Ezekiel Chapter 2 verse 5 Holy Bible
And they, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear, (for they are a rebellious house,) yet shall know that there hath been a prophet among them.
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And they, if they give ear to you or if they do not give ear (for they are an uncontrolled people), will see that there has been a prophet among them.
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And they, whether they will hear or whether they will forbear -- for they are a rebellious house -- yet shall they know that there hath been a prophet among them.
read chapter 2 in DARBY
And they, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear, (for they are a rebellious house,) yet shall know that there hath been a prophet among them.
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read chapter 2 in WBT
They, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear, (for they are a rebellious house), yet shall know that there has been a prophet among them.
read chapter 2 in WEB
and they -- whether they hear, or whether they forbear, for a rebellious house they `are' -- have known that a prophet hath been in their midst.
read chapter 2 in YLT
Pulpit Commentary
Pulpit CommentaryVerse 5. - Whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear, etc. The latter word is used in the sense of "cease" or "desist," as in 1 Corinthians 9:6 and Ephesians 6:9. The same formula meets us in ver. 7; Ezekiel 3:11, 27. The prophet is warned beforehand of the (at least) probable failure of his mission, wholly or in part. We note the parallelism of thought, though not language, in 2 Corinthians 2:15, 16. Such, at all times, has been the condition of the prophet's work. The expectation is grounded upon the antecedent fact of their being a "rebellious people." There is the consolation that in the end, partly through the fulfilment of his words, partly, it may be, through the witness of their own conscience, they shall know that there has been a prophet among them (comp. Ezekiel 33:33; Jeremiah 28:9). We note that it is the first time that Ezekiel claims that name for himself.
Ellicott's Commentary
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(5) Whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear.--Comp. Ezekiel 3:11. God's word remains the same whatever reception man may accord to it; it cannot return unto Him void, but must accomplish that which He pleases (Isaiah 55:11); just as the Apostles remained "unto God a sweet savour of Christ" alike "in them that are saved and in them that perish" (2Corinthians 2:15-16). But while the mighty power of the Divine word must thus produce its effect, the character of the effect depends upon those to whom it comes; "to the one we are a savour of death unto death, and to the other the savour of life unto life." So it would be among the captives by the Chebar: some would be brought back to their allegiance to their God, and would constitute the remnant through whom He would bless His people and the world; and some, resisting the offered grace, would be thus made more obdurate than ever. In either case, they could not remain as before. Whether for gain or for loss, they should "know that there hath been a prophet among them," by the change his ministrations should produce among them. The offer of grace, imposing the responsibility of accepting or rejecting it, ever becomes thus "a great and terrible day of the Lord." (See Joel 2:31; Malachi 4:5, compared with Matthew 17:12; Acts 2:16-22.) . . .
