48:4 I did this 1 because I know how stubborn you are.
Your neck muscles are like iron
and your forehead like bronze. 2
5:3 Lord, I know you look for faithfulness. 3
But even when you punish these people, they feel no remorse. 4
Even when you nearly destroy them, they refuse to be corrected.
They have become as hardheaded as a rock. 5
They refuse to change their ways. 6
1 tn The words “I did this” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text v. 4 is subordinated to v. 3.
2 sn The image is that of a person who has tensed the muscles of the face and neck as a sign of resolute refusal.
3 tn Heb “O
4 tn Commentaries and lexicons debate the meaning of the verb here. The MT is pointed as though from a verb meaning “to writhe in anguish or contrition” (חוּל [khul]; see, e.g., BDB 297 s.v. חוּל 2.c), but some commentaries and lexicons repoint the text as though from a verb meaning “to be sick,” thus “to feel pain” (חָלָה [khalah]; see, e.g., HALOT 304 s.v. חָלָה 3). The former appears more appropriate to the context.
5 tn Heb “They made their faces as hard as a rock.”
6 tn Or “to repent”; Heb “to turn back.”
7 tn The Hebrew term שָׁמִיר (shamir) means literally “hardness” and since it is said in Ezek 3:9 to be harder than flint, many scholars suggest that it refers to diamond. It is unlikely that diamond was known to ancient Israel, however, so probably a hard stone like emery or corundum is in view. The translation nevertheless uses “diamond” because in modern times it has become proverbial for its hardness. A number of English versions use “flint” here (e.g., NASB, NIV).