3:1 He said to me, “Son of man, eat what you see in front of you 1 – eat this scroll – and then go and speak to the house of Israel.”
3:10 And he said to me, “Son of man, take all my words that I speak to you to heart and listen carefully. 3:11 Go to the exiles, to your fellow countrymen, 2 and speak to them – say to them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says,’ whether they pay attention or not.”
3:22 The hand 3 of the Lord rested on me there, and he said to me, “Get up, go out to the valley, 4 and I will speak with you there.”
20:49 Then I said, “O sovereign Lord! They are saying of me, ‘Does he not simply speak in eloquent figures of speech?’”
1 tn Heb “eat what you find.”
2 tn Heb “to the sons of your people.”
3 tn Or “power.”
sn Hand in the OT can refer metaphorically to power, authority, or influence. In Ezekiel God’s hand being on the prophet is regularly associated with communication or a vision from God (1:3; 3:14, 22; 8:1; 37:1; 40:1).
4 sn Ezekiel had another vision at this location, recounted in Ezek 37.
5 tn Heb “set your face toward.” This expression occurs as well in Ezek 6:2; 13:17.
6 tn Or “the way toward the south,” or “the way toward Teman.” Teman is in the south and may be a location or the direction.
7 tn Or “toward Darom.” Darom may mean the south or a region just north of southern city of Beer Sheba. See M. Greenberg, Ezekiel (AB), 2:417-18.
8 tn The Hebrew term can also mean “forest,” but a meaning of uncultivated wasteland fits the Negev region far better. See M. Greenberg, Ezekiel (AB), 2:418.