God is highlighting Israel's stubbornness by contrasting them with foreign nations. Even people with "strange speech and a hard language" that Ezekiel couldn't understand would have listened, showing that Israel's refusal wasn't due to the message's complexity, but their own hardened hearts.
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. But the house of Israel will not be willing to 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.
English Standard Version (ESV)
God is telling Ezekiel that his message isn't for distant, foreign nations whose languages he wouldn't understand. Instead, the prophet is being sent to his own people, Israel, highlighting their stubbornness by contrasting them with hypothetical, more receptive foreigners. This sets up the challenge that follows: even though Ezekiel's own people speak his language, they are less likely to listen than these imagined foreign groups would have been.
God could have sent Ezekiel to impossible audiences, but He didn't. Why choose a 'hard language' for Israel?
This verse highlights a crucial distinction in God's mission assignments. God explicitly states Ezekiel is NOT being sent to 'many peoples of a strange speech and a hard language, whose words you cannot understand.'
The 'What If'
Imagine the sheer impossibility of Ezekiel being sent to diverse nations with languages he couldn't comprehend. It would be like sending someone to negotiate peace without any common ground for communication. God could have done this – He could have equipped Ezekiel with the gift of tongues, as He later did for the apostles.
The 'But'
However, God didn't. The mission is to the house of Israel, a people with whom Ezekiel shares a common language. This isn't to say their hearts were open or their understanding receptive, but the barrier of language was intentionally removed. This sets up a powerful contrast: if even foreign nations, with whom understanding would be a miracle in itself, would have listened, how much more should Israel, who speaks his language, listen?
God says foreign nations would have listened. What does this say about Israel's refusal?
The statement, 'Surely, if I sent you to them, they would listen to you,' is a stark indictment of Israel's obstinacy.
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The Contrast
God is essentially saying: 'Even the most unlikely, unreached people groups—those with languages so foreign you couldn't possibly understand them—would have been more receptive than you are.' This isn't about their ability to understand a foreign tongue, but about their willingness to hear divine truth. The implication is that they possessed a deeper level of hardness and rebellion.
The Gravity of Refusal
This comparison magnifies Israel's spiritual deafness. They were being sent a message in their own language, by a prophet known to them, yet they were positioned to reject it more vehemently than pagan nations might have rejected a message from a complete stranger in an unknown tongue. This highlights the specific, profound failure of God's chosen people to heed His word.
Understand the original words
am · Hebrew Noun
A term used to describe people of a different nation, culture, and language, often implying those outside the covenant community of Israel.
bet Yisra'el · Hebrew Noun
Refers to the covenant community of God's chosen people, the descendants of Jacob, whom God delivered from Egypt and to whom He gave the Law.
metzach chazaq · Hebrew Noun phrase
An anthropomorphic metaphor often signifying a defiant, unyielding, or brazen disposition against God's truth and authority.
lebab · Hebrew Noun
The seat of human decision-making, emotion, and will; biblically, it refers to the core of one's being that either submits to God or rebels against Him.
The context of exile in Babylon amplifies Ezekiel's message: God's people, despite their spiritual blindness, were being sent a message that even 'hard-hearted' foreign nations might have heeded. This highlights Israel's profound disobedience and the universality of God's concern.
c. 605 BC
First Deportation to Babylon
Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian army conquer Judah and deport many prominent citizens, including Daniel, to Babylon. This marks the beginning of the Babylonian exile.
597 BC— this verse
Second Deportation to Babylon
Following a revolt, more Judeans are deported to Babylon, including King Jehoiachin and the prophet Ezekiel. This event deeply impacts the Jewish people's sense of identity and faith.
586 BC
Destruction of Jerusalem
The Babylonians destroy Jerusalem and its Temple, ending the Davidic kingdom and intensifying the exile for the remaining population.
c. 580 BC
Ezekiel's Ministry in Babylon
While in exile in Babylon, Ezekiel receives his prophetic call and begins delivering messages of judgment and future restoration to the exiles.
c. 539 BC
Fall of Babylon
The Persian Empire, under Cyrus the Great, conquers Babylon, leading to a shift in geopolitical power.
538 BC
Cyrus Cylinder Issued
Cyrus the Great issues a decree allowing exiled peoples, including the Jews, to return to their homelands and rebuild their temples.
Jesus uses a similar argument, pointing out that the Gentile cities of Tyre and Sidon would have repented in sackcloth and ashes if they had seen the miracles done in Chorazin and Bethsaida, highlighting how greater judgment awaits those who reject clearer light.
Luke 10:13This passage directly parallels Ezekiel's thought, with Jesus lamenting that if the mighty works done in Capernaum had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago.
Jonah 3:5The Ninevites, a foreign people described with a 'hard language' by comparison, showed genuine repentance in response to Jonah's prophecy, illustrating that God's message can be received by those outside Israel.
1 Corinthians 14:21Paul quotes Isaiah to explain that God speaks to His people through people with foreign tongues and with the lips of strangers, a concept that resonates with God's intent to reach people through seemingly difficult or unfamiliar means.
Isaiah 28:11This prophetic passage speaks of God giving His message through stammering lips and with a foreign tongue, echoing the idea presented in Ezekiel that God's word can penetrate even when the delivery might seem hindered by language.
pulpitEzekiel 3:6: "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."
Verse 6. - Surely, if I sent thee to them, etc. The "surely" represents the Hebrew "if not" taken as a strong affirmation, just as "if" in Psalm 95:11 represents a strong negation; compare the use of the fuller formula jurandi in 1 Samuel 3:17; 2 Samuel 3:35; 2 Samuel 19:13; and of the same in Deuteronomy 1:35…
pooleEzekiel 3:6: "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."
This verse is much what the former, yet strengthens and illustrates what is laid down there. Many people here may be, according to the comprehensiveness of the Hebrew word, either numerous, whose multitudes would be their pride, and tempt them to deride thee; or, mighty in valour and feats of war and policy, w…
God is highlighting Israel's stubbornness by contrasting them with foreign nations. Even people with "strange speech and a hard language" that Ezekiel couldn't understand would have listened, showing that Israel's refusal wasn't due to the message's complexity, but their own hardened hearts.
God is telling Ezekiel that his message isn't for distant, foreign nations whose languages he wouldn't understand. Instead, the prophet is being sent to his own people, Israel, highlighting their stubbornness by contrasting them with hypothetical, more receptive foreigners. This sets up the challenge that follows: even though Ezekiel's own people speak his language, they are less likely to listen than these imagined foreign groups would have been.
God is telling Ezekiel that his message isn't for distant, foreign nations whose languages he wouldn't understand. Instead, the prophet is being sent to his own people, Israel, highlighting their stubbornness by contrasting them with hypothetical, more receptive foreigners. This sets up the challenge that follows: even though Ezekiel's own people speak his language, they are less likely to listen than these imagined foreign groups would have been.
"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. But the house of Israel will not be willing to listen to you, for they are not willing t…" — God is highlighting Israel's stubbornness by contrasting them with foreign nations. Even people with "strange speech and a hard language" that Ezekiel couldn't understand would have listened, showing…
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Last reviewed October 2026
