7:1 The word of the Lord came to me: 7:2 “You, son of man – this is what the sovereign Lord says to the land of Israel: An end! The end is coming on the four corners of the land! 1 7:3 The end is now upon you, and I will release my anger against you; I will judge 2 you according to your behavior, 3 I will hold you accountable for 4 all your abominable practices. 7:4 My eye will not pity you; I will not spare 5 you. 6 For I will hold you responsible for your behavior, 7 and you will suffer the consequences of your abominable practices. 8 Then you will know that I am the Lord!
7:5 “This is what the sovereign Lord says: A disaster 9 – a one-of-a-kind 10 disaster – is coming! 7:6 An end comes 11 – the end comes! 12 It has awakened against you 13 – the end is upon you! Look, it is coming! 14 7:7 Doom is coming upon you who live in the land! The time is coming, the day 15 is near. There are sounds of tumult, not shouts of joy, on the mountains. 16 7:8 Soon now I will pour out my rage 17 on you; I will fully vent my anger against you. I will judge you according to your behavior. I will hold you accountable for all your abominable practices. 7:9 My eye will not pity you; I will not spare 18 you. For your behavior I will hold you accountable, 19 and you will suffer the consequences of your abominable practices. Then you will know that it is I, the Lord, who is striking you. 20
7:10 “Look, the day! Look, it is coming! Doom has gone out! The staff has budded, pride has blossomed! 7:11 Violence 21 has grown into a staff that supports wickedness. Not one of them will be left 22 – not from their crowd, not from their wealth, not from their prominence. 23 7:12 The time has come; the day has struck! The customer should not rejoice, nor the seller mourn; for divine wrath 24 comes against their whole crowd. 7:13 The customer will no longer pay the seller 25 while both parties are alive, for the vision against their whole crowd 26 will not be revoked. Each person, for his iniquity, 27 will fail to preserve his life.
7:14 “They have blown the trumpet and everyone is ready, but no one goes to battle, because my anger is against their whole crowd. 28 7:15 The sword is outside; pestilence and famine are inside the house. Whoever is in the open field will die by the sword, and famine and pestilence will consume everyone in the city. 7:16 Their survivors will escape to the mountains and become like doves of the valleys; all of them will moan – each one for his iniquity. 7:17 All of their hands will hang limp; their knees will be wet with urine. 29 7:18 They will wear sackcloth, terror will cover them; shame will be on all their faces, and all of their heads will be shaved bald. 30 7:19 They will discard their silver in the streets, and their gold will be treated like filth. 31 Their silver and gold will not be able to deliver them on the day of the Lord’s fury. 32 They will not satisfy their hunger or fill their stomachs because their wealth 33 was the obstacle leading to their iniquity. 34 7:20 They rendered the beauty of his ornaments into pride, 35 and with it they made their abominable images – their detestable idols. Therefore I will render it filthy to them. 7:21 I will give it to foreigners as loot, to the world’s wicked ones as plunder, and they will desecrate it. 7:22 I will turn my face away from them and they will desecrate my treasured place. 36 Vandals will enter it and desecrate it. 37 7:23 (Make the chain, 38 because the land is full of murder 39 and the city is full of violence.) 7:24 I will bring the most wicked of the nations and they will take possession of their houses. I will put an end to the arrogance of the strong, and their sanctuaries 40 will be desecrated. 7:25 Terror 41 is coming! They will seek peace, but find none. 7:26 Disaster after disaster will come, and one rumor after another. They will seek a vision from a prophet; priestly instruction will disappear, along with counsel from the elders. 7:27 The king will mourn and the prince will be clothed with shuddering; the hands of the people of the land will tremble. Based on their behavior I will deal with them, and by their standard of justice 42 I will judge them. Then they will know that I am the Lord!”
8:1 In the sixth year, in the sixth month, on the fifth of the month, 43 as I was sitting in my house with the elders of Judah sitting in front of me, the hand 44 of the sovereign Lord seized me. 45 8:2 As I watched, I noticed 46 a form that appeared to be a man. 47 From his waist downward was something like fire, 48 and from his waist upward something like a brightness, 49 like an amber glow. 50 8:3 He stretched out the form 51 of a hand and grabbed me by a lock of hair on my head. Then a wind 52 lifted me up between the earth and sky and brought me to Jerusalem 53 by means of divine visions, to the door of the inner gate which faces north where the statue 54 which provokes to jealousy was located. 8:4 Then I perceived that the glory of the God of Israel was there, as in the vision I had seen earlier in the valley.
8:5 He said to me, “Son of man, look up toward 55 the north.” So I looked up toward the north, and I noticed to the north of the altar gate was this statue of jealousy at the entrance.
8:6 He said to me, “Son of man, do you see what they are doing – the great abominations that the people 56 of Israel are practicing here, to drive me far from my sanctuary? But you will see greater abominations than these!”
8:7 He brought me to the entrance of the court, and as I watched, I noticed a hole in the wall. 8:8 He said to me, “Son of man, dig into the wall.” So I dug into the wall and discovered a doorway.
8:9 He said to me, “Go in and see the evil abominations they are practicing here.” 8:10 So I went in and looked. I noticed every figure 57 of creeping thing and beast – detestable images 58 – and every idol of the house of Israel, engraved on the wall all around. 59 8:11 Seventy men from the elders of the house of Israel 60 (with Jaazaniah son of Shaphan standing among them) were standing in front of them, each with a censer in his hand, and fragrant 61 vapors from a cloud of incense were swirling upward.
8:12 He said to me, “Do you see, son of man, what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the dark, each in the chamber of his idolatrous images? 62 For they think, ‘The Lord does not see us! The Lord has abandoned the land!’” 8:13 He said to me, “You will see them practicing even greater abominations!”
8:14 Then he brought me to the entrance of the north gate of the Lord’s house. I noticed 63 women sitting there weeping for Tammuz. 64 8:15 He said to me, “Do you see this, son of man? You will see even greater abominations than these!”
8:16 Then he brought me to the inner court of the Lord’s house. Right there 65 at the entrance to the Lord’s temple, between the porch and the altar, 66 were about twenty-five 67 men with their backs to the Lord’s temple, 68 facing east – they were worshiping the sun 69 toward the east!
8:17 He said to me, “Do you see, son of man? Is it a trivial thing that the house of Judah commits these abominations they are practicing here? For they have filled the land with violence and provoked me to anger still further. Look, they are putting the branch to their nose! 70 8:18 Therefore I will act with fury! My eye will not pity them nor will I spare 71 them. When they have shouted in my ears, I will not listen to them.”
9:1 Then he shouted in my ears, “Approach, 72 you who are to visit destruction on the city, each with his destructive weapon in his hand!” 9:2 Next, I noticed 73 six men 74 coming from the direction of the upper gate 75 which faces north, each with his war club in his hand. Among them was a man dressed in linen with a writing kit 76 at his side. They came and stood beside the bronze altar.
9:3 Then the glory of the God of Israel went up from the cherub where it had rested to the threshold of the temple. 77 He called to the man dressed in linen who had the writing kit at his side. 9:4 The Lord said to him, “Go through the city of Jerusalem 78 and put a mark 79 on the foreheads of the people who moan and groan over all the abominations practiced in it.”
9:5 While I listened, he said to the others, 80 “Go through the city after him and strike people down; do no let your eye pity nor spare 81 anyone! 9:6 Old men, young men, young women, little children, and women – wipe them out! But do not touch anyone who has the mark. Begin at my sanctuary!” So they began with the elders who were at the front of the temple.
9:7 He said to them, “Defile the temple and fill the courtyards with corpses. Go!” So they went out and struck people down throughout the city. 9:8 While they were striking them down, I was left alone, and I threw myself face down and cried out, “Ah, sovereign Lord! Will you destroy the entire remnant of Israel when you pour out your fury on Jerusalem?”
9:9 He said to me, “The sin of the house of Israel and Judah is extremely great; the land is full of murder, and the city is full of corruption, 82 for they say, ‘The Lord has abandoned the land, and the Lord does not see!’ 83 9:10 But as for me, my eye will not pity them nor will I spare 84 them; I hereby repay them for what they have done.” 85
9:11 Next I noticed the man dressed in linen with the writing kit at his side bringing back word: “I have done just as you commanded me.”
10:1 As I watched, I saw 86 on the platform 87 above the top of the cherubim something like a sapphire, resembling the shape of a throne, appearing above them. 10:2 The Lord 88 said to the man dressed in linen, “Go between the wheelwork 89 underneath the cherubim. 90 Fill your hands with burning coals from among the cherubim and scatter them over the city.” He went as I watched.
10:3 (The cherubim were standing on the south side 91 of the temple when the man went in, and a cloud filled the inner court.) 10:4 Then the glory of the Lord arose from the cherub and moved to the threshold of the temple. The temple was filled with the cloud while the court was filled with the brightness of the Lord’s glory. 10:5 The sound of the wings of the cherubim could be heard from the outer court, like the sound of the sovereign God 92 when he speaks.
10:6 When the Lord 93 commanded the man dressed in linen, “Take fire from within the wheelwork, from among the cherubim,” the man 94 went in and stood by one of the wheels. 95 10:7 Then one of the cherubim 96 stretched out his hand 97 toward the fire which was among the cherubim. He took some and put it into the hands of the man dressed in linen, who took it and left. 10:8 (The cherubim appeared to have the form 98 of human hands under their wings.)
10:9 As I watched, I noticed 99 four wheels by the cherubim, one wheel beside each cherub; 100 the wheels gleamed like jasper. 101 10:10 As for their appearance, all four of them looked the same, something like a wheel within a wheel. 102 10:11 When they 103 moved, they would go in any of the four directions they faced without turning as they moved; in the direction the head would turn they would follow 104 without turning as they moved, 10:12 along with their entire bodies, 105 their backs, their hands, and their wings. The wheels of the four of them were full of eyes all around. 10:13 As for their wheels, they were called “the wheelwork” 106 as I listened. 10:14 Each of the cherubim 107 had four faces: The first was the face of a cherub, 108 the second that of a man, the third that of a lion, and the fourth that of an eagle.
10:15 The cherubim rose up; these were the living beings 109 I saw at the Kebar River. 10:16 When the cherubim moved, the wheels moved beside them; when the cherubim spread 110 their wings to rise from the ground, the wheels did not move from their side. 10:17 When the cherubim 111 stood still, the wheels 112 stood still, and when they rose up, the wheels 113 rose up with them, for the spirit 114 of the living beings 115 was in the wheels. 116
10:18 Then the glory of the Lord moved away from the threshold of the temple and stopped above the cherubim. 10:19 The cherubim spread 117 their wings, and they rose up from the earth 118 while I watched (when they went the wheels went alongside them). They stopped at the entrance to the east gate of the Lord’s temple as the glory of the God of Israel hovered above them.
10:20 These were the living creatures 119 which I saw at the Kebar River underneath the God of Israel; I knew that they were cherubim. 10:21 Each had four faces; each had four wings and the form of human hands under the wings. 10:22 As for the form of their faces, they were the faces whose appearance I had seen at the Kebar River. Each one moved straight ahead.
11:1 A wind 120 lifted me up and brought me to the east gate of the Lord’s temple that faces the east. There, at the entrance of the gate, I noticed twenty-five men. Among them I saw Jaazaniah son of Azzur and Pelatiah son of Benaiah, officials of the people. 121 11:2 The Lord 122 said to me, “Son of man, these are the men who plot evil and give wicked advice in this city. 11:3 They say, 123 ‘The time is not near to build houses; 124 the city 125 is a cooking pot 126 and we are the meat in it.’ 11:4 Therefore, prophesy against them! Prophesy, son of man!”
11:5 Then the Spirit of the Lord came 127 upon me and said to me, “Say: This is what the Lord says: ‘This is what you are thinking, 128 O house of Israel; I know what goes through your minds. 129 11:6 You have killed many people in this city; you have filled its streets with corpses.’ 11:7 Therefore, this is what the sovereign Lord says: ‘The corpses you have dumped 130 in the midst of the city 131 are the meat, and this city 132 is the cooking pot, but I will take you out of it. 133 11:8 You fear the sword, so the sword I will bring against you,’ declares the sovereign Lord. 11:9 ‘But I will take you out of the city. 134 And I will hand you over to foreigners. I will execute judgments on you. 11:10 You will die by the sword; I will judge you at the border of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord. 11:11 This city will not be a cooking pot for you, and you will not 135 be meat within it; I will judge you at the border of Israel. 11:12 Then you will know that I am the Lord, whose statutes you have not followed and whose regulations you have not carried out. Instead you have behaved according to the regulations of the nations around you!’”
11:13 Now, while I was prophesying, Pelatiah son of Benaiah died. Then I threw myself face down and cried out with a loud voice, “Alas, sovereign Lord! You are completely wiping out the remnant of Israel!” 136
11:14 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 11:15 “Son of man, your brothers, 137 your relatives, 138 and the whole house of Israel, all of them are those to whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem 139 have said, ‘They have gone 140 far away from the Lord; to us this land has been given as a possession.’
11:16 “Therefore say: ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Although I have removed them far away among the nations and have dispersed them among the countries, I have been a little 141 sanctuary for them among the lands where they have gone.’
11:17 “Therefore say: ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: When I regather you from the peoples and assemble you from the lands where you have been dispersed, I will give you back the country of Israel.’
11:18 “When they return to it, they will remove from it all its detestable things and all its abominations. 11:19 I will give them one heart and I will put a new spirit within them; 142 I will remove the hearts of stone from their bodies 143 and I will give them tender hearts, 144 11:20 so that they may follow my statutes and observe my regulations and carry them out. Then they will be my people, and I will be their God. 145 11:21 But those whose hearts are devoted to detestable things and abominations, I hereby repay them for what they have done, 146 says the sovereign Lord.”
11:22 Then the cherubim spread 147 their wings with their wheels alongside them while the glory of the God of Israel hovered above them. 11:23 The glory of the Lord rose up from within the city and stopped 148 over the mountain east of it. 11:24 Then a wind 149 lifted me up and carried me to the exiles in Babylonia, 150 in the vision given to me by the Spirit of God.
Then the vision I had seen went up from me. 11:25 So I told the exiles everything 151 the Lord had shown me.
12:1 The word of the Lord came to me: 12:2 “Son of man, you are living in the midst of a rebellious house. 152 They have eyes to see, but do not see, and ears to hear, but do not hear, 153 because they are a rebellious house.
12:3 “Therefore, son of man, pack up your belongings as if for exile. During the day, while they are watching, pretend to go into exile. Go from where you live to another place. Perhaps they will understand, 154 although they are a rebellious house. 12:4 Bring out your belongings packed for exile during the day while they are watching. And go out at evening, while they are watching, as if for exile. 12:5 While they are watching, dig a hole in the wall and carry your belongings out through it. 12:6 While they are watching, raise your baggage onto your shoulder and carry it out in the dark. 155 You must cover your face so that you cannot see the ground 156 because I have made you an object lesson 157 to the house of Israel.”
12:7 So I did just as I was commanded. I carried out my belongings packed for exile during the day, and at evening I dug myself a hole through the wall with my hands. I went out in the darkness, carrying my baggage 158 on my shoulder while they watched.
12:8 The word of the Lord came to me in the morning: 12:9 “Son of man, has not the house of Israel, that rebellious house, said to you, ‘What are you doing?’ 12:10 Say to them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: The prince will raise this burden in Jerusalem, 159 and all the house of Israel within it.’ 160 12:11 Say, ‘I am an object lesson for you. Just as I have done, it will be done to them; they will go into exile and captivity.’
12:12 “The prince 161 who is among them will raise his belongings 162 onto his shoulder in darkness, and will go out. He 163 will dig a hole in the wall to leave through. He will cover his face so that he cannot see the land with his eyes. 12:13 But I will throw my net over him, and he will be caught in my snare. I will bring him to Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans 164 (but he will not see it), 165 and there he will die. 166 12:14 All his retinue – his attendants and his troops – I will scatter to every wind; I will unleash a sword behind them.
12:15 “Then they will know that I am the Lord when I disperse them among the nations and scatter them among foreign countries. 12:16 But I will let a small number of them survive the sword, famine, and pestilence, so that they can confess all their abominable practices to the nations where they go. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”
12:17 The word of the Lord came to me: 12:18 “Son of man, eat your bread with trembling, 167 and drink your water with anxious shaking. 12:19 Then say to the people of the land, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says about the inhabitants of Jerusalem and of the land of Israel: They will eat their bread with anxiety and drink their water in fright, for their land will be stripped bare of all it contains because of the violence of all who live in it. 12:20 The inhabited towns will be left in ruins and the land will be devastated. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”
12:21 The word of the Lord came to me: 12:22 “Son of man, what is this proverb you have in the land of Israel, ‘The days pass slowly, and every vision fails’? 12:23 Therefore tell them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: I hereby end this proverb; they will not recite it in Israel any longer.’ But say to them, ‘The days are at hand when every vision will be fulfilled. 168 12:24 For there will no longer be any false visions or flattering omens amidst the house of Israel. 12:25 For I, the Lord, will speak. Whatever word I speak will be accomplished. It will not be delayed any longer. Indeed in your days, O rebellious house, I will speak the word and accomplish it, declares the sovereign Lord.’”
12:26 The word of the Lord came to me: 12:27 “Take note, son of man, the house of Israel is saying, ‘The vision that he sees is for distant days; he is prophesying about the far future.’ 12:28 Therefore say to them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: None of my words will be delayed any longer! The word I speak will come to pass, declares the sovereign Lord.’”
105:26 He sent his servant Moses,
and Aaron, whom he had chosen.
105:27 They executed his miraculous signs among them, 169
and his amazing deeds in the land of Ham.
105:28 He made it dark; 170
they did not disobey his orders. 171
105:29 He turned their water into blood,
and killed their fish.
105:30 Their land was overrun by frogs,
which even got into the rooms of their kings.
105:31 He ordered flies to come; 172
gnats invaded their whole territory.
105:32 He sent hail along with the rain; 173
there was lightning in their land. 174
105:33 He destroyed their vines and fig trees,
and broke the trees throughout their territory.
105:34 He ordered locusts to come, 175
innumerable grasshoppers.
105:35 They ate all the vegetation in their land,
and devoured the crops of their fields. 176
105:36 He struck down all the firstborn in their land,
the firstfruits of their reproductive power. 177
1 tn Or “earth.” Elsewhere the expression “four corners of the earth” figuratively refers to the whole earth (Isa 11:12).
2 tn Or “punish” (cf. BDB 1047 s.v. שָׁפַט 3.c).
3 tn Heb “ways.”
4 tn Heb “I will place on you.”
5 tn The meaning of the Hebrew term is primarily emotional: “to pity,” which in context implies an action, as in being moved by pity in order to spare them from the horror of their punishment.
6 tn The pronoun “you” is not in the Hebrew text, but is implied.
7 tn “I will set your behavior on your head.”
8 tn Heb “and your abominable practices will be among you.”
9 tn The Hebrew term often refers to moral evil (see Ezek 6:10; 14:22), but in many contexts it refers to calamity or disaster, sometimes as punishment for evil behavior.
10 tc So most Hebrew
11 tn Or “has come.”
12 tn Or “has come.”
13 tc With different vowels the verb rendered “it has awakened” would be the noun “the end,” as in “the end is upon you.” The verb would represent a phonetic wordplay. The noun by virtue of repetition would continue to reinforce the idea of the end. Whether verb or noun, this is the only instance to occur with this preposition.
14 tc For this entire verse, the LXX has only “the end is come.”
15 sn The day refers to the day of the Lord, a concept which, beginning in Amos 5:18-20, became a common theme in the OT prophetic books. It refers to a time when the Lord intervenes in human affairs as warrior and judge.
16 tc The LXX reads “neither tumult nor birth pains.” The LXX varies at many points from the MT in this chapter. The context suggests that one or both of these would be present on a day of judgment, thus favoring the MT. Perhaps more significant is the absence of “the mountains” in the LXX. If the ר (resh) in הָרִים (harim, “the mountains” not “on the mountains”) were a ד (dalet), which is a common letter confusion, then it could be from the same root as the previous word, הֵד (hed), meaning “the day is near – with destruction, not joyful shouting.”
17 tn The expression “to pour out rage” also occurs in Ezek 9:8; 14:19; 20:8, 13, 21; 22:31; 30:15; 36:18.
18 tn The meaning of the Hebrew term is primarily emotional: “to pity,” which in context implies an action, as in being moved by pity in order to spare them from the horror of their punishment.
19 tn Heb “According to your behavior I will place on you.”
20 tn The MT lacks “you.” It has been added for clarification.
21 tn Heb “the violence.”
22 tc The LXX reads “he will crush the wicked rod without confusion or haste.”
23 tn The Hebrew word occurs only here in the OT.
24 tn Heb “wrath.” Context clarifies that God’s wrath is in view.
25 tc The translation follows the LXX for the first line of the verse, although the LXX has lost the second line due to homoioteleuton (similar endings of the clauses). The MT reads “The seller will not return to the sale.” This Hebrew reading has been construed as a reference to land redemption, the temporary sale of the use of property, with property rights returned to the seller in the year of Jubilee. But the context has no other indicator that land redemption is in view. If correct, the LXX evidence suggests that one of the cases of “the customer” has been replaced by “the seller” in the MT, perhaps due to hoimoioarcton (similar beginnings of the words).
26 tn The Hebrew word refers to the din or noise made by a crowd, and by extension may refer to the crowd itself.
27 tn Or “in their punishment.” The phrase “in/for [a person’s] iniquity” occurs fourteen times in Ezekiel: here and in v. 16; 3:18, 19; 4:17; 18:17, 18, 19, 20; 24:23; 33:6, 8, 9; 39:23. The Hebrew word for “iniquity” may also mean the “punishment for iniquity.”
28 tn The Hebrew word refers to the din or noise made by a crowd, and by extension may refer to the crowd itself.
29 tn Heb “their knees will run with water.” The expression probably refers to urination caused by fright, which is how the LXX renders the phrase. More colloquial English would simply be “they will wet their pants,” but as D. I. Block (Ezekiel [NICOT], 1:261, n. 98) notes, the men likely wore skirts which were short enough to expose urine on the knees.
30 tn Heb “baldness will be on their heads.”
31 tn The Hebrew term can refer to menstrual impurity. The term also occurs at the end of v. 20.
32 sn Compare Zeph 1:18.
33 tn Heb “it.” Apparently the subject is the silver and gold mentioned earlier (see L. C. Allen, Ezekiel [WBC], 1:102).
34 tn The “stumbling block of their iniquity” is a unique phrase of the prophet Ezekiel (Ezek 14:3, 4, 7; 18:30; 44:12).
35 tc The MT reads “he set up the beauty of his ornament as pride.” The verb may be repointed as plural without changing the consonantal text. The Syriac reads “their ornaments” (plural), implying עֶדְיָם (’edyam) rather than עֶדְיוֹ (’edyo) and meaning “they were proud of their beautiful ornaments.” This understands “ornaments” in the common sense of women’s jewelry, which then were used to make idols. The singular suffix “his ornaments” would refer to using items from the temple treasury to make idols. D. I. Block points out the foreshadowing of Ezek 16:17 which, with Rashi and the Targum, supports the understanding that this is a reference to temple items. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:265.
36 sn My treasured place probably refers to the temple (however, cf. NLT “my treasured land”).
37 sn Since the pronouns “it” are both feminine, they do not refer to the masculine “my treasured place”; instead they probably refer to Jerusalem or the land, both of which are feminine in Hebrew.
38 tc The Hebrew word “the chain” occurs only here in the OT. The reading of the LXX (“and they will make carnage”) seems to imply a Hebrew text of ַהבַּתּוֹק (habbattoq, “disorder, slaughter”) instead of הָרַתּוֹק (haratoq, “the chain”). The LXX is also translating the verb as a third person plural future and taking this as the end of the preceding verse. As M. Greenberg (Ezekiel [AB], 1:154) notes, this may refer to a chain for a train of exiles but “the context does not speak of exile but of the city’s fall. The versions guess desperately and we can do little better.”
39 tn Heb “judgment for blood,” i.e., indictment or accountability for bloodshed. The word for “judgment” does not appear in the similar phrase in 9:9.
40 sn Or “their holy places” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NCV, NRSV).
41 tn The Hebrew word occurs only here in the OT. It is interpreted based on a Syriac cognate meaning “to bristle or stiffen (in terror).”
42 tn Heb “and by their judgments.”
43 tc The LXX reads “In the sixth year, in the fifth month, on the fifth of the month.”
44 tn Or “power.”
45 tn Heb “fell upon me there,” that is, God’s influence came over him.
46 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb (so also throughout the chapter).
47 tc The MT reads “fire” rather than “man,” the reading of the LXX. The nouns are very similar in Hebrew.
48 tc The MT reads “what appeared to be his waist and downwards was fire.” The LXX omits “what appeared to be,” reading “from his waist to below was fire.” Suggesting that “like what appeared to be” belongs before “fire,” D. I. Block (Ezekiel [NICOT], 1:277) points out the resulting poetic symmetry of form with the next line as followed in the translation here.
49 tc The LXX omits “like a brightness.”
50 tn See Ezek 1:4.
51 tn The Hebrew term is normally used as an architectural term in describing the pattern of the tabernacle or temple or a representation of it (see Exod 25:8; 1 Chr 28:11).
52 tn Or “spirit.” See note on “wind” in 2:2.
53 map For the location of Jerusalem see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
54 tn Or “image.”
55 tn Heb “lift your eyes (to) the way of.”
56 tn Heb “house.”
57 tn Or “pattern.”
58 tn Heb “detestable.” The word is often used to describe the figures of foreign gods.
59 sn These engravings were prohibited in the Mosaic law (Deut 4:16-18).
60 sn Note the contrast between these seventy men who represented Israel and the seventy elders who ate the covenant meal before God, inaugurating the covenant relationship (Exod 24:1, 9).
61 tn The Hebrew word occurs only here in the OT.
62 tn Heb “the room of his images.” The adjective “idolatrous” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
63 tn Given the context this could be understood as a shock, e.g., idiomatically “Good grief! I saw….”
64 sn The worship of Tammuz included the observation of the annual death and descent into the netherworld of the god Dumuzi. The practice was observed by women in the ancient Near East over a period of centuries.
65 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something.
66 sn The priests prayed to God between the porch and the altar on fast days (Joel 2:17). This is the location where Zechariah was murdered (Matt 23:35).
67 tc The LXX reads “twenty” instead of twenty-five, perhaps because of the association of the number twenty with the Mesopotamian sun god Shamash.
68 sn The temple faced east.
69 tn Or “the sun god.”
70 tn It is not clear what the practice of “holding a branch to the nose” indicates. A possible parallel is the Syrian relief of a king holding a flower to his nose as he worships the stars (ANEP 281). See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 1:145-46. The LXX glosses the expression as “Behold, they are like mockers.”
71 tn The meaning of the Hebrew term is primarily emotional: “to pity,” which in context implies an action, as in being moved by pity in order to spare them from the horror of their punishment.
72 tc Heb “they approached.” Reading the imperative assumes the same consonantal text but different vowels.
73 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
74 sn The six men plus the scribe would equal seven, which was believed by the Babylonians to be the number of planetary deities.
75 sn The upper gate was built by Jotham (2 Kgs 15:35).
76 tn Or “a scribe’s inkhorn.” The Hebrew term occurs in the OT only in Ezek 9 and is believed to be an Egyptian loanword.
77 tn Heb “house.”
78 tn Heb “through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem.”
79 tn The word translated “mark” is in Hebrew the letter ת (tav). Outside this context the only other occurrence of the word is in Job 31:35. In ancient Hebrew script this letter was written like the letter X.
80 tn Heb “to these he said in my ears.”
81 tn The meaning of the Hebrew term is primarily emotional: “to pity,” which in context implies an action, as in being moved by pity in order to spare them from the horror of their punishment.
82 tn Or “lawlessness” (NAB); “perversity” (NRSV). The Hebrew word occurs only here in the OT, and its meaning is uncertain. The similar phrase in 7:23 has a common word for “violence.”
83 sn The saying is virtually identical to that of the elders in Ezek 8:12.
84 tn The meaning of the Hebrew term is primarily emotional: “to pity,” which in context implies an action, as in being moved by pity in order to spare them from the horror of their punishment.
85 tn Heb “their way on their head I have placed.” The same expression occurs in 1 Kgs 8:32; Ezek 11:21; 16:43; 22:31.
86 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
87 tn Or “like a dome.” See 1:22-26.
88 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (the
89 tn The Hebrew term often refers to chariot wheels (Isa 28:28; Ezek 23:24; 26:10).
90 tc The LXX, Syriac, Vulgate, and Targum
91 tn Heb “right side.”
92 tn The name (“El Shaddai”) has often been translated “God Almighty,” primarily because Jerome translated it omnipotens (“all powerful”) in the Latin Vulgate. There has been much debate over the meaning of the name. For discussion see W. F. Albright, “The Names Shaddai and Abram,” JBL 54 (1935): 173-210; R. Gordis, “The Biblical Root sdy-sd,” JTS 41 (1940): 34-43; and especially T. N. D. Mettinger, In Search of God, 69-72.
93 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the
94 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the man dressed in linen) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
95 tn Heb “the wheel.”
96 tn Heb “the cherub.”
97 tn The Hebrew text adds, “from among the cherubim.”
98 tn The Hebrew term is normally used as an architectural term in describing the plan or pattern of the tabernacle or temple or a representation of it (see Exod 25:8; 1 Chr 28:11).
99 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
100 tn The MT repeats this phrase, a clear case of dittography.
101 tn Heb “Tarshish stone.” The meaning is uncertain. The term has also been translated “topaz” (NEB), “beryl” (KJV, NASB, NRSV), and “chrysolite” (RSV, NIV).
102 tn Or “like a wheel at right angles to another wheel.” Some envision concentric wheels here, while others propose “a globe-like structure in which two wheels stand at right angles” (L. C. Allen, Ezekiel [WBC], 1:33-34). See also 1:16.
103 sn That is, the cherubim.
104 tn Many interpreters assume that the human face of each cherub was the one that looked forward.
105 tc The phrase “along with their entire bodies” is absent from the LXX and may be a gloss explaining the following words.
106 tn Or “the whirling wheels.”
107 tn Heb “each one”; the referent (the cherubim) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
108 sn The living creature described here is thus slightly different from the one described in Ezek 1:10, where a bull’s face appeared instead of a cherub’s. Note that some English versions harmonize the two descriptions and read the same here as in 1:10 (cf. NAB, NLT “an ox”; TEV, CEV “a bull”). This may be justified based on v. 22, which states the creatures’ appearance was the same.
109 tn Heb “it was the living creature.”
110 tn Heb “lifted.”
111 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the cherubim) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
112 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the wheels) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
113 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the wheels) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
114 tn Or “wind.”
115 tn Heb “living creature.”
116 tn Heb “them”; the referent (the wheels) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
117 tn Heb “lifted.”
118 tn Or “the ground” (NIV, NCV).
119 tn Heb “That was the living creature.”
120 tn Or “spirit.” See note on “wind” in 2:2.
121 sn The phrase officials of the people occurs in Neh 11:1; 1 Chr 21:2; 2 Chr 24:23.
122 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (the
123 tn The Hebrew verb may mean “think” in this context. This content of what they say (or think) represents their point of view.
124 sn The expression build houses may mean “establish families” (Deut 25:9; Ruth 4:11; Prov 24:27).
125 tn Heb “she” or “it”; the feminine pronoun refers here to Jerusalem.
126 sn Jerusalem is also compared to a pot in Ezek 24:3-8. The siege of the city is pictured as heating up the pot.
127 tn Heb “fell.”
128 tn The Hebrew verb commonly means “to say,” but may also mean “to think” (see also v. 3).
129 tn Heb “I know the steps of your spirits.”
130 tn Heb “placed.”
131 tn Heb “in its midst.”
132 tn Heb “she/it.” See v. 3.
133 tc Many of the versions read “I will bring you out” (active) rather than “he brought out” (the reading of MT).
134 tn Heb “its midst.”
135 tn The Hebrew text does not have the negative particle, but it is implied. The negative particle in the previous line does double duty here.
136 tc The LXX reads this statement as a question. Compare this to the question in 9:8. It is possible that the interrogative particle has been omitted by haplography. However, an exclamatory statement as in the MT also makes sense and the LXX may have simply tried to harmonize this passage with 9:8.
137 tc The MT reads “your brothers, your brothers” either for empahsis (D. I. Block, Ezekiel [NICOT], 1:341, n. 1; 346) or as a result of dittography.
138 tc The MT reads גְאֻלָּתֶךָ (gÿ’ullatekha, “your redemption-men”), referring to the relatives responsible for deliverance in times of hardship (see Lev 25:25-55). The LXX and Syriac read “your fellow exiles,” assuming an underlying Hebrew text of גָלוּתֶךָ (galutekha) or having read the א (aleph) as an internal mater lectionis for holem.
139 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
140 tc The MT has an imperative form (“go far!”), but it may be read with different vowels as a perfect verb (“they have gone far”).
141 tn Or “have been partially a sanctuary”; others take this as temporal (cf. NASB, NIV, NRSV “a little while”).
142 tc The MT reads “you”; many Hebrew
143 tn Heb “their flesh.”
144 tn Heb “heart of flesh.”
145 sn The expression They will be my people, and I will be their God occurs as a promise to Abraham (Gen 17:8), Moses (Exod 6:7), and the nation (Exod 29:45).
146 tn Heb “their way on their head I have placed.”
147 tn Heb “lifted.”
148 tn Heb “stood.”
149 tn Or “spirit.” See note on “wind” in 2:2.
150 tn Heb “to Chaldea.”
151 tn Heb “all the words of.”
152 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).
153 sn This verse is very similar to Isa 6:9-10.
154 tn Heb “see.” This plays on the uses of “see” in v. 2. They will see his actions with their eyes and perhaps they will “see” with their mind, that is, understand or grasp the point.
155 tn Apart from this context the Hebrew term occurs only in Gen 15:17 in reference to the darkness after sunset. It may mean twilight.
156 tn Or “land” (ASV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
157 sn See also Ezek 12:11, 24:24, 27.
158 tn The words “my baggage” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied from the context.
159 tc The nearly incoherent Hebrew reads “The prince is this burden (prophetic oracle?) in Jerusalem.” The Targum, which may only be trying to make sense of a very difficult text, says “Concerning the prince is this oracle,” assuming the addition of a preposition. This would be the only case where Ezekiel uses this term for a prophetic oracle. The LXX reads the word for “burden” as a synonym for leader, as both words are built on the same root (נָשִׂיא, nasi’), but the verse is still incoherent because it is only a phrase with no verb. The current translation assumes that the verb יִשָּׂא (yisa’) from the root נָשִׂיא has dropped out due to homoioteleuton. If indeed the verb has dropped out (the syntax of the verbless clause being the problem), then context clearly suggests that it be a form of נָשִׂיא (see vv. 7 and 12). Placing the verb between the subject and object would result in three consecutive words based on the root נָשִׂיא and an environment conducive to an omission in copying: הַנָּשִׂיא יִשָּׁא הַמַּשָּׂא הַזֶּה (hannasi’ yisha’ hammasa’ hazzeh, “the Prince will raise this burden”).
160 tc The MT reads “within them.” Possibly a scribe copied this form from the following verse “among them,” but only “within it” makes sense in this context.
161 sn The prince is a reference to Zedekiah.
162 tn The words “his belongings” are not in the Hebrew text but are implied.
163 tc The MT reads “they”; the LXX and Syriac read “he.”
164 tn Or “Babylonians” (NCV, NLT).
165 sn He will not see it. This prediction was fulfilled in 2 Kgs 25:7 and Jer 52:11, which recount how Zedekiah was blinded before being deported to Babylon.
166 sn There he will die. This was fulfilled when King Zedekiah died in exile (Jer 52:11).
167 tn The Hebrew term normally refers to an earthquake (see 1 Kgs 19:11; Amos 1:1).
168 tn Heb “the days draw near and the word of every vision (draws near).”
169 tn Apparently the pronoun refers to “his servants” (i.e., the Israelites, see v. 25).
170 tn Heb “he sent darkness and made it dark.”
171 tn Heb “they did not rebel against his words.” Apparently this refers to Moses and Aaron, who obediently carried out God’s orders.
172 tn Heb “he spoke and flies came.”
173 tn Heb “he gave their rains hail.”
174 tn Heb “fire of flames [was] in their land.”
175 tn Heb “he spoke and locusts came.”
176 tn Heb “the fruit of their ground.”
177 tn Heb “the beginning of all their strength,” that is, reproductive power (see Ps 78:51).