Ezekiel 3:5

New Revised Standard

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

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-

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.

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.

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 He said to me, O mortal, eat what is offered to you; eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel. ² So I opened my mouth, and he gave me the scroll to eat. ³ He said to me, Mortal, eat this scroll that I give you and fill your stomach with it. Then I ate it; and in my mouth it was as sweet as honey. ⁴ He said to me: Mortal, go to the house of Israel and speak my very words to them. ⁵ For you are not sent to a people of obscure speech and difficult language, but to the house of Israel— ⁶ 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. ⁷ But the house of Israel will not listen to you, for they are not willing to listen to me; because all the house of Israel have a hard forehead and a stubborn heart. ⁸ See, I have made your face hard against their faces, and your forehead hard against their foreheads. ⁹ Like the hardest stone, harder than flint, I have made your forehead; do not fear them or be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house. ¹⁰ He said to me: Mortal, all my words that I shall speak to you receive in your heart and hear with your ears;

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
but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die."

Genesis 3:2
The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden;

Genesis 3:3
but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die.'"

Genesis 3:6
So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate.

Genesis 3:7
Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.

Genesis 3:10
He said, "I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself."

Genesis 3:13
Then the Lord God said to the woman, "What is this that you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent tricked me, and I ate."

Genesis 3:14
The Lord God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, cursed are you among all animals and among all wild creatures; upon your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life.

Genesis 3:15
I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will strike your head, and you will strike his heel."

Genesis 3:22
Then the Lord God said, "See, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and 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.