Bible Strands
Ezekiel 30:2
“Son of man, prophesy and declare that this is what the Lord GOD says: Wail, ‘Alas for that day!’
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The Lord Yahweh addresses Ezekiel as "son of man" and commands him to deliver a prophetic declaration. This instruction occurs within a broader revelation concerning an imminent day of clouds and doom for the nations.
The words — הִנָּבֵא (hi.nnāḇēʾ) carries the literal sense of "prophesy," and כֹּה (kōh) means "thus." The text explicitly pairs the command to prophesy with the directive to declare a specific divine statement.
The thread — The command to wail over the approaching Day of the LORD appears in Isaiah 13:6, while the parallel address "son of man" paired with a call to cry out accompanies warnings of the sword against Israel's princes in Ezekiel 21:12.
Why it lands — The text requires the reader to recognize the immediacy of divine judgment and the necessity of vocal lament over it. It asks for a clear acknowledgment that the coming day demands a response of mourning, not speculation.
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
Son of man, prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord God; Howl ye, Woe worth the day!
Cross-references
- Isaiah 13:6 Wail, for the Day of the LORD is near; it will come as destruction from the Almighty.
- Isaiah 15:2 Dibon goes up to its temple to weep at its high places. Moab wails over Nebo, as well as over Medeba. Every head is shaved, every beard is cut off.
- Ezekiel 21:12 Cry out and wail, O son of man, for the sword is wielded against My people; it is against all the princes of Israel! They are tossed to the sword with My people; therefore strike your thigh.
- Joel 1:5 Wake up, you drunkards, and weep; wail, all you drinkers of wine, because of the sweet wine, for it has been cut off from your mouth.
- Joel 1:11 Be dismayed, O farmers, wail, O vinedressers, over the wheat and barley, because the harvest of the field has perished.
- Isaiah 14:31 Wail, O gate! Cry out, O city! Melt away, all you Philistines! For a cloud of smoke comes from the north, and there are no stragglers in its ranks.
- Isaiah 16:7 Therefore let Moab wail; let them wail together for Moab. Moan for the raisin cakes of Kir-hareseth, you who are utterly stricken.
- Isaiah 23:1 This is the burden against Tyre: Wail, O ships of Tarshish, for Tyre is laid waste, without house or harbor. Word has reached them from the land of Cyprus.
- Isaiah 23:6 Cross over to Tarshish; wail, O inhabitants of the coastland!
- Isaiah 65:14 My servants will shout for joy with a glad heart, but you will cry out with a heavy heart and wail with a broken spirit.