Ezekiel 3:17

NET Bible® (New English Translation)

“Son of man, I have appointed you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you must give them a warning from me.

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

בֶּן־אָדָ֕ם צֹפֶ֥ה נְתַתִּ֖יךָ לְבֵ֣ית יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל וְשָׁמַעְתָּ֤ מִפִּי֙ דָּבָ֔ר וְהִזְהַרְתָּ֥ אוֹתָ֖ם מִמֶּֽנִּי׃

Transliteration

ben-ʾādām, a ṣōp̄eh I have neṯattîḵā for leḇêṯ yiśrāʾēl; and wešāmaʿtā from my mippî dāḇār, and wehizhartā them ʾôṯām from me mimmennî.

Grammar Details

• *ben-ʾādām*: construct state - son of man
• *ṣōp̄eh*: Qal participle, masculine singular - watchman
• *neṯattîḵā*: Qal perfect, 1st person singular with 2nd person masculine singular suffix - I have given/made/appointed you
• *leḇêṯ*: preposition + construct state - for house of
• *yiśrāʾēl*: proper noun - Israel
• *wešāmaʿtā*: conjunction + Qal perfect, 2nd masculine singular - and you shall hear
• *mippî*: preposition + masculine singular noun with 1st person singular suffix - from my mouth
• *dāḇār*: masculine singular noun - word
• *wehizhartā*: conjunction + Hiphil perfect, 2nd masculine singular - and you shall warn
• *ʾôṯām*: direct object marker with 3rd person masculine plural suffix - them
• *mimmennî*: preposition with 1st person singular suffix - from me

Word Meanings

• *ben-ʾādām*: son of man/human/mortal one
• *ṣōp̄eh*: watchman/sentinel/lookout
• *neṯattîḵā*: I have given you/appointed you/made you
• *wešāmaʿtā*: and you shall hear/listen/obey
• *mippî*: from my mouth/speech/command
• *dāḇār*: word/message/matter
• *wehizhartā*: and you shall warn/caution/admonish

Referenced Verses

• Isa 52:8 : 8 Listen, your watchmen shout; in unison they shout for joy, for they see with their very own eyes the LORD’s return to Zion.
• Jer 6:17 : 17 The LORD said,“I appointed prophets as watchmen to warn you, saying:‘Pay attention to the warning sound of the trumpet!’” But they said,“We will not pay attention!”
• Isa 56:10 : 10 All their watchmen are blind, they are unaware. All of them are like mute dogs, unable to bark. They pant, lie down, and love to snooze.
• 2 Chr 19:10 : 10 Whenever your countrymen who live in the cities bring a case before you(whether it involves a violent crime or other matters related to the law, commandments, rules, and regulations), warn them that they must not sin against the LORD. If you fail to do so, God will be angry with you and your colleagues, but if you obey, you will be free of guilt.
• Isa 58:1 : 1 The Lord Desires Genuine Devotion“Shout loudly! Don’t be quiet! Yell as loud as a trumpet! Confront my people with their rebellious deeds; confront Jacob’s family with their sin!
• Isa 62:6 : 6 I post watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; they should keep praying all day and all night. You who pray to the LORD, don’t be silent!
• Hab 2:1 : 1 I will stand at my watch post; I will remain stationed on the city wall. I will keep watching, so I can see what he says to me and can know how I should answer when he counters my argument.
• Heb 13:17 : 17 Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls and will give an account for their work. Let them do this with joy and not with complaints, for this would be no advantage for you.
• Jer 31:6 : 6 Yes, a time is coming when watchmen will call out on the mountains of Ephraim,“Come! Let us go to Zion to worship the LORD our God!”’”
• Ezek 33:2-9 : 2 “Son of man, speak to your people, and say to them,‘Suppose I bring a sword against the land, and the people of the land take one man from their borders and make him their watchman. 3 He sees the sword coming against the land, blows the trumpet, and warns the people, 4 but there is one who hears the sound of the trumpet yet does not heed the warning. Then the sword comes and sweeps him away. He will be responsible for his own death. 5 He heard the sound of the trumpet but did not heed the warning, so he is responsible for himself. If he had heeded the warning, he would have saved his life. 6 But suppose the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people. Then the sword comes and takes one of their lives. He is swept away for his iniquity, but I will hold the watchman accountable for that person’s death.’ 7 “As for you, son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you must warn them on my behalf. 8 When I say to the wicked,‘O wicked man, you must certainly die,’ and you do not warn the wicked about his behavior, the wicked man will die for his iniquity, but I will hold you accountable for his death. 9 But if you warn the wicked man to change his behavior, and he refuses to change, he will die for his iniquity, but you have saved your own life.
• Matt 3:7 : 7 But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them,“You offspring of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?
• Acts 20:28-31 : 28 Watch out for yourselves and for all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God that he obtained with the blood of his own Son. 29 I know that after I am gone fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. 30 Even from among your own group men will arise, teaching perversions of the truth to draw the disciples away after them. 31 Therefore be alert, remembering that night and day for three years I did not stop warning each one of you with tears.
• 1 Cor 4:14 : 14 A Father’s Warning I am not writing these things to shame you, but to correct you as my dear children.
• 1 Cor 12:28 : 28 And God has placed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, gifts of healing, helps, gifts of leadership, different kinds of tongues.
• 2 Cor 5:11 : 11 The Message of Reconciliation Therefore, because we know the fear of the Lord, we try to persuade people, but we are well known to God, and I hope we are well known to your consciences too.
• 2 Cor 5:20 : 20 Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making his plea through us. We plead with you on Christ’s behalf,“Be reconciled to God!”
• Col 1:28 : 28 We proclaim him by instructing and teaching all people with all wisdom so that we may present every person mature in Christ.
• 1 Thess 5:14 : 14 And we urge you, brothers and sisters, admonish the undisciplined, comfort the discouraged, help the weak, be patient toward all.
• Jer 6:10 : 10 I answered,“Who would listen if I spoke to them and warned them? Their ears are so closed that they cannot hear! Indeed, the LORD’s message is offensive to them. They do not like it at all.
• Song 3:3 : 3 The night watchmen found me– the ones who guard the city walls.“Have you seen my beloved?”
• Song 5:7 : 7 The watchmen found me as they made their rounds in the city. They beat me, they bruised me; they took away my cloak, those watchmen on the walls!
• Isa 21:6 : 6 For this is what the Lord has told me:“Go, post a guard! He must report what he sees.
• Isa 21:8 : 8 Then the guard cries out:“On the watchtower, O Lord, I stand all day long; at my post I am stationed every night.
• Isa 21:11-12 : 11 Bad News for Seir This is an oracle about Dumah: Someone calls to me from Seir,“Watchman, what is left of the night? Watchman, what is left of the night?” 12 The watchman replies,“Morning is coming, but then night. If you want to ask, ask; come back again.”