Yehezkiel 33:1-33
Konteks33:1 The word of the Lord came to me: 33:2 “Son of man, speak to your people, 1 and say to them, ‘Suppose I bring a sword against the land, and the people of the land take one man from their borders and make him their watchman. 33:3 He sees the sword coming against the land, blows the trumpet, 2 and warns the people, 3 33:4 but there is one who hears the sound of the trumpet yet does not heed the warning. Then the sword comes and sweeps him away. He will be responsible for his own death. 4 33:5 He heard the sound of the trumpet but did not heed the warning, so he is responsible for himself. 5 If he had heeded the warning, he would have saved his life. 33:6 But suppose the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people. Then the sword comes and takes one of their lives. He is swept away for his iniquity, 6 but I will hold the watchman accountable for that person’s death.’ 7
33:7 “As for you, son of man, I have made you a watchman 8 for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you must warn them on my behalf. 33:8 When I say to the wicked, ‘O wicked man, you must certainly die,’ 9 and you do not warn 10 the wicked about his behavior, 11 the wicked man will die for his iniquity, but I will hold you accountable for his death. 12 33:9 But if you warn the wicked man to change his behavior, 13 and he refuses to change, 14 he will die for his iniquity, but you have saved your own life.
33:10 “And you, son of man, say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what you have said: “Our rebellious acts and our sins have caught up with us, 15 and we are wasting away because of them. How then can we live?”’ 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 16 and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil deeds! 17 Why should you die, O house of Israel?’
33:12 “And you, son of man, say to your people, 18 ‘The righteousness of the righteous will not deliver him if he rebels. 19 As for the wicked, his wickedness will not make him stumble if he turns from it. 20 The righteous will not be able to live by his righteousness 21 if he sins.’ 22 33:13 Suppose I tell the righteous that he will certainly live, but he becomes confident in his righteousness and commits iniquity. None of his righteous deeds will be remembered; because of the iniquity he has committed he will die. 33:14 Suppose I say to the wicked, ‘You must certainly die,’ but he turns from his sin and does what is just and right. 33:15 He 23 returns what was taken in pledge, pays back what he has stolen, and follows the statutes that give life, 24 committing no iniquity. He will certainly live – he will not die. 33:16 None of the sins he has committed will be counted 25 against him. He has done what is just and right; he will certainly live.
33:17 “Yet your people 26 say, ‘The behavior 27 of the Lord is not right,’ 28 when it is their behavior that is not right. 33:18 When a righteous man turns from his godliness and commits iniquity, he will die for it. 33:19 When the wicked turns from his sin and does what is just and right, he will live because of it. 33:20 Yet you say, ‘The behavior of the Lord is not right.’ House of Israel, I will judge each of you according to his behavior.” 29
33:21 In the twelfth year of our exile, in the tenth month, on the fifth of the month, 30 a refugee came to me from Jerusalem 31 saying, “The city has been defeated!” 32 33:22 Now the hand of the Lord had been on me 33 the evening before the refugee reached me, but the Lord 34 opened my mouth by the time the refugee arrived 35 in the morning; he opened my mouth and I was no longer unable to speak. 36 33:23 The word of the Lord came to me: 33:24 “Son of man, the ones living in these ruins in the land of Israel are saying, ‘Abraham was only one man, yet he possessed the land, but we are many; surely the land has been given to us for a possession.’ 37 33:25 Therefore say to them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: You eat the meat with the blood still in it, 38 pray to 39 your idols, and shed blood. Do you really think you will possess 40 the land? 33:26 You rely 41 on your swords and commit abominable deeds; each of you defiles his neighbor’s wife. Will you possess the land?’
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 42 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. 33:28 I will turn the land into a desolate ruin; her confident pride will come to an end. The mountains of Israel will be so desolate no one will pass through them. 33:29 Then they will know that I am the Lord when I turn the land into a desolate ruin because of all the abominable deeds they have committed.’ 43
33:30 “But as for you, son of man, your people 44 (who are talking about you by the walls and at the doors of the houses) say to one another, 45 ‘Come hear the word that comes 46 from the Lord.’ 33:31 They come to you in crowds, 47 and they sit in front of you as 48 my people. They hear your words, but do not obey 49 them. For they talk lustfully, 50 and their heart is set on 51 their own advantage. 52 33:32 Realize 53 that to them you are like a sensual song, a beautiful voice and skilled musician. 54 They hear your words, but they do not obey them. 55 33:33 When all this comes true – and it certainly will 56 – then they will know that a prophet was among them.”
Yehezkiel 10:1--20:49
Konteks10:1 As I watched, I saw 57 on the platform 58 above the top of the cherubim something like a sapphire, resembling the shape of a throne, appearing above them. 10:2 The Lord 59 said to the man dressed in linen, “Go between the wheelwork 60 underneath the cherubim. 61 Fill your hands with burning coals from among the cherubim and scatter them over the city.” He went as I watched.
10:3 (The cherubim were standing on the south side 62 of the temple when the man went in, and a cloud filled the inner court.) 10:4 Then the glory of the Lord arose from the cherub and moved to the threshold of the temple. The temple was filled with the cloud while the court was filled with the brightness of the Lord’s glory. 10:5 The sound of the wings of the cherubim could be heard from the outer court, like the sound of the sovereign God 63 when he speaks.
10:6 When the Lord 64 commanded the man dressed in linen, “Take fire from within the wheelwork, from among the cherubim,” the man 65 went in and stood by one of the wheels. 66 10:7 Then one of the cherubim 67 stretched out his hand 68 toward the fire which was among the cherubim. He took some and put it into the hands of the man dressed in linen, who took it and left. 10:8 (The cherubim appeared to have the form 69 of human hands under their wings.)
10:9 As I watched, I noticed 70 four wheels by the cherubim, one wheel beside each cherub; 71 the wheels gleamed like jasper. 72 10:10 As for their appearance, all four of them looked the same, something like a wheel within a wheel. 73 10:11 When they 74 moved, they would go in any of the four directions they faced without turning as they moved; in the direction the head would turn they would follow 75 without turning as they moved, 10:12 along with their entire bodies, 76 their backs, their hands, and their wings. The wheels of the four of them were full of eyes all around. 10:13 As for their wheels, they were called “the wheelwork” 77 as I listened. 10:14 Each of the cherubim 78 had four faces: The first was the face of a cherub, 79 the second that of a man, the third that of a lion, and the fourth that of an eagle.
10:15 The cherubim rose up; these were the living beings 80 I saw at the Kebar River. 10:16 When the cherubim moved, the wheels moved beside them; when the cherubim spread 81 their wings to rise from the ground, the wheels did not move from their side. 10:17 When the cherubim 82 stood still, the wheels 83 stood still, and when they rose up, the wheels 84 rose up with them, for the spirit 85 of the living beings 86 was in the wheels. 87
10:18 Then the glory of the Lord moved away from the threshold of the temple and stopped above the cherubim. 10:19 The cherubim spread 88 their wings, and they rose up from the earth 89 while I watched (when they went the wheels went alongside them). They stopped at the entrance to the east gate of the Lord’s temple as the glory of the God of Israel hovered above them.
10:20 These were the living creatures 90 which I saw at the Kebar River underneath the God of Israel; I knew that they were cherubim. 10:21 Each had four faces; each had four wings and the form of human hands under the wings. 10:22 As for the form of their faces, they were the faces whose appearance I had seen at the Kebar River. Each one moved straight ahead.
11:1 A wind 91 lifted me up and brought me to the east gate of the Lord’s temple that faces the east. There, at the entrance of the gate, I noticed twenty-five men. Among them I saw Jaazaniah son of Azzur and Pelatiah son of Benaiah, officials of the people. 92 11:2 The Lord 93 said to me, “Son of man, these are the men who plot evil and give wicked advice in this city. 11:3 They say, 94 ‘The time is not near to build houses; 95 the city 96 is a cooking pot 97 and we are the meat in it.’ 11:4 Therefore, prophesy against them! Prophesy, son of man!”
11:5 Then the Spirit of the Lord came 98 upon me and said to me, “Say: This is what the Lord says: ‘This is what you are thinking, 99 O house of Israel; I know what goes through your minds. 100 11:6 You have killed many people in this city; you have filled its streets with corpses.’ 11:7 Therefore, this is what the sovereign Lord says: ‘The corpses you have dumped 101 in the midst of the city 102 are the meat, and this city 103 is the cooking pot, but I will take you out of it. 104 11:8 You fear the sword, so the sword I will bring against you,’ declares the sovereign Lord. 11:9 ‘But I will take you out of the city. 105 And I will hand you over to foreigners. I will execute judgments on you. 11:10 You will die by the sword; I will judge you at the border of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord. 11:11 This city will not be a cooking pot for you, and you will not 106 be meat within it; I will judge you at the border of Israel. 11:12 Then you will know that I am the Lord, whose statutes you have not followed and whose regulations you have not carried out. Instead you have behaved according to the regulations of the nations around you!’”
11:13 Now, while I was prophesying, Pelatiah son of Benaiah died. Then I threw myself face down and cried out with a loud voice, “Alas, sovereign Lord! You are completely wiping out the remnant of Israel!” 107
11:14 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 11:15 “Son of man, your brothers, 108 your relatives, 109 and the whole house of Israel, all of them are those to whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem 110 have said, ‘They have gone 111 far away from the Lord; to us this land has been given as a possession.’
11:16 “Therefore say: ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Although I have removed them far away among the nations and have dispersed them among the countries, I have been a little 112 sanctuary for them among the lands where they have gone.’
11:17 “Therefore say: ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: When I regather you from the peoples and assemble you from the lands where you have been dispersed, I will give you back the country of Israel.’
11:18 “When they return to it, they will remove from it all its detestable things and all its abominations. 11:19 I will give them one heart and I will put a new spirit within them; 113 I will remove the hearts of stone from their bodies 114 and I will give them tender hearts, 115 11:20 so that they may follow my statutes and observe my regulations and carry them out. Then they will be my people, and I will be their God. 116 11:21 But those whose hearts are devoted to detestable things and abominations, I hereby repay them for what they have done, 117 says the sovereign Lord.”
11:22 Then the cherubim spread 118 their wings with their wheels alongside them while the glory of the God of Israel hovered above them. 11:23 The glory of the Lord rose up from within the city and stopped 119 over the mountain east of it. 11:24 Then a wind 120 lifted me up and carried me to the exiles in Babylonia, 121 in the vision given to me by the Spirit of God.
Then the vision I had seen went up from me. 11:25 So I told the exiles everything 122 the Lord had shown me.
12:1 The word of the Lord came to me: 12:2 “Son of man, you are living in the midst of a rebellious house. 123 They have eyes to see, but do not see, and ears to hear, but do not hear, 124 because they are a rebellious house.
12:3 “Therefore, son of man, pack up your belongings as if for exile. During the day, while they are watching, pretend to go into exile. Go from where you live to another place. Perhaps they will understand, 125 although they are a rebellious house. 12:4 Bring out your belongings packed for exile during the day while they are watching. And go out at evening, while they are watching, as if for exile. 12:5 While they are watching, dig a hole in the wall and carry your belongings out through it. 12:6 While they are watching, raise your baggage onto your shoulder and carry it out in the dark. 126 You must cover your face so that you cannot see the ground 127 because I have made you an object lesson 128 to the house of Israel.”
12:7 So I did just as I was commanded. I carried out my belongings packed for exile during the day, and at evening I dug myself a hole through the wall with my hands. I went out in the darkness, carrying my baggage 129 on my shoulder while they watched.
12:8 The word of the Lord came to me in the morning: 12:9 “Son of man, has not the house of Israel, that rebellious house, said to you, ‘What are you doing?’ 12:10 Say to them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: The prince will raise this burden in Jerusalem, 130 and all the house of Israel within it.’ 131 12:11 Say, ‘I am an object lesson for you. Just as I have done, it will be done to them; they will go into exile and captivity.’
12:12 “The prince 132 who is among them will raise his belongings 133 onto his shoulder in darkness, and will go out. He 134 will dig a hole in the wall to leave through. He will cover his face so that he cannot see the land with his eyes. 12:13 But I will throw my net over him, and he will be caught in my snare. I will bring him to Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans 135 (but he will not see it), 136 and there he will die. 137 12:14 All his retinue – his attendants and his troops – I will scatter to every wind; I will unleash a sword behind them.
12:15 “Then they will know that I am the Lord when I disperse them among the nations and scatter them among foreign countries. 12:16 But I will let a small number of them survive the sword, famine, and pestilence, so that they can confess all their abominable practices to the nations where they go. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”
12:17 The word of the Lord came to me: 12:18 “Son of man, eat your bread with trembling, 138 and drink your water with anxious shaking. 12:19 Then say to the people of the land, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says about the inhabitants of Jerusalem and of the land of Israel: They will eat their bread with anxiety and drink their water in fright, for their land will be stripped bare of all it contains because of the violence of all who live in it. 12:20 The inhabited towns will be left in ruins and the land will be devastated. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”
12:21 The word of the Lord came to me: 12:22 “Son of man, what is this proverb you have in the land of Israel, ‘The days pass slowly, and every vision fails’? 12:23 Therefore tell them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: I hereby end this proverb; they will not recite it in Israel any longer.’ But say to them, ‘The days are at hand when every vision will be fulfilled. 139 12:24 For there will no longer be any false visions or flattering omens amidst the house of Israel. 12:25 For I, the Lord, will speak. Whatever word I speak will be accomplished. It will not be delayed any longer. Indeed in your days, O rebellious house, I will speak the word and accomplish it, declares the sovereign Lord.’”
12:26 The word of the Lord came to me: 12:27 “Take note, son of man, the house of Israel is saying, ‘The vision that he sees is for distant days; he is prophesying about the far future.’ 12:28 Therefore say to them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: None of my words will be delayed any longer! The word I speak will come to pass, declares the sovereign Lord.’”
13:1 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 13:2 “Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who are now prophesying. Say to the prophets who prophesy from their imagination: 140 ‘Hear the word of the Lord! 13:3 This is what the sovereign Lord says: Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit but have seen nothing! 13:4 Your prophets have become like jackals among the ruins, O Israel. 13:5 You have not gone up in the breaks in the wall, nor repaired a wall for the house of Israel that it would stand strong in the battle on the day of the Lord. 13:6 They see delusion and their omens are a lie. 141 They say, “the Lord declares,” though the Lord has not sent them; 142 yet they expect their word to be confirmed. 143 13:7 Have you not seen a false vision and announced a lying omen when you say, “the Lord declares,” although I myself never spoke?
13:8 “‘Therefore, this is what the sovereign Lord says: Because you have spoken false words and forecast delusion, look, 144 I am against you, 145 declares the sovereign Lord. 13:9 My hand will be against the prophets who see delusion and announce lying omens. They will not be included in the council 146 of my people, nor be written in the registry 147 of the house of Israel, nor enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the sovereign Lord.
13:10 “‘This is because they have led my people astray saying, “All is well,” 148 when things are not well. When anyone builds a wall without mortar, 149 they coat it with whitewash. 13:11 Tell the ones who coat it with whitewash that it will fall. When there is a deluge of rain, hailstones 150 will fall and a violent wind will break out. 151 13:12 When the wall has collapsed, people will ask you, “Where is the whitewash you coated it with?”
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. 13:14 I will break down the wall you coated with whitewash and knock it to the ground so that its foundation is exposed. When it falls you will be destroyed beneath it, 152 and you will know that I am the Lord. 13:15 I will vent my rage against the wall, and against those who coated it with whitewash. Then I will say to you, “The wall is no more and those who whitewashed it are no more – 13:16 those prophets of Israel who would prophesy about Jerusalem 153 and would see visions of peace for it, when there was no peace,” declares the sovereign Lord.’
13:17 “As for you, son of man, turn toward 154 the daughters of your people who are prophesying from their imagination. 155 Prophesy against them 13:18 and say ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Woe to those who sew bands 156 on all their wrists 157 and make headbands 158 for heads of every size to entrap people’s lives! 159 Will you entrap my people’s lives, yet preserve your own lives? 13:19 You have profaned me among my people for handfuls of barley and scraps of bread. You have put to death people 160 who should not die and kept alive those who should not live by your lies to my people, who listen to lies!
13:20 “‘Therefore, this is what the sovereign Lord says: Take note 161 that I am against your wristbands with which you entrap people’s lives 162 like birds. I will tear them from your arms and will release the people’s lives, which you hunt like birds. 13:21 I will tear off your headbands and rescue my people from your power; 163 they will no longer be prey in your hands. Then you will know that I am the Lord. 13:22 This is because you have disheartened the righteous person with lies (although I have not grieved him), and because you have encouraged the wicked person not to turn from his evil conduct and preserve his life. 13:23 Therefore you will no longer see false visions and practice divination. I will rescue my people from your power, and you 164 will know that I am the Lord.’”
14:1 Then some men from Israel’s elders came to me and sat down in front of me. 14:2 The word of the Lord came to me: 14:3 “Son of man, these men have erected their idols in their hearts and placed the obstacle leading to their iniquity 165 right before their faces. Should I really allow them to seek 166 me? 14:4 Therefore speak to them and say to them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: When any one from the house of Israel erects his idols in his heart and sets the obstacle leading to his iniquity before his face, and then consults a prophet, I the Lord am determined to answer him personally according to the enormity of his idolatry. 167 14:5 I will do this in order to capture the hearts of the house of Israel, who have alienated themselves from me on account of all their idols.’
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. 14:7 For when anyone from the house of Israel, or the foreigner who lives in Israel, separates himself from me and erects his idols in his heart and sets the obstacle leading to his iniquity before his face, and then consults a prophet to seek something from me, I the Lord am determined to answer him personally. 14:8 I will set my face against that person and will make him an object lesson and a byword 168 and will cut him off from among my people. Then you will know that I am the Lord.
14:9 “‘As for the prophet, if he is made a fool by being deceived into speaking a prophetic word – I, the Lord, have made a fool of 169 that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand against him and destroy him from among my people Israel. 14:10 They will bear their punishment; 170 the punishment of the one who sought an oracle will be the same as the punishment of the prophet who gave it 171 14:11 so that the house of Israel will no longer go astray from me, nor continue to defile themselves by all their sins. They will be my people and I will be their God, 172 declares the sovereign Lord.’”
14:12 The word of the Lord came to me: 14:13 “Son of man, suppose a country sins against me by being unfaithful, and I stretch out my hand against it, cut off its bread supply, 173 cause famine to come on it, and kill both people and animals. 14:14 Even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, 174 and Job, were in it, they would save only their own lives by their righteousness, declares the sovereign Lord.
14:15 “Suppose I were to send wild animals through the land and kill its children, leaving it desolate, without travelers due to the wild animals. 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.
14:17 “Or suppose I were to bring a sword against that land and say, ‘Let a sword pass through the land,’ and I were to kill both people and animals. 14:18 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.
14:19 “Or suppose I were to send a plague into that land, and pour out my rage on it with bloodshed, killing both people and animals. 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.
14:21 “For this is what the sovereign Lord says: How much worse will it be when I send my four terrible judgments – sword, famine, wild animals, and plague – to Jerusalem 175 to kill both people and animals! 14:22 Yet some survivors will be left in it, sons and daughters who will be brought out. They will come out to you, and when you see their behavior and their deeds, you will be consoled about the catastrophe I have brought on Jerusalem – for everything I brought on it. 14:23 They will console you when you see their behavior and their deeds, because you will know that it was not without reason that I have done everything which I have done in it, declares the sovereign Lord.”
15:1 The word of the Lord came to me: 15:2 “Son of man, of all the woody branches among the trees of the forest, what happens to the wood of the vine? 176 15:3 Can wood be taken from it to make anything useful? Or can anyone make a peg from it to hang things on? 15:4 No! 177 It is thrown in the fire for fuel; when the fire has burned up both ends of it and it is charred in the middle, will it be useful for anything? 15:5 Indeed! If it was not made into anything useful when it was whole, how much less can it be made into anything when the fire has burned it up and it is charred?
15:6 “Therefore, this is what the sovereign Lord says: Like the wood of the vine is among the trees of the forest which I have provided as fuel for the fire – so I will provide the residents of Jerusalem 178 as fuel. 179 15:7 I will set 180 my face against them – although they have escaped from the fire, 181 the fire will still consume them! Then you will know that I am the Lord, when I set my face against them. 15:8 I will make 182 the land desolate because they have acted unfaithfully, declares the sovereign Lord.”
16:1 The word of the Lord came to me: 16:2 “Son of man, confront Jerusalem 183 with her abominable practices 16:3 and say, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says to Jerusalem: Your origin and your birth were in the land of the Canaanites; your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite. 16:4 As for your birth, on the day you were born your umbilical cord was not cut, nor were you washed in water; 184 you were certainly not rubbed down with salt, nor wrapped with blankets. 185 16:5 No eye took pity on you to do even one of these things for you to spare you; 186 you were thrown out into the open field 187 because you were detested on the day you were born.
16:6 “‘I passed by you and saw you kicking around helplessly in your blood. I said to you as you lay there in your blood, “Live!” I said to you as you lay there in your blood, “Live!” 188 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.
16:8 “‘Then I passed by you and watched you, noticing 189 that you had reached the age for love. 190 I spread my cloak 191 over you and covered your nakedness. I swore a solemn oath to you and entered into a marriage covenant with you, declares the sovereign Lord, and you became mine.
16:9 “‘Then I bathed you in water, washed the blood off you, and anointed you with fragrant oil. 16:10 I dressed you in embroidered clothing and put fine leather sandals on your feet. I wrapped you with fine linen and covered you with silk. 16:11 I adorned you with jewelry. I put bracelets on your hands and a necklace around your neck. 16:12 I put a ring in your nose, earrings on your ears, and a beautiful crown on your head. 16:13 You were adorned with gold and silver, while your clothing was of fine linen, silk, and embroidery. You ate the finest flour, honey, and olive oil. You became extremely beautiful and attained the position of royalty. 16:14 Your fame 192 spread among the nations because of your beauty; your beauty was perfect because of the splendor which I bestowed on you, declares the sovereign Lord. 193
16:15 “‘But you trusted in your beauty and capitalized on your fame by becoming a prostitute. You offered your sexual favors to every man who passed by so that your beauty 194 became his. 16:16 You took some of your clothing and made for yourself decorated high places; you engaged in prostitution on them. You went to him to become his. 195 16:17 You also took your beautiful jewelry, made of my gold and my silver I had given to you, and made for yourself male images and engaged in prostitution 196 with them. 16:18 You took your embroidered clothing and used it to cover them; you offered my olive oil and my incense to them. 16:19 As for my food that I gave you – the fine flour, olive oil, and honey I fed you – you placed it before them as a soothing aroma. That is exactly what happened, declares the sovereign Lord.
16:20 “‘You took your sons and your daughters whom you bore to me and you sacrificed them 197 as food for the idols to eat. As if your prostitution not enough, 16:21 you slaughtered my children and sacrificed them to the idols. 198 16:22 And with all your abominable practices and prostitution you did not remember the days of your youth when you were naked and bare, kicking around in your blood.
16:23 “‘After all of your evil – “Woe! Woe to you!” declares the sovereign Lord – 16:24 you built yourself a chamber 199 and put up a pavilion 200 in every public square. 16:25 At the head of every street you erected your pavilion and you disgraced 201 your beauty when you spread 202 your legs to every passerby and multiplied your promiscuity. 16:26 You engaged in prostitution with the Egyptians, your sexually aroused neighbors, 203 multiplying your promiscuity and provoking me to anger. 16:27 So see here, I have stretched out my hand against you and cut off your rations. I have delivered you into the power of those who hate you, the daughters of the Philistines, who were ashamed by your obscene conduct. 16:28 You engaged in prostitution with the Assyrians because your sexual desires were insatiable; you prostituted yourself with them and yet you were still not satisfied. 16:29 Then you multiplied your promiscuity to the land of merchants, Babylonia, 204 but you were not satisfied there either.
16:30 “‘How sick is your heart, declares the sovereign Lord, when you perform all of these acts, the deeds of a bold prostitute. 16:31 When you built your chamber at the head of every street and put up your pavilion in every public square, you were not like a prostitute, because you scoffed at payment. 205
16:32 “‘Adulterous wife, who prefers strangers instead of her own husband! 16:33 All prostitutes receive payment, 206 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! 16:34 You were different from other prostitutes 207 because no one solicited you. When you gave payment and no payment was given to you, you became the opposite!
16:35 “‘Therefore O prostitute, hear the word of the Lord: 16:36 This is what the sovereign Lord says: Because your lust 208 was poured out and your nakedness was uncovered in your prostitution with your lovers, and because of all your detestable idols, and because of the blood of your children you have given to them, 16:37 therefore, take note: I am about to gather all your lovers whom you enjoyed, both all those you loved and all those you hated. I will gather them against you from all around, and I will expose your nakedness to them, and they will see all your nakedness. 209 16:38 I will punish you as an adulteress and murderer deserves. 210 I will avenge your bloody deeds with furious rage. 211 16:39 I will give you into their hands and they will destroy your chambers and tear down your pavilions. They will strip you of your clothing and take your beautiful jewelry and leave you naked and bare. 16:40 They will summon a mob who will stone you and hack you in pieces with their swords. 16:41 They will burn down your houses and execute judgments on you in front of many women. Thus I will put a stop to your prostitution, and you will no longer give gifts to your clients. 212 16:42 I will exhaust my rage on you, and then my fury will turn from you. I will calm down and no longer be angry.
16:43 “‘Because you did not remember the days of your youth and have enraged me with all these deeds, I hereby repay you for what you have done, 213 declares the sovereign Lord. Have you not engaged in prostitution on top of all your other abominable practices?
16:44 “‘Observe – everyone who quotes proverbs will quote this proverb about you: “Like mother, like daughter.” 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. 16:46 Your older sister was Samaria, who lived north 214 of you with her daughters, and your younger sister, who lived south 215 of you, was Sodom 216 with her daughters. 16:47 Have you not copied their behavior 217 and practiced their abominable deeds? In a short time 218 you became even more depraved in all your conduct than they were! 16:48 As surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, your sister Sodom and her daughters never behaved as wickedly as you and your daughters have behaved.
16:49 “‘See here – this was the iniquity 219 of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters had majesty, abundance of food, and enjoyed carefree ease, but they did not help 220 the poor and needy. 16:50 They were haughty and practiced abominable deeds before me. Therefore when I saw it I removed them. 16:51 Samaria has not committed half the sins you have; you have done more abominable deeds than they did. 221 You have made your sisters appear righteous with all the abominable things you have done. 16:52 So now, bear your disgrace, because you have given your sisters reason to justify their behavior. 222 Because the sins you have committed were more abominable than those of your sisters; they have become more righteous than you. So now, be ashamed and bear the disgrace of making your sisters appear righteous.
16:53 “‘I will restore their fortunes, the fortunes of Sodom and her daughters, and the fortunes of Samaria and her daughters (along with your fortunes among them), 16:54 so that you may bear your disgrace and be ashamed of all you have done in consoling them. 16:55 As for your sisters, Sodom and her daughters will be restored to their former status, Samaria and her daughters will be restored to their former status, and you and your daughters will be restored to your former status. 16:56 In your days of majesty, 223 was not Sodom your sister a byword in your mouth, 16:57 before your evil was exposed? Now you have become an object of scorn to the daughters of Aram 224 and all those around her and to the daughters of the Philistines – those all around you who despise you. 16:58 You must bear your punishment for your obscene conduct and your abominable practices, declares the Lord.
16:59 “‘For this is what the sovereign Lord says: I will deal with you according to what you have done when you despised your oath by breaking your covenant. 16:60 Yet I will remember the covenant I made with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish a lasting 225 covenant with you. 16:61 Then you will remember your conduct, and be ashamed when you receive your older and younger sisters. I will give them to you as daughters, but not on account of my covenant with you. 16:62 I will establish my covenant with you, and then you will know that I am the Lord. 16:63 Then you will remember, be ashamed, and remain silent 226 when I make atonement for all you have done, 227 declares the sovereign Lord.’”
17:1 The word of the Lord came to me: 17:2 “Son of man, offer a riddle, 228 and tell a parable to the house of Israel. 17:3 Say to them: ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: 229
“‘A great eagle 230 with broad wings, long feathers, 231
with full plumage which was multi-hued, 232
came to Lebanon 233 and took the top of the cedar.
17:4 He plucked off its topmost shoot;
he brought it to a land of merchants
and planted it in a city of traders.
17:5 He took one of the seedlings 234 of the land,
placed it in a cultivated plot; 235
a shoot by abundant water,
like a willow he planted it.
17:6 It sprouted and became a vine,
spreading low to the ground; 236
its branches turning toward him, 237 its roots were under itself. 238
So it became a vine; it produced shoots and sent out branches.
17:7 “‘There was another great eagle 239
with broad wings and thick plumage.
Now this vine twisted its roots toward him
and sent its branches toward him
to be watered from the soil where it was planted.
17:8 In a good field, by abundant waters, it was planted
to grow branches, bear fruit, and become a beautiful vine.
17:9 “‘Say to them: This is what the sovereign Lord says:
“‘Will it prosper?
Will he not rip out its roots
and cause its fruit to rot 240 and wither?
All its foliage 241 will wither.
No strong arm or large army
will be needed to pull it out by its roots. 242
17:10 Consider! It is planted, but will it prosper?
Will it not wither completely when the east wind blows on it?
Will it not wither in the soil where it sprouted?’”
17:11 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 17:12 “Say to the rebellious house of Israel: 243 ‘Don’t you know what these things mean?’ 244 Say: ‘See here, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem 245 and took her king and her officials prisoner and brought them to himself in Babylon. 17:13 He took one from the royal family, 246 made a treaty with him, and put him under oath. 247 He then took the leaders of the land 17:14 so it would be a lowly kingdom which could not rise on its own but must keep its treaty with him in order to stand. 17:15 But this one from Israel’s royal family 248 rebelled against the king of Babylon 249 by sending his emissaries to Egypt to obtain horses and a large army. Will he prosper? Will the one doing these things escape? Can he break the covenant and escape?
17:16 “‘As surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, surely in the city 250 of the king who crowned him, whose oath he despised and whose covenant he broke – in the middle of Babylon he will die! 17:17 Pharaoh with his great army and mighty horde will not help 251 him in battle, when siege ramps are erected and siege-walls are built to kill many people. 17:18 He despised the oath by breaking the covenant. Take note 252 – he gave his promise 253 and did all these things – he will not escape!
17:19 “‘Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: As surely as I live, I will certainly repay him 254 for despising my oath and breaking my covenant! 17:20 I will throw my net over him and he will be caught in my snare; I will bring him to Babylon and judge him there because of the unfaithfulness he committed against me. 17:21 All the choice men 255 among his troops will die 256 by the sword and the survivors will be scattered to every wind. Then you will know that I, the Lord, have spoken!
17:22 “‘This is what the sovereign Lord says:
“‘I will take a sprig 257 from the lofty top of the cedar and plant it. 258
I will pluck from the top one of its tender twigs;
I myself will plant it on a high and lofty mountain.
17:23 I will plant it on a high mountain of Israel,
and it will raise branches and produce fruit and become a beautiful cedar.
Every bird will live under it;
Every winged creature will live in the shade of its branches.
17:24 All the trees of the field will know that I am the Lord.
I make the high tree low; I raise up the low tree.
I make the green tree wither, and I make the dry tree sprout.
I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will do it!’”
18:1 The word of the Lord came to me: 18:2 “What do you mean by quoting this proverb concerning the land of Israel,
“‘The fathers eat sour grapes
And the children’s teeth become numb?’ 259
18:3 “As surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, 260 you will not quote this proverb in Israel anymore! 18:4 Indeed! All lives are mine – the life of the father as well as the life of the son is mine. The one 261 who sins will die.
18:5 “Suppose a man is righteous. He practices what is just and right, 18:6 does not eat pagan sacrifices on the mountains 262 or pray to the idols 263 of the house of Israel, does not defile his neighbor’s wife, does not have sexual relations with a 264 woman during her period, 18:7 does not oppress anyone, but gives the debtor back whatever was given in pledge, 265 does not commit robbery, 266 but gives his bread to the hungry and clothes the naked, 18:8 does not engage in usury or charge interest, 267 but refrains 268 from wrongdoing, promotes true justice 269 between men, 18:9 and follows my statutes and observes my regulations by carrying them out. 270 That man 271 is righteous; he will certainly live, 272 declares the sovereign Lord.
18:10 “Suppose such a man has 273 a violent son who sheds blood and does any of these things 274 mentioned previously 18:11 (though the father did not do any of them). 275 He eats pagan sacrifices on the mountains, 276 defiles his neighbor’s wife, 18:12 oppresses the poor and the needy, 277 commits robbery, does not give back what was given in pledge, prays to 278 idols, performs abominable acts, 18:13 engages in usury and charges interest. Will he live? He will not! Because he has done all these abominable deeds he will certainly die. 279 He will bear the responsibility for his own death. 280
18:14 “But suppose he in turn has a son who notices all the sins his father commits, considers them, and does not follow his father’s example. 281 18:15 He does not eat pagan sacrifices on the mountains, does not pray to the idols of the house of Israel, does not defile his neighbor’s wife, 18:16 does not oppress anyone or keep what has been given in pledge, does not commit robbery, gives his food to the hungry, and clothes the naked, 18:17 refrains from wrongdoing, 282 does not engage in usury or charge interest, carries out my regulations and follows my statutes. He will not die for his father’s iniquity; 283 he will surely live. 18:18 As for his father, because he practices extortion, robs his brother, and does what is not good among his people, he will die for his iniquity.
18:19 “Yet you say, ‘Why should the son not suffer 284 for his father’s iniquity?’ When the son does what is just and right, and observes all my statutes and carries them out, he will surely live. 18:20 The person who sins is the one who will die. A son will not suffer 285 for his father’s iniquity, and a father will not suffer 286 for his son’s iniquity; the righteous person will be judged according to his righteousness, and the wicked person according to his wickedness. 287
18:21 “But if the wicked person turns from all the sin he has committed and observes all my statutes and does what is just and right, he will surely live; he will not die. 18:22 None of the sins he has committed will be held 288 against him; because of the righteousness he has done, he will live. 18:23 Do I actually delight in the death of the wicked, declares the sovereign Lord? Do I not prefer that he turn from his wicked conduct and live?
18:24 “But if a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and practices wrongdoing according to all the abominable practices the wicked carry out, will he live? All his righteous acts will not be remembered; because of the unfaithful acts he has done and the sin he has committed, he will die. 289
18:25 “Yet you say, ‘The Lord’s conduct 290 is unjust!’ Hear, O house of Israel: Is my conduct unjust? Is it not your conduct that is unjust? 18:26 When a righteous person turns back from his righteousness and practices wrongdoing, he will die for it; 291 because of the wrongdoing he has done, he will die. 18:27 When a wicked person turns from the wickedness he has committed and does what is just and right, he will preserve his life. 18:28 Because he considered 292 and turned from all the sins he had done, he will surely live; he will not die. 18:29 Yet the house of Israel says, ‘The Lord’s conduct is unjust!’ Is my conduct unjust, O house of Israel? Is it not your conduct that is unjust?
18:30 “Therefore I will judge each person according to his conduct, 293 O house of Israel, declares the sovereign Lord. Repent 294 and turn from all your wickedness; then it will not be an obstacle leading to iniquity. 295 18:31 Throw away all your sins you have committed and fashion yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! 296 Why should you die, O house of Israel? 18:32 For I take no delight in the death of anyone, 297 declares the sovereign Lord. Repent and live!
19:1 “And you, sing 298 a lament for the princes of Israel, 19:2 and say:
“‘What a lioness was your mother among the lions!
She lay among young lions; 299 she reared her cubs.
19:3 She reared one of her cubs; he became a young lion.
He learned to tear prey; he devoured people. 300
19:4 The nations heard about him; he was trapped in their pit.
They brought him with hooks to the land of Egypt. 301
19:5 “‘When she realized that she waited in vain, her hope was lost.
She took another of her cubs 302 and made him a young lion.
19:6 He walked about among the lions; he became a young lion.
He learned to tear prey; he devoured people.
19:7 He broke down 303 their strongholds 304 and devastated their cities.
The land and everything in it was frightened at the sound of his roaring.
19:8 The nations – the surrounding regions – attacked him.
They threw their net over him; he was caught in their pit.
19:9 They put him in a collar with hooks; 305
they brought him to the king of Babylon;
they brought him to prison 306
so that his voice would not be heard
any longer on the mountains of Israel.
19:10 “‘Your mother was like a vine in your vineyard, 307 planted by water.
It was fruitful and full of branches because it was well-watered.
19:11 Its boughs were strong, fit 308 for rulers’ scepters; it reached up into the clouds.
It stood out because of its height and its many branches. 309
19:12 But it was plucked up in anger; it was thrown down to the ground.
The east wind 310 dried up its fruit;
its strong branches broke off and withered –
a fire consumed them.
19:13 Now it is planted in the wilderness,
in a dry and thirsty land. 311
19:14 A fire has gone out from its branch; it has consumed its shoot and its fruit. 312
No strong branch was left in it, nor a scepter to rule.’
This is a lament song, and has become a lament song.”
20:1 In the seventh year, in the fifth month, on the tenth of the month, 313 some of the elders 314 of Israel came to seek 315 the Lord, and they sat down in front of me. 20:2 The word of the Lord came to me: 20:3 “Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel, and tell them: ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Are you coming to seek me? As surely as I live, I will not allow you to seek me, 316 declares the sovereign Lord.’ 20:4 “Are you willing to pronounce judgment? 317 Are you willing to pronounce judgment, son of man? Then confront them with the abominable practices of their fathers, 20:5 and say to them:
“‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: On the day I chose Israel I swore 318 to the descendants 319 of the house of Jacob and made myself known to them in the land of Egypt. I swore 320 to them, “I am the Lord your God.” 20:6 On that day I swore 321 to bring them out of the land of Egypt to a land which I had picked out 322 for them, a land flowing with milk and honey, 323 the most beautiful of all lands. 20:7 I said to them, “Each of you must get rid of the detestable idols you keep before you, 324 and do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt; I am the Lord your God.” 20:8 But they rebelled against me, and refused to listen to me; no one got rid of their detestable idols, 325 nor did they abandon the idols of Egypt. Then I decided to pour out 326 my rage on them and fully vent my anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt. 20:9 I acted for the sake of my reputation, 327 so that I would not be profaned before the nations among whom they lived, 328 before whom I revealed myself by bringing them out of the land of Egypt. 329
20:10 “‘So I brought them out of the land of Egypt and led them to the wilderness. 20:11 I gave them my statutes 330 and revealed my regulations to them. The one 331 who carries 332 them out will live by them! 333 20:12 I also gave them my Sabbaths 334 as a reminder of our relationship, 335 so that they would know that I, the Lord, sanctify them. 336 20:13 But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness; they did not follow my statutes and they rejected my regulations (the one who obeys them will live by them), and they utterly desecrated my Sabbaths. So I decided to pour out 337 my rage on them in the wilderness and destroy them. 338 20:14 I acted for the sake of my reputation, so that I would not be profaned before the nations in whose sight I had brought them out. 20:15 I also swore 339 to them in the wilderness that I would not bring them to the land I had given them – a land flowing with milk and honey, the most beautiful of all lands. 20:16 I did this 340 because they rejected my regulations, did not follow my statutes, and desecrated my Sabbaths; for their hearts followed their idols. 341 20:17 Yet I had pity on 342 them and did not destroy them, so I did not make an end of them in the wilderness.
20:18 “‘But I said to their children 343 in the wilderness, “Do not follow the practices of your fathers; do not observe their regulations, 344 nor defile yourselves with their idols. 20:19 I am the Lord your God; follow my statutes, observe my regulations, and carry them out. 20:20 Treat my Sabbaths as holy 345 and they will be a reminder of our relationship, 346 and then you will know that I am the Lord your God.” 20:21 “‘But the children 347 rebelled against me, did not follow my statutes, did not observe my regulations by carrying them out (the one who obeys 348 them will live by them), and desecrated my Sabbaths. I decided to pour out 349 my rage on them and fully vent my anger against them in the wilderness. 20:22 But I refrained from doing so, 350 and acted instead for the sake of my reputation, so that I would not be profaned before the nations in whose sight I had brought them out. 20:23 I also swore 351 to them in the wilderness that I would scatter them among the nations and disperse them throughout the lands. 352 20:24 I did this 353 because they did not observe my regulations, they rejected my statutes, they desecrated my Sabbaths, and their eyes were fixed on 354 their fathers’ idols. 20:25 I also gave 355 them decrees 356 which were not good and regulations by which they could not live. 20:26 I declared them to be defiled because of their sacrifices 357 – they caused all their first born to pass through the fire 358 – so that I would devastate them, so that they will know that I am the Lord.’ 359
20:27 “Therefore, speak to the house of Israel, son of man, and tell them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: In this way too your fathers blasphemed me when they were unfaithful to me. 20:28 I brought them to the land which I swore 360 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. 20:29 So I said to them, What is this high place you go to?’” (So it is called “High Place” 361 to this day.)
20:30 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Will you defile yourselves like your fathers 362 and engage in prostitution with detestable idols? 20:31 When you present your sacrifices 363 – when you make your sons pass through the fire – you defile yourselves with all your idols to this very day. Will I allow you to seek me, 364 O house of Israel? As surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, I will not allow you to seek me! 365
20:32 “‘What you plan 366 will never happen. You say, “We will be 367 like the nations, like the clans of the lands, who serve gods of wood and stone.” 368 20:33 As surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, with a powerful hand and an outstretched arm, 369 and with an outpouring of rage, I will be king over you. 20:34 I will bring you out from the nations, and will gather you from the lands where you are scattered, with a powerful hand and an outstretched arm and with an outpouring of rage! 20:35 I will bring you into the wilderness of the nations, and there I will enter into judgment with you face to face. 20:36 Just as I entered into judgment with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will enter into judgment with you, declares the sovereign Lord. 20:37 I will make you pass under 370 the shepherd’s staff, 371 and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant. 20:38 I will eliminate from among you the rebels and those who revolt 372 against me. I will bring them out from the land where they have been residing, but they will not come to the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord.
20:39 “‘As for you, O house of Israel, this is what the sovereign Lord says: Each of you go and serve your idols, 373 if you will not listen to me. 374 But my holy name will not be profaned 375 again by your sacrifices 376 and your idols. 20:40 For there on my holy mountain, the high mountain of Israel, declares the sovereign Lord, all the house of Israel will serve me, all of them 377 in the land. I will accept them there, and there I will seek your contributions and your choice gifts, with all your holy things. 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. 20:42 Then you will know that I am the Lord when I bring you to the land of Israel, to the land I swore 378 to give to your fathers. 20:43 And there you will remember your conduct 379 and all your deeds by which you defiled yourselves. You will despise yourselves 380 because of all the evil deeds you have done. 20:44 Then you will know that I am the Lord, when I deal with you for the sake of my reputation and not according to your wicked conduct and corrupt deeds, O house of Israel, declares the sovereign Lord.’”
20:45 (21:1) 381 The word of the Lord came to me: 20:46 “Son of man, turn toward 382 the south, 383 and speak out against the south. 384 Prophesy against the open scrub 385 land of the Negev, 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, 386 I am about to start a fire in you, 387 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. 20:48 And everyone 388 will see that I, the Lord, have burned it; it will not be extinguished.’”
20:49 Then I said, “O sovereign Lord! They are saying of me, ‘Does he not simply speak in eloquent figures of speech?’”
[33:2] 1 tn Heb “sons of your people.”
[33:3] 2 tn Heb “shofar,” a ram’s horn rather than a brass instrument (so throughout the chapter).
[33:3] 3 tn Sounding the trumpet was a warning of imminent danger (Neh 4:18-20; Jer 4:19; Amos 3:6).
[33:4] 4 tn Heb “his blood will be on his own head.”
[33:5] 5 tn Heb “his blood will be on him.”
[33:6] 6 tn Or “in his punishment.” The phrase “in/for [a person’s] iniquity/punishment” occurs fourteen times in Ezekiel: here and in vv. 8 and 9; 3:18, 19; 4:17; 7:13, 16; 18: 17, 18, 19, 20; 24:23; 39:23. The Hebrew word for “iniquity” may also mean the “punishment” for iniquity or “guilt” of iniquity.
[33:6] 7 tn Heb “his blood from the hand of the watchman I will seek.”
[33:7] 8 sn Jeremiah (Jer 6:17) and Habakkuk (Hab 2:1) also served in the role of a watchman.
[33:8] 9 tn The same expression occurs in Gen 2:17.
[33:8] 10 tn Heb “and you do not speak to warn.”
[33:8] 12 tn Heb “and his blood from your hand I will seek.”
[33:9] 13 tn Heb “from his way to turn from it.”
[33:9] 14 tn Heb “and he does not turn from his way.”
[33:10] 15 tn Heb “(are) upon us.”
[33:11] 16 tn Heb “turn from his way.”
[33:11] 17 tn Heb “ways.” This same word is translated “behavior” earlier in the verse.
[33:12] 18 tn Heb “the sons of your people.”
[33:12] 19 tn Heb “in the day of his rebellion.” The statement envisions a godly person rejecting what is good and becoming sinful. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:247-48.
[33:12] 20 tn Heb “and the wickedness of the wicked, he will not stumble in it in the day of his turning from his wickedness.”
[33:12] 22 tn Heb “in the day of his sin.”
[33:15] 23 tn Heb “the wicked one.”
[33:15] 24 tn Heb “and in the statutes of life he walks.”
[33:16] 25 tn Heb “remembered.”
[33:17] 26 tn Heb “the sons of your people.”
[33:17] 28 tn The Hebrew verb translated “is (not) right” has the basic meaning of “to measure.” For a similar concept, see Ezek 18:25, 29.
[33:21] 30 tn January 19, 585
[33:21] 31 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[33:22] 33 tn The other occurrences of the phrase “the hand of the
[33:22] 34 tn Heb “he”; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[33:22] 35 tn Heb “by the time of the arrival to me.” For clarity the translation specifies the refugee as the one who arrived.
[33:22] 36 sn Ezekiel’s God-imposed muteness was lifted (see 3:26).
[33:24] 37 sn Outside of its seven occurrences in Ezekiel the term translated “possession” appears only in Exod 6:8 and Deut 33:4.
[33:25] 38 sn This practice was a violation of Levitical law (see Lev 19:26).
[33:25] 39 tn Heb “lift up your eyes.”
[33:25] 40 tn Heb “Will you possess?”
[33:29] 43 sn The judgments of vv. 27-29 echo the judgments of Lev 26:22, 25.
[33:30] 44 tn Heb “sons of your people.”
[33:30] 45 tn Heb “one to one, a man to his brother.”
[33:30] 46 tn Heb “comes out.”
[33:31] 47 tn Heb “as people come.” Apparently this is an idiom indicating that they come in crowds. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:264.
[33:31] 48 tn The word “as” is supplied in the translation.
[33:31] 50 tn Heb “They do lust with their mouths.”
[33:31] 51 tn Heb “goes after.”
[33:31] 52 tn The present translation understands the term often used for “unjust gain” in a wider sense, following M. Greenberg, who also notes that the LXX uses a term which can describe either sexual or ritual pollution. See M. Greenberg, Ezekiel (AB), 2:687.
[33:32] 53 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
[33:32] 54 tn Heb “one who makes playing music well.”
[33:32] 55 sn Similar responses are found in Isa 29:13; Matt 21:28-32; James 1:22-25.
[33:33] 56 tn Heb “behold it is coming.”
[10:1] 57 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
[10:1] 58 tn Or “like a dome.” See 1:22-26.
[10:2] 59 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (the
[10:2] 60 tn The Hebrew term often refers to chariot wheels (Isa 28:28; Ezek 23:24; 26:10).
[10:2] 61 tc The LXX, Syriac, Vulgate, and Targum
[10:3] 62 tn Heb “right side.”
[10:5] 63 tn The name (“El Shaddai”) has often been translated “God Almighty,” primarily because Jerome translated it omnipotens (“all powerful”) in the Latin Vulgate. There has been much debate over the meaning of the name. For discussion see W. F. Albright, “The Names Shaddai and Abram,” JBL 54 (1935): 173-210; R. Gordis, “The Biblical Root sdy-sd,” JTS 41 (1940): 34-43; and especially T. N. D. Mettinger, In Search of God, 69-72.
[10:6] 64 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the
[10:6] 65 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the man dressed in linen) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[10:7] 67 tn Heb “the cherub.”
[10:7] 68 tn The Hebrew text adds, “from among the cherubim.”
[10:8] 69 tn The Hebrew term is normally used as an architectural term in describing the plan or pattern of the tabernacle or temple or a representation of it (see Exod 25:8; 1 Chr 28:11).
[10:9] 70 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
[10:9] 71 tn The MT repeats this phrase, a clear case of dittography.
[10:9] 72 tn Heb “Tarshish stone.” The meaning is uncertain. The term has also been translated “topaz” (NEB), “beryl” (KJV, NASB, NRSV), and “chrysolite” (RSV, NIV).
[10:10] 73 tn Or “like a wheel at right angles to another wheel.” Some envision concentric wheels here, while others propose “a globe-like structure in which two wheels stand at right angles” (L. C. Allen, Ezekiel [WBC], 1:33-34). See also 1:16.
[10:11] 74 sn That is, the cherubim.
[10:11] 75 tn Many interpreters assume that the human face of each cherub was the one that looked forward.
[10:12] 76 tc The phrase “along with their entire bodies” is absent from the LXX and may be a gloss explaining the following words.
[10:13] 77 tn Or “the whirling wheels.”
[10:14] 78 tn Heb “each one”; the referent (the cherubim) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[10:14] 79 sn The living creature described here is thus slightly different from the one described in Ezek 1:10, where a bull’s face appeared instead of a cherub’s. Note that some English versions harmonize the two descriptions and read the same here as in 1:10 (cf. NAB, NLT “an ox”; TEV, CEV “a bull”). This may be justified based on v. 22, which states the creatures’ appearance was the same.
[10:15] 80 tn Heb “it was the living creature.”
[10:17] 82 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the cherubim) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[10:17] 83 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the wheels) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[10:17] 84 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the wheels) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[10:17] 86 tn Heb “living creature.”
[10:17] 87 tn Heb “them”; the referent (the wheels) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[10:19] 89 tn Or “the ground” (NIV, NCV).
[10:20] 90 tn Heb “That was the living creature.”
[11:1] 91 tn Or “spirit.” See note on “wind” in 2:2.
[11:1] 92 sn The phrase officials of the people occurs in Neh 11:1; 1 Chr 21:2; 2 Chr 24:23.
[11:2] 93 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (the
[11:3] 94 tn The Hebrew verb may mean “think” in this context. This content of what they say (or think) represents their point of view.
[11:3] 95 sn The expression build houses may mean “establish families” (Deut 25:9; Ruth 4:11; Prov 24:27).
[11:3] 96 tn Heb “she” or “it”; the feminine pronoun refers here to Jerusalem.
[11:3] 97 sn Jerusalem is also compared to a pot in Ezek 24:3-8. The siege of the city is pictured as heating up the pot.
[11:5] 99 tn The Hebrew verb commonly means “to say,” but may also mean “to think” (see also v. 3).
[11:5] 100 tn Heb “I know the steps of your spirits.”
[11:7] 102 tn Heb “in its midst.”
[11:7] 103 tn Heb “she/it.” See v. 3.
[11:7] 104 tc Many of the versions read “I will bring you out” (active) rather than “he brought out” (the reading of MT).
[11:9] 105 tn Heb “its midst.”
[11:11] 106 tn The Hebrew text does not have the negative particle, but it is implied. The negative particle in the previous line does double duty here.
[11:13] 107 tc The LXX reads this statement as a question. Compare this to the question in 9:8. It is possible that the interrogative particle has been omitted by haplography. However, an exclamatory statement as in the MT also makes sense and the LXX may have simply tried to harmonize this passage with 9:8.
[11:15] 108 tc The MT reads “your brothers, your brothers” either for empahsis (D. I. Block, Ezekiel [NICOT], 1:341, n. 1; 346) or as a result of dittography.
[11:15] 109 tc The MT reads גְאֻלָּתֶךָ (gÿ’ullatekha, “your redemption-men”), referring to the relatives responsible for deliverance in times of hardship (see Lev 25:25-55). The LXX and Syriac read “your fellow exiles,” assuming an underlying Hebrew text of גָלוּתֶךָ (galutekha) or having read the א (aleph) as an internal mater lectionis for holem.
[11:15] 110 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[11:15] 111 tc The MT has an imperative form (“go far!”), but it may be read with different vowels as a perfect verb (“they have gone far”).
[11:16] 112 tn Or “have been partially a sanctuary”; others take this as temporal (cf. NASB, NIV, NRSV “a little while”).
[11:19] 113 tc The MT reads “you”; many Hebrew
[11:19] 114 tn Heb “their flesh.”
[11:19] 115 tn Heb “heart of flesh.”
[11:20] 116 sn The expression They will be my people, and I will be their God occurs as a promise to Abraham (Gen 17:8), Moses (Exod 6:7), and the nation (Exod 29:45).
[11:21] 117 tn Heb “their way on their head I have placed.”
[11:24] 120 tn Or “spirit.” See note on “wind” in 2:2.
[11:24] 121 tn Heb “to Chaldea.”
[11:25] 122 tn Heb “all the words of.”
[12:2] 123 sn The book of Ezekiel frequently refers to the Israelites as a rebellious house (Ezek 2:5, 6, 8; 3:9, 26-27; 12:2-3, 9, 25; 17:12; 24:3).
[12:2] 124 sn This verse is very similar to Isa 6:9-10.
[12:3] 125 tn Heb “see.” This plays on the uses of “see” in v. 2. They will see his actions with their eyes and perhaps they will “see” with their mind, that is, understand or grasp the point.
[12:6] 126 tn Apart from this context the Hebrew term occurs only in Gen 15:17 in reference to the darkness after sunset. It may mean twilight.
[12:6] 127 tn Or “land” (ASV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
[12:6] 128 sn See also Ezek 12:11, 24:24, 27.
[12:7] 129 tn The words “my baggage” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied from the context.
[12:10] 130 tc The nearly incoherent Hebrew reads “The prince is this burden (prophetic oracle?) in Jerusalem.” The Targum, which may only be trying to make sense of a very difficult text, says “Concerning the prince is this oracle,” assuming the addition of a preposition. This would be the only case where Ezekiel uses this term for a prophetic oracle. The LXX reads the word for “burden” as a synonym for leader, as both words are built on the same root (נָשִׂיא, nasi’), but the verse is still incoherent because it is only a phrase with no verb. The current translation assumes that the verb יִשָּׂא (yisa’) from the root נָשִׂיא has dropped out due to homoioteleuton. If indeed the verb has dropped out (the syntax of the verbless clause being the problem), then context clearly suggests that it be a form of נָשִׂיא (see vv. 7 and 12). Placing the verb between the subject and object would result in three consecutive words based on the root נָשִׂיא and an environment conducive to an omission in copying: הַנָּשִׂיא יִשָּׁא הַמַּשָּׂא הַזֶּה (hannasi’ yisha’ hammasa’ hazzeh, “the Prince will raise this burden”).
[12:10] sn The prince in Jerusalem refers to King Zedekiah.
[12:10] map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[12:10] 131 tc The MT reads “within them.” Possibly a scribe copied this form from the following verse “among them,” but only “within it” makes sense in this context.
[12:12] 132 sn The prince is a reference to Zedekiah.
[12:12] 133 tn The words “his belongings” are not in the Hebrew text but are implied.
[12:12] 134 tc The MT reads “they”; the LXX and Syriac read “he.”
[12:13] 135 tn Or “Babylonians” (NCV, NLT).
[12:13] sn The Chaldeans were a group of people in the country south of Babylon from which Nebuchadnezzar came. The Chaldean dynasty his father established became the name by which the Babylonians are regularly referred to in the book of Jeremiah, while Jeremiah’s contemporary, Ezekiel, uses both terms.
[12:13] 136 sn He will not see it. This prediction was fulfilled in 2 Kgs 25:7 and Jer 52:11, which recount how Zedekiah was blinded before being deported to Babylon.
[12:13] 137 sn There he will die. This was fulfilled when King Zedekiah died in exile (Jer 52:11).
[12:18] 138 tn The Hebrew term normally refers to an earthquake (see 1 Kgs 19:11; Amos 1:1).
[12:23] 139 tn Heb “the days draw near and the word of every vision (draws near).”
[13:2] 140 tn Heb “from their mind.”
[13:2] sn Who prophesy from their imagination. Note the testimony of Moses in Num 16:28, which contains a similar expression.
[13:6] 141 sn The same description of a false prophet is found in Micah 2:11.
[13:6] 142 sn The
[13:6] 143 tn Or “confirmed”; NIV “to be fulfilled”; TEV “to come true.”
[13:8] 144 tn The word h!nn@h indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
[13:8] 145 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.
[13:9] 146 tn The Hebrew term may refer to the secret council of the
[13:9] 147 tn The reference here is probably to a civil list (as in Ezra 2:16; Neh 7:64) rather than to a “book of life” (Exod 32:32; Isa 4:3; Ps 69:29; Dan 12:1). This registry may have been established at the making of David’s census (2 Sam 24:2, 9).
[13:10] 149 tn The Hebrew word only occurs here in the Bible. According to L. C. Allen (Ezekiel [WBC], 1:202-3) it is also used in the Mishnah of a wall of rough stones without mortar. This fits the context here comparing the false prophetic messages to a nice coat of whitewash on a structurally unstable wall.
[13:11] 150 tn Heb “and you, O hailstones.”
[13:11] 151 sn A violent wind will break out. God’s judgments are frequently described in storm imagery (Pss 18:7-15; 77:17-18; 83:15; Isa 28:17; 30:30; Jer 23:19; 30:23).
[13:14] 152 tn Or “within it,” referring to the city of Jerusalem.
[13:16] 153 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[13:17] 154 tn Heb “set your face against.”
[13:17] 155 tn Heb “from their heart.”
[13:18] 156 sn The wristbands mentioned here probably represented magic bands or charms. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:413.
[13:18] 157 tn Heb “joints of the hands.” This may include the elbow and shoulder joints.
[13:18] 158 tn The Hebrew term occurs in the Bible only here and in v. 21. It has also been understood as a veil or type of head covering. D. I. Block (Ezekiel [NICOT], 1:414) suggests that given the context of magical devices, the expected parallel to the magical arm bands, and the meaning of this Hebrew root (סָפַח [safakh, “to attach” or “join”]), it may refer to headbands or necklaces on which magical amulets were worn.
[13:18] 159 tn Heb “human lives” or “souls” (three times in v. 18 and twice in v. 19).
[13:19] 160 tn Heb “human lives” or “souls.”
[13:20] 161 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
[13:20] 162 tn Heb “human lives” or “souls.”
[13:21] 163 tn Heb “from your hand(s).” This refers to their power over the people.
[13:23] 164 tn The Hebrew verb is feminine plural, indicating that it is the false prophetesses who are addressed here.
[14:3] 165 tn Heb “the stumbling block of their iniquity.” This phrase is unique to the prophet Ezekiel.
[14:3] 166 tn Or “I will not reveal myself to them.” The Hebrew word is used in a technical sense here of seeking an oracle from a prophet (2 Kgs 1:16; 3:11; 8:8).
[14:4] 167 tn Heb “in accordance with the multitude of his idols.”
[14:9] 169 tn The translation is uncertain due to difficulty both in determining the meaning of the verb’s stem and its conjugation in this context. In the Qal stem the basic meaning of the verbal root פָּתַה (patah) is “to be gullible, foolish.” The doubling stems (the Pual and Piel used in this verse) typically give such stative verbs a factitive sense, hence either “make gullible” (i.e., “entice”) or “make into a fool” (i.e., “to show to be a fool”). The latter represents the probable meaning of the term in Jer 20:7, 10 and is followed here (see L. C. Allen, Ezekiel [WBC], 1:193; R. Mosis “Ez 14, 1-11 - ein Ruf zur Umkehr,” BZ 19 [1975]: 166-69 and ThWAT 4:829-31). In this view, if a prophet speaks when not prompted by God, he will be shown to be a fool, but this does not reflect negatively on the Lord because it is God who shows him to be a fool. Secondly, the verb is in the perfect conjugation and may be translated “I have made a fool of him” or “I have enticed him,” or to show determination (see IBHS 439-41 §27.2f and g), or in certain syntactical constructions as future. Any of these may be plausible if the doubling stems used are understood in the sense of “making a fool of.” But if understood as “to make gullible,” more factors come into play. As the Hebrew verbal form is a perfect, it is often translated as present perfect: “I have enticed.” In this case the Lord states that he himself enticed the prophet to cooperate with the idolaters. Such enticement to sin would seem to be a violation of God’s moral character, but sometimes he does use such deception and enticement to sin as a form of punishment against those who have blatantly violated his moral will (see, e.g., 2 Sam 24). If one follows this line of interpretation in Ezek 14:9, one would have to assume that the prophet had already turned from God in his heart. However, the context gives no indication of this. Therefore, it is better to take the perfect as indicating certitude and to translate it with the future tense: “I will entice.” In this case the Lord announces that he will judge the prophet appropriately. If a prophet allows himself to be influenced by idolaters, then the Lord will use deception as a form of punishment against that deceived prophet. A comparison with the preceding oracles also favors this view. In 14:4 the perfect of certitude is used for emphasis (see “I will answer”), though in v. 7 a participle is employed. For a fuller discussion of this text, see R. B. Chisholm, Jr., “Does God Deceive?” BSac 155 (1998): 23-25.
[14:10] 170 tn Or “They will bear responsibility for their iniquity.” The Hebrew term “iniquity” (three times in this verse) often refers by metonymy to the consequence of sin (see Gen 4:13).
[14:10] 171 tn Or “As is the guilt of the inquirer so is the guilt of the prophet.”
[14:11] 172 sn I will be their God. See Exod 6:7; Lev 26:12; Jer 7:23; 11:4.
[14:13] 173 tn Heb “break its staff of bread.”
[14:14] 174 sn Traditionally this has been understood as a reference to the biblical Daniel, though he was still quite young when Ezekiel prophesied. One wonders if he had developed a reputation as an intercessor by this point. For this reason some prefer to see a reference to a ruler named Danel, known in Canaanite legend for his justice and wisdom. In this case all three of the individuals named would be non-Israelites, however the Ugaritic Danel is not known to have qualities of faith in the Lord that would place him in the company of the other men. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:447-50.
[14:21] 175 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[15:2] 176 tn Most modern translations take the statement as a comparison (“how is vine wood better than any forest wood?”) based on the preposition מִן (min). But a comparison should have a word as an adjective or stative verb designating a quality, i.e., a word for “good/better” is lacking. The preposition is translated above in its partitive sense.
[15:2] sn Comparing Israel to the wood of the vine may focus on Israel’s inferiority to the other nations. For the vine imagery in relation to Israel and the people of God, see Ps 80:8-13; John 15:1-7; Rom 11:17-22.
[15:4] 177 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) draws one’s attention to something. Sometimes it may be translated as a verb of perception; here it is treated as a particle that fits the context (so also in v. 5, but with a different English word).
[15:6] 178 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[15:6] 179 tn The words “as fuel” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied.
[15:7] 180 tn The word translated “set” is the same Hebrew word translated as “provide” in the previous verse.
[15:7] 181 sn This escape refers to the exile of Ezekiel and others in 597
[15:8] 182 tn The word translated “make” is the same Hebrew word translated as “provide” in v. 6.
[16:2] 183 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[16:4] 184 tn Heb “in water you were not washed for cleansing” or “with water you were not washed smooth” (see D. I. Block, Ezekiel [NICOT], 1:473, n. 57, for a discussion of possible meanings of this hapax legomenon).
[16:4] 185 sn Arab midwives still cut the umbilical cords of infants and then proceed to apply salt and oil to their bodies.
[16:5] 186 sn These verbs, “pity” and “spare,” echo the judgment oracles in 5:11; 7:4, 9; 8:18; 9:5, 10.
[16:5] 187 sn A similar concept is found in Deut 32:10.
[16:6] 188 tc The translation reflects the Hebrew text, which repeats the statement, perhaps for emphasis. However, a few medieval Hebrew manuscripts, the Old Greek, and the Syriac do not include the repetition. The statement could have been accidentally repeated or the second occurrence could have been accidentally omitted. Based on the available evidence it is difficult to know which is more likely.
[16:8] 189 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a participle.
[16:8] 190 tn See similar use of this term in Ezek 23:17; Prov 7:16; Song of Songs 4:10; 7:13.
[16:8] 191 tn Heb “wing” or “skirt.” The gesture symbolized acquiring a woman in early Arabia (similarly, see Deut 22:30; Ruth 3:9).
[16:14] 193 sn The description of the nation Israel in vv. 10-14 recalls the splendor of the nation’s golden age under King Solomon.
[16:15] 194 tn Heb “it” (so KJV, ASV); the referent (the beauty in which the prostitute trusted, see the beginning of the verse) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[16:16] 195 tc The text as written in the MT is incomprehensible (“not coming [plural] and he will not”). Driver has suggested a copying error of similar-sounding words, specifically לֹא (lo’) for לוֹ (lo). The feminine participle בָאוֹת (va’ot) has also been read as the feminine perfect בָאת (va’t). See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 1:228, n. 15.b, and D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:486, n. 137.
[16:17] 196 tn Or perhaps “and worshiped them,” if the word “prostitution” is understood in a figurative rather than a literal sense (cf. CEV, NLT).
[16:20] 197 sn The sacrifice of children was prohibited in Lev 18:21; 20:2; Deut 12:31; 18:10.
[16:21] 198 tn Heb “and you gave them, by passing them through to them.” Some believe this alludes to the pagan practice of making children pass through the fire.
[16:24] 199 tn The Hebrew גֶּב (gev) may represent more than one word, each rare in the Old Testament. It may refer to a “mound” or to “rafters.” The LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate interpret this as a brothel.
[16:24] 200 tn Or “lofty place” (NRSV). See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 1:229, and B. Lang, Frau Weisheit, 137.
[16:25] 201 tn Heb “treated as if abominable,” i.e., repudiated.
[16:25] 202 tn The only other occurrence of the Hebrew root is found in Prov 13:3 in reference to the talkative person who habitually “opens wide” his lips.
[16:26] 203 tn Heb “your neighbors, large of flesh.” The word “flesh” is used here of the genitals. It may simply refer to the size of their genitals in general, or, as the translation suggests, depicts them as sexually aroused.
[16:29] 204 tn Heb “Chaldea.” The name of the tribal group ruling Babylon (“Chaldeans”) and the territory from which they originated (“Chaldea”) is used as metonymy for the whole empire of Babylon.
[16:31] 205 tn The Hebrew term, which also occurs in vv. 34 and 41 of this chapter, always refers to the payment of a prostitute (Deut 23:19; Isa 23:17; Hos 9:1; Mic 1:7).
[16:33] 206 tn The Hebrew word occurs only here in the OT.
[16:34] 207 tn Heb “With you it was opposite of women in your prostitution.”
[16:36] 208 tn The Hebrew word occurs only here in the OT.
[16:37] 209 sn Harlots suffered degradation when their nakedness was exposed (Jer 13:22, 26; Hos 2:12; Nah 3:5).
[16:38] 210 tn Heb “and I will judge you (with) the judgments of adulteresses and of those who shed blood.”
[16:38] 211 tn Heb “and I will give you the blood of rage and zeal.”
[16:41] 212 tn The words “to your clients” are not in the Hebrew text but are implied.
[16:43] 213 tn Heb “your way on (your) head I have placed.”
[16:46] 216 sn Sodom was the epitome of evil (Deut 29:23; 32:32; Isa 1:9-10; 3:9; Jer 23:14; Lam 4:6; Matt 10:15; 11:23-24; Jude 7).
[16:47] 217 tn Heb “walked in their ways.”
[16:47] 218 tn The Hebrew expression has a temporal meaning as illustrated by the use of the phrase in 2 Chr 12:7.
[16:49] 220 tn Heb “strengthen the hand of.”
[16:51] 221 tn Or “you have multiplied your abominable deeds beyond them.”
[16:52] 222 tn Heb “because you have interceded for your sisters with your sins.”
[16:57] 224 tc So MT, LXX, and Vulgate; many Hebrew
[16:63] 226 tn Heb “and your mouth will not be open any longer.”
[16:63] 227 tn Heb “when I make atonement for you for all which you have done.”
[17:2] 228 sn The verb occurs elsewhere in the OT only in Judg 14:12-19, where Samson supplies a riddle.
[17:3] 229 tn The parable assumes the defection of Zedekiah to Egypt and his rejection of Babylonian lordship.
[17:3] 230 sn The great eagle symbolizes Nebuchadnezzar (17:12).
[17:3] 231 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] 232 tn This term was used in 16:10, 13, and 18 of embroidered cloth.
[17:3] 233 sn In the parable Lebanon apparently refers to Jerusalem (17:12).
[17:5] 234 tn Heb “took of the seed of the land.” For the vine imagery, “seedling” is a better translation, though in its subsequent interpretation the “seed” refers to Zedekiah through its common application to offspring.
[17:5] 235 tn Heb “a field for seed.”
[17:6] 236 tn Heb “short of stature.”
[17:6] 237 tn That is, the eagle.
[17:6] 238 tn Or “him,” i.e., the eagle.
[17:7] 239 sn The phrase another great eagle refers to Pharaoh Hophra.
[17:9] 240 tn The Hebrew root occurs only here in the OT and appears to have the meaning of “strip off.” In application to fruit the meaning may be “cause to rot.”
[17:9] 241 tn Heb “all the טַרְפֵּי (tarpey) of branches.” The word טַרְפֵּי occurs only here in the Bible; its precise meaning is uncertain.
[17:9] 242 tn Or “there will be no strong arm or large army when it is pulled up by the roots.”
[17:12] 243 tn The words “of Israel” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation as a clarification of the referent.
[17:12] sn The book of Ezekiel frequently refers to the Israelites as a rebellious house (Ezek 2:5, 6, 8; 3:9, 26-27; 12:2-3, 9, 25; 17:12; 24:3).
[17:12] 244 sn The narrative description of this interpretation of the riddle is given in 2 Kgs 24:11-15.
[17:12] 245 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[17:13] 246 tn Or “descendants”; Heb “seed” (cf. v. 5).
[17:13] 247 tn Heb “caused him to enter into an oath.”
[17:15] 248 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the member of the royal family, v. 13) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[17:15] 249 tn Heb “him”; the referent (the king of Babylon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[17:17] 251 tn Heb “deal with” or “work with.”
[17:18] 252 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates being aware of or taking notice of something.
[17:18] 253 sn Heb “hand.” “Giving one’s hand” is a gesture of promise (2 Kgs 10:15).
[17:19] 254 tn Heb “place it on his head.”
[17:21] 255 tc Some manuscripts and versions read “choice men,” while most manuscripts read “fugitives”; the difference arises from the reversal, or metathesis, of two letters, מִבְרָחָיו (mivrakhyv) for מִבְחָריו (mivkharyv).
[17:22] 257 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] 258 tc The LXX lacks “and plant it.”
[18:2] 259 tn This word only occurs here and in the parallel passage in Jer 31:29-30 in the Qal stem and in Eccl 10:10 in the Piel stem. In the latter passage it refers to the bluntness of an ax that has not been sharpened. Here the idea is of the “bluntness” of the teeth, not from having ground them down due to the bitter taste of sour grapes but to the fact that they have lost their “edge,” “bite,” or “sharpness” because they are numb from the sour taste. For this meaning for the word, see W. L. Holladay, Jeremiah (Hermeneia), 2:197.
[18:3] 260 tn This expression occurs often in Ezekiel (5:11; 14:16, 18, 20; 16:48; 17:16, 19; 20:3, 31, 33; 33:11, 27; 34:8; 35:6, 11).
[18:6] 262 tn Heb, “on the mountains he does not eat.” The mountains are often mentioned as the place where idolatrous sacrifices were eaten (Ezek 20:28; 22:9; 34:6).
[18:6] 263 tn Heb, “does not lift up his eyes.” This refers to looking to idols for help.
[18:6] 264 tn Heb, “does not draw near to.” “Draw near” is a euphemism for sexual intercourse (Lev 18:14; Deut 22:14; Isa 8:3).
[18:7] 265 tn Heb “restores to the debtor his pledge.” The root occurs in Exod 22:25 in reference to restoring a man’s garment as a pledge before nightfall.
[18:7] 266 tn The Hebrew term refers to seizure of property, usually by the rich (Isa 3:14; 10:2; Mic 2:2 [see Lev 5:21, 22]).
[18:8] 267 sn This law was given in Lev 25:36.
[18:8] 268 tn Heb, “turns back his hand.”
[18:8] 269 tn Heb “justice of truth.”
[18:9] 270 tc The MT reads לַעֲשׂוֹת אֱמֶת (la’asot ’emet, “to do with integrity”), while the LXX reads “to do them,” presupposing לַעֲשׂוֹת אֹתָם (la’asot ’otam). The ם (mem) and ת (tav) have been reversed in the MT. The LXX refelcts the original, supported by similar phrasing in Ezekiel 11:20; 20:19.
[18:9] 272 tn Heb “living, he will live.” The infinitive absolute precedes the finite verb for emphasis.
[18:10] 274 tn Heb “and he does, a brother, from one of these.” If “brother” is retained, it may be an adverbial accusative, “against a brother” (i.e., fellow Israelite). But the form is likely dittographic (note the אח [aleph-heth] combination in the following form).
[18:11] 275 tn Heb “and he all of these did not do.” The parenthetical note refers back to the father described in the preceding verses.
[18:11] 276 sn See note on “mountains” in v. 6.
[18:12] 277 sn The poor and needy are often mentioned together in the OT (Deut 24:14; Jer 22:16; Ezek 14:69; Ps 12:6; 35:10; 37:14).
[18:12] 278 tn Heb “lifts up his eyes.”
[18:13] 279 tn Heb “be put to death.” The translation follows an alternative reading that appears in several ancient textual witnesses.
[18:13] 280 tn Heb “his blood will be upon him.”
[18:14] 281 tn Heb “and he sees and does not do likewise.”
[18:17] 282 tc This translation follows the LXX. The MT reads “restrains his hand from the poor,” which makes no sense here.
[18:17] 283 tn Or “in his father’s punishment.” The phrase “in/for [a person’s] iniquity/punishment” occurs fourteen times in Ezekiel: here and in vv. 18, 19, 20; 3:18, 19; 4:17; 7:13, 16; 24:23; 33:6, 8, 9; 39:23. The Hebrew word for “iniquity” may also mean the “punishment for iniquity.”
[18:19] 284 tn Heb “lift up, bear.”
[18:20] 285 tn Heb “lift up, bear.”
[18:20] 286 tn Heb “lift up, bear.”
[18:20] 287 tn Heb “the righteousness of the righteous one will be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked one will be upon him.”
[18:22] 288 tn Heb “remembered.”
[18:24] 289 tn Heb “because of them he will die.”
[18:26] 291 tn Heb “for them” or “because of them.”
[18:30] 294 tn The verbs and persons in this verse are plural whereas the individual has been the subject of the chapter.
[18:30] 295 tn Or “leading to punishment.”
[18:31] 296 sn In Ezek 11:19, 36:26 the new heart and new spirit are promised as future blessings.
[18:32] 297 tn Heb “the death of the one dying.”
[19:2] 299 sn Lions probably refer to Judahite royalty and/or nobility. The lioness appears to symbolize the Davidic dynasty, though some see the referent as Hamutal, the wife of Josiah and mother of Jehoahaz and Zedekiah. Gen 49:9 seems to be the background for Judah being compared to lions.
[19:4] 301 sn The description applies to king Jehoahaz (2 Kgs 23:31-34; Jer 22:10-12).
[19:5] 302 sn The identity of this second lion is unclear; the referent is probably Jehoiakim or Zedekiah. If the lioness is Hamutal, then Zedekiah is the lion described here.
[19:7] 303 tc The Hebrew text reads “knew,” but is apparently the result of a ר-ד (dalet-resh) confusion. For a defense of the emendation, see L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 1:284. However, Allen retains the reading “widows” as the object of the verb, which he understands in the sense of “do harm to,” and translates the line: “He did harm to women by making them widows” (p. 282). The line also appears to be lacking a beat for the meter of the poem.
[19:7] 304 tc The Hebrew text reads “widows” instead of “strongholds,” apparently due to a confusion of ר (resh) and ל (lamed). L. C. Allen (Ezekiel [WBC], 1:284) favors the traditional text, understanding “widows” in the sense of “women made widows.” D. I. Block, (Ezekiel [NICOT], 1:602) also defends the Hebrew text, arguing that the image is that of a dominant male lion who takes over the pride and by copulating with the females lays claim to his predecessor’s “widows.”
[19:9] 305 tn Or “They put him in a neck stock with hooks.” The noun סּוּגַר (sugar), translated “collar,” occurs only here in the Bible. L. C. Allen and D. I. Block point out a Babylonian cognate that refers to a device for transporting prisoners of war that held them by their necks (D. I. Block, Ezekiel [NICOT], 1:597, n. 35; L. C. Allen, Ezekiel [WBC], 1:284). Based on the Hebrew root, the traditional rendering had been “cage” (cf. ASV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
[19:9] 306 tc The term in the MT occurs only here and in Eccl 9:12 where it refers to a net for catching fish. The LXX translates this as “prison,” which assumes a confusion of dalet and resh took place in the MT.
[19:10] 307 tc The Hebrew text reads “in your blood,” but most emend to “in your vineyard,” assuming a ב-כ (beth-kaph) confusion. See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 1:284. Another attractive emendation assumes a faulty word division and yields the reading “like a vine full of tendrils, which/because…”; see D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:607, n. 68.
[19:11] 308 tn The word “fit” does not occur in the Hebrew text.
[19:11] 309 tn Heb “and it was seen by its height and by the abundance of its branches.”
[19:12] 310 sn The east wind symbolizes the Babylonians.
[19:13] 311 sn This metaphor depicts the Babylonian exile of the Davidic dynasty.
[19:14] 312 tn The verse describes the similar situation recorded in Judg 9:20.
[20:1] 313 sn The date would be August 14th, 591
[20:1] 314 tn Heb “men from the elders.”
[20:1] 315 tn See the note at 14:3.
[20:3] 316 tn Or “I will not reveal myself to you.”
[20:4] 317 tn Heb “will you judge.” Here the imperfect form of the verb is probably used with a desiderative nuance. Addressed to the prophet, “judge” means to warn of or pronounce God’s impending judgment.
[20:5] 318 tn Heb “I lifted up my hand.”
[20:5] 320 tn Heb “I lifted up my hand.”
[20:6] 321 tn Heb “I lifted up my hand to them.”
[20:6] 322 tn Or “searched out.” The Hebrew word is used to describe the activity of the spies in “spying out” the land of Canaan (Num 13-14); cf. KJV “I had espied for them.”
[20:6] 323 sn The phrase “a land flowing with milk and honey,” a figure of speech describing the land’s abundant fertility, occurs in v. 15 as well as Exod 3:8, 17; 13:5; 33:3; Lev 20:24; Num 13:27; Deut 6:3; 11:9; 26:9; 27:3; Josh 5:6; Jer 11:5; 32:23 (see also Deut 1:25; 8:7-9).
[20:7] 324 tn Heb “each one, the detestable things of his eyes, throw away.” The Pentateuch does not refer to the Israelites worshiping idols in Egypt, but Josh 24:14 appears to suggest that they did so.
[20:8] 325 tn Heb “each one, the detestable things of their eyes did not throw away.”
[20:8] 326 tn Heb “and I said/thought to pour out.”
[20:9] 327 tn Heb “for the sake of my name.”
[20:9] 328 tn Heb “before the eyes of the nations in whose midst they were.”
[20:9] 329 tn Heb “to whom I made myself known before their eyes to bring them out from the land of Egypt.” The translation understands the infinitive construct (“to bring them out”) as indicating manner. God’s deliverance of his people from Egypt was an act of self-revelation in that it displayed his power and his commitment to his promises.
[20:11] 330 sn The laws were given at Mount Sinai.
[20:11] 333 tn The wording and the concept is contained in Lev 18:5 and Deut 30:15-19.
[20:12] 334 sn Ezekiel’s contemporary, Jeremiah, also stressed the importance of obedience to the Sabbath law (Jer 17).
[20:12] 335 tn Heb “to become a sign between me and them.”
[20:12] 336 tn Or “set them apart.” The last phrase of verse 12 appears to be a citation of Exod 31:13.
[20:13] 337 tn Heb “and I said/thought to pour out.”
[20:13] 338 tn Heb “to bring them to an end.”
[20:15] 339 tn Heb “I lifted up my hand.”
[20:16] 340 tn The words “I did this” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied for stylistic reasons. Verses 15-16 are one long sentence in the Hebrew text. The translation divides this sentence into two for stylistic reasons.
[20:16] 341 tn Heb “for after their idols their heart was going.” The use of the active participle (“was going”) in the Hebrew text draws attention to the ongoing nature of their idolatrous behavior.
[20:17] 342 tn Heb “my eye pitied.”
[20:18] 343 tn Heb “sons,” reflecting the patriarchal idiom of the culture.
[20:18] 344 tn Or “standard of justice.” See Ezek 7:27.
[20:20] 345 tn Or “set apart my Sabbaths.”
[20:20] 346 tn Heb “and they will become a sign between me and you.”
[20:21] 348 tn Or “carries them out.”
[20:21] 349 tn Heb “and I said/thought to pour out.”
[20:22] 350 tn Heb “drew my hand back.” This idiom also occurs in Lam 2:8 and Ps 74:11.
[20:23] 351 tn Heb “I lifted up my hand.”
[20:23] 352 sn Though the Pentateuch does not seem to know of this episode, Ps 106:26-27 may speak of God’s oath to exile the people before they had entered Canaan.
[20:24] 353 tn The words “I did this” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied for stylistic reasons. Verses 23-24 are one long sentence in the Hebrew text. The translation divides this sentence into two for stylistic reasons.
[20:24] 354 tn Or “they worshiped” (NCV, TEV, CEV); Heb “their eyes were on” or “were after” (cf. v. 16).
[20:25] 355 tn Or “permitted.”
[20:25] sn The content of the verse is shocking: that God would “give” bad decrees. This probably does not refer to the Mosaic law but to the practices of the Canaanites who were left in the land in order to test Israel. See Judg 2:20-23, the note on “decrees” in v. 25, and the note on “pass through the fire” in v. 26.
[20:25] 356 tn The Hebrew term חֻקּוֹת (khuqot; translated “statutes” elsewhere in this chapter) is normally feminine. Here Ezekiel changes the form to masculine: חֻקִּים (khuqim). Further, they are not called “my decrees” as vv. 11 and 13 refer to “my statutes.” The change is a signal that Ezekiel is not talking about the same statutes in vv. 11 and 13, which lead to life.
[20:26] 358 sn This act is prohibited in Deut 12:29-31 and Jer 7:31; 19:5; 32:35. See also 2 Kgs 21:6; 23:10. This custom indicates that the laws the Israelites were following were the disastrous laws of pagan nations (see Ezek 16:20-21).
[20:26] 359 sn God sometimes punishes sin by inciting the sinner to sin even more, as the biblical examples of divine hardening and deceit make clear. See Robert B. Chisholm, Jr., “Divine Hardening in the Old Testament,” BSac 153 (1996): 410-34; idem, “Does God Deceive?” BSac 155 (1998): 11-28. For other instances where the Lord causes individuals to act unwisely or even sinfully as punishment for sin, see 1 Sam 2:25; 2 Sam 17:14; 1 Kgs 12:15; 2 Chr 25:20.
[20:28] 360 tn Heb “which I lifted up my hand.”
[20:29] 361 tn The Hebrew word (“Bamah”) means “high place.”
[20:30] 362 tn Heb “in the way of your fathers.”
[20:31] 364 tn Or “Will I reveal myself to you?”
[20:31] 365 tn Or “I will not reveal myself to you.”
[20:32] 366 tn Heb “what comes upon your mind.”
[20:32] 367 tn The Hebrew could also read: “Let us be.”
[20:32] 368 tn Heb “serving wood and stone.”
[20:32] sn This verse echoes the content of 1 Sam 8:20.
[20:33] 369 sn This phrase occurs frequently in Deuteronomy (Deut 4:34; 5:15; 7:19; 11:2; 26:8).
[20:37] 370 tn This is the same Hebrew verb used to describe the passing of the children through the fire.
[20:37] 371 sn The metaphor may be based in Lev 27:32 (see also Jer 33:13; Matt 25:32-33). A shepherd would count his sheep as they passed beneath his staff.
[20:38] 372 tn See the note at 2:3.
[20:39] 373 sn Compare the irony here to Amos 4:4 and Jer 44:25.
[20:39] 374 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] 375 sn A similar concept may be found in Lev 18:21; 20:3.
[20:40] 377 tn Heb “all of it.”
[20:42] 378 tn Heb “I lifted up my hand.”
[20:43] 380 tn Heb “loathe yourselves in your faces.”
[20:45] 381 sn Beginning with 20:45, the verse numbers through 21:32 in the English Bible differ by five from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 20:45 ET = 21:1 HT, 20:46 ET = 21:2 HT, 21:1 ET = 21:6 HT etc., through 21:32 ET = 21:37 HT. Beginning with 22:1 the verse numbers in the English Bible and the Hebrew Bible are again the same.
[20:46] 382 tn Heb “set your face toward.” This expression occurs as well in Ezek 6:2; 13:17.
[20:46] 383 tn Or “the way toward the south,” or “the way toward Teman.” Teman is in the south and may be a location or the direction.
[20:46] 384 tn Or “toward Darom.” Darom may mean the south or a region just north of southern city of Beer Sheba. See M. Greenberg, Ezekiel (AB), 2:417-18.
[20:46] 385 tn The Hebrew term can also mean “forest,” but a meaning of uncultivated wasteland fits the Negev region far better. See M. Greenberg, Ezekiel (AB), 2:418.
[20:47] 386 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
[20:47] 387 tn Fire also appears as a form of judgment in Ezek 15:4-7; 19:12, 14.
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