Yehezkiel 3:1--4:17
Konteks3:1 He said to me, “Son of man, eat what you see in front of you 1 – eat this scroll – and then go and speak to the house of Israel.” 3:2 So I opened my mouth and he fed me the scroll.
3:3 He said to me, “Son of man, feed your stomach and fill your belly with this scroll I am giving to you.” So I ate it, 2 and it was sweet like honey in my mouth.
3:4 He said to me, “Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak my words to them. 3:5 For you are not being sent to a people of unintelligible speech 3 and difficult language, 4 but 5 to the house of Israel – 3:6 not to many peoples of unintelligible speech and difficult language, whose words you cannot understand 6 – surely if 7 I had sent you to them, they would listen to you! 3:7 But the house of Israel is unwilling to listen to you, 8 because they are not willing to listen to me, 9 for the whole house of Israel is hard-headed and hard-hearted. 10
3:8 “I have made your face adamant 11 to match their faces, and your forehead hard to match their foreheads. 3:9 I have made your forehead harder than flint – like diamond! 12 Do not fear them or be terrified of the looks they give you, 13 for they are a rebellious house.”
3:10 And he said to me, “Son of man, take all my words that I speak to you to heart and listen carefully. 3:11 Go to the exiles, to your fellow countrymen, 14 and speak to them – say to them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says,’ whether they pay attention or not.”
3:12 Then a wind lifted me up 15 and I heard a great rumbling sound behind me as the glory of the Lord rose from its place, 16 3:13 and the sound of the living beings’ wings brushing against each other, and the sound of the wheels alongside them, a great rumbling sound. 3:14 A wind lifted me up and carried me away. I went bitterly, 17 my spirit full of fury, and the hand of the Lord rested powerfully 18 on me. 3:15 I came to the exiles at Tel Abib, 19 who lived by the Kebar River. 20 I sat dumbfounded among them there, where they were living, for seven days. 21
3:16 At the end of seven days the word of the Lord came to me: 22 3:17 “Son of man, I have appointed you a watchman 23 for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you must give them a warning from me. 3:18 When I say to the wicked, “You will certainly die,” 24 and you do not warn him – you do not speak out to warn the wicked to turn from his wicked deed and wicked lifestyle so that he may live – that wicked person will die for his iniquity, 25 but I will hold you accountable for his death. 26 3:19 But as for you, if you warn the wicked and he does not turn from his wicked deed and from his wicked lifestyle, he will die for his iniquity but you will have saved your own life. 27
3:20 “When a righteous person turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and I set an obstacle 28 before him, he will die. If you have not warned him, he will die for his sin. The righteous deeds he performed will not be considered, but I will hold you accountable for his death. 3:21 However, if you warn the righteous person not to sin, and he 29 does not sin, he will certainly live because he was warned, and you will have saved your own life.”
3:22 The hand 30 of the Lord rested on me there, and he said to me, “Get up, go out to the valley, 31 and I will speak with you there.” 3:23 So I got up and went out to the valley, and the glory of the Lord was standing there, just like the glory I had seen by the Kebar River, 32 and I threw myself face down.
3:24 Then a wind 33 came into me and stood me on my feet. The Lord 34 spoke to me and said, “Go shut yourself in your house. 3:25 As for you, son of man, they will put ropes on you and tie you up with them, so you cannot go out among them. 3:26 I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth so that you will be silent and unable to reprove 35 them, for they are a rebellious house. 3:27 But when I speak with you, I will loosen your tongue 36 and you must say to them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says.’ Those who listen will listen, but the indifferent will refuse, 37 for they are a rebellious house.
4:1 “And you, son of man, take a brick 38 and set it in front of you. Inscribe 39 a city on it – Jerusalem. 4:2 Lay siege to it! Build siege works against it. Erect a siege ramp 40 against it! Post soldiers outside it 41 and station battering rams around it. 4:3 Then for your part take an iron frying pan 42 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 43 for the house of Israel.
4:4 “Also for your part lie on your left side and place the iniquity 44 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 45 for you – 390 days. 46 So bear the iniquity of the house of Israel. 47
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 48 – 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. 49
4:9 “As for you, take wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, and spelt, 50 put them in a single container, and make food 51 from them for yourself. For the same number of days that you lie on your side – 390 days 52 – you will eat it. 4:10 The food you eat will be eight ounces 53 a day by weight; you must eat it at fixed 54 times. 4:11 And you must drink water by measure, a pint and a half; 55 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.” 56 4:13 And the Lord said, “This is how the people of Israel will eat their unclean food among the nations 57 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 58 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 59 in Jerusalem. 60 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. 61
Ibrani 11:20-40
Konteks11:20 By faith also Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning the future. 11:21 By faith Jacob, as he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph and worshiped as he leaned on his staff. 62 11:22 By faith Joseph, at the end of his life, 63 mentioned the exodus of the sons of Israel 64 and gave instructions about his burial. 65
11:23 By faith, when Moses was born, his parents hid him 66 for three months, because they saw the child was beautiful and they were not afraid of the king’s edict. 11:24 By faith, when he grew up, Moses refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, 11:25 choosing rather to be ill-treated with the people of God than to enjoy sin’s fleeting pleasure. 11:26 He regarded abuse suffered for Christ 67 to be greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for his eyes were fixed on 68 the reward. 11:27 By faith he left Egypt without fearing the king’s anger, for he persevered as though he could see the one who is invisible. 11:28 By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood, 69 so that the one who destroyed the firstborn would not touch them. 11:29 By faith they crossed the Red Sea as if on dry ground, but when the Egyptians tried it, they were swallowed up. 11:30 By faith the walls of Jericho 70 fell after the people marched around them 71 for seven days. 11:31 By faith Rahab the prostitute escaped the destruction of 72 the disobedient, because she welcomed the spies in peace.
11:32 And what more shall I say? For time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets. 11:33 Through faith they conquered kingdoms, administered justice, 73 gained what was promised, 74 shut the mouths of lions, 11:34 quenched raging fire, 75 escaped the edge of the sword, gained strength in weakness, 76 became mighty in battle, put foreign armies to flight, 11:35 and women received back their dead raised to life. 77 But others were tortured, not accepting release, to obtain resurrection to a better life. 78 11:36 And others experienced mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 11:37 They were stoned, sawed apart, 79 murdered with the sword; they went about in sheepskins and goatskins; they were destitute, afflicted, ill-treated 11:38 (the world was not worthy of them); they wandered in deserts and mountains and caves and openings in the earth. 11:39 And these all were commended 80 for their faith, yet they did not receive what was promised. 81 11:40 For God had provided something better for us, so that they would be made perfect together with us. 82
[3:1] 1 tn Heb “eat what you find.”
[3:3] 2 tc Heb “I ate,” a first common singular preterite plus paragogic he (ה). The ancient versions read “I ate it,” which is certainly the meaning in the context, and indicates they read the he as a third feminine singular pronominal suffix. The Masoretes typically wrote a mappiq in the he for the pronominal suffix but apparently missed this one.
[3:3] sn I ate it. A similar idea of consuming God’s word is found in Jer 15:16 and Rev 10:10, where it is also compared to honey and may be specifically reminiscent of this text.
[3:5] 3 tn Heb “deep of lip” (in the sense of incomprehensible).
[3:5] 4 tn Heb “heavy of tongue.” Similar language occurs in Exod 4:10; Isa 33:19.
[3:5] 5 tn The conjunction “but” is not in the Hebrew text, but is implied from the context.
[3:6] 7 tc The MT reads “if not” but most ancient versions translate only “if.” The expression occurs with this sense in Isa 5:9; 14:24. See also Ezek 34:8; 36:5; 38:19.
[3:7] 8 sn Moses (Exod 3:19) and Isaiah (Isa 6:9-10) were also told that their messages would not be received.
[3:7] 9 sn A similar description of Israel’s disobedience is given in 1 Sam 8:7.
[3:7] 10 tn Heb “hard of forehead and stiff of heart.”
[3:8] 11 tn Heb “strong, resolute.”
[3:9] 12 tn The Hebrew term translated “diamond” is parallel to “iron” in Jer 17:1. The Hebrew uses two terms which are both translated at times as “flint,” but here one is clearly harder than the other. The translation “diamond” attempts to reflect this distinction in English.
[3:9] 13 tn Heb “of their faces.”
[3:11] 14 tn Heb “to the sons of your people.”
[3:12] 15 sn See note on “wind” in 2:2.
[3:12] 16 tc This translation accepts the emendation suggested in BHS of בְּרוּם (bÿrum) for בָּרוּךְ (barukh). The letters mem (מ) and kaph (כ) were easily confused in the old script while בָּרוּךְ (“blessed be”) both implies a quotation which is out of place here and also does not fit the later phrase, “from its place,” which requires a verb of motion.
[3:14] 17 tn The traditional interpretation is that Ezekiel embarked on his mission with bitterness and anger, either reflecting God’s attitude toward the sinful people or his own feelings about having to carry out such an unpleasant task. L. C. Allen (Ezekiel [WBC], 1:13) takes “bitterly” as a misplaced marginal note and understands the following word, normally translated “anger,” in the sense of fervor or passion. He translates, “I was passionately moved” (p. 4). Another option is to take the word translated “bitterly” as a verb meaning “strengthened” (attested in Ugaritic). See G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 152.
[3:14] 18 tn Heb “the hand of the Lord was on me heavily.” The “hand of the Lord” is a metaphor for his power or influence; the modifier conveys intensity.
[3:14] sn In Ezekiel God’s “hand” being on the prophet is regularly associated with communication or a vision from God (1:3; 3:14, 22; 8:1; 37:1; 40:1).
[3:15] 19 sn The name “Tel Abib” is a transliteration of an Akkadian term meaning “mound of the flood,” i.e., an ancient mound. It is not to be confused with the modern city of Tel Aviv in Israel.
[3:15] 21 sn A similar response to a divine encounter is found in Acts 9:8-9.
[3:16] 22 sn This phrase occurs about fifty times in the book of Ezekiel.
[3:17] 23 tn The literal role of a watchman is described in 2 Sam 18:24; 2 Kgs 9:17.
[3:18] 24 sn Even though the infinitive absolute is used to emphasize the warning, the warning is still implicitly conditional, as the following context makes clear.
[3:18] 25 tn Or “in his punishment.” The phrase “in/for [a person’s] iniquity” occurs fourteen times in Ezekiel: here and v. 19; 4:17; 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.”
[3:18] 26 tn Heb “his blood I will seek from your hand.” The expression “seek blood from the hand” is equivalent to requiring the death penalty (2 Sam 4:11-12).
[3:19] 27 tn Verses 17-19 are repeated in Ezek 33:7-9.
[3:20] 28 tn Or “stumbling block.” The Hebrew term refers to an obstacle in the road in Lev 19:14.
[3:21] 29 tn Heb “the righteous man.”
[3:22] 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 (1:3; 3:14, 22; 8:1; 37:1; 40:1).
[3:22] 31 sn Ezekiel had another vision at this location, recounted in Ezek 37.
[3:24] 33 tn See the note on “wind” in 2:2.
[3:26] 35 tn Heb “you will not be to them a reprover.” In Isa 29:21 and Amos 5:10 “a reprover” issued rebuke at the city gate.
[3:27] 36 tn Heb “open your mouth.”
[3:27] 37 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.”
[4:1] 38 sn Ancient Near Eastern bricks were 10 to 24 inches long and 6 to 13 1/2 inches wide.
[4:1] 39 tn Or perhaps “draw.”
[4:2] 41 tn Heb “set camps against it.”
[4:3] 42 tn Or “a griddle,” that is, some sort of plate for cooking.
[4:3] 43 tn That is, a symbolic object lesson.
[4:4] 44 tn Or “punishment” (also in vv. 5, 6).
[4:5] 45 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] 46 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] 47 tn Or “When you have carried the iniquity of the house of Israel,” and continuing on to the next verse.
[4:6] 48 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] 49 sn The action surely refers to a series of daily acts rather than to a continuous period.
[4:9] 50 sn Wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, and spelt. All these foods were common in Mesopotamia where Ezekiel was exiled.
[4:9] 52 tc The LXX reads “190 days.”
[4:10] 53 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] 54 tn Heb “from time to time.”
[4:11] 55 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] 56 sn Human waste was to remain outside the camp of the Israelites according to Deut 23:15.
[4:13] 57 sn Unclean food among the nations. Lands outside of Israel were considered unclean (Josh 22:19; Amos 7:17).
[4:14] 58 tn The Hebrew term refers to sacrificial meat not eaten by the appropriate time (Lev 7:18; 19:7).
[4:16] 59 tn Heb, “break the staff of bread.” The bread supply is compared to a staff that one uses for support.
[4:16] 60 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[4:17] 61 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.”
[11:21] 62 tn Grk “worshiped on the top of his staff,” a quotation from Gen 47:31 (LXX).
[11:22] 63 tn Grk “coming to an end,” “dying.”
[11:22] 64 sn Joseph’s prophecy about the exodus of the sons of Israel is found in Gen 50:24.
[11:22] 65 tn Grk “about his bones,” which refers by metonymy to the disposition of his bones, i.e., his burial.
[11:22] sn The instructions about his burial are recorded in Gen 50:25.
[11:23] 66 tn Grk “Moses, when he was born, was hidden by his parents.”
[11:26] 67 tn Grk “the abuse [or ‘reproach’] of Christ.”
[11:26] 68 tn Grk “he was looking away to.”
[11:28] 69 tn Grk “the pouring out of the blood.”
[11:28] sn The sprinkling of the blood refers here to the application of the blood to the doorways of the Israelite houses (cf. Exod 12:7, 13).
[11:30] 70 map For location see Map5 B2; Map6 E1; Map7 E1; Map8 E3; Map10 A2; Map11 A1.
[11:30] 71 tn Grk “after they had been encircled.”
[11:31] 72 tn Grk “did not perish together with.”
[11:33] 73 tn This probably refers to the righteous rule of David and others. But it could be more general and mean “did what was righteous.”
[11:33] 74 tn Grk “obtained promises,” referring to the things God promised, not to the pledges themselves.
[11:33] sn Gained what was promised. They saw some of God’s promises fulfilled, even though the central promise remained unfulfilled until Christ came (cf. vv. 39-40).
[11:34] 75 tn Grk “quenched the power of fire.”
[11:34] 76 tn Or “recovered from sickness.”
[11:35] 77 tn Grk “received back their dead from resurrection.”
[11:35] 78 tn Grk “to obtain a better resurrection.”
[11:37] 79 tc The reading ἐπρίσθησαν (ejprisqhsan, “they were sawed apart”) is found in some important witnesses (Ì46 [D* twice reads ἐπίρσθησαν, “they were burned”?] pc syp sa Orpt Eus). Other
[11:39] 80 sn The expression these all were commended forms an inclusio with Heb 11:2: The chapter begins and ends with references to commendation for faith.
[11:39] 81 tn Grk “the promise,” referring to the thing God promised, not to the pledge itself.
[11:40] 82 tn The Greek phrasing emphasizes this point by negating the opposite: “so that they would not be made perfect without us.”
