Ezekiel 3:26

3:26 I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth so that you will be silent and unable to reprove ¹  them, for they are a rebellious house.

Ezekiel 24:27

24:27 On that day you will be able to speak again; ²  you will talk with the fugitive and be silent no longer. You will be an object lesson for them, and they will know that I am the Lord.”

Ezekiel 33:22

33:22 Now the hand of the Lord had been on me ³  the evening before the refugee reached me, but the Lord ⁴  opened my mouth by the time the refugee arrived ⁵  in the morning; he opened my mouth and I was no longer unable to speak. ⁶ 

Psalms 51:15

51:15 O Lord, give me the words! ⁷ 

Then my mouth will praise you. ⁸ 

Amos 3:7-8

3:7 Certainly the sovereign Lord does nothing without first revealing his plan to his servants the prophets.

3:8 A lion has roared! ⁹  Who is not afraid?

The sovereign Lord has spoken! Who can refuse to prophesy? ¹⁰ 

Luke 21:15

21:15 For I will give you the words ¹¹  along with the wisdom ¹²  that none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict.

Colossians 4:3-4

4:3 At the same time pray ¹³  for us too, that ¹⁴  God may open a door for the message ¹⁵  so that we may proclaim ¹⁶  the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. ¹⁷  4:4 Pray that I may make it known as I should. ¹⁸ 

¹ tn Heb “you will not be to them a reprover.” In Isa 29:21 and Amos 5:10 “a reprover” issued rebuke at the city gate.

² tn Heb “your mouth will open.”

³ tn The other occurrences of the phrase “the hand of the Lord” in Ezekiel are in the context of prophetic visions.

⁴ tn Heb “he”; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁵ tn Heb “by the time of the arrival to me.” For clarity the translation specifies the refugee as the one who arrived.

⁶ sn Ezekiel’s God-imposed muteness was lifted (see 3:26).

⁷ tn Heb “open my lips.” The imperfect verbal form is used here to express the psalmist’s wish or request.

⁸ tn Heb “and my mouth will declare your praise.”

⁹ sn The roar of the lion is here a metaphor for impending judgment (see 1:2; cf. 3:4, 12). Verses 7-8 justify Amos’ prophetic ministry and message of warning and judgment. The people should expect a prophetic message prior to divine action.

¹⁰ sn Who can refuse to prophesy? When a message is revealed, the prophet must speak, and the news of impending judgment should cause people to fear.

¹¹ tn Grk “a mouth.” It is a metonymy and refers to the reply the Lord will give to them.

¹² tn Grk “and wisdom.”

¹³ tn Though προσευχόμενοι (proseucomenoi) is an adverbial participle related to the previous imperative, προσκαρτερεῖτε (proskartereite), it is here translated as an independent clause due to requirements of contemporary English style.

¹⁴ tn The ἵνα (Jina) clause has been rendered as substantival here, indicating the content of the prayer rather than the purpose for it. These two ideas are very similar and difficult to differentiate in this passage, but the conjunction ἵνα following a verb of praying is generally regarded as giving the content of the prayer.

¹⁵ tn Grk “that God may open for us a door of the word to speak the mystery of Christ.” The construction in Greek is somewhat awkward in this clause. The translation attempts to simplify this structure somewhat and yet communicate exactly what Paul is asking for.

¹⁶ tn Or “so that we may speak.”

¹⁷ tn Or “in prison.”

¹⁸ tn The phrase begins with the ἵνα (Jina) clause and is subordinate to the imperative προσκαρτερεῖτε (proskartereite) in v. 2. The reference to the idea that Paul must make it known indicates that this clause is probably best viewed as purpose and not content, like the ἵνα of v. 3. It is the second purpose stated in the context; the first is expressed through the infinitive λαλῆσαι (lalhsai) in v. 3. The term “pray” at the beginning of the sentence is intended to pick up the imperative of v. 3.