Ezekiel 3:4 (DRB)

Passage

And he said to me: Son of man, go to the house of Israel, and thou shalt speak my words to them.

Nearby Context

Ezekiel 3:2 And I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat that book:

Ezekiel 3:3 And he said to me: Son of man, thy belly shall eat, and thy bowels shall be filled with this book, which I give thee, and I did eat it: and it was sweet as honey in my mouth.

Ezekiel 3:4 And he said to me: Son of man, go to the house of Israel, and thou shalt speak my words to them.

Ezekiel 3:5 For thou art not sent to a people of a profound speech, and of an unknown tongue, but to the house of Israel:

Ezekiel 3:6 Nor to many nations of a strange speech, and of an unknown tongue, whose words thou canst not understand: and if thou wert sent to them, they would hearken to thee.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "said", "house", "israel", "thou", "shalt", "speak", and "words". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "said" and "house", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 3's "And he said to me Son of..." into verse 5's "For thou art not sent to a...", so "said" and "house" 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 "said" and "house" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.