33:27 “This is what you must say to them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: As surely as I live, those living in the ruins will die 1 by the sword, those in the open field I will give to the wild beasts for food, and those who are in the strongholds and caves will die of disease. 33:28 I will turn the land into a desolate ruin; her confident pride will come to an end. The mountains of Israel will be so desolate no one will pass through them. 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.’ 2
33:30 “But as for you, son of man, your people 3 (who are talking about you by the walls and at the doors of the houses) say to one another, 4 ‘Come hear the word that comes 5 from the Lord.’ 33:31 They come to you in crowds, 6 and they sit in front of you as 7 my people. They hear your words, but do not obey 8 them. For they talk lustfully, 9 and their heart is set on 10 their own advantage. 11 33:32 Realize 12 that to them you are like a sensual song, a beautiful voice and skilled musician. 13 They hear your words, but they do not obey them. 14 33:33 When all this comes true – and it certainly will 15 – then they will know that a prophet was among them.”
1 tn Heb “fall.”
2 sn The judgments of vv. 27-29 echo the judgments of Lev 26:22, 25.
3 tn Heb “sons of your people.”
4 tn Heb “one to one, a man to his brother.”
5 tn Heb “comes out.”
6 tn Heb “as people come.” Apparently this is an idiom indicating that they come in crowds. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:264.
7 tn The word “as” is supplied in the translation.
8 tn Heb “do.”
9 tn Heb “They do lust with their mouths.”
10 tn Heb “goes after.”
11 tn The present translation understands the term often used for “unjust gain” in a wider sense, following M. Greenberg, who also notes that the LXX uses a term which can describe either sexual or ritual pollution. See M. Greenberg, Ezekiel (AB), 2:687.
12 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
13 tn Heb “one who makes playing music well.”
14 sn Similar responses are found in Isa 29:13; Matt 21:28-32; James 1:22-25.
15 tn Heb “behold it is coming.”