Yehezkiel 1:1--6:14
Konteks1:1 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 1:2 (On the fifth day of the month – it was the fifth year of King Jehoiachin’s exile – 1:3 the word of the Lord came to the priest Ezekiel 6 the son of Buzi, 7 at the Kebar River in the land of the Babylonians. 8 The hand 9 of the Lord came on him there).
1:4 As I watched, I noticed 10 a windstorm 11 coming from the north – an enormous cloud, with lightning flashing, 12 such that bright light 13 rimmed it and came from 14 it like glowing amber 15 from the middle of a fire. 1:5 In the fire 16 were what looked like 17 four living beings. 18 In their appearance they had human form, 19 1:6 but each had four faces and four wings. 1:7 Their legs were straight, but the soles of their feet were like calves’ feet. They gleamed 20 like polished bronze. 1:8 They had human hands 21 under their wings on their four sides. As for the faces and wings of the four of them, 1:9 their wings touched each other; they did not turn as they moved, but went straight ahead. 22
1:10 Their faces had this appearance: Each of the four had the face of a man, with the face of a lion on the right, the face of an ox on the left and also the face of an eagle. 23 1:11 Their wings were spread out above them; each had two wings touching the wings of one of the other beings on either side and two wings covering their bodies. 1:12 Each moved straight ahead 24 – wherever the spirit 25 would go, they would go, without turning as they went. 1:13 In the middle 26 of the living beings was something like 27 burning coals of fire 28 or like torches. It moved back and forth among the living beings. It was bright, and lightning was flashing out of the fire. 1:14 The living beings moved backward and forward as quickly as flashes of lightning. 29
1:15 Then I looked, 30 and I saw one wheel 31 on the ground 32 beside each of the four beings. 1:16 The appearance of the wheels and their construction 33 was like gleaming jasper, 34 and all four wheels looked alike. Their structure was like a wheel within a wheel. 35 1:17 When they moved they would go in any of the four directions they faced without turning as they moved. 1:18 Their rims were high and awesome, 36 and the rims of all four wheels were full of eyes all around.
1:19 When the living beings moved, the wheels beside them moved; when the living beings rose up from the ground, the wheels rose up too. 1:20 Wherever the spirit 37 would go, they would go, 38 and the wheels would rise up beside them because the spirit 39 of the living being was in the wheel. 1:21 When the living beings moved, the wheels moved, and when they stopped moving, the wheels stopped. 40 When they rose up from the ground, the wheels rose up from the ground; the wheels rose up beside them because the spirit of the living being was in the wheel.
1:22 Over the heads of the living beings was something like a platform, 41 glittering awesomely like ice, 42 stretched out over their heads. 1:23 Under the platform their wings were stretched out, each toward the other. Each of the beings also had two wings covering 43 its body. 1:24 When they moved, I heard the sound of their wings – it was like the sound of rushing waters, or the voice of the Almighty, 44 or the tumult 45 of an army. When they stood still, they lowered their wings.
1:25 Then there was a voice from above the platform over their heads when they stood still. 46 1:26 Above the platform over their heads was something like a sapphire shaped like a throne. High above on the throne was a form that appeared to be a man. 1:27 I saw an amber glow 47 like a fire enclosed all around 48 from his waist up. From his waist down I saw something that looked like fire. There was a brilliant light around it, 1:28 like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds after the rain. 49 This was the appearance of the surrounding brilliant light; it looked like the glory of the Lord. When I saw 50 it, I threw myself face down, and I heard a voice speaking.
2:1 He said to me, “Son of man, 51 stand on your feet and I will speak with you.” 2:2 As he spoke to me, 52 a wind 53 came into me and stood me on my feet, and I heard the one speaking to me.
2:3 He said to me, “Son of man, I am sending you to the house 54 of Israel, to rebellious nations 55 who have rebelled against me; both they and their fathers have revolted 56 against me to this very day. 2:4 The people 57 to whom I am sending you are obstinate and hard-hearted, 58 and you must say to them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says.’ 59 2:5 And as for them, 60 whether they listen 61 or not – for they are a rebellious 62 house 63 – they will know that a prophet has been among them. 2:6 But you, son of man, do not fear them, and do not fear their words – even though briers 64 and thorns 65 surround you and you live among scorpions – do not fear their words and do not be terrified of the looks they give you, 66 for they are a rebellious house! 2:7 You must speak my words to them whether they listen or not, for they are rebellious. 2:8 As for you, son of man, listen to what I am saying to you: Do not rebel like that rebellious house! Open your mouth and eat what I am giving you.”
2:9 Then I looked and realized a hand was stretched out to me, and in it was a written scroll. 2:10 He unrolled it before me, and it had writing on the front 67 and back; 68 written on it were laments, mourning, and woe.
3:1 He said to me, “Son of man, eat what you see in front of you 69 – 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, 70 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 71 and difficult language, 72 but 73 to the house of Israel – 3:6 not to many peoples of unintelligible speech and difficult language, whose words you cannot understand 74 – surely if 75 I had sent you to them, they would listen to you! 3:7 But the house of Israel is unwilling to listen to you, 76 because they are not willing to listen to me, 77 for the whole house of Israel is hard-headed and hard-hearted. 78
3:8 “I have made your face adamant 79 to match their faces, and your forehead hard to match their foreheads. 3:9 I have made your forehead harder than flint – like diamond! 80 Do not fear them or be terrified of the looks they give you, 81 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, 82 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 83 and I heard a great rumbling sound behind me as the glory of the Lord rose from its place, 84 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, 85 my spirit full of fury, and the hand of the Lord rested powerfully 86 on me. 3:15 I came to the exiles at Tel Abib, 87 who lived by the Kebar River. 88 I sat dumbfounded among them there, where they were living, for seven days. 89
3:16 At the end of seven days the word of the Lord came to me: 90 3:17 “Son of man, I have appointed you a watchman 91 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,” 92 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, 93 but I will hold you accountable for his death. 94 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. 95
3:20 “When a righteous person turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and I set an obstacle 96 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 97 does not sin, he will certainly live because he was warned, and you will have saved your own life.”
3:22 The hand 98 of the Lord rested on me there, and he said to me, “Get up, go out to the valley, 99 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, 100 and I threw myself face down.
3:24 Then a wind 101 came into me and stood me on my feet. The Lord 102 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 103 them, for they are a rebellious house. 3:27 But when I speak with you, I will loosen your tongue 104 and you must say to them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says.’ Those who listen will listen, but the indifferent will refuse, 105 for they are a rebellious house.
4:1 “And you, son of man, take a brick 106 and set it in front of you. Inscribe 107 a city on it – Jerusalem. 4:2 Lay siege to it! Build siege works against it. Erect a siege ramp 108 against it! Post soldiers outside it 109 and station battering rams around it. 4:3 Then for your part take an iron frying pan 110 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 111 for the house of Israel.
4:4 “Also for your part lie on your left side and place the iniquity 112 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 113 for you – 390 days. 114 So bear the iniquity of the house of Israel. 115
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 116 – 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. 117
4:9 “As for you, take wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, and spelt, 118 put them in a single container, and make food 119 from them for yourself. For the same number of days that you lie on your side – 390 days 120 – you will eat it. 4:10 The food you eat will be eight ounces 121 a day by weight; you must eat it at fixed 122 times. 4:11 And you must drink water by measure, a pint and a half; 123 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.” 124 4:13 And the Lord said, “This is how the people of Israel will eat their unclean food among the nations 125 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 126 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 127 in Jerusalem. 128 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. 129
5:1 “As for you, son of man, take a sharp sword and use it as a barber’s razor. 130 Shave off some of the hair from your head and your beard. 131 Then take scales and divide up the hair you cut off. 5:2 Burn a third of it in the fire inside the city when the days of your siege are completed. Take a third and slash it with a sword all around the city. Scatter a third to the wind, and I will unleash a sword behind them. 5:3 But take a few strands of hair 132 from those and tie them in the ends of your garment. 133 5:4 Again, take more of them and throw them into the fire, 134 and burn them up. From there a fire will spread to all the house of Israel.
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. 5:6 Then she defied my regulations and my statutes, becoming more wicked than the nations 135 and the countries around her. 136 Indeed, they 137 have rejected my regulations, and they do not follow my statutes.
5:7 “Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: Because you are more arrogant 138 than the nations around you, 139 you have not followed my statutes and have not carried out my regulations. You have not even 140 carried out the regulations of the nations around you!
5:8 “Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: I – even I – am against you, 141 and I will execute judgment 142 among you while the nations watch. 143 5:9 I will do to you what I have never done before and will never do again because of all your abominable practices. 144 5:10 Therefore fathers will eat their sons within you, Jerusalem, 145 and sons will eat their fathers. I will execute judgments on you, and I will scatter any survivors 146 to the winds. 147
5:11 “Therefore, as surely as I live, says the sovereign Lord, because you defiled my sanctuary with all your detestable idols and with all your abominable practices, I will withdraw; my eye will not pity you, nor will I spare 148 you. 5:12 A third of your people will die of plague or be overcome by the famine within you. 149 A third of your people will fall by the sword surrounding you, 150 and a third I will scatter to the winds. I will unleash a sword behind them. 5:13 Then my anger will be fully vented; I will exhaust my rage on them, and I will be appeased. 151 Then they will know that I, the Lord, have spoken in my jealousy 152 when I have fully vented my rage against them.
5:14 “I will make you desolate and an object of scorn among the nations around you, in the sight of everyone who passes by. 5:15 You will be 153 an object of scorn and taunting, 154 a prime example of destruction 155 among the nations around you when I execute judgments against you in anger and raging fury. 156 I, the Lord, have spoken! 5:16 I will shoot against them deadly, 157 destructive 158 arrows of famine, 159 which I will shoot to destroy you. 160 I will prolong a famine on you and will remove the bread supply. 161 5:17 I will send famine and wild beasts against you and they will take your children from you. 162 Plague and bloodshed will overwhelm you, 163 and I will bring a sword against you. I, the Lord, have spoken!”
6:1 The word of the Lord came to me: 6:2 “Son of man, turn toward 164 the mountains of Israel and prophesy against them: 6:3 Say, ‘Mountains of Israel, 165 Hear the word of the sovereign Lord! 166 This is what the sovereign Lord says to the mountains and the hills, to the ravines and the valleys: I am bringing 167 a sword against you, and I will destroy your high places. 168 6:4 Your altars will be ruined and your incense altars will be broken. I will throw down your slain in front of your idols. 169 6:5 I will place the corpses of the people of Israel in front of their idols, 170 and I will scatter your bones around your altars. 6:6 In all your dwellings, the cities will be laid waste and the high places ruined so that your altars will be laid waste and ruined, your idols will be shattered and demolished, your incense altars will be broken down, and your works wiped out. 171 6:7 The slain will fall among you and then you will know that I am the Lord. 172
6:8 “‘But I will spare some of you. Some will escape the sword when you are scattered in foreign lands. 173 6:9 Then your survivors will remember me among the nations where they are exiled. They will realize 174 how I was crushed by their unfaithful 175 heart which turned from me and by their eyes which lusted after their idols. They will loathe themselves 176 because of the evil they have done and because of all their abominable practices. 6:10 They will know that I am the Lord; my threats to bring this catastrophe on them were not empty.’ 177
6:11 “‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Clap your hands, stamp your feet, and say, “Ah!” because of all the evil, abominable practices of the house of Israel, for they will fall by the sword, famine, and pestilence. 178 6:12 The one far away will die by pestilence, the one close by will fall by the sword, and whoever is left and has escaped these 179 will die by famine. I will fully vent my rage against them. 6:13 Then you will know that I am the Lord – when their dead lie among their idols around their altars, on every high hill and all the mountaintops, under every green tree and every leafy oak, 180 the places where they have offered fragrant incense to all their idols. 6:14 I will stretch out my hand against them 181 and make the land a desolate waste from the wilderness to Riblah, 182 in all the places where they live. Then they will know that I am the Lord!”
[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
[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
[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
[1:3] 6 sn The prophet’s name, Ezekiel, means in Hebrew “May God strengthen.”
[1:3] 7 tn Or “to Ezekiel son of Buzi the priest.”
[1:3] 8 tn Heb “Chaldeans.” The name of the tribal group ruling Babylon, “Chaldeans” is used as metonymy for the whole empire of Babylon. The Babylonians worked with the Medes to destroy the Assyrian Empire near the end of the 7th century
[1:3] 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).
[1:4] 10 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
[1:4] 11 sn Storms are often associated with appearances of God (see Nah 1:3; Ps 18:12). In some passages, the “storm” (סְעָרָה, sÿ’arah) may be a whirlwind (Job 38:1, 2 Kgs 2:1).
[1:4] 12 tn Heb “fire taking hold of itself,” perhaps repeatedly. The phrase occurs elsewhere only in Exod 9:24 in association with a hailstorm. The LXX interprets the phrase as fire flashing like lightning, but it is possibly a self-sustaining blaze of divine origin. The LXX also reverses the order of the descriptors, i.e., “light went around it and fire flashed like lightning within it.”
[1:4] 13 tn Or “radiance.” The term also occurs in 1:27b.
[1:4] 14 tc Or “was in it”; cf. LXX ἐν τῷ μέσῳ αὐτοῦ (en tw mesw autou, “in its midst”).
[1:4] 15 tn The LXX translates חַשְׁמַל (khashmal) with the word ἤλεκτρον (hlektron, “electrum”; so NAB), an alloy of silver and gold, perhaps envisioning a comparison to the glow of molten metal.
[1:5] 16 tc Heb “from its midst” (מִתּוֹכָהּ, mitokhah). The LXX reads ἐν τῷ μέσῳ (en tw mesw, “in the midst of it”). The LXX also reads ἐν for מִתּוֹךְ (mitokh) in v. 4. The translator of the LXX of Ezekiel either read בְּתוֹךְ (bÿtokh, “within”) in his Hebrew exemplar or could not imagine how מִתּוֹךְ could make sense and so chose to use ἐν. The Hebrew would be understood by adding “from its midst emerged the forms of four living beings.”
[1:5] 17 tn Heb “form, figure, appearance.”
[1:5] 18 tn The Hebrew term is feminine plural yet thirty-three of the forty-five pronominal suffixes and verbal references which refer to the living beings in the chapter are masculine plural. The grammatical vacillation between masculine and feminine plurals suggests the difficulty Ezekiel had in penning these words as he was overcome by the vision of God. In ancient Near Eastern sculpture very similar images of part-human, part-animal creatures serve as throne and sky bearers. For a discussion of ancient Near Eastern parallels, see L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 1:26-31. Ezekiel’s vision is an example of contextualization, where God accommodates his self-revelation to cultural expectations and norms.
[1:5] 19 sn They had human form may mean they stood erect.
[1:7] 20 sn The Hebrew verb translated gleamed occurs only here in the OT.
[1:8] 21 tc The MT reads “his hand” while many Hebrew
[1:9] 22 tn Heb “They each went in the direction of one of his faces.”
[1:10] 23 tc The MT has an additional word at the beginning of v. 11, וּפְנֵיהֶם (ufÿnehem, “and their faces”), which is missing from the LXX. As the rest of the verse only applies to wings, “their faces” would have to somehow be understood in the previous clause. But this would be very awkward and is doubly problematic since “their faces” are already introduced as the topic at the beginning of v. 10. The Hebrew scribe appears to have copied the phrase “and their faces and their wings” from v. 8, where it introduces the content of 9-11. Only “and (as for) their wings” belongs here.
[1:12] 24 tn See the note on “straight ahead” in v. 9.
[1:13] 26 tc The MT reads “and the form of the creatures” (וּדְמוּת הַחַיּוֹת, udÿmut hakhayyot). The LXX reads “and in the midst of the creatures,” suggesting an underlying Hebrew text of וּמִתּוֹךְ הַחַיּוֹת (umittokh hakhayyot). The subsequent description of something moving among the creatures supports the LXX.
[1:13] 27 tc The MT reads “and the form of the creatures – their appearance was like burning coals of fire.” The LXX reads “in the midst of the creatures was a sight like burning coals of fire.” The MT may have adjusted “appearance” to “their appearance” to fit their reading of the beginning of the verse (see the tc note on “in the middle”). See M. Greenberg, Ezekiel (AB), 1:46.
[1:13] 28 sn Burning coals of fire are also a part of David’s poetic description of God’s appearance (see 2 Sam 22:9, 13; Ps 18:8).
[1:14] 29 tc The LXX omits v. 14 and may well be correct. The verse may be a later explanatory gloss of the end of v. 13 which was copied into the main text. See M. Greenberg, Ezekiel (AB), 1:46.
[1:14] tn Lit., “like the appearance of lightning.” The Hebrew term translated “lightning” occurs only here in the OT. In postbiblical Hebrew the term refers to a lightning flash.
[1:15] 30 tc The MT adds “at the living beings” which is absent from the LXX.
[1:15] 31 sn Another vision which includes wheels on thrones occurs in Dan 7:9. Ezek 10 contains a vision similar to this one.
[1:15] 32 tn The Hebrew word may be translated either “earth” or “ground” in this context.
[1:16] 33 tc This word is omitted from the LXX.
[1:16] 34 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] 35 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.
[1:18] 36 tc The MT reads וְיִרְאָה לָהֶם (vÿyir’ah lahem, “and fear belonged to them”). In a similar vision in 10:12 the wheels are described as having spokes (יִדֵיהֶם, yideyhem). That parallel would suggest יָדוֹת (yadot) here (written יָדֹת without the mater). By positing both a ד/ר (dalet/resh) confusion and a ת/ה (hey/khet) confusion the form was read as וְיָרֵה (vÿyareh) and was then misunderstood and subsequently written as וְיִרְאָה (vÿyir’ah) in the MT. The reading וְיִרְאָה does not seem to fit the context well, though in English it can be made to sound as if it does. See W. H. Brownlee, Ezekiel 1-19 (WBC), 8-9. The LXX reads καὶ εἶδον αὐτά (kai eidon auta, “and I saw”), which assumes וָאֵרֶא (va’ere’). The existing consonants of the MT may also be read as “it was visible to them.”
[1:20] 37 tn Or “wind”; the same Hebrew word can be translated as either “wind” or “spirit” depending on the context.
[1:20] 38 tc The MT adds the additional phrase “the spirit would go,” which seems unduly redundant here and may be dittographic.
[1:20] 39 tn Or “wind.” The Hebrew is difficult since the text presents four creatures and then talks about “the spirit” (singular) of “the living being” (singular). According to M. Greenberg (Ezekiel [AB], 1:45) the Targum interprets this as “will.” Greenberg views this as the spirit of the one enthroned above the creatures, but one would not expect the article when the one enthroned has not yet been introduced.
[1:21] 40 tc The LXX reads “when it went, they went; when it stood, they stood.”
[1:21] tn Heb “when they went, they went; when they stood, they stood.”
[1:22] 41 tn Or “like a dome” (NCV, NRSV, TEV).
[1:22] 42 tn Or “like crystal” (NRSV, NLT).
[1:23] 43 tc Heb “each had two wings covering and each had two wings covering,” a case of dittography. On the analogy of v. 11 and the support of the LXX, which reads the same for v. 11 and this verse, one should perhaps read “each had two wings touching another being and each had two wings covering.”
[1:24] 44 tn Heb “Shaddai” (probably meaning “one of the mountain”), a title that depicts God as the sovereign ruler of the world who dispenses justice. The Old Greek translation omitted the phrase “voice of the Almighty.”
[1:24] 45 tn The only other occurrence of the Hebrew word translated “tumult” is in Jer 11:16. It indicates a noise like that of the turmoil of a military camp or the sound of an army on the march.
[1:25] 46 tc The MT continues “when they stood still they lowered their wings,” an apparent dittography from the end of v. 24. The LXX commits haplography by homoioteleuton, leaving out vv. 25b and 26a by skipping from רֹאשָׁם (rosham) in v. 25 to רֹאשָׁם in v. 26.
[1:27] 48 tc The LXX lacks this phrase. Its absence from the LXX may be explained as a case of haplography resulting from homoioteleuton, skipping from כְּמַרְאֵה (kÿmar’eh) to מִמַּרְאֵה (mimmar’eh). On the other hand, the LXX presents a much more balanced verse structure when it is recognized that the final words of this verse belong in the next sentence.
[1:28] 49 sn Reference to the glowing substance and the brilliant light and storm phenomena in vv. 27-28a echoes in reverse order the occurrence of these phenomena in v. 4.
[1:28] 50 tn The vision closes with the repetition of the verb “I saw” from the beginning of the vision in 1:4.
[2:1] 51 sn The phrase son of man occurs ninety-three times in the book of Ezekiel. It simply means “human one,” and distinguishes the prophet from the nonhuman beings that are present in the world of his vision.
[2:2] 52 tc The phrase “as he spoke to me” is absent from the LXX.
[2:2] 53 tn Or “spirit.” NIV has “the Spirit,” but the absence of the article in the Hebrew text makes this unlikely. Elsewhere in Ezekiel the Lord’s Spirit is referred to as “the Spirit of the Lord” (11:5; 37:1), “the Spirit of God” (11:24), or “my (that is, the Lord’s) Spirit” (36:27; 37:14; 39:29). Some identify the “spirit” of 2:2 as the spirit that energized the living beings, however, that “spirit” is called “the spirit” (1:12, 20) or “the spirit of the living beings” (1:20-21; 10:17). Still others see the term as referring to an impersonal “spirit” of strength or courage, that is, the term may also be understood as a disposition or attitude. The Hebrew word often refers to a wind in Ezekiel (1:4; 5:10, 12; 12:4; 13:11, 13; 17:10, 21; 19:12; 27:26; 37:9). In 37:5-10 a “breath” originates in the “four winds” and is associated with the Lord’s life-giving breath (see v. 14). This breath enters into the dry bones and gives them life. In a similar fashion the breath of 2:2 (see also 3:24) energizes paralyzed Ezekiel. Breath and wind are related. On the one hand it is a more normal picture to think of breath rather than wind entering someone, but since wind represents an external force it seems more likely for wind rather than breath to stand someone up (unless we should understand it as a disposition). It may be that one should envision the breath of the speaker moving like a wind to revive Ezekiel, helping him to regain his breath and invigorating him to stand. A wind also transports the prophet from one place to another (3:12, 14; 8:3; 11:1, 24; 43:5).
[2:3] 54 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] 55 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] 56 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).
[2:4] 57 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] 58 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] 59 tn The phrase “thus says [the
[2:5] 60 tn Heb “they”; the phrase “And as for them” has been used in the translation for clarity.
[2:5] 61 tn The Hebrew word implies obedience rather than mere hearing or paying attention.
[2:5] 62 tn This Hebrew adjective is also used to describe the Israelites in Num 17:25 and Isa 30:9.
[2:5] 63 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).
[2:6] 64 tn The Hebrew term occurs only here in the OT.
[2:6] 65 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] 66 tn Heb “of their faces.”
[2:10] 67 tn Heb “on the face.”
[2:10] 68 sn Written on the front and back. While it was common for papyrus scrolls to have writing on both sides the same was not true for leather scrolls.
[3:1] 69 tn Heb “eat what you find.”
[3:3] 70 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] 71 tn Heb “deep of lip” (in the sense of incomprehensible).
[3:5] 72 tn Heb “heavy of tongue.” Similar language occurs in Exod 4:10; Isa 33:19.
[3:5] 73 tn The conjunction “but” is not in the Hebrew text, but is implied from the context.
[3:6] 75 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] 76 sn Moses (Exod 3:19) and Isaiah (Isa 6:9-10) were also told that their messages would not be received.
[3:7] 77 sn A similar description of Israel’s disobedience is given in 1 Sam 8:7.
[3:7] 78 tn Heb “hard of forehead and stiff of heart.”
[3:8] 79 tn Heb “strong, resolute.”
[3:9] 80 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] 81 tn Heb “of their faces.”
[3:11] 82 tn Heb “to the sons of your people.”
[3:12] 83 sn See note on “wind” in 2:2.
[3:12] 84 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] 85 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] 86 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] 87 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] 89 sn A similar response to a divine encounter is found in Acts 9:8-9.
[3:16] 90 sn This phrase occurs about fifty times in the book of Ezekiel.
[3:17] 91 tn The literal role of a watchman is described in 2 Sam 18:24; 2 Kgs 9:17.
[3:18] 92 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] 93 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] 94 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] 95 tn Verses 17-19 are repeated in Ezek 33:7-9.
[3:20] 96 tn Or “stumbling block.” The Hebrew term refers to an obstacle in the road in Lev 19:14.
[3:21] 97 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] 99 sn Ezekiel had another vision at this location, recounted in Ezek 37.
[3:24] 101 tn See the note on “wind” in 2:2.
[3:26] 103 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] 104 tn Heb “open your mouth.”
[3:27] 105 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] 106 sn Ancient Near Eastern bricks were 10 to 24 inches long and 6 to 13 1/2 inches wide.
[4:1] 107 tn Or perhaps “draw.”
[4:2] 108 tn Or “a barricade.”
[4:2] 109 tn Heb “set camps against it.”
[4:3] 110 tn Or “a griddle,” that is, some sort of plate for cooking.
[4:3] 111 tn That is, a symbolic object lesson.
[4:4] 112 tn Or “punishment” (also in vv. 5, 6).
[4:5] 113 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] 114 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] 115 tn Or “When you have carried the iniquity of the house of Israel,” and continuing on to the next verse.
[4:6] 116 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] 117 sn The action surely refers to a series of daily acts rather than to a continuous period.
[4:9] 118 sn Wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, and spelt. All these foods were common in Mesopotamia where Ezekiel was exiled.
[4:9] 120 tc The LXX reads “190 days.”
[4:10] 121 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] 122 tn Heb “from time to time.”
[4:11] 123 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] 124 sn Human waste was to remain outside the camp of the Israelites according to Deut 23:15.
[4:13] 125 sn Unclean food among the nations. Lands outside of Israel were considered unclean (Josh 22:19; Amos 7:17).
[4:14] 126 tn The Hebrew term refers to sacrificial meat not eaten by the appropriate time (Lev 7:18; 19:7).
[4:16] 127 tn Heb, “break the staff of bread.” The bread supply is compared to a staff that one uses for support.
[4:16] 128 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[4:17] 129 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.”
[5:1] 130 tn The Hebrew word occurs only here in the OT.
[5:1] 131 tn Heb, “pass (it) over your head and your beard.”
[5:3] 132 tn Heb “from there a few in number.” The word “strands” has been supplied in the translation for clarification.
[5:3] 133 sn Objects could be carried in the end of a garment (Hag 2:12).
[5:4] 134 tn Heb “into the midst of” (so KJV, ASV). This phrase has been left untranslated for stylistic reasons.
[5:6] 135 sn The nations are subject to a natural law according to Gen 9; see also Amos 1:3-2:3; Jonah 1:2.
[5:6] 136 tn Heb “she defied my laws, becoming wicked more than the nations, and [she defied] my statutes [becoming wicked] more than the countries around her.”
[5:6] 137 sn One might conclude that the subject of the plural verbs is the nations/countries, but the context (vv. 5-6a) indicates that the people of Jerusalem are in view. The text shifts from using the feminine singular (referring to personified Jerusalem) to the plural (referring to Jerusalem’s residents). See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 1:73.
[5:7] 138 tn Traditionally this difficult form has been derived from a hypothetical root הָמוֹן (hamon), supposedly meaning “be in tumult/uproar,” but such a verb occurs nowhere else. It is more likely that it is to be derived from a root מָנוֹן (manon), meaning “disdain” (see L. C. Allen, Ezekiel [WBC], 1:52). A derivative from this root is used in Prov 29:21 of a rebellious servant. See HALOT 600 s.v. מָנוֹן.
[5:7] 139 sn You are more arrogant than the nations around you. Israel is accused of being worse than the nations in Ezek 16:27; 2 Kgs 21:11; Jer 2:11.
[5:7] 140 tc Some Hebrew
[5:8] 141 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] 142 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] 143 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.
[5:9] 144 tn Or “abominable idols.”
[5:10] 145 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] 146 tn Heb “all of your survivors.”
[5:10] 147 tn Heb “to every wind.”
[5:11] 148 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.
[5:12] 149 sn The judgment of plague and famine comes from the covenant curse (Lev 26:25-26). As in v. 10, the city of Jerusalem is figuratively addressed here.
[5:12] 150 sn Judgment by plague, famine, and sword occurs in Jer 21:9; 27:13; Ezek 6:11, 12; 7:15.
[5:13] 151 tn Or “calm myself.”
[5:13] 152 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] 153 tc This reading is supported by the versions and by the Dead Sea Scrolls (11QEzek). Most Masoretic Hebrew
[5:15] 154 tn The Hebrew word occurs only here in the OT. A related verb means “revile, taunt” (see Ps 44:16).
[5:15] 155 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] 156 tn Heb “in anger and in fury and in rebukes of fury.” The heaping up of synonyms emphasizes the degree of God’s anger.
[5:16] 157 tn The Hebrew word carries the basic idea of “bad, displeasing, injurious,” but when used of weapons has the nuance “deadly” (see Ps 144:10).
[5:16] 158 tn Heb “which are/were to destroy.”
[5:16] 159 tn The language of this verse may have been influenced by Deut 32:23.
[5:16] 160 tn Or “which were to destroy those whom I will send to destroy you” (cf. NASB).
[5:16] 161 tn Heb, “break the staff of bread.” The bread supply is compared to a staff that one uses for support. See 4:16, as well as the covenant curse in Lev 26:26.
[5:17] 162 tn Heb “will bereave you.”
[5:17] 163 tn Heb “will pass through you.” This threat recalls the warning of Lev 26:22, 25 and Deut 32:24-25.
[6:2] 164 tn Heb “set your face against.” The expression occurs at the beginning of Ezekiel’s prophetic oracles in Ezek 13:17; 20:46; 21:2; 25:2; 28:21; 29:2; 35:2; 38:2.
[6:2] sn Based on comparison to a similar expression in Ugaritic, the phrase may imply that Ezekiel was to actually go to these locations to deliver his message.
[6:3] 165 tn The phrase “mountains of Israel” occurs only in the book of Ezekiel (6:2, 3; 19:9; 33:28; 34:13, 14; 35:12; 36:1, 4, 8; 37:22; 38:8; 39:2, 4, 17). The expression refers to the whole land of Israel.
[6:3] sn The mountainous terrain of Israel would contrast with the exiles’ habitat in the river valley of Babylonia.
[6:3] 166 tn The introductory formula “Hear the word of the sovereign
[6:3] 167 tn Heb “Look I, I am bringing.” The repetition of the pronoun draws attention to the speaker. The construction also indicates that the action is soon to come; the Lord is “about to bring a sword against” them.
[6:3] 168 tn The Hebrew term refers to elevated platforms where pagan sacrifices were performed.
[6:4] 169 tn Thirty-nine of the forty-eight biblical occurrences of this Hebrew word are found in the book of Ezekiel.
[6:4] sn This verse is probably based on Lev 26:30 in which God forecasts that he will destroy their high places, cut off their incense altars, and set their corpses by the corpses of their idols.
[6:5] 170 tc This first sentence, which explains the meaning of the last sentence of the previous verse, does not appear in the LXX and may be an instance of a marginal explanatory note making its way into the text.
[6:6] 171 tn The Hebrew verb translated “wiped out” is used to describe the judgment of the Flood (Gen 6:7; 7:4, 23).
[6:7] 172 sn The phrase you will know that I am the
[6:8] 173 tn Heb “when you have fugitives from the sword among the nations, when you are scattered among the lands.”
[6:9] 174 tn The words “they will realize” are not in the Hebrew text; they are added here for stylistic reasons since this clause assumes the previous verb “to remember” or “to take into account.”
[6:9] 175 tn Heb “how I was broken by their adulterous heart.” The image of God being “broken” is startling, but perfectly natural within the metaphorical framework of God as offended husband. The idiom must refer to the intense grief that Israel’s unfaithfulness caused God. For a discussion of the syntax and semantics of the Hebrew text, see M. Greenberg, Ezekiel (AB), 1:134.
[6:9] 176 tn Heb adds “in their faces.”
[6:10] 177 tn Heb “not in vain did I speak to do to them this catastrophe.” The wording of the last half of v. 10 parallels God’s declaration after the sin of the golden calf (Exod 32:14).
[6:11] 178 sn By the sword and by famine and by pestilence. A similar trilogy of punishments is mentioned in Lev 26:25-26. See also Jer 14:12; 21:9; 27:8, 13; 29:18).
[6:12] 179 tn Heb “the one who is left, the one who is spared.”
[6:13] 180 sn By referring to every high hill…all the mountaintops…under every green tree and every leafy oak Ezekiel may be expanding on the phraseology of Deut 12:2 (see 1 Kgs 14:23; 2 Kgs 16:4; 17:10; Jer 2:20; 3:6, 13; 2 Chr 28:4).
[6:14] 181 sn I will stretch out my hand against them is a common expression in the book of Ezekiel (14:9, 13; 16:27; 25:7; 35:3).
[6:14] 182 tc The Vulgate reads the name as “Riblah,” a city north of Damascus. The MT reads Diblah, a city otherwise unknown. The letters resh (ר) and dalet (ד) may have been confused in the Hebrew text. The town of Riblah was in the land of Hamath (2 Kgs 23:33) which represented the northern border of Israel (Ezek 47:14).
