3:26 you shall be mute. The length and nature of Ezekiel’s speechlessness is one of the most debated issues in the book. Whatever its beginning, it lasted until word reached the exiles that the city of Jerusalem had been destroyed (24:27; 33:22; cf. 29:21). The prophet was not completely mute, but spoke only when he received revelation from God. Ezekiel delivered many oracles to the exiles in the six years between his call and the destruction of Jerusalem.