The Meaning of Ezekiel 2:3 Explained

Ezekiel 2:3

KJV: And he said unto me, Son of man, I send thee to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that hath rebelled against me: they and their fathers have transgressed against me, even unto this very day.

YLT: And He saith unto Me, 'Son of man, I am sending thee unto the sons of Israel, unto nations who are rebels, who have rebelled against Me; they and their fathers have transgressed against Me, unto this self-same day.

Darby: And he said unto me, Son of man, I send thee to the children of Israel, to nations that are rebellious, which have rebelled against me: they and their fathers have transgressed against me unto this very day;

ASV: And he said unto me, Son of man, I send thee to the children of Israel, to nations that are rebellious, which have rebelled against me: they and their fathers have transgressed against me even unto this very day.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And he said  unto me, Son  of man,  I send  thee to the children  of Israel,  to a rebellious  nation  that hath rebelled  against me: they and their fathers  have transgressed  against me, [even] unto this very  day. 

What does Ezekiel 2:3 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The Lord explained that He was sending Ezekiel to the Israelites who were rebellious and had rebelled against Him. The current generation and their forefathers had transgressed against the Lord to the present day by violating the Mosaic Covenant. The history of Israel had been "one unbroken apostasy." [1]
"The word "rebellious" can be understood as the key to the attitude of Israel throughout the book." [2]
"Though the technical language of covenant is sparse in Ezekiel , the notion of covenant is everywhere presupposed." [3]

Context Summary

Ezekiel 2:1-10 - 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 2

1  Ezekiel's commission
6  His instruction
9  The scroll of his heavy prophecy

What do the individual words in Ezekiel 2:3 mean?

And He said to me Son of man am sending I you to the sons of Israel a nation rebellious that has rebelled against Me they and their fathers have transgressed against Me to very day this
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֵלַ֗י בֶּן־ אָדָם֙ שׁוֹלֵ֨חַ אֲנִ֤י אֽוֹתְךָ֙ אֶל־ בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל גּוֹיִ֥ם הַמּוֹרְדִ֖ים אֲשֶׁ֣ר מָרְדוּ־ בִ֑י הֵ֤מָּה וַאֲבוֹתָם֙ פָּ֣שְׁעוּ בִ֔י עַד־ עֶ֖צֶם הַיּ֥וֹם הַזֶּֽה

וַיֹּ֣אמֶר  And  He  said 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
אֵלַ֗י  to  me 
Parse: Preposition, first person common singular
Root: אֶל  
Sense: to, toward, unto (of motion).
בֶּן־  Son 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
אָדָם֙  of  man 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: אָדָם 
Sense: man, mankind.
שׁוֹלֵ֨חַ  am  sending 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: שָׁלַח  
Sense: to send, send away, let go, stretch out.
בְּנֵ֣י  the  sons 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל  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.
גּוֹיִ֥ם  a  nation 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: גֹּוי 
Sense: nation, people.
הַמּוֹרְדִ֖ים  rebellious 
Parse: Article, Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine plural
Root: מָרַד  
Sense: to rebel, revolt, be rebellious.
אֲשֶׁ֣ר  that 
Parse: Pronoun, relative
Root: אֲשֶׁר 
Sense: (relative part.).
מָרְדוּ־  has  rebelled 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: מָרַד  
Sense: to rebel, revolt, be rebellious.
בִ֑י  against  Me 
Parse: Preposition, first person common singular
וַאֲבוֹתָם֙  and  their  fathers 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine plural construct, third person masculine plural
Root: אָב  
Sense: father of an individual.
פָּ֣שְׁעוּ  have  transgressed 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: פָּשַׁע  
Sense: to rebel, transgress, revolt.
בִ֔י  against  Me 
Parse: Preposition, first person common singular
עֶ֖צֶם  very 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: עֶצֶם 
Sense: bone, essence, substance.
הַיּ֥וֹם  day 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: יׄום 
Sense: day, time, year.
הַזֶּֽה  this 
Parse: Article, Pronoun, masculine singular
Root: זֶה  
Sense: this, this one, here, which, this … that, the one … the other, another, such.