Ezekiel 3:12–15, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
Ezekiel 3:12–15
The Spirit Carries Ezekiel to the Stunned Exiles
The Spirit lifts him amid the sound of glory
Then the Spirit took him up, and he heard behind him a voice of a great rushing, saying, Blessed be the glory of the LORD from his place. The noise of the living creatures' wings touching one another and the noise of the wheels is a great rushing.
So the Spirit lifts him up and takes him away, and he goes in bitterness, in the heat of his spirit; but the hand of the LORD is strong upon him. Transport does not cancel grief.
Seven days among the stunned at Tel-abib
He comes to them of the captivity at Tel-abib, that dwelt by the river of Chebar, and sits where they sit, and remains there astonished among them seven days. The first pastoral act after the throne vision is sitting with the displaced.
The report does not supply a method for inducing altered states, and it does not dismiss Ezekiel's bitterness as madness. Sitting overwhelmed is part of the call, not a defect to mock.
How this should shape us
After a great seeing, sit with people before you perform. Do not chase transport as a spiritual technique, and do not pathologize a prophet's grief among the exiles.
Teach it back
Explain Ezekiel 3:12–15 in your own words. Name its place in Ezekiel, one source-controlled observation, one uncertainty, one enduring truth, and one harmful use the passage does not authorize.
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Go deeper
The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.
Where careful interpreters disagreeThe strongest options and their difficulties
Where do responsible readings differ?
Best judgment: The transport report does not supply a method for inducing altered states or dismissing Ezekiel's grief as madness.
How certain? probableResearch trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete thought-unit coverage.
Ezekiel 3:12–15, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology checked at the exact unit without treating morphology as a critical apparatus or interpretation.
Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Ezek.xml, OSIS 3:12–15
Supports: Verse-level controls for difficult Hebrew, syntax, older KJV language, dates, place names, textual issues, vision language, and material alternatives.
Official NET Ezekiel PDF, exact translator, study, and textual notes attached to Ezekiel 3:12–15
Supports: Reader-oriented historical, literary, theological, and pastoral synthesis with visible alternatives and ancient-to-modern limits.
Enter the Bible Ezekiel course, Summary, Background, Introductory Issues, Outline: call and opening vision; applied to Ezekiel 3:12–15
Supports: Current university-level literary-historical synthesis and interpretive questions, including ethical attention to gendered rhetoric and the final vision.
Yale Bible Study, Jeremiah and Ezekiel, Ezekiel Part 1 study guide: exile, prophet-priest identity, and throne vision; applied to Ezekiel 3:12–15
Supports: Displaced identity, false hope, durable collective hope, restoration, land, temple, transformed community, and their limits.
Hiebel, 'Hope in Exile,' Religions 10.8 (2019), pp. 1-16, sections on Ezekiel 13, 20, 34-37, and 40-48; applied to Ezekiel 3:12–15
Sources for This Section
These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete thought-unit coverage.
Exact location: Ezekiel 3:12–15, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Ezekiel
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology checked at the exact unit without treating morphology as a critical apparatus or interpretation.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Ezek.xml, OSIS 3:12–15
Open the fixed Hebrew Ezekiel file ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible Notes: Ezekiel
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2016; current official PDF
Supports: Verse-level controls for difficult Hebrew, syntax, older KJV language, dates, place names, textual issues, vision language, and material alternatives.
Exact location: Official NET Ezekiel PDF, exact translator, study, and textual notes attached to Ezekiel 3:12–15
Open the official NET Ezekiel PDF ↗modern scholarly book course
Ezekiel course: summary, outline, background, introductory issues, themes, and passage studies
Alan G. Padgett; revised by Tyler Mayfield
Enter the Bible, Luther Seminary, revised June 2023
Supports: Reader-oriented historical, literary, theological, and pastoral synthesis with visible alternatives and ancient-to-modern limits.
Exact location: Enter the Bible Ezekiel course, Summary, Background, Introductory Issues, Outline: call and opening vision; applied to Ezekiel 3:12–15
Open the Enter the Bible Ezekiel course ↗open university study guide series
Jeremiah and Ezekiel: Ezekiel Parts 1-3 Study Guides
Joel S. Baden and Jacqueline Vayntrub
Yale Bible Study, 2024
Supports: Current university-level literary-historical synthesis and interpretive questions, including ethical attention to gendered rhetoric and the final vision.
Exact location: Yale Bible Study, Jeremiah and Ezekiel, Ezekiel Part 1 study guide: exile, prophet-priest identity, and throne vision; applied to Ezekiel 3:12–15
Open the Yale Jeremiah and Ezekiel course ↗peer reviewed open access literary and theological article
Hope in Exile: In Conversation with Ezekiel
Janina M. Hiebel
Religions 10.8, article 476, 2019
Supports: Displaced identity, false hope, durable collective hope, restoration, land, temple, transformed community, and their limits.
Exact location: Hiebel, 'Hope in Exile,' Religions 10.8 (2019), pp. 1-16, sections on Ezekiel 13, 20, 34-37, and 40-48; applied to Ezekiel 3:12–15
Open Hiebel on hope in Ezekiel ↗