Yehezkiel 1:1

A Vision of God’s Glory

1:1 In the thirtieth year, ¹  on the fifth day of the fourth month, while I was among the exiles ²  at the Kebar River, ³  the heavens opened ⁴  and I saw a divine vision. ⁵ 

Yehezkiel 3:27

3:27 But when I speak with you, I will loosen your tongue ⁶  and you must say to them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says.’ Those who listen will listen, but the indifferent will refuse, ⁷  for they are a rebellious house.

Yehezkiel 8:3

8:3 He stretched out the form ⁸  of a hand and grabbed me by a lock of hair on my head. Then a wind ⁹  lifted me up between the earth and sky and brought me to Jerusalem ¹⁰  by means of divine visions, to the door of the inner gate which faces north where the statue ¹¹  which provokes to jealousy was located.

Yehezkiel 11:1

The Fall of Jerusalem

11:1 A wind ¹²  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. ¹³ 

Yehezkiel 12:12

12:12 “The prince ¹⁴  who is among them will raise his belongings ¹⁵  onto his shoulder in darkness, and will go out. He ¹⁶  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.

Yehezkiel 14:21

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 ¹⁷  to kill both people and animals!

Yehezkiel 16:6

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!” ¹⁸ 

Yehezkiel 16:37

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. ¹⁹ 

Yehezkiel 20:3

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, ²⁰  declares the sovereign Lord.’

Yehezkiel 20:5

20:5 and say to them:

“‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: On the day I chose Israel I swore ²¹  to the descendants ²²  of the house of Jacob and made myself known to them in the land of Egypt. I swore ²³  to them, “I am the Lord your God.”

Yehezkiel 22:28

22:28 Her prophets coat their messages with whitewash. ²⁴  They see false visions and announce lying omens for them, saying, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says,’ when the Lord has not spoken.

Yehezkiel 30:9

30:9 On that day messengers will go out from me in ships to frighten overly confident Ethiopia; panic will overtake them on the day of Egypt’s doom; ²⁵  for beware – it is coming!

Yehezkiel 40:48

40:48 Then he brought me to the porch of the temple and measured the jambs of the porch as 8¾ feet ²⁶  on either side, and the width of the gate was 24½ feet ²⁷  and the sides ²⁸  were 5¼ feet ²⁹  on each side.

Yehezkiel 43:8

43:8 When they placed their threshold by my threshold and their doorpost by my doorpost, with only the wall between me and them, they profaned my holy name by the abominable deeds they committed. So I consumed them in my anger.

Yehezkiel 45:4

45:4 It will be a holy portion of the land; it will be for the priests, the ministers of the sanctuary who approach the Lord to minister to him. It will be a place for their houses and a holy place for the sanctuary. ³⁰ 

Yehezkiel 46:19

46:19 Then he brought me through the entrance, which was at the side of the gate, into the holy chambers for the priests which faced north. There I saw ³¹  a place at the extreme western end.

Yehezkiel 47:22

47:22 You must allot it as an inheritance among yourselves and for the foreigners who reside among you, who have fathered sons among you. You must treat them as native-born among the people of Israel; they will be allotted an inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel. ³² 

Yehezkiel 48:13

48:13 “Alongside the border of the priests, the Levites will have an allotment eight and a quarter miles ³³  in length and three and one-third miles ³⁴  in width. The whole length will be eight and a quarter miles ³⁵  and the width three and one-third miles. ³⁶ 

[1:1]  ¹ sn The meaning of the thirtieth year is problematic. Some take it to mean the age of Ezekiel when he prophesied (e.g., Origen). The Aramaic Targum explains the thirtieth year as the thirtieth year dated from the recovery of the book of the Torah in the temple in Jerusalem (2 Kgs 22:3-9). The number seems somehow to be equated with the fifth year of Jehoiachin’s exile in 1:2, i.e., 593 b.c.

[1:1]  ² sn The Assyrians started the tactic of deportation, the large-scale forced displacement of conquered populations, in order to stifle rebellions. The task of uniting groups of deportees, gaining freedom from one’s overlords and returning to retake one’s own country would be considerably more complicated than living in one’s homeland and waiting for an opportune moment to drive out the enemy’s soldiers. The Babylonians adopted this practice also, after defeating the Assyrians. The Babylonians deported Judeans on three occasions. The practice of deportation was reversed by the Persian conquerors of Babylon, who gained favor from their subjects for allowing them to return to their homeland and, as polytheists, sought the favor of the gods of the various countries which had come under their control.

[1:1]  ³ sn The Kebar River is mentioned in Babylonian texts from the city of Nippur in the fifth century b.c. It provided artificial irrigation from the Euphrates.

[1:1]  ⁴ sn For the concept of the heavens opened in later literature, see 3 Macc 6:18; 2 Bar. 22:1; T. Levi 5:1; Matt 3:16; Acts 7:56; Rev 19:11.

[1:1]  ⁵ tn Or “saw visions from God.” References to divine visions occur also in Ezek 8:3; 40:2

[3:27]  ⁶ tn Heb “open your mouth.”

[3:27]  ⁷ tn Heb “the listener will listen, the refuser will refuse.” Because the word for listening can also mean obeying, the nuance may be that the obedient will listen, or that the one who listens will obey. Also, although the verbs are not jussive as pointed in the MT, some translate them with a volitive sense: “the one who listens – let that one listen, the one who refuses – let that one refuse.”

[8:3]  ⁸ tn The Hebrew term is normally used as an architectural term in describing the pattern of the tabernacle or temple or a representation of it (see Exod 25:8; 1 Chr 28:11).

[8:3]  ⁹ tn Or “spirit.” See note on “wind” in 2:2.

[8:3]  ¹⁰ map For the location of Jerusalem see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[8:3]  ¹¹ tn Or “image.”

[11:1]  ¹² tn Or “spirit.” See note on “wind” in 2:2.

[11:1]  ¹³ sn The phrase officials of the people occurs in Neh 11:1; 1 Chr 21:2; 2 Chr 24:23.

[12:12]  ¹⁴ sn The prince is a reference to Zedekiah.

[12:12]  ¹⁵ tn The words “his belongings” are not in the Hebrew text but are implied.

[12:12]  ¹⁶ tc The MT reads “they”; the LXX and Syriac read “he.”

[14:21]  ¹⁷ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[16:6]  ¹⁸ 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.

[16:37]  ¹⁹ sn Harlots suffered degradation when their nakedness was exposed (Jer 13:22, 26; Hos 2:12; Nah 3:5).

[20:3]  ²⁰ tn Or “I will not reveal myself to you.”

[20:5]  ²¹ tn Heb “I lifted up my hand.”

[20:5]  ²² tn Heb “seed.”

[20:5]  ²³ tn Heb “I lifted up my hand.”

[22:28]  ²⁴ tn Heb “her prophets coat for themselves with whitewash.” The expression may be based on Ezek 13:10-15.

[30:9]  ²⁵ tn Heb “in the day of Egypt.” The word “doom” has been added in the translation to clarify the nature of this day.

[40:48]  ²⁶ tn Heb “five cubits” (i.e., 2.625 meters).

[40:48]  ²⁷ tn The LXX reads “fourteen cubits” (i.e., 7.35 meters). See following note.

[40:48]  ²⁸ tc The translation follows the LXX. The MT reads “the width of the gate was three cubits,” the omission due to haplography.

[40:48]  tn Or “sidewalls.”

[40:48]  ²⁹ tn Heb “three cubits” (i.e., 1.575 meters).

[45:4]  ³⁰ tc The LXX apparently understood “open land” instead of “sanctuary.”

[46:19]  ³¹ tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.

[47:22]  ³² sn A similar attitude toward non-Israelites is found in Isa 56:3-8.

[48:13]  ³³ tn Heb “twenty-five thousand cubits” (i.e., 13.125 kilometers).

[48:13]  ³⁴ tn Heb “ten thousand cubits” (i.e., 5.25 kilometers).

[48:13]  ³⁵ tn Heb “twenty-five thousand cubits” (i.e., 13.125 kilometers).

[48:13]  ³⁶ tn Heb “ten thousand cubits” (i.e., 5.25 kilometers).