Lectionary Calendar
Saturday, November 22nd, 2025
the Week of Proper 28 / Ordinary 33
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THE MESSAGE

Ezekiel 12:6

This verse is not available in the MSG!

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Ezekiel;   Instruction;   Symbols and Similitudes;   Thompson Chain Reference - Twilight;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Prophets;  

Dictionaries:

- Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Ezekiel;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Zedekiah;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Ezekiel;   Gestures;   Remnant;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Face;   Shoulder;   Twilight;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
And while they look on, lift the bags to your shoulder and take them out in the dark; cover your face so that you cannot see the land. For I have made you a sign to the house of Israel.”
Hebrew Names Version
In their sight shall you bear it on your shoulder, and carry it forth in the dark; you shall cover your face, that you don't see the land: for I have set you for a sign to the house of Yisra'el.
King James Version
In their sight shalt thou bear it upon thy shoulders, and carry it forth in the twilight: thou shalt cover thy face, that thou see not the ground: for I have set thee for a sign unto the house of Israel.
English Standard Version
In their sight you shall lift the baggage upon your shoulder and carry it out at dusk. You shall cover your face that you may not see the land, for I have made you a sign for the house of Israel."
New American Standard Bible
"Load the baggage on your shoulder in their sight and carry it out in the dark. You shall cover your face so that you cannot see the land, for I have set you as a sign to the house of Israel."
New Century Version
Lift them onto your shoulders with the people watching, and carry them out in the dark. Cover your face so you cannot see the ground, because I have made you a sign to the people of Israel."
Amplified Bible
"As they look on, load the provisions and supplies on your shoulder and carry it out in the dark. You shall cover your face so that you cannot see the land, for I have set you as a sign to the house of Israel."
World English Bible
In their sight shall you bear it on your shoulder, and carry it forth in the dark; you shall cover your face, that you don't see the land: for I have set you for a sign to the house of Israel.
Geneva Bible (1587)
In their sight shalt thou beare it vpon thy shoulders, and carie it foorth in the darke: thou shalt couer thy face that thou see not the earth: for I haue set thee as a signe vnto the house of Israel.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
"Load the baggage on your shoulder in their sight and carry it out in the dark. You shall cover your face so that you cannot see the land, for I have set you as a sign to the house of Israel."
Legacy Standard Bible
In their sight, carry the baggage on your shoulder and bring it out in the dark. You shall cover your face so that you cannot see the land, for I have set you as a wondrous sign to the house of Israel."
Berean Standard Bible
And as they look on, lift your bags to your shoulder and take them out at dusk; cover your face so that you cannot see the land. For I have made you a sign to the house of Israel."
Contemporary English Version
Lift the bag to your shoulders, and with your face covered, take it into the darkness, so that you cannot see the land you are leaving. All of this will be a warning for the people of Israel.
Complete Jewish Bible
While they watch, you are to shoulder your pack and carry it out into the dark, with your face covered, so that you can't see the ground; for I am making you a sign for the house of Isra'el."
Darby Translation
In their sight shalt thou bear [it] upon [thy] shoulder, and carry it forth in the dark; thou shalt cover thy face, and thou shalt not see the ground: for I have appointed thee for a sign unto the house of Israel.
Easy-to-Read Version
At night, put your bag on your shoulder and leave. Cover your face so that you cannot see where you are going. You must do these things so that the people can see you, because I am using you as an example to the family of Israel."
George Lamsa Translation
Take the luggage on your shoulder and go forth in the dark; you shall cover your face, that you may not see the ground; for I have set you as a sign to the house of Israel.
Good News Translation
Let them watch you putting your pack on your shoulder and going out into the dark with your eyes covered, so that you can't see where you are going. What you do will be a warning to the Israelites."
Lexham English Bible
Before their eyes, on your shoulder, you must lift up the baggage in the dusk, and your face you must cover, so that you may not see the land, for I make you as a sign to the house of Israel."
Literal Translation
Before their eyes you shall carry on the shoulder, in the dark carry out. You shall cover your face so that you do not see the ground, for I have set you as a wonder to the house of Israel.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
in their sight. As for thy self, thou shalt go forth in the darcke. Hyde thy face that thou se not ye earth, for I haue made the a shewtoke vnto the house of Israel.
American Standard Version
In their sight shalt thou bear it upon thy shoulder, and carry it forth in the dark; thou shalt cover thy face, that thou see not the land: for I have set thee for a sign unto the house of Israel.
Bible in Basic English
And before their eyes, take your goods on your back and go out in the dark; go with your face covered: for I have made you a sign to the children of Israel.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
In their sight shalt thou bear it upon thy shoulder, and carry it forth in the darkness; thou shalt cover thy face, that thou see not the ground; for I have set thee for a sign unto the house of Israel.'
King James Version (1611)
In their sight shalt thou beare it vpon thy shoulders, and cary it foorth in the twy light: thou shalt couer thy face, that thou see not the ground: for I haue set thee for a signe vnto the house of Israel.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
In their sight shalt thou beare vpon thy shouldiers, and cary it foorth in the darke: hide thy face, that thou see not the earth, for I haue made thee a shewe token vnto the house of Israel.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
thou shalt be lifted up on men’s shoulders, and shalt go forth in secret: thou shalt cover thy face, and shalt not see the ground: because I have made thee a sign to the house of Israel.
English Revised Version
In their sight shalt thou bear it upon thy shoulder, and carry it forth in the dark; thou shalt cover thy face, that thou see not the ground: for I have set thee for a sign unto the house of Israel.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
schalt go out thorouy it in the siyt of hem. Thou schalt be borun on schuldris, thou schalt be borun out in derknesse; thou schalt hile thi face, and thou schalt not se the erthe, for Y haue youe thee a signe
Update Bible Version
In their sight you shall bear it on your shoulder, and carry it forth in the dark; you shall cover your face, that you don't see the land: for I have set you for a sign to the house of Israel.
Webster's Bible Translation
In their sight shalt thou bear [it] upon [thy] shoulders, [and] carry [it] forth in the twilight: thou shalt cover thy face, that thou mayest not see the ground: for I have set thee [for] a sign to the house of Israel.
New English Translation
While they are watching, raise your baggage onto your shoulder and carry it out in the dark. You must cover your face so that you cannot see the ground because I have made you an object lesson to the house of Israel."
New King James Version
In their sight you shall bear them on your shoulders and carry them out at twilight; you shall cover your face, so that you cannot see the ground, for I have made you a sign to the house of Israel."
New Living Translation
As they watch, lift your pack to your shoulders and walk away into the night. Cover your face so you cannot see the land you are leaving. For I have made you a sign for the people of Israel."
New Life Bible
Load your things on your shoulder while they watch, and carry the load out in the dark. Cover your face so that you cannot see the land. For I have made you as something special for the people of Israel to see."
New Revised Standard
In their sight you shall lift the baggage on your shoulder, and carry it out in the dark; you shall cover your face, so that you may not see the land; for I have made you a sign for the house of Israel.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Before their eyes, Upon the shoulder, shalt thou lift it. In thick darkness, take it forth, Thy face, shalt thou cover so that thou see not the land; For a sign, have I appointed thee to the house of Israel.
Douay-Rheims Bible
In their sight thou shalt be carried out upon men’s shoulders, thou shalt be carried out in the dark: thou shalt cover thy face, and shalt not see the ground: for I have set thee for a sign of things to come to the house of Israel.
Revised Standard Version
In their sight you shall lift the baggage upon your shoulder, and carry it out in the dark; you shall cover your face, that you may not see the land; for I have made you a sign for the house of Israel."
Young's Literal Translation
Before their eyes on the shoulder thou dost bear, in the darkness thou dost bring forth, thy face thou dost cover, and thou dost not see the earth, for a type I have given thee to the house of Israel.'

Contextual Overview

1 God 's Message came to me: "Son of man, you're living with a bunch of rebellious people. They have eyes but don't see a thing, they have ears but don't hear a thing. They're rebels all. So, son of man, pack up your exile duffel bags. Leave in broad daylight with everyone watching and go off, as if into exile. Maybe then they'll understand what's going on, rebels though they are. You'll take up your baggage while they watch, a bundle of the bare necessities of someone going into exile, and toward evening leave, just like a person going off into exile. As they watch, dig through the wall of the house and carry your bundle through it. In full sight of the people, put the bundle on your shoulder and walk out into the night. Cover your face so you won't have to look at what you'll never see again. I'm using you as a sign for the family of Israel." 7 I did exactly as he commanded me. I got my stuff together and brought it out in the street where everyone could see me, bundled it up the way someone being taken off into exile would, and then, as the sun went down, made a hole in the wall of the house with my hands. As it grew dark and as they watched, I left, throwing my bundle across my shoulders. 8The next morning God spoke to me: "Son of man, when anyone in Israel, that bunch of rebels, asks you, ‘What are you doing?' Tell them, ‘ God , the Master, says that this Message especially concerns the prince in Jerusalem—Zedekiah—but includes all the people of Israel.' 11 "Also tell them, ‘I am drawing a picture for you. As I am now doing, it will be done to all the people of Israel. They will go into exile as captives.' 12"The prince will put his bundle on his shoulders in the dark and leave. He'll dig through the wall of the house, covering his face so he won't have to look at the land he'll never see again. But I'll make sure he gets caught and is taken to Babylon. Blinded, he'll never see that land in which he'll die. I'll scatter to the four winds those who helped him escape, along with his troops, and many will die in battle. They'll realize that I am God when I scatter them among foreign countries. 16 "I'll permit a few of them to escape the killing, starvation, and deadly sickness so that they can confess among the foreign countries all the disgusting obscenities they've been involved in. They will realize that I am God ."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

thou shalt: This intimated that Zedekiah should steal out of the city in the twilight, carrying on his shoulders some of his property, with his head covered, not only as in distress but to escape detection. These prophecies, which were accurately fulfilled, are supposed to have been delivered in the sixth year of Zedekiah, five years before the taking of Jerusalem.

cover: 1 Samuel 28:8, 2 Samuel 15:30, Job 24:17

for I: Ezekiel 12:11, Ezekiel 4:3, Ezekiel 24:24, Isaiah 8:18, Isaiah 20:2-4

Reciprocal: Joshua 5:10 - kept the passover 2 Kings 7:5 - in the twilight Ezekiel 12:12 - General

Cross-References

Genesis 10:15
Canaan had Sidon his firstborn, Heth, the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, the Arkites, the Sinites, the Arvadites, the Zemarites, and the Hamathites. Later the Canaanites spread out, going from Sidon toward Gerar, as far south as Gaza, and then east all the way over to Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and on to Lasha.
Genesis 12:18
Pharaoh called for Abram, "What's this that you've done to me? Why didn't you tell me that she's your wife? Why did you say, ‘She's my sister' so that I'd take her as my wife? Here's your wife back—take her and get out!"
Genesis 33:18
And that's how it happened that Jacob arrived all in one piece in Shechem in the land of Canaan—all the way from Paddan Aram. He camped near the city. He bought the land where he pitched his tent from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem. He paid a hundred silver coins for it. Then he built an altar there and named it El-Elohe-Israel (Mighty Is the God of Israel).
Genesis 35:4
They turned over to Jacob all the alien gods they'd been holding on to, along with their lucky-charm earrings. Jacob buried them under the oak tree in Shechem. Then they set out. A paralyzing fear descended on all the surrounding villages so that they were unable to pursue the sons of Jacob.
Joshua 20:7
They set apart Kedesh in Galilee in the hills of Naphtali, Shechem in the hills of Ephraim, and Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the hills of Judah.
Joshua 24:32
Joseph's bones, which the People of Israel had brought from Egypt, they buried in Shechem in the plot of ground that Jacob had purchased from the sons of Hamor (who was the father of Shechem). He paid a hundred silver coins for it. It belongs to the inheritance of the family of Joseph.
Judges 7:1
Jerub-Baal (Gideon) got up early the next morning, all his troops right there with him. They set up camp at Harod's Spring. The camp of Midian was in the plain, north of them near the Hill of Moreh.
Judges 9:1
Abimelech son of Jerub-Baal went to Shechem to his uncles and all his mother's relatives and said to them, "Ask all the leading men of Shechem, ‘What do you think is best, that seventy men rule you—all those sons of Jerub-Baal—or that one man rule? You'll remember that I am your own flesh and blood.'"
1 Kings 12:1
Rehoboam traveled to Shechem where all Israel had gathered to inaugurate him as king. Jeroboam had been in Egypt, where he had taken asylum from King Solomon; when he got the report of Solomon's death he had come back.
Acts 7:16
Stephen, Full of the Holy Spirit Then the Chief Priest said, "What do you have to say for yourself?" Stephen replied, "Friends, fathers, and brothers, the God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was still in Mesopotamia, before the move to Haran, and told him, ‘Leave your country and family and go to the land I'll show you.' "So he left the country of the Chaldees and moved to Haran. After the death of his father, he immigrated to this country where you now live, but God gave him nothing, not so much as a foothold. He did promise to give the country to him and his son later on, even though Abraham had no son at the time. God let him know that his offspring would move to an alien country where they would be enslaved and brutalized for four hundred years. ‘But,' God said, ‘I will step in and take care of those slaveholders and bring my people out so they can worship me in this place.' "Then he made a covenant with him and signed it in Abraham's flesh by circumcision. When Abraham had his son Isaac, within eight days he reproduced the sign of circumcision in him. Isaac became father of Jacob, and Jacob father of twelve ‘fathers,' each faithfully passing on the covenant sign. "But then those ‘fathers,' burning up with jealousy, sent Joseph off to Egypt as a slave. God was right there with him, though—he not only rescued him from all his troubles but brought him to the attention of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. He was so impressed with Joseph that he put him in charge of the whole country, including his own personal affairs. "Later a famine descended on that entire region, stretching from Egypt to Canaan, bringing terrific hardship. Our hungry fathers looked high and low for food, but the cupboard was bare. Jacob heard there was food in Egypt and sent our fathers to scout it out. Having confirmed the report, they went back to Egypt a second time to get food. On that visit, Joseph revealed his true identity to his brothers and introduced the Jacob family to Pharaoh. Then Joseph sent for his father, Jacob, and everyone else in the family, seventy-five in all. That's how the Jacob family got to Egypt. "Jacob died, and our fathers after him. They were taken to Shechem and buried in the tomb for which Abraham paid a good price to the sons of Hamor.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

In their sight shall thou bear [it] upon [thy] shoulders,.... The bundle, packed up for his use and service, carried out through the wall dug by him. The Septuagint and Vulgate Latin versions render it, as if he himself was to be carried out upon the shoulders of another, thus: "in their sight, upon the shoulders, thou shall be carried"; but the former sense is best:

[and] carry [it] forth in the twilight; signifying the same as before:

thou shall cover thy face, that thou see not the ground; or "land"; not the land of Israel, but the land of Chaldea, where the prophet was: this shows that great shame and confusion which should attend the king of Judah when he fled, and great fear and terror also; and likewise his regard to his eyes being put out by the king of Babylon; so that he saw not the land into which he was carried captive, Jeremiah 52:11;

for I have set thee [for] a sign unto the house of Israel; to show unto them by deeds, as well as by words, what should befall them; see Isaiah 8:18.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Thou shalt cover thy face - A sign of mourning (see Ezekiel 24:17); also of Zedekiah’s blindness Ezekiel 12:12.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Ezekiel 12:6. Thou shalt cover thy face, that thou see not the ground — Referring to the blinding of Zedekiah: even the covering of the face might be intended to signify that in this way Zedekiah should be carried to Babylon on men's shoulders in some sort of palanquin, with a cloth tied over his eyes, because of the recent wounds made by extracting them. All the prophecies from this to the twentieth chapter are supposed to have been delivered in the sixth year of Zedekiah, five years before the taking of Jerusalem. How accurate the prediction! and how exactly fulfilled!


 
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