2:3 He said to me, “Son of man, I am sending you to the house 1 of Israel, to rebellious nations 2 who have rebelled against me; both they and their fathers have revolted 3 against me to this very day.
1:2 Listen, O heavens,
pay attention, O earth! 14
For the Lord speaks:
“I raised children, 15 I brought them up, 16
but 17 they have rebelled 18 against me!
30:1 “The rebellious 19 children are as good as dead,” 20 says the Lord,
“those who make plans without consulting me, 21
who form alliances without consulting my Spirit, 22
and thereby compound their sin. 23
30:9 For these are rebellious people –
they are lying children,
children unwilling to obey the Lord’s law. 24
63:10 But they rebelled and offended 25 his holy Spirit, 26
so he turned into an enemy
and fought against them.
7:51 “You stubborn 27 people, with uncircumcised 28 hearts and ears! 29 You are always resisting the Holy Spirit, like your ancestors 30 did!
1 tc The Hebrew reads “sons of,” while the LXX reads “house,” implying the more common phrase in Ezekiel. Either could be abbreviated with the first letter ב (bet). In preparation for the characterization “house of rebellion,” in vv. 5, 6, and 8, “house” is preferred (L. C. Allen, Ezekiel [WBC], 1:10 and W. Zimmerli, Ezekiel [Hermeneia], 2:564-65).
2 tc Heb “to the rebellious nations.” The phrase “to the rebellious nations” is omitted in the LXX. Elsewhere in Ezekiel the singular word “nation” is used for Israel (36:13-15; 37:22). Here “nations” may have the meaning of “tribes” or refer to the two nations of Israel and Judah.
3 tc This word is omitted from the LXX.
4 tn The Hebrew term occurs only here in the OT.
5 tn The Hebrew term is found elsewhere in the OT only in Ezek 28:24.
6 tn Heb “of their faces.”
7 tn The Hebrew term translated “diamond” is parallel to “iron” in Jer 17:1. The Hebrew uses two terms which are both translated at times as “flint,” but here one is clearly harder than the other. The translation “diamond” attempts to reflect this distinction in English.
8 tn Heb “of their faces.”
9 sn The book of Ezekiel frequently refers to the Israelites as a rebellious house (Ezek 2:5, 6, 8; 3:9, 26-27; 12:2-3, 9, 25; 17:12; 24:3).
10 sn This verse is very similar to Isa 6:9-10.
11 tn The words “of Israel” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation as a clarification of the referent.
12 sn The narrative description of this interpretation of the riddle is given in 2 Kgs 24:11-15.
13 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
14 sn The personified heavens and earth are summoned to God’s courtroom as witnesses against God’s covenant people. Long before this Moses warned the people that the heavens and earth would be watching their actions (see Deut 4:26; 30:19; 31:28; 32:1).
15 tn Or “sons” (NAB, NASB).
16 sn The normal word pair for giving birth to and raising children is יָלַד (yalad, “to give birth to”) and גָּדַל (gadal, “to grow, raise”). The pair גָּדַל and רוּם (rum, “to raise up”) probably occur here to highlight the fact that Yahweh made something important of Israel (cf. R. Mosis, TDOT 2:403).
17 sn Against the backdrop of Yahweh’s care for his chosen people, Israel’s rebellion represents abhorrent treachery. The conjunction prefixed to a nonverbal element highlights the sad contrast between Yahweh’s compassionate care for His people and Israel’s thankless rebellion.
18 sn To rebel carries the idea of “covenant treachery.” Although an act of פֶּשַׁע (pesha’, “rebellion”) often signifies a breach of the law, the legal offense also represents a violation of an existing covenantal relationship (E. Carpenter and M. Grisanti, NIDOTTE 3:707).
19 tn Or “stubborn” (NCV); cf. NIV “obstinate.”
20 tn Heb “Woe [to] rebellious children.”
21 tn Heb “making a plan, but not from me.”
22 tn Heb “and pouring out a libation, but not [from] my spirit.” This translation assumes that the verb נָסַךְ (nasakh) means “pour out,” and that the cognate noun מַסֵּכָה (massekhah) means “libation.” In this case “pouring out a libation” alludes to a ceremony that formally ratifies an alliance. Another option is to understand the verb נָסַךְ as a homonym meaning “weave,” and the cognate noun מַסֵּכָה as a homonym meaning “covering.” In this case forming an alliance is likened to weaving a garment.
23 tn Heb “consequently adding sin to sin.”
24 tn Or perhaps, “instruction” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV); NCV, TEV “teachings.”
25 tn Or “grieved, hurt the feelings of.”
26 sn The phrase “holy Spirit” occurs in the OT only here (in v. 11 as well) and in Ps 51:11 (51:13 HT), where it is associated with the divine presence.
27 sn Traditionally, “stiff-necked people.” Now the critique begins in earnest.
28 tn The term ἀπερίτμητοι (aperitmhtoi, “uncircumcised”) is a NT hapax legomenon (occurs only once). See BDAG 101-2 s.v. ἀπερίτμητος and Isa 52:1.
29 tn Or “You stubborn and obstinate people!” (The phrase “uncircumcised hearts and ears” is another figure for stubbornness.)
30 tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”