Ezekiel 24:27

Eze 24:27 In that day shall thy mouth be opened to him which is escaped, and thou shalt speak, and be no more dumb: and thou shalt be a sign unto them; and they shall know that I [am] the LORD.

Ver. 27. In that day shall thy mouth be opened.] Meanwhile make use of a sacred silence, wait till a new prophecy concerning this people shall be committed unto thee, as was done Eze 33:1-33. Till then, prophesy against foreigners, Ammonites, Tyrians, Egyptians.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Verse 27. In that day shall thy mouth be opened] That is, When some one who shall have escaped from Jerusalem, having arrived among the captives, shall inform them of the destruction of the city, the temple, the royal family, and the people at large; till then he might suppress his tears and lamentations. And we find from Eze 33:21, that one did actually escape from the city, and informed the prophet and his brethren in captivity that the city was smitten.

Thus he was not only a prophet to foretell such things, but he was also a sign or portent, shadowing them out by circumstances in his own person and family; and thus the prediction, agreeing so perfectly with the event, proved that the previous information was from the Lord.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(27) Shall thy mouth be opened.—The close of the chapter (Eze_24:25-27) tells the prophet that he shall be informed of the fall of Jerusalem by an escaped fugitive. After that his mouth shall again be opened to utter his prophecies to the captives. Meantime, for almost two years (comp. Eze_24:1 with Eze_33:21), from the investment of the city until he heard of its fall, Ezekiel gave no prophecy to the Israelites. He had abundantly foretold the result, and now awaited the issue in silence. He has, however, recorded a considerable number of prophecies against foreign nations (Ezekiel 25-32).

Here one great division of the prophecies of Ezekiel closes. They have been hitherto occupied almost exclusively with reproofs for sin and with warnings of impending judgment upon his people. The following prophecies, as far as Ezekiel 32, are indeed of the same character, but are directed entirely against foreign nations. This collection, as noticed in the Introduction, § 4, is not arranged chronologically like the rest of the book, but on the plan of putting together the prophecies against each nation. Eze_29:17-21 is dated more than sixteen years after the fall of Jerusalem, and Ezekiel 32 about two months after the tidings of that event; all the others which are dated are before, but only a little before, the capture of Jerusalem. Most of those undated seem to be in their chronological place, except that the first of them (Ezekiel 25) was evidently after the fall of Jerusalem.

After that great judgment was made known to the prophet, there is a marked change in his utterances, and from that time his general tone is far more cheering and consolatory.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

27. opened to him] Or, with him, i.e. when he comes. Cf. Eze_3:26-27, Eze_33:22. The last words of this verse recur to the prophet’s demeanour Eze_24:16-18.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

No more, if thou darest to speak before the Chaldeans, ver. 17. Reserve thy tears and lamentations for that time. (Calmet)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Shall thy mouth be opened, to speak freely to him that brings the news, and to the Jews afterward.

And thou shalt speak, and be no more dumb; from this prophecy for eighteen months during the siege he doth not prophesy of Israel, but of other nations.

Thou shalt be a sign; until the event, confirmed by eye-witness, shall convince the Jews, thou shalt by sign signify to them what is coming; and when it is come to pass according to thy word, they shall confess thou wert a true prophet sent of me, and they shall see that I am the Lord.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

27. Thou shalt speak, and be no more dumb — This intimates that from this date to the time of the coming of the messenger announcing the fall of Jerusalem some three years later, Ezekiel uttered no spoken prophecies, but remained in the depths of unutterable sorrow (Eze_24:16-17; Eze_24:26; Eze_33:21-22).

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The dumb mouth opened.

I THERE IS A TIME TO KEEP SILENCE. Ezekiel was not stricken dumb physically like Zacharias. He was silenced by circumstances and the will of God. Even a prophet may have to learn that "silence is golden." Consider the indications of the time to keep silence.

1. When one has nothing to say. It is a great mistake to speak because one ought to say something instead of waiting till there is something to be said. Prophets have not always messages to deliver. Poets are not always inspired.

2. When men will not hear. Ezekiel"s repeated discourses, and even his striking illustrative actions, had beer treated with indifference by the Jews. It is useless to "cast pearls before swine.

3. When events are speaking. God says, "Be still, and know that I am. (Psa_46:10) The awful voice of providence silences every utterance of man.

4. When we are called to reflect. We have too much talking and too little thinking. This is an age of expression. We have lost the art of reticence. The consequence is shallowness and instability. More silence would allow of a richer brooding thoughtfulness.

II EVENTS OPEN THE MOUTH OF THE SILENT. Ezekiel was to be silent in the grief of his sudden widowhood, and the Jews would be silenced by the frightful calamities of the siege of Jerusalem. Afterwards the prophet"s lips would be unsealed, and he would be able to speak to better purpose. Events help to this result:

1. In suggesting topics. The truest thought is inspired by fact. New occurrences give rise to new lessons. The age of literature follows the age of action, and great books spring up in the soil that has been fertilized by great deeds. The facts of the gospel history are the chief topics for Christian preaching. The new scenes of the life of Christ and the Acts of the Apostles are the inspiration of all evangelistic speech.

2. In inclining men to listen. Ezekiel was silenced by indifference; he was to be rendered eloquent again by a newly awakened interest. Now, this change was to be brought about through the instrumentality of external events. Thus God breaks up the fallow ground and prepares the soil to receive the seed of the Word.

3. In inducing faith. This is the principal cause of the change in the present instance. The Jews had refused to believe Ezekiel. But when his words had been verified by the occurrence of the calamities he had predicted, the skeptical hearers would be forced to acknowledge that he was a true prophet. The fulfillments of Christ"s prophecy in the growth of the kingdom from the grain of mustard seed to the great tree should incline people to listen to Christian teaching with faith.

III THE WISE TEACHER WILL SEIZE OPPORTUNITIES FOR SPEECH. His mission is to proclaim the will of his Master; and, though silence may be suitable on occasion, and room for thought is greatly to be desired, he must be on the watch for every opportunity of delivering his great message. It is a glorious time when inspired lips are unsealed. The mere babble of empty talk is not to be compared with such utterance. The Jews had it in the thunders of prophecy, and the early Christians in the gift of the cloven tongues. But every Christian teacher who has power to speak to his brother may receive Divine impulses which should give him words of helpfulness and healing. The great art is then to utter the word in season the right word, to the right person, in the right spirit, at the right moment.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

No more dumb - From this prophecy for eighteen months during the siege, he does not prophesy of Israel, but of other nations. Thou shalt be a sign - Until the event shall convince the Jews, thou shalt by sign, signify to them, what is coming.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

with the fugitive [Heb. אֶת הַפָּלִיט,] with the fugitive.

and you will speak and no longer be mute Because I said to you (3:26): “and you shall become mute, and you shall not be, etc.” From now on, they will see that your words are true, and you will no longer be mute from prophesying to them.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.