The Meaning of Ezekiel 3:3 Explained

Ezekiel 3:3

KJV: And he said unto me, Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee. Then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness.

YLT: And He saith unto me, 'Son of man, thy belly thou dost feed, and thy bowels thou dost fill with this roll that I am giving unto thee;' and I eat it, and it is in my mouth as honey for sweetness.

Darby: And he said unto me, Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll which I give thee. And I ate, and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness.

ASV: And he said unto me, Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee. Then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And he said  unto me, Son  of man,  cause thy belly  to eat,  and fill  thy bowels  with this roll  that I give  thee. Then did I eat  [it]; and it was in my mouth  as honey  for sweetness. 

What does Ezekiel 3:3 Mean?

Study Notes

eat it
Cf. Ezekiel 2:10 ; Revelation 10:9 . Whatever its message, the word of God is sweet to faith because it is the word of God.

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 3:3 mean?

And He said to me Son of man your belly feed and your stomach fill with scroll this that I give you so I ate and it was in my mouth like honey in sweetness -
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֵלַ֗י בֶּן־ אָדָם֙ בִּטְנְךָ֤ תַֽאֲכֵל֙ וּמֵעֶ֣יךָ תְמַלֵּ֔א אֵ֚ת הַמְּגִלָּ֣ה הַזֹּ֔את אֲשֶׁ֥ר אֲנִ֖י נֹתֵ֣ן אֵלֶ֑יךָ וָאֹ֣כְלָ֔ה וַתְּהִ֥י בְּפִ֖י כִּדְבַ֥שׁ לְמָתֽוֹק פ

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.
בִּטְנְךָ֤  your  belly 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, second person masculine singular
Root: בֶּטֶן  
Sense: belly, womb, body.
תַֽאֲכֵל֙  feed 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperfect Jussive, second person masculine singular
Root: אָכַל  
Sense: to eat, devour, burn up, feed.
וּמֵעֶ֣יךָ  and  your  stomach 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine plural construct, second person masculine singular
Root: מֵעֶה  
Sense: internal organs, inward parts, bowels, intestines, belly.
תְמַלֵּ֔א  fill 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Imperfect, second person masculine singular
Root: מָלֵא 
Sense: to fill, be full.
הַמְּגִלָּ֣ה  scroll 
Parse: Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: מְגִלָּה  
Sense: roll, book, writing.
הַזֹּ֔את  this 
Parse: Article, Pronoun, feminine singular
Root: זׄאת  
Sense: this, this one, here, which, this … that, the one … the other, such.
אֲשֶׁ֥ר  that 
Parse: Pronoun, relative
Root: אֲשֶׁר 
Sense: (relative part.).
נֹתֵ֣ן  give 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: יָתַן 
Sense: to give, put, set.
וָאֹ֣כְלָ֔ה  so  I  ate 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, first person common singular, third person feminine singular
Root: אָכַל  
Sense: to eat, devour, burn up, feed.
וַתְּהִ֥י  and  it  was 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person feminine singular
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
בְּפִ֖י  in  my  mouth 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: פֶּה  
Sense: mouth.
כִּדְבַ֥שׁ  like  honey 
Parse: Preposition-k, Noun, masculine singular
Root: דְּבַשׁ  
Sense: honey.
לְמָתֽוֹק  in  sweetness 
Parse: Preposition-l, Adjective, masculine singular
Root: מָתֹוק  
Sense: sweet.
פ  - 
Parse: Punctuation