Ezekiel 33:22
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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.
Commentaries
Excerpts gathered from published commentaries to ground the reading.
The prophet has now come off his circuit, which he went as judge, in God's name, to try and pass sentence upon the neighbouring nations, and, having finished with them, and read them all their doom, in the eight chapters foregoing, he now returns to the children of his people, and receives further instructions what to say to them. I. He must let them know what office he was in among them as a prophet, that he was a watchman, and had received a charge concerning them, for which he was accountable (Eze 33:1-9). The substance of this we had before, Eze 3:17, etc. II. He must let them know upon what terms they stand with God, that they are upon their trial, upon their good behaviour, that if a wicked man repent he shall not perish, but that if a righteous man apostatize he shall perish (Eze 33:10-20). III. Here is a particular message sent to those who yet remained in the land of Israel, and (which is very strange) grew secure there, and confident that they should take root there again, to tell them that their hopes would fail them because they persisted in their sins (Eze 33:21-29). IV. Here is a rebuke to those who personally attended Ezekiel's ministry, but were not sincere in their professions of devotion (Eze 33:30-33).
Open source ↗33:22 The news of Jerusalem’s fall was a turning point for Ezekiel. His voice returned (see 3:26; 24:25-27), and he was finally able to speak freely. There was new hope for God’s people.
Open source ↗Original language
The Hebrew and Greek words behind this passage, with Strong's numbers — from openscriptures (CC BY-SA).
Cross-references
Other passages the community most often connects to this one. Tap to read.
the word of the LORD came directly to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the River Kebar. And there the LORD’s hand was upon him.
The hand of the LORD was upon me, and He brought me out by His Spirit and set me down in the middle of the valley, and it was full of bones.
And there the hand of the LORD was upon me, and He said to me, “Get up, go out to the plain, and there I will speak with you.”
Immediately Zechariah’s mouth was opened and his tongue was released, and he began to speak, praising God.
In the twenty-fifth year of our exile, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth day of the month—in the fourteenth year after Jerusalem had been struck down—on that very day the hand of the LORD was upon me, and He took me there.