But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth: Although God made Ezekiel unable to speak, he still wanted Ezekiel to pass on his messages to the people. Therefore whenever God gave Ezekiel a message for them (when I speak with you), he enabled him to speak (I will open your mouth). Translators may render these two clauses as “But when I need you to deliver a message to them, I will give you back the ability to speak.”
And you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD’: The messages that Ezekiel gave to the people were direct messages from God. Thus one possible meaning of these two clauses is “and whenever you speak to them, they will be my words, that is, the words of your Lord Yahweh.” More likely, however, Thus says the Lord GOD should be understood as an introduction that Ezekiel could include with every message he passed on to the people. A model of these two clauses for this meaning is “and [when you speak my message to them,] you must say, ‘The Lord Yahweh says these things to you.’”
He that will hear, let him hear; and he that will refuse to hear, let him refuse: God had told Ezekiel earlier to preach his message whether the people listened or not (see 2.5, 7; 3.11). Now he repeats the same idea by telling him that some of them would listen, but others would not. Like Revised Standard Version, many versions take the Hebrew verbs rendered let him hear and let him refuse as jussives. Jussives are verbs with special emphasis showing intention or desired action. Thus let him hear has the sense of “I want him to hear” and let him refuse has the sense of “I want him to refuse.” But this meaning does not fit the context here. Nor is it necessary, because it is better to take the Hebrew words here as simple verbs, meaning “he will hear” and “he will refuse.” Good News Translation provides an excellent model for this sentence, saying “Some of them will listen, but some will ignore you” (similarly Contemporary English Version, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). Another possible model is “Some will listen and heed your words. Others will not.” As elsewhere, hear has the sense not merely of hearing or listening, but of heeding and obeying, of paying attention to.
For they are a rebellious house: See the comments on 2.5. Some will not pay attention because they are rebellious. This clause may be rendered “for they are a group [or, nation] of rebels” or “for these people are always rebelling [against me].”
Quoted with permission from Gross, Carl & Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on Ezekiel. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .