Ezekiel 3:8
New International Version
But I will make you as unyielding and hardened as they are.

New Living Translation
But look, I have made you as obstinate and hard-hearted as they are.

English Standard Version
Behold, I have made your face as hard as their faces, and your forehead as hard as their foreheads.

Berean Standard Bible
Behold, I will make your face as hard as their faces, and your forehead as hard as their foreheads.

King James Bible
Behold, I have made thy face strong against their faces, and thy forehead strong against their foreheads.

New King James Version
Behold, I have made your face strong against their faces, and your forehead strong against their foreheads.

New American Standard Bible
Behold, I have made your face just as hard as their faces, and your forehead just as hard as their foreheads.

NASB 1995
“Behold, I have made your face as hard as their faces and your forehead as hard as their foreheads.

NASB 1977
“Behold, I have made your face as hard as their faces, and your forehead as hard as their foreheads.

Legacy Standard Bible
Behold, I have made your face as strong as their faces and your forehead as strong as their foreheads.

Amplified Bible
Behold, I have made your face as hard as their faces and your forehead as hard as their foreheads.

Christian Standard Bible
Look, I have made your face as hard as their faces and your forehead as hard as their foreheads.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Look, I have made your face as hard as their faces and your forehead as hard as their foreheads.

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

Contemporary English Version
so I will make you as stubborn as they are.

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

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Yet, I will make you as stubborn and as hardheaded as they are.

Good News Translation
Now I will make you as stubborn and as tough as they are.

International Standard Version
So pay attention! I'm going to make you just as obstinate and unyielding as they are.

Majority Standard Bible
Behold, I will make your face as hard as their faces, and your forehead as hard as their foreheads.

NET Bible
"I have made your face adamant to match their faces, and your forehead hard to match their foreheads.

New Heart English Bible
Look, I have made your face hard against their faces, and your forehead hard against their foreheads.

Webster's Bible Translation
Behold, I have made thy face strong against their faces, and thy forehead strong against their foreheads.

World English Bible
Behold, I have made your face hard against their faces, and your forehead hard against their foreheads.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
Behold, I have made your face strong against their face, and your forehead strong against their forehead.

Young's Literal Translation
'Lo, I have made thy face strong against their face, and thy forehead strong against their forehead.

Smith's Literal Translation
Behold, I gave thy face strong over against their face, and thy forehead strong over against their forehead.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
Behold I have made thy face stronger than their faces: and thy forehead harder than their foreheads.

Catholic Public Domain Version
Behold, I have made your face stronger than their faces, and your forehead harder than their foreheads.

New American Bible
Look! I make your face as hard as theirs, and your brow as stubborn as theirs.

New Revised Standard Version
See, I have made your face hard against their faces, and your forehead hard against their foreheads.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
Behold, I have made your face strong against their faces, and your forehead hard against their foreheads.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
Behold, I have hardened your face against their faces, and your forehead I have set firm against their forehead
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
Behold, I have made thy face hard against their faces, and thy forehead hard against their foreheads.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And, behold, I have made thy face strong against their faces, and I will strengthen thy power against their power.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Ezekiel Eats the Scroll
7But the house of Israel will be unwilling to listen to you, since they are unwilling to listen to Me. For the whole house of Israel is hard-headed and hard-hearted. 8Behold, I will make your face as hard as their faces, and your forehead as hard as their foreheads. 9I will make your forehead like a diamond, harder than flint. Do not be afraid of them or dismayed at their presence, even though they are a rebellious house.”…

Cross References
Jeremiah 1:18
Now behold, this day I have made you like a fortified city, an iron pillar, and bronze walls against the whole land—against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests, and the people of the land.

Isaiah 50:7
Because the Lord GOD helps Me, I have not been disgraced; therefore I have set My face like flint, and I know that I will not be put to shame.

Jeremiah 15:20
Then I will make you a wall to this people, a fortified wall of bronze; they will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you to save and deliver you, declares the LORD.

Isaiah 48:4
For I knew that you are stubborn; your neck is iron and your forehead is bronze.

Acts 7:51
You stiff-necked people with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit, just as your fathers did.

Jeremiah 5:3
O LORD, do not Your eyes look for truth? You struck them, but they felt no pain. You finished them off, but they refused to accept discipline. They have made their faces harder than stone and refused to repent.

2 Timothy 1:7
For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-control.

Isaiah 6:9-10
And He replied: “Go and tell this people, ‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’ / Make the hearts of this people calloused; deafen their ears and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.”

Matthew 13:15
For this people’s heart has grown callous; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn, and I would heal them.’

Acts 28:27
For this people’s heart has grown callous; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn, and I would heal them.’

Romans 11:8
as it is written: “God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that could not see, and ears that could not hear, to this very day.”

2 Corinthians 3:14
But their minds were closed. For to this day the same veil remains at the reading of the old covenant. It has not been lifted, because only in Christ can it be removed.

Hebrews 3:8
do not harden your hearts, as you did in the rebellion, in the day of testing in the wilderness,

Revelation 2:7
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who overcomes, I will grant the right to eat from the tree of life in the Paradise of God.

Exodus 32:9
The LORD also said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and they are indeed a stiff-necked people.


Treasury of Scripture

Behold, I have made your face strong against their faces, and your forehead strong against their foreheads.

Exodus 4:15,16
And thou shalt speak unto him, and put words in his mouth: and I will be with thy mouth, and with his mouth, and will teach you what ye shall do…

Exodus 11:4-8
And Moses said, Thus saith the LORD, About midnight will I go out into the midst of Egypt: …

1 Kings 21:20
And Ahab said to Elijah, Hast thou found me, O mine enemy? And he answered, I have found thee: because thou hast sold thyself to work evil in the sight of the LORD.

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Ezekiel 3
1. Ezekiel eats the scroll
4. God encourages him
15. God shows him the rule of prophecy
22. God shuts and opens the prophet's mouth














Behold
The Hebrew word for "behold" is "הִנֵּה" (hinneh), which serves as an imperative to pay attention or to see something significant. In the context of Ezekiel, this word is a divine call to the prophet to focus on the gravity of his mission. It is a reminder that God is about to reveal something crucial, demanding Ezekiel's full attention and readiness to act. This word sets the stage for the divine empowerment that follows, emphasizing the importance of the message Ezekiel is to deliver.

I have made
The phrase "I have made" comes from the Hebrew "נָתַתִּי" (natati), indicating a completed action by God. This divine action underscores God's sovereignty and His active role in equipping His servants. It is not by Ezekiel's strength or ability that he is prepared for his task, but by God's deliberate intervention. This reflects the biblical theme that God equips those He calls, providing them with the necessary strength and resilience to fulfill their divine assignments.

your face as hard as their faces
The Hebrew word for "hard" is "חָזָק" (chazaq), meaning strong, firm, or resolute. In this context, it signifies the fortitude and determination that God imparts to Ezekiel. The comparison to "their faces" refers to the obstinacy and resistance of the people to whom Ezekiel is sent. God is ensuring that Ezekiel is not intimidated or discouraged by their stubbornness. This phrase highlights the spiritual and emotional resilience required to confront opposition, a common theme for prophets who often faced hostility.

and your forehead as hard as their foreheads
The repetition of "hard" (chazaq) in reference to the forehead emphasizes the mental and spiritual toughness needed for Ezekiel's mission. The forehead, often symbolizing determination and resolve, is made as unyielding as the people's resistance. This divine fortification is crucial for Ezekiel to remain steadfast in delivering God's message, regardless of the people's reaction. Historically, prophets faced significant opposition, and this divine assurance of strength is a testament to God's provision for His messengers.

(8) Thy face strong against their faces.--The word strong is the same here as that rendered impudent (marg. stiff) in Ezekiel 3:7. Of course it must have a different shade of meaning in its application to the rebellious people and to the prophet; but the main thought is taken from the figure of horned animals in their contests, and God promises Ezekiel to make him in the struggle stronger than those who oppose him. The same thing is expressed by another figure in Ezekiel 3:9.

Verse 8. - I have made thy face strong; literally, as in the Revised Version, hard. Ezekiel's name was at once nomen et omen. Hard as Israel might be, he could be made harder, i.e. stronger, than they, end should prevail against them (compare the parallels of Isaiah 1:7; Jeremiah 1:18; Jeremiah 15:20). The boldness of God's prophets is a strictly supernatural gift. Whatever persistency there may be in evil, they will be able to meet it, perhaps to overcome it, by a greater persistency in good.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Behold,
הִנֵּ֨ה (hin·nêh)
Interjection
Strong's 2009: Lo! behold!

I will make
נָתַ֧תִּי (nā·ṯat·tî)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - first person common singular
Strong's 5414: To give, put, set

your face
פָּנֶ֛יךָ (pā·ne·ḵā)
Noun - common plural construct | second person masculine singular
Strong's 6440: The face

as hard
חֲזָקִ֖ים (ḥă·zā·qîm)
Adjective - masculine plural
Strong's 2389: Strong, stout, mighty

as
לְעֻמַּ֣ת (lə·‘um·maṯ)
Preposition-l
Strong's 5980: Society, near, beside, along with

their faces,
פְּנֵיהֶ֑ם (pə·nê·hem)
Noun - masculine plural construct | third person masculine plural
Strong's 6440: The face

and your forehead
מִצְחֲךָ֥ (miṣ·ḥă·ḵā)
Noun - masculine singular construct | second person masculine singular
Strong's 4696: Brow, forehead

as hard
חָזָ֖ק (ḥā·zāq)
Adjective - masculine singular
Strong's 2389: Strong, stout, mighty

as
לְעֻמַּ֥ת (lə·‘um·maṯ)
Preposition-l
Strong's 5980: Society, near, beside, along with

their foreheads.
מִצְחָֽם׃ (miṣ·ḥām)
Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine plural
Strong's 4696: Brow, forehead


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OT Prophets: Ezekiel 3:8 Behold I have made your face hard (Ezek. Eze Ezk)
Ezekiel 3:7
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