they will never be silent day or night. You who call on the LORD shall take no rest for yourselves,

  • Through

    Daniel 10:11

    He said to me, “Daniel, you are a man who is highly precious. Consider carefully the words that I am about to say to you. Stand up, for I have now been sent to…

    it leads to

    • Acts 26:16

      ‘But get up and stand on your feet. For I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen from Me and what I…

  • Through

    Ezekiel 5:1

    “As for you, son of man, take a sharp sword, use it as a barber’s razor, and shave your head and beard. Then take a set of scales and divide the hair.

    it leads to

    • Isaiah 7:20

      On that day the Lord will use a razor hired from beyond the Euphrates—the king of Assyria—to shave your head and the hair of your legs, and to remove your beard as well.

    • Ezekiel 44:20

      They must not shave their heads or let their hair grow long, but must carefully trim their hair.

    • Leviticus 21:5

      Priests must not make bald spots on their heads, shave off the edges of their beards, or make cuts in their bodies.

Where this verse is studied

On this page

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.
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Gregory the Dialogist, Homilies on Ezekiel, Book 1, Homily 9; 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); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.