1 tc The MT reads לַעֲשׂוֹת אֱמֶת (la’asot ’emet, “to do with integrity”), while the LXX reads “to do them,” presupposing לַעֲשׂוֹת אֹתָם (la’asot ’otam). The ם (mem) and ת (tav) have been reversed in the MT. The LXX refelcts the original, supported by similar phrasing in Ezekiel 11:20; 20:19.
2 tn Heb “he.”
3 tn Heb “living, he will live.” The infinitive absolute precedes the finite verb for emphasis.
1 tn Heb “the land of Israel.”
2 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) draws attention to something and has been translated here as a verb.
3 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.
4 sn This is the sword of judgment, see Isa 31:8; 34:6; 66:16.
5 sn Ezekiel elsewhere pictures the Lord’s judgment as discriminating between the righteous and the wicked (9:4-6; 18:1-20; see as well Pss 1 and 11) and speaks of the preservation of a remnant (3:21; 6:8; 12:16). Perhaps here he exaggerates for rhetorical effect in an effort to subdue any false optimism. See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:25-26; D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:669-70; and W. Zimmerli, Ezekiel (Hermeneia), 1:424-25.
1 tn Heb “all flesh” (also in the following verse).
2 tn Heb “Negev.” The Negev is the south country.
1 tn Heb “and upright men will judge them (with) the judgment of adulteresses and the judgment of those who shed blood.”