Yehezkiel 33:21-33

The Fall of Jerusalem

33:21 In the twelfth year of our exile, in the tenth month, on the fifth of the month, ¹  a refugee came to me from Jerusalem ²  saying, “The city has been defeated!” ³  33:22 Now the hand of the Lord had been on me ⁴  the evening before the refugee reached me, but the Lord ⁵  opened my mouth by the time the refugee arrived ⁶  in the morning; he opened my mouth and I was no longer unable to speak. ⁷  33:23 The word of the Lord came to me: 33:24 “Son of man, the ones living in these ruins in the land of Israel are saying, ‘Abraham was only one man, yet he possessed the land, but we are many; surely the land has been given to us for a possession.’ ⁸  33:25 Therefore say to them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: You eat the meat with the blood still in it, ⁹  pray to ¹⁰  your idols, and shed blood. Do you really think you will possess ¹¹  the land? 33:26 You rely ¹²  on your swords and commit abominable deeds; each of you defiles his neighbor’s wife. Will you possess the land?’

33:27 “This is what you must say to them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: As surely as I live, those living in the ruins will die ¹³  by the sword, those in the open field I will give to the wild beasts for food, and those who are in the strongholds and caves will die of disease. 33:28 I will turn the land into a desolate ruin; her confident pride will come to an end. The mountains of Israel will be so desolate no one will pass through them. 33:29 Then they will know that I am the Lord when I turn the land into a desolate ruin because of all the abominable deeds they have committed.’ ¹⁴ 

33:30 “But as for you, son of man, your people ¹⁵  (who are talking about you by the walls and at the doors of the houses) say to one another, ¹⁶  ‘Come hear the word that comes ¹⁷  from the Lord.’ 33:31 They come to you in crowds, ¹⁸  and they sit in front of you as ¹⁹  my people. They hear your words, but do not obey ²⁰  them. For they talk lustfully, ²¹  and their heart is set on ²²  their own advantage. ²³  33:32 Realize ²⁴  that to them you are like a sensual song, a beautiful voice and skilled musician. ²⁵  They hear your words, but they do not obey them. ²⁶  33:33 When all this comes true – and it certainly will ²⁷  – then they will know that a prophet was among them.”

[33:21]  ¹ tn January 19, 585 b.c.

[33:21]  ² map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[33:21]  ³ tn Heb “smitten.”

[33:22]  ⁴ tn The other occurrences of the phrase “the hand of the Lord” in Ezekiel are in the context of prophetic visions.

[33:22]  ⁵ tn Heb “he”; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[33:22]  ⁶ tn Heb “by the time of the arrival to me.” For clarity the translation specifies the refugee as the one who arrived.

[33:22]  ⁷ sn Ezekiel’s God-imposed muteness was lifted (see 3:26).

[33:24]  ⁸ sn Outside of its seven occurrences in Ezekiel the term translated “possession” appears only in Exod 6:8 and Deut 33:4.

[33:25]  ⁹ sn This practice was a violation of Levitical law (see Lev 19:26).

[33:25]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “lift up your eyes.”

[33:25]  ¹¹ tn Heb “Will you possess?”

[33:26]  ¹² tn Heb “stand.”

[33:27]  ¹³ tn Heb “fall.”

[33:29]  ¹⁴ sn The judgments of vv. 27-29 echo the judgments of Lev 26:22, 25.

[33:30]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “sons of your people.”

[33:30]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “one to one, a man to his brother.”

[33:30]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “comes out.”

[33:31]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “as people come.” Apparently this is an idiom indicating that they come in crowds. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:264.

[33:31]  ¹⁹ tn The word “as” is supplied in the translation.

[33:31]  ²⁰ tn Heb “do.”

[33:31]  ²¹ tn Heb “They do lust with their mouths.”

[33:31]  ²² tn Heb “goes after.”

[33:31]  ²³ tn The present translation understands the term often used for “unjust gain” in a wider sense, following M. Greenberg, who also notes that the LXX uses a term which can describe either sexual or ritual pollution. See M. Greenberg, Ezekiel (AB), 2:687.

[33:32]  ²⁴ tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.

[33:32]  ²⁵ tn Heb “one who makes playing music well.”

[33:32]  ²⁶ sn Similar responses are found in Isa 29:13; Matt 21:28-32; James 1:22-25.

[33:33]  ²⁷ tn Heb “behold it is coming.”