Ezekiel 3:27

But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you are to tell them, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says.’ Whoever listens, let him listen; and whoever refuses, let him refuse, for they are a rebellious house.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — God addresses Ezekiel immediately after rendering him mute to the exiles. The moment marks the transition from enforced silence to divinely timed speech.

The words — אֶפְתַּח ('ef.Tach) means "I will open," and אֶת־פִּיךָ ('et-Pi.Kha) means "your mouth." These terms describe God’s direct intervention to restore Ezekiel’s speech for prophetic delivery.

The thread — The motif of God opening the prophet’s mouth appears in Ezekiel 24:27 and parallels the command in Ezekiel 3:11 to speak regardless of audience response. The rebellious house theme also echoes Ezekiel 12:2.

Why it lands — The text demands immediate compliance from listeners while accepting refusal as the reality of a stubborn audience. It requires the reader to recognize that prophetic authority rests on God’s timing, not human persuasion.

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

וּֽבְדַבְּרִ֤יu./ve./da.be.R/iand/ when/ speak/ I אֽוֹתְךָ֙'ot./Khawith/ you אֶפְתַּ֣ח'ef.TachI will open אֶת־'et-<obj.>פִּ֔יךָPi./khamouth/ your וְאָמַרְתָּ֣ve./'a.mar.Taand/ you will say אֲלֵיהֶ֔ם'a.lei./Hemto/ them כֹּ֥הkohthus אָמַ֖ר'a.Marhe says אֲדֹנָ֣י'a.do.Nai[the] Lord יְהֹוִ֑הYah.wehYahweh הַשֹּׁמֵ֤עַ׀ha./sho.Me.a'the/ [one who] hears יִשְׁמָע֙yish.Ma'let him hear וְהֶחָדֵ֣ל׀ve./he./cha.Deland/ the/ [person] who refrains יֶחְדָּ֔לyech.Dallet him refrain כִּ֛יkifor בֵּ֥יתbeit[are] a house of מְרִ֖יme.Rirebellion הֵֽמָּה׃ סHe.mahthey

King James Version

But when I speak with thee, I will open thy mouth, and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; He that heareth, let him hear; and he that forbeareth, let him forbear: for they are a rebellious house.

Cross-references

Ezekiel 12:2 “Son of man, you are living in a rebellious house. They have eyes to see but do not see, and ears to hear but do not hear, for they are a rebellious house.
Ezekiel 24:27 On that day your mouth will be opened to him who has escaped; you will speak and no longer be mute. So you will be a sign to them, and they will know that I am the LORD.”
Ezekiel 3:11 Go to your people, the exiles; speak to them and tell them, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says,’ whether they listen or refuse to listen.”
Ezekiel 29:21 In that day I will cause a horn to sprout for the house of Israel, and I will open your mouth to speak among them. Then they will know that I am the LORD.”
Exodus 4:11 And the LORD said to him, “Who gave man his mouth? Or who makes the mute or the deaf, the sighted or the blind? Is it not I, the LORD?
Ezekiel 2:5 And whether they listen or refuse to listen—for they are a rebellious house—they will know that a prophet has been among them.
Ezekiel 3:9 I will make your forehead like a diamond, harder than flint. Do not be afraid of them or dismayed at their presence, even though they are a rebellious house.”
Ezekiel 3:26 I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth, and you will be silent and unable to rebuke them, though they are a rebellious house.
Ezekiel 11:25 I told the exiles everything the LORD had shown me.
Ezekiel 33:22 Now the evening before the fugitive arrived, the hand of the LORD was upon me, and He opened my mouth before the man came to me in the morning. So my mouth was opened and I was no longer mute.