Ezekiel 3:5

Contemporary English Version

They are Israelites, not some strangers who speak a foreign language you can't understand. If I were to send you to foreign nations, they would listen to you.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
For you are not being sent to a people of unintelligible speech or a difficult language but to the house of Israel—

Hebrew Names Version
For you are not sent to a people of a strange speech and of a hard language, but to the house of Yisra'el;

King James Version
For thou art not sent to a people of a strange speech and of an hard language, but to the house of Israel;

English Standard Version
For you are not sent to a people of foreign speech and a hard language, but to the house of Israel—

New American Standard Bible
"For you are not being sent to a people of unintelligible speech or difficult language, but to the house of Israel,

New Century Version
You are not being sent to people whose speech you can't understand, whose language is difficult. You are being sent to Israel.

Amplified Bible
"For you are not being sent to a people of unintelligible speech or difficult language, but to the house of Israel,

World English Bible
For you are not sent to a people of a strange speech and of a hard language, but to the house of Israel;

Geneva Bible (1587)
For thou art not sent to a people of an vnknowen tongue, or of an hard language, but to the house of Israel,

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"For you are not being sent to a people of unintelligible speech or difficult language, but to the house of Israel,

Legacy Standard Bible
For you are not being sent to a people of unintelligible lips or a difficult tongue, but to the house of Israel,

Berean Standard Bible
For you are not being sent to a people of unfamiliar speech or difficult language, but to the house of Israel-

Complete Jewish Bible
For you are not being sent to a people with a difficult language and unintelligible speech, but to the house of Isra'el —

Darby Translation
For thou art not sent to a people of strange language, and of difficult speech, [but] to the house of Israel;

Easy-to-Read Version
I am not sending you to some foreigners you cannot understand. You don't have to learn another language. I am sending you to the family of Israel.

George Lamsa Translation
For you are not sent to a people of a strange speech and of a hard language, but to the house of Israel;

Good News Translation
I am not sending you to a nation that speaks a difficult foreign language, but to the Israelites.

Lexham English Bible
For you are sent to the house of Israel, not to a people of obscure speech and of a difficult language,

Literal Translation
For you are not sent to a people of deep lip and difficult of language, but to the house of Israel;

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
for I sende the not to a people that hath a strauge, vnknowne or harde speache, but vnto the house off Israel:

American Standard Version
For thou art not sent to a people of a strange speech and of a hard language, but to the house of Israel;

Bible in Basic English
For you are not sent to a people whose talk is strange and whose language is hard, but to the children of Israel;

JPS Old Testament (1917)
For thou art not sent to a people of an unintelligible speech and of a slow tongue, but to the house of Israel;

King James Version (1611)
For thou art not sent to a people of a strange speech, and of an hard language, but to the house of Israel.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
For not to a people of profounde lippes and harde language art thou sent, but vnto the house of Israel:

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
For thou art not sent to a people of hard speech, but to the house of Israel;

English Revised Version
For thou art not sent to a people of a strange speech and of an hard language, but to the house of Israel;

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
For thou schalt not be sent to a puple of hiy word, and of vnknowun langage; thou schalt be sent to the hous of Israel,

Update Bible Version
For you are not sent to a people of a strange speech and of a hard language, but to the house of Israel;

Webster's Bible Translation
For thou art not sent to a people of a strange speech and of a hard language, [but] to the house of Israel;

New English Translation
For you are not being sent to a people of unintelligible speech and difficult language, but to the house of Israel—

New King James Version
For you are not sent to a people of unfamiliar speech and of hard language, but to the house of Israel,

New Living Translation
I am not sending you to a foreign people whose language you cannot understand.

New Life Bible
For you are not being sent to people of strange speech and a hard language, but to the people of Israel.

New Revised Standard
For you are not sent to a people of obscure speech and difficult language, but to the house of Israel—

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
For not unto a people deep of lip and heavy of tongue, art thou sent - but unto the house of Israel:

Douay-Rheims Bible
For thou art not sent to a people of a profound speech, and of an unknown tongue, but to the house of Israel:

Revised Standard Version
For you are not sent to a people of foreign speech and a hard language, but to the house of Israel--

Young's Literal Translation
For, not unto a people deep of lip and heavy of tongue [art] thou sent -- unto the house of Israel;

Contextual Overview

¹ The Lord said, "Ezekiel, son of man, after you eat this scroll, go speak to the people of Israel." ²He handed me the scroll and said, "Eat this and fill up on it." So I ate the scroll, and it tasted sweet as honey. ⁴ The Lord said: Ezekiel, I am sending you to your own people. ⁵They are Israelites, not some strangers who speak a foreign language you can't understand. If I were to send you to foreign nations, they would listen to you. ⁷ But the people of Israel will refuse to listen, because they have refused to listen to me. All of them are stubborn and hardheaded, ⁸ so I will make you as stubborn as they are. ⁹ You will be so determined to speak my message that nothing will stop you. I will make you hard like a diamond, and you'll have no reason to be afraid of those arrogant rebels. ¹⁰ Listen carefully to everything I say and then think about it. ¹¹ Then go to the people who were brought here to Babylonia with you and tell them you have a message from me, the Lord God. Do this, whether they listen to you or not. ¹² The Spirit lifted me up, and as the glory of the Lord started to leave, I heard a loud, thundering noise behind me.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

thou: Jonah 1:2, Jonah 3:2-4, Acts 26:17, Acts 26:18

of a strange speech and of an hard language: Heb. deep of lip and heavy of tongue, and so, Ezekiel 3:6, Psalms 81:5, Isaiah 33:19

Reciprocal: Isaiah 58:1 - spare

Cross-References

Genesis 2:17
except the one that has the power to let you know the difference between right and wrong. If you eat any fruit from that tree, you will die before the day is over!"

Genesis 3:2
The woman answered, "God said we could eat fruit from any tree in the garden,

Genesis 3:3
except the one in the middle. He told us not to eat fruit from that tree or even to touch it. If we do, we will die."

Genesis 3:6
The woman stared at the fruit. It looked beautiful and tasty. She wanted the wisdom that it would give her, and she ate some of the fruit. Her husband was there with her, so she gave some to him, and he ate it too.

Genesis 3:7
Right away they saw what they had done, and they realized they were naked. Then they sewed fig leaves together to make something to cover themselves.

Genesis 3:10
The man answered, "I was naked, and when I heard you walking through the garden, I was frightened and hid!"

Genesis 3:13
The Lord God then asked the woman, "What have you done?" "The snake tricked me," she answered. "And I ate some of that fruit."

Genesis 3:14
So the Lord God said to the snake: "Because of what you have done, you will be the only animal to suffer this curse— For as long as you live, you will crawl on your stomach and eat dirt.

Genesis 3:15
You and this woman will hate each other; your descendants and hers will always be enemies. One of hers will strike you on the head, and you will strike him on the heel."

Genesis 3:22
The Lord said, "These people now know the difference between right and wrong, just as we do. But they must not be allowed to eat fruit from the tree that lets them live forever."

Gill's Notes on the Bible

For thou [art] not sent to a people of a strange speech,.... "Deep of lip" g, or "speech"; difficult to be got at and understood:

and of a hard language: or "heavy of tongue" h of a barbarous and unknown language, whom he could not understand, nor they him; and so would have been barbarians to one another; and consequently it could not be thought his prophesying among them, could have been of any use. This may be considered, either by way of encouragement to the prophet to go on his errand to such a people; since as he could understand them, and they him he might hope to meet with success; or, however he could deliver his message so as to be understood: or as an aggravation of the impiety perverseness and stupidity of the Israelites; that though the prophet spoke to them in their own language, yet they would not hear nor receive his words:

[but] to the house of Israel; who were a people of the same speech and language with the prophet; all spoke and understood the language of Canaan; nor were the things he delivered such as they were altogether strangers to being the same, for substance, which Moses, and the other prophets, had ever taught.

g עמקי שפה "profundi labii", Vatablus; "profundorum labio", Polanus, Cocceius; "profundi sermonis", Starkius. h כבדי לשון "graves linguae", Montanus; "gravium lingua", Polanus.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Ezekiel 3:5. Thou art not sent to a people of a strange speech — I neither send thee to thy adversaries, the Chaldeans, nor to the Medes and Persians, their enemies. Even these would more likely have hearkened unto thee than thy own countrymen.