Text -- Ezekiel 40:1-4 (NET)

Vision of the New Temple

40:1 In the twenty-fifth year of our exile, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth day of the month, in the fourteenth year after the city was struck down, on this very day, the hand of the Lord was on me, and he brought me there. 40:2 By means of divine visions he brought me to the land of Israel and placed me on a very high mountain, and on it was a structure like a city, to the south. 40:3 When he brought me there, I saw a man whose appearance was like bronze, with a linen cord and a measuring stick in his hand. He was standing in the gateway. 40:4 The man said to me, “Son of man, watch closely, listen carefully, and pay attention to everything I show you, for you have been brought here so that I can show it to you. Tell the house of Israel everything you see.”

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Eze 40:1

¹ sn That is, Jerusalem.

² tn April 19, 573 b.c.

³ tn Or “power.”

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).

⁴ sn That is, to the land of Israel (see v. 2).

NET Notes: Eze 40:2

¹ tn The expression introduces the three major visions of Ezekiel (1:1; 8:3; 40:2).

² tn The reference to a very high mountain is harmonious with Isa 2:2.

NET Notes: Eze 40:3

¹ tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.

NET Notes: Eze 40:4

¹ tn Heb “look with your eyes, hear with your ears, and set your mind on.”

² tn Heb “in order to show (it) to you.”