Bible Strands
Ezekiel 11:4
Therefore prophesy against them; prophesy, O son of man!”
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — God commands Ezekiel to speak against Jerusalem’s leaders who boast the city is secure and exile is ending. The directive follows their metaphor of Jerusalem as a cooking pot containing themselves as meat.
The words — The Hebrew הִנָּבֵא (hi.na.Ve') means "prophesy" and is repeated for emphasis, while לָ/כֵן (la./Khen) translates to "therefore," tying the command directly to their preceding claims. בֶּן־אָדָם (ben-Adam) literally means "son of man," addressing Ezekiel as a representative of humanity.
The thread — The repeated command to proclaim divine judgment mirrors the urgent calls in Isaiah 58:1 and aligns with Ezekiel’s earlier commissioning in Ezekiel 3:2 and Ezekiel 3:17. Prophetic authority is consistently framed as a direct response to human self-deception.
Why it lands — The text demands immediate obedience to God’s word over human claims of security. It requires the reader to accept that divine judgment overrides self-justifying narratives.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Therefore prophesy against them, prophesy, O son of man.
Cross-references
- Isaiah 58:1 “Cry aloud, do not hold back! Raise your voice like a ram’s horn. Declare to My people their transgression and to the house of Jacob their sins.
- Ezekiel 3:2 So I opened my mouth, and He fed me the scroll.
- 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.
- Ezekiel 20:46 “Son of man, set your face toward the south, preach against it, and prophesy against the forest of the Negev.
- Ezekiel 21:2 “Son of man, set your face against Jerusalem and preach against the sanctuaries. Prophesy against the land of Israel
- Ezekiel 25:2 “Son of man, set your face against the Ammonites and prophesy against them.
- Hosea 6:5 Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of My mouth, and My judgments go forth like lightning.
- Hosea 8:1 Put the ram’s horn to your lips! An eagle looms over the house of the LORD, because the people have transgressed My covenant and rebelled against My law.