Ezekiel 2:4

The people ¹  to whom I am sending you are obstinate and hard-hearted, ²  and you must say to them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says.’ ³ 

De 10:16; De 31:27; 1Ki 22:14; 2Ch 30:8; 2Ch 36:13; Ps 95:8; Pr 21:29; Isa 48:4; Jer 3:3; Jer 5:3; Jer 6:15; Jer 8:12; Jer 26:2,3; Eze 3:7; Mt 10:16; Ac 20:26,27

¹ tn Heb “sons.” The word choice may reflect treaty idiom, where the relationship between an overlord and his subjects can be described as that of father and son.

² tc Heb “stern of face and hard of heart.” The phrases “stern of face” and “hard of heart” are lacking in the LXX.

³ tn The phrase “thus says [the Lord]” occurs 129 times in Ezekiel; the announcement is identical to the way messengers often introduced their messages (Gen 32:5; 45:9; Exod 5:10; Num 20:14; Judg 11:15).