Yehezkiel 3:3

3:3 He said to me, “Son of man, feed your stomach and fill your belly with this scroll I am giving to you.” So I ate it, ¹  and it was sweet like honey in my mouth.

Yehezkiel 5:8

5:8 “Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: I – even I – am against you, ²  and I will execute judgment ³  among you while the nations watch. ⁴ 

Yehezkiel 5:16

5:16 I will shoot against them deadly, ⁵  destructive ⁶  arrows of famine, ⁷  which I will shoot to destroy you. ⁸  I will prolong a famine on you and will remove the bread supply. ⁹ 

Yehezkiel 11:12

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!’”

Yehezkiel 12:11

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.’

Yehezkiel 12:28

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.’”

Yehezkiel 13:2

13:2 “Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who are now prophesying. Say to the prophets who prophesy from their imagination: ¹⁰  ‘Hear the word of the Lord!

Yehezkiel 14:17

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.

Yehezkiel 15:7

15:7 I will set ¹¹  my face against them – although they have escaped from the fire, ¹²  the fire will still consume them! Then you will know that I am the Lord, when I set my face against them.

Yehezkiel 16:42

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.

Yehezkiel 17:21

17:21 All the choice men ¹³  among his troops will die ¹⁴  by the sword and the survivors will be scattered to every wind. Then you will know that I, the Lord, have spoken!

Yehezkiel 21:3

21:3 and say to them, ¹⁵  ‘This is what the Lord says: Look, ¹⁶  I am against you. ¹⁷  I will draw my sword ¹⁸  from its sheath and cut off from you both the righteous and the wicked. ¹⁹ 

Yehezkiel 21:12

21:12 Cry out and moan, son of man,

for it is wielded against my people;

against all the princes of Israel.

They are delivered up to the sword, along with my people.

Therefore, strike your thigh. ²⁰ 

Yehezkiel 21:31

21:31 I will pour out my anger on you;

the fire of my fury I will blow on you.

I will hand you over to brutal men,

who are skilled in destruction.

Yehezkiel 24:3

24:3 Recite a proverb to this rebellious house ²¹  and say to them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says:

“‘Set on the pot, ²²  set it on,

pour water in it too;

Yehezkiel 25:4

25:4 So take note, ²³  I am about to make you slaves of ²⁴  the tribes ²⁵  of the east. They will make camps among you and pitch their tents among you. They will eat your fruit and drink your milk.

Yehezkiel 27:16

27:16 Edom ²⁶  was your trade partner because of the abundance of your goods; they exchanged turquoise, purple, embroidered work, fine linen, coral, and rubies for your products.

Yehezkiel 28:24

28:24 “‘No longer will Israel suffer from the sharp briers ²⁷  or painful thorns of all who surround and scorn them. ²⁸  Then they will know that I am the sovereign Lord.

Yehezkiel 29:10

29:10 I am against ²⁹  you and your waterways. I will turn the land of Egypt into an utter desolate ruin from Migdol ³⁰  to Syene, ³¹  as far as the border with Ethiopia.

Yehezkiel 32:12

32:12 By the swords of the mighty warriors I will cause your hordes to fall –

all of them are the most terrifying among the nations.

They will devastate the pride of Egypt,

and all its hordes will be destroyed.

Yehezkiel 32:18

32:18 “Son of man, wail ³²  over the horde of Egypt. Bring it down; ³³  bring ³⁴  her ³⁵  and the daughters of powerful nations down to the lower parts of the earth, along with those who descend to the pit.

Yehezkiel 43:18

43:18 Then he said to me: “Son of man, this is what the sovereign Lord says: These are the statutes of the altar: On the day it is built to offer up burnt offerings on it and to sprinkle blood on it, ³⁶ 

Yehezkiel 43:21

43:21 You will also take the bull for the sin offering, and it will be burned in the appointed place in the temple, outside the sanctuary.

Yehezkiel 44:28

44:28 “‘This will be their inheritance: I am their inheritance, and you must give them no property in Israel; I am their property. ³⁷ 

Yehezkiel 45:6

45:6 “‘Alongside the portion set apart as the holy allotment, you will allot for the city an area one and two-thirds miles ³⁸  wide and eight and a quarter miles ³⁹  long; it will be for the whole house of Israel.

[3:3]  ¹ tc Heb “I ate,” a first common singular preterite plus paragogic he (ה). The ancient versions read “I ate it,” which is certainly the meaning in the context, and indicates they read the he as a third feminine singular pronominal suffix. The Masoretes typically wrote a mappiq in the he for the pronominal suffix but apparently missed this one.

[3:3]  sn I ate it. A similar idea of consuming God’s word is found in Jer 15:16 and Rev 10:10, where it is also compared to honey and may be specifically reminiscent of this text.

[5:8]  ² 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. The Hebrew text switches to a second feminine singular form here, indicating that personified Jerusalem is addressed (see vv. 5-6a). The address to Jerusalem continues through v. 15. In vv. 16-17 the second masculine plural is used, as the people are addressed.

[5:8]  ³ tn The Hebrew text uses wordplay here to bring out the appropriate nature of God’s judgment. “Execute” translates the same Hebrew verb translated “carried out” (literally meaning “do”) in v. 7, while “judgment” in v. 8 and “regulations” in v. 7 translate the same Hebrew noun (meaning “regulations” or in some cases “judgments” executed on those who break laws). The point seems to be this: God would “carry out judgments” against those who refused to “carry out” his “laws.”

[5:8]  ⁴ tn Heb “in the sight of the nations.”

[5:8]  sn This is one of the ironies of the passage. The Lord set Israel among the nations for honor and praise as they would be holy and obey God’s law as told in Ezek 5:5 and Deut 26:16-19. The practice of these laws and statutes would make the peoples consider Israel wise. (See Deut 4:5-8, where the words for laws and statutes are the same as those used here). Since Israel did not obey, they are made a different kind of object lesson to the nations, not by their obedience but in their punishment as told in Ezek 5:8 and Deut 29:24-29. Yet Deut 30 goes on to say that when they remember the cursings and blessings of the covenant and repent, God will restore them from the nations to which they have been scattered.

[5:16]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew word carries the basic idea of “bad, displeasing, injurious,” but when used of weapons has the nuance “deadly” (see Ps 144:10).

[5:16]  ⁶ tn Heb “which are/were to destroy.”

[5:16]  ⁷ tn The language of this verse may have been influenced by Deut 32:23.

[5:16]  ⁸ tn Or “which were to destroy those whom I will send to destroy you” (cf. NASB).

[5:16]  ⁹ tn Heb, “break the staff of bread.” The bread supply is compared to a staff that one uses for support. See 4:16, as well as the covenant curse in Lev 26:26.

[13:2]  ¹⁰ 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.

[15:7]  ¹¹ tn The word translated “set” is the same Hebrew word translated as “provide” in the previous verse.

[15:7]  ¹² sn This escape refers to the exile of Ezekiel and others in 597 b.c. (Ezek 1:2; 2 Kgs 24:10-16).

[17:21]  ¹³ 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).

[17:21]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “fall.”

[21:3]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “the land of Israel.”

[21:3]  ¹⁶ tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) draws attention to something and has been translated here as a verb.

[21:3]  ¹⁷ 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.

[21:3]  ¹⁸ sn This is the sword of judgment, see Isa 31:8; 34:6; 66:16.

[21:3]  ¹⁹ sn Ezekiel elsewhere pictures the Lord’s judgment as discriminating between the righteous and the wicked (9:4-6; 18:1-20; see as well Pss 1 and 11) and speaks of the preservation of a remnant (3:21; 6:8; 12:16). Perhaps here he exaggerates for rhetorical effect in an effort to subdue any false optimism. See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:25-26; D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:669-70; and W. Zimmerli, Ezekiel (Hermeneia), 1:424-25.

[21:12]  ²⁰ sn This physical action was part of an expression of grief. Cp. Jer. 31:19.

[24:3]  ²¹ 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).

[24:3]  ²² sn See Ezek 11:3-12.

[25:4]  ²³ tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates being aware of or taking notice of something and has been translated here with a verb (so also throughout the chapter).

[25:4]  ²⁴ tn Heb “Look I am about to give you for a possession to.”

[25:4]  ²⁵ tn Heb “sons.”

[27:16]  ²⁶ tc Many Hebrew mss, Aquila’s Greek translation, and the Syriac version read “Edom.” The LXX reads “man,” a translation which assumes the same consonants as Edom. This reading is supported from the context as the text deals with Damascus, the capital of Syria (Aram), later (in v. 18).

[28:24]  ²⁷ sn Similar language is used in reference to Israel’s adversaries in Num 33:55; Josh 23:13.

[28:24]  ²⁸ tn Heb “and there will not be for the house of Israel a brier that pricks and a thorn that inflicts pain from all the ones who surround them, the ones who scorn them.”

[29:10]  ²⁹ 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.

[29:10]  ³⁰ sn This may refer to a site in the Egyptian Delta which served as a refuge for Jews (Jer 44:1; 46:14).

[29:10]  ³¹ sn Syene is known today as Aswan.

[32:18]  ³² tn The Hebrew verb is used as a response to death (Jer 9:17-19; Amos 5:16).

[32:18]  ³³ sn Through this prophetic lament given by God himself, the prophet activates the judgment described therein. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:217, and L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:136-37.

[32:18]  ³⁴ tn Heb “Bring him down, her and the daughters of the powerful nations, to the earth below.” The verb “bring down” appears in the Hebrew text only once. Because the verb takes several objects here, the repetition of the verb in the translation improves the English style.

[32:18]  ³⁵ tn This apparently refers to personified Egypt.

[43:18]  ³⁶ sn For the “sprinkling of blood,” see Lev 1:5, 11; 8:19; 9:12.

[44:28]  ³⁷ sn See Num 18:20; Deut 10:9; 18:2; Josh 13:33; 18:7.

[45:6]  ³⁸ tn Heb “five thousand cubits” (i.e., 2.625 kilometers).

[45:6]  ³⁹ tn Heb “twenty-five thousand cubits” (i.e., 13.125 kilometers).