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 2:3

2:3 He said to me, “Son of man, I am sending you to the house ⁶  of Israel, to rebellious nations ⁷  who have rebelled against me; both they and their fathers have revolted ⁸  against me to this very day.

Yehezkiel 2:6

2:6 But you, son of man, do not fear them, and do not fear their words – even though briers ⁹  and thorns ¹⁰  surround you and you live among scorpions – do not fear their words and do not be terrified of the looks they give you, ¹¹  for they are a rebellious house!

Yehezkiel 5:13

5:13 Then my anger will be fully vented; I will exhaust my rage on them, and I will be appeased. ¹²  Then they will know that I, the Lord, have spoken in my jealousy ¹³  when I have fully vented my rage against them.

Yehezkiel 5:15

5:15 You will be ¹⁴  an object of scorn and taunting, ¹⁵  a prime example of destruction ¹⁶  among the nations around you when I execute judgments against you in anger and raging fury. ¹⁷  I, the Lord, have spoken!

Yehezkiel 8:6

8:6 He said to me, “Son of man, do you see what they are doing – the great abominations that the people ¹⁸  of Israel are practicing here, to drive me far from my sanctuary? But you will see greater abominations than these!”

Yehezkiel 8:17

8:17 He said to me, “Do you see, son of man? Is it a trivial thing that the house of Judah commits these abominations they are practicing here? For they have filled the land with violence and provoked me to anger still further. Look, they are putting the branch to their nose! ¹⁹ 

Yehezkiel 9:8

9:8 While they were striking them down, I was left alone, and I threw myself face down and cried out, “Ah, sovereign Lord! Will you destroy the entire remnant of Israel when you pour out your fury on Jerusalem?”

Yehezkiel 12:19

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.

Yehezkiel 14:11

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, ²⁰  declares the sovereign Lord.’”

Yehezkiel 14:13

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, ²¹  cause famine to come on it, and kill both people and animals.

Yehezkiel 16:52

16:52 So now, bear your disgrace, because you have given your sisters reason to justify their behavior. ²²  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.

Yehezkiel 18:24

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. ²³ 

Yehezkiel 24:27

24:27 On that day you will be able to speak again; ²⁴  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 25:14

25:14 I will exact my vengeance upon Edom by the hand of my people Israel. They will carry out in Edom my anger and rage; they will experience ²⁵  my vengeance, declares the sovereign Lord.’”

Yehezkiel 26:2

26:2 “Son of man, because Tyre ²⁶  has said about Jerusalem, ²⁷  ‘Aha, the gateway of the peoples is broken; it has swung open to me. I will become rich, ²⁸  now that she ²⁹  has been destroyed,’

Yehezkiel 26:16

26:16 All the princes of the sea will vacate ³⁰  their thrones. They will remove their robes and strip off their embroidered clothes; they will clothe themselves with trembling. They will sit on the ground; they will tremble continually and be shocked at what has happened to you. ³¹ 

Yehezkiel 28:2

28:2 “Son of man, say to the prince ³²  of Tyre, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says:

“‘Your heart is proud ³³  and you said, “I am a god; ³⁴ 

I sit in the seat of gods, in the heart of the seas” –

yet you are a man and not a god,

though you think you are godlike. ³⁵ 

Yehezkiel 28:18

28:18 By the multitude of your iniquities, through the sinfulness of your trade,

you desecrated your sanctuaries.

So I drew fire out from within you;

it consumed you,

and I turned you to ashes on the earth

before the eyes of all who saw you.

Yehezkiel 28:26

28:26 They will live securely in it; they will build houses and plant vineyards. They will live securely ³⁶  when I execute my judgments on all those who scorn them and surround them. Then they will know that I am the Lord their God.’”

Yehezkiel 29:5

29:5 I will leave you in the wilderness,

you and all the fish of your waterways;

you will fall in the open field and will not be gathered up or collected. ³⁷ 

I have given you as food to the beasts of the earth and the birds of the skies.

Yehezkiel 29:12

29:12 I will turn the land of Egypt into a desolation in the midst of desolate lands; for forty years her cities will lie desolate in the midst of ruined cities. I will scatter Egypt among the nations and disperse them among foreign countries.

Yehezkiel 29:18

29:18 “Son of man, King Nebuchadrezzar ³⁸  of Babylon made his army labor hard against Tyre. ³⁹  Every head was rubbed bald and every shoulder rubbed bare; yet he and his army received no wages from Tyre for the work he carried out against it.

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; ⁴⁰  for beware – it is coming!

Yehezkiel 30:25

30:25 I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh will fall limp. Then they will know that I am the Lord when I place my sword in the hand of the king of Babylon and he extends it against the land of Egypt.

Yehezkiel 32:2

32:2 “Son of man, sing a lament for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say to him:

“‘You were like a lion ⁴¹  among the nations,

but you are a monster in the seas;

you thrash about in your streams,

stir up the water with your feet,

and muddy your ⁴²  streams.

Yehezkiel 32:27

32:27 They do not lie with the fallen warriors of ancient times, ⁴³  who went down to Sheol with their weapons of war, having their swords placed under their heads and their shields on their bones, ⁴⁴  when the terror of these warriors was in the land of the living.

Yehezkiel 37:9

37:9 He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, ⁴⁵  – prophesy, son of man – and say to the breath: ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these corpses so that they may live.’”

Yehezkiel 37:23

37:23 They will not defile themselves with their idols, their detestable things, and all their rebellious deeds. I will save them from all their unfaithfulness ⁴⁶  by which they sinned. I will purify them; they will become my people and I will become their God.

Yehezkiel 38:13

38:13 Sheba and Dedan and the traders of Tarshish with all its young warriors ⁴⁷  will say to you, “Have you come to loot? Have you assembled your armies to plunder, to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to haul away a great amount of spoils?”’

Yehezkiel 39:7

39:7 “‘I will make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; I will not let my holy name be profaned anymore. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord, the Holy One of Israel. ⁴⁸ 

Yehezkiel 39:28

39:28 Then they will know that I am the Lord their God, because I sent them into exile among the nations, and then gathered them into their own land. I will not leave any of them in exile ⁴⁹  any longer.

Yehezkiel 41:7

41:7 The side chambers surrounding the temple were wider at each successive story; ⁵⁰  for the structure ⁵¹  surrounding the temple went up story by story all around the temple. For this reason the width of the temple increased as it went up, and one went up from the lowest story to the highest by the way of the middle story.

Yehezkiel 43:11

43:11 When they are ashamed of all that they have done, make known to them the design of the temple, its pattern, its exits and entrances, and its whole design – all its statutes, its entire design, and all its laws; write it all down in their sight, so that they may observe its entire design and all its statutes and do them.

Yehezkiel 45:1

The Lord’s Portion of the Land

45:1 “‘When you allot the land as an inheritance, you will offer an allotment ⁵²  to the Lord, a holy portion from the land; the length will be eight and a quarter miles ⁵³  and the width three and one-third miles. ⁵⁴  This entire area will be holy. ⁵⁵ 

Yehezkiel 47:8

47:8 He said to me, “These waters go out toward the eastern region and flow down into the Arabah; when they enter the Dead Sea, ⁵⁶  where the sea is stagnant, ⁵⁷  the waters become fresh. ⁵⁸ 

Yehezkiel 47:10

47:10 Fishermen will stand beside it; from Engedi to En-eglaim they will spread nets. They will catch many kinds of fish, like the fish of the Great Sea. ⁵⁹ 

Yehezkiel 48:8

48:8 “Next to the border of Judah from the east side to the west will be the allotment you must set apart. It is to be eight and a quarter miles ⁶⁰  wide, and the same length as one of the tribal portions, from the east side to the west; the sanctuary will be in the middle of it.

Yehezkiel 48:13

48:13 “Alongside the border of the priests, the Levites will have an allotment eight and a quarter miles ⁶¹  in length and three and one-third miles ⁶²  in width. The whole length will be eight and a quarter miles ⁶³  and the width three and one-third miles. ⁶⁴ 

[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

[2:3]  ⁶ tc The Hebrew reads “sons of,” while the LXX reads “house,” implying the more common phrase in Ezekiel. Either could be abbreviated with the first letter ב (bet). In preparation for the characterization “house of rebellion,” in vv. 5, 6, and 8, “house” is preferred (L. C. Allen, Ezekiel [WBC], 1:10 and W. Zimmerli, Ezekiel [Hermeneia], 2:564-65).

[2:3]  ⁷ tc Heb “to the rebellious nations.” The phrase “to the rebellious nations” is omitted in the LXX. Elsewhere in Ezekiel the singular word “nation” is used for Israel (36:13-15; 37:22). Here “nations” may have the meaning of “tribes” or refer to the two nations of Israel and Judah.

[2:3]  ⁸ tc This word is omitted from the LXX.

[2:3]  tn The Hebrew term used here is the strongest word available for expressing a covenant violation. The word is used in the diplomatic arena to express a treaty violation (2 Kgs 1:1; 3:5, 7).

[2:6]  ⁹ tn The Hebrew term occurs only here in the OT.

[2:6]  ¹⁰ tn The Hebrew term is found elsewhere in the OT only in Ezek 28:24.

[2:6]  sn Here thorns may be a figure for hostility (Ezek 28:24; Mic 7:4).

[2:6]  ¹¹ tn Heb “of their faces.”

[5:13]  ¹² tn Or “calm myself.”

[5:13]  ¹³ 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]  ¹⁴ tc This reading is supported by the versions and by the Dead Sea Scrolls (11QEzek). Most Masoretic Hebrew mss read “it will be,” but if the final he (ה) is read as a mater lectionis, as it can be with the second masculine singular perfect, then they are in agreement. In either case the subject refers to Jerusalem.

[5:15]  ¹⁵ tn The Hebrew word occurs only here in the OT. A related verb means “revile, taunt” (see Ps 44:16).

[5:15]  ¹⁶ 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]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “in anger and in fury and in rebukes of fury.” The heaping up of synonyms emphasizes the degree of God’s anger.

[8:6]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “house.”

[8:17]  ¹⁹ tn It is not clear what the practice of “holding a branch to the nose” indicates. A possible parallel is the Syrian relief of a king holding a flower to his nose as he worships the stars (ANEP 281). See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 1:145-46. The LXX glosses the expression as “Behold, they are like mockers.”

[14:11]  ²⁰ sn I will be their God. See Exod 6:7; Lev 26:12; Jer 7:23; 11:4.

[14:13]  ²¹ tn Heb “break its staff of bread.”

[16:52]  ²² tn Heb “because you have interceded for your sisters with your sins.”

[18:24]  ²³ tn Heb “because of them he will die.”

[24:27]  ²⁴ tn Heb “your mouth will open.”

[25:14]  ²⁵ tn Heb “know.”

[26:2]  ²⁶ sn Tyre was located on the Mediterranean coast north of Israel.

[26:2]  ²⁷ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[26:2]  ²⁸ tn Heb “I will be filled.”

[26:2]  ²⁹ sn That is, Jerusalem.

[26:16]  ³⁰ tn Heb “descend from.”

[26:16]  ³¹ tn Heb “and they will be astonished over you.”

[28:2]  ³² tn Or “ruler” (NIV, NCV).

[28:2]  ³³ tn Heb “lifted up.”

[28:2]  sn See Prov 16:5.

[28:2]  ³⁴ tn Or “I am divine.”

[28:2]  ³⁵ tn Heb “and you made your heart (mind) like the heart (mind) of gods.”

[28:26]  ³⁶ sn This promise was given in Lev 25:18-19.

[29:5]  ³⁷ tc Some Hebrew mss, the Targum, and the LXX read “buried.”

[29:18]  ³⁸ tn Heb “Nebuchadrezzar” is a variant and more correct spelling of Nebuchadnezzar, as the Babylonian name Nabu-kudurri-usur has an “r” rather than an “n” (so also in v. 19).

[29:18]  ³⁹ sn Nebuchadnezzar besieged Tyre from 585 to 571 b.c.

[29:18]  map For location see Map1 A2; Map2 G2; Map4 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.

[30:9]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “in the day of Egypt.” The word “doom” has been added in the translation to clarify the nature of this day.

[32:2]  ⁴¹ tn The lion was a figure of royalty (Ezek 19:1-9).

[32:2]  ⁴² tc The Hebrew reads “their streams”; the LXX reads “your streams.”

[32:27]  ⁴³ tc Heb “of the uncircumcised.” The LXX reads, probably correctly, “from of old” rather than “of the uncircumcised.” The phrases are very similar in spelling. The warriors of Meshech-Tubal are described as uncircumcised, so it would be odd for them to not be buried with the uncircumcised. Verse 28 specifically says that they would lie with the uncircumcised.

[32:27]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “and their iniquities were over their bones.” The meaning of this statement is unclear; in light of the parallelism (see “swords”) it is preferable to emend “their iniquities” to “their swords.” See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:135.

[37:9]  ⁴⁵ tn Or “spirit,” and several times in this verse.

[37:23]  ⁴⁶ tc Heb “their dwellings.” The text as it stands does not make sense. Based on the LXX, a slight emendation of two vowels, including a mater, yields the reading “from their turning,” a reference here to their turning from God and deviating from his commandments. See BDB 1000 s.v. מְשׁוּבָה, and D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:407.

[38:13]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “young lions.”

[39:7]  ⁴⁸ sn The basic sense of the word “holy” is “set apart from that which is commonplace, special, unique.” The Lord’s holiness is first and foremost his transcendent sovereignty as the ruler of the world. He is “set apart” from the world over which he rules. At the same time his holiness encompasses his moral authority, which derives from his royal position. As king he has the right to dictate to his subjects how they are to live; indeed his very own character sets the standard for proper behavior. This expression is a common title for the Lord in the book of Isaiah.

[39:28]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “there,” referring to the foreign nations to which they were exiled. The translation makes the referent clear.

[41:7]  ⁵⁰ tc The Hebrew is difficult here. The Targum envisions a winding ramp or set of stairs, which entails reading the first word as a noun rather than a verb and reading the second word also not as a verb, supposing that an initial mem has been read as vav and nun. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:549.

[41:7]  ⁵¹ tn The Hebrew term occurs only here in the OT.

[45:1]  ⁵² tn Heb “a contribution.”

[45:1]  ⁵³ tn Heb “twenty-five thousand cubits” (i.e., 13.125 kilometers). The measuring units here are the Hebrew “long” cubit, consisting of a cubit (about 18 inches or 45 cm) and a handbreadth (about 3 inches or 7.5 cm), for a total of 21 inches (52.5 cm). Because modern readers are not familiar with the cubit as a unit of measurement, and due to the additional complication of the “long” cubit as opposed to the regular cubit, all measurements have been converted to American standard miles (one mile = 5,280 feet), with the Hebrew measurements and the metric equivalents given in the notes.

[45:1]  ⁵⁴ tc The LXX reads “twenty thousand cubits.”

[45:1]  tn Heb “ten thousand cubits” (i.e., 5.25 kilometers).

[45:1]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “holy it is in all its territory round about.”

[47:8]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “the sea,” referring to the Dead Sea. This has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[47:8]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “to the sea, those which are brought out.” The reading makes no sense. The text is best emended to read “filthy” (i.e., stagnant). See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:273.

[47:8]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “the waters become healed.”

[47:10]  ⁵⁹ sn The Great Sea refers to the Mediterranean Sea (also in vv. 15, 19, 20).

[48:8]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “twenty-five thousand cubits” (i.e., 13.125 kilometers).

[48:13]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “twenty-five thousand cubits” (i.e., 13.125 kilometers).

[48:13]  ⁶² tn Heb “ten thousand cubits” (i.e., 5.25 kilometers).

[48:13]  ⁶³ tn Heb “twenty-five thousand cubits” (i.e., 13.125 kilometers).

[48:13]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “ten thousand cubits” (i.e., 5.25 kilometers).