Son of man, set thy face toward the south, and drop thy word toward the south, and prophesy against the forest of the south field;

Son of man, set thy face against the way of the south, and drop towards the south, and prophesy against the forest of the south field.

Son of man, set thy face toward the south, and drop words against the south, and prophesy against the forest of the south field;

Son of man, set thy face towards the south, and drop thy word towards the south, and prophesy against the forest of the south field;

Son of man, set thy face the way of Teman, and prophesy unto the south, and prophesy unto the forest of the field, the south;

Son of man, let your face be turned to the south, let your words be dropped to the south, and be a prophet against the woodland of the South;

'Son of man, set thy face toward the South, and preach toward the South, and prophesy against the forest of the field in the South;

"Son of man, set your face against the way of the south, and pour in drops toward Africa, and prophesy against the forest of the field of the meridian.

In this verse occur three Hebrew synonyms for "south," denoting:
(1) the region on the right, Teman 1-Samuel 23:24;
(2) the region of dryness, Negeb Joshua 15:4;
(3) the region of brightness, Darom Deuteronomy 33:23.
The variety of terms helps the force of the application. Chebar is in the north of Babylonia; from the north the Chaldaeans came upon Judaea (see the Ezekiel 1:4 note).

Set thy face toward the south - Towards Judea, which lay south from Babylon, or Mesopotamia, where the prophet then dwelt.
The forest of the south field - The city of Jerusalem, as full of inhabitants as the forest is of trees.

Son of man, set thy face toward the south, and drop [thy word] toward (x) the south, and prophesy against the forest of the south field;
(x) For Judah stood south from Babylon.

Son of man, set thy force toward the south,.... The land of Judea, which lay south of Babylon, where the prophet now was, as Babylon lay north of that, Jeremiah 1:14 to set his face was to speak freely and boldly, with courage and constancy, and without fear and dread, to the inhabitants of it; and as a token of the Lord's face being set against them for their sins. The Targum is,
"take a prophecy towards the way of the south.''
And drop thy word toward the south; or prophesy, as the Targum; doctrine or prophecy being compared to rain, and the delivery of it to the dropping or distilling of rain; which falls gently, gradually, successively, and oftentimes with weight, and to good purpose; see Deuteronomy 32:2, which metaphorical phrase is explained in the next clause:
and prophesy against the forest of the south field; the city of Jerusalem, in the land of Judea, which was very full of people, as a forest of trees; but these barren and unfruitful, as the trees of the wood generally are; and a rendezvous of wicked persons, comparable to beasts of prey, that haunt in woods and forests.

south . . . south . . . south--three different Hebrew words, to express the certainty of the divine displeasure resting on the region specified. The third term is from a root meaning "dry," referring to the sun's heat in the south; representing the burning judgments of God on the southern parts of Judea, of which Jerusalem was the capital.
set thy face--determinately. The prophets used to turn themselves towards those who were to be the subjects of their prophecies.
drop--as the rain, which flows in a continuous stream, sometimes gently (Deuteronomy 32:2), sometimes violently (Amos 7:16; Micah 2:6, Margin), as here.
forest--the densely populated country of Judea; trees representing people.

The south - Look toward Jerusalem, and the land of Canaan. Drop thy word - Let thy word distil, begin with softer words, before thou shower down with the vehemency of a storm. The forest - Jerusalem, which was become like a forest.