Ezekiel 17:5

17:5 He took one of the seedlings ¹  of the land,

placed it in a cultivated plot; ² 

a shoot by abundant water,

like a willow he planted it.

Ezekiel 17:2

17:2 “Son of man, offer a riddle, ³  and tell a parable to the house of Israel.

Ezekiel 24:17

24:17 Groan in silence for the dead, ⁴  but do not perform mourning rites. ⁵  Bind on your turban ⁶  and put your sandals on your feet. Do not cover your lip ⁷  and do not eat food brought by others.” ⁸ 

Jeremiah 37:1

Introduction to Incidents During the Reign of Zedekiah

37:1 Zedekiah son of Josiah succeeded Jeconiah ⁹  son of Jehoiakim as king. He was elevated to the throne of the land of Judah by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. ¹⁰ 

¹ tn Heb “took of the seed of the land.” For the vine imagery, “seedling” is a better translation, though in its subsequent interpretation the “seed” refers to Zedekiah through its common application to offspring.

² tn Heb “a field for seed.”

³ sn The verb occurs elsewhere in the OT only in Judg 14:12-19, where Samson supplies a riddle.

⁴ 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.

⁵ 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.

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

⁷ sn Mourning rites included covering the lower part of the face. See Lev 13:45.

⁸ 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).

⁹ tn Heb “Coniah.” For explanation of the rendering here see the translator’s note on 22:4.

¹⁰ tn Heb “And Zedekiah son of Josiah whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made king in the land of Judah ruled as king instead of Coniah son of Jehoiakim.” The sentence has been restructured and simplified to better conform to contemporary English style.