Ezekiel 23:1 is a short statement of how the message that follows came to the prophet. It says that the word of the LORD arrived for Ezekiel, and that this was not the first time it had happened. The verse introduces a new oracle, so it is less a teaching in itself than a doorway into one of the Bible’s most direct and difficult passages about Israel’s unfaithfulness. The speaker is God, and the one receiving the word is Ezekiel, a priest who had been taken into exile in Babylon.
The LORD’s word came again to me, saying…
Ezekiel 23:1 (WEB)
What Ezekiel 23:1 Means
The phrase “the LORD’s word came” is a common formula in the prophets. It means that Ezekiel did not decide on his own what to say. He received a message from God, which he then delivered to the people. The word “again” signals that this is one in a series of such messages, so the reader should understand that the book is built as a steady stream of divine speech rather than a single sermon.
The verse does not explain the content of the message. It only sets the stage. What it does promise is that God is actively speaking to His people even in exile, far from the temple in Jerusalem. It does not promise comfort or an easy reading. Its job is to tell you that what comes next carries the weight of God’s own voice, which is why the verses after it are so pointed.
The Context of Ezekiel 23:1
The book of Ezekiel was written by the prophet himself, who was carried to Babylon in the first deportation around 597 BC. He ministered to the exiles beside the Chebar canal and spoke to a community that had lost its land, its king, and its temple. His audience was both the exiles and, through them, the people who remained in Judah, who needed to understand why the judgment had fallen.
Ezekiel 23 comes in a section of the book dealing with God’s judgment on Judah and Israel. The verses just before it in the surrounding passage describe two sisters, Oholah and Oholibah, who represent Samaria and Jerusalem, and who are portrayed as having been unfaithful to God from their youth. Because verse 1 opens the next stage of that account, it tells you that the picture being drawn is grounded in a divine message and is meant to be heard as God’s own accusation and warning.
Key Phrases in Ezekiel 23:1
Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you,” says the LORD, “thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you hope and a future.
(WEB)
Jeremiah wrote to exiles in Babylon at nearly the same time as Ezekiel, and this verse shows God speaking hope into the same painful circumstances. Reading it alongside Ezekiel 23:1 reminds you that the divine word that judges Israel also plans for her future.
Isaiah 55:11
So is my word that goes out of my mouth: it will not return to me void, but it will accomplish that which I please, and it will prosper in the thing I sent it to do.
(WEB)
This verse describes God’s word as something that does not return empty but accomplishes what He intends. It deepens the sense of Ezekiel 23:1 by showing that the message introduced here carries real power and purpose.
A Short Prayer From Ezekiel 23:1
Lord, you spoke to Ezekiel in a foreign land, and you have not stopped speaking to your people since. Help me to hear your voice clearly today, in your Word and in the quiet places of my heart. When I feel far from home or unsure of what to do, remind me that you are still near and still speaking. Teach me to listen with the same readiness that Ezekiel showed, and give me the courage to respond faithfully to whatever you say. Amen.
