The Meaning of Ezekiel 3:7 Explained

Ezekiel 3:7

KJV: But the house of Israel will not hearken unto thee; for they will not hearken unto me: for all the house of Israel are impudent and hardhearted.

YLT: but the house of Israel are not willing to hearken unto thee, for they are not willing to hearken unto Me, for all the house of Israel are brazen-faced and strong-hearted.

Darby: But the house of Israel will not hearken unto thee, for none of them will hearken unto me. For all the house of Israel are hard of forehead and stiff of heart.

ASV: 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.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

But the house  of Israel  will  not hearken  unto thee; for they will  not hearken  unto me: for all the house  of Israel  [are] impudent  and hardhearted. 

What does Ezekiel 3:7 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Nevertheless the Israelites would not listen to Ezekiel since they refused to listen to the Lord who sent him (cf. Numbers 14:1-12; 1 Samuel 8:4-7). All of them were very stubborn and obstinate. The Lord had similarly told Isaiah and Jeremiah not to expect dramatic positive response to their ministries ( Isaiah 6:8-13; Jeremiah 1:11-19).
"There is none so deaf as the person who does not want to hear." [1]
"The difficulties of cross-cultural communication are nothing compared to the obstacle of spiritual blindness." [2]

Context Summary

Ezekiel 3:1-11 - A Hard Commission
The people were impudent and stiff-hearted; their words as briars and thorns; their speech like the poison of scorpions; but the prophet was commissioned to go on with his divine mission, undeterred by their opposition. Under such circumstances we must be sure of a Thus saith the Lord. But no man can stand against the continual opposition of his fellows, unless his strength is renewed, as Ezekiel's was, by eating that which God gives. Open thy mouth, and eat that which I give thee, Ezekiel 2:8. Let us specially consider the divine denunciations of sin, that our words may be sharper than any two-edged sword. Nothing makes us so strong as feeding perpetually upon the roll of the Book, and especially on the Word within the words. We must eat the flesh and drink in the life of the Son of man, if we can deal aright with the needs of the sons of men. [source]

Chapter Summary: 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

What do the individual words in Ezekiel 3:7 mean?

But the house of Israel not will listen to you because not they will to Me for all the house strong of forehead and strong of heart are
וּבֵ֣ית יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל לֹ֤א יֹאבוּ֙ לִשְׁמֹ֣עַ אֵלֶ֔יךָ כִּֽי־ אֵינָ֥ם אֹבִ֖ים אֵלָ֑י כִּ֚י כָּל־ בֵּ֣ית חִזְקֵי־ מֵ֥צַח וּקְשֵׁי־ לֵ֖ב הֵֽמָּה

וּבֵ֣ית  But  the  house 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: בַּיִת 
Sense: house.
יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל  of  Israel 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יִשְׂרָאֵל  
Sense: the second name for Jacob given to him by God after his wrestling with the angel at Peniel.
לִשְׁמֹ֣עַ  listen 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: שָׁמַע 
Sense: to hear, listen to, obey.
אֵלֶ֔יךָ  to  you 
Parse: Preposition, second person masculine singular
Root: אֶל  
Sense: to, toward, unto (of motion).
כִּֽי־  because 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: כִּי 
Sense: that, for, because, when, as though, as, because that, but, then, certainly, except, surely, since.
אֹבִ֖ים  they  will 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine plural
Root: אָבָה  
Sense: to be willing, consent.
אֵלָ֑י  to  Me 
Parse: Preposition, first person common singular
Root: אֶל  
Sense: to, toward, unto (of motion).
בֵּ֣ית  the  house 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: בַּיִת 
Sense: house.
חִזְקֵי־  strong 
Parse: Adjective, masculine plural construct
Root: חָזָק  
Sense: strong, stout, mighty.
מֵ֥צַח  of  forehead 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: מֵצַח  
Sense: brow, forehead.
וּקְשֵׁי־  and  strong 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adjective, masculine plural construct
Root: קָשֶׁה  
Sense: hard, cruel, severe, obstinate.
לֵ֖ב  of  heart 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: לֵב 
Sense: inner man, mind, will, heart, understanding.