Ezekiel 14:1

Well-Deserved Judgment

14:1 Then some men from Israel’s elders came to me and sat down in front of me.

Ezekiel 24:22

24:22 Then you will do as I have done: You will not cover your lip or eat food brought by others. ¹ 

Ezekiel 20:1

Israel’s Rebellion

20:1 In the seventh year, in the fifth month, on the tenth of the month, ²  some of the elders ³  of Israel came to seek ⁴  the Lord, and they sat down in front of me.

Ezekiel 21:31

21:31 I will pour out my anger on you;

the fire of my fury I will blow on you.

I will hand you over to brutal men,

who are skilled in destruction.

Ezekiel 9:2

9:2 Next, I noticed ⁵  six men ⁶  coming from the direction of the upper gate ⁷  which faces north, each with his war club in his hand. Among them was a man dressed in linen with a writing kit ⁸  at his side. They came and stood beside the bronze altar.

Ezekiel 23:42

23:42 The sound of a carefree crowd accompanied her, ⁹  including all kinds of men; ¹⁰  even Sabeans ¹¹  were brought from the desert. The sisters ¹²  put bracelets on their wrists and beautiful crowns on their heads.

Ezekiel 24:17

24:17 Groan in silence for the dead, ¹³  but do not perform mourning rites. ¹⁴  Bind on your turban ¹⁵  and put your sandals on your feet. Do not cover your lip ¹⁶  and do not eat food brought by others.” ¹⁷ 

¹ tn See v. 17.

¹ sn The date would be August 14th, 591 b.c. The seventh year is the seventh year of Jehoiachin’s exile.

² tn Heb “men from the elders.”

³ tn See the note at 14:3.

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

² sn The six men plus the scribe would equal seven, which was believed by the Babylonians to be the number of planetary deities.

³ sn The upper gate was built by Jotham (2 Kgs 15:35).

⁴ tn Or “a scribe’s inkhorn.” The Hebrew term occurs in the OT only in Ezek 9 and is believed to be an Egyptian loanword.

¹ tn Heb “(was) in her.”

² tn Heb “and men from the multitude of mankind.”

³ tn An alternate reading is “drunkards.” Sheba is located in the area of modern day Yemen.

⁴ tn Heb “they”; the referents (the sisters) have been specified in the translation for the sake of clarity.

¹ tn Or “Groan silently. As to the dead….” Cf. M. Greenberg’s suggestion that דֹּם מֵתִים (dom metim) be taken together and דֹּם be derived from ָדּמַם (damam, “to moan, murmur”). See M. Greenberg, Ezekiel (AB), 2:508.

² tn Heb “(For) the dead mourning you shall not conduct.” In the Hebrew text the word translated “dead” is plural, indicating that mourning rites are in view. Such rites would involve outward demonstrations of one’s sorrow, including wailing and weeping.

³ sn The turban would normally be removed for mourning (Josh 7:6; 1 Sam 4:12).

⁴ sn Mourning rites included covering the lower part of the face. See Lev 13:45.

⁵ tn Heb “the bread of men.” The translation follows the suggestion accepted by M. Greenberg (Ezekiel [AB], 2:509) that this refers to a meal brought by comforters to the one mourning. Some repoint the consonantal text to read “the bread of despair” (see L. C. Allen, Ezekiel [WBC], 2:56), while others, with support from the Targum and Vulgate, emend the consonantal text to read “the bread of mourners” (see D. I. Block, Ezekiel [NICOT], 1:784).