Ezekiel 3:8 (ASV)

Passage

Behold, I have made thy face hard against their faces, and thy forehead hard against their foreheads.

Nearby Context

Ezekiel 3:6 not to many peoples of a strange speech and of a hard language, whose words thou canst not understand. Surely, if I sent thee to them, they would hearken unto thee.

Ezekiel 3:7 But the house of Israel will not hearken unto thee; for they will not hearken unto me: for all the house of Israel are of hard forehead and of a stiff heart.

Ezekiel 3:8 Behold, I have made thy face hard against their faces, and thy forehead hard against their foreheads.

Ezekiel 3:9 As an adamant harder than flint have I made thy forehead: fear them not, neither be dismayed at their looks, though they are a rebellious house.

Ezekiel 3:10 Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, all my words that I shall speak unto thee receive in thy heart, and hear with thine ears.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "behold", "face", "hard", "against", "faces", and "forehead". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "behold" and "face", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 7's "But the house of Israel will not..." into verse 9's "As an adamant harder than flint have...", so "behold" and "face" belong inside that flow. In Ezekiel context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "behold" and "face" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.