John Gill Commentary Ezekiel 20:46

"Son of man, set thy face toward the south, and drop [thy word] toward the south, and prophesy against the forest of the field in the South;" — Ezekiel 20:46 (ASV)

Son of man, set your 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) (4:6) 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 your 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.