Ezekiel 33:22
in Ezekiel 33Now the evening before the fugitive arrived, the hand of the LORD was upon me, and He opened my mouth before the man came to me in the morning. So my mouth was opened and I was no longer mute.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Now the hand of Jehovah had been upon me in the evening, before he that was escaped came; and he had opened my mouth, until he came to me in the morning; and my mouth was opened, and I was no more dumb.
KJV
Now the hand of the Lord was upon me in the evening, afore he that was escaped came; and had opened my mouth, until he came to me in the morning; and my mouth was opened, and I was no more dumb.
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This verse in Ezekiel 33
Commentary
11 notes on this verseMy mouth was opened - They had now the fullest evidence that I had spoken from the Lord. I therefore spoke freely and fully what Good delivered to me, Eze 24:27.
This site's exposition
a fugitive from Jerusalem came to me
on Ezekiel 33:21-22
A fugitive from Jerusalem brings the news, “The city has been taken”. Verse 22 ties the moment to the sign Ezekiel had carried since chapter 24. The evening before, “the hand of the LORD was upon me, and He opened my mouth”, ending the silence since his wife's death.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
(Verse 21, 22.) And it came to pass in the twelfth year, in the tenth month (the Vulgate is silent on the month), on the fifth day of the month of our transmigration (or captivity), that the one who had fled (or been saved) from Jerusalem came to me, saying, 'The city has been devastated (or captured).' But the hand of the Lord had been upon me in the evening before the one who had fled came; and He opened my mouth until the morning, and I no longer remained silent with my mouth open.
For then the mouth of the prophet is opened, when what he had previously announced, he shows by action: and he proclaims with total freedom, things that are not yet to come, but either present or already past.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Opened my mouth - Not that the prophet was utterly dumb before, for he had prophesied against many nations, only he was forbidden to say anything of the Jews, But now the spirit moved him to speak, and continued his motion, 'till the messenger came, and ever after.
): The hand of the Lord was upon me before he came, and had opened my mouth to speak to the house of Israel what we had in the former part of this chapter. And now he was no more dumb; he prophesied now with more freedom and boldness, being by the event proved a true prophet, to the confusion of those that contradicted him.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
Now the hand of the Lord was upon me in the evening, afore he that was escaped came,....
4 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century4 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
in the evening--(see on Eze 33:2). Thus the capture of Jerusalem was known to Ezekiel by revelation before the messenger came. my mouth . . . no more dumb--that is, to my countrymen; as foretold (Eze 24:27), He spake (Eze 33:2-20) in the evening before the tidings came.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
A commentator
Charles Spurgeon1834–1892
The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 3290: “God's Hand at Evening” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) · Written before 1892.
proposed
PERHAPS in the special senses in which Ezekiel uses this expression, we shall not expect to feel "the hand of the Lord" upon us. God may not call us to prophesy as Ezekiel did, although in the Scriptural use of the word, "prophesy," the preacher of the Word is still called to deliver the message which he has received from his Lord's lips.
A commentator
Charles Spurgeon1834–1892
The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 3290: “God's Hand at Evening” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) · Written before 1892.
proposed
PERHAPS in the special senses in which Ezekiel uses this expression, we shall not expect to feel "the hand of the Lord" upon us. God may not call us to prophesy as Ezekiel did, although in the Scriptural use of the word, "prophesy," the preacher of the Word is still called to deliver the message which he has received from his Lord's lips. The days of special visions and voices and prophesying have passed away, but we can still say with Peter, "We have a more sure word of prophecy, whereunto you do well that you take heed, as unto a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the day star arise in your hearts." I think, however, that we may use our text with some profit in other senses—"The hand of the Lord was upon me in the evening." So we will enquire, first, what hand was this?Secondly, what time was this? And then, thirdly, what teaching is there for us in this incident? I. So first, let us ask, WHAT HAND WAS THIS? The answer is very clearly stated in the text, "the hand of the Lord." We will examine this expression, first, in its connection with the Lord's people, and then in its relation to sinners in whom a gracious work is beginning. First, then, looking at this expression in its connection with the Lord's people, I remark that sometimes, "the hand of the Lord" is laid very heavily upon them in chastisement. It is no unusual thing for a child of God to say, "The hand of the Lord was upon me"—and often he has not merely to add, "in the evening"—but he can truthfully say, "All day long His hand has been heavily laid upon me." There are some of God's children who are very frequently the subjects of His chastening, and if any of you have come here smarting under the blows of His rod, you must not murmur, for this is the treatment that is meted out to all the rest of the Lord's family.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Was upon me ... was opened - For was read “had been.” The prophet was under the hand of God in ecstatic trance on the evening preceding the arrival of the messenger, and continued in this state until his arrival.
The words behind it
20 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְיַד־ | veyad- | and [the] hand of | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| יְהוָה֩ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| הָיְתָ֨ה | hayetah | it had been | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| אֵלַ֜י | ʾelai | to me | H413 → | 5510 times |
| בָּעֶ֗רֶב | baerev | in the evening | H6153 → | 134 times |
| לִפְנֵי֙ | lifnei | <to> before | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| בּ֣וֹא | bo' | came | H935 → | 2568 times |
| הַפָּלִ֔יט | hapalit | the escapee | H6412 → | 24 times |
| וַיִּפְתַּ֣ח | vaiyiftach | and he had opened | H6605 → | 144 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| פִּ֔י | pi | mouth my | H6310 → | 498 times |
| עַד־ | ʾad- | until | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| בּ֥וֹא | bo' | came | H935 → | 2568 times |
| אֵלַ֖י | ʾelai | to me | H413 → | 5510 times |
| בַּבֹּ֑קֶר | baboker | in the morning | H1242 → | 214 times |
| וַיִּפָּ֣תַח | vaiyipatach | and it was opened | H6605 → | 144 times |
| פִּ֔י | pi | mouth my | H6310 → | 498 times |
| וְלֹ֥א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| נֶאֱלַ֖מְתִּי | neelamti | I was dumb | H481 → | 9 times |
| עֽוֹד׃ פ | od | again | H5750 → | 490 times |
וְיַד־and [the] hand of
veyad-H3027 →1618 times
יְהוָה֩Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
הָיְתָ֨הit had been
hayetahH1961 →3559 times
אֵלַ֜יto me
ʾelaiH413 →5510 times
בָּעֶ֗רֶבin the evening
baerevH6153 →134 times
לִפְנֵי֙<to> before
lifneiH6440 →2123 times
בּ֣וֹאcame
bo'H935 →2568 times
הַפָּלִ֔יטthe escapee
hapalitH6412 →24 times
וַיִּפְתַּ֣חand he had opened
vaiyiftachH6605 →144 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
פִּ֔יmouth my
piH6310 →498 times
עַד־until
ʾad-H5704 →1261 times
בּ֥וֹאcame
bo'H935 →2568 times
אֵלַ֖יto me
ʾelaiH413 →5510 times
בַּבֹּ֑קֶרin the morning
babokerH1242 →214 times
וַיִּפָּ֣תַחand it was opened
vaiyipatachH6605 →144 times
פִּ֔יmouth my
piH6310 →498 times
וְלֹ֥אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
נֶאֱלַ֖מְתִּיI was dumb
neelamtiH481 →9 times
עֽוֹד׃ פagain
odH5750 →490 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
Ezekiel 37:1The hand of the LORD was upon me, and He brought me out by His Spirit and set me down in the middle of the valley, and it was full of bones.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 3:22
And there the hand of the LORD was upon me, and He said to me, “Get up, go out to the plain, and there I will speak with you.”
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Acts 8:39
When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, but went on his way rejoicing.
- Ezekiel 1:3
the word of the LORD came directly to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the River Kebar. And there the LORD’s hand was upon him.
- Jeremiah 7:32
So behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when this place will no longer be called Topheth and the Valley of Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter. For they will bury the dead…
- Ezekiel 8:3
He stretched out what looked like a hand and took me by the hair of my head. Then the Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven and carried me in visions of God…
- Ezekiel 3:22
Through
Ezekiel 1:3the word of the LORD came directly to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the River Kebar. And there the LORD’s hand was upon him.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 3:14
So the Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness and in the anger of my spirit, with the strong hand of the LORD upon me.
- 1 Kings 18:46
And the hand of the LORD came upon Elijah, and he tucked his cloak into his belt and ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel.
- 2 Kings 3:15
But now, bring me a harpist.” And while the harpist played, the hand of the LORD came upon Elisha
- Ezekiel 3:14
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Ezekiel
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); Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Ezekiel; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 3290: “God's Hand at Evening” (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); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.