Ezekiel 11:3

11:3 They say, ¹  ‘The time is not near to build houses; ²  the city ³  is a cooking pot ⁴  and we are the meat in it.’

Ezekiel 11:7

11:7 Therefore, this is what the sovereign Lord says: ‘The corpses you have dumped ⁵  in the midst of the city ⁶  are the meat, and this city ⁷  is the cooking pot, but I will take you out of it. ⁸ 

¹ tn The Hebrew verb may mean “think” in this context. This content of what they say (or think) represents their point of view.

² sn The expression build houses may mean “establish families” (Deut 25:9; Ruth 4:11; Prov 24:27).

³ tn Heb “she” or “it”; the feminine pronoun refers here to Jerusalem.

⁴ sn Jerusalem is also compared to a pot in Ezek 24:3-8. The siege of the city is pictured as heating up the pot.

⁵ tn Heb “placed.”

⁶ tn Heb “in its midst.”

⁷ tn Heb “she/it.” See v. 3.

⁸ tc Many of the versions read “I will bring you out” (active) rather than “he brought out” (the reading of MT).