Yehezkiel 4:1--7:27
Konteks4:1 “And you, son of man, take a brick 1 and set it in front of you. Inscribe 2 a city on it – Jerusalem. 4:2 Lay siege to it! Build siege works against it. Erect a siege ramp 3 against it! Post soldiers outside it 4 and station battering rams around it. 4:3 Then for your part take an iron frying pan 5 and set it up as an iron wall between you and the city. Set your face toward it. It is to be under siege; you are to besiege it. This is a sign 6 for the house of Israel.
4:4 “Also for your part lie on your left side and place the iniquity 7 of the house of Israel on it. For the number of days you lie on your side you will bear their iniquity. 4:5 I have determined that the number of the years of their iniquity are to be the number of days 8 for you – 390 days. 9 So bear the iniquity of the house of Israel. 10
4:6 “When you have completed these days, then lie down a second time, but on your right side, and bear the iniquity of the house of Judah 40 days 11 – I have assigned one day for each year. 4:7 You must turn your face toward the siege of Jerusalem with your arm bared and prophesy against it. 4:8 Look here, I will tie you up with ropes, so you cannot turn from one side to the other until you complete the days of your siege. 12
4:9 “As for you, take wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, and spelt, 13 put them in a single container, and make food 14 from them for yourself. For the same number of days that you lie on your side – 390 days 15 – you will eat it. 4:10 The food you eat will be eight ounces 16 a day by weight; you must eat it at fixed 17 times. 4:11 And you must drink water by measure, a pint and a half; 18 you must drink it at fixed times. 4:12 And you must eat the food like you would a barley cake. You must bake it in front of them over a fire made with dried human excrement.” 19 4:13 And the Lord said, “This is how the people of Israel will eat their unclean food among the nations 20 where I will banish them.”
4:14 And I said, “Ah, sovereign Lord, I have never been ceremonially defiled before. I have never eaten a carcass or an animal torn by wild beasts; from my youth up, unclean meat 21 has never entered my mouth.”
4:15 So he said to me, “All right then, I will substitute cow’s manure instead of human excrement. You will cook your food over it.”
4:16 Then he said to me, “Son of man, I am about to remove the bread supply 22 in Jerusalem. 23 They will eat their bread ration anxiously, and they will drink their water ration in terror 4:17 because they will lack bread and water. Each one will be terrified, and they will rot for their iniquity. 24
5:1 “As for you, son of man, take a sharp sword and use it as a barber’s razor. 25 Shave off some of the hair from your head and your beard. 26 Then take scales and divide up the hair you cut off. 5:2 Burn a third of it in the fire inside the city when the days of your siege are completed. Take a third and slash it with a sword all around the city. Scatter a third to the wind, and I will unleash a sword behind them. 5:3 But take a few strands of hair 27 from those and tie them in the ends of your garment. 28 5:4 Again, take more of them and throw them into the fire, 29 and burn them up. From there a fire will spread to all the house of Israel.
5:5 “This is what the sovereign Lord says: This is Jerusalem; I placed her in the center of the nations with countries all around her. 5:6 Then she defied my regulations and my statutes, becoming more wicked than the nations 30 and the countries around her. 31 Indeed, they 32 have rejected my regulations, and they do not follow my statutes.
5:7 “Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: Because you are more arrogant 33 than the nations around you, 34 you have not followed my statutes and have not carried out my regulations. You have not even 35 carried out the regulations of the nations around you!
5:8 “Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: I – even I – am against you, 36 and I will execute judgment 37 among you while the nations watch. 38 5:9 I will do to you what I have never done before and will never do again because of all your abominable practices. 39 5:10 Therefore fathers will eat their sons within you, Jerusalem, 40 and sons will eat their fathers. I will execute judgments on you, and I will scatter any survivors 41 to the winds. 42
5:11 “Therefore, as surely as I live, says the sovereign Lord, because you defiled my sanctuary with all your detestable idols and with all your abominable practices, I will withdraw; my eye will not pity you, nor will I spare 43 you. 5:12 A third of your people will die of plague or be overcome by the famine within you. 44 A third of your people will fall by the sword surrounding you, 45 and a third I will scatter to the winds. I will unleash a sword behind them. 5:13 Then my anger will be fully vented; I will exhaust my rage on them, and I will be appeased. 46 Then they will know that I, the Lord, have spoken in my jealousy 47 when I have fully vented my rage against them.
5:14 “I will make you desolate and an object of scorn among the nations around you, in the sight of everyone who passes by. 5:15 You will be 48 an object of scorn and taunting, 49 a prime example of destruction 50 among the nations around you when I execute judgments against you in anger and raging fury. 51 I, the Lord, have spoken! 5:16 I will shoot against them deadly, 52 destructive 53 arrows of famine, 54 which I will shoot to destroy you. 55 I will prolong a famine on you and will remove the bread supply. 56 5:17 I will send famine and wild beasts against you and they will take your children from you. 57 Plague and bloodshed will overwhelm you, 58 and I will bring a sword against you. I, the Lord, have spoken!”
6:1 The word of the Lord came to me: 6:2 “Son of man, turn toward 59 the mountains of Israel and prophesy against them: 6:3 Say, ‘Mountains of Israel, 60 Hear the word of the sovereign Lord! 61 This is what the sovereign Lord says to the mountains and the hills, to the ravines and the valleys: I am bringing 62 a sword against you, and I will destroy your high places. 63 6:4 Your altars will be ruined and your incense altars will be broken. I will throw down your slain in front of your idols. 64 6:5 I will place the corpses of the people of Israel in front of their idols, 65 and I will scatter your bones around your altars. 6:6 In all your dwellings, the cities will be laid waste and the high places ruined so that your altars will be laid waste and ruined, your idols will be shattered and demolished, your incense altars will be broken down, and your works wiped out. 66 6:7 The slain will fall among you and then you will know that I am the Lord. 67
6:8 “‘But I will spare some of you. Some will escape the sword when you are scattered in foreign lands. 68 6:9 Then your survivors will remember me among the nations where they are exiled. They will realize 69 how I was crushed by their unfaithful 70 heart which turned from me and by their eyes which lusted after their idols. They will loathe themselves 71 because of the evil they have done and because of all their abominable practices. 6:10 They will know that I am the Lord; my threats to bring this catastrophe on them were not empty.’ 72
6:11 “‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Clap your hands, stamp your feet, and say, “Ah!” because of all the evil, abominable practices of the house of Israel, for they will fall by the sword, famine, and pestilence. 73 6:12 The one far away will die by pestilence, the one close by will fall by the sword, and whoever is left and has escaped these 74 will die by famine. I will fully vent my rage against them. 6:13 Then you will know that I am the Lord – when their dead lie among their idols around their altars, on every high hill and all the mountaintops, under every green tree and every leafy oak, 75 the places where they have offered fragrant incense to all their idols. 6:14 I will stretch out my hand against them 76 and make the land a desolate waste from the wilderness to Riblah, 77 in all the places where they live. Then they will know that I am the Lord!”
7:1 The word of the Lord came to me: 7:2 “You, son of man – this is what the sovereign Lord says to the land of Israel: An end! The end is coming on the four corners of the land! 78 7:3 The end is now upon you, and I will release my anger against you; I will judge 79 you according to your behavior, 80 I will hold you accountable for 81 all your abominable practices. 7:4 My eye will not pity you; I will not spare 82 you. 83 For I will hold you responsible for your behavior, 84 and you will suffer the consequences of your abominable practices. 85 Then you will know that I am the Lord!
7:5 “This is what the sovereign Lord says: A disaster 86 – a one-of-a-kind 87 disaster – is coming! 7:6 An end comes 88 – the end comes! 89 It has awakened against you 90 – the end is upon you! Look, it is coming! 91 7:7 Doom is coming upon you who live in the land! The time is coming, the day 92 is near. There are sounds of tumult, not shouts of joy, on the mountains. 93 7:8 Soon now I will pour out my rage 94 on you; I will fully vent my anger against you. I will judge you according to your behavior. I will hold you accountable for all your abominable practices. 7:9 My eye will not pity you; I will not spare 95 you. For your behavior I will hold you accountable, 96 and you will suffer the consequences of your abominable practices. Then you will know that it is I, the Lord, who is striking you. 97
7:10 “Look, the day! Look, it is coming! Doom has gone out! The staff has budded, pride has blossomed! 7:11 Violence 98 has grown into a staff that supports wickedness. Not one of them will be left 99 – not from their crowd, not from their wealth, not from their prominence. 100 7:12 The time has come; the day has struck! The customer should not rejoice, nor the seller mourn; for divine wrath 101 comes against their whole crowd. 7:13 The customer will no longer pay the seller 102 while both parties are alive, for the vision against their whole crowd 103 will not be revoked. Each person, for his iniquity, 104 will fail to preserve his life.
7:14 “They have blown the trumpet and everyone is ready, but no one goes to battle, because my anger is against their whole crowd. 105 7:15 The sword is outside; pestilence and famine are inside the house. Whoever is in the open field will die by the sword, and famine and pestilence will consume everyone in the city. 7:16 Their survivors will escape to the mountains and become like doves of the valleys; all of them will moan – each one for his iniquity. 7:17 All of their hands will hang limp; their knees will be wet with urine. 106 7:18 They will wear sackcloth, terror will cover them; shame will be on all their faces, and all of their heads will be shaved bald. 107 7:19 They will discard their silver in the streets, and their gold will be treated like filth. 108 Their silver and gold will not be able to deliver them on the day of the Lord’s fury. 109 They will not satisfy their hunger or fill their stomachs because their wealth 110 was the obstacle leading to their iniquity. 111 7:20 They rendered the beauty of his ornaments into pride, 112 and with it they made their abominable images – their detestable idols. Therefore I will render it filthy to them. 7:21 I will give it to foreigners as loot, to the world’s wicked ones as plunder, and they will desecrate it. 7:22 I will turn my face away from them and they will desecrate my treasured place. 113 Vandals will enter it and desecrate it. 114 7:23 (Make the chain, 115 because the land is full of murder 116 and the city is full of violence.) 7:24 I will bring the most wicked of the nations and they will take possession of their houses. I will put an end to the arrogance of the strong, and their sanctuaries 117 will be desecrated. 7:25 Terror 118 is coming! They will seek peace, but find none. 7:26 Disaster after disaster will come, and one rumor after another. They will seek a vision from a prophet; priestly instruction will disappear, along with counsel from the elders. 7:27 The king will mourn and the prince will be clothed with shuddering; the hands of the people of the land will tremble. Based on their behavior I will deal with them, and by their standard of justice 119 I will judge them. Then they will know that I am the Lord!”
Yehezkiel 11:1--12:28
Konteks11:1 A wind 120 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. 121 11:2 The Lord 122 said to me, “Son of man, these are the men who plot evil and give wicked advice in this city. 11:3 They say, 123 ‘The time is not near to build houses; 124 the city 125 is a cooking pot 126 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 127 upon me and said to me, “Say: This is what the Lord says: ‘This is what you are thinking, 128 O house of Israel; I know what goes through your minds. 129 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 130 in the midst of the city 131 are the meat, and this city 132 is the cooking pot, but I will take you out of it. 133 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. 134 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 135 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!” 136
11:14 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 11:15 “Son of man, your brothers, 137 your relatives, 138 and the whole house of Israel, all of them are those to whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem 139 have said, ‘They have gone 140 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 141 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; 142 I will remove the hearts of stone from their bodies 143 and I will give them tender hearts, 144 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. 145 11:21 But those whose hearts are devoted to detestable things and abominations, I hereby repay them for what they have done, 146 says the sovereign Lord.”
11:22 Then the cherubim spread 147 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 148 over the mountain east of it. 11:24 Then a wind 149 lifted me up and carried me to the exiles in Babylonia, 150 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 151 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. 152 They have eyes to see, but do not see, and ears to hear, but do not hear, 153 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, 154 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. 155 You must cover your face so that you cannot see the ground 156 because I have made you an object lesson 157 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 158 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, 159 and all the house of Israel within it.’ 160 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 161 who is among them will raise his belongings 162 onto his shoulder in darkness, and will go out. He 163 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 164 (but he will not see it), 165 and there he will die. 166 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, 167 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. 168 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.’”
Yehezkiel 14:1--24:27
Konteks14:1 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 169 right before their faces. Should I really allow them to seek 170 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. 171 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 172 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 173 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; 174 the punishment of the one who sought an oracle will be the same as the punishment of the prophet who gave it 175 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, 176 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, 177 cause famine to come on it, and kill both people and animals. 14:14 Even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, 178 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 179 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? 180 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! 181 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 182 as fuel. 183 15:7 I will set 184 my face against them – although they have escaped from the fire, 185 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 186 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 187 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; 188 you were certainly not rubbed down with salt, nor wrapped with blankets. 189 16:5 No eye took pity on you to do even one of these things for you to spare you; 190 you were thrown out into the open field 191 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!” 192 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 193 that you had reached the age for love. 194 I spread my cloak 195 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 196 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. 197
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 198 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. 199 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 200 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 201 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. 202 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 203 and put up a pavilion 204 in every public square. 16:25 At the head of every street you erected your pavilion and you disgraced 205 your beauty when you spread 206 your legs to every passerby and multiplied your promiscuity. 16:26 You engaged in prostitution with the Egyptians, your sexually aroused neighbors, 207 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, 208 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. 209
16:32 “‘Adulterous wife, who prefers strangers instead of her own husband! 16:33 All prostitutes receive payment, 210 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 211 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 212 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. 213 16:38 I will punish you as an adulteress and murderer deserves. 214 I will avenge your bloody deeds with furious rage. 215 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. 216 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, 217 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 218 of you with her daughters, and your younger sister, who lived south 219 of you, was Sodom 220 with her daughters. 16:47 Have you not copied their behavior 221 and practiced their abominable deeds? In a short time 222 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 223 of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters had majesty, abundance of food, and enjoyed carefree ease, but they did not help 224 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. 225 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. 226 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, 227 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 228 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 229 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 230 when I make atonement for all you have done, 231 declares the sovereign Lord.’”
17:1 The word of the Lord came to me: 17:2 “Son of man, offer a riddle, 232 and tell a parable to the house of Israel. 17:3 Say to them: ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: 233
“‘A great eagle 234 with broad wings, long feathers, 235
with full plumage which was multi-hued, 236
came to Lebanon 237 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 238 of the land,
placed it in a cultivated plot; 239
a shoot by abundant water,
like a willow he planted it.
17:6 It sprouted and became a vine,
spreading low to the ground; 240
its branches turning toward him, 241 its roots were under itself. 242
So it became a vine; it produced shoots and sent out branches.
17:7 “‘There was another great eagle 243
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 244 and wither?
All its foliage 245 will wither.
No strong arm or large army
will be needed to pull it out by its roots. 246
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: 247 ‘Don’t you know what these things mean?’ 248 Say: ‘See here, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem 249 and took her king and her officials prisoner and brought them to himself in Babylon. 17:13 He took one from the royal family, 250 made a treaty with him, and put him under oath. 251 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 252 rebelled against the king of Babylon 253 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 254 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 255 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 256 – he gave his promise 257 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 258 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 259 among his troops will die 260 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 261 from the lofty top of the cedar and plant it. 262
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?’ 263
18:3 “As surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, 264 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 265 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 266 or pray to the idols 267 of the house of Israel, does not defile his neighbor’s wife, does not have sexual relations with a 268 woman during her period, 18:7 does not oppress anyone, but gives the debtor back whatever was given in pledge, 269 does not commit robbery, 270 but gives his bread to the hungry and clothes the naked, 18:8 does not engage in usury or charge interest, 271 but refrains 272 from wrongdoing, promotes true justice 273 between men, 18:9 and follows my statutes and observes my regulations by carrying them out. 274 That man 275 is righteous; he will certainly live, 276 declares the sovereign Lord.
18:10 “Suppose such a man has 277 a violent son who sheds blood and does any of these things 278 mentioned previously 18:11 (though the father did not do any of them). 279 He eats pagan sacrifices on the mountains, 280 defiles his neighbor’s wife, 18:12 oppresses the poor and the needy, 281 commits robbery, does not give back what was given in pledge, prays to 282 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. 283 He will bear the responsibility for his own death. 284
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. 285 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, 286 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; 287 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 288 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 289 for his father’s iniquity, and a father will not suffer 290 for his son’s iniquity; the righteous person will be judged according to his righteousness, and the wicked person according to his wickedness. 291
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 292 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. 293
18:25 “Yet you say, ‘The Lord’s conduct 294 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; 295 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 296 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, 297 O house of Israel, declares the sovereign Lord. Repent 298 and turn from all your wickedness; then it will not be an obstacle leading to iniquity. 299 18:31 Throw away all your sins you have committed and fashion yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! 300 Why should you die, O house of Israel? 18:32 For I take no delight in the death of anyone, 301 declares the sovereign Lord. Repent and live!
19:1 “And you, sing 302 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; 303 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. 304
19:4 The nations heard about him; he was trapped in their pit.
They brought him with hooks to the land of Egypt. 305
19:5 “‘When she realized that she waited in vain, her hope was lost.
She took another of her cubs 306 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 307 their strongholds 308 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; 309
they brought him to the king of Babylon;
they brought him to prison 310
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, 311 planted by water.
It was fruitful and full of branches because it was well-watered.
19:11 Its boughs were strong, fit 312 for rulers’ scepters; it reached up into the clouds.
It stood out because of its height and its many branches. 313
19:12 But it was plucked up in anger; it was thrown down to the ground.
The east wind 314 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. 315
19:14 A fire has gone out from its branch; it has consumed its shoot and its fruit. 316
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, 317 some of the elders 318 of Israel came to seek 319 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, 320 declares the sovereign Lord.’ 20:4 “Are you willing to pronounce judgment? 321 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 322 to the descendants 323 of the house of Jacob and made myself known to them in the land of Egypt. I swore 324 to them, “I am the Lord your God.” 20:6 On that day I swore 325 to bring them out of the land of Egypt to a land which I had picked out 326 for them, a land flowing with milk and honey, 327 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, 328 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, 329 nor did they abandon the idols of Egypt. Then I decided to pour out 330 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, 331 so that I would not be profaned before the nations among whom they lived, 332 before whom I revealed myself by bringing them out of the land of Egypt. 333
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 334 and revealed my regulations to them. The one 335 who carries 336 them out will live by them! 337 20:12 I also gave them my Sabbaths 338 as a reminder of our relationship, 339 so that they would know that I, the Lord, sanctify them. 340 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 341 my rage on them in the wilderness and destroy them. 342 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 343 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 344 because they rejected my regulations, did not follow my statutes, and desecrated my Sabbaths; for their hearts followed their idols. 345 20:17 Yet I had pity on 346 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 347 in the wilderness, “Do not follow the practices of your fathers; do not observe their regulations, 348 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 349 and they will be a reminder of our relationship, 350 and then you will know that I am the Lord your God.” 20:21 “‘But the children 351 rebelled against me, did not follow my statutes, did not observe my regulations by carrying them out (the one who obeys 352 them will live by them), and desecrated my Sabbaths. I decided to pour out 353 my rage on them and fully vent my anger against them in the wilderness. 20:22 But I refrained from doing so, 354 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 355 to them in the wilderness that I would scatter them among the nations and disperse them throughout the lands. 356 20:24 I did this 357 because they did not observe my regulations, they rejected my statutes, they desecrated my Sabbaths, and their eyes were fixed on 358 their fathers’ idols. 20:25 I also gave 359 them decrees 360 which were not good and regulations by which they could not live. 20:26 I declared them to be defiled because of their sacrifices 361 – they caused all their first born to pass through the fire 362 – so that I would devastate them, so that they will know that I am the Lord.’ 363
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 364 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” 365 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 366 and engage in prostitution with detestable idols? 20:31 When you present your sacrifices 367 – 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, 368 O house of Israel? As surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, I will not allow you to seek me! 369
20:32 “‘What you plan 370 will never happen. You say, “We will be 371 like the nations, like the clans of the lands, who serve gods of wood and stone.” 372 20:33 As surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, with a powerful hand and an outstretched arm, 373 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 374 the shepherd’s staff, 375 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 376 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, 377 if you will not listen to me. 378 But my holy name will not be profaned 379 again by your sacrifices 380 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 381 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 382 to give to your fathers. 20:43 And there you will remember your conduct 383 and all your deeds by which you defiled yourselves. You will despise yourselves 384 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) 385 The word of the Lord came to me: 20:46 “Son of man, turn toward 386 the south, 387 and speak out against the south. 388 Prophesy against the open scrub 389 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, 390 I am about to start a fire in you, 391 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 392 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?’”
21:1 (21:6) 393 The word of the Lord came to me: 21:2 “Son of man, turn toward 394 Jerusalem 395 and speak out against the sanctuaries. Prophesy against the land of Israel 21:3 and say to them, 396 ‘This is what the Lord says: Look, 397 I am against you. 398 I will draw my sword 399 from its sheath and cut off from you both the righteous and the wicked. 400 21:4 Because I will cut off from you both the righteous and the wicked, my sword will go out from its sheath against everyone 401 from the south 402 to the north. 21:5 Then everyone will know that I am the Lord, who drew my sword from its sheath – it will not be sheathed again!’
21:6 “And you, son of man, groan with an aching heart 403 and bitterness; groan before their eyes. 21:7 When they ask you, ‘Why are you groaning?’ you will reply, ‘Because of the report that has come. Every heart will melt with fear and every hand will be limp; everyone 404 will faint and every knee will be wet with urine.’ 405 Pay attention – it is coming and it will happen, declares the sovereign Lord.”
21:8 The word of the Lord came to me: 21:9 “Son of man, prophesy and say: ‘This is what the Lord says:
“‘A sword, a sword is sharpened,
and also polished.
21:10 It is sharpened for slaughter,
it is polished to flash like lightning!
“‘Should we rejoice in the scepter of my son? No! The sword despises every tree! 406
21:11 “‘He gave it to be polished,
to be grasped in the hand –
the sword is sharpened, it is polished –
giving it into the hand of the executioner.
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. 407
21:13 “‘For testing will come, and what will happen when the scepter, which the sword despises, is no more? 408 declares the sovereign Lord.’
21:14 “And you, son of man, prophesy,
and clap your hands together.
Let the sword strike twice, even three times!
It is a sword for slaughter,
a sword for the great slaughter surrounding them.
21:15 So hearts melt with fear and many stumble.
At all their gates I have stationed the sword for slaughter.
Ah! It is made to flash, it is drawn for slaughter!
21:16 Cut sharply on the right!
Swing to 409 the left,
wherever your edge 410 is appointed to strike.
21:17 I too will clap my hands together,
I will exhaust my rage;
I the Lord have spoken.”
21:18 The word of the Lord came to me: 21:19 “You, son of man, mark out two routes for the king of Babylon’s sword to take; both of them will originate in a single land. Make a signpost and put it at the beginning of the road leading to the city. 21:20 Mark out the routes for the sword to take: “Rabbah of the Ammonites” and “Judah with Jerusalem in it.” 411 21:21 For the king of Babylon stands at the fork 412 in the road at the head of the two routes. He looks for omens: 413 He shakes arrows, he consults idols, 414 he examines 415 animal livers. 416 21:22 Into his right hand 417 comes the portent for Jerusalem – to set up battering rams, to give the signal 418 for slaughter, to shout out the battle cry, 419 to set up battering rams against the gates, to erect a siege ramp, to build a siege wall. 21:23 But those in Jerusalem 420 will view it as a false omen. They have sworn solemn oaths, 421 but the king of Babylon 422 will accuse them of violations 423 in order to seize them. 424
21:24 “Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: ‘Because you have brought up 425 your own guilt by uncovering your transgressions and revealing your sins through all your actions, for this reason you will be taken by force. 426
21:25 “‘As for you, profane and wicked prince of Israel, 427
whose day has come, the time of final punishment,
21:26 this is what the sovereign Lord says:
Tear off the turban, 428
take off the crown!
Things must change! 429
Exalt the lowly,
bring down the proud! 430
21:27 A total ruin I will make it! 431
It will come to an end
when the one arrives to whom I have assigned judgment.’ 432
21:28 “As for you, son of man, prophesy and say, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says concerning the Ammonites and their coming humiliation; 433 say:
“‘A sword, a sword drawn for slaughter,
polished to consume, 434 to flash like lightning –
21:29 while seeing false visions for you
and reading lying omens for you 435 –
to place that sword 436 on the necks of the profane wicked, 437
whose day has come,
the time of final punishment.
21:30 Return it to its sheath! 438
In the place where you were created, 439
in your native land, I will judge you.
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.
21:32 You will become fuel for the fire –
your blood will stain the middle of the land; 440
you will no longer be remembered,
for I, the Lord, have spoken.’”
22:1 The word of the Lord came to me: 22:2 “As for you, son of man, are you willing to pronounce judgment, 441 are you willing to pronounce judgment on the bloody city? 442 Then confront her with all her abominable deeds! 22:3 Then say, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: O city, who spills blood within herself (which brings on her doom), 443 and who makes herself idols (which results in impurity), 22:4 you are guilty because of the blood you shed and defiled by the idols you made. You have hastened the day of your doom; 444 the end of your years has come. 445 Therefore I will make 446 you an object of scorn to the nations, an object to be mocked by all lands. 22:5 Those both near and far from you will mock you, you with your bad reputation, 447 full of turmoil.
22:6 “‘See how each of the princes of Israel living within you has used his authority to shed blood. 448 22:7 They have treated father and mother with contempt 449 within you; they have oppressed the foreigner among you; they have wronged the orphan and the widow 450 within you. 22:8 You have despised my holy things and desecrated my Sabbaths! 22:9 Slanderous men shed blood within you. 451 Those who live within you eat pagan sacrifices on the mountains; 452 they commit obscene acts among you. 453 22:10 They have sex with their father’s wife within you; 454 they violate women during their menstrual period within you. 455 22:11 One 456 commits an abominable act with his neighbor’s wife; another obscenely defiles his daughter-in-law; another violates 457 his sister – his father’s daughter 458 – within you. 22:12 They take bribes within you to shed blood. You engage in usury and charge interest; 459 you extort money from your neighbors. You have forgotten me, 460 declares the sovereign Lord. 461
22:13 “‘See, I strike my hands together 462 at the dishonest profit you have made, and at the bloodshed 463 they have done among you. 22:14 Can your heart endure, 464 or can your hands be strong when I deal with you? 465 I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will do it! 22:15 I will scatter you among the nations and disperse you among various countries; I will remove your impurity from you. 466 22:16 You will be profaned within yourself 467 in the sight of the nations; then you will know that I am the Lord.’”
22:17 The word of the Lord came to me: 22:18 “Son of man, the house of Israel has become slag to me. All of them are like bronze, tin, iron, and lead in the furnace; 468 they are the worthless slag of silver. 22:19 Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: ‘Because all of you 469 have become slag, look out! – I am about to gather you in the middle of Jerusalem. 470 22:20 As silver, bronze, iron, lead, and tin are gathered in a furnace so that the fire can melt them, so I will gather you in my anger and in my rage. I will deposit you there 471 and melt you. 22:21 I will gather you and blow on you with the fire of my fury, and you will be melted in it. 22:22 As silver is melted in a furnace, so you will be melted in it, and you will know that I, the Lord, have poured out my anger on you.’”
22:23 The word of the Lord came to me: 22:24 “Son of man, say to her: ‘You are a land that receives no rain 472 or showers in the day of my anger.’ 473 22:25 Her princes 474 within her are like a roaring lion tearing its prey; they have devoured lives. They take away riches and valuable things; they have made many women widows 475 within it. 22:26 Her priests abuse my law and have desecrated my holy things. They do not distinguish between the holy and the profane, 476 or recognize any distinction between the unclean and the clean. They ignore 477 my Sabbaths and I am profaned in their midst. 22:27 Her officials are like wolves in her midst rending their prey – shedding blood and destroying lives – so they can get dishonest profit. 22:28 Her prophets coat their messages with whitewash. 478 They see false visions and announce lying omens for them, saying, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says,’ when the Lord has not spoken. 22:29 The people of the land have practiced extortion and committed robbery. They have wronged the poor and needy; they have oppressed the foreigner who lives among them and denied them justice. 479
22:30 “I looked for a man from among them who would repair the wall and stand in the gap before me on behalf of the land, so that I would not destroy it, but I found no one. 480 22:31 So I have poured my anger on them, and destroyed them with the fire of my fury. I hereby repay them for what they have done, 481 declares the sovereign Lord.”
23:1 The word of the Lord came to me: 23:2 “Son of man, there were two women who were daughters of the same mother. 23:3 They engaged in prostitution in Egypt; in their youth they engaged in prostitution. Their breasts were squeezed there; lovers 482 fondled their virgin nipples there. 23:4 Oholah was the name of the older and Oholibah 483 the name of her younger sister. They became mine, and gave birth to sons and daughters. 484 Oholah is Samaria and Oholibah is Jerusalem.
23:5 “Oholah engaged in prostitution while she was mine. 485 She lusted after her lovers, the Assyrians 486 – warriors 487 23:6 clothed in blue, governors and officials, all of them desirable young men, horsemen riding on horses. 23:7 She bestowed her sexual favors on them; all of them were the choicest young men of Assyria. She defiled herself with all whom she desired 488 – with all their idols. 23:8 She did not abandon the prostitution she had practiced in Egypt; for in her youth men had sex with her, fondled her virgin breasts, and ravished her. 489 23:9 Therefore I handed her over to her lovers, the Assyrians 490 for whom she lusted. 23:10 They exposed her nakedness, seized her sons and daughters, and killed her with the sword. She became notorious 491 among women, and they executed judgments against her.
23:11 “Her sister Oholibah watched this, 492 but she became more corrupt in her lust than her sister had been, and her acts of prostitution were more numerous than those of her sister. 23:12 She lusted after the Assyrians – governors and officials, warriors in full armor, horsemen riding on horses, all of them desirable young men. 23:13 I saw that she was defiled; both of them followed the same path. 23:14 But she increased her prostitution. She saw men carved on the wall, images of the Chaldeans carved in bright red, 493 23:15 wearing belts on their waists and flowing turbans on their heads, all of them looking like officers, the image of Babylonians 494 whose native land is Chaldea. 23:16 When she saw them, 495 she lusted after them and sent messengers to them in Chaldea. 496 23:17 The Babylonians crawled into bed with her. 497 They defiled her with their lust; after she was defiled by them, she 498 became disgusted with them. 23:18 When she lustfully exposed her nakedness, 499 I 500 was disgusted with her, just as I 501 had been disgusted with her sister. 23:19 Yet she increased her prostitution, remembering the days of her youth when she engaged in prostitution in the land of Egypt. 23:20 She lusted after their genitals – as large as those of donkeys, 502 and their seminal emission was as strong as that of stallions. 23:21 This is how you assessed 503 the obscene conduct of your youth, when the Egyptians fondled 504 your nipples and squeezed 505 your young breasts.
23:22 “Therefore, Oholibah, this is what the sovereign Lord says: Look here, 506 I am about to stir up against you the lovers with whom you were disgusted; I will bring them against you from every side: 23:23 the Babylonians and all the Chaldeans, Pekod, 507 Shoa, 508 and Koa, 509 and all the Assyrians with them, desirable young men, all of them governors and officials, officers and nobles, all of them riding on horses. 23:24 They will attack 510 you with weapons, 511 chariots, wagons, and with a huge army; 512 they will array themselves against you on every side with large shields, small shields, and helmets. I will assign them the task of judgment; 513 they will punish you according to their laws. 23:25 I will direct 514 my jealous anger against you, and they will deal with you in rage. They will cut off your nose and your ears, 515 and your survivors will die 516 by the sword. They will seize your sons and daughters, and your survivors will be consumed by fire. 23:26 They will strip your clothes off you and take away your beautiful jewelry. 23:27 So I will put an end to your obscene conduct and your prostitution which you have practiced in the land of Egypt. 517 You will not seek their help 518 or remember Egypt anymore.
23:28 “For this is what the sovereign Lord says: Look here, 519 I am about to deliver you over to 520 those whom you hate, to those with whom you were disgusted. 23:29 They will treat you with hatred, take away all you have labored for, 521 and leave you naked and bare. Your nakedness will be exposed, just as when you engaged in prostitution and obscene conduct. 522 23:30 I will do these things to you 523 because you engaged in prostitution with the nations, polluting yourself with their idols. 23:31 You have followed the ways of your sister, so I will place her cup of judgment 524 in your hand. 23:32 “This is what the sovereign Lord says: “You will drink your sister’s deep and wide cup; 525 you will be scorned and derided, for it holds a great deal. 23:33 You will be overcome by 526 drunkenness and sorrow. The cup of your sister Samaria is a cup of horror and desolation. 23:34 You will drain it dry, 527 gnaw its pieces, 528 and tear out your breasts, 529 for I have spoken, declares the sovereign Lord.
23:35 “Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: Because you have forgotten me and completely disregarded me, 530 you must bear now the punishment 531 for your obscene conduct and prostitution.”
23:36 The Lord said to me: “Son of man, are you willing to pronounce judgment 532 on Oholah and Oholibah? Then declare to them their abominable deeds! 23:37 For they have committed adultery and blood is on their hands. They have committed adultery with their idols, and their sons, whom they bore to me, 533 they have passed through the fire as food to their idols. 534 23:38 Moreover, they have done this to me: In the very same day 535 they desecrated my sanctuary and profaned my Sabbaths. 23:39 On the same day they slaughtered their sons for their idols, they came to my sanctuary to desecrate it. This is what they have done in the middle of my house.
23:40 “They even sent for men from far away; when the messenger arrived, those men set out. 536 For them you bathed, 537 painted your eyes, and decorated yourself with jewelry. 23:41 You sat on a magnificent couch, with a table arranged in front of it where you placed my incense and my olive oil. 23:42 The sound of a carefree crowd accompanied her, 538 including all kinds of men; 539 even Sabeans 540 were brought from the desert. The sisters 541 put bracelets on their wrists and beautiful crowns on their heads. 23:43 Then I said about the one worn out by adultery, ‘Now they will commit immoral acts with her.’ 23:44 They had sex with her 542 as one does with a prostitute. In this way they had sex with Oholah and Oholibah, promiscuous women. 23:45 But upright men will punish them appropriately for their adultery and bloodshed, 543 because they are adulteresses and blood is on their hands.
23:46 “For this is what the sovereign Lord says: Bring up an army 544 against them and subject them 545 to terror and plunder. 23:47 That army will pelt them with stones and slash them with their swords; they will kill their sons and daughters and burn their houses. 546 23:48 I will put an end to the obscene conduct in the land; all the women will learn a lesson from this and not engage in obscene conduct. 23:49 They will repay you for your obscene conduct, and you will be punished for idol worship. 547 Then you will know that I am the sovereign Lord.”
24:1 The word of the Lord came to me in the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month 548 : 24:2 “Son of man, write down the name of this day, this very day. The king of Babylon has laid siege 549 to Jerusalem 550 this very day. 24:3 Recite a proverb to this rebellious house 551 and say to them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says:
“‘Set on the pot, 552 set it on,
pour water in it too;
24:4 add the pieces of meat to it,
every good piece,
the thigh and the shoulder;
fill it with choice bones.
24:5 Take the choice bone of the flock,
heap up bones under it;
boil rapidly,
and boil its bones in it.
24:6 “‘Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says:
Woe to the city of bloodshed,
the pot whose rot 553 is in it,
whose rot has not been removed 554 from it!
Empty it piece by piece.
No lot has fallen on it. 555
24:7 For her blood was in it;
she poured it on an exposed rock;
she did not pour it on the ground to cover it up with dust.
24:8 To arouse anger, to take vengeance,
I have placed her blood on an exposed rock so that it cannot be covered up.
24:9 “‘Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says:
Woe to the city of bloodshed!
I will also make the pile high.
24:10 Pile up the bones, kindle the fire;
cook the meat well, mix in the spices,
let the bones be charred.
24:11 Set the empty pot on the coals, 556
until it becomes hot and its copper glows,
until its uncleanness melts within it and its rot 557 is consumed.
24:12 It has tried my patience; 558
yet its thick rot is not removed 559 from it.
Subject its rot to the fire! 560
24:13 You mix uncleanness with obscene conduct. 561
I tried to cleanse you, 562 but you are not clean.
You will not be cleansed from your uncleanness 563
until I have exhausted my anger on you.
24:14 “‘I the Lord have spoken; judgment 564 is coming and I will act! I will not relent, or show pity, or be sorry! 565 I will judge you 566 according to your conduct 567 and your deeds, declares the sovereign Lord.’”
24:15 The word of Lord came to me: 24:16 “Son of man, realize that I am about to take the delight of your eyes away from you with a jolt, 568 but you must not mourn or weep or shed tears. 24:17 Groan in silence for the dead, 569 but do not perform mourning rites. 570 Bind on your turban 571 and put your sandals on your feet. Do not cover your lip 572 and do not eat food brought by others.” 573
24:18 So I spoke to the people in the morning, and my wife died in the evening. In the morning 574 I acted just as I was commanded. 24:19 Then the people said to me, “Will you not tell us what these things you are doing mean for us?”
24:20 So I said to them: “The word of the Lord came to me: 24:21 Say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Realize I am about to desecrate my sanctuary – the source of your confident pride, 575 the object in which your eyes delight, 576 and your life’s passion. 577 Your very own sons and daughters whom you have left behind will die 578 by the sword. 24:22 Then you will do as I have done: You will not cover your lip or eat food brought by others. 579 24:23 Your turbans will be on your heads and your sandals on your feet; you will not mourn or weep, but you will rot 580 for your iniquities 581 and groan among yourselves. 24:24 Ezekiel will be an object lesson for you; you will do all that he has done. When it happens, then you will know that I am the sovereign Lord.’
24:25 “And you, son of man, this is what will happen on the day I take 582 from them their stronghold – their beautiful source of joy, the object in which their eyes delight, and the main concern of their lives, 583 as well as their sons and daughters: 584 24:26 On that day a fugitive will come to you to report the news. 585 24:27 On that day you will be able to speak again; 586 you will talk with the fugitive and be silent no longer. You will be an object lesson for them, and they will know that I am the Lord.”
Yehezkiel 33:1-33
Konteks33:1 The word of the Lord came to me: 33:2 “Son of man, speak to your people, 587 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, 588 and warns the people, 589 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. 590 33:5 He heard the sound of the trumpet but did not heed the warning, so he is responsible for himself. 591 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, 592 but I will hold the watchman accountable for that person’s death.’ 593
33:7 “As for you, son of man, I have made you a watchman 594 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,’ 595 and you do not warn 596 the wicked about his behavior, 597 the wicked man will die for his iniquity, but I will hold you accountable for his death. 598 33:9 But if you warn the wicked man to change his behavior, 599 and he refuses to change, 600 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, 601 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 602 and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil deeds! 603 Why should you die, O house of Israel?’
33:12 “And you, son of man, say to your people, 604 ‘The righteousness of the righteous will not deliver him if he rebels. 605 As for the wicked, his wickedness will not make him stumble if he turns from it. 606 The righteous will not be able to live by his righteousness 607 if he sins.’ 608 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 609 returns what was taken in pledge, pays back what he has stolen, and follows the statutes that give life, 610 committing no iniquity. He will certainly live – he will not die. 33:16 None of the sins he has committed will be counted 611 against him. He has done what is just and right; he will certainly live.
33:17 “Yet your people 612 say, ‘The behavior 613 of the Lord is not right,’ 614 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.” 615
33:21 In the twelfth year of our exile, in the tenth month, on the fifth of the month, 616 a refugee came to me from Jerusalem 617 saying, “The city has been defeated!” 618 33:22 Now the hand of the Lord had been on me 619 the evening before the refugee reached me, but the Lord 620 opened my mouth by the time the refugee arrived 621 in the morning; he opened my mouth and I was no longer unable to speak. 622 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.’ 623 33:25 Therefore say to them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: You eat the meat with the blood still in it, 624 pray to 625 your idols, and shed blood. Do you really think you will possess 626 the land? 33:26 You rely 627 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 628 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.’ 629
33:30 “But as for you, son of man, your people 630 (who are talking about you by the walls and at the doors of the houses) say to one another, 631 ‘Come hear the word that comes 632 from the Lord.’ 33:31 They come to you in crowds, 633 and they sit in front of you as 634 my people. They hear your words, but do not obey 635 them. For they talk lustfully, 636 and their heart is set on 637 their own advantage. 638 33:32 Realize 639 that to them you are like a sensual song, a beautiful voice and skilled musician. 640 They hear your words, but they do not obey them. 641 33:33 When all this comes true – and it certainly will 642 – then they will know that a prophet was among them.”
[4:1] 1 sn Ancient Near Eastern bricks were 10 to 24 inches long and 6 to 13 1/2 inches wide.
[4:2] 4 tn Heb “set camps against it.”
[4:3] 5 tn Or “a griddle,” that is, some sort of plate for cooking.
[4:3] 6 tn That is, a symbolic object lesson.
[4:4] 7 tn Or “punishment” (also in vv. 5, 6).
[4:5] 8 tn Heb “I have assigned for you that the years of their iniquity be the number of days.” Num 14:33-34 is an example of the reverse, where the days were converted into years, the number of days spying out the land becoming the number of years of the wilderness wanderings.
[4:5] 9 tc The LXX reads “190 days.”
[4:5] sn The significance of the number 390 is not clear. The best explanation is that “days” are used figuratively for years and the number refers to the years of the sinfulness of Israel during the period of the First Temple. Some understand the number to refer to the length of the division of the northern and southern kingdoms down to the fall of Jerusalem (931-586
[4:5] 10 tn Or “When you have carried the iniquity of the house of Israel,” and continuing on to the next verse.
[4:6] 11 sn The number 40 may refer in general to the period of Judah’s exile using the number of years Israel was punished in the wilderness. In this case, however, one would need to translate, “you will bear the punishment of the house of Judah.”
[4:8] 12 sn The action surely refers to a series of daily acts rather than to a continuous period.
[4:9] 13 sn Wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, and spelt. All these foods were common in Mesopotamia where Ezekiel was exiled.
[4:9] 15 tc The LXX reads “190 days.”
[4:10] 16 sn Eight ounces (Heb “twenty shekels”). The standards for weighing money varied considerably in the ancient Near East, but the generally accepted weight for the shekel is 11.5 grams (0.4 ounce). This makes the weight of grain about 230 grams here (8 ounces).
[4:10] 17 tn Heb “from time to time.”
[4:11] 18 sn A pint and a half [Heb “one-sixth of a hin”]. One-sixth of a hin was a quantity of liquid equal to about 1.3 pints or 0.6 liters.
[4:12] 19 sn Human waste was to remain outside the camp of the Israelites according to Deut 23:15.
[4:13] 20 sn Unclean food among the nations. Lands outside of Israel were considered unclean (Josh 22:19; Amos 7:17).
[4:14] 21 tn The Hebrew term refers to sacrificial meat not eaten by the appropriate time (Lev 7:18; 19:7).
[4:16] 22 tn Heb, “break the staff of bread.” The bread supply is compared to a staff that one uses for support.
[4:16] 23 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[4:17] 24 tn Or “in their punishment.” Ezek 4:16-17 alludes to Lev 26:26, 39. The phrase “in/for [a person’s] iniquity” occurs fourteen times in Ezekiel: here, 3:18, 19; 7:13, 16; 18: 17, 18, 19, 20; 24:23; 33:6, 8, 9; 39:23. The Hebrew word for “iniquity” may also mean the “punishment for iniquity.”
[5:1] 25 tn The Hebrew word occurs only here in the OT.
[5:1] 26 tn Heb, “pass (it) over your head and your beard.”
[5:3] 27 tn Heb “from there a few in number.” The word “strands” has been supplied in the translation for clarification.
[5:3] 28 sn Objects could be carried in the end of a garment (Hag 2:12).
[5:4] 29 tn Heb “into the midst of” (so KJV, ASV). This phrase has been left untranslated for stylistic reasons.
[5:6] 30 sn The nations are subject to a natural law according to Gen 9; see also Amos 1:3-2:3; Jonah 1:2.
[5:6] 31 tn Heb “she defied my laws, becoming wicked more than the nations, and [she defied] my statutes [becoming wicked] more than the countries around her.”
[5:6] 32 sn One might conclude that the subject of the plural verbs is the nations/countries, but the context (vv. 5-6a) indicates that the people of Jerusalem are in view. The text shifts from using the feminine singular (referring to personified Jerusalem) to the plural (referring to Jerusalem’s residents). See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 1:73.
[5:7] 33 tn Traditionally this difficult form has been derived from a hypothetical root הָמוֹן (hamon), supposedly meaning “be in tumult/uproar,” but such a verb occurs nowhere else. It is more likely that it is to be derived from a root מָנוֹן (manon), meaning “disdain” (see L. C. Allen, Ezekiel [WBC], 1:52). A derivative from this root is used in Prov 29:21 of a rebellious servant. See HALOT 600 s.v. מָנוֹן.
[5:7] 34 sn You are more arrogant than the nations around you. Israel is accused of being worse than the nations in Ezek 16:27; 2 Kgs 21:11; Jer 2:11.
[5:7] 35 tc Some Hebrew
[5:8] 36 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] 37 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] 38 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.
[5:9] 39 tn Or “abominable idols.”
[5:10] 40 tn In context “you” refers to the city of Jerusalem. To make this clear for the modern reader, “Jerusalem” has been supplied in the translation in apposition to “you.”
[5:10] sn This cannibalism would occur as a result of starvation due to the city being besieged. It is one of the judgments threatened for a covenant law violation (Lev 26:29; see also Deut 28:53; Jer 19:9; Lam 2:20; Zech 11:9).
[5:10] 41 tn Heb “all of your survivors.”
[5:10] 42 tn Heb “to every wind.”
[5:11] 43 tn The meaning of the Hebrew term is primarily emotional: “to pity,” which in context implies an action, as in being moved by pity in order to spare them from the horror of their punishment.
[5:12] 44 sn The judgment of plague and famine comes from the covenant curse (Lev 26:25-26). As in v. 10, the city of Jerusalem is figuratively addressed here.
[5:12] 45 sn Judgment by plague, famine, and sword occurs in Jer 21:9; 27:13; Ezek 6:11, 12; 7:15.
[5:13] 46 tn Or “calm myself.”
[5:13] 47 tn The Hebrew noun translated “jealousy” is used in the human realm to describe suspicion of adultery (Num 5:14ff.; Prov 6:34). Since Israel’s relationship with God was often compared to a marriage this term is appropriate here. The term occurs elsewhere in Ezekiel in 8:3, 5; 16:38, 42; 23:25.
[5:15] 48 tc This reading is supported by the versions and by the Dead Sea Scrolls (11QEzek). Most Masoretic Hebrew
[5:15] 49 tn The Hebrew word occurs only here in the OT. A related verb means “revile, taunt” (see Ps 44:16).
[5:15] 50 tn Heb “discipline and devastation.” These words are omitted in the Old Greek. The first term pictures Jerusalem as a recipient or example of divine discipline; the second depicts her as a desolate ruin (see Ezek 6:14).
[5:15] 51 tn Heb “in anger and in fury and in rebukes of fury.” The heaping up of synonyms emphasizes the degree of God’s anger.
[5:16] 52 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] 53 tn Heb “which are/were to destroy.”
[5:16] 54 tn The language of this verse may have been influenced by Deut 32:23.
[5:16] 55 tn Or “which were to destroy those whom I will send to destroy you” (cf. NASB).
[5:16] 56 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.
[5:17] 57 tn Heb “will bereave you.”
[5:17] 58 tn Heb “will pass through you.” This threat recalls the warning of Lev 26:22, 25 and Deut 32:24-25.
[6:2] 59 tn Heb “set your face against.” The expression occurs at the beginning of Ezekiel’s prophetic oracles in Ezek 13:17; 20:46; 21:2; 25:2; 28:21; 29:2; 35:2; 38:2.
[6:2] sn Based on comparison to a similar expression in Ugaritic, the phrase may imply that Ezekiel was to actually go to these locations to deliver his message.
[6:3] 60 tn The phrase “mountains of Israel” occurs only in the book of Ezekiel (6:2, 3; 19:9; 33:28; 34:13, 14; 35:12; 36:1, 4, 8; 37:22; 38:8; 39:2, 4, 17). The expression refers to the whole land of Israel.
[6:3] sn The mountainous terrain of Israel would contrast with the exiles’ habitat in the river valley of Babylonia.
[6:3] 61 tn The introductory formula “Hear the word of the sovereign
[6:3] 62 tn Heb “Look I, I am bringing.” The repetition of the pronoun draws attention to the speaker. The construction also indicates that the action is soon to come; the Lord is “about to bring a sword against” them.
[6:3] 63 tn The Hebrew term refers to elevated platforms where pagan sacrifices were performed.
[6:4] 64 tn Thirty-nine of the forty-eight biblical occurrences of this Hebrew word are found in the book of Ezekiel.
[6:4] sn This verse is probably based on Lev 26:30 in which God forecasts that he will destroy their high places, cut off their incense altars, and set their corpses by the corpses of their idols.
[6:5] 65 tc This first sentence, which explains the meaning of the last sentence of the previous verse, does not appear in the LXX and may be an instance of a marginal explanatory note making its way into the text.
[6:6] 66 tn The Hebrew verb translated “wiped out” is used to describe the judgment of the Flood (Gen 6:7; 7:4, 23).
[6:7] 67 sn The phrase you will know that I am the
[6:8] 68 tn Heb “when you have fugitives from the sword among the nations, when you are scattered among the lands.”
[6:9] 69 tn The words “they will realize” are not in the Hebrew text; they are added here for stylistic reasons since this clause assumes the previous verb “to remember” or “to take into account.”
[6:9] 70 tn Heb “how I was broken by their adulterous heart.” The image of God being “broken” is startling, but perfectly natural within the metaphorical framework of God as offended husband. The idiom must refer to the intense grief that Israel’s unfaithfulness caused God. For a discussion of the syntax and semantics of the Hebrew text, see M. Greenberg, Ezekiel (AB), 1:134.
[6:9] 71 tn Heb adds “in their faces.”
[6:10] 72 tn Heb “not in vain did I speak to do to them this catastrophe.” The wording of the last half of v. 10 parallels God’s declaration after the sin of the golden calf (Exod 32:14).
[6:11] 73 sn By the sword and by famine and by pestilence. A similar trilogy of punishments is mentioned in Lev 26:25-26. See also Jer 14:12; 21:9; 27:8, 13; 29:18).
[6:12] 74 tn Heb “the one who is left, the one who is spared.”
[6:13] 75 sn By referring to every high hill…all the mountaintops…under every green tree and every leafy oak Ezekiel may be expanding on the phraseology of Deut 12:2 (see 1 Kgs 14:23; 2 Kgs 16:4; 17:10; Jer 2:20; 3:6, 13; 2 Chr 28:4).
[6:14] 76 sn I will stretch out my hand against them is a common expression in the book of Ezekiel (14:9, 13; 16:27; 25:7; 35:3).
[6:14] 77 tc The Vulgate reads the name as “Riblah,” a city north of Damascus. The MT reads Diblah, a city otherwise unknown. The letters resh (ר) and dalet (ד) may have been confused in the Hebrew text. The town of Riblah was in the land of Hamath (2 Kgs 23:33) which represented the northern border of Israel (Ezek 47:14).
[7:2] 78 tn Or “earth.” Elsewhere the expression “four corners of the earth” figuratively refers to the whole earth (Isa 11:12).
[7:3] 79 tn Or “punish” (cf. BDB 1047 s.v. שָׁפַט 3.c).
[7:3] 81 tn Heb “I will place on you.”
[7:4] 82 tn The meaning of the Hebrew term is primarily emotional: “to pity,” which in context implies an action, as in being moved by pity in order to spare them from the horror of their punishment.
[7:4] 83 tn The pronoun “you” is not in the Hebrew text, but is implied.
[7:4] 84 tn “I will set your behavior on your head.”
[7:4] 85 tn Heb “and your abominable practices will be among you.”
[7:5] 86 tn The Hebrew term often refers to moral evil (see Ezek 6:10; 14:22), but in many contexts it refers to calamity or disaster, sometimes as punishment for evil behavior.
[7:5] 87 tc So most Hebrew
[7:6] 90 tc With different vowels the verb rendered “it has awakened” would be the noun “the end,” as in “the end is upon you.” The verb would represent a phonetic wordplay. The noun by virtue of repetition would continue to reinforce the idea of the end. Whether verb or noun, this is the only instance to occur with this preposition.
[7:6] 91 tc For this entire verse, the LXX has only “the end is come.”
[7:6] tn In each of the three cases of the verb translated with forms of “to come,” the form may either be a participle (“comes/is coming”) or a perfect (“has come”). Either form would indicate that the end is soon to arrive. This last form appears also to be feminine, although “end” is masculine. This shift may be looking ahead to the next verse, whose first noun (“Doom”) is feminine.
[7:7] 92 sn The day refers to the day of the Lord, a concept which, beginning in Amos 5:18-20, became a common theme in the OT prophetic books. It refers to a time when the Lord intervenes in human affairs as warrior and judge.
[7:7] 93 tc The LXX reads “neither tumult nor birth pains.” The LXX varies at many points from the MT in this chapter. The context suggests that one or both of these would be present on a day of judgment, thus favoring the MT. Perhaps more significant is the absence of “the mountains” in the LXX. If the ר (resh) in הָרִים (harim, “the mountains” not “on the mountains”) were a ד (dalet), which is a common letter confusion, then it could be from the same root as the previous word, הֵד (hed), meaning “the day is near – with destruction, not joyful shouting.”
[7:8] 94 tn The expression “to pour out rage” also occurs in Ezek 9:8; 14:19; 20:8, 13, 21; 22:31; 30:15; 36:18.
[7:9] 95 tn The meaning of the Hebrew term is primarily emotional: “to pity,” which in context implies an action, as in being moved by pity in order to spare them from the horror of their punishment.
[7:9] 96 tn Heb “According to your behavior I will place on you.”
[7:9] 97 tn The MT lacks “you.” It has been added for clarification.
[7:11] 98 tn Heb “the violence.”
[7:11] 99 tc The LXX reads “he will crush the wicked rod without confusion or haste.”
[7:11] tn The verb has been supplied for the Hebrew text to clarify the sense.
[7:11] 100 tn The Hebrew word occurs only here in the OT.
[7:12] 101 tn Heb “wrath.” Context clarifies that God’s wrath is in view.
[7:13] 102 tc The translation follows the LXX for the first line of the verse, although the LXX has lost the second line due to homoioteleuton (similar endings of the clauses). The MT reads “The seller will not return to the sale.” This Hebrew reading has been construed as a reference to land redemption, the temporary sale of the use of property, with property rights returned to the seller in the year of Jubilee. But the context has no other indicator that land redemption is in view. If correct, the LXX evidence suggests that one of the cases of “the customer” has been replaced by “the seller” in the MT, perhaps due to hoimoioarcton (similar beginnings of the words).
[7:13] 103 tn The Hebrew word refers to the din or noise made by a crowd, and by extension may refer to the crowd itself.
[7:13] 104 tn Or “in their punishment.” The phrase “in/for [a person’s] iniquity” occurs fourteen times in Ezekiel: here and in v. 16; 3:18, 19; 4:17; 18:17, 18, 19, 20; 24:23; 33:6, 8, 9; 39:23. The Hebrew word for “iniquity” may also mean the “punishment for iniquity.”
[7:14] 105 tn The Hebrew word refers to the din or noise made by a crowd, and by extension may refer to the crowd itself.
[7:17] 106 tn Heb “their knees will run with water.” The expression probably refers to urination caused by fright, which is how the LXX renders the phrase. More colloquial English would simply be “they will wet their pants,” but as D. I. Block (Ezekiel [NICOT], 1:261, n. 98) notes, the men likely wore skirts which were short enough to expose urine on the knees.
[7:18] 107 tn Heb “baldness will be on their heads.”
[7:19] 108 tn The Hebrew term can refer to menstrual impurity. The term also occurs at the end of v. 20.
[7:19] 109 sn Compare Zeph 1:18.
[7:19] 110 tn Heb “it.” Apparently the subject is the silver and gold mentioned earlier (see L. C. Allen, Ezekiel [WBC], 1:102).
[7:19] 111 tn The “stumbling block of their iniquity” is a unique phrase of the prophet Ezekiel (Ezek 14:3, 4, 7; 18:30; 44:12).
[7:20] 112 tc The MT reads “he set up the beauty of his ornament as pride.” The verb may be repointed as plural without changing the consonantal text. The Syriac reads “their ornaments” (plural), implying עֶדְיָם (’edyam) rather than עֶדְיוֹ (’edyo) and meaning “they were proud of their beautiful ornaments.” This understands “ornaments” in the common sense of women’s jewelry, which then were used to make idols. The singular suffix “his ornaments” would refer to using items from the temple treasury to make idols. D. I. Block points out the foreshadowing of Ezek 16:17 which, with Rashi and the Targum, supports the understanding that this is a reference to temple items. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:265.
[7:22] 113 sn My treasured place probably refers to the temple (however, cf. NLT “my treasured land”).
[7:22] 114 sn Since the pronouns “it” are both feminine, they do not refer to the masculine “my treasured place”; instead they probably refer to Jerusalem or the land, both of which are feminine in Hebrew.
[7:23] 115 tc The Hebrew word “the chain” occurs only here in the OT. The reading of the LXX (“and they will make carnage”) seems to imply a Hebrew text of ַהבַּתּוֹק (habbattoq, “disorder, slaughter”) instead of הָרַתּוֹק (haratoq, “the chain”). The LXX is also translating the verb as a third person plural future and taking this as the end of the preceding verse. As M. Greenberg (Ezekiel [AB], 1:154) notes, this may refer to a chain for a train of exiles but “the context does not speak of exile but of the city’s fall. The versions guess desperately and we can do little better.”
[7:23] 116 tn Heb “judgment for blood,” i.e., indictment or accountability for bloodshed. The word for “judgment” does not appear in the similar phrase in 9:9.
[7:24] 117 sn Or “their holy places” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NCV, NRSV).
[7:25] 118 tn The Hebrew word occurs only here in the OT. It is interpreted based on a Syriac cognate meaning “to bristle or stiffen (in terror).”
[7:27] 119 tn Heb “and by their judgments.”
[11:1] 120 tn Or “spirit.” See note on “wind” in 2:2.
[11:1] 121 sn The phrase officials of the people occurs in Neh 11:1; 1 Chr 21:2; 2 Chr 24:23.
[11:2] 122 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (the
[11:3] 123 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] 124 sn The expression build houses may mean “establish families” (Deut 25:9; Ruth 4:11; Prov 24:27).
[11:3] 125 tn Heb “she” or “it”; the feminine pronoun refers here to Jerusalem.
[11:3] 126 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] 128 tn The Hebrew verb commonly means “to say,” but may also mean “to think” (see also v. 3).
[11:5] 129 tn Heb “I know the steps of your spirits.”
[11:7] 131 tn Heb “in its midst.”
[11:7] 132 tn Heb “she/it.” See v. 3.
[11:7] 133 tc Many of the versions read “I will bring you out” (active) rather than “he brought out” (the reading of MT).
[11:9] 134 tn Heb “its midst.”
[11:11] 135 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] 136 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] 137 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] 138 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] 139 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[11:15] 140 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] 141 tn Or “have been partially a sanctuary”; others take this as temporal (cf. NASB, NIV, NRSV “a little while”).
[11:19] 142 tc The MT reads “you”; many Hebrew
[11:19] 143 tn Heb “their flesh.”
[11:19] 144 tn Heb “heart of flesh.”
[11:20] 145 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] 146 tn Heb “their way on their head I have placed.”
[11:24] 149 tn Or “spirit.” See note on “wind” in 2:2.
[11:24] 150 tn Heb “to Chaldea.”
[11:25] 151 tn Heb “all the words of.”
[12:2] 152 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] 153 sn This verse is very similar to Isa 6:9-10.
[12:3] 154 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] 155 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] 156 tn Or “land” (ASV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
[12:6] 157 sn See also Ezek 12:11, 24:24, 27.
[12:7] 158 tn The words “my baggage” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied from the context.
[12:10] 159 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] 160 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] 161 sn The prince is a reference to Zedekiah.
[12:12] 162 tn The words “his belongings” are not in the Hebrew text but are implied.
[12:12] 163 tc The MT reads “they”; the LXX and Syriac read “he.”
[12:13] 164 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] 165 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] 166 sn There he will die. This was fulfilled when King Zedekiah died in exile (Jer 52:11).
[12:18] 167 tn The Hebrew term normally refers to an earthquake (see 1 Kgs 19:11; Amos 1:1).
[12:23] 168 tn Heb “the days draw near and the word of every vision (draws near).”
[14:3] 169 tn Heb “the stumbling block of their iniquity.” This phrase is unique to the prophet Ezekiel.
[14:3] 170 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] 171 tn Heb “in accordance with the multitude of his idols.”
[14:9] 173 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] 174 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] 175 tn Or “As is the guilt of the inquirer so is the guilt of the prophet.”
[14:11] 176 sn I will be their God. See Exod 6:7; Lev 26:12; Jer 7:23; 11:4.
[14:13] 177 tn Heb “break its staff of bread.”
[14:14] 178 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] 179 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[15:2] 180 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] 181 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] 182 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[15:6] 183 tn The words “as fuel” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied.
[15:7] 184 tn The word translated “set” is the same Hebrew word translated as “provide” in the previous verse.
[15:7] 185 sn This escape refers to the exile of Ezekiel and others in 597
[15:8] 186 tn The word translated “make” is the same Hebrew word translated as “provide” in v. 6.
[16:2] 187 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[16:4] 188 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] 189 sn Arab midwives still cut the umbilical cords of infants and then proceed to apply salt and oil to their bodies.
[16:5] 190 sn These verbs, “pity” and “spare,” echo the judgment oracles in 5:11; 7:4, 9; 8:18; 9:5, 10.
[16:5] 191 sn A similar concept is found in Deut 32:10.
[16:6] 192 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] 193 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a participle.
[16:8] 194 tn See similar use of this term in Ezek 23:17; Prov 7:16; Song of Songs 4:10; 7:13.
[16:8] 195 tn Heb “wing” or “skirt.” The gesture symbolized acquiring a woman in early Arabia (similarly, see Deut 22:30; Ruth 3:9).
[16:14] 197 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] 198 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] 199 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] 200 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] 201 sn The sacrifice of children was prohibited in Lev 18:21; 20:2; Deut 12:31; 18:10.
[16:21] 202 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] 203 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] 204 tn Or “lofty place” (NRSV). See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 1:229, and B. Lang, Frau Weisheit, 137.
[16:25] 205 tn Heb “treated as if abominable,” i.e., repudiated.
[16:25] 206 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] 207 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] 208 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] 209 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] 210 tn The Hebrew word occurs only here in the OT.
[16:34] 211 tn Heb “With you it was opposite of women in your prostitution.”
[16:36] 212 tn The Hebrew word occurs only here in the OT.
[16:37] 213 sn Harlots suffered degradation when their nakedness was exposed (Jer 13:22, 26; Hos 2:12; Nah 3:5).
[16:38] 214 tn Heb “and I will judge you (with) the judgments of adulteresses and of those who shed blood.”
[16:38] 215 tn Heb “and I will give you the blood of rage and zeal.”
[16:41] 216 tn The words “to your clients” are not in the Hebrew text but are implied.
[16:43] 217 tn Heb “your way on (your) head I have placed.”
[16:46] 220 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] 221 tn Heb “walked in their ways.”
[16:47] 222 tn The Hebrew expression has a temporal meaning as illustrated by the use of the phrase in 2 Chr 12:7.
[16:49] 224 tn Heb “strengthen the hand of.”
[16:51] 225 tn Or “you have multiplied your abominable deeds beyond them.”
[16:52] 226 tn Heb “because you have interceded for your sisters with your sins.”
[16:57] 228 tc So MT, LXX, and Vulgate; many Hebrew
[16:63] 230 tn Heb “and your mouth will not be open any longer.”
[16:63] 231 tn Heb “when I make atonement for you for all which you have done.”
[17:2] 232 sn The verb occurs elsewhere in the OT only in Judg 14:12-19, where Samson supplies a riddle.
[17:3] 233 tn The parable assumes the defection of Zedekiah to Egypt and his rejection of Babylonian lordship.
[17:3] 234 sn The great eagle symbolizes Nebuchadnezzar (17:12).
[17:3] 235 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] 236 tn This term was used in 16:10, 13, and 18 of embroidered cloth.
[17:3] 237 sn In the parable Lebanon apparently refers to Jerusalem (17:12).
[17:5] 238 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] 239 tn Heb “a field for seed.”
[17:6] 240 tn Heb “short of stature.”
[17:6] 241 tn That is, the eagle.
[17:6] 242 tn Or “him,” i.e., the eagle.
[17:7] 243 sn The phrase another great eagle refers to Pharaoh Hophra.
[17:9] 244 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] 245 tn Heb “all the טַרְפֵּי (tarpey) of branches.” The word טַרְפֵּי occurs only here in the Bible; its precise meaning is uncertain.
[17:9] 246 tn Or “there will be no strong arm or large army when it is pulled up by the roots.”
[17:12] 247 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] 248 sn The narrative description of this interpretation of the riddle is given in 2 Kgs 24:11-15.
[17:12] 249 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[17:13] 250 tn Or “descendants”; Heb “seed” (cf. v. 5).
[17:13] 251 tn Heb “caused him to enter into an oath.”
[17:15] 252 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the member of the royal family, v. 13) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[17:15] 253 tn Heb “him”; the referent (the king of Babylon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[17:17] 255 tn Heb “deal with” or “work with.”
[17:18] 256 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates being aware of or taking notice of something.
[17:18] 257 sn Heb “hand.” “Giving one’s hand” is a gesture of promise (2 Kgs 10:15).
[17:19] 258 tn Heb “place it on his head.”
[17:21] 259 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] 261 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] 262 tc The LXX lacks “and plant it.”
[18:2] 263 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] 264 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] 266 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] 267 tn Heb, “does not lift up his eyes.” This refers to looking to idols for help.
[18:6] 268 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] 269 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] 270 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] 271 sn This law was given in Lev 25:36.
[18:8] 272 tn Heb, “turns back his hand.”
[18:8] 273 tn Heb “justice of truth.”
[18:9] 274 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] 276 tn Heb “living, he will live.” The infinitive absolute precedes the finite verb for emphasis.
[18:10] 278 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] 279 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] 280 sn See note on “mountains” in v. 6.
[18:12] 281 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] 282 tn Heb “lifts up his eyes.”
[18:13] 283 tn Heb “be put to death.” The translation follows an alternative reading that appears in several ancient textual witnesses.
[18:13] 284 tn Heb “his blood will be upon him.”
[18:14] 285 tn Heb “and he sees and does not do likewise.”
[18:17] 286 tc This translation follows the LXX. The MT reads “restrains his hand from the poor,” which makes no sense here.
[18:17] 287 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] 288 tn Heb “lift up, bear.”
[18:20] 289 tn Heb “lift up, bear.”
[18:20] 290 tn Heb “lift up, bear.”
[18:20] 291 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] 292 tn Heb “remembered.”
[18:24] 293 tn Heb “because of them he will die.”
[18:26] 295 tn Heb “for them” or “because of them.”
[18:30] 298 tn The verbs and persons in this verse are plural whereas the individual has been the subject of the chapter.
[18:30] 299 tn Or “leading to punishment.”
[18:31] 300 sn In Ezek 11:19, 36:26 the new heart and new spirit are promised as future blessings.
[18:32] 301 tn Heb “the death of the one dying.”
[19:2] 303 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] 305 sn The description applies to king Jehoahaz (2 Kgs 23:31-34; Jer 22:10-12).
[19:5] 306 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] 307 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] 308 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] 309 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] 310 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] 311 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] 312 tn The word “fit” does not occur in the Hebrew text.
[19:11] 313 tn Heb “and it was seen by its height and by the abundance of its branches.”
[19:12] 314 sn The east wind symbolizes the Babylonians.
[19:13] 315 sn This metaphor depicts the Babylonian exile of the Davidic dynasty.
[19:14] 316 tn The verse describes the similar situation recorded in Judg 9:20.
[20:1] 317 sn The date would be August 14th, 591
[20:1] 318 tn Heb “men from the elders.”
[20:1] 319 tn See the note at 14:3.
[20:3] 320 tn Or “I will not reveal myself to you.”
[20:4] 321 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] 322 tn Heb “I lifted up my hand.”
[20:5] 324 tn Heb “I lifted up my hand.”
[20:6] 325 tn Heb “I lifted up my hand to them.”
[20:6] 326 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] 327 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] 328 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] 329 tn Heb “each one, the detestable things of their eyes did not throw away.”
[20:8] 330 tn Heb “and I said/thought to pour out.”
[20:9] 331 tn Heb “for the sake of my name.”
[20:9] 332 tn Heb “before the eyes of the nations in whose midst they were.”
[20:9] 333 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] 334 sn The laws were given at Mount Sinai.
[20:11] 337 tn The wording and the concept is contained in Lev 18:5 and Deut 30:15-19.
[20:12] 338 sn Ezekiel’s contemporary, Jeremiah, also stressed the importance of obedience to the Sabbath law (Jer 17).
[20:12] 339 tn Heb “to become a sign between me and them.”
[20:12] 340 tn Or “set them apart.” The last phrase of verse 12 appears to be a citation of Exod 31:13.
[20:13] 341 tn Heb “and I said/thought to pour out.”
[20:13] 342 tn Heb “to bring them to an end.”
[20:15] 343 tn Heb “I lifted up my hand.”
[20:16] 344 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] 345 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] 346 tn Heb “my eye pitied.”
[20:18] 347 tn Heb “sons,” reflecting the patriarchal idiom of the culture.
[20:18] 348 tn Or “standard of justice.” See Ezek 7:27.
[20:20] 349 tn Or “set apart my Sabbaths.”
[20:20] 350 tn Heb “and they will become a sign between me and you.”
[20:21] 352 tn Or “carries them out.”
[20:21] 353 tn Heb “and I said/thought to pour out.”
[20:22] 354 tn Heb “drew my hand back.” This idiom also occurs in Lam 2:8 and Ps 74:11.
[20:23] 355 tn Heb “I lifted up my hand.”
[20:23] 356 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] 357 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] 358 tn Or “they worshiped” (NCV, TEV, CEV); Heb “their eyes were on” or “were after” (cf. v. 16).
[20:25] 359 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] 360 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] 362 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] 363 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] 364 tn Heb “which I lifted up my hand.”
[20:29] 365 tn The Hebrew word (“Bamah”) means “high place.”
[20:30] 366 tn Heb “in the way of your fathers.”
[20:31] 368 tn Or “Will I reveal myself to you?”
[20:31] 369 tn Or “I will not reveal myself to you.”
[20:32] 370 tn Heb “what comes upon your mind.”
[20:32] 371 tn The Hebrew could also read: “Let us be.”
[20:32] 372 tn Heb “serving wood and stone.”
[20:32] sn This verse echoes the content of 1 Sam 8:20.
[20:33] 373 sn This phrase occurs frequently in Deuteronomy (Deut 4:34; 5:15; 7:19; 11:2; 26:8).
[20:37] 374 tn This is the same Hebrew verb used to describe the passing of the children through the fire.
[20:37] 375 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] 376 tn See the note at 2:3.
[20:39] 377 sn Compare the irony here to Amos 4:4 and Jer 44:25.
[20:39] 378 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] 379 sn A similar concept may be found in Lev 18:21; 20:3.
[20:40] 381 tn Heb “all of it.”
[20:42] 382 tn Heb “I lifted up my hand.”
[20:43] 384 tn Heb “loathe yourselves in your faces.”
[20:45] 385 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] 386 tn Heb “set your face toward.” This expression occurs as well in Ezek 6:2; 13:17.
[20:46] 387 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] 388 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] 389 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] 390 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
[20:47] 391 tn Fire also appears as a form of judgment in Ezek 15:4-7; 19:12, 14.
[20:48] 392 tn Heb “all flesh.”
[21:1] 393 sn Ezek 21:1 in the English Bible is 21:6 in the Hebrew text (BHS). See the note at 20:45.
[21:2] 394 tn Heb “set your face toward.”
[21:2] 395 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[21:3] 396 tn Heb “the land of Israel.”
[21:3] 397 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) draws attention to something and has been translated here as a verb.
[21:3] 398 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] 399 sn This is the sword of judgment, see Isa 31:8; 34:6; 66:16.
[21:3] 400 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.
[21:4] 401 tn Heb “all flesh” (also in the following verse).
[21:4] 402 tn Heb “Negev.” The Negev is the south country.
[21:6] 403 tn Heb “breaking loins.”
[21:7] 404 tn Heb “every spirit will be dim.”
[21:7] 405 sn This expression depicts in a very vivid way how they will be overcome with fear. See the note on the same phrase in 7:17.
[21:10] 406 tn Heb “Or shall we rejoice, scepter of my son, it despises every tree.” The translation understands the subject of the verb “despises,” which is a feminine form in the Hebrew text, to be the sword (which is a feminine noun) mentioned just before this. Alternatively, the line may be understood as “let us not rejoice, O tribe of my son; it despises every tree.” The same word in Hebrew may be either “rod,” “scepter,” or “tribe.” The word sometimes translated as “or” or taken as an interrogative particle may be a negative particle. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:672, n. 79.
[21:10] sn The people of Judah should not place false hope in their king, symbolized by his royal scepter, for God’s judgment (symbolized by fire and then a sword) would destroy every tree (see 20:47), symbolizing the righteous and wicked (see 21:3-4).
[21:12] 407 sn This physical action was part of an expression of grief. Cp. Jer. 31:19.
[21:13] 408 tn Heb “For testing (will come) and what if also a scepter, it despises, will not be?” The translation understands the subject of the verb “despises,” which is a feminine form in the Hebrew text, to be the sword (which is a feminine noun) mentioned in the previous verses. The text is very difficult and any rendering is uncertain.
[21:20] 411 tc The MT reads “Judah in fortified Jerusalem,” a geographic impossibility. The translation follows the LXX, which assumes בְּתוֹכָהּ (bÿtokhah, “in it”) for בְּצוּרָה (bÿtsurah, “fortified”).
[21:20] sn As the Babylonians approached from the north, one road would branch off to the left and lead down the east side of the Jordan River to Ammon. The other road would veer to the right and lead down west of the Jordan to Jerusalem.
[21:21] 413 sn Mesopotamian kings believed that the gods revealed the future through omens. They employed various divination techniques, some of which are included in the list that follows. A particularly popular technique was the examination and interpretation of the livers of animals. See R. R. Wilson, Prophecy and Society in Ancient Israel, 90-110.
[21:21] 414 tn This word refers to personal idols that were apparently used for divination purposes (Gen 31:19; 1 Sam 19:13, 16).
[21:21] 416 tn Heb “the liver.”
[21:22] 417 tn Or “on the right side,” i.e., the omen mark on the right side of the liver.
[21:22] 418 tn Heb “to open the mouth” for slaughter.
[21:22] 419 tn Heb “to raise up a voice in a battle cry.”
[21:23] 420 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the people in Jerusalem) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[21:23] 421 sn When the people of Judah realized the Babylonians’ intentions, they would object on grounds that they had made a treaty with the Babylonian king (see 17:13).
[21:23] 422 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king of Babylon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[21:23] 424 tn Heb “and he will remind of guilt for the purpose of being captured.” The king would counter their objections by pointing out that they had violated their treaty with him (see 17:18).
[21:24] 425 tn Heb “caused to be remembered.”
[21:24] 426 tn Heb “Because you have brought to remembrance your guilt when your transgressions are uncovered so that your sins are revealed in all your deeds – because you are remembered, by the hand you will be seized.”
[21:25] 427 tn This probably refers to King Zedekiah.
[21:26] 428 tn Elsewhere in the Bible the turban is worn by priests (Exod 28:4, 37, 39; 29:6; 39:28, 31; Lev 8:9; 16:4), but here a royal crown is in view.
[21:26] 429 tn Heb “This not this.”
[21:26] 430 tn Heb “the high one.”
[21:27] 431 tn Heb “A ruin, a ruin, a ruin I will make it.” The threefold repetition of the noun “ruin” is for emphasis and draws attention to the degree of ruin that would take place. See IBHS 233 §12.5a and GKC 431-32 §133.k. The pronominal suffix (translated “it”) on the verb “make” is feminine in Hebrew. The probable antecedent is the “turban/crown” (both nouns are feminine in form) mentioned in verse 26. The point is that the king’s royal splendor would be completely devastated as judgment overtook his realm and brought his reign to a violent end.
[21:27] 432 tn Heb “Also this, he was not, until the coming of the one to whom the judgment belongs and I have given it.” The Hebrew text, as it stands, is grammatically difficult. The pronoun “this” is feminine, while the following negated verb (“was not”) is masculine. Some emend the verb to a feminine form (see BHS). In this case the statement refers to the destiny of the king’s turban/crown (symbolizing his reign). See the previous note. The preposition translated “when” normally means “until,” but here it seems to refer to the period during which the preceding situation is realized, rather than its termination point. See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:19, 21. The second part of the statement, though awkward, probably refers to the arrival of the Babylonian king, to whom the Lord had assigned the task of judgment (see 23:24). Or the verse may read “A total ruin I will make, even this. It will not be until the one comes to whom is (the task of) judgment and I have assigned it.”
[21:28] 433 tn Heb “their reproach.”
[21:28] 434 tn Heb “to contain, endure.” Since the Hebrew text as it stands makes little, if any, sense, most emend the text to read either “to consume” or “for destruction.” For discussion of options see D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:693.
[21:29] 435 tn Heb “in the seeing concerning you falsehood, in divining concerning you a lie.” This probably refers to the attempts of the Ammonites to ward off judgment through prophetic visions and divination.
[21:29] 436 tn Heb “you”; the referent (the sword mentioned in v. 28) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[21:29] 437 sn The second half of the verse appears to state that the sword of judgment would fall upon the wicked, despite their efforts to prevent it.
[21:30] 438 sn Once the Babylonian king’s sword (vv. 19-20) has carried out its assigned task, the Lord commands it to halt and announces that Babylon itself will also experience his judgment. See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:28.
[21:30] 439 tn In the Hebrew text of vv. 30-32 the second person verbal and pronominal forms are feminine singular. This may indicate that the personified Babylonian sword is being addressed. The Hebrew word for “sword” (see v. 28) is feminine. However, it may refer to the Ammonites.
[21:32] 440 tn Heb “your blood will be in the middle of the land.”
[22:2] 441 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 upon the city. See 20:4.
[22:2] 442 tn The phrase “bloody city” is used of Nineveh in Nah 3:1.
[22:3] 443 tn Heb “her time”; this refers to the time of impending judgment (see the note on “doom” in v. 4).
[22:4] 444 tn Heb “you have brought near your days.” The expression “bring near your days” appears to be an adaptation of the idiom “days draw near,” which is used to indicate that an event, such as death, is imminent (see Gen 27:41; 47:29; Deut 31:14; 1 Kgs 2:1; Ezek 12:23). Here “your days” probably refers to the days of the personified city’s life, which was about to come to an end through God’s judgment.
[22:4] 445 tn Heb “and you have come to your years.” This appears to mean that she has arrived at the time when her years (i.e., life) would end, though it may mean that her years of punishment will begin. Because “day” and “time” are so closely associated in the immediate context (see 21:25, 29) some prefer to emend the text and read “you have brought near your time.” See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:31, as well as the translator’s note on verse 3.
[22:4] 446 tn The Hebrew verb is a prophetic perfect, emphasizing that the action is as good as done from the speaker’s perspective.
[22:5] 447 tn Heb “unclean of name.”
[22:6] 448 tn Heb “Look! The princes of Israel, each according to his arm, were in you in order to shed blood.”
[22:7] 449 tn Heb “treated lightly, cursed.”
[22:7] 450 tn Widows and orphans are often coupled together in the OT (Deut 14:29; 16:11, 14; 24:19-21; 26:12-13; Jer 7:6; 22:3). They represented all who were poor and vulnerable to economic exploitation.
[22:9] 451 tn Heb “men of slander are in you in order to shed blood.”
[22:9] 452 tn Heb “and on the mountains they eat within you.” The mountains mentioned here were the site of pagan sacrifices. See 18:6.
[22:9] 453 sn This statement introduces vv. 10-11 and refers in general terms to the sexual sins described there. For the legal background of vv. 10-11, see Lev 18:7-20; 20:10-21; Deut 22:22-23, 30; 27:22.
[22:10] 454 tn Heb “the nakedness of a father one uncovers within you.” The ancient versions read the verb as plural (“they uncover”). If the singular is retained, it must be taken as indefinite and representative of the entire group. The idiomatic expression “uncover the nakedness” refers here to sexual intercourse (cf. Lev 18:6). To uncover a father’s nakedness could include sexual relations with one’s own mother (Lev 18:7), but more likely it refers to having intercourse with another wife of one’s father, such as a stepmother (Lev 18:8; cf. Gen 35:22; 49:4).
[22:10] 455 tn Heb “(one who is) unclean due to the impurity they humble within you.” The use of the verb “to humble” suggests that these men forced themselves upon women during menstruation. Having sexual relations with a woman during her period was forbidden by the Law (Lev 18:19; 20:18).
[22:11] 457 tn The verb is the same one used in verse 10b and suggests forcible sexual violation of the woman.
[22:11] 458 sn Sexual relations with one’s half-sister may be primarily in view here. See Lev 18:9; 20:17.
[22:12] 459 tn Heb “usury and interest you take.” See 18:13, 17. This kind of economic exploitation violated the law given in Lev 25:36.
[22:12] 460 sn Forgetting the Lord is also addressed in Deut 6:12; 8:11, 14; Jer 3:21; 13:25; Ezek 23:35; Hos 2:15; 8:14; 13:6.
[22:12] 461 tn The second person verb forms are feminine singular in Hebrew, indicating that the personified city is addressed here as representing its citizens.
[22:13] 462 sn This gesture apparently expresses mourning and/or anger (see 6:11; 21:14, 17).
[22:13] 463 tn Heb “the blood which was in you.”
[22:14] 464 tn Heb “stand.” The heart here stands for the emotions; Jerusalem would panic in the face of God’s judgment.
[22:14] 465 tn Heb “in the days when I act against you.”
[22:15] 466 sn The ultimate purpose of divine judgment is to purify the covenant community of its sins.
[22:16] 467 tc Several ancient versions read the verb as first person, in which case the Lord refers to how his people’s sin brings disgrace upon him. For a defense of the Hebrew text, see D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:712, n. 68, and M. Greenberg, Ezekiel (AB), 2:457-58.
[22:16] tn The phrase “within yourself” is the same as the several previous occurrences of “within you” but adjusted to fit this clause which is the culmination of the series of indictments.
[22:18] 468 tn For similar imagery, see Isa 1:21-26; Jer 6:27-30.
[22:19] 469 tn The Hebrew second person pronoun is masculine plural here and in vv. 19b-21, indicating that the people are being addressed.
[22:19] 470 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[22:20] 471 tn Heb “I will put.” No object is supplied in the Hebrew, prompting many to emend the text to “I will blow.” See BHS and verse 21.
[22:24] 472 tc The MT reads “that is not cleansed”; the LXX reads “that is not drenched,” which assumes a different vowel pointing as well as the loss of a מ (mem) due to haplography. In light of the following reference to showers, the reading of the LXX certainly fits the context well. For a defense of the emendation, see L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:32. Yet the MT is not an unreasonable reading since uncleanness in the land also fits the context, and a poetic connection between rain and the land being uncleansed may be feasible since washing with water is elsewhere associated with cleansing (Num 8:7; 31:23; Ps 51:7).
[22:24] 473 tn Heb “in a day of anger.”
[22:25] 474 tn Heb “a conspiracy of her prophets is in her midst.” The LXX reads “whose princes” rather than “a conspiracy of prophets.” The prophets are mentioned later in the paragraph (v. 28). If one follows the LXX in verse 25, then five distinct groups are mentioned in vv. 25-29: princes, priests, officials, prophets, and the people of the land. For a defense of the Septuagintal reading, see L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:32, and D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:720, n. 4.
[22:25] 475 tn Heb “her widows they have multiplied.” The statement alludes to their murderous acts.
[22:26] 476 tn Or “between the consecrated and the common.”
[22:26] 477 tn Heb “hide their eyes from.” The idiom means to disregard or ignore something or someone (see Lev 20:4; 1 Sam 12:3; Prov 28:27; Isa 1:15).
[22:28] 478 tn Heb “her prophets coat for themselves with whitewash.” The expression may be based on Ezek 13:10-15.
[22:29] 479 tn Heb “and the foreigner they have oppressed without justice.”
[22:30] 480 tn Heb “I did not find.”
[22:31] 481 tn Heb “their way on their head I have placed.”
[23:3] 482 tn In the Hebrew text the subject is left unstated and must be supplied from the context.
[23:4] 483 tn The names Oholah and Oholibah are both derived from the word meaning “tent.” The meaning of Oholah is “her tent,” while Oholibah means “my tent is in her.”
[23:4] 484 sn In this allegory the Lord is depicted as being the husband of two wives. The OT law prohibited a man from marrying sisters (Lev 18:18), but the practice is attested in the OT (cf. Jacob). The metaphor is utilized here for illustrative purposes and does not mean that the Lord condoned such a practice or bigamy in general.
[23:5] 485 tn Heb “while she was under me.” The expression indicates that Oholah is viewed as the Lord’s wife. See Num 5:19-20, 29.
[23:5] sn Played the harlot refers to alliances with pagan nations in this context. In Ezek 16 harlotry described the sin of idolatry.
[23:5] 487 tn The term apparently refers to Assyrian military officers; it is better construed with the description that follows. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:738.
[23:7] 488 tn Heb “lusted after.”
[23:8] 489 tn Heb “and poured out their harlotry on her.”
[23:9] 490 tn Heb “I gave her into the hand of her lovers, into the hand of the sons of Assyria.”
[23:11] 492 tn The word “this” is not in the original text.
[23:14] 493 tn The only other occurrence of the Hebrew term is in Jer 22:14.
[23:15] 494 tn Heb “the sons of Babel.”
[23:16] 495 tn Heb “at the appearance of her eyes.”
[23:16] 496 sn The Chaldeans were prominent tribal groups of Babylonia. The imagery is reminiscent of events in the reigns of Hezekiah (2 Kgs 20:12-15) and Jehoiakim (2 Kgs 23:34-24:1).
[23:17] 497 tn Heb “The sons of Babel came to her on a bed of love.”
[23:17] 498 tn Heb “her soul.”
[23:18] 499 tn Heb “She exposed her harlotry and she exposed her nakedness.”
[23:20] 502 tn Heb “She lusted after their concubines (?) whose flesh was the flesh of donkeys.” The phrase “their concubines” is extremely problematic here. The pronoun is masculine plural, suggesting that the Egyptian men are in view, but how concubines would fit into the picture envisioned here is not clear. Some suggest that Ezekiel uses the term in an idiomatic sense of “paramour,” but this still fails to explain how the pronoun relates to the noun. It is more likely that the term refers here to the Egyptians’ genitals. The relative pronoun that follows introduces a more specific description of their genitals.
[23:21] 503 tn Or “you took note of.” The Hebrew verb פָּקַד (paqad) in the Qal implies evaluating something and then acting in light of that judgment; here the prophet depicts Judah as approving of her youthful unfaithfulness and then magnifying it at the present time. Some translations assume the verb should be repointed as a Niphal, rendering “you missed” or by extension “you longed for,” but such an extension of the Niphal “to be missing” is otherwise unattested.
[23:21] 504 tn Heb “when (they) did,” but the verb makes no sense here and is better emended to “when (they) fondled,” a verb used in vv. 3 and 8. See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:43.
[23:21] 505 tn Heb “for the sake of,” but the expression is awkward and is better emended to read “to squeeze.” See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:43.
[23:22] 506 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
[23:23] 507 sn Pekod was the name of an Aramean tribe (known as Puqudu in Mesopotamian texts) that lived in the region of the Tigris River.
[23:23] 508 sn Shoa was the name of a nomadic people (the Sutu) that lived in Mesopotamia.
[23:23] 509 sn Koa was the name of another Mesopotamian people group (the Qutu).
[23:24] 510 tn Heb “come against.”
[23:24] 511 tn This is the only occurrence of this term in the OT. The precise meaning is uncertain.
[23:24] 512 tn Heb “an assembly of peoples.”
[23:24] 513 tn Heb “I will place before them judgment.”
[23:25] 515 tn Heb “they will remove.”
[23:25] sn This method of punishment is attested among ancient Egyptian and Hittite civilizations. See W. Zimmerli, Ezekiel (Hermeneia), 1:489.
[23:27] 517 tn Heb “I will cause your obscene conduct to cease from you and your harlotry from the land of Egypt.”
[23:27] 518 tn Heb “lift your eyes to them.”
[23:28] 519 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
[23:28] 520 tn Heb “I am giving you into the hand of.”
[23:29] 521 tn The Hebrew term means “labor,” but by extension it can also refer to that for which one works.
[23:29] 522 tn Heb “The nakedness of your prostitution will be exposed, and your obscene conduct and your harlotry.”
[23:30] 523 tn The infinitive absolute continues the sequence begun in v. 28: “Look here, I am about to deliver you.” See Joüon 2:430 §123.w.
[23:31] 524 tn Heb “her cup.” A cup of intoxicating strong drink is used, here and elsewhere, as a metaphor for judgment because both leave one confused and reeling. (See Jer 25:15, 17, 28; Hab 2:16.) The cup of wrath is a theme also found in the NT (Mark 14:36).
[23:32] 525 sn The image of a deep and wide cup suggests the degree of punishment; it will be extensive and leave the victim helpless.
[23:33] 526 tn Heb “filled with.”
[23:34] 527 tn Heb “You will drink it and drain (it).”
[23:34] 528 tn D. I. Block compares this to the idiom of “licking the plate” (Ezekiel [NICOT], 1:754, n. 137). The text is difficult as the word translated “gnaw” is rare. The noun is used of the shattered pieces of pottery and so could envision a broken cup. But the Piel verb form is used in only one other place (Num 24:8), where it is a denominative from the noun “bone” and seems to mean to “break (bones).” Why it would be collocated with “sherds” is not clear. For this reason some emend the phrase to read “consume its dregs” (see L. C. Allen, Ezekiel [WBC], 2:44) or emend the verb to read “swallow,” as if the intoxicated Oholibah breaks the cup and then eats the very sherds in an effort to get every last drop of the beverage that dampens them.
[23:34] 529 sn The severe action is more extreme than beating the breasts in anguish (Isa 32:12; Nah 2:7). It is also ironic for these are the very breasts she so blatantly offered to her lovers (vv. 3, 21).
[23:35] 530 tn Heb “and you cast me behind your back.” The expression pictures her rejection of the Lord (see 1 Kgs 14:9).
[23:35] 531 tn The word “punishment” is not in the Hebrew text but is demanded by the context.
[23:36] 532 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. See 20:4; 22:2.
[23:37] 533 sn The Lord speaks here in the role of the husband of the sisters.
[23:37] 534 tn Heb “they have passed to them for food.” The verb is commonly taken to refer to passing children through fire, especially as an offering to the pagan god Molech. See Jer 32:35.
[23:38] 535 tn Heb “in that day.”
[23:40] 536 tn Heb “to whom a messenger was sent, and look, they came.” Foreign alliances are in view here.
[23:40] 537 tn The Hebrew verb form is feminine singular, indicating that Oholibah (Judah) is specifically addressed here. This address continues through verse 42a (note “her”), but then both sisters are described in verse 42b, where the feminine pronouns are again plural.
[23:42] 538 tn Heb “(was) in her.”
[23:42] 539 tn Heb “and men from the multitude of mankind.”
[23:42] 540 tn An alternate reading is “drunkards.” Sheba is located in the area of modern day Yemen.
[23:42] 541 tn Heb “they”; the referents (the sisters) have been specified in the translation for the sake of clarity.
[23:44] 542 tn Heb “and they came to her.”
[23:45] 543 tn Heb “and upright men will judge them (with) the judgment of adulteresses and the judgment of those who shed blood.”
[23:46] 544 tn Heb “assembly.”
[23:46] 545 tn Heb “give them to.”
[23:47] 546 tn The Hebrew text adds “with fire.”
[23:49] 547 tn Heb “and the sins of your idols you will bear.” By extension it can mean the punishment for the sins.
[24:1] 548 tn The date of this oracle was January 15, 588
[24:2] 549 tn Heb “lean on, put pressure on.”
[24:2] 550 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[24:3] 551 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] 552 sn See Ezek 11:3-12.
[24:6] 554 tn Heb “has not gone out.”
[24:6] 555 tn Here “lot” may refer to the decision made by casting lots; it is not chosen at all.
[24:11] 556 tn Heb “set it upon its coals, empty.”
[24:11] 557 tn Or “rust” (so also in v. 12).
[24:12] 558 tn Heb “(with) toil she has wearied.” The meaning of the statement is unclear in the Hebrew text; some follow the LXX and delete it. The first word in the statement (rendered “toil” in the literal translation above) occurs only here in the OT, and the verb “she has wearied” lacks a stated object. Elsewhere the Hiphil of the verb refers to wearying someone or trying someone’s patience. The feminine subject is apparently the symbolic pot.
[24:12] 559 tn Heb “does not go out.”
[24:12] 560 tn Heb “in fire its rust.” The meaning of the expression is unclear. The translation understands the statement as a command to burn the rust away. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:768.
[24:13] 561 tn Heb “in your uncleanness (is) obscene conduct.”
[24:13] 562 tn Heb “because I cleansed you.” In this context (see especially the very next statement), the statement must refer to divine intention and purpose. Despite God’s efforts to cleanse his people, they resisted him and remained morally impure.
[24:13] 563 tn The Hebrew text adds the word “again.”
[24:14] 564 tn Heb “it”; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[24:14] 565 tn Or perhaps, “change my mind.”
[24:14] 566 tc Some medieval Hebrew
[24:16] 568 tn Heb “a strike.”
[24:17] 569 tn Or “Groan silently. As to the dead….” Cf. M. Greenberg’s suggestion that דֹּם מֵתִים (dom metim) be taken together and דֹּם be derived from ָדּמַם (damam, “to moan, murmur”). See M. Greenberg, Ezekiel (AB), 2:508.
[24:17] 570 tn Heb “(For) the dead mourning you shall not conduct.” In the Hebrew text the word translated “dead” is plural, indicating that mourning rites are in view. Such rites would involve outward demonstrations of one’s sorrow, including wailing and weeping.
[24:17] 571 sn The turban would normally be removed for mourning (Josh 7:6; 1 Sam 4:12).
[24:17] 572 sn Mourning rites included covering the lower part of the face. See Lev 13:45.
[24:17] 573 tn Heb “the bread of men.” The translation follows the suggestion accepted by M. Greenberg (Ezekiel [AB], 2:509) that this refers to a meal brought by comforters to the one mourning. Some repoint the consonantal text to read “the bread of despair” (see L. C. Allen, Ezekiel [WBC], 2:56), while others, with support from the Targum and Vulgate, emend the consonantal text to read “the bread of mourners” (see D. I. Block, Ezekiel [NICOT], 1:784).
[24:18] 574 tn This may refer to the following morning. For a discussion of various interpretive options in understanding the chronology reflected in verse 18, see D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:790.
[24:21] 575 tn Heb “the pride of your strength” means “your strong pride.”
[24:21] 576 sn Heb “the delight of your eyes.” Just as Ezekiel was deprived of his beloved wife (v. 16, the “desire” of his “eyes”) so the Lord would be forced to remove the object of his devotion, the temple, which symbolized his close relationship to his covenant people.
[24:21] 577 tn Heb “the object of compassion of your soul.” The accentuation in the traditional Hebrew text indicates that the descriptive phrases (“the source of your confident pride, the object in which your eyes delight, and your life’s passion”) modify the preceding “my sanctuary.”
[24:23] 580 tn The same verb appears in 4:17 and 33:10.
[24:23] 581 tn Or “in your punishment.” The phrase “in/for [a person’s] iniquity/punishment” occurs fourteen times in Ezekiel: here; 3:18, 19; 4:17; 7:13, 16; 18:17, 18, 19, 20; 33:6, 8, 9; 39:23. The Hebrew word for “iniquity” may also mean the “punishment” for iniquity or “guilt” of iniquity.
[24:25] 582 tn Heb “(Will) it not (be) in the day I take?”
[24:25] 583 tn Heb “the uplifting of their soul.” According to BDB 672 s.v. מַשָּׂא 2, the term “uplifting” refers to “that to which they lift up their soul, their heart’s desire.” However, this text is the only one listed for this use. It seems more likely that the term has its well-attested nuance of “burden, load,” here and refers to that which weighs them down emotionally and is a constant source of concern or worry.
[24:25] 584 tn In the Hebrew text there is no conjunction before “their sons and daughters.” For this reason one might assume that the preceding descriptive phrases refer to the sons and daughters, but verse 21 suggests otherwise. The descriptive phrases appear to refer to the “stronghold,” which parallels “my sanctuary” in verse 21. The children constitute a separate category.
[24:26] 585 tn Heb “to make the ears hear.”
[24:27] 586 tn Heb “your mouth will open.”
[33:2] 587 tn Heb “sons of your people.”
[33:3] 588 tn Heb “shofar,” a ram’s horn rather than a brass instrument (so throughout the chapter).
[33:3] 589 tn Sounding the trumpet was a warning of imminent danger (Neh 4:18-20; Jer 4:19; Amos 3:6).
[33:4] 590 tn Heb “his blood will be on his own head.”
[33:5] 591 tn Heb “his blood will be on him.”
[33:6] 592 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] 593 tn Heb “his blood from the hand of the watchman I will seek.”
[33:7] 594 sn Jeremiah (Jer 6:17) and Habakkuk (Hab 2:1) also served in the role of a watchman.
[33:8] 595 tn The same expression occurs in Gen 2:17.
[33:8] 596 tn Heb “and you do not speak to warn.”
[33:8] 598 tn Heb “and his blood from your hand I will seek.”
[33:9] 599 tn Heb “from his way to turn from it.”
[33:9] 600 tn Heb “and he does not turn from his way.”
[33:10] 601 tn Heb “(are) upon us.”
[33:11] 602 tn Heb “turn from his way.”
[33:11] 603 tn Heb “ways.” This same word is translated “behavior” earlier in the verse.
[33:12] 604 tn Heb “the sons of your people.”
[33:12] 605 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] 606 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] 608 tn Heb “in the day of his sin.”
[33:15] 609 tn Heb “the wicked one.”
[33:15] 610 tn Heb “and in the statutes of life he walks.”
[33:16] 611 tn Heb “remembered.”
[33:17] 612 tn Heb “the sons of your people.”
[33:17] 614 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] 616 tn January 19, 585
[33:21] 617 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[33:22] 619 tn The other occurrences of the phrase “the hand of the
[33:22] 620 tn Heb “he”; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[33:22] 621 tn Heb “by the time of the arrival to me.” For clarity the translation specifies the refugee as the one who arrived.
[33:22] 622 sn Ezekiel’s God-imposed muteness was lifted (see 3:26).
[33:24] 623 sn Outside of its seven occurrences in Ezekiel the term translated “possession” appears only in Exod 6:8 and Deut 33:4.
[33:25] 624 sn This practice was a violation of Levitical law (see Lev 19:26).
[33:25] 625 tn Heb “lift up your eyes.”
[33:25] 626 tn Heb “Will you possess?”
[33:29] 629 sn The judgments of vv. 27-29 echo the judgments of Lev 26:22, 25.
[33:30] 630 tn Heb “sons of your people.”
[33:30] 631 tn Heb “one to one, a man to his brother.”
[33:30] 632 tn Heb “comes out.”
[33:31] 633 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] 634 tn The word “as” is supplied in the translation.
[33:31] 636 tn Heb “They do lust with their mouths.”
[33:31] 637 tn Heb “goes after.”
[33:31] 638 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] 639 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
[33:32] 640 tn Heb “one who makes playing music well.”
[33:32] 641 sn Similar responses are found in Isa 29:13; Matt 21:28-32; James 1:22-25.
