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The Bible · 804 of 1189

Ezekiel 2

1.And he said unto me, Son of man, stand upon thy feet, and I will speak unto thee. 2. And the spirit entered into me when he spake unto me, and set me upon my feet, that I heard him that spake unto me. 3. And he said unto me, Son of man, I send thee to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that hath rebelled against me: they and their fathers have transgressed against me, even unto this very day. 4. For they are impudent children and stiffhearted. I do send thee unto them; and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD. 5. And they, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear, (for they are a rebellious house,) yet shall know that there hath been a prophet among them.

6.And thou, son of man, be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns be with thee, and thou dost dwell among scorpions: be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house. 7. And thou shalt speak my words unto them, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear: for they are most rebellious. 8. But thou, son of man, hear what I say unto thee; Be not thou rebellious like that rebellious house: open thy mouth, and eat that I give thee.

9.And when I looked, behold, an hand was sent unto me; and, lo, a roll of a book was therein; 10. And he spread it before me; and it was written within and without: and there was written therein lamentations, and mourning, and woe.

Asked of Guide

Why does God tell Ezekiel to 'eat' the scroll and open his mouth?

God tells Ezekiel to eat the scroll as a symbolic commissioning: the prophet must internalize God’s message so he can speak it. The vision of a hand with a roll “written within and without” and containing “lamentations, and mourning, and woe” shows the message is both inwardly absorbed and outwardly proclaimed, bitter material to be made part of the prophet before he declares it to Israel.

Eating the scroll makes the prophetic word visceral and unavoidable; it becomes Ezekiel’s own speech and burden. This mirrors Jeremiah 15:16, where Jeremiah says God’s word became a joy and delight in his heart after he received it, though here the content is harsh judgment that Ezekiel must carry and convey.

Guide is the guide inside the Gnosis app, where every book on these shelves is free to read. Guide is the part you pay for — your guide has read all of them, and answers about the passage you’re actually on. Ask your guide your own question.