Lectionary Calendar
Tuesday, July 22nd, 2025
the Week of Proper 11 / Ordinary 16
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Read the Bible

Easy-to-Read Version

Ezekiel 3:6

I am not sending you to many different countries where people speak languages you cannot understand. If you went to those people and spoke to them, they would listen to you. But you will not have to learn those hard languages.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Impenitence;   Thompson Chain Reference - Leaders;   Ministers;   Religious;   Responsibility;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Language;   Rebellion against God;  

Dictionaries:

- Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Angel;   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - Roll;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Hard;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
not to the many peoples of unintelligible speech or a difficult language, whose words you cannot understand. No doubt, if I sent you to them, they would listen to you.
Hebrew Names Version
not to many peoples of a strange speech and of a hard language, whose words you can not understand. Surely, if I sent you to them, they would listen to you.
King James Version
Not to many people of a strange speech and of an hard language, whose words thou canst not understand. Surely, had I sent thee to them, they would have hearkened unto thee.
English Standard Version
not to many peoples of foreign speech and a hard language, whose words you cannot understand. Surely, if I sent you to such, they would listen to you.
New American Standard Bible
nor to many peoples of unintelligible speech or difficult language, whose words you cannot understand. But I have sent you to the people who understand you;
New Century Version
You are not being sent to many nations whose speech you can't understand, whose language is difficult, whose words you cannot understand. If I had sent you to them, they would have listened to you.
Amplified Bible
not to many peoples of unintelligible speech or difficult language, whose words you cannot understand. But I have sent you to them who should listen to you and pay attention to My message;
World English Bible
not to many peoples of a strange speech and of a hard language, whose words you can not understand. Surely, if I sent you to them, they would listen to you.
Geneva Bible (1587)
Not to many people of an vnknowen tongue, or of an harde language, whose wordes thou canst not vnderstand: yet if I should sende thee to them, they would obey thee.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
nor to many peoples of unintelligible speech or difficult language, whose words you cannot understand. But I have sent you to them who should listen to you;
Legacy Standard Bible
nor to many peoples of unintelligible lips or a difficult tongue, whose words you cannot understand. But I have sent you to them who should listen to you;
Berean Standard Bible
not to many peoples of unfamiliar speech or difficult language, whose words you cannot understand. Surely if I had sent you to them, they would have listened to you.
Complete Jewish Bible
not to many peoples with difficult languages and unintelligible speech, whose words you can't understand when you hear them. Without doubt, if I sent you to them, they would listen to you.
Darby Translation
not to many peoples of strange language and of difficult speech, whose words thou canst not understand: had I sent thee to them, would they not hearken unto thee?
George Lamsa Translation
Nor to many peoples whose speech you do not understand. Surely, if I send you to them, they would listen to you.
Good News Translation
If I sent you to great nations that spoke difficult languages you didn't understand, they would listen to you.
Lexham English Bible
and not to many nations of obscure speech and a difficult language whose words you do not understand, for if I had sent you to them they would have listened to you.
Literal Translation
not to many peoples of deep lip and of a difficult language, whose words you cannot hear. If I had sent you to them, they would have listened to you.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Not to many nacions, which haue diuerse speaches and harde languages, whose wordes thou vnderstodest not: Neuertheles, yf I sent the to those people, they wolde folowe the:
American Standard Version
not to many peoples of a strange speech and of a hard language, whose words thou canst not understand. Surely, if I sent thee to them, they would hearken unto thee.
Bible in Basic English
Not to a number of peoples whose talk is strange and whose language is hard and whose words are not clear to you. Truly, if I sent you to them they would give ear to you.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
not to many peoples of an unintelligible speech and of a slow tongue, whose words thou canst not understand. Surely, if I sent thee to them, they would hearken unto thee.
King James Version (1611)
Not to many people of a strange speech and of an hard language, whose words thou canst not vnderstand: surely had I sent thee to them, they would haue hearkened vnto thee:
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Not to many nations whiche haue profounde lippes and harde languages, whose wordes thou vnderstandest not: otherwise if I had sent thee vnto them, they would haue hearkened vnto thee.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
neither to many nations of other speech and other tongues, nor of harsh language, whose words thou wouldest not understand: although if I had sent thee to such, they would have hearkened to thee.
English Revised Version
not to many peoples of a strange speech and of an hard language, whose words thou canst not understand. Surely, if I sent thee to them, they would hearken unto thee.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
nether to many puplis of hiy word, and of vnknowun langage, of whiche thou maist not here the wordis. And if thou were sent to hem, thei schulden here thee.
Update Bible Version
not to many peoples of a strange speech and of a hard language, whose words you can't understand. Surely, if I sent you to them, they would listen to you.
Webster's Bible Translation
Not to many people of a strange speech and of a hard language, whose words thou canst not understand. Surely, had I sent thee to them, they would have hearkened to thee.
New English Translation
not to many peoples of unintelligible speech and difficult language, whose words you cannot understand—surely if I had sent you to them, they would listen to you!
New King James Version
not to many people of unfamiliar speech and of hard language, whose words you cannot understand. Surely, had I sent you to them, they would have listened to you.
New Living Translation
No, I am not sending you to people with strange and difficult speech. If I did, they would listen!
New Life Bible
You are not being sent to many people of strange speech and a hard language whom you cannot understand. If I had sent you to them, they would have listened to you.
New Revised Standard
not to many peoples of obscure speech and difficult language, whose words you cannot understand. Surely, if I sent you to them, they would listen to you.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
liner unto many peoples deep of lip and heavy of tongue, whose words thou couldst not understand, - surely if unto them I had sent thee, they would have hearkened unto thee.
Douay-Rheims Bible
Nor to many nations of a strange speech, and of an unknown tongue, whose words thou canst not understand: and if thou wert sent to them, they would hearken to thee.
Revised Standard Version
not to many peoples of foreign speech and a hard language, whose words you cannot understand. Surely, if I sent you to such, they would listen to you.
Young's Literal Translation
not unto many peoples, deep of lip and heavy of tongue, whose words thou dost not understand. If I had not sent thee unto them -- they, they do hearken unto thee,

Contextual Overview

1 God said to me, "Son of man, eat what you see. Eat this scroll, and then go tell these things to the family of Israel." 2 So I opened my mouth and he put the scroll into my mouth. 3 Then God said, "Son of man, I am giving you this scroll. Swallow it! Let that scroll fill your body." So I ate the scroll. It was as sweet as honey in my mouth. 4 Then God said to me, "Son of man, go to the family of Israel. Speak my words to them. 5 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. 6 I am not sending you to many different countries where people speak languages you cannot understand. If you went to those people and spoke to them, they would listen to you. But you will not have to learn those hard languages. 7 No, I am sending you to the family of Israel. Only, these people have hard heads—they are very stubborn! And the people of Israel will refuse to listen to you. They don't want to listen to me. 8 But I will make you just as stubborn as they are, and your head just as hard. 9 A diamond is harder than flint rock. In the same way you will be more stubborn than they are, and your head will be harder. Then you will not be afraid of them or those who always turn against me." 10 Then God said to me, "Son of man, listen to every word I say to you and remember them.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

of a strange speech and of an hard language: Heb. deep of lip and heavy of language. Surely, etc. or, If I had sent thee to them, would they not have hearkened? etc. Jonah 3:5-10, Matthew 11:20-24, Matthew 12:41, Matthew 12:42, Luke 11:30-32, Acts 27:28, Romans 9:30-33

Reciprocal: Deuteronomy 28:49 - a nation whose Isaiah 6:10 - the heart Isaiah 33:19 - deeper Ezekiel 3:5 - of a strange speech and of an hard language Matthew 11:21 - for Matthew 15:22 - a woman Luke 10:13 - for Acts 13:42 - the Gentiles Acts 22:18 - for Acts 28:26 - Hearing

Cross-References

Genesis 3:1
The snake was the most clever of all the wild animals that the Lord God had made. The snake spoke to the woman and said, "Woman, did God really tell you that you must not eat from any tree in the garden?"
Genesis 3:2
The woman answered the snake, "No, we can eat fruit from the trees in the garden.
Genesis 3:12
The man said, "The woman you put here with me gave me fruit from that tree. So I ate it."
Genesis 3:14
So the Lord God said to the snake, "You did this very bad thing, so bad things will happen to you. It will be worse for you than for any other animal. You must crawl on your belly and eat dust all the days of your life.
Genesis 3:15
I will make you and the woman enemies to each other. Your children and her children will be enemies. You will bite her child's foot, but he will crush your head."
Genesis 3:17
Then God said to the man, "I commanded you not to eat from that tree. But you listened to your wife and ate from it. So I will curse the ground because of you. You will have to work hard all your life for the food the ground produces.
Genesis 3:19
You will work hard for your food, until your face is covered with sweat. You will work hard until the day you die, and then you will become dust again. I used dust to make you, and when you die, you will become dust again."
Genesis 39:7
After some time, the wife of Joseph's master began to pay special attention to him. One day she said to him, "Sleep with me."
Joshua 7:21
In Jericho, I saw a beautiful coat from Babylonia, about 5 pounds of silver, and about a pound of gold. I wanted these things for myself, so I took them. You will find them buried in the ground under my tent. The silver is under the coat."
2 Samuel 11:2
One evening he got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of his house. From there he saw a woman bathing. She was very beautiful,

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Not to many people of a strange speech and of an hard language,.... The prophet was sent, not to different nations, of different languages; but to one nation of the same language; indeed several of his prophecies concern other nations, as the Ammonites, Moabites, Edomites, Tyrians, Philistines, Egyptians, and Assyrians; but then these had a relation to the, people of Israel, and were chiefly on their account; and therefore he was not sent to those nations to deliver his prophecies unto them, but to the people of Israel only; and so had no difficulty on his part concerning their language, which he would have had, had he been sent to the barbarous nations;

whose words, thou canst not understand: the prophet being, only used to the language of the Jews and not having the gift of speaking with and understanding divers tongues; as the apostles of Christ had, when they were sent to many people of different languages, and which is here tacitly intimates:

surely, had I sent thee to them, they would have hearkened unto thee; which is an aggravation of the obstinacy and disobedience of the people of Israel; that had the barbarous nations been favoured with the same means of instruction they were they would have been obedient; see

Matthew 11:21; for though they could not understand the prophet's language, nor he theirs; yet, as Kimchi observes, they would have sought for an interpreter to have explained the prophecy to them. The thing is very strongly affirmed, "surely", verily, באמת, "of a truth"; as the same Jewish writer interprets אם לא; and both he and Jarchi take it to be the form of an oath. Some render the words, "if I had not sent thee to them, they would have hearkened unto thee" i; and the sense is, either that if the Lord had not sent him to the Israelites, but to the peopled a strange speech, they, the people, would have hearkened to him: or, if the Lord had not sent the prophet, but he had gone of himself, as the false prophets in their own name, the Israelites would have hearkened to him; such was their perverseness and rebellion: others render the words, "if not", or had it not been for their strange speech and hard language, "I would have sent thee to them" k, the barbarous nation, and "they would have hearkened unto thee"; but the first sense seems best; which is confirmed by the Targum, Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, and the Oriental versions.

i אם לא אליהם שלחתיך "si non ad eos misissem te", Vatablus; "si non misero te", Montanus; "si non mitterem", Pagninus. k "Si non misissem te ad eos", Calvin.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

To many people - To various nations using diverse languages.

Surely - The thought is that expressed by our Saviour Himself (margin reference). Some render it: “but I have sent thee unto these; they can hearken” etc.


 
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