“‘Look, I am against you, 1 Sidon,
and I will magnify myself in your midst.
Then they will know that I am the Lord
when I execute judgments on her
and reveal my sovereign power 2 in her.
28:24 “‘No longer will Israel suffer from the sharp briers 3 or painful thorns of all who surround and scorn them. 4 Then they will know that I am the sovereign Lord.
36:22 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: It is not for your sake that I am about to act, O house of Israel, but for the sake of my holy reputation 6 which you profaned among the nations where you went. 36:23 I will magnify 7 my great name that has been profaned among the nations, that you have profaned among them. The nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the sovereign Lord, when I magnify myself among you in their sight.
1 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.
2 tn Or “reveal my holiness.” God’s “holiness” is fundamentally his transcendence as sovereign ruler of the world. The revelation of his authority and power through judgment is in view in this context.
3 sn Similar language is used in reference to Israel’s adversaries in Num 33:55; Josh 23:13.
4 tn Heb “and there will not be for the house of Israel a brier that pricks and a thorn that inflicts pain from all the ones who surround them, the ones who scorn them.”
5 tn Heb, “the sheep of my pasture, you are human.” See 36:37-38 for a similar expression. The possessive pronoun “my” is supplied in the translation to balance “I am your God” in the next clause.
6 sn In Ezek 20:22 God refrained from punishment for the sake of his holy name. Here God’s reputation is the basis for Israel’s restoration.
7 tn Or “sanctify,” Heb “make holy.”