Ezekiel 2:7 (KJV)

What does Ezekiel 2:7 mean?

Ezekiel 2:7 gives Ezekiel his task: he is to deliver God’s message to people who may refuse to listen. The verse places the responsibility on Ezekiel to speak the message, while recognizing that his audience’s response may be resistance rather than attention.

God is the speaker, and “my words” identifies the message as God’s rather than Ezekiel’s own. After the warning not to fear in verse 6, God tells Ezekiel what he must do among the people described as “most rebellious.”

The Hebrew behind Ezekiel 2:7

• “forbear” — חָדַל (ḥadal): This word can mean to stop or refrain. Here the KJV uses it for the alternative to hearing: the people may hold back from listening.
• “rebellious” — מְרִי (meri): This word carries the sense of resistance or defiance. The description points to the people’s opposition, not merely to a failure to hear sounds.

Why Ezekiel 2:7 matters

• The message’s source matters. God says “my words,” so Ezekiel is sent as a messenger, not as someone speaking on his own authority.
• The warning about resistance has a place in the wider passage. In verse 5, God says that whether the people hear or refuse, they will know that a prophet has been among them. A prophet is a person sent to speak a message from God.
• The KJV’s “forbear” may sound like patience to a modern reader. In the paired phrase “whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear,” it refers instead to refraining from hearing.