Yehezkiel 1:16

1:16 The appearance of the wheels and their construction ¹  was like gleaming jasper, ²  and all four wheels looked alike. Their structure was like a wheel within a wheel. ³ 

Yehezkiel 2:4-5

2:4 The people ⁴  to whom I am sending you are obstinate and hard-hearted, ⁵  and you must say to them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says.’ ⁶  2:5 And as for them, ⁷  whether they listen ⁸  or not – for they are a rebellious ⁹  house ¹⁰  – they will know that a prophet has been among them.

Yehezkiel 5:10

5:10 Therefore fathers will eat their sons within you, Jerusalem, ¹¹  and sons will eat their fathers. I will execute judgments on you, and I will scatter any survivors ¹²  to the winds. ¹³ 

Yehezkiel 7:16

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.

Yehezkiel 7:20

7:20 They rendered the beauty of his ornaments into pride, ¹⁴  and with it they made their abominable images – their detestable idols. Therefore I will render it filthy to them.

Yehezkiel 7:26

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

Yehezkiel 8:1

A Desecrated Temple

8:1 In the sixth year, in the sixth month, on the fifth of the month, ¹⁵  as I was sitting in my house with the elders of Judah sitting in front of me, the hand ¹⁶  of the sovereign Lord seized me. ¹⁷ 

Yehezkiel 9:1

The Execution of Idolaters

9:1 Then he shouted in my ears, “Approach, ¹⁸  you who are to visit destruction on the city, each with his destructive weapon in his hand!”

Yehezkiel 9:5

9:5 While I listened, he said to the others, ¹⁹  “Go through the city after him and strike people down; do no let your eye pity nor spare ²⁰  anyone!

Yehezkiel 9:7

9:7 He said to them, “Defile the temple and fill the courtyards with corpses. Go!” So they went out and struck people down throughout the city.

Yehezkiel 10:4

10:4 Then the glory of the Lord arose from the cherub and moved to the threshold of the temple. The temple was filled with the cloud while the court was filled with the brightness of the Lord’s glory.

Yehezkiel 10:14

10:14 Each of the cherubim ²¹  had four faces: The first was the face of a cherub, ²²  the second that of a man, the third that of a lion, and the fourth that of an eagle.

Yehezkiel 11:5

11:5 Then the Spirit of the Lord came ²³  upon me and said to me, “Say: This is what the Lord says: ‘This is what you are thinking, ²⁴  O house of Israel; I know what goes through your minds. ²⁵ 

Yehezkiel 11:7

11:7 Therefore, this is what the sovereign Lord says: ‘The corpses you have dumped ²⁶  in the midst of the city ²⁷  are the meat, and this city ²⁸  is the cooking pot, but I will take you out of it. ²⁹ 

Yehezkiel 12:15

12:15 “Then they will know that I am the Lord when I disperse them among the nations and scatter them among foreign countries.

Yehezkiel 13:10

13:10 “‘This is because they have led my people astray saying, “All is well,” ³⁰  when things are not well. When anyone builds a wall without mortar, ³¹  they coat it with whitewash.

Yehezkiel 13:17

13:17 “As for you, son of man, turn toward ³²  the daughters of your people who are prophesying from their imagination. ³³  Prophesy against them

Yehezkiel 14:6

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

Yehezkiel 14:8

14:8 I will set my face against that person and will make him an object lesson and a byword ³⁴  and will cut him off from among my people. Then you will know that I am the Lord.

Yehezkiel 14:15

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.

Yehezkiel 15:4-5

15:4 No! ³⁵  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?

Yehezkiel 16:14

16:14 Your fame ³⁶  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. ³⁷ 

Yehezkiel 16:39

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.

Yehezkiel 17:5

17:5 He took one of the seedlings ³⁸  of the land,

placed it in a cultivated plot; ³⁹ 

a shoot by abundant water,

like a willow he planted it.

Yehezkiel 18:4

18:4 Indeed! All lives are mine – the life of the father as well as the life of the son is mine. The one ⁴⁰  who sins will die.

Yehezkiel 18:6

18:6 does not eat pagan sacrifices on the mountains ⁴¹  or pray to the idols ⁴²  of the house of Israel, does not defile his neighbor’s wife, does not have sexual relations with a ⁴³  woman during her period,

Yehezkiel 18:18

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.

Yehezkiel 18:23

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?

Yehezkiel 19:11

19:11 Its boughs were strong, fit ⁴⁴  for rulers’ scepters; it reached up into the clouds.

It stood out because of its height and its many branches. ⁴⁵ 

Yehezkiel 19:14--20:1

19:14 A fire has gone out from its branch; it has consumed its shoot and its fruit. ⁴⁶ 

No strong branch was left in it, nor a scepter to rule.’

This is a lament song, and has become a lament song.”

Israel’s Rebellion

20:1 In the seventh year, in the fifth month, on the tenth of the month, ⁴⁷  some of the elders ⁴⁸  of Israel came to seek ⁴⁹  the Lord, and they sat down in front of me.

Yehezkiel 20:14

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.

Yehezkiel 20:16

20:16 I did this ⁵⁰  because they rejected my regulations, did not follow my statutes, and desecrated my Sabbaths; for their hearts followed their idols. ⁵¹ 

Yehezkiel 22:3

22:3 Then say, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: O city, who spills blood within herself (which brings on her doom), ⁵²  and who makes herself idols (which results in impurity),

Yehezkiel 23:8

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. ⁵³ 

Yehezkiel 23:32

23:32 “This is what the sovereign Lord says: “You will drink your sister’s deep and wide cup; ⁵⁴  you will be scorned and derided, for it holds a great deal.

Yehezkiel 23:45

23:45 But upright men will punish them appropriately for their adultery and bloodshed, ⁵⁵  because they are adulteresses and blood is on their hands.

Yehezkiel 24:16-17

24:16 “Son of man, realize that I am about to take the delight of your eyes away from you with a jolt, ⁵⁶  but you must not mourn or weep or shed tears. 24:17 Groan in silence for the dead, ⁵⁷  but do not perform mourning rites. ⁵⁸  Bind on your turban ⁵⁹  and put your sandals on your feet. Do not cover your lip ⁶⁰  and do not eat food brought by others.” ⁶¹ 

Yehezkiel 25:6

25:6 For this is what the sovereign Lord says: Because you clapped your hands, stamped your feet, and rejoiced with intense scorn ⁶²  over the land of Israel,

Yehezkiel 25:15

A Prophecy Against Philistia

25:15 “This is what the sovereign Lord says: ‘The Philistines ⁶³  have exacted merciless revenge, ⁶⁴  showing intense scorn ⁶⁵  in their effort to destroy Judah ⁶⁶  with unrelenting hostility. ⁶⁷ 

Yehezkiel 26:3

26:3 therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, ⁶⁸  I am against you, ⁶⁹  O Tyre! I will bring up many nations against you, as the sea brings up its waves.

Yehezkiel 26:8

26:8 He will kill your daughters in the field with the sword. He will build a siege wall against you, erect a siege ramp against you, and raise a great shield against you.

Yehezkiel 26:14

26:14 I will make you a bare rock; you will be a place where fishing nets are spread. You will never be built again, ⁷⁰  for I, the Lord, have spoken, declares the sovereign Lord.

Yehezkiel 26:21

26:21 I will bring terrors on you, and you will be no more! Though you are sought after, you will never be found again, declares the sovereign Lord.”

Yehezkiel 27:6

27:6 They made your oars from oaks of Bashan;

they made your deck ⁷¹  with cypresses ⁷²  from the Kittean isles. ⁷³ 

Yehezkiel 27:9

27:9 The elders of Gebal ⁷⁴  and her skilled men were within you, mending cracks; ⁷⁵ 

all the ships of the sea and their mariners were within you to trade for your merchandise. ⁷⁶ 

Yehezkiel 27:22

27:22 The merchants of Sheba and Raamah engaged in trade with you; they traded the best kinds of spices along with precious stones and gold for your products.

Yehezkiel 28:10

28:10 You will die the death of the uncircumcised ⁷⁷  by the hand of foreigners;

for I have spoken, declares the sovereign Lord.’”

Yehezkiel 28:23

28:23 I will send a plague into the city ⁷⁸  and bloodshed into its streets;

the slain will fall within it, by the sword that attacks it ⁷⁹  from every side.

Then they will know that I am the Lord.

Yehezkiel 29:8-9

29:8 “‘Therefore, this is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, I am about to bring a sword against you, and I will kill ⁸⁰  every person and every animal. 29:9 The land of Egypt will become a desolate ruin. Then they will know that I am the Lord.

Because he said, “The Nile is mine and I made it,”

Yehezkiel 29:13

29:13 “‘For this is what the sovereign Lord says: At the end of forty years ⁸¹  I will gather Egypt from the peoples where they were scattered.

Yehezkiel 29:21

29:21 On that day I will make Israel powerful, ⁸²  and I will give you the right to be heard ⁸³  among them. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”

Yehezkiel 30:4

30:4 A sword will come against Egypt

and panic will overtake Ethiopia

when the slain fall in Egypt

and they carry away her wealth

and dismantle her foundations.

Yehezkiel 30:18

30:18 In Tahpanhes the day will be dark ⁸⁴ 

when I break the yoke of Egypt there.

Her confident pride will cease within her;

a cloud will cover her, and her daughters will go into captivity.

Yehezkiel 31:4

31:4 The water made it grow;

underground springs made it grow tall.

Rivers flowed all around the place it was planted,

while smaller channels watered all the trees of the field. ⁸⁵ 

Yehezkiel 31:10

31:10 “‘Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: Because it was tall in stature, and its top reached into the clouds, and it was proud of its height,

Yehezkiel 32:16

32:16 This is a lament; they will chant it.

The daughters of the nations will chant it.

They will chant it over Egypt and over all her hordes,

declares the sovereign Lord.”

Yehezkiel 32:18

32:18 “Son of man, wail ⁸⁶  over the horde of Egypt. Bring it down; ⁸⁷  bring ⁸⁸  her ⁸⁹  and the daughters of powerful nations down to the lower parts of the earth, along with those who descend to the pit.

Yehezkiel 32:26

32:26 “Meshech-Tubal is there, along with all her hordes around her grave. ⁹⁰  All of them are uncircumcised, killed by the sword, for they spread their terror in the land of the living.

Yehezkiel 33:4

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. ⁹¹ 

Yehezkiel 34:24-26

34:24 I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David will be prince ⁹²  among them; I, the Lord, have spoken!

34:25 “‘I will make a covenant of peace with them and will rid the land of wild beasts, so that they can live securely ⁹³  in the wilderness and even sleep in the woods. ⁹⁴  34:26 I will turn them and the regions around my hill into a blessing. I will make showers come down in their season; they will be showers that bring blessing. ⁹⁵ 

Yehezkiel 34:31

34:31 And you, my sheep, the sheep of my pasture, are my people, ⁹⁶  and I am your God, declares the sovereign Lord.’”

Yehezkiel 36:2

36:2 This is what the sovereign Lord says: The enemy has spoken against you, saying “Aha!” and, “The ancient heights ⁹⁷  have become our property!”’

Yehezkiel 36:12

36:12 I will lead people, my people Israel, across you; they will possess you and you will become their inheritance. No longer will you bereave them of their children.

Yehezkiel 36:18

36:18 So I poured my anger on them ⁹⁸  because of the blood they shed on the land and because of the idols with which they defiled it. ⁹⁹ 

Yehezkiel 36:33

36:33 “‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: In the day I cleanse you from all your sins, I will populate the cities and the ruins will be rebuilt.

Yehezkiel 37:1

The Valley of Dry Bones

37:1 The hand ¹⁰⁰  of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and placed ¹⁰¹  me in the midst of the valley, and it was full of bones.

Yehezkiel 39:1

39:1 “As for you, son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say: ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal!

Yehezkiel 39:18

39:18 You will eat the flesh of warriors ¹⁰²  and drink the blood of the princes of the earth – the rams, lambs, goats, and bulls, all of them fattened animals of Bashan.

Yehezkiel 40:2

40:2 By means of divine visions ¹⁰³  he brought me to the land of Israel and placed me on a very high mountain, ¹⁰⁴  and on it was a structure like a city, to the south.

Yehezkiel 41:17

41:17 to the space above the entrance, to the inner room, and on the outside, and on all the walls in the inner room and outside, by measurement. ¹⁰⁵ 

Yehezkiel 42:5

42:5 Now the upper chambers were narrower, because the galleries took more space from them than from the lower and middle chambers of the building.

Yehezkiel 43:10

43:10 “As for you, son of man, describe the temple to the house of Israel, so that they will be ashamed of their sins and measure the pattern.

Yehezkiel 44:6

44:6 Say to the rebellious, ¹⁰⁶  to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Enough of all your abominable practices, O house of Israel!

Yehezkiel 44:10

44:10 “‘But the Levites who went far from me, straying off from me after their idols when Israel went astray, will be responsible for ¹⁰⁷  their sin.

Yehezkiel 48:29

48:29 This is the land which you will allot to the tribes of Israel, and these are their portions, declares the sovereign Lord.

[1:16]  ¹ tc This word is omitted from the LXX.

[1:16]  ² tn Heb “Tarshish stone.” The meaning of this term is uncertain. The term has also been translated “topaz” (NEB); “beryl” (KJV, NASB, NRSV); or “chrysolite” (RSV, NIV).

[1:16]  ³ tn Or “like a wheel at right angles to another wheel.” Some envision concentric wheels here, while others propose “a globe-like structure in which two wheels stand at right angles” (L. C. Allen, Ezekiel [WBC], 1:33-34). The description given in v. 17 favors the latter idea.

[2:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “sons.” The word choice may reflect treaty idiom, where the relationship between an overlord and his subjects can be described as that of father and son.

[2:4]  ⁵ tc Heb “stern of face and hard of heart.” The phrases “stern of face” and “hard of heart” are lacking in the LXX.

[2:4]  ⁶ tn The phrase “thus says [the Lord]” occurs 129 times in Ezekiel; the announcement is identical to the way messengers often introduced their messages (Gen 32:5; 45:9; Exod 5:10; Num 20:14; Judg 11:15).

[2:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “they”; the phrase “And as for them” has been used in the translation for clarity.

[2:5]  ⁸ tn The Hebrew word implies obedience rather than mere hearing or paying attention.

[2:5]  ⁹ tn This Hebrew adjective is also used to describe the Israelites in Num 17:25 and Isa 30:9.

[2:5]  ¹⁰ 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).

[5:10]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² tn Heb “all of your survivors.”

[5:10]  ¹³ tn Heb “to every wind.”

[7:20]  ¹⁴ 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.

[8:1]  ¹⁵ tc The LXX reads “In the sixth year, in the fifth month, on the fifth of the month.”

[8:1]  sn In the sixth year, in the sixth month, on the fifth of the month would be September 17, 592 b.c., about fourteen months after the initial vision.

[8:1]  ¹⁶ tn Or “power.”

[8:1]  sn Hand in the OT can refer metaphorically to power, authority, or influence. In Ezekiel God’s hand being on the prophet is regularly associated with communication or a vision from God (3:14, 22; 8:1; 37:1; 40:1).

[8:1]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “fell upon me there,” that is, God’s influence came over him.

[9:1]  ¹⁸ tc Heb “they approached.” Reading the imperative assumes the same consonantal text but different vowels.

[9:5]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “to these he said in my ears.”

[9:5]  ²⁰ 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.

[10:14]  ²¹ tn Heb “each one”; the referent (the cherubim) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:14]  ²² sn The living creature described here is thus slightly different from the one described in Ezek 1:10, where a bull’s face appeared instead of a cherub’s. Note that some English versions harmonize the two descriptions and read the same here as in 1:10 (cf. NAB, NLT “an ox”; TEV, CEV “a bull”). This may be justified based on v. 22, which states the creatures’ appearance was the same.

[11:5]  ²³ tn Heb “fell.”

[11:5]  ²⁴ tn The Hebrew verb commonly means “to say,” but may also mean “to think” (see also v. 3).

[11:5]  ²⁵ tn Heb “I know the steps of your spirits.”

[11:7]  ²⁶ tn Heb “placed.”

[11:7]  ²⁷ tn Heb “in its midst.”

[11:7]  ²⁸ tn Heb “she/it.” See v. 3.

[11:7]  ²⁹ tc Many of the versions read “I will bring you out” (active) rather than “he brought out” (the reading of MT).

[13:10]  ³⁰ tn Or “peace.”

[13:10]  ³¹ tn The Hebrew word only occurs here in the Bible. According to L. C. Allen (Ezekiel [WBC], 1:202-3) it is also used in the Mishnah of a wall of rough stones without mortar. This fits the context here comparing the false prophetic messages to a nice coat of whitewash on a structurally unstable wall.

[13:17]  ³² tn Heb “set your face against.”

[13:17]  ³³ tn Heb “from their heart.”

[14:8]  ³⁴ tn Heb “proverbs.”

[15:4]  ³⁵ 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).

[16:14]  ³⁶ tn Heb “name.”

[16:14]  ³⁷ sn The description of the nation Israel in vv. 10-14 recalls the splendor of the nation’s golden age under King Solomon.

[17:5]  ³⁸ 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]  ³⁹ tn Heb “a field for seed.”

[18:4]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “life.”

[18:6]  ⁴¹ 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]  ⁴² tn Heb, “does not lift up his eyes.” This refers to looking to idols for help.

[18:6]  ⁴³ tn Heb, “does not draw near to.” “Draw near” is a euphemism for sexual intercourse (Lev 18:14; Deut 22:14; Isa 8:3).

[19:11]  ⁴⁴ tn The word “fit” does not occur in the Hebrew text.

[19:11]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “and it was seen by its height and by the abundance of its branches.”

[19:14]  ⁴⁶ tn The verse describes the similar situation recorded in Judg 9:20.

[20:1]  ⁴⁷ sn The date would be August 14th, 591 b.c. The seventh year is the seventh year of Jehoiachin’s exile.

[20:1]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “men from the elders.”

[20:1]  ⁴⁹ tn See the note at 14:3.

[20:16]  ⁵⁰ 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]  ⁵¹ 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.

[22:3]  ⁵² tn Heb “her time”; this refers to the time of impending judgment (see the note on “doom” in v. 4).

[23:8]  ⁵³ tn Heb “and poured out their harlotry on her.”

[23:32]  ⁵⁴ sn The image of a deep and wide cup suggests the degree of punishment; it will be extensive and leave the victim helpless.

[23:45]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “and upright men will judge them (with) the judgment of adulteresses and the judgment of those who shed blood.”

[24:16]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “a strike.”

[24:17]  ⁵⁷ 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]  ⁵⁸ 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]  ⁵⁹ sn The turban would normally be removed for mourning (Josh 7:6; 1 Sam 4:12).

[24:17]  ⁶⁰ sn Mourning rites included covering the lower part of the face. See Lev 13:45.

[24:17]  ⁶¹ 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).

[25:6]  ⁶² tn Heb “with all your scorn in (the) soul.”

[25:15]  ⁶³ sn The Philistines inhabited the coastal plain by the Mediterranean Sea, west of Judah.

[25:15]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “have acted with vengeance and taken vengeance with vengeance.” The repetition emphasizes the degree of vengeance which they exhibited, presumably toward Judah.

[25:15]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “with scorn in (the) soul.”

[25:15]  ⁶⁶ tn The object is not specified in the Hebrew text, but has been clarified as “Judah” in the translation.

[25:15]  ⁶⁷ tn Heb “to destroy (with) perpetual hostility.” Joel 3:4-8 also speaks of the Philistines taking advantage of the fall of Judah.

[26:3]  ⁶⁸ tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) draws attention to something and has been translated here as a verb.

[26:3]  ⁶⁹ 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.

[26:14]  ⁷⁰ sn This prophecy was fulfilled by Alexander the Great in 332 b.c.

[27:6]  ⁷¹ tn Or “hull.”

[27:6]  ⁷² tc The Hebrew reads “Your deck they made ivory, daughter of Assyria.” The syntactically difficult “ivory” is understood here as dittography and omitted, though some construe this to refer to ivory inlays. “Daughter of Assyria” is understood here as improper word division and the vowels repointed as “cypresses.”

[27:6]  ⁷³ tn Heb “from the coastlands (or islands) of Kittim,” generally understood to be a reference to the island of Cyprus, where the Phoenicians had a trading colony on the southeast coast. Many modern English versions have “Cyprus” (CEV, TEV), “the coastlands of Cyprus” (NASB), “the coasts of Cyprus” (NIV, NRSV), or “the southern coasts of Cyprus” (NLT).

[27:6]  sn The Kittean isles is probably a reference to southeast Cyprus where the Phoenicians had a colony.

[27:9]  ⁷⁴ sn Another Phoenician coastal city located between Sidon and Arvad.

[27:9]  ⁷⁵ tn Heb “strengthening damages.” Here “to strengthen” means to repair. The word for “damages” occurs several times in 1 Kgs 12 about some type of damage to the temple, which may have referred to or included cracks. Since the context describes Tyre in its glory, we do not expect this reference to damages to be of significant scale, even if there are repairmen. This may refer to using pitch to seal the seams of the ship, which had to be done periodically and could be considered routine maintenance rather than repair of damage.

[27:9]  ⁷⁶ sn The reference to “all the ships of the sea…within you” suggests that the metaphor is changing; previously Tyre had been described as a magnificent ship, but now the description shifts back to an actual city. The “ships of the sea” were within Tyre’s harbor. Verse 11 refers to “walls” and “towers” of the city.

[28:10]  ⁷⁷ sn The Phoenicians practiced circumcision, so the language here must be figurative, indicating that they would be treated in a disgraceful manner. Uncircumcised peoples were viewed as inferior, unclean, and perhaps even sub-human. See 31:18 and 32:17-32, as well as the discussion in D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:99.

[28:23]  ⁷⁸ tn Heb “into it”; the referent of the feminine pronoun has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[28:23]  ⁷⁹ tn Heb “by a sword against it.”

[29:8]  ⁸⁰ tn Heb “I will cut off from you.”

[29:13]  ⁸¹ sn In Ezek 4:4-8 it was said that the house of Judah would suffer forty years.

[29:21]  ⁸² tn Heb “I will cause a horn to sprout for the house of Israel.” The horn is used as a figure for military power in the OT (Ps 92:10). A similar expression is made about the Davidic dynasty in Ps 132:17.

[29:21]  ⁸³ tn Heb “I will grant you an open mouth.”

[30:18]  ⁸⁴ sn In Zeph 1:15 darkness is associated with the day of the Lord.

[31:4]  ⁸⁵ tn Heb “Waters made it grow; the deep made it grow tall. It (the deep) was flowing with its rivers around the place it (the tree) was planted, it (the deep) sent out its channels to all the trees of the field.”

[32:18]  ⁸⁶ tn The Hebrew verb is used as a response to death (Jer 9:17-19; Amos 5:16).

[32:18]  ⁸⁷ sn Through this prophetic lament given by God himself, the prophet activates the judgment described therein. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:217, and L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:136-37.

[32:18]  ⁸⁸ tn Heb “Bring him down, her and the daughters of the powerful nations, to the earth below.” The verb “bring down” appears in the Hebrew text only once. Because the verb takes several objects here, the repetition of the verb in the translation improves the English style.

[32:18]  ⁸⁹ tn This apparently refers to personified Egypt.

[32:26]  ⁹⁰ tn Heb “around him her graves,” but the expression is best emended to read “around her grave” (see vv. 23-24).

[33:4]  ⁹¹ tn Heb “his blood will be on his own head.”

[34:24]  ⁹² sn The messianic king (“David”) is called both “king” and “prince” in 37:24-25. The use of the term “prince” for this king facilitates the contrast between this ideal ruler and the Davidic “princes” denounced in earlier prophecies (see 7:27; 12:10, 12; 19:1; 21:25; 22:6, 25).

[34:25]  ⁹³ tn The phrase “live securely” occurs in Ezek 28:26; 38:8, 11, 14; 39:26 as an expression of freedom from fear. It is a promised blessing resulting from obedience (see Lev 26:5-6).

[34:25]  ⁹⁴ sn The woods were typically considered to be places of danger (Ps 104:20-21; Jer 5:6).

[34:26]  ⁹⁵ tn Heb “showers of blessing.” Abundant rain, which in turn produces fruit and crops (v. 27), is a covenantal blessing for obedience (Lev 26:4).

[34:31]  ⁹⁶ tn Heb, “the sheep of my pasture, you are human.” See 36:37-38 for a similar expression. The possessive pronoun “my” is supplied in the translation to balance “I am your God” in the next clause.

[36:2]  ⁹⁷ tn Or “high places.”

[36:18]  ⁹⁸ sn See Ezek 7:8; 9:8; 14:19; 20:8, 13, 21; 22:22; 30:15.

[36:18]  ⁹⁹ sn For the concept of defiling the land in legal literature, see Lev 18:28; Deut 21:23.

[37:1]  ¹⁰⁰ tn Or “power.”

[37:1]  sn Hand in the OT can refer metaphorically to power, authority, or influence. In Ezekiel God’s hand being on the prophet is regularly associated with communication or a vision from God (3:14, 22; 8:1; 37:1; 40:1).

[37:1]  ¹⁰¹ tn Heb “caused me to rest.”

[39:18]  ¹⁰² sn See Rev 19:17-18.

[40:2]  ¹⁰³ tn The expression introduces the three major visions of Ezekiel (1:1; 8:3; 40:2).

[40:2]  ¹⁰⁴ tn The reference to a very high mountain is harmonious with Isa 2:2.

[41:17]  ¹⁰⁵ tc The LXX does not have the word “by measurements.” The word may be a technical term referring to carpentry technique, the exact meaning of which is unclear.

[44:6]  ¹⁰⁶ tc The LXX reads “house of rebellion.”

[44:10]  ¹⁰⁷ tn Heb “will bear.”