Ezekiel 33:24-26

33:24 “Son of man, the ones living in these ruins in the land of Israel are saying, ‘Abraham was only one man, yet he possessed the land, but we are many; surely the land has been given to us for a possession.’ ¹  33:25 Therefore say to them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: You eat the meat with the blood still in it, ²  pray to ³  your idols, and shed blood. Do you really think you will possess ⁴  the land? 33:26 You rely ⁵  on your swords and commit abominable deeds; each of you defiles his neighbor’s wife. Will you possess the land?’

Ezekiel 33:29

33:29 Then they will know that I am the Lord when I turn the land into a desolate ruin because of all the abominable deeds they have committed.’ ⁶ 

¹ sn Outside of its seven occurrences in Ezekiel the term translated “possession” appears only in Exod 6:8 and Deut 33:4.

² sn This practice was a violation of Levitical law (see Lev 19:26).

³ tn Heb “lift up your eyes.”

⁴ tn Heb “Will you possess?”

³ tn Heb “stand.”

⁴ sn The judgments of vv. 27-29 echo the judgments of Lev 26:22, 25.