Son of man, set thy face toward the south, and drop thy word toward the south, and prophesy against the forest of the south field;

EZEKIEL 20:46KJV
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Ezekiel 20:46 (KJV)

What does Ezekiel 20:46 mean?

Ezekiel 20:46 records God’s command to Ezekiel to direct a warning toward the south. Ezekiel is to address a forest in the southern country, preparing his hearers for a picture of destructive fire in the verses that follow.

God calls Ezekiel “son of man” and tells him to turn his face toward the place he will address. The command makes the direction of the message visible as well as audible. The forest gives Ezekiel a concrete picture through which to deliver the warning.

The Hebrew behind Ezekiel 20:46

  • “drop” — נָטַף (nataf): This word can mean to drip or drop. Here it is used for delivering a spoken message, an image of words coming forth like drops.
  • “south” — תֵּימָן (teman), דָּרוֹם (darom), נֶגֶב (negev): These are three Hebrew words associated with the south. The KJV uses “south” for each, so its repetition does not show the variety of terms Ezekiel heard.

Why Ezekiel 20:46 matters

  • The forest is part of a spoken picture, not merely a description of trees. Ezekiel 21:2–3 uses similar language about facing south and directs the warning against Jerusalem and the land of Israel.
  • The repeated direction gives the warning a clear target. Ezekiel is told to face, speak toward, and prophesy against the south.
  • The command prepares hearers for a severe warning. In verse 47, God tells Ezekiel to announce that a fire will consume both green and dry trees in the forest.

Where else these words appear

“drop” Hebrew H5197 · used in 14 verses

  • Judges 5:4 LORD, when thou wentest out of Seir, when thou marchedst out of the field of Edom, the earth trembled, and the heavens dropped, the clouds also dropped water.
  • Song of Solomon 4:11 Thy lips, O my spouse, drop as the honeycomb: honey and milk are under thy tongue; and the smell of thy garments is like the smell of Lebanon.
  • Joel 3:18 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters, and a fountain shall come forth of the house of the LORD, and shall water the valley of Shittim.

“south” Hebrew H1864 · used in 14 verses

  • Deuteronomy 33:23 And of Naphtali he said, O Naphtali, satisfied with favour, and full with the blessing of the LORD: possess thou the west and the south.
  • Ezekiel 40:24 After that he brought me toward the south, and behold a gate toward the south: and he measured the posts thereof and the arches thereof according to these measures.
  • Ezekiel 40:45 And he said unto me, This chamber, whose prospect is toward the south, is for the priests, the keepers of the charge of the house.

“south” Hebrew H8486 · used in 22 verses

  • Exodus 26:18 And thou shalt make the boards for the tabernacle, twenty boards on the south side southward.
  • Numbers 10:6 When ye blow an alarm the second time, then the camps that lie on the south side shall take their journey: they shall blow an alarm for their journeys.
  • Psalms 78:26 He caused an east wind to blow in the heaven: and by his power he brought in the south wind.

“forest” Hebrew H3293 · used in 58 verses

  • Deuteronomy 19:5 As when a man goeth into the wood with his neighbour to hew wood, and his hand fetcheth a stroke with the axe to cut down the tree, and the head slippeth from the helve, and lighteth upon his neighbour, that he die; he shall flee unto one of those cities, and live:
  • Psalms 83:14 As the fire burneth a wood, and as the flame setteth the mountains on fire;
  • Isaiah 44:23 Sing, O ye heavens; for the LORD hath done it: shout, ye lower parts of the earth: break forth into singing, ye mountains, O forest, and every tree therein: for the LORD hath redeemed Jacob, and glorified himself in Israel.