Ezekiel 14:7

14:7 For when anyone from the house of Israel, or the foreigner who lives in Israel, separates himself from me and erects his idols in his heart and sets the obstacle leading to his iniquity before his face, and then consults a prophet to seek something from me, I the Lord am determined to answer him personally.

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 21:20-25

21:20 Mark out the routes for the sword to take: “Rabbah of the Ammonites” and “Judah with Jerusalem in it.” ¹  21:21 For the king of Babylon stands at the fork ²  in the road at the head of the two routes. He looks for omens: ³  He shakes arrows, he consults idols, ⁴  he examines ⁵  animal livers. ⁶  21:22 Into his right hand ⁷  comes the portent for Jerusalem – to set up battering rams, to give the signal ⁸  for slaughter, to shout out the battle cry, ⁹  to set up battering rams against the gates, to erect a siege ramp, to build a siege wall. 21:23 But those in Jerusalem ¹⁰  will view it as a false omen. They have sworn solemn oaths, ¹¹  but the king of Babylon ¹²  will accuse them of violations ¹³  in order to seize them. ¹⁴ 

21:24 “Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: ‘Because you have brought up ¹⁵  your own guilt by uncovering your transgressions and revealing your sins through all your actions, for this reason you will be taken by force. ¹⁶ 

21:25 “‘As for you, profane and wicked prince of Israel, ¹⁷ 

whose day has come, the time of final punishment,

Ezekiel 21:2

21:2 “Son of man, turn toward ¹⁸  Jerusalem ¹⁹  and speak out against the sanctuaries. Prophesy against the land of Israel

Ezekiel 1:16

1:16 The appearance of the wheels and their construction ²⁰  was like gleaming jasper, ²¹  and all four wheels looked alike. Their structure was like a wheel within a wheel. ²² 

Isaiah 3:11

3:11 Too bad for the wicked sinners!

For they will get exactly what they deserve. ²³ 

Isaiah 66:4

66:4 So I will choose severe punishment ²⁴  for them;

I will bring on them what they dread,

because I called, and no one responded,

I spoke and they did not listen.

They did evil before me; ²⁵ 

they chose to do what displeases me.”

¹ tc The MT reads “Judah in fortified Jerusalem,” a geographic impossibility. The translation follows the LXX, which assumes בְּתוֹכָהּ (bÿtokhah, “in it”) for בְּצוּרָה (bÿtsurah, “fortified”).

² tn Heb “mother.”

³ sn Mesopotamian kings believed that the gods revealed the future through omens. They employed various divination techniques, some of which are included in the list that follows. A particularly popular technique was the examination and interpretation of the livers of animals. See R. R. Wilson, Prophecy and Society in Ancient Israel, 90-110.

⁴ tn This word refers to personal idols that were apparently used for divination purposes (Gen 31:19; 1 Sam 19:13, 16).

⁵ tn Heb “sees.”

⁶ tn Heb “the liver.”

⁷ tn Or “on the right side,” i.e., the omen mark on the right side of the liver.

⁸ tn Heb “to open the mouth” for slaughter.

⁹ tn Heb “to raise up a voice in a battle cry.”

¹⁰ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the people in Jerusalem) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹¹ sn When the people of Judah realized the Babylonians’ intentions, they would object on grounds that they had made a treaty with the Babylonian king (see 17:13).

¹² tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king of Babylon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹³ tn Or “iniquity.”

¹⁴ tn Heb “and he will remind of guilt for the purpose of being captured.” The king would counter their objections by pointing out that they had violated their treaty with him (see 17:18).

¹⁵ tn Heb “caused to be remembered.”

¹⁶ tn Heb “Because you have brought to remembrance your guilt when your transgressions are uncovered so that your sins are revealed in all your deeds – because you are remembered, by the hand you will be seized.”

¹⁷ tn This probably refers to King Zedekiah.

¹⁸ tn Heb “set your face toward.”

¹⁹ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

²⁰ tc This word is omitted from the LXX.

²¹ 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).

²² 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.

²³ tn Heb “for the work of his hands will be done to him.”

²⁴ tn The precise meaning of the noun is uncertain. It occurs only here and in 3:4 (but see the note there). It appears to be derived from the verbal root עָלַל (’alal), which can carry the nuance “deal severely.”

²⁵ tn Heb “that which is evil in my eyes.”