Bible Strands
Ezekiel 37:18
When your people ask you, ‘Won’t you explain to us what you mean by these?’
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The Lord instructs the prophet Ezekiel on how to respond when the exiled community questions his symbolic act of joining two wooden sticks. This directive occurs immediately after the command to unite the sticks and precedes the divine explanation of their meaning.
The words — The verb תַגִּיד (ta.Gid) means "will you tell," combined with the negative interrogative הֲ/לֹא (ha./lo'-) meaning "not," forming a direct challenge to explain the prophetic sign.
The thread — This recurring pattern of audience inquiry appears in Ezekiel 12:9, 24:19, and 17:12, where the rebellious house of Israel repeatedly demands clarification of Ezekiel’s enacted prophecies.
Why it lands — The text requires the reader to acknowledge that prophetic symbols demand explicit divine interpretation rather than human speculation. It calls for direct attention to God’s stated meaning before drawing application.
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
And when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not shew us what thou meanest by these?
Cross-references
- Ezekiel 24:19 Then the people asked me, “Won’t you tell us what these things you are doing mean to us?”
- Ezekiel 12:9 “Son of man, hasn’t the rebellious house of Israel asked you, ‘What are you doing?’
- Ezekiel 17:12 “Now say to this rebellious house: ‘Do you not know what these things mean?’ Tell them, ‘Behold, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, carried off its king and officials, and brought them back with him to Babylon.
- Ezekiel 20:49 Then I said, “Ah, Lord GOD, they are saying of me, ‘Is he not just telling parables?’”