Ezekiel 1:4

1:4 As I watched, I noticed ¹  a windstorm ²  coming from the north – an enormous cloud, with lightning flashing, ³  such that bright light ⁴  rimmed it and came from ⁵  it like glowing amber ⁶  from the middle of a fire.

Ezekiel 3:27

3:27 But when I speak with you, I will loosen your tongue ⁷  and you must say to them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says.’ Those who listen will listen, but the indifferent will refuse, ⁸  for they are a rebellious house.

Ezekiel 4:14

4:14 And I said, “Ah, sovereign Lord, I have never been ceremonially defiled before. I have never eaten a carcass or an animal torn by wild beasts; from my youth up, unclean meat ⁹  has never entered my mouth.”

Ezekiel 5:11

5:11 “Therefore, as surely as I live, says the sovereign Lord, because you defiled my sanctuary with all your detestable idols and with all your abominable practices, I will withdraw; my eye will not pity you, nor will I spare ¹⁰  you.

Ezekiel 6:3

6:3 Say, ‘Mountains of Israel, ¹¹  Hear the word of the sovereign Lord! ¹²  This is what the sovereign Lord says to the mountains and the hills, to the ravines and the valleys: I am bringing ¹³  a sword against you, and I will destroy your high places. ¹⁴ 

Ezekiel 7:19

7:19 They will discard their silver in the streets, and their gold will be treated like filth. ¹⁵  Their silver and gold will not be able to deliver them on the day of the Lord’s fury. ¹⁶  They will not satisfy their hunger or fill their stomachs because their wealth ¹⁷  was the obstacle leading to their iniquity. ¹⁸ 

Ezekiel 7:26

7:26 Disaster after disaster will come, and one rumor after another. They will seek a vision from a prophet; priestly instruction will disappear, along with counsel from the elders.

Ezekiel 13:13

13:13 “‘Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: In my rage I will make a violent wind break out. In my anger there will be a deluge of rain and hailstones in destructive fury.

Ezekiel 13:20

13:20 “‘Therefore, this is what the sovereign Lord says: Take note ¹⁹  that I am against your wristbands with which you entrap people’s lives ²⁰  like birds. I will tear them from your arms and will release the people’s lives, which you hunt like birds.

Ezekiel 14:6

14:6 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Return! Turn from your idols, and turn your faces away from your abominations.

Ezekiel 14:16

14:16 Even if these three men were in it, as surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, they could not save their own sons or daughters; they would save only their own lives, and the land would become desolate.

Ezekiel 14:20

14:20 Even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, they could not save their own son or daughter; they would save only their own lives by their righteousness.

Ezekiel 16:7

16:7 I made you plentiful like sprouts in a field; you grew tall and came of age so that you could wear jewelry. Your breasts had formed and your hair had grown, but you were still naked and bare.

Ezekiel 16:33

16:33 All prostitutes receive payment, ²¹  but instead you give gifts to every one of your lovers. You bribe them to come to you from all around for your sexual favors!

Ezekiel 16:45

16:45 You are the daughter of your mother, who detested her husband and her sons, and you are the sister of your sisters who detested their husbands and their sons. Your mother was a Hittite and your father an Amorite.

Ezekiel 17:3

17:3 Say to them: ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: ²² 

“‘A great eagle ²³  with broad wings, long feathers, ²⁴ 

with full plumage which was multi-hued, ²⁵ 

came to Lebanon ²⁶  and took the top of the cedar.

Ezekiel 17:16

17:16 “‘As surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, surely in the city ²⁷  of the king who crowned him, whose oath he despised and whose covenant he broke – in the middle of Babylon he will die!

Ezekiel 17:22

17:22 “‘This is what the sovereign Lord says:

“‘I will take a sprig ²⁸  from the lofty top of the cedar and plant it. ²⁹ 

I will pluck from the top one of its tender twigs;

I myself will plant it on a high and lofty mountain.

Ezekiel 20:28

20:28 I brought them to the land which I swore ³⁰  to give them, but whenever they saw any high hill or leafy tree, they offered their sacrifices there and presented the offerings that provoke me to anger. They offered their soothing aroma there and poured out their drink offerings.

Ezekiel 20:39

20:39 “‘As for you, O house of Israel, this is what the sovereign Lord says: Each of you go and serve your idols, ³¹  if you will not listen to me. ³²  But my holy name will not be profaned ³³  again by your sacrifices ³⁴  and your idols.

Ezekiel 20:41

20:41 When I bring you out from the nations and gather you from the lands where you are scattered, I will accept you along with your soothing aroma. I will display my holiness among you in the sight of the nations.

Ezekiel 20:47

20:47 and say to the scrub land of the Negev, ‘Hear the word of the Lord: This is what the sovereign Lord says: Look here, ³⁵  I am about to start a fire in you, ³⁶  and it will devour every green tree and every dry tree in you. The flaming fire will not be extinguished, and the whole surface of the ground from the Negev to the north will be scorched by it.

Ezekiel 21:22

21:22 Into his right hand ³⁷  comes the portent for Jerusalem – to set up battering rams, to give the signal ³⁸  for slaughter, to shout out the battle cry, ³⁹  to set up battering rams against the gates, to erect a siege ramp, to build a siege wall.

Ezekiel 21:24

21:24 “Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: ‘Because you have brought up ⁴⁰  your own guilt by uncovering your transgressions and revealing your sins through all your actions, for this reason you will be taken by force. ⁴¹ 

Ezekiel 22:18

22:18 “Son of man, the house of Israel has become slag to me. All of them are like bronze, tin, iron, and lead in the furnace; ⁴²  they are the worthless slag of silver.

Ezekiel 22:28

22:28 Her prophets coat their messages with whitewash. ⁴³  They see false visions and announce lying omens for them, saying, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says,’ when the Lord has not spoken.

Ezekiel 23:4

23:4 Oholah was the name of the older and Oholibah ⁴⁴  the name of her younger sister. They became mine, and gave birth to sons and daughters. ⁴⁵  Oholah is Samaria and Oholibah is Jerusalem.

Ezekiel 24:21

24:21 Say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Realize I am about to desecrate my sanctuary – the source of your confident pride, ⁴⁶  the object in which your eyes delight, ⁴⁷  and your life’s passion. ⁴⁸  Your very own sons and daughters whom you have left behind will die ⁴⁹  by the sword.

Ezekiel 25:14

25:14 I will exact my vengeance upon Edom by the hand of my people Israel. They will carry out in Edom my anger and rage; they will experience ⁵⁰  my vengeance, declares the sovereign Lord.’”

Ezekiel 26:7

26:7 “For this is what the sovereign Lord says: Take note that ⁵¹  I am about to bring King Nebuchadrezzar ⁵²  of Babylon, king of kings, against Tyre from the north, with horses, chariots, and horsemen, an army and hordes of people.

Ezekiel 28:25

28:25 “‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: When I regather the house of Israel from the peoples where they are dispersed, I will reveal my sovereign power ⁵³  over them in the sight of the nations, and they will live in their land that I gave to my servant Jacob.

Ezekiel 30:6

30:6 “‘This is what the Lord says:

Egypt’s supporters will fall;

her confident pride will crumble. ⁵⁴ 

From Migdol to Syene ⁵⁵  they will die by the sword within her,

declares the sovereign Lord.

Ezekiel 30:22

30:22 Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, ⁵⁶  I am against ⁵⁷  Pharaoh king of Egypt, and I will break his arms, the strong arm and the broken one, and I will make the sword drop from his hand.

Ezekiel 31:15-16

31:15 “‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: On the day it ⁵⁸  went down to Sheol I caused observers to lament. ⁵⁹  I covered it with the deep and held back its rivers; its plentiful water was restrained. I clothed Lebanon in black for it, and all the trees of the field wilted because of it. 31:16 I made the nations shake at the sound of its fall, when I threw it down to Sheol, along with those who descend to the pit. ⁶⁰  Then all the trees of Eden, the choicest and the best of Lebanon, all that were well-watered, were comforted in the earth below.

Ezekiel 32:2

32:2 “Son of man, sing a lament for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say to him:

“‘You were like a lion ⁶¹  among the nations,

but you are a monster in the seas;

you thrash about in your streams,

stir up the water with your feet,

and muddy your ⁶²  streams.

Ezekiel 33:8

33:8 When I say to the wicked, ‘O wicked man, you must certainly die,’ ⁶³  and you do not warn ⁶⁴  the wicked about his behavior, ⁶⁵  the wicked man will die for his iniquity, but I will hold you accountable for his death. ⁶⁶ 

Ezekiel 33:11

33:11 Say to them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but prefer that the wicked change his behavior ⁶⁷  and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil deeds! ⁶⁸  Why should you die, O house of Israel?’

Ezekiel 33:27

33:27 “This is what you must say to them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: As surely as I live, those living in the ruins will die ⁶⁹  by the sword, those in the open field I will give to the wild beasts for food, and those who are in the strongholds and caves will die of disease.

Ezekiel 34:2

34:2 “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds ⁷⁰  of Israel; prophesy, and say to them – to the shepherds: ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves! Should not shepherds feed the flock?

Ezekiel 34:16

34:16 I will seek the lost and bring back the strays; I will bandage the injured and strengthen the sick, but the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them – with judgment!

Ezekiel 36:5

36:5 therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: Surely I have spoken in the fire of my zeal against the rest of the nations, and against all Edom, who with great joy and utter contempt have made my land their property and prey, because of its pasture.’

Ezekiel 38:13

38:13 Sheba and Dedan and the traders of Tarshish with all its young warriors ⁷¹  will say to you, “Have you come to loot? Have you assembled your armies to plunder, to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to haul away a great amount of spoils?”’

Ezekiel 38:16

38:16 You will advance ⁷²  against my people Israel like a cloud covering the earth. In the latter days I will bring you against my land so that the nations may acknowledge me, when before their eyes I magnify myself ⁷³  through you, O Gog.

Ezekiel 40:5

40:5 I saw ⁷⁴  a wall all around the outside of the temple. ⁷⁵  In the man’s hand was a measuring stick 10½ feet ⁷⁶  long. He measured the thickness of the wall ⁷⁷  as 10½ feet, ⁷⁸  and its height as 10½ feet.

Ezekiel 44:17

44:17 “‘When they enter the gates of the inner court, they must wear linen garments; they must not have any wool on them when they minister in the inner gates of the court and in the temple.

Ezekiel 46:14

46:14 And you ⁷⁹  will provide a grain offering with it morning by morning, a sixth of an ephah, and a third of a gallon ⁸⁰  of olive oil to moisten the choice flour, as a grain offering to the Lord; this is a perpetual statute.

Ezekiel 47:22

47:22 You must allot it as an inheritance among yourselves and for the foreigners who reside among you, who have fathered sons among you. You must treat them as native-born among the people of Israel; they will be allotted an inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel. ⁸¹ 

Ezekiel 48:1

The Tribal Portions

48:1 “These are the names of the tribes: From the northern end beside the road of Hethlon to Lebo-hamath, as far as Hazar-enan (which is on the border of Damascus, toward the north beside Hamath), extending from the east side to the west, Dan will have one portion.

[1:4]  ¹ tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.

[1:4]  ² sn Storms are often associated with appearances of God (see Nah 1:3; Ps 18:12). In some passages, the “storm” (סְעָרָה, sÿ’arah) may be a whirlwind (Job 38:1, 2 Kgs 2:1).

[1:4]  ³ tn Heb “fire taking hold of itself,” perhaps repeatedly. The phrase occurs elsewhere only in Exod 9:24 in association with a hailstorm. The LXX interprets the phrase as fire flashing like lightning, but it is possibly a self-sustaining blaze of divine origin. The LXX also reverses the order of the descriptors, i.e., “light went around it and fire flashed like lightning within it.”

[1:4]  ⁴ tn Or “radiance.” The term also occurs in 1:27b.

[1:4]  ⁵ tc Or “was in it”; cf. LXX ἐν τῷ μέσῳ αὐτοῦ (en tw mesw autou, “in its midst”).

[1:4]  ⁶ tn The LXX translates חַשְׁמַל (khashmal) with the word ἤλεκτρον (hlektron, “electrum”; so NAB), an alloy of silver and gold, perhaps envisioning a comparison to the glow of molten metal.

[3:27]  ⁷ tn Heb “open your mouth.”

[3:27]  ⁸ tn Heb “the listener will listen, the refuser will refuse.” Because the word for listening can also mean obeying, the nuance may be that the obedient will listen, or that the one who listens will obey. Also, although the verbs are not jussive as pointed in the MT, some translate them with a volitive sense: “the one who listens – let that one listen, the one who refuses – let that one refuse.”

[4:14]  ⁹ tn The Hebrew term refers to sacrificial meat not eaten by the appropriate time (Lev 7:18; 19:7).

[5:11]  ¹⁰ tn The meaning of the Hebrew term is primarily emotional: “to pity,” which in context implies an action, as in being moved by pity in order to spare them from the horror of their punishment.

[6:3]  ¹¹ tn The phrase “mountains of Israel” occurs only in the book of Ezekiel (6:2, 3; 19:9; 33:28; 34:13, 14; 35:12; 36:1, 4, 8; 37:22; 38:8; 39:2, 4, 17). The expression refers to the whole land of Israel.

[6:3]  ¹² tn The introductory formula “Hear the word of the sovereign Lord” parallels a pronouncement delivered by the herald of a king (2 Kgs 18:28).

[6:3]  ¹³ tn Heb “Look I, I am bringing.” The repetition of the pronoun draws attention to the speaker. The construction also indicates that the action is soon to come; the Lord is “about to bring a sword against” them.

[6:3]  ¹⁴ tn The Hebrew term refers to elevated platforms where pagan sacrifices were performed.

[7:19]  ¹⁵ tn The Hebrew term can refer to menstrual impurity. The term also occurs at the end of v. 20.

[7:19]  ¹⁶ sn Compare Zeph 1:18.

[7:19]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “it.” Apparently the subject is the silver and gold mentioned earlier (see L. C. Allen, Ezekiel [WBC], 1:102).

[7:19]  ¹⁸ tn The “stumbling block of their iniquity” is a unique phrase of the prophet Ezekiel (Ezek 14:3, 4, 7; 18:30; 44:12).

[13:20]  ¹⁹ tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.

[13:20]  ²⁰ tn Heb “human lives” or “souls.”

[16:33]  ²¹ tn The Hebrew word occurs only here in the OT.

[17:3]  ²² tn The parable assumes the defection of Zedekiah to Egypt and his rejection of Babylonian lordship.

[17:3]  ²³ sn The great eagle symbolizes Nebuchadnezzar (17:12).

[17:3]  ²⁴ tn Hebrew has two words for wings; it is unknown whether they are fully synonymous or whether one term distinguishes a particular part of the wing such as the wing coverts (nearest the shoulder), secondaries (mid-feathers of the wing) or primaries (last and longest section of the wing).

[17:3]  ²⁵ tn This term was used in 16:10, 13, and 18 of embroidered cloth.

[17:3]  ²⁶ sn In the parable Lebanon apparently refers to Jerusalem (17:12).

[17:16]  ²⁷ tn Heb “place.”

[17:22]  ²⁸ sn The language is analogous to messianic imagery in Isa 11:1; Zech 3:8; 6:4 although the technical terminology is not the same.

[17:22]  ²⁹ tc The LXX lacks “and plant it.”

[20:28]  ³⁰ tn Heb “which I lifted up my hand.”

[20:39]  ³¹ sn Compare the irony here to Amos 4:4 and Jer 44:25.

[20:39]  ³² tn Heb “and after, if you will not listen to me.” The translation leaves out “and after” for smoothness. The text is difficult. M. Greenberg (Ezekiel [AB], 1:374) suggests that it may mean “but afterwards, if you will not listen to me…” with an unspoken threat.

[20:39]  ³³ sn A similar concept may be found in Lev 18:21; 20:3.

[20:39]  ³⁴ tn Or “gifts.”

[20:47]  ³⁵ tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.

[20:47]  ³⁶ tn Fire also appears as a form of judgment in Ezek 15:4-7; 19:12, 14.

[21:22]  ³⁷ tn Or “on the right side,” i.e., the omen mark on the right side of the liver.

[21:22]  ³⁸ tn Heb “to open the mouth” for slaughter.

[21:22]  ³⁹ tn Heb “to raise up a voice in a battle cry.”

[21:24]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “caused to be remembered.”

[21:24]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “Because you have brought to remembrance your guilt when your transgressions are uncovered so that your sins are revealed in all your deeds – because you are remembered, by the hand you will be seized.”

[22:18]  ⁴² tn For similar imagery, see Isa 1:21-26; Jer 6:27-30.

[22:28]  ⁴³ tn Heb “her prophets coat for themselves with whitewash.” The expression may be based on Ezek 13:10-15.

[23:4]  ⁴⁴ tn The names Oholah and Oholibah are both derived from the word meaning “tent.” The meaning of Oholah is “her tent,” while Oholibah means “my tent is in her.”

[23:4]  ⁴⁵ sn In this allegory the Lord is depicted as being the husband of two wives. The OT law prohibited a man from marrying sisters (Lev 18:18), but the practice is attested in the OT (cf. Jacob). The metaphor is utilized here for illustrative purposes and does not mean that the Lord condoned such a practice or bigamy in general.

[24:21]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “the pride of your strength” means “your strong pride.”

[24:21]  ⁴⁷ sn Heb “the delight of your eyes.” Just as Ezekiel was deprived of his beloved wife (v. 16, the “desire” of his “eyes”) so the Lord would be forced to remove the object of his devotion, the temple, which symbolized his close relationship to his covenant people.

[24:21]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “the object of compassion of your soul.” The accentuation in the traditional Hebrew text indicates that the descriptive phrases (“the source of your confident pride, the object in which your eyes delight, and your life’s passion”) modify the preceding “my sanctuary.”

[24:21]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “fall.”

[25:14]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “know.”

[26:7]  ⁵¹ tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) draws attention to something.

[26:7]  ⁵² tn Heb “Nebuchadrezzar” is a variant and more correct spelling of Nebuchadnezzar, as the Babylonian name Nabu-kudurri-usur has an an “r” rather than an “n.”

[28:25]  ⁵³ tn Or “reveal my holiness.” See verse 22.

[30:6]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “come down.”

[30:6]  ⁵⁵ sn Syene is known as Aswan today.

[30:22]  ⁵⁶ tn The word h!nn@h indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.

[30:22]  ⁵⁷ tn Or “I challenge you.” The phrase “I am against you” may be a formula for challenging someone to combat or a duel. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:201-2, and P. Humbert, “Die Herausforderungsformel ‘h!nn#n' ?l?K>,’” ZAW 45 (1933): 101-8.

[31:15]  ⁵⁸ tn Or “he.”

[31:15]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “I caused lamentation.” D. I. Block (Ezekiel [NICOT], 2:194-95) proposes an alternative root which would give the meaning “I gated back the waters,” i.e., shut off the water supply.

[31:16]  ⁶⁰ sn For the expression “going down to the pit,” see Ezek 26:20; 32:18, 24, 29.

[32:2]  ⁶¹ tn The lion was a figure of royalty (Ezek 19:1-9).

[32:2]  ⁶² tc The Hebrew reads “their streams”; the LXX reads “your streams.”

[33:8]  ⁶³ tn The same expression occurs in Gen 2:17.

[33:8]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “and you do not speak to warn.”

[33:8]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “way.”

[33:8]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “and his blood from your hand I will seek.”

[33:11]  ⁶⁷ tn Heb “turn from his way.”

[33:11]  ⁶⁸ tn Heb “ways.” This same word is translated “behavior” earlier in the verse.

[33:27]  ⁶⁹ tn Heb “fall.”

[34:2]  ⁷⁰ tn The term shepherd is applied to kings in the ancient Near East. In the OT the Lord is often addressed as shepherd of Israel (Gen 49:24; Ps 8:1). The imagery of shepherds as Israel’s leaders is also employed (Jer 23:1-2).

[38:13]  ⁷¹ tn Heb “young lions.”

[38:16]  ⁷² tn Heb “come up.”

[38:16]  ⁷³ tn Or “reveal my holiness.”

[40:5]  ⁷⁴ tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.

[40:5]  ⁷⁵ tn Heb “house.”

[40:5]  ⁷⁶ tn Heb “a measuring stick of six cubits, [each] a cubit and a handbreadth.” The measuring units here and in the remainder of this section are the Hebrew “long” cubit, consisting of a cubit (about 18 inches or 45 cm) and a handbreadth (about 3 inches or 7.5 cm), for a total of 21 inches (52.5 cm). Therefore the measuring stick in the man’s hand was 10.5 feet (3.15 meters) long. Because modern readers are not familiar with the cubit as a unit of measurement, and due to the additional complication of the “long” cubit as opposed to the regular cubit, all measurements have been converted to American standard feet and inches, with the Hebrew measurements and the metric equivalents given in the notes.

[40:5]  ⁷⁷ tn Heb “building.”

[40:5]  ⁷⁸ tn Heb “one rod [or “reed”]” (also a second time in this verse, twice in v. 6, three times in v. 7, and once in v. 8).

[46:14]  ⁷⁹ tc Two medieval Hebrew mss, the LXX, the Syriac, and the Vulgate read the verb as third person singular.

[46:14]  ⁸⁰ tn Heb “a hin of oil.” A hin was about 1/16 of a bath. See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:266, and O. R. Sellers, “Weights,” IDB 4:835 g.

[47:22]  ⁸¹ sn A similar attitude toward non-Israelites is found in Isa 56:3-8.