Yehezkiel 3:17

3:17 “Son of man, I have appointed you a watchman ¹  for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you must give them a warning from me.

Yehezkiel 5:5

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.

Yehezkiel 5:8

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

Yehezkiel 7:2

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! ⁵ 

Yehezkiel 9:4

9:4 The Lord said to him, “Go through the city of Jerusalem ⁶  and put a mark ⁷  on the foreheads of the people who moan and groan over all the abominations practiced in it.”

Yehezkiel 11:17

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.’

Yehezkiel 15:6

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 ⁸  as fuel. ⁹ 

Yehezkiel 16:59

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.

Yehezkiel 17:19

17:19 “‘Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: As surely as I live, I will certainly repay him ¹⁰  for despising my oath and breaking my covenant!

Yehezkiel 21:9

21:9 “Son of man, prophesy and say: ‘This is what the Lord says:

“‘A sword, a sword is sharpened,

and also polished.

Yehezkiel 22:19

22:19 Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: ‘Because all of you ¹¹  have become slag, look out! – I am about to gather you in the middle of Jerusalem. ¹² 

Yehezkiel 23:22

23:22 “Therefore, Oholibah, this is what the sovereign Lord says: Look here, ¹³  I am about to stir up against you the lovers with whom you were disgusted; I will bring them against you from every side:

Yehezkiel 25:15-16

A Prophecy Against Philistia

25:15 “This is what the sovereign Lord says: ‘The Philistines ¹⁴  have exacted merciless revenge, ¹⁵  showing intense scorn ¹⁶  in their effort to destroy Judah ¹⁷  with unrelenting hostility. ¹⁸  25:16 So this is what the sovereign Lord says: Take note, I am about to stretch out my hand against the Philistines. I will kill ¹⁹  the Cherethites ²⁰  and destroy those who remain on the seacoast.

Yehezkiel 26:15

26:15 “This is what the sovereign Lord says to Tyre: Oh, how the coastlands will shake at the sound of your fall, when the wounded groan, at the massive slaughter in your midst!

Yehezkiel 29:13

29:13 “‘For this is what the sovereign Lord says: At the end of forty years ²¹  I will gather Egypt from the peoples where they were scattered.

Yehezkiel 32:3

32:3 “‘This is what the sovereign Lord says:

“‘I will throw my net over you ²²  in the assembly of many peoples;

and they will haul you up in my dragnet.

Yehezkiel 33:7

33:7 “As for you, son of man, I have made you a watchman ²³  for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you must warn them on my behalf.

Yehezkiel 33:25

33:25 Therefore say to them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: You eat the meat with the blood still in it, ²⁴  pray to ²⁵  your idols, and shed blood. Do you really think you will possess ²⁶  the land?

Yehezkiel 34:20

34:20 “‘Therefore, this is what the sovereign Lord says to them: Look, I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep.

Yehezkiel 36:3

36:3 So prophesy and say: ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Surely because they have made you desolate and crushed you from all directions, so that you have become the property of the rest of the nations, and have become the subject of gossip ²⁷  and slander among the people,

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 36:37

36:37 “This is what the sovereign Lord says: I will allow the house of Israel to ask me to do this for them: ²⁸  I will multiply their people like sheep. ²⁹ 

Yehezkiel 38:14

38:14 “Therefore, prophesy, son of man, and say to Gog: ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: On that day when my people Israel are living securely, you will take notice ³⁰ 

Yehezkiel 45:18

45:18 “‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: In the first month, on the first day of the month, you must take an unblemished young bull and purify the sanctuary.

Yehezkiel 46:16

46:16 “‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: If the prince should give a gift to one of his sons as ³¹  his inheritance, it will belong to his sons, it is their property by inheritance.

Yehezkiel 47:13

Boundaries for the Land

47:13 This is what the sovereign Lord says: “Here ³²  are the borders ³³  you will observe as you allot the land to the twelve tribes of Israel. (Joseph will have two portions.) ³⁴ 

[3:17]  ¹ tn The literal role of a watchman is described in 2 Sam 18:24; 2 Kgs 9:17.

[5:8]  ² tn Or “I challenge you.” The phrase “I am against you” may be a formula for challenging someone to combat or a duel. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:201-2, and P. Humbert, “Die Herausforderungsformel ‘h!nn#n' ?l?K>,’” ZAW 45 (1933): 101-8. The Hebrew text switches to a second feminine singular form here, indicating that personified Jerusalem is addressed (see vv. 5-6a). The address to Jerusalem continues through v. 15. In vv. 16-17 the second masculine plural is used, as the people are addressed.

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

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

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

[7:2]  ⁵ tn Or “earth.” Elsewhere the expression “four corners of the earth” figuratively refers to the whole earth (Isa 11:12).

[9:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem.”

[9:4]  map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[9:4]  ⁷ tn The word translated “mark” is in Hebrew the letter ת (tav). Outside this context the only other occurrence of the word is in Job 31:35. In ancient Hebrew script this letter was written like the letter X.

[9:4]  sn For a similar concept in the Bible, see Rev 7:2-4; 13:16; 14:9, 11; 20:4; 22:4.

[15:6]  ⁸ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[15:6]  ⁹ tn The words “as fuel” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied.

[17:19]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “place it on his head.”

[22:19]  ¹¹ tn The Hebrew second person pronoun is masculine plural here and in vv. 19b-21, indicating that the people are being addressed.

[22:19]  ¹² map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[23:22]  ¹³ tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.

[25:15]  ¹⁴ sn The Philistines inhabited the coastal plain by the Mediterranean Sea, west of Judah.

[25:15]  ¹⁵ 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]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “with scorn in (the) soul.”

[25:15]  ¹⁷ tn The object is not specified in the Hebrew text, but has been clarified as “Judah” in the translation.

[25:15]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “to destroy (with) perpetual hostility.” Joel 3:4-8 also speaks of the Philistines taking advantage of the fall of Judah.

[25:16]  ¹⁹ tn In Hebrew the verb “and I will cut off” sounds like its object, “the Cherethites,” and draws attention to the statement.

[25:16]  ²⁰ sn This is a name for the Philistines, many of whom migrated to Palestine from Crete.

[29:13]  ²¹ sn In Ezek 4:4-8 it was said that the house of Judah would suffer forty years.

[32:3]  ²² tn The expression “throw my net” is common in Ezekiel (12:13; 17:20; 19:8).

[33:7]  ²³ sn Jeremiah (Jer 6:17) and Habakkuk (Hab 2:1) also served in the role of a watchman.

[33:25]  ²⁴ sn This practice was a violation of Levitical law (see Lev 19:26).

[33:25]  ²⁵ tn Heb “lift up your eyes.”

[33:25]  ²⁶ tn Heb “Will you possess?”

[36:3]  ²⁷ tn Heb “lip of the tongue.”

[36:37]  ²⁸ tn The Niphal verb may have a tolerative function here, “Again (for) this I will allow myself to be sought by the house of Israel to act for them.” Or it may be reflexive: “I will reveal myself to the house of Israel by doing this also.”

[36:37]  ²⁹ sn Heb “I will multiply them like sheep, human(s).”

[38:14]  ³⁰ tn The Hebrew text is framed as a rhetorical question: “will you not take notice?”

[46:16]  ³¹ tn The Hebrew text has no preposition; the LXX reads “from” (see v. 17).

[47:13]  ³² tc This translation follows the reading זֶה (zeh) instead of גֵּה (geh), a nonexistent word, as supported by the LXX.

[47:13]  ³³ tn Or “territory”; see D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:715.

[47:13]  ³⁴ tc The grammar is awkward, though the presence of these words is supported by the versions. L. C. Allen (Ezekiel [WBC], 2:274) suggests that it is an explanatory gloss.

[47:13]  sn One portion for Ephraim, the other for Manasseh (Gen 48:17-20).