Bible Strands
Ezekiel 14:1
Then some of the elders of Israel came and sat down before me.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Ezekiel receives a group of Israelite elders who have approached him and taken a seat in his presence. This gathering occurs immediately before the Lord delivers a direct message to the prophet.
The words — The Hebrew term אֲנָשִׁים מִ/זִּקְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל (ana shim mi zik nei Yis ra El) literally renders "men from [the] elders of Israel." The verb וַ/יֵּשְׁב֖וּ (va/i.ye.she.Vu) records the completed action of sitting down before the prophet.
The thread — The physical gathering of elders with a prophet appears in Ezekiel 8:1 and 2 Kings 6:32, where leaders similarly convene with a spiritual mediator. The contrast between external proximity and internal distance is developed in Isaiah 29:13.
Why it lands — The text establishes that physical presence before a prophet does not automatically confer spiritual standing. It requires the reader to examine whether outward religious posture corresponds to inward accountability.
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
Then came certain of the elders of Israel unto me, and sat before me.
Cross-references
- Ezekiel 8:1 In the sixth year, on the fifth day of the sixth month, I was sitting in my house, and the elders of Judah were sitting before me; and there the hand of the Lord GOD fell upon me.
- 2 Kings 6:32 Now Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders were sitting with him. The king sent a messenger ahead, but before he arrived, Elisha said to the elders, “Do you see how this murderer has sent someone to cut off my head? Look, when the messenger comes, shut the door to keep him out. Is not the sound of his master’s footsteps behind him?”
- Isaiah 29:13 Therefore the Lord said: “These people draw near to Me with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. Their worship of Me is but rules taught by men.
- Ezekiel 20:1 In the seventh year, on the tenth day of the fifth month, some of the elders of Israel came to inquire of the LORD, and they sat down before me.
- Ezekiel 33:31 So My people come to you as usual, sit before you, and hear your words; but they do not put them into practice. Although they express love with their mouths, their hearts pursue dishonest gain.
- Acts 4:5 The next day the rulers, elders, and scribes assembled in Jerusalem,
- Acts 4:8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers and elders of the people!
- Acts 22:3 “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but raised in this city. I was educated at the feet of Gamaliel in strict conformity to the law of our fathers. I was just as zealous for God as any of you are today.
- Luke 10:39 She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to His message.