Bible Strands
Ezekiel 2:8
And you, son of man, listen to what I tell you. Do not be rebellious like that rebellious house. Open your mouth and eat what I give you.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — God addresses Ezekiel immediately after commanding him to deliver a message to a rebellious audience. This occurs at the precise moment before the prophet sees a hand extending a scroll.
The words — שְׁמַע (she.Ma') translates literally as "hear" or "listen," functioning as an imperative for obedience. אֲשֶׁר (a.Sher-) serves as a relative pronoun ("that which") linking the command to the specific content God is speaking.
The thread — The command to internalize divine speech recurs in Jeremiah 15:16 where words are eaten, and Revelation 10:9 where a scroll is consumed. Isaiah 50:5 provides a contrasting posture of opened ears and non-rebellion to the same divine address.
Why it lands — The text demands immediate compliance with divine instruction rather than negotiation or delay. It requires the reader to receive and internalize the message before attempting to communicate it.
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
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.
Cross-references
- Revelation 10:9 And I went to the angel and said, “Give me the small scroll.” “Take it and eat it,” he said. “It will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey.”
- Jeremiah 15:16 Your words were found, and I ate them. Your words became my joy and my heart’s delight. For I bear Your name, O LORD God of Hosts.
- Isaiah 50:5 The Lord GOD has opened My ears, and I have not been rebellious, nor have I turned back.
- Ezekiel 3:1 “Son of man,” He said to me, “eat what you find here. Eat this scroll, then go and speak to the house of Israel.”
- Ezekiel 3:10 “Son of man,” He added, “listen carefully to all the words I speak to you, and take them to heart.
- 1 Timothy 4:14 Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given you through the prophecy spoken over you at the laying on of the hands of the elders.
- 1 Peter 5:3 not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.
- Leviticus 10:3 Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the LORD meant when He said: ‘To those who come near Me I will show My holiness, and in the sight of all the people I will reveal My glory.’” But Aaron remained silent.
- Numbers 20:10 Then Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly in front of the rock, and Moses said to them, “Listen now, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?”
- Numbers 20:24 “Aaron will be gathered to his people; he will not enter the land that I have given the Israelites, because both of you rebelled against My command at the waters of Meribah.