Discovery BoxEzekiel 20:1--48:35
Context20:1 In the seventh year, in the fifth month, on the tenth of the month, 1 some of the elders 2 of Israel came to seek 3 the Lord, and they sat down in front of me. 20:2 The word of the Lord came to me: 20:3 “Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel, and tell them: ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Are you coming to seek me? As surely as I live, I will not allow you to seek me, 4 declares the sovereign Lord.’ 20:4 “Are you willing to pronounce judgment? 5 Are you willing to pronounce judgment, son of man? Then confront them with the abominable practices of their fathers, 20:5 and say to them:
“‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: On the day I chose Israel I swore 6 to the descendants 7 of the house of Jacob and made myself known to them in the land of Egypt. I swore 8 to them, “I am the Lord your God.” 20:6 On that day I swore 9 to bring them out of the land of Egypt to a land which I had picked out 10 for them, a land flowing with milk and honey, 11 the most beautiful of all lands. 20:7 I said to them, “Each of you must get rid of the detestable idols you keep before you, 12 and do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt; I am the Lord your God.” 20:8 But they rebelled against me, and refused to listen to me; no one got rid of their detestable idols, 13 nor did they abandon the idols of Egypt. Then I decided to pour out 14 my rage on them and fully vent my anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt. 20:9 I acted for the sake of my reputation, 15 so that I would not be profaned before the nations among whom they lived, 16 before whom I revealed myself by bringing them out of the land of Egypt. 17
20:10 “‘So I brought them out of the land of Egypt and led them to the wilderness. 20:11 I gave them my statutes 18 and revealed my regulations to them. The one 19 who carries 20 them out will live by them! 21 20:12 I also gave them my Sabbaths 22 as a reminder of our relationship, 23 so that they would know that I, the Lord, sanctify them. 24 20:13 But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness; they did not follow my statutes and they rejected my regulations (the one who obeys them will live by them), and they utterly desecrated my Sabbaths. So I decided to pour out 25 my rage on them in the wilderness and destroy them. 26 20:14 I acted for the sake of my reputation, so that I would not be profaned before the nations in whose sight I had brought them out. 20:15 I also swore 27 to them in the wilderness that I would not bring them to the land I had given them – a land flowing with milk and honey, the most beautiful of all lands. 20:16 I did this 28 because they rejected my regulations, did not follow my statutes, and desecrated my Sabbaths; for their hearts followed their idols. 29 20:17 Yet I had pity on 30 them and did not destroy them, so I did not make an end of them in the wilderness.
20:18 “‘But I said to their children 31 in the wilderness, “Do not follow the practices of your fathers; do not observe their regulations, 32 nor defile yourselves with their idols. 20:19 I am the Lord your God; follow my statutes, observe my regulations, and carry them out. 20:20 Treat my Sabbaths as holy 33 and they will be a reminder of our relationship, 34 and then you will know that I am the Lord your God.” 20:21 “‘But the children 35 rebelled against me, did not follow my statutes, did not observe my regulations by carrying them out (the one who obeys 36 them will live by them), and desecrated my Sabbaths. I decided to pour out 37 my rage on them and fully vent my anger against them in the wilderness. 20:22 But I refrained from doing so, 38 and acted instead for the sake of my reputation, so that I would not be profaned before the nations in whose sight I had brought them out. 20:23 I also swore 39 to them in the wilderness that I would scatter them among the nations and disperse them throughout the lands. 40 20:24 I did this 41 because they did not observe my regulations, they rejected my statutes, they desecrated my Sabbaths, and their eyes were fixed on 42 their fathers’ idols. 20:25 I also gave 43 them decrees 44 which were not good and regulations by which they could not live. 20:26 I declared them to be defiled because of their sacrifices 45 – they caused all their first born to pass through the fire 46 – so that I would devastate them, so that they will know that I am the Lord.’ 47
20:27 “Therefore, speak to the house of Israel, son of man, and tell them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: In this way too your fathers blasphemed me when they were unfaithful to me. 20:28 I brought them to the land which I swore 48 to give them, but whenever they saw any high hill or leafy tree, they offered their sacrifices there and presented the offerings that provoke me to anger. They offered their soothing aroma there and poured out their drink offerings. 20:29 So I said to them, What is this high place you go to?’” (So it is called “High Place” 49 to this day.)
20:30 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Will you defile yourselves like your fathers 50 and engage in prostitution with detestable idols? 20:31 When you present your sacrifices 51 – when you make your sons pass through the fire – you defile yourselves with all your idols to this very day. Will I allow you to seek me, 52 O house of Israel? As surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, I will not allow you to seek me! 53
20:32 “‘What you plan 54 will never happen. You say, “We will be 55 like the nations, like the clans of the lands, who serve gods of wood and stone.” 56 20:33 As surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, with a powerful hand and an outstretched arm, 57 and with an outpouring of rage, I will be king over you. 20:34 I will bring you out from the nations, and will gather you from the lands where you are scattered, with a powerful hand and an outstretched arm and with an outpouring of rage! 20:35 I will bring you into the wilderness of the nations, and there I will enter into judgment with you face to face. 20:36 Just as I entered into judgment with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will enter into judgment with you, declares the sovereign Lord. 20:37 I will make you pass under 58 the shepherd’s staff, 59 and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant. 20:38 I will eliminate from among you the rebels and those who revolt 60 against me. I will bring them out from the land where they have been residing, but they will not come to the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord.
20:39 “‘As for you, O house of Israel, this is what the sovereign Lord says: Each of you go and serve your idols, 61 if you will not listen to me. 62 But my holy name will not be profaned 63 again by your sacrifices 64 and your idols. 20:40 For there on my holy mountain, the high mountain of Israel, declares the sovereign Lord, all the house of Israel will serve me, all of them 65 in the land. I will accept them there, and there I will seek your contributions and your choice gifts, with all your holy things. 20:41 When I bring you out from the nations and gather you from the lands where you are scattered, I will accept you along with your soothing aroma. I will display my holiness among you in the sight of the nations. 20:42 Then you will know that I am the Lord when I bring you to the land of Israel, to the land I swore 66 to give to your fathers. 20:43 And there you will remember your conduct 67 and all your deeds by which you defiled yourselves. You will despise yourselves 68 because of all the evil deeds you have done. 20:44 Then you will know that I am the Lord, when I deal with you for the sake of my reputation and not according to your wicked conduct and corrupt deeds, O house of Israel, declares the sovereign Lord.’”
20:45 (21:1) 69 The word of the Lord came to me: 20:46 “Son of man, turn toward 70 the south, 71 and speak out against the south. 72 Prophesy against the open scrub 73 land of the Negev, 20:47 and say to the scrub land of the Negev, ‘Hear the word of the Lord: This is what the sovereign Lord says: Look here, 74 I am about to start a fire in you, 75 and it will devour every green tree and every dry tree in you. The flaming fire will not be extinguished, and the whole surface of the ground from the Negev to the north will be scorched by it. 20:48 And everyone 76 will see that I, the Lord, have burned it; it will not be extinguished.’”
20:49 Then I said, “O sovereign Lord! They are saying of me, ‘Does he not simply speak in eloquent figures of speech?’”
21:1 (21:6) 77 The word of the Lord came to me: 21:2 “Son of man, turn toward 78 Jerusalem 79 and speak out against the sanctuaries. Prophesy against the land of Israel 21:3 and say to them, 80 ‘This is what the Lord says: Look, 81 I am against you. 82 I will draw my sword 83 from its sheath and cut off from you both the righteous and the wicked. 84 21:4 Because I will cut off from you both the righteous and the wicked, my sword will go out from its sheath against everyone 85 from the south 86 to the north. 21:5 Then everyone will know that I am the Lord, who drew my sword from its sheath – it will not be sheathed again!’
21:6 “And you, son of man, groan with an aching heart 87 and bitterness; groan before their eyes. 21:7 When they ask you, ‘Why are you groaning?’ you will reply, ‘Because of the report that has come. Every heart will melt with fear and every hand will be limp; everyone 88 will faint and every knee will be wet with urine.’ 89 Pay attention – it is coming and it will happen, declares the sovereign Lord.”
21:8 The word of the Lord came to me: 21:9 “Son of man, prophesy and say: ‘This is what the Lord says:
“‘A sword, a sword is sharpened,
and also polished.
21:10 It is sharpened for slaughter,
it is polished to flash like lightning!
“‘Should we rejoice in the scepter of my son? No! The sword despises every tree! 90
21:11 “‘He gave it to be polished,
to be grasped in the hand –
the sword is sharpened, it is polished –
giving it into the hand of the executioner.
21:12 Cry out and moan, son of man,
for it is wielded against my people;
against all the princes of Israel.
They are delivered up to the sword, along with my people.
Therefore, strike your thigh. 91
21:13 “‘For testing will come, and what will happen when the scepter, which the sword despises, is no more? 92 declares the sovereign Lord.’
21:14 “And you, son of man, prophesy,
and clap your hands together.
Let the sword strike twice, even three times!
It is a sword for slaughter,
a sword for the great slaughter surrounding them.
21:15 So hearts melt with fear and many stumble.
At all their gates I have stationed the sword for slaughter.
Ah! It is made to flash, it is drawn for slaughter!
21:16 Cut sharply on the right!
Swing to 93 the left,
wherever your edge 94 is appointed to strike.
21:17 I too will clap my hands together,
I will exhaust my rage;
I the Lord have spoken.”
21:18 The word of the Lord came to me: 21:19 “You, son of man, mark out two routes for the king of Babylon’s sword to take; both of them will originate in a single land. Make a signpost and put it at the beginning of the road leading to the city. 21:20 Mark out the routes for the sword to take: “Rabbah of the Ammonites” and “Judah with Jerusalem in it.” 95 21:21 For the king of Babylon stands at the fork 96 in the road at the head of the two routes. He looks for omens: 97 He shakes arrows, he consults idols, 98 he examines 99 animal livers. 100 21:22 Into his right hand 101 comes the portent for Jerusalem – to set up battering rams, to give the signal 102 for slaughter, to shout out the battle cry, 103 to set up battering rams against the gates, to erect a siege ramp, to build a siege wall. 21:23 But those in Jerusalem 104 will view it as a false omen. They have sworn solemn oaths, 105 but the king of Babylon 106 will accuse them of violations 107 in order to seize them. 108
21:24 “Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: ‘Because you have brought up 109 your own guilt by uncovering your transgressions and revealing your sins through all your actions, for this reason you will be taken by force. 110
21:25 “‘As for you, profane and wicked prince of Israel, 111
whose day has come, the time of final punishment,
21:26 this is what the sovereign Lord says:
Tear off the turban, 112
take off the crown!
Things must change! 113
Exalt the lowly,
bring down the proud! 114
21:27 A total ruin I will make it! 115
It will come to an end
when the one arrives to whom I have assigned judgment.’ 116
21:28 “As for you, son of man, prophesy and say, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says concerning the Ammonites and their coming humiliation; 117 say:
“‘A sword, a sword drawn for slaughter,
polished to consume, 118 to flash like lightning –
21:29 while seeing false visions for you
and reading lying omens for you 119 –
to place that sword 120 on the necks of the profane wicked, 121
whose day has come,
the time of final punishment.
21:30 Return it to its sheath! 122
In the place where you were created, 123
in your native land, I will judge you.
21:31 I will pour out my anger on you;
the fire of my fury I will blow on you.
I will hand you over to brutal men,
who are skilled in destruction.
21:32 You will become fuel for the fire –
your blood will stain the middle of the land; 124
you will no longer be remembered,
for I, the Lord, have spoken.’”
22:1 The word of the Lord came to me: 22:2 “As for you, son of man, are you willing to pronounce judgment, 125 are you willing to pronounce judgment on the bloody city? 126 Then confront her with all her abominable deeds! 22:3 Then say, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: O city, who spills blood within herself (which brings on her doom), 127 and who makes herself idols (which results in impurity), 22:4 you are guilty because of the blood you shed and defiled by the idols you made. You have hastened the day of your doom; 128 the end of your years has come. 129 Therefore I will make 130 you an object of scorn to the nations, an object to be mocked by all lands. 22:5 Those both near and far from you will mock you, you with your bad reputation, 131 full of turmoil.
22:6 “‘See how each of the princes of Israel living within you has used his authority to shed blood. 132 22:7 They have treated father and mother with contempt 133 within you; they have oppressed the foreigner among you; they have wronged the orphan and the widow 134 within you. 22:8 You have despised my holy things and desecrated my Sabbaths! 22:9 Slanderous men shed blood within you. 135 Those who live within you eat pagan sacrifices on the mountains; 136 they commit obscene acts among you. 137 22:10 They have sex with their father’s wife within you; 138 they violate women during their menstrual period within you. 139 22:11 One 140 commits an abominable act with his neighbor’s wife; another obscenely defiles his daughter-in-law; another violates 141 his sister – his father’s daughter 142 – within you. 22:12 They take bribes within you to shed blood. You engage in usury and charge interest; 143 you extort money from your neighbors. You have forgotten me, 144 declares the sovereign Lord. 145
22:13 “‘See, I strike my hands together 146 at the dishonest profit you have made, and at the bloodshed 147 they have done among you. 22:14 Can your heart endure, 148 or can your hands be strong when I deal with you? 149 I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will do it! 22:15 I will scatter you among the nations and disperse you among various countries; I will remove your impurity from you. 150 22:16 You will be profaned within yourself 151 in the sight of the nations; then you will know that I am the Lord.’”
22:17 The word of the Lord came to me: 22:18 “Son of man, the house of Israel has become slag to me. All of them are like bronze, tin, iron, and lead in the furnace; 152 they are the worthless slag of silver. 22:19 Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: ‘Because all of you 153 have become slag, look out! – I am about to gather you in the middle of Jerusalem. 154 22:20 As silver, bronze, iron, lead, and tin are gathered in a furnace so that the fire can melt them, so I will gather you in my anger and in my rage. I will deposit you there 155 and melt you. 22:21 I will gather you and blow on you with the fire of my fury, and you will be melted in it. 22:22 As silver is melted in a furnace, so you will be melted in it, and you will know that I, the Lord, have poured out my anger on you.’”
22:23 The word of the Lord came to me: 22:24 “Son of man, say to her: ‘You are a land that receives no rain 156 or showers in the day of my anger.’ 157 22:25 Her princes 158 within her are like a roaring lion tearing its prey; they have devoured lives. They take away riches and valuable things; they have made many women widows 159 within it. 22:26 Her priests abuse my law and have desecrated my holy things. They do not distinguish between the holy and the profane, 160 or recognize any distinction between the unclean and the clean. They ignore 161 my Sabbaths and I am profaned in their midst. 22:27 Her officials are like wolves in her midst rending their prey – shedding blood and destroying lives – so they can get dishonest profit. 22:28 Her prophets coat their messages with whitewash. 162 They see false visions and announce lying omens for them, saying, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says,’ when the Lord has not spoken. 22:29 The people of the land have practiced extortion and committed robbery. They have wronged the poor and needy; they have oppressed the foreigner who lives among them and denied them justice. 163
22:30 “I looked for a man from among them who would repair the wall and stand in the gap before me on behalf of the land, so that I would not destroy it, but I found no one. 164 22:31 So I have poured my anger on them, and destroyed them with the fire of my fury. I hereby repay them for what they have done, 165 declares the sovereign Lord.”
23:1 The word of the Lord came to me: 23:2 “Son of man, there were two women who were daughters of the same mother. 23:3 They engaged in prostitution in Egypt; in their youth they engaged in prostitution. Their breasts were squeezed there; lovers 166 fondled their virgin nipples there. 23:4 Oholah was the name of the older and Oholibah 167 the name of her younger sister. They became mine, and gave birth to sons and daughters. 168 Oholah is Samaria and Oholibah is Jerusalem.
23:5 “Oholah engaged in prostitution while she was mine. 169 She lusted after her lovers, the Assyrians 170 – warriors 171 23:6 clothed in blue, governors and officials, all of them desirable young men, horsemen riding on horses. 23:7 She bestowed her sexual favors on them; all of them were the choicest young men of Assyria. She defiled herself with all whom she desired 172 – with all their idols. 23:8 She did not abandon the prostitution she had practiced in Egypt; for in her youth men had sex with her, fondled her virgin breasts, and ravished her. 173 23:9 Therefore I handed her over to her lovers, the Assyrians 174 for whom she lusted. 23:10 They exposed her nakedness, seized her sons and daughters, and killed her with the sword. She became notorious 175 among women, and they executed judgments against her.
23:11 “Her sister Oholibah watched this, 176 but she became more corrupt in her lust than her sister had been, and her acts of prostitution were more numerous than those of her sister. 23:12 She lusted after the Assyrians – governors and officials, warriors in full armor, horsemen riding on horses, all of them desirable young men. 23:13 I saw that she was defiled; both of them followed the same path. 23:14 But she increased her prostitution. She saw men carved on the wall, images of the Chaldeans carved in bright red, 177 23:15 wearing belts on their waists and flowing turbans on their heads, all of them looking like officers, the image of Babylonians 178 whose native land is Chaldea. 23:16 When she saw them, 179 she lusted after them and sent messengers to them in Chaldea. 180 23:17 The Babylonians crawled into bed with her. 181 They defiled her with their lust; after she was defiled by them, she 182 became disgusted with them. 23:18 When she lustfully exposed her nakedness, 183 I 184 was disgusted with her, just as I 185 had been disgusted with her sister. 23:19 Yet she increased her prostitution, remembering the days of her youth when she engaged in prostitution in the land of Egypt. 23:20 She lusted after their genitals – as large as those of donkeys, 186 and their seminal emission was as strong as that of stallions. 23:21 This is how you assessed 187 the obscene conduct of your youth, when the Egyptians fondled 188 your nipples and squeezed 189 your young breasts.
23:22 “Therefore, Oholibah, this is what the sovereign Lord says: Look here, 190 I am about to stir up against you the lovers with whom you were disgusted; I will bring them against you from every side: 23:23 the Babylonians and all the Chaldeans, Pekod, 191 Shoa, 192 and Koa, 193 and all the Assyrians with them, desirable young men, all of them governors and officials, officers and nobles, all of them riding on horses. 23:24 They will attack 194 you with weapons, 195 chariots, wagons, and with a huge army; 196 they will array themselves against you on every side with large shields, small shields, and helmets. I will assign them the task of judgment; 197 they will punish you according to their laws. 23:25 I will direct 198 my jealous anger against you, and they will deal with you in rage. They will cut off your nose and your ears, 199 and your survivors will die 200 by the sword. They will seize your sons and daughters, and your survivors will be consumed by fire. 23:26 They will strip your clothes off you and take away your beautiful jewelry. 23:27 So I will put an end to your obscene conduct and your prostitution which you have practiced in the land of Egypt. 201 You will not seek their help 202 or remember Egypt anymore.
23:28 “For this is what the sovereign Lord says: Look here, 203 I am about to deliver you over to 204 those whom you hate, to those with whom you were disgusted. 23:29 They will treat you with hatred, take away all you have labored for, 205 and leave you naked and bare. Your nakedness will be exposed, just as when you engaged in prostitution and obscene conduct. 206 23:30 I will do these things to you 207 because you engaged in prostitution with the nations, polluting yourself with their idols. 23:31 You have followed the ways of your sister, so I will place her cup of judgment 208 in your hand. 23:32 “This is what the sovereign Lord says: “You will drink your sister’s deep and wide cup; 209 you will be scorned and derided, for it holds a great deal. 23:33 You will be overcome by 210 drunkenness and sorrow. The cup of your sister Samaria is a cup of horror and desolation. 23:34 You will drain it dry, 211 gnaw its pieces, 212 and tear out your breasts, 213 for I have spoken, declares the sovereign Lord.
23:35 “Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: Because you have forgotten me and completely disregarded me, 214 you must bear now the punishment 215 for your obscene conduct and prostitution.”
23:36 The Lord said to me: “Son of man, are you willing to pronounce judgment 216 on Oholah and Oholibah? Then declare to them their abominable deeds! 23:37 For they have committed adultery and blood is on their hands. They have committed adultery with their idols, and their sons, whom they bore to me, 217 they have passed through the fire as food to their idols. 218 23:38 Moreover, they have done this to me: In the very same day 219 they desecrated my sanctuary and profaned my Sabbaths. 23:39 On the same day they slaughtered their sons for their idols, they came to my sanctuary to desecrate it. This is what they have done in the middle of my house.
23:40 “They even sent for men from far away; when the messenger arrived, those men set out. 220 For them you bathed, 221 painted your eyes, and decorated yourself with jewelry. 23:41 You sat on a magnificent couch, with a table arranged in front of it where you placed my incense and my olive oil. 23:42 The sound of a carefree crowd accompanied her, 222 including all kinds of men; 223 even Sabeans 224 were brought from the desert. The sisters 225 put bracelets on their wrists and beautiful crowns on their heads. 23:43 Then I said about the one worn out by adultery, ‘Now they will commit immoral acts with her.’ 23:44 They had sex with her 226 as one does with a prostitute. In this way they had sex with Oholah and Oholibah, promiscuous women. 23:45 But upright men will punish them appropriately for their adultery and bloodshed, 227 because they are adulteresses and blood is on their hands.
23:46 “For this is what the sovereign Lord says: Bring up an army 228 against them and subject them 229 to terror and plunder. 23:47 That army will pelt them with stones and slash them with their swords; they will kill their sons and daughters and burn their houses. 230 23:48 I will put an end to the obscene conduct in the land; all the women will learn a lesson from this and not engage in obscene conduct. 23:49 They will repay you for your obscene conduct, and you will be punished for idol worship. 231 Then you will know that I am the sovereign Lord.”
24:1 The word of the Lord came to me in the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month 232 : 24:2 “Son of man, write down the name of this day, this very day. The king of Babylon has laid siege 233 to Jerusalem 234 this very day. 24:3 Recite a proverb to this rebellious house 235 and say to them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says:
“‘Set on the pot, 236 set it on,
pour water in it too;
24:4 add the pieces of meat to it,
every good piece,
the thigh and the shoulder;
fill it with choice bones.
24:5 Take the choice bone of the flock,
heap up bones under it;
boil rapidly,
and boil its bones in it.
24:6 “‘Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says:
Woe to the city of bloodshed,
the pot whose rot 237 is in it,
whose rot has not been removed 238 from it!
Empty it piece by piece.
No lot has fallen on it. 239
24:7 For her blood was in it;
she poured it on an exposed rock;
she did not pour it on the ground to cover it up with dust.
24:8 To arouse anger, to take vengeance,
I have placed her blood on an exposed rock so that it cannot be covered up.
24:9 “‘Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says:
Woe to the city of bloodshed!
I will also make the pile high.
24:10 Pile up the bones, kindle the fire;
cook the meat well, mix in the spices,
let the bones be charred.
24:11 Set the empty pot on the coals, 240
until it becomes hot and its copper glows,
until its uncleanness melts within it and its rot 241 is consumed.
24:12 It has tried my patience; 242
yet its thick rot is not removed 243 from it.
Subject its rot to the fire! 244
24:13 You mix uncleanness with obscene conduct. 245
I tried to cleanse you, 246 but you are not clean.
You will not be cleansed from your uncleanness 247
until I have exhausted my anger on you.
24:14 “‘I the Lord have spoken; judgment 248 is coming and I will act! I will not relent, or show pity, or be sorry! 249 I will judge you 250 according to your conduct 251 and your deeds, declares the sovereign Lord.’”
24:15 The word of Lord came to me: 24:16 “Son of man, realize that I am about to take the delight of your eyes away from you with a jolt, 252 but you must not mourn or weep or shed tears. 24:17 Groan in silence for the dead, 253 but do not perform mourning rites. 254 Bind on your turban 255 and put your sandals on your feet. Do not cover your lip 256 and do not eat food brought by others.” 257
24:18 So I spoke to the people in the morning, and my wife died in the evening. In the morning 258 I acted just as I was commanded. 24:19 Then the people said to me, “Will you not tell us what these things you are doing mean for us?”
24:20 So I said to them: “The word of the Lord came to me: 24:21 Say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Realize I am about to desecrate my sanctuary – the source of your confident pride, 259 the object in which your eyes delight, 260 and your life’s passion. 261 Your very own sons and daughters whom you have left behind will die 262 by the sword. 24:22 Then you will do as I have done: You will not cover your lip or eat food brought by others. 263 24:23 Your turbans will be on your heads and your sandals on your feet; you will not mourn or weep, but you will rot 264 for your iniquities 265 and groan among yourselves. 24:24 Ezekiel will be an object lesson for you; you will do all that he has done. When it happens, then you will know that I am the sovereign Lord.’
24:25 “And you, son of man, this is what will happen on the day I take 266 from them their stronghold – their beautiful source of joy, the object in which their eyes delight, and the main concern of their lives, 267 as well as their sons and daughters: 268 24:26 On that day a fugitive will come to you to report the news. 269 24:27 On that day you will be able to speak again; 270 you will talk with the fugitive and be silent no longer. You will be an object lesson for them, and they will know that I am the Lord.”
25:1 The word of the Lord came to me: 25:2 “Son of man, turn toward 271 the Ammonites 272 and prophesy against them. 25:3 Say to the Ammonites, ‘Hear the word of the sovereign Lord: This is what the sovereign Lord says: You said “Aha!” about my sanctuary when it was desecrated, about the land of Israel when it was made desolate, and about the house of Judah when they went into exile. 25:4 So take note, 273 I am about to make you slaves of 274 the tribes 275 of the east. They will make camps among you and pitch their tents among you. They will eat your fruit and drink your milk. 25:5 I will make Rabbah a pasture for camels and Ammon 276 a resting place for sheep. Then you will know that I am the Lord. 25:6 For this is what the sovereign Lord says: Because you clapped your hands, stamped your feet, and rejoiced with intense scorn 277 over the land of Israel, 25:7 take note, I have stretched out my hand against you, and I will hand you over as plunder 278 to the nations. I will cut you off from the peoples and make you perish from the lands. I will destroy you; then you will know that I am the Lord.’”
25:8 “This is what the sovereign Lord says: ‘Moab 279 and Seir say, “Look, the house of Judah is like all the other nations.” 25:9 So look, I am about to open up Moab’s flank, 280 eliminating the cities, 281 including its frontier cities, 282 the beauty of the land – Beth Jeshimoth, Baal Meon, and Kiriathaim. 25:10 I will hand it over, 283 along with the Ammonites, 284 to the tribes 285 of the east, so that the Ammonites will no longer be remembered among the nations. 25:11 I will execute judgments against Moab. Then they will know that I am the Lord.’”
25:12 “This is what the sovereign Lord says: ‘Edom 286 has taken vengeance against the house of Judah; they have made themselves fully culpable 287 by taking vengeance 288 on them. 289 25:13 So this is what the sovereign Lord says: I will stretch out my hand against Edom, and I will kill the people and animals within her, 290 and I will make her desolate; from Teman to Dedan they will die 291 by the sword. 25:14 I will exact my vengeance upon Edom by the hand of my people Israel. They will carry out in Edom my anger and rage; they will experience 292 my vengeance, declares the sovereign Lord.’”
25:15 “This is what the sovereign Lord says: ‘The Philistines 293 have exacted merciless revenge, 294 showing intense scorn 295 in their effort to destroy Judah 296 with unrelenting hostility. 297 25:16 So this is what the sovereign Lord says: Take note, I am about to stretch out my hand against the Philistines. I will kill 298 the Cherethites 299 and destroy those who remain on the seacoast. 25:17 I will exact great vengeance upon them with angry rebukes. 300 Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I exact my vengeance upon them.’”
26:1 In the eleventh year, on the first day of the month, 301 the word of the Lord came to me: 26:2 “Son of man, because Tyre 302 has said about Jerusalem, 303 ‘Aha, the gateway of the peoples is broken; it has swung open to me. I will become rich, 304 now that she 305 has been destroyed,’ 26:3 therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, 306 I am against you, 307 O Tyre! I will bring up many nations against you, as the sea brings up its waves. 26:4 They will destroy the walls of Tyre and break down her towers. I will scrape her soil 308 from her and make her a bare rock. 26:5 She will be a place where fishing nets are spread, surrounded by the sea. For I have spoken, declares the sovereign Lord. She will become plunder for the nations, 26:6 and her daughters 309 who are in the field will be slaughtered by the sword. Then they will know that I am the Lord.
26:7 “For this is what the sovereign Lord says: Take note that 310 I am about to bring King Nebuchadrezzar 311 of Babylon, king of kings, against Tyre from the north, with horses, chariots, and horsemen, an army and hordes of people. 26:8 He will kill your daughters in the field with the sword. He will build a siege wall against you, erect a siege ramp against you, and raise a great shield against you. 26:9 He will direct the blows of his battering rams against your walls and tear down your towers with his weapons. 312 26:10 He will cover you with the dust kicked up by his many horses. 313 Your walls will shake from the noise of the horsemen, wheels, and chariots when he enters your gates like those who invade through a city’s broken walls. 314 26:11 With his horses’ hoofs he will trample all your streets. He will kill your people with the sword, and your strong pillars will tumble down to the ground. 26:12 They will steal your wealth and loot your merchandise. They will tear down your walls and destroy your luxurious 315 homes. Your stones, your trees, and your soil he will throw 316 into the water. 317 26:13 I will silence 318 the noise of your songs; the sound of your harps will be heard no more. 26:14 I will make you a bare rock; you will be a place where fishing nets are spread. You will never be built again, 319 for I, the Lord, have spoken, declares the sovereign Lord.
26:15 “This is what the sovereign Lord says to Tyre: Oh, how the coastlands will shake at the sound of your fall, when the wounded groan, at the massive slaughter in your midst! 26:16 All the princes of the sea will vacate 320 their thrones. They will remove their robes and strip off their embroidered clothes; they will clothe themselves with trembling. They will sit on the ground; they will tremble continually and be shocked at what has happened to you. 321 26:17 They will sing this lament over you: 322
“‘How you have perished – you have vanished 323 from the seas,
O renowned city, once mighty in the sea,
she and her inhabitants, who spread their terror! 324
26:18 Now the coastlands will tremble on the day of your fall;
the coastlands by the sea will be terrified by your passing.’ 325
26:19 “For this is what the sovereign Lord says: When I make you desolate like the uninhabited cities, when I bring up the deep over you and the surging 326 waters overwhelm you, 26:20 then I will bring you down to bygone people, 327 to be with those who descend to the pit. I will make you live in the lower parts of the earth, among 328 the primeval ruins, with those who descend to the pit, so that you will not be inhabited or stand 329 in the land of the living. 26:21 I will bring terrors on you, and you will be no more! Though you are sought after, you will never be found again, declares the sovereign Lord.”
27:1 The word of the Lord came to me: 27:2 “You, son of man, sing a lament for Tyre. 330 27:3 Say to Tyre, who sits at the entrance 331 of the sea, 332 merchant to the peoples on many coasts, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says:
“‘O Tyre, you have said, “I am perfectly beautiful.”
27:4 333 Your borders are in the heart of the seas;
your builders have perfected your beauty.
27:5 They crafted 334 all your planks out of fir trees from Senir; 335
they took a cedar from Lebanon to make your mast.
27:6 They made your oars from oaks of Bashan;
they made your deck 336 with cypresses 337 from the Kittean isles. 338
27:7 Fine linen from Egypt, woven with patterns, was used for your sail
to serve as your banner;
blue and purple from the coastlands of Elishah 339 was used for your deck’s awning.
27:8 The leaders 340 of Sidon 341 and Arvad 342 were your rowers;
your skilled 343 men, O Tyre, were your captains.
27:9 The elders of Gebal 344 and her skilled men were within you, mending cracks; 345
all the ships of the sea and their mariners were within you to trade for your merchandise. 346
27:10 Men of Persia, Lud, 347 and Put were in your army, men of war.
They hung shield and helmet on you; they gave you your splendor.
27:11 The Arvadites 348 joined your army on your walls all around,
and the Gammadites 349 were in your towers.
They hung their quivers 350 on your walls all around;
they perfected your beauty.
27:12 “‘Tarshish 351 was your trade partner because of your abundant wealth; they exchanged silver, iron, tin, and lead for your products. 27:13 Javan, Tubal, and Meshech were your clients; they exchanged slaves and bronze items for your merchandise. 27:14 Beth Togarmah exchanged horses, chargers, 352 and mules for your products. 27:15 The Dedanites 353 were your clients. Many coastlands were your customers; they paid 354 you with ivory tusks and ebony. 27:16 Edom 355 was your trade partner because of the abundance of your goods; they exchanged turquoise, purple, embroidered work, fine linen, coral, and rubies for your products. 27:17 Judah and the land of Israel were your clients; they traded wheat from Minnith, 356 millet, honey, olive oil, and balm for your merchandise. 27:18 Damascus was your trade partner because of the abundance of your goods and of all your wealth: wine from Helbon, white wool from Zahar, 27:19 and casks of wine 357 from Izal 358 they exchanged for your products. Wrought iron, cassia, and sweet cane were among your merchandise. 27:20 Dedan was your client in saddlecloths for riding. 27:21 Arabia and all the princes of Kedar were your trade partners; for lambs, rams, and goats they traded with you. 27:22 The merchants of Sheba and Raamah engaged in trade with you; they traded the best kinds of spices along with precious stones and gold for your products. 27:23 Haran, Kanneh, Eden, merchants from Sheba, Asshur, and Kilmad were your clients. 27:24 They traded with you choice garments, purple clothes and embroidered work, and multicolored carpets, bound and reinforced with cords; these were among your merchandise. 27:25 The ships of Tarshish 359 were the transports for your merchandise.
“‘So you were filled and weighed down in the heart of the seas.
27:26 Your rowers have brought you into surging waters.
The east wind has wrecked you in the heart of the seas.
27:27 Your wealth, products, and merchandise, your sailors and captains,
your ship’s carpenters, 360 your merchants,
and all your fighting men within you,
along with all your crew who are in you,
will fall into the heart of the seas on the day of your downfall.
27:28 At the sound of your captains’ cry the waves will surge; 361
27:29 They will descend from their ships – all who handle the oar,
the sailors and all the sea captains – they will stand on the land.
27:30 They will lament loudly 362 over you and cry bitterly.
They will throw dust on their heads and roll in the ashes; 363
27:31 they will tear out their hair because of you and put on sackcloth,
and they will weep bitterly over you with intense mourning. 364
27:32 As they wail they will lament over you, chanting:
“Who was like Tyre, like a tower 365 in the midst of the sea?”
27:33 When your products went out from the seas,
you satisfied many peoples;
with the abundance of your wealth and merchandise
you enriched the kings of the earth.
27:34 Now you are wrecked by the seas, in the depths of the waters;
your merchandise and all your company have sunk 366 along with you. 367
27:35 All the inhabitants of the coastlands are shocked at you,
and their kings are horribly afraid – their faces are troubled.
27:36 The traders among the peoples hiss at you;
you have become a horror, and will be no more.’”
28:1 The word of the Lord came to me: 28:2 “Son of man, say to the prince 368 of Tyre, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says:
“‘Your heart is proud 369 and you said, “I am a god; 370
I sit in the seat of gods, in the heart of the seas” –
yet you are a man and not a god,
though you think you are godlike. 371
28:3 Look, you are wiser than Daniel; 372
no secret is hidden from you. 373
28:4 By your wisdom and understanding you have gained wealth for yourself;
you have amassed gold and silver in your treasuries.
28:5 By your great skill 374 in trade you have increased your wealth,
and your heart is proud because of your wealth.
28:6 “‘Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says:
Because you think you are godlike, 375
28:7 I am about to bring foreigners 376 against you, the most terrifying of nations.
They will draw their swords against the grandeur made by your wisdom, 377
and they will defile your splendor.
28:8 They will bring you down to the pit, and you will die violently 378 in the heart of the seas.
28:9 Will you still say, “I am a god,” before the one who kills you –
though you are a man and not a god –
when you are in the power of those who wound you?
28:10 You will die the death of the uncircumcised 379 by the hand of foreigners;
for I have spoken, declares the sovereign Lord.’”
28:11 The word of the Lord came to me: 28:12 “Son of man, sing 380 a lament for the king of Tyre, and say to him, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says:
“‘You were the sealer 381 of perfection,
full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.
28:13 You were in Eden, the garden of God. 382
Every precious stone was your covering,
the ruby, topaz, and emerald,
the chrysolite, onyx, and jasper,
the sapphire, turquoise, and beryl; 383
your settings and mounts were made of gold.
On the day you were created they were prepared.
28:14 I placed you there with an anointed 384 guardian 385 cherub; 386
you were on the holy mountain of God;
you walked about amidst fiery stones.
28:15 You were blameless in your behavior 387 from the day you were created,
until sin was discovered in you.
28:16 In the abundance of your trade you were filled with violence, 388 and you sinned;
so I defiled you and banished you 389 from the mountain of God –
the guardian cherub expelled you 390 from the midst of the stones of fire.
28:17 Your heart was proud because of your beauty;
you corrupted your wisdom on account of your splendor.
I threw you down to the ground;
I placed you before kings, that they might see you.
28:18 By the multitude of your iniquities, through the sinfulness of your trade,
you desecrated your sanctuaries.
So I drew fire out from within you;
it consumed you,
and I turned you to ashes on the earth
before the eyes of all who saw you.
28:19 All who know you among the peoples are shocked at you;
you have become terrified and will be no more.’”
28:20 The word of the Lord came to me: 28:21 “Son of man, turn toward 391 Sidon 392 and prophesy against it. 28:22 Say, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says:
“‘Look, I am against you, 393 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 394 in her.
28:23 I will send a plague into the city 395 and bloodshed into its streets;
the slain will fall within it, by the sword that attacks it 396 from every side.
Then they will know that I am the Lord.
28:24 “‘No longer will Israel suffer from the sharp briers 397 or painful thorns of all who surround and scorn them. 398 Then they will know that I am the sovereign Lord.
28:25 “‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: When I regather the house of Israel from the peoples where they are dispersed, I will reveal my sovereign power 399 over them in the sight of the nations, and they will live in their land that I gave to my servant Jacob. 28:26 They will live securely in it; they will build houses and plant vineyards. They will live securely 400 when I execute my judgments on all those who scorn them and surround them. Then they will know that I am the Lord their God.’”
29:1 In the tenth year, in the tenth month, on the twelfth day of the month, 401 the word of the Lord came to me: 29:2 “Son of man, turn toward 402 Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy against him and against all Egypt. 29:3 Tell them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says:
“‘Look, I am against 403 you, Pharaoh king of Egypt,
the great monster 404 lying in the midst of its waterways,
who has said, “My Nile is my own, I made it for myself.” 405
29:4 I will put hooks in your jaws
and stick the fish of your waterways to your scales.
I will haul you up from the midst of your waterways,
and all the fish of your waterways will stick to your scales.
29:5 I will leave you in the wilderness,
you and all the fish of your waterways;
you will fall in the open field and will not be gathered up or collected. 406
I have given you as food to the beasts of the earth and the birds of the skies.
29:6 Then all those living in Egypt will know that I am the Lord
because they were a reed staff 407 for the house of Israel;
29:7 when they grasped you with their hand, 408 you broke and tore 409 their shoulders,
and when they leaned on you, you splintered and caused their legs to be unsteady. 410
29:8 “‘Therefore, this is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, I am about to bring a sword against you, and I will kill 411 every person and every animal. 29:9 The land of Egypt will become a desolate ruin. Then they will know that I am the Lord.
Because he said, “The Nile is mine and I made it,” 29:10 I am against 412 you and your waterways. I will turn the land of Egypt into an utter desolate ruin from Migdol 413 to Syene, 414 as far as the border with Ethiopia. 29:11 No human foot will pass through it, and no animal’s foot will pass through it; it will be uninhabited for forty years. 29:12 I will turn the land of Egypt into a desolation in the midst of desolate lands; for forty years her cities will lie desolate in the midst of ruined cities. I will scatter Egypt among the nations and disperse them among foreign countries.
29:13 “‘For this is what the sovereign Lord says: At the end of forty years 415 I will gather Egypt from the peoples where they were scattered. 29:14 I will restore the fortunes of Egypt, and will bring them back 416 to the land of Pathros, to the land of their origin; there they will be an insignificant kingdom. 29:15 It will be the most insignificant of the kingdoms; it will never again exalt itself over the nations. I will make them so small that they will not rule over the nations. 29:16 It will never again be Israel’s source of confidence, but a reminder of how they sinned by turning to Egypt for help. 417 Then they will know that I am the sovereign Lord.’”
29:17 In the twenty-seventh year, in the first month, on the first day of the month, 418 the word of the Lord came to me: 29:18 “Son of man, King Nebuchadrezzar 419 of Babylon made his army labor hard against Tyre. 420 Every head was rubbed bald and every shoulder rubbed bare; yet he and his army received no wages from Tyre for the work he carried out against it. 29:19 Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, I am about to give the land of Egypt to King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon. He will carry off her wealth, capture her loot, and seize her plunder; it will be his army’s wages. 29:20 I have given him the land of Egypt as his compensation for attacking Tyre 421 , because they did it for me, declares the sovereign Lord. 29:21 On that day I will make Israel powerful, 422 and I will give you the right to be heard 423 among them. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”
30:1 The word of the Lord came to me: 30:2 “Son of man, prophesy and say, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says:
“‘Wail, “Alas, the day is here!” 424
30:3 For the day is near,
the day of the Lord is near;
it will be a day of storm clouds, 425
it will be a time of judgment 426 for the nations.
30:4 A sword will come against Egypt
and panic will overtake Ethiopia
when the slain fall in Egypt
and they carry away her wealth
and dismantle her foundations.
30:5 Ethiopia, Put, Lud, all the foreigners, 427 Libya, and the people 428 of the covenant land 429 will die by the sword along with them.
30:6 “‘This is what the Lord says:
Egypt’s supporters will fall;
her confident pride will crumble. 430
From Migdol to Syene 431 they will die by the sword within her,
declares the sovereign Lord.
30:7 They will be desolate among desolate lands,
and their cities will be among ruined cities.
30:8 They will know that I am the Lord
when I ignite a fire in Egypt
and all her allies are defeated. 432
30:9 On that day messengers will go out from me in ships to frighten overly confident Ethiopia; panic will overtake them on the day of Egypt’s doom; 433 for beware – it is coming!
30:10 “‘This is what the sovereign Lord says:
I will put an end to the hordes of Egypt,
by the hand of King Nebuchadrezzar 434 of Babylon.
30:11 He and his people with him,
the most terrifying of the nations, 435
will be brought there to destroy the land.
They will draw their swords against Egypt,
and fill the land with corpses.
30:12 I will dry up the waterways
and hand the land over to 436 evil men.
I will make the land and everything in it desolate by the hand of foreigners.
I, the Lord, have spoken!
30:13 “‘This is what the sovereign Lord says:
I will destroy the idols,
and put an end to the gods of Memphis.
There will no longer be a prince from the land of Egypt;
so I will make the land of Egypt fearful. 437
30:14 I will desolate Pathros,
I will ignite a fire in Zoan,
and I will execute judgments on Thebes.
30:15 I will pour out my anger upon Pelusium, 438
the stronghold of Egypt;
I will cut off 439 the hordes of Thebes.
30:16 I will ignite a fire in Egypt;
Syene 440 will writhe in agony,
Thebes will be broken down,
and Memphis will face enemies every day.
30:17 The young men of On and of Pi-beseth 441 will die by the sword;
and the cities will go 442 into captivity.
30:18 In Tahpanhes the day will be dark 443
when I break the yoke of Egypt there.
Her confident pride will cease within her;
a cloud will cover her, and her daughters will go into captivity.
30:19 I will execute judgments on Egypt.
Then they will know that I am the Lord.’”
30:20 In the eleventh year, in the first month, on the seventh day of the month, 444 the word of the Lord came to me: 30:21 “Son of man, I have broken the arm 445 of Pharaoh king of Egypt. 446 Look, it has not been bandaged for healing or set with a dressing so that it might become strong enough to grasp a sword. 30:22 Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, 447 I am against 448 Pharaoh king of Egypt, and I will break his arms, the strong arm and the broken one, and I will make the sword drop from his hand. 30:23 I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and disperse them among foreign countries. 30:24 I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and I will place my sword in his hand, but I will break the arms of Pharaoh, and he will groan like the fatally wounded before the king of Babylon. 449 30:25 I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh will fall limp. Then they will know that I am the Lord when I place my sword in the hand of the king of Babylon and he extends it against the land of Egypt. 30:26 I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them among foreign countries. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”
31:1 In the eleventh year, in the third month, on the first day of the month, 450 the word of the Lord came to me: 31:2 “Son of man, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and his hordes:
“‘Who are you like in your greatness?
31:3 Consider Assyria, 451 a cedar in Lebanon, 452
with beautiful branches, like a forest giving shade,
and extremely tall;
its top reached into the clouds.
31:4 The water made it grow;
underground springs made it grow tall.
Rivers flowed all around the place it was planted,
while smaller channels watered all the trees of the field. 453
31:5 Therefore it grew taller than all the trees of the field;
its boughs grew large and its branches grew long,
because of the plentiful water in its shoots. 454
31:6 All the birds of the sky nested in its boughs;
under its branches all the beasts of the field gave birth,
in its shade all the great 455 nations lived.
31:7 It was beautiful in its loftiness, in the length of its branches;
for its roots went down deep to plentiful waters.
31:8 The cedars in the garden of God could not eclipse it,
nor could the fir trees 456 match its boughs;
the plane trees were as nothing compared to its branches;
no tree in the garden of God could rival its beauty.
31:9 I made it beautiful with its many branches;
all the trees of Eden, in the garden of God, envied it.
31:10 “‘Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: Because it was tall in stature, and its top reached into the clouds, and it was proud of its height, 31:11 I gave it over to the leader of the nations. He has judged it thoroughly, 457 as its sinfulness deserves. I have thrown it out. 31:12 Foreigners from the most terrifying nations have cut it down and left it to lie there on the mountains. In all the valleys its branches have fallen, and its boughs lie broken in the ravines of the land. All the peoples of the land 458 have departed 459 from its shade and left it. 31:13 On its ruins all the birds of the sky will live, and all the wild animals 460 will walk 461 on its branches. 31:14 For this reason no watered trees will grow so tall; their tops will not reach into the clouds, nor will the well-watered ones grow that high. 462 For all of them have been appointed to die in the lower parts of the earth; 463 they will be among mere mortals, 464 with those who descend to the pit.
31:15 “‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: On the day it 465 went down to Sheol I caused observers to lament. 466 I covered it with the deep and held back its rivers; its plentiful water was restrained. I clothed Lebanon in black for it, and all the trees of the field wilted because of it. 31:16 I made the nations shake at the sound of its fall, when I threw it down to Sheol, along with those who descend to the pit. 467 Then all the trees of Eden, the choicest and the best of Lebanon, all that were well-watered, were comforted in the earth below. 31:17 Those who lived in its shade, its allies 468 among the nations, also went down with it to Sheol, to those killed by the sword. 31:18 Which of the trees of Eden was like you in majesty and loftiness? You will be brought down with the trees of Eden to the lower parts of the earth; you will lie among the uncircumcised, with those killed by the sword! This is what will happen to Pharaoh and all his hordes, declares the sovereign Lord.’”
32:1 In the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, on the first of the month, 469 the word of the Lord came to me: 32:2 “Son of man, sing a lament for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say to him:
“‘You were like a lion 470 among the nations,
but you are a monster in the seas;
you thrash about in your streams,
stir up the water with your feet,
and muddy your 471 streams.
32:3 “‘This is what the sovereign Lord says:
“‘I will throw my net over you 472 in the assembly of many peoples;
and they will haul you up in my dragnet.
32:4 I will leave you on the ground,
I will fling you on the open field,
I will allow 473 all the birds of the sky to settle 474 on you,
and I will permit 475 all the wild animals 476 to gorge themselves on you.
32:5 I will put your flesh on the mountains,
and fill the valleys with your maggot-infested carcass. 477
32:6 I will drench the land with the flow
of your blood up to the mountains,
and the ravines will be full of your blood. 478
32:7 When I extinguish you, I will cover the sky;
I will darken its stars.
I will cover the sun with a cloud,
and the moon will not shine. 479
32:8 I will darken all the lights in the sky over you,
and I will darken your land,
declares the sovereign Lord.
32:9 I will disturb 480 many peoples,
when I bring about your destruction among the nations,
among countries you do not know.
32:10 I will shock many peoples with you,
and their kings will shiver with horror because of you.
When I brandish my sword before them,
every moment each one will tremble for his life, on the day of your fall.
32:11 “‘For this is what the sovereign Lord says:
“‘The sword of the king of Babylon 481 will attack 482 you.
32:12 By the swords of the mighty warriors I will cause your hordes to fall –
all of them are the most terrifying among the nations.
They will devastate the pride of Egypt,
and all its hordes will be destroyed.
32:13 I will destroy all its cattle beside the plentiful waters;
and no human foot will disturb 483 the waters 484 again,
nor will the hooves of cattle disturb them.
32:14 Then I will make their waters calm, 485
and will make their streams flow like olive oil, declares the sovereign Lord.
32:15 When I turn the land of Egypt into desolation
and the land is destitute of everything that fills it,
when I strike all those who live in it,
then they will know that I am the Lord.’
32:16 This is a lament; they will chant it.
The daughters of the nations will chant it.
They will chant it over Egypt and over all her hordes,
declares the sovereign Lord.”
32:17 In the twelfth year, on the fifteenth day of the month, 486 the word of the Lord came to me: 32:18 “Son of man, wail 487 over the horde of Egypt. Bring it down; 488 bring 489 her 490 and the daughters of powerful nations down to the lower parts of the earth, along with those who descend to the pit. 32:19 Say to them, 491 ‘Whom do you surpass in beauty? 492 Go down and be laid to rest with the uncircumcised!’ 32:20 They will fall among those killed by the sword. The sword is drawn; they carry her and all her hordes away. 32:21 The bravest of the warriors will speak to him from the midst of Sheol along with his allies, saying: ‘The uncircumcised have come down; they lie still, killed by the sword.’
32:22 “Assyria is there with all her assembly around her grave, 493 all of them struck down by the sword. 494 32:23 Their 495 graves are located in the remote slopes of the pit. 496 Her assembly is around her grave, all of them struck down by the sword, those who spread terror in the land of the living.
32:24 “Elam is there with all her hordes around her grave; all of them struck down by the sword. They went down uncircumcised to the lower parts of the earth, those who spread terror in the land of the living. Now they will bear their shame with those who descend to the pit. 32:25 Among the dead they have made a bed for her, along with all her hordes around her grave. 497 All of them are uncircumcised, killed by the sword, for their terror had spread in the land of the living. They bear their shame along with those who descend to the pit; they are placed among the dead.
32:26 “Meshech-Tubal is there, along with all her hordes around her grave. 498 All of them are uncircumcised, killed by the sword, for they spread their terror in the land of the living. 32:27 They do not lie with the fallen warriors of ancient times, 499 who went down to Sheol with their weapons of war, having their swords placed under their heads and their shields on their bones, 500 when the terror of these warriors was in the land of the living.
32:28 “But as for you, in the midst of the uncircumcised you will be broken, and you will lie with those killed by the sword.
32:29 “Edom is there with her kings and all her princes. Despite their might they are laid with those killed by the sword; they lie with the uncircumcised and those who descend to the pit.
32:30 “All the leaders of the north are there, along with all the Sidonians; despite their might they have gone down in shameful terror with the dead. They lie uncircumcised with those killed by the sword, and bear their shame with those who descend to the pit.
32:31 “Pharaoh will see them and be consoled over all his hordes who were killed by the sword, Pharaoh and all his army, declares the sovereign Lord. 32:32 Indeed, I terrified him in the land of the living, yet he will lie in the midst of the uncircumcised with those killed by the sword, Pharaoh and all his hordes, declares the sovereign Lord.”
33:1 The word of the Lord came to me: 33:2 “Son of man, speak to your people, 501 and say to them, ‘Suppose I bring a sword against the land, and the people of the land take one man from their borders and make him their watchman. 33:3 He sees the sword coming against the land, blows the trumpet, 502 and warns the people, 503 33:4 but there is one who hears the sound of the trumpet yet does not heed the warning. Then the sword comes and sweeps him away. He will be responsible for his own death. 504 33:5 He heard the sound of the trumpet but did not heed the warning, so he is responsible for himself. 505 If he had heeded the warning, he would have saved his life. 33:6 But suppose the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people. Then the sword comes and takes one of their lives. He is swept away for his iniquity, 506 but I will hold the watchman accountable for that person’s death.’ 507
33:7 “As for you, son of man, I have made you a watchman 508 for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you must warn them on my behalf. 33:8 When I say to the wicked, ‘O wicked man, you must certainly die,’ 509 and you do not warn 510 the wicked about his behavior, 511 the wicked man will die for his iniquity, but I will hold you accountable for his death. 512 33:9 But if you warn the wicked man to change his behavior, 513 and he refuses to change, 514 he will die for his iniquity, but you have saved your own life.
33:10 “And you, son of man, say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what you have said: “Our rebellious acts and our sins have caught up with us, 515 and we are wasting away because of them. How then can we live?”’ 33:11 Say to them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but prefer that the wicked change his behavior 516 and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil deeds! 517 Why should you die, O house of Israel?’
33:12 “And you, son of man, say to your people, 518 ‘The righteousness of the righteous will not deliver him if he rebels. 519 As for the wicked, his wickedness will not make him stumble if he turns from it. 520 The righteous will not be able to live by his righteousness 521 if he sins.’ 522 33:13 Suppose I tell the righteous that he will certainly live, but he becomes confident in his righteousness and commits iniquity. None of his righteous deeds will be remembered; because of the iniquity he has committed he will die. 33:14 Suppose I say to the wicked, ‘You must certainly die,’ but he turns from his sin and does what is just and right. 33:15 He 523 returns what was taken in pledge, pays back what he has stolen, and follows the statutes that give life, 524 committing no iniquity. He will certainly live – he will not die. 33:16 None of the sins he has committed will be counted 525 against him. He has done what is just and right; he will certainly live.
33:17 “Yet your people 526 say, ‘The behavior 527 of the Lord is not right,’ 528 when it is their behavior that is not right. 33:18 When a righteous man turns from his godliness and commits iniquity, he will die for it. 33:19 When the wicked turns from his sin and does what is just and right, he will live because of it. 33:20 Yet you say, ‘The behavior of the Lord is not right.’ House of Israel, I will judge each of you according to his behavior.” 529
33:21 In the twelfth year of our exile, in the tenth month, on the fifth of the month, 530 a refugee came to me from Jerusalem 531 saying, “The city has been defeated!” 532 33:22 Now the hand of the Lord had been on me 533 the evening before the refugee reached me, but the Lord 534 opened my mouth by the time the refugee arrived 535 in the morning; he opened my mouth and I was no longer unable to speak. 536 33:23 The word of the Lord came to me: 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.’ 537 33:25 Therefore say to them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: You eat the meat with the blood still in it, 538 pray to 539 your idols, and shed blood. Do you really think you will possess 540 the land? 33:26 You rely 541 on your swords and commit abominable deeds; each of you defiles his neighbor’s wife. Will you possess the land?’
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 542 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.’ 543
33:30 “But as for you, son of man, your people 544 (who are talking about you by the walls and at the doors of the houses) say to one another, 545 ‘Come hear the word that comes 546 from the Lord.’ 33:31 They come to you in crowds, 547 and they sit in front of you as 548 my people. They hear your words, but do not obey 549 them. For they talk lustfully, 550 and their heart is set on 551 their own advantage. 552 33:32 Realize 553 that to them you are like a sensual song, a beautiful voice and skilled musician. 554 They hear your words, but they do not obey them. 555 33:33 When all this comes true – and it certainly will 556 – then they will know that a prophet was among them.”
34:1 The word of the Lord came to me: 34:2 “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds 557 of Israel; prophesy, and say to them – to the shepherds: ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves! Should not shepherds feed the flock? 34:3 You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the choice animals, but you do not feed the sheep! 34:4 You have not strengthened the weak, healed the sick, bandaged the injured, brought back the strays, or sought the lost, but with force and harshness 558 you have ruled over them. 34:5 They were scattered because they had no shepherd, and they became food for every wild beast. 559 34:6 My sheep wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. My sheep were scattered over the entire face of the earth with no one looking or searching for them.
34:7 “‘Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: 34:8 As surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, my sheep have become prey and have become food for all the wild beasts. There was no shepherd, and my shepherds did not search for my flock, but fed themselves and did not feed my sheep, 34:9 Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: 34:10 This is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, I am against the shepherds, and I will demand my sheep from their hand. I will no longer let them be shepherds; 560 the shepherds will not feed themselves anymore. I will rescue my sheep from their mouth, so that they will no longer be food for them.
34:11 “‘For this is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, I myself will search for my sheep and seek them out. 34:12 As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his scattered sheep, so I will seek out my flock. I will rescue them from all the places where they have been scattered on a cloudy, dark day. 561 34:13 I will bring them out from among the peoples and gather them from foreign countries; I will bring them to their own land. I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the streams and all the inhabited places of the land. 34:14 In a good pasture I will feed them; the mountain heights of Israel will be their pasture. There they will lie down in a lush 562 pasture, and they will feed on rich grass on the mountains of Israel. 34:15 I myself will feed my sheep and I myself will make them lie down, declares the sovereign Lord. 34:16 I will seek the lost and bring back the strays; I will bandage the injured and strengthen the sick, but the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them – with judgment!
34:17 “‘As for you, my sheep, this is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, I am about to judge between one sheep and another, between rams and goats. 34:18 Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture, that you must trample the rest of your pastures with your feet? When you drink clean water, must you muddy the rest of the water by trampling it with your feet? 34:19 As for my sheep, they must eat what you trampled with your feet, and drink what you have muddied with your feet!
34:20 “‘Therefore, this is what the sovereign Lord says to them: Look, I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. 34:21 Because you push with your side and your shoulder, and thrust your horns at all the weak sheep until you scatter them abroad, 563 34:22 I will save my sheep; they will no longer be prey. I will judge between one sheep and another.
34:23 I will set one shepherd over them, and he will feed them – namely, my servant David. 564 He will feed them and will be their shepherd. 34:24 I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David will be prince 565 among them; I, the Lord, have spoken!
34:25 “‘I will make a covenant of peace with them and will rid the land of wild beasts, so that they can live securely 566 in the wilderness and even sleep in the woods. 567 34:26 I will turn them and the regions around my hill into a blessing. I will make showers come down in their season; they will be showers that bring blessing. 568 34:27 The trees of the field will yield their fruit and the earth will yield its crops. They will live securely on their land; they will know that I am the Lord, when I break the bars of their yoke and rescue them from the hand of those who enslaved them. 34:28 They will no longer be prey for the nations and the wild beasts will not devour them. They will live securely and no one will make them afraid. 34:29 I will prepare for them a healthy 569 planting. They will no longer be victims 570 of famine in the land and will no longer bear the insults of the nations. 34:30 Then they will know that I, the Lord their God, am with them, 571 and that they are my people, the house of Israel, declares the sovereign Lord. 572 34:31 And you, my sheep, the sheep of my pasture, are my people, 573 and I am your God, declares the sovereign Lord.’”
35:1 The word of the Lord came to me: 35:2 “Son of man, turn toward 574 Mount Seir, 575 and prophesy against it. 35:3 Say to it, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says:
“‘Look, I am against you, Mount Seir;
I will stretch out my hand against you
and turn you into a desolate ruin.
35:4 I will lay waste your cities;
and you will become desolate.
Then you will know that I am the Lord!
35:5 “‘You have shown unrelenting hostility and poured the people of Israel onto the blades of a sword 576 at the time of their calamity, at the time of their final punishment. 35:6 Therefore, as surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, I will subject you to bloodshed, and bloodshed will pursue you. Since you did not hate bloodshed, bloodshed will pursue you. 35:7 I will turn Mount Seir into a desolate ruin; 577 I will cut off 578 from it the one who passes through or returns. 35:8 I will fill its mountains with its dead; on your hills and in your valleys and in all your ravines, those killed by the sword will fall. 35:9 I will turn you into a perpetual desolation, and your cities will not be inhabited. Then you will know that I am the Lord.
35:10 “‘You said, “These two nations, these two lands 579 will be mine, and we will possess them,” 580 – although the Lord was there – 35:11 therefore, as surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, I will deal with you according to your anger, and according to your envy, by which you acted spitefully against them. I will reveal myself to them when I judge you. 35:12 Then you will know that I, the Lord, have heard all the insults you spoke against the mountains of Israel, saying, “They are desolate, they have been given to us for food.” 35:13 You exalted yourselves against me with your speech 581 and hurled many insults against me 582 – I have heard them all! 35:14 This is what the sovereign Lord says: While the whole earth rejoices, I will turn you into a desolation. 35:15 As you rejoiced over the inheritance of the house of Israel because it was desolate, so will I deal with you – you will be desolate, Mount Seir, and all of Edom – all of it! Then they will know that I am the Lord.’”
36:1 “As for you, son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel, and say: ‘O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord! 36:2 This is what the sovereign Lord says: The enemy has spoken against you, saying “Aha!” and, “The ancient heights 583 have become our property!”’ 36:3 So prophesy and say: ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Surely because they have made you desolate and crushed you from all directions, so that you have become the property of the rest of the nations, and have become the subject of gossip 584 and slander among the people, 36:4 therefore, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the sovereign Lord: This is what the sovereign Lord says to the mountains and hills, the ravines and valleys, and to the desolate ruins and the abandoned cities that have become prey and an object of derision to the rest of the nations round about – 36:5 therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: Surely I have spoken in the fire of my zeal against the rest of the nations, and against all Edom, who with great joy and utter contempt have made my land their property and prey, because of its pasture.’
36:6 “Therefore prophesy concerning the land of Israel, and say to the mountains and hills, the ravines and valleys, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, I have spoken in my zeal and in my anger, because you have endured the insults of the nations. 36:7 So this is what the sovereign Lord says: I vow 585 that the nations around you will endure insults as well.
36:8 “‘But you, mountains of Israel, will grow your branches, and bear your fruit for my people Israel; for they will arrive soon. 586 36:9 For indeed, I am on your side; 587 I will turn to you, and you will be plowed and planted. 36:10 I will multiply your people 588 – the whole house of Israel, all of it. The cities will be populated and the ruins rebuilt. 36:11 I will increase the number of people and animals on you; they will increase and be fruitful. 589 I will cause you to be inhabited as in ancient times, and will do more good for you than at the beginning of your history. 590 Then you will know that I am the Lord. 36:12 I will lead people, my people Israel, across you; they will possess you and you will become their inheritance. No longer will you bereave them of their children.
36:13 “‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Because they are saying to you, “You are a devourer of men, and bereave your nation of children,” 36:14 therefore you will no longer devour people and no longer bereave your nation of children, declares the sovereign Lord. 36:15 I will no longer subject you to 591 the nations’ insults; no longer will you bear the shame of the peoples, and no longer will you bereave 592 your nation, declares the sovereign Lord.’”
36:16 The word of the Lord came to me: 36:17 “Son of man, when the house of Israel was living on their own land, they defiled it by their behavior 593 and their deeds. In my sight their behavior was like the uncleanness of a woman having her monthly period. 36:18 So I poured my anger on them 594 because of the blood they shed on the land and because of the idols with which they defiled it. 595 36:19 I scattered them among the nations; they were dispersed throughout foreign countries. In accordance with their behavior and their deeds I judged them. 36:20 But when they arrived in the nations where they went, they profaned my holy name. It was said of them, ‘These are the people of the Lord, yet they have departed from his land.’ 36:21 I was concerned for my holy reputation 596 which the house of Israel profaned among the nations where they went.
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 597 which you profaned among the nations where you went. 36:23 I will magnify 598 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.
36:24 “‘I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries; then I will bring you to your land. 36:25 I will sprinkle you with pure water 599 and you will be clean from all your impurities. I will purify you from all your idols. 36:26 I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit within you. I will remove the heart of stone 600 from your body and give you a heart of flesh. 601 36:27 I will put my Spirit within you; 602 I will take the initiative and you will obey my statutes 603 and carefully observe my regulations. 604 36:28 Then you will live in the land I gave to your fathers; you will be my people, and I will be your God. 605 36:29 I will save you from all your uncleanness. I will call for the grain and multiply it; I will not bring a famine on you. 36:30 I will multiply the fruit of the trees and the produce of the fields, so that you will never again suffer the disgrace of famine among the nations. 36:31 Then you will remember your evil behavior 606 and your deeds which were not good; you will loathe yourselves on account of your sins and your abominable deeds. 36:32 Understand that 607 it is not for your sake I am about to act, declares the sovereign Lord. Be ashamed and embarrassed by your behavior, O house of Israel.
36:33 “‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: In the day I cleanse you from all your sins, I will populate the cities and the ruins will be rebuilt. 36:34 The desolate land will be plowed, instead of being desolate in the sight of everyone who passes by. 36:35 They will say, “This desolate land has become like the garden of Eden; the ruined, desolate, and destroyed cities are now fortified and inhabited.” 36:36 Then the nations which remain around you will know that I, the Lord, have rebuilt the ruins and replanted what was desolate. I, the Lord, have spoken – and I will do it!’
36:37 “This is what the sovereign Lord says: I will allow the house of Israel to ask me to do this for them: 608 I will multiply their people like sheep. 609 36:38 Like the sheep for offerings, like the sheep of Jerusalem 610 during her appointed feasts, so will the ruined cities be filled with flocks of people. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”
37:1 The hand 611 of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and placed 612 me in the midst of the valley, and it was full of bones. 37:2 He made me walk all around among them. 613 I realized 614 there were a great many bones in the valley and they were very dry. 37:3 He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” I said to him, “Sovereign Lord, you know.” 37:4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and tell them: ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. 37:5 This is what the sovereign Lord says to these bones: Look, I am about to infuse breath 615 into you and you will live. 37:6 I will put tendons 616 on you and muscles over you and will cover you with skin; I will put breath 617 in you and you will live. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”
37:7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. There was a sound when I prophesied – I heard 618 a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to bone. 37:8 As I watched, I saw 619 tendons on them, then muscles appeared, 620 and skin covered over them from above, but there was no breath 621 in them.
37:9 He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, 622 – prophesy, son of man – and say to the breath: ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these corpses so that they may live.’” 37:10 So I prophesied as I was commanded, and the breath came into them; they lived and stood on their feet, an extremely great army.
37:11 Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are all the house of Israel. Look, they are saying, ‘Our bones are dry, our hope has perished; we are cut off.’ 37:12 Therefore prophesy, and tell them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, I am about to open your graves and will raise you from your graves, my people. I will bring you to the land of Israel. 37:13 Then you will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and raise you from your graves, my people. 37:14 I will place my breath 623 in you and you will live; I will give you rest in your own land. Then you will know that I am the Lord – I have spoken and I will act, declares the Lord.’”
37:15 The word of the Lord came to me: 37:16 “As for you, son of man, take one branch, and write on it, ‘For Judah, and for the Israelites associated with him.’ Then take another branch and write on it, ‘For Joseph, the branch of Ephraim and all the house of Israel associated with him.’ 37:17 Join 624 them as one stick; 625 they will be as one in your hand. 37:18 When your people 626 say to you, ‘Will you not tell us what these things mean?’ 37:19 tell them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, I am about to take the branch of Joseph which is in the hand of Ephraim and the tribes of Israel associated with him, and I will place them on the stick of Judah, 627 and make them into one stick – they will be one in my hand.’ 628 37:20 The sticks you write on will be in your hand in front of them. 37:21 Then tell them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, I am about to take the Israelites from among the nations where they have gone. I will gather them from round about and bring them to their land. 37:22 I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel, and one king will rule over them all. They will never again be two nations and never again be divided into two kingdoms. 629 37:23 They will not defile themselves with their idols, their detestable things, and all their rebellious deeds. I will save them from all their unfaithfulness 630 by which they sinned. I will purify them; they will become my people and I will become their God.
37:24 “‘My servant David will be king over them; there will be one shepherd for all of them. They will follow 631 my regulations and carefully observe my statutes. 632 37:25 They will live in the land I gave to my servant Jacob, in which your fathers lived; they will live in it – they and their children and their grandchildren forever. David my servant will be prince over them forever. 37:26 I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be a perpetual covenant with them. 633 I will establish them, 634 increase their numbers, and place my sanctuary among them forever. 37:27 My dwelling place will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be my people. 37:28 Then, when my sanctuary is among them forever, the nations will know that I, the Lord, sanctify Israel.’” 635
38:1 The word of the Lord came to me: 38:2 “Son of man, turn toward 636 Gog, 637 of the land of Magog, 638 the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. 639 Prophesy against him 38:3 and say: ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, 640 I am against you, Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. 38:4 I will turn you around, put hooks into your jaws, and bring you out with all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them fully armed, a great company with shields of different types, 641 all of them armed with swords. 38:5 Persia, 642 Ethiopia, and Put 643 are with them, all of them with shields and helmets. 38:6 They are joined by 644 Gomer with all its troops, and by Beth Togarmah from the remote parts of the north with all its troops – many peoples are with you. 645
38:7 “‘Be ready and stay ready, you and all your companies assembled around you, and be a guard for them. 646 38:8 After many days you will be summoned; in the latter years you will come to a land restored from the ravages of war, 647 with many peoples gathered on the mountains of Israel that had long been in ruins. Its people 648 were brought out from the peoples, and all of them will be living securely. 38:9 You will advance; 649 you will come like a storm. You will be like a cloud covering the earth, you, all your troops, and the many other peoples with you.
38:10 “‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: On that day thoughts will come into your mind, 650 and you will devise an evil plan. 38:11 You will say, “I will invade 651 a land of unwalled towns; I will advance against 652 those living quietly in security – all of them living without walls and barred gates – 38:12 to loot and plunder, to attack 653 the inhabited ruins and the people gathered from the nations, who are acquiring cattle and goods, who live at the center 654 of the earth.” 38:13 Sheba and Dedan and the traders of Tarshish with all its young warriors 655 will say to you, “Have you come to loot? Have you assembled your armies to plunder, to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to haul away a great amount of spoils?”’
38:14 “Therefore, prophesy, son of man, and say to Gog: ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: On that day when my people Israel are living securely, you will take notice 656 38:15 and come from your place, from the remote parts of the north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great company and a vast army. 38:16 You will advance 657 against my people Israel like a cloud covering the earth. In the latter days I will bring you against my land so that the nations may acknowledge me, when before their eyes I magnify myself 658 through you, O Gog.
38:17 “‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Are you the one of whom I spoke in former days by my servants 659 the prophets of Israel, who prophesied in those days 660 that I would bring you against them? 38:18 On that day, when Gog invades 661 the land of Israel, declares the sovereign Lord, my rage will mount up in my anger. 38:19 In my zeal, in the fire of my fury, 662 I declare that on that day there will be a great earthquake 663 in the land of Israel. 38:20 The fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the wild beasts, all the things that creep on the ground, and all people who live on the face of the earth will shake 664 at my presence. The mountains will topple, the cliffs 665 will fall, and every wall will fall to the ground. 38:21 I will call for a sword to attack 666 Gog 667 on all my mountains, declares the sovereign Lord; every man’s sword will be against his brother. 38:22 I will judge him with plague and bloodshed. I will rain down on him, his troops and the many peoples who are with him a torrential downpour, hailstones, fire, and brimstone. 38:23 I will exalt and magnify myself; I will reveal myself before many nations. Then they will know that I am the Lord.’
39:1 “As for you, son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say: ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal! 39:2 I will turn you around and drag you along; 668 I will lead you up from the remotest parts of the north and bring you against the mountains of Israel. 39:3 I will knock your bow out of your left hand and make your arrows fall from your right hand. 39:4 You will fall dead on the mountains of Israel, you and all your troops and the people who are with you. I give you as food to every kind of bird and every wild beast. 39:5 You will fall dead in the open field; for I have spoken, declares the sovereign Lord. 39:6 I will send fire on Magog and those who live securely in the coastlands; then they will know that I am the Lord.
39:7 “‘I will make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; I will not let my holy name be profaned anymore. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord, the Holy One of Israel. 669 39:8 Realize that it is coming and it will be done, declares the sovereign Lord. It is the day I have spoken about.
39:9 “‘Then those who live in the cities of Israel will go out and use the weapons for kindling 670 – the shields, 671 bows and arrows, war clubs and spears – they will burn them for seven years. 39:10 They will not need to take 672 wood from the field or cut down trees from the forests, because they will make fires with the weapons. They will take the loot from those who looted them and seize the plunder of those who plundered them, 673 declares the sovereign Lord.
39:11 “‘On that day I will assign Gog a grave in Israel. It will be the valley of those who travel east of the sea; it will block the way of the travelers. There they will bury Gog and all his horde; they will call it the valley of Hamon-Gog. 674 39:12 For seven months Israel 675 will bury them, in order to cleanse the land. 39:13 All the people of the land will bury them, and it will be a memorial 676 for them on the day I magnify myself, declares the sovereign Lord. 39:14 They will designate men to scout continually 677 through the land, burying those who remain on the surface of the ground, 678 in order to cleanse it. They will search for seven full months. 39:15 When the scouts survey 679 the land and see a human bone, they will place a sign by it, until those assigned to burial duty have buried it 680 in the valley of Hamon-Gog. 39:16 (A city by the name of Hamonah 681 will also be there.) They will cleanse the land.’
39:17 “As for you, son of man, this is what the sovereign Lord says: Tell every kind of bird and every wild beast: ‘Assemble and come! Gather from all around to my slaughter 682 which I am going to make for you, a great slaughter on the mountains of Israel! You will eat flesh and drink blood. 39:18 You will eat the flesh of warriors 683 and drink the blood of the princes of the earth – the rams, lambs, goats, and bulls, all of them fattened animals of Bashan. 39:19 You will eat fat until you are full, and drink blood until you are drunk, 684 at my slaughter 685 which I have made for you. 39:20 You will fill up at my table with horses and charioteers, 686 with warriors and all the soldiers,’ declares the sovereign Lord.
39:21 “I will display my majesty 687 among the nations. All the nations will witness the judgment I have executed, and the power I have exhibited 688 among them. 39:22 Then the house of Israel will know that I am the Lord their God, from that day forward. 39:23 The nations will know that the house of Israel went into exile due to their iniquity, 689 for they were unfaithful to me. So I hid my face from them and handed them over to their enemies; all of them died by the sword. 39:24 According to their uncleanness and rebellion I have dealt with them, and I hid my face from them.
39:25 “Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: Now I will restore 690 the fortunes of Jacob, and I will have mercy on the entire house of Israel. I will be zealous for my holy name. 39:26 They will bear their shame for all their unfaithful acts against me, when they live securely on their land with no one to make them afraid. 39:27 When I have brought them back from the peoples and gathered them from the countries of their enemies, I will magnify myself among them in the sight of many nations. 39:28 Then they will know that I am the Lord their God, because I sent them into exile among the nations, and then gathered them into their own land. I will not leave any of them in exile 691 any longer. 39:29 I will no longer hide my face from them, when I pour out my Spirit on the house of Israel, 692 declares the sovereign Lord.”
40:1 In the twenty-fifth year of our exile, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth day of the month, in the fourteenth year after the city 693 was struck down, on this very day, 694 the hand 695 of the Lord was on me, and he brought me there. 696 40:2 By means of divine visions 697 he brought me to the land of Israel and placed me on a very high mountain, 698 and on it was a structure like a city, to the south. 40:3 When he brought me there, I saw 699 a man whose appearance was like bronze, with a linen cord and a measuring stick in his hand. He was standing in the gateway. 40:4 The man said to me, “Son of man, watch closely, listen carefully, and pay attention 700 to everything I show you, for you have been brought here so that I can show it to you. 701 Tell the house of Israel everything you see.”
40:5 I saw 702 a wall all around the outside of the temple. 703 In the man’s hand was a measuring stick 10½ feet 704 long. He measured the thickness of the wall 705 as 10½ feet, 706 and its height as 10½ feet. 40:6 Then he went to the gate facing east. He climbed its steps and measured the threshold of the gate as 10½ feet deep. 707 40:7 The alcoves were 10½ feet long and 10½ feet wide; between the alcoves were 8¾ feet. 708 The threshold of the gate by the porch of the gate facing inward was 10½ feet. 40:8 Then he measured the porch of the gate facing inward as 10½ feet. 40:9 He measured the porch of the gate as 14 feet, 709 and its jambs as 3½ feet; 710 the porch of the gate faced inward. 40:10 There were three alcoves on each side of the east gate; the three had the same measurement, and the jambs on either side had the same measurement. 711 40:11 He measured the width of the entrance of the gateway as 17½ feet, 712 and the length of the gateway as 22¾ feet. 713 40:12 There was a barrier in front of the alcoves, 1¾ feet 714 on either side; the alcoves were 10½ feet 715 on either side. 40:13 He measured the gateway from the roof of one alcove to the roof of the other, a width of 43¾ feet 716 from one entrance to the opposite one. 40:14 He measured 717 the porch 718 at 105 feet 719 high; 720 the gateway went all around to the jamb of the courtyard. 40:15 From the front of the entrance gate to the porch of the inner gate was 87½ feet. 721 40:16 There were closed windows toward the alcoves and toward their jambs within the gate all around, and likewise for the porches. There were windows all around the inside, and on each jamb were decorative palm trees. 722
40:17 Then he brought me to the outer court. I saw 723 chambers there, and a pavement made for the court all around; thirty chambers faced the pavement. 40:18 The pavement was beside the gates, corresponding to the length of the gates; this was the lower pavement. 40:19 Then he measured the width from before the lower gate to the front of the exterior of the inner court as 175 feet 724 on the east and on the north.
40:20 He measured the length and width of the gate of the outer court which faces north. 40:21 Its alcoves, three on each side, and its jambs and porches had the same measurement as the first gate; 87½ feet 725 long and 43¾ feet 726 wide. 40:22 Its windows, its porches, and its decorative palm trees had the same measurement as the gate which faced east. Seven steps led up to it, and its porch was in front of them. 40:23 Opposite the gate on the north and the east was a gate of the inner court; he measured the distance from gate to gate at 175 feet. 727
40:24 Then he led me toward the south. I saw 728 a gate on the south. He measured its jambs and its porches; they had the same dimensions as the others. 40:25 There were windows all around it and its porches, like the windows of the others; 729 87½ feet 730 long and 43¾ feet 731 wide. 40:26 There were seven steps going up to it; its porches were in front of them. It had decorative palm trees on its jambs, one on either side. 40:27 The inner court had a gate toward the south; he measured it from gate to gate toward the south as 175 feet. 732
40:28 Then he brought me to the inner court by the south gate. He measured the south gate; it had the same dimensions as the others. 40:29 Its alcoves, its jambs, and its porches had the same dimensions as the others, and there were windows all around it and its porches; its length was 87½ feet 733 and its width 43¾ feet. 734 40:30 There were porches all around, 43¾ feet 735 long and 8¾ feet 736 wide. 40:31 Its porches faced the outer court, and decorative palm trees were on its jambs, and its stairway had eight steps.
40:32 Then he brought me to the inner court on the east side. He measured the gate; it had the same dimensions as the others. 40:33 Its alcoves, its jambs, and its porches had the same dimensions as the others, and there were windows all around it and its porches; its length was 87½ feet 737 and its width 43¾ feet. 738 40:34 Its porches faced the outer court, it had decorative palm trees on its jambs, and its stairway had eight steps.
40:35 Then he brought me to the north gate, and he measured it; it had the same dimensions as the others – 40:36 its alcoves, its jambs, and its porches. It had windows all around it; its length was 87½ feet 739 and its width 43¾ feet. 740 40:37 Its jambs 741 faced the outer court, and it had decorative palm trees on its jambs, on either side, and its stairway had eight steps.
40:38 There was a chamber with its door by the porch of the gate; 742 there they washed the burnt offering. 40:39 In the porch of the gate were two tables on either side on which to slaughter the burnt offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering. 40:40 On the outside of the porch as one goes up at the entrance of the north gate were two tables, and on the other side of the porch of the gate were two tables. 40:41 Four tables were on each side of the gate, eight tables on which the sacrifices were to be slaughtered. 40:42 The four tables for the burnt offering were of carved stone, 32 inches 743 long, 32 inches 744 wide, and 21 inches 745 high. They would put the instruments which they used to slaughter the burnt offering and the sacrifice on them. 40:43 There were hooks 746 three inches 747 long, fastened in the house all around, and on the tables was the flesh of the offering.
40:44 On the outside of the inner gate were chambers for the singers of the inner court, one 748 at the side of the north gate facing south, and the other at the side of the south 749 gate facing north. 40:45 He said to me, “This chamber which faces south is for the priests who keep charge of the temple, 750 40:46 and the chamber which faces north is for the priests who keep charge of the altar. These are the descendants of Zadok, from the descendants of Levi, who may approach the Lord to minister to him.” 40:47 He measured the court as a square 175 feet long and 175 feet wide; 751 the altar was in front of the temple.
40:48 Then he brought me to the porch of the temple and measured the jambs of the porch as 8¾ feet 752 on either side, and the width of the gate was 24½ feet 753 and the sides 754 were 5¼ feet 755 on each side. 40:49 The length of the porch was 35 feet 756 and the width 19¼ feet; 757 steps 758 led up to it, and there were pillars beside the jambs on either side.
41:1 Then he brought me to the outer sanctuary, and measured the jambs; the jambs were 10½ feet 759 wide on each side. 41:2 The width of the entrance was 17½ feet, 760 and the sides 761 of the entrance were 8¾ feet 762 on each side. He measured the length of the outer sanctuary as 70 feet, 763 and its width as 35 feet. 764
41:3 Then he went into the inner sanctuary and measured the jambs of the entrance as 3½ feet, 765 the entrance as 10½ feet, 766 and the width of the entrance as 12¼ feet 767 41:4 Then he measured its length as 35 feet, 768 and its width as 35 feet, 769 before the outer sanctuary. He said to me, “This is the most holy place.”
41:5 Then he measured the wall of the temple 770 as 10½ feet, 771 and the width of the side chambers as 7 feet, 772 all around the temple. 41:6 The side chambers were in three stories, one above the other, thirty in each story. There were offsets in the wall all around to serve as supports for the side chambers, so that the supports were not in the wall of the temple. 41:7 The side chambers surrounding the temple were wider at each successive story; 773 for the structure 774 surrounding the temple went up story by story all around the temple. For this reason the width of the temple increased as it went up, and one went up from the lowest story to the highest by the way of the middle story.
41:8 I saw that the temple had a raised platform all around; the foundations of the side chambers were a full measuring stick 775 of 10½ feet 776 high. 41:9 The width of the outer wall of the side chambers was 8¾ feet, 777 and the open area between the side chambers of the temple 41:10 and the chambers of the court was 35 feet 778 in width all around the temple on every side. 41:11 There were entrances from the side chambers toward the open area, one entrance toward the north, and another entrance toward the south; the width of the open area was 8¾ feet 779 all around.
41:12 The building that was facing the temple courtyard at the west side was 122½ feet 780 wide; the wall of the building was 8¾ feet 781 all around, and its length 157½ feet. 782
41:13 Then he measured the temple as 175 feet 783 long, the courtyard of the temple and the building and its walls as 175 feet 784 long, 41:14 and also the width of the front of the temple and the courtyard on the east as 175 feet. 785
41:15 Then he measured the length of the building facing the courtyard at the rear of the temple, with its galleries on either side as 175 feet. 786
The interior of the outer sanctuary and the porch of the court, 787 41:16 as well as the thresholds, narrow windows and galleries all around on three sides facing the threshold were paneled with wood all around, from the ground up to the windows (now the windows were covered), 41:17 to the space above the entrance, to the inner room, and on the outside, and on all the walls in the inner room and outside, by measurement. 788 41:18 It was made with cherubim and decorative palm trees, with a palm tree between each cherub. Each cherub had two faces: 41:19 a human face toward the palm tree on one side and a lion’s face toward the palm tree on the other side. They were carved on the whole temple all around; 41:20 from the ground to the area above the entrance, cherubim and decorative palm trees were carved on the wall of the outer sanctuary. 41:21 The doorposts of the outer sanctuary were square. In front of the sanctuary one doorpost looked just like the other. 41:22 The altar was of wood, 5¼ feet 789 high, with its length 3½ feet; 790 its corners, its length, 791 and its walls were of wood. He said to me, “This is the table that is before the Lord.” 41:23 The outer sanctuary and the inner sanctuary each had a double door. 41:24 Each of the doors had two leaves, two swinging 792 leaves; two leaves for one door and two leaves for the other. 41:25 On the doors of the outer sanctuary were carved cherubim and palm trees, like those carved on the walls, and there was a canopy 793 of wood on the front of the outside porch. 41:26 There were narrow windows and decorative palm trees on either side of the side walls of the porch; this is what the side chambers of the temple and the canopies were like.
42:1 Then he led me out to the outer court, toward the north, and brought me to the chamber which was opposite the courtyard and opposite the building on the north. 42:2 Its length was 175 feet 794 on the north side, 795 and its width 87½ feet. 796 42:3 Opposite the 35 feet 797 that belonged to the inner court, and opposite the pavement which belonged to the outer court, gallery faced gallery in the three stories. 42:4 In front of the chambers was a walkway on the inner side, 17½ feet 798 wide at a distance of 1¾ feet, 799 and their entrances were on the north. 42:5 Now the upper chambers were narrower, because the galleries took more space from them than from the lower and middle chambers of the building. 42:6 For they were in three stories and had no pillars like the pillars of the courts; therefore the upper chambers 800 were set back from the ground more than the lower and upper ones. 42:7 As for the outer wall by the side of the chambers, toward the outer court facing the chambers, it was 87½ feet 801 long. 42:8 For the chambers on the outer court were 87½ feet 802 long, while those facing the temple were 175 feet 803 long. 42:9 Below these chambers was a passage on the east side as one enters from the outer court.
42:10 At the beginning 804 of the wall of the court toward the south, 805 facing the courtyard and the building, were chambers 42:11 with a passage in front of them. They looked like the chambers on the north. Of the same length and width, and all their exits according to their arrangements and entrances 42:12 were the chambers 806 which were toward the south. There was an opening at the head of the passage, the passage in front of the corresponding wall toward the east when one enters.
42:13 Then he said to me, “The north chambers and the south chambers which face the courtyard are holy chambers where the priests 807 who approach the Lord will eat the most holy offerings. There they will place the most holy offerings – the grain offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering, because the place is holy. 42:14 When the priests enter, then they will not go out from the sanctuary to the outer court without taking off their garments in which they minister, for these are holy; they will put on other garments, then they will go near the places where the people are.”
42:15 Now when he had finished measuring the interior of the temple, he led me out by the gate which faces east and measured all around. 42:16 He measured the east side with the measuring stick 808 as 875 feet 809 by the measuring stick. 42:17 He measured the north side as 875 feet by the measuring stick. 42:18 He measured the south side as 875 feet by the measuring stick. 42:19 He turned to the west side and measured 875 feet by the measuring stick. 42:20 He measured it on all four sides. It had a wall around it, 875 feet long and 875 feet wide, to separate the holy and common places.
43:1 Then he brought me to the gate that faced toward the east. 43:2 I saw 810 the glory of the God of Israel 811 coming from the east; 812 the sound was like that of rushing water; 813 and the earth radiated 814 his glory. 43:3 It was like the vision I saw when he 815 came to destroy the city, and the vision I saw by the Kebar River. I threw myself face down. 43:4 The glory of the Lord came into the temple by way of the gate that faces east. 43:5 Then a wind 816 lifted me up and brought me to the inner court; I watched 817 the glory of the Lord filling the temple. 818
43:6 I heard someone speaking to me from the temple, while the man was standing beside me. 43:7 He said to me: “Son of man, this is the place of my throne 819 and the place for the soles of my feet, 820 where I will live among the people of Israel forever. The house of Israel will no longer profane my holy name, neither they nor their kings, by their spiritual prostitution or by the pillars of their kings set up when they die. 821 43:8 When they placed their threshold by my threshold and their doorpost by my doorpost, with only the wall between me and them, they profaned my holy name by the abominable deeds they committed. So I consumed them in my anger. 43:9 Now they must put away their spiritual prostitution and the pillars of their kings far from me, and then I will live among them forever.
43:10 “As for you, son of man, describe the temple to the house of Israel, so that they will be ashamed of their sins and measure the pattern. 43:11 When they are ashamed of all that they have done, make known to them the design of the temple, its pattern, its exits and entrances, and its whole design – all its statutes, its entire design, and all its laws; write it all down in their sight, so that they may observe its entire design and all its statutes and do them.
43:12 “This is the law of the temple: The entire area on top of the mountain all around will be most holy. Indeed, this is the law of the temple.
43:13 “And these are the measurements of the altar: 822 Its base 823 is 1¾ feet 824 high, 825 and 1¾ feet 826 wide, and its border nine inches 827 on its edge. This is to be the height 828 of the altar. 43:14 From the base of the ground to the lower edge is 3½ feet, 829 and the width 1¾ feet; 830 and from the smaller ledge to the larger edge, 7 feet, 831 and the width 1¾ feet; 43:15 and the altar hearth, 7 feet, and from the altar hearth four horns projecting upward. 43:16 Now the altar hearth 832 is a perfect square, 21 feet 833 long and 21 feet wide. 43:17 The ledge is 24½ feet 834 long and 24½ feet wide on four sides; the border around it is 10½ inches, 835 and its surrounding base 1¾ feet. 836 Its steps face east.”
43:18 Then he said to me: “Son of man, this is what the sovereign Lord says: These are the statutes of the altar: On the day it is built to offer up burnt offerings on it and to sprinkle blood on it, 837 43:19 you will give a young bull for a sin offering to the Levitical priests who are descended from Zadok, who approach me to minister to me, declares the sovereign Lord. 43:20 You will take some of its blood, and place it on the four horns of the altar, on the four corners of the ledge, and on the border all around; you will cleanse it and make atonement for it. 838 43:21 You will also take the bull for the sin offering, and it will be burned in the appointed place in the temple, outside the sanctuary.
43:22 “On the second day, you will offer a male goat without blemish for a sin offering. They will purify the altar just as they purified it with the bull. 43:23 When you have finished purifying it, you will offer an unblemished young bull and an unblemished ram from the flock. 43:24 You will present them before the Lord, and the priests will scatter salt on them 839 and offer them up as a burnt offering to the Lord.
43:25 “For seven days you will provide every day a goat for a sin offering; a young bull and a ram from the flock, both without blemish, will be provided. 43:26 For seven days they will make atonement for the altar and cleanse it, so they will consecrate it. 840 43:27 When the prescribed period is over, 841 on the eighth day and thereafter the priests will offer up on the altar your burnt offerings and your peace offerings; 842 I will accept you, declares the sovereign Lord.”
44:1 Then he brought me back by way of the outer gate of the sanctuary which faces east, but it was shut. 44:2 The Lord said to me: “This gate will be shut; it will not be opened, and no one will enter by it. For the Lord, the God of Israel, has entered by it; therefore it will remain shut. 44:3 Only the prince may sit in it to eat a sacrificial meal 843 before the Lord; he will enter by way of the porch of the gate and will go out by the same way.”
44:4 Then he brought me by way of the north gate to the front of the temple. As I watched, I noticed 844 the glory of the Lord filling the Lord’s temple, and I threw myself face down. 44:5 The Lord said to me: “Son of man, pay attention, 845 watch closely and listen carefully to 846 everything I tell you concerning all the statutes of the Lord’s house and all its laws. Pay attention to the entrances 847 to the temple with all the exits of the sanctuary. 44:6 Say to the rebellious, 848 to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Enough of all your abominable practices, O house of Israel! 44:7 When you bring foreigners, those uncircumcised in heart and in flesh, into my sanctuary, you desecrate 849 it – even my house – when you offer my food, the fat and the blood. You 850 have broken my covenant by all your abominable practices. 44:8 You have not kept charge of my holy things, but you have assigned foreigners 851 to keep charge of my sanctuary for you. 44:9 This is what the sovereign Lord says: No foreigner, who is uncircumcised in heart and flesh among all the foreigners who are among the people of Israel, will enter into my sanctuary. 852
44:10 “‘But the Levites who went far from me, straying off from me after their idols when Israel went astray, will be responsible for 853 their sin. 44:11 Yet they will be ministers in my sanctuary, having oversight at the gates of the temple, and serving the temple. They will slaughter the burnt offerings and the sacrifices for the people, and they will stand before them to minister to them. 44:12 Because they used to minister to them before their idols, and became a sinful obstacle 854 to the house of Israel, consequently I have made a vow 855 concerning them, declares the sovereign Lord, that they will be responsible 856 for their sin. 44:13 They will not come near me to serve me as priest, nor will they come near any of my holy things, the things which are most sacred. They will bear the shame of the abominable deeds they have committed. 44:14 Yet I will appoint them to keep charge of the temple, all of its service and all that will be done in it.
44:15 “‘But the Levitical priests, the descendants of Zadok 857 who kept the charge of my sanctuary when the people of Israel went astray from me, will approach me to minister to me; they will stand before me to offer me the fat and the blood, declares the sovereign Lord. 44:16 They will enter my sanctuary, and approach my table to minister to me; they will keep my charge.
44:17 “‘When they enter the gates of the inner court, they must wear linen garments; they must not have any wool on them when they minister in the inner gates of the court and in the temple. 44:18 Linen turbans will be on their heads and linen undergarments will be around their waists; they must not bind themselves with anything that causes sweat. 44:19 When they go out to the outer court to the people, they must remove the garments they were ministering in, and place them in the holy chambers; they must put on other garments so that they will not transmit holiness to the people with their garments. 858
44:20 “‘They must not shave their heads 859 nor let their hair grow long; 860 they must only trim their heads. 44:21 No priest may drink wine when he enters the inner court. 44:22 They must not marry a widow or a divorcee, but they may marry a virgin from the house of Israel 861 or a widow who is a priest’s widow. 44:23 Moreover, they will teach my people the difference between the holy and the common, and show them how to distinguish between the ceremonially unclean and the clean. 862
44:24 “‘In a controversy they will act as judges; 863 they will judge according to my ordinances. They will keep my laws and my statutes regarding all my appointed festivals and will observe 864 my Sabbaths.
44:25 “‘They must not come near a dead person or they will be defiled; 865 however, for father, mother, son, daughter, brother or sister, they may defile themselves. 44:26 After a priest 866 has become ceremonially clean, they 867 must count off a period of seven days for him. 44:27 On the day he enters the sanctuary, into the inner court to serve in the sanctuary, he must offer his sin offering, declares the sovereign Lord.
44:28 “‘This will be their inheritance: I am their inheritance, and you must give them no property in Israel; I am their property. 868 44:29 They may eat the grain offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering, and every devoted thing in Israel will be theirs. 44:30 The first of all the first fruits and all contributions of any kind 869 will be for the priests; you will also give to the priest the first portion of your dough, so that a blessing may rest on your house. 44:31 The priests will not eat any bird or animal that has died a natural death or was torn to pieces by a wild animal. 870
45:1 “‘When you allot the land as an inheritance, you will offer an allotment 871 to the Lord, a holy portion from the land; the length will be eight and a quarter miles 872 and the width three and one-third miles. 873 This entire area will be holy. 874 45:2 Of this area a square 875 feet 875 by 875 feet will be designated for the sanctuary, with 87½ feet 876 set aside for its open space round about. 45:3 From this measured area you will measure a length of eight and a quarter miles 877 and a width of three and one-third miles; 878 in it will be the sanctuary, the most holy place. 45:4 It will be a holy portion of the land; it will be for the priests, the ministers of the sanctuary who approach the Lord to minister to him. It will be a place for their houses and a holy place for the sanctuary. 879 45:5 An area eight and a quarter miles 880 in length and three and one-third miles 881 in width will be for the Levites, who minister at the temple, as the place for the cities 882 in which they will live.
45:6 “‘Alongside the portion set apart as the holy allotment, you will allot for the city an area one and two-thirds miles 883 wide and eight and a quarter miles 884 long; it will be for the whole house of Israel.
45:7 “‘For the prince there will be land on both sides of the holy allotment and the allotted city, alongside the holy allotment and the allotted city, on the west side and on the east side; it will be comparable in length to one of the portions, from the west border to the east border 45:8 of the land. This will be his property in Israel. My princes will no longer oppress my people, but the land will be allotted to the house of Israel according to their tribes.
45:9 “‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Enough, you princes of Israel! Put away violence and destruction, and do what is just and right. Put an end to your evictions of my people, 885 declares the sovereign Lord. 45:10 You must use just balances, 886 a just dry measure (an ephah), 887 and a just liquid measure (a bath). 888 45:11 The dry and liquid measures will be the same, the bath will contain a tenth of a homer, 889 and the ephah a tenth of a homer; the homer will be the standard measure. 45:12 The shekel will be twenty gerahs. Sixty shekels 890 will be a mina for you.
45:13 “‘This is the offering you must offer: a sixth of an ephah from a homer of wheat; a sixth of an ephah from a homer of barley, 45:14 and as the prescribed portion of olive oil, one tenth of a bath from each kor (which is ten baths or a homer, for ten baths make a homer); 45:15 and one sheep from each flock of two hundred, from the watered places of Israel, for a grain offering, burnt offering, and peace offering, to make atonement for them, declares the sovereign Lord. 45:16 All the people of the land will contribute 891 to this offering for the prince of Israel. 45:17 It will be the duty of the prince to provide the burnt offerings, the grain offering, and the drink offering at festivals, on the new moons and Sabbaths, at all the appointed feasts of the house of Israel; he will provide the sin offering, the grain offering, the burnt offering, and the peace offerings to make atonement for the house of Israel.
45:18 “‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: In the first month, on the first day of the month, you must take an unblemished young bull and purify the sanctuary. 45:19 The priest will take some of the blood of the sin offering and place it on the doorpost of the temple, on the four corners of the ledge of the altar, and on the doorpost of the gate of the inner court. 45:20 This is what you must do on the seventh day of the month for anyone who sins inadvertently or through ignorance; so you will make atonement for the temple.
45:21 “‘In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, you will celebrate the Passover, and for seven days bread made without yeast will be eaten. 45:22 On that day the prince will provide for himself and for all the people of the land a bull for a sin offering. 45:23 And during the seven days of the feast he will provide as a burnt offering to the Lord seven bulls and seven rams, all without blemish, on each of the seven days, and a male goat daily for a sin offering. 45:24 He will provide as a grain offering an ephah for each bull, an ephah for each ram, and a gallon 892 of olive oil for each ephah of grain. 893 45:25 In the seventh month, on the fifteenth day of the month, at the feast, 894 he will make the same provisions for the sin offering, burnt offering, and grain offering, and for the olive oil, for the seven days.
46:1 “‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: The gate of the inner court that faces east 895 will be closed six working days, but on the Sabbath day it will be opened and on the day of the new moon it will be opened. 46:2 The prince will enter by way of the porch of the gate from the outside, and will stand by the doorpost of the gate. The priests will provide his burnt offering and his peace offerings, and he will bow down at the threshold of the gate and then go out. But the gate will not be closed until evening. 46:3 The people of the land will bow down at the entrance of that gate before the Lord on the Sabbaths and on the new moons. 46:4 The burnt offering which the prince will offer to the Lord on the Sabbath day will be six unblemished lambs and one unblemished ram. 46:5 The grain offering will be an ephah with the ram, and the grain offering with the lambs will be as much as he is able to give, 896 and a gallon 897 of olive oil with an ephah. 46:6 On the day of the new moon he will offer 898 an unblemished young bull, and six lambs and a ram, all without blemish. 46:7 He will provide a grain offering: an ephah with the bull and an ephah with the ram, and with the lambs as much as he wishes, 899 and a gallon 900 of olive oil with each ephah of grain. 901 46:8 When the prince enters, he will come by way of the porch of the gate and will go out the same way.
46:9 “‘When the people of the land come before the Lord at the appointed feasts, whoever enters by way of the north gate to worship will go out by way of the south gate; whoever enters by way of the south gate will go out by way of the north gate. No one will return by way of the gate they entered but will go out straight ahead. 46:10 When they come in, the prince will come in with them, and when they go out, he will go out.
46:11 “‘At the festivals and at the appointed feasts the grain offering will be an ephah with the bull and an ephah with the ram, and with the lambs as much as one is able, 902 and a gallon 903 of olive oil with each ephah of grain. 904 46:12 When the prince provides a freewill offering, a burnt offering, or peace offerings as a voluntary offering to the Lord, the gate facing east will be opened for him, and he will provide his burnt offering and his peace offerings just as he did on the Sabbath. Then he will go out, and the gate will be closed after he goes out. 905
46:13 “‘You 906 will provide a lamb a year old without blemish for a burnt offering daily to the Lord; morning by morning he will provide it. 46:14 And you 907 will provide a grain offering with it morning by morning, a sixth of an ephah, and a third of a gallon 908 of olive oil to moisten the choice flour, as a grain offering to the Lord; this is a perpetual statute. 46:15 Thus they will provide the lamb, the grain offering, and the olive oil morning by morning, as a perpetual burnt offering.
46:16 “‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: If the prince should give a gift to one of his sons as 909 his inheritance, it will belong to his sons, it is their property by inheritance. 46:17 But if he gives a gift from his inheritance to one of his servants, it will be his until the year of liberty; 910 then it will revert to the prince. His inheritance will only remain with his sons. 46:18 The prince will not take away any of the people’s inheritance by oppressively removing them from their property. He will give his sons an inheritance from his own possessions so that my people will not be scattered, each from his own property.’”
46:19 Then he brought me through the entrance, which was at the side of the gate, into the holy chambers for the priests which faced north. There I saw 911 a place at the extreme western end. 46:20 He said to me, “This is the place where the priests will boil the guilt offering and the sin offering, and where they will bake the grain offering, so that they do not bring them out to the outer court to transmit holiness to the people.”
46:21 Then he brought me out to the outer court and led me past the four corners of the court, and I noticed 912 that in every corner of the court there was a court. 46:22 In the four corners of the court were small 913 courts, 70 feet 914 in length and 52½ feet 915 in width; the four were all the same size. 46:23 There was a row of masonry around each of the four courts, and places for boiling offerings were made under the rows all around. 46:24 Then he said to me, “These are the houses for boiling, where the ministers of the temple boil the sacrifices of the people.”
47:1 Then he brought me back to the entrance of the temple. I noticed 916 that water was flowing from under the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east). The water was flowing down from under the right side of the temple, from south of the altar. 47:2 He led me out by way of the north gate and brought me around the outside of the outer gate that faces toward the east; I noticed 917 that the water was trickling out from the south side.
47:3 When the man went out toward the east with a measuring line in his hand, he measured 1,750 feet, 918 and then he led me through water, which was ankle deep. 47:4 Again he measured 1,750 feet and led me through the water, which was now knee deep. Once more he measured 1,750 feet and led me through the water, which was waist deep. 47:5 Again he measured 1,750 feet and it was a river I could not cross, for the water had risen; it was deep enough to swim in, a river that could not be crossed. 47:6 He said to me, “Son of man, have you seen this?”
Then he led me back to the bank of the river. 47:7 When I had returned, I noticed 919 a vast number of trees on the banks of the river, on both sides. 47:8 He said to me, “These waters go out toward the eastern region and flow down into the Arabah; when they enter the Dead Sea, 920 where the sea is stagnant, 921 the waters become fresh. 922 47:9 Every living creature which swarms where the river 923 flows will live; there will be many fish, for these waters flow there. It will become fresh 924 and everything will live where the river flows. 47:10 Fishermen will stand beside it; from Engedi to En-eglaim they will spread nets. They will catch many kinds of fish, like the fish of the Great Sea. 925 47:11 But its swamps and its marshes will not become fresh; they will remain salty. 47:12 On both sides of the river’s banks, every kind of tree will grow for food. Their leaves will not wither nor will their fruit fail, but they will bear fruit every month, because their water source flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food and their leaves for healing.” 926
47:13 This is what the sovereign Lord says: “Here 927 are the borders 928 you will observe as you allot the land to the twelve tribes of Israel. (Joseph will have two portions.) 929 47:14 You must divide it equally just as I vowed to give it to your forefathers; 930 this land will be assigned as your inheritance. 931
47:15 “This will be the border of the land: 932 On the north side, from the Great Sea by way of Hethlon to the entrance of Zedad; 47:16 Hamath, Berothah, Sibraim, which is between the border of Damascus and the border of Hamath, as far as Hazer-hattikon, which is on the border of Hauran. 47:17 The border will run from the sea to Hazar-enan, at the border of Damascus, and on the north is the border of Hamath. This is the north side. 47:18 On the east side, between Hauran and Damascus, and between Gilead and the land of Israel, will be the Jordan. You will measure from the border to the eastern sea. This is the east side. 47:19 On the south side it will run from Tamar to the waters of Meribath Kadesh, the river, 933 to the Great Sea. This is the south side. 47:20 On the west side the Great Sea will be the boundary to a point opposite Lebo-hamath. This is the west side.
47:21 “This is how you will divide this land for yourselves among the tribes of Israel. 47:22 You must allot it as an inheritance among yourselves and for the foreigners who reside among you, who have fathered sons among you. You must treat them as native-born among the people of Israel; they will be allotted an inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel. 934 47:23 In whatever tribe the foreigner resides, there you will give him his inheritance,” declares the sovereign Lord.
48:1 “These are the names of the tribes: From the northern end beside the road of Hethlon to Lebo-hamath, as far as Hazar-enan (which is on the border of Damascus, toward the north beside Hamath), extending from the east side to the west, Dan will have one portion. 48:2 Next to the border of Dan, from the east side to the west, Asher 935 will have one portion. 48:3 Next to the border of Asher from the east side to the west, Naphtali will have one portion. 48:4 Next to the border of Naphtali from the east side to the west, Manasseh will have one portion. 48:5 Next to the border of Manasseh from the east side to the west, Ephraim will have one portion. 48:6 Next to the border of Ephraim from the east side to the west, Reuben will have one portion. 48:7 Next to the border of Reuben from the east side to the west, Judah 936 will have one portion.
48:8 “Next to the border of Judah from the east side to the west will be the allotment you must set apart. It is to be eight and a quarter miles 937 wide, and the same length as one of the tribal portions, from the east side to the west; the sanctuary will be in the middle of it. 48:9 The allotment you set apart to the Lord will be eight and a quarter miles 938 in length and three and one-third miles 939 in width. 48:10 These will be the allotments for the holy portion: for the priests, toward the north eight and a quarter miles 940 in length, toward the west three and one-third miles 941 in width, toward the east three and one-third miles 942 in width, and toward the south eight and a quarter miles 943 in length; the sanctuary of the Lord will be in the middle. 48:11 This will be for the priests who are set apart from the descendants of Zadok who kept my charge and did not go astray when the people of Israel strayed off, like the Levites did. 944 48:12 It will be their portion from the allotment of the land, a most holy place, next to the border of the Levites.
48:13 “Alongside the border of the priests, the Levites will have an allotment eight and a quarter miles 945 in length and three and one-third miles 946 in width. The whole length will be eight and a quarter miles 947 and the width three and one-third miles. 948 48:14 They must not sell or exchange any of it; they must not transfer this choice portion of land, for it is set apart 949 to the Lord.
48:15 “The remainder, one and two-thirds miles 950 in width and eight and a quarter miles 951 in length, will be for common use by the city, for houses and for open space. The city will be in the middle of it; 48:16 these will be its measurements: The north side will be one and one-half miles, 952 the south side one and one-half miles, the east side one and one-half miles, and the west side one and one-half miles. 48:17 The city will have open spaces: On the north there will be 437½ feet, 953 on the south 437½ feet, on the east 437½ feet, and on the west 437½ feet. 48:18 The remainder of the length alongside the holy allotment will be three and one-third miles 954 to the east and three and one-third miles toward the west, and it will be beside the holy allotment. Its produce will be for food for the workers of the city. 48:19 The workers of the city from all the tribes of Israel will cultivate it. 48:20 The whole allotment will be eight and a quarter miles 955 square, you must set apart the holy allotment with the possession of the city.
48:21 “The rest, on both sides of the holy allotment and the property of the city, will belong to the prince. Extending from the eight and a quarter miles 956 of the holy allotment to the east border, and westward from the eight and a quarter miles 957 to the west border, alongside the portions, it will belong to the prince. The holy allotment and the sanctuary of the temple will be in the middle of it. 48:22 The property of the Levites and of the city will be in the middle of that which belongs to the prince. The portion between the border of Judah and the border of Benjamin will be for the prince.
48:23 “As for the rest of the tribes: From the east side to the west side, Benjamin will have one portion. 48:24 Next to the border of Benjamin, from the east side to the west side, Simeon will have one portion. 48:25 Next to the border of Simeon, from the east side to the west side, Issachar will have one portion. 48:26 Next to the border of Issachar, from the east side to the west side, Zebulun will have one portion. 48:27 Next to the border of Zebulun, from the east side to the west side, Gad will have one portion. 48:28 Next to the border of Gad, at the south side, the border will run from Tamar to the waters of Meribath Kadesh, to the Stream of Egypt 958 and on to the Great Sea. 48:29 This is the land which you will allot to the tribes of Israel, and these are their portions, declares the sovereign Lord.
48:30 “These are the exits of the city: On the north side, one and one-half miles 959 by measure, 48:31 the gates of the city 960 will be named for the tribes of Israel; there will be three gates to the north: one gate for Reuben, one gate for Judah, and one gate for Levi. 48:32 On the east side, one and one-half miles in length, there will be three gates: one gate for Joseph, one gate for Benjamin, and one gate for Dan. 48:33 On the south side, one and one-half miles by measure, there will be three gates: one gate for Simeon, one gate for Issachar, and one gate for Zebulun. 48:34 On the west side, one and one-half miles in length, there will be three gates: one gate for Gad, one gate for Asher, and one gate for Naphtali. 48:35 The circumference of the city will be six miles. 961 The name of the city from that day forward will be: ‘The Lord Is There.’” 962
[20:1] 1 sn The date would be August 14th, 591
[20:1] 2 tn Heb “men from the elders.”
[20:1] 3 tn See the note at 14:3.
[20:3] 4 tn Or “I will not reveal myself to you.”
[20:4] 5 tn Heb “will you judge.” Here the imperfect form of the verb is probably used with a desiderative nuance. Addressed to the prophet, “judge” means to warn of or pronounce God’s impending judgment.
[20:5] 6 tn Heb “I lifted up my hand.”
[20:5] 8 tn Heb “I lifted up my hand.”
[20:6] 9 tn Heb “I lifted up my hand to them.”
[20:6] 10 tn Or “searched out.” The Hebrew word is used to describe the activity of the spies in “spying out” the land of Canaan (Num 13-14); cf. KJV “I had espied for them.”
[20:6] 11 sn The phrase “a land flowing with milk and honey,” a figure of speech describing the land’s abundant fertility, occurs in v. 15 as well as Exod 3:8, 17; 13:5; 33:3; Lev 20:24; Num 13:27; Deut 6:3; 11:9; 26:9; 27:3; Josh 5:6; Jer 11:5; 32:23 (see also Deut 1:25; 8:7-9).
[20:7] 12 tn Heb “each one, the detestable things of his eyes, throw away.” The Pentateuch does not refer to the Israelites worshiping idols in Egypt, but Josh 24:14 appears to suggest that they did so.
[20:8] 13 tn Heb “each one, the detestable things of their eyes did not throw away.”
[20:8] 14 tn Heb “and I said/thought to pour out.”
[20:9] 15 tn Heb “for the sake of my name.”
[20:9] 16 tn Heb “before the eyes of the nations in whose midst they were.”
[20:9] 17 tn Heb “to whom I made myself known before their eyes to bring them out from the land of Egypt.” The translation understands the infinitive construct (“to bring them out”) as indicating manner. God’s deliverance of his people from Egypt was an act of self-revelation in that it displayed his power and his commitment to his promises.
[20:11] 18 sn The laws were given at Mount Sinai.
[20:11] 21 tn The wording and the concept is contained in Lev 18:5 and Deut 30:15-19.
[20:12] 22 sn Ezekiel’s contemporary, Jeremiah, also stressed the importance of obedience to the Sabbath law (Jer 17).
[20:12] 23 tn Heb “to become a sign between me and them.”
[20:12] 24 tn Or “set them apart.” The last phrase of verse 12 appears to be a citation of Exod 31:13.
[20:13] 25 tn Heb “and I said/thought to pour out.”
[20:13] 26 tn Heb “to bring them to an end.”
[20:15] 27 tn Heb “I lifted up my hand.”
[20:16] 28 tn The words “I did this” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied for stylistic reasons. Verses 15-16 are one long sentence in the Hebrew text. The translation divides this sentence into two for stylistic reasons.
[20:16] 29 tn Heb “for after their idols their heart was going.” The use of the active participle (“was going”) in the Hebrew text draws attention to the ongoing nature of their idolatrous behavior.
[20:17] 30 tn Heb “my eye pitied.”
[20:18] 31 tn Heb “sons,” reflecting the patriarchal idiom of the culture.
[20:18] 32 tn Or “standard of justice.” See Ezek 7:27.
[20:20] 33 tn Or “set apart my Sabbaths.”
[20:20] 34 tn Heb “and they will become a sign between me and you.”
[20:21] 36 tn Or “carries them out.”
[20:21] 37 tn Heb “and I said/thought to pour out.”
[20:22] 38 tn Heb “drew my hand back.” This idiom also occurs in Lam 2:8 and Ps 74:11.
[20:23] 39 tn Heb “I lifted up my hand.”
[20:23] 40 sn Though the Pentateuch does not seem to know of this episode, Ps 106:26-27 may speak of God’s oath to exile the people before they had entered Canaan.
[20:24] 41 tn The words “I did this” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied for stylistic reasons. Verses 23-24 are one long sentence in the Hebrew text. The translation divides this sentence into two for stylistic reasons.
[20:24] 42 tn Or “they worshiped” (NCV, TEV, CEV); Heb “their eyes were on” or “were after” (cf. v. 16).
[20:25] 44 tn The Hebrew term חֻקּוֹת (khuqot; translated “statutes” elsewhere in this chapter) is normally feminine. Here Ezekiel changes the form to masculine: חֻקִּים (khuqim). Further, they are not called “my decrees” as vv. 11 and 13 refer to “my statutes.” The change is a signal that Ezekiel is not talking about the same statutes in vv. 11 and 13, which lead to life.
[20:26] 46 sn This act is prohibited in Deut 12:29-31 and Jer 7:31; 19:5; 32:35. See also 2 Kgs 21:6; 23:10. This custom indicates that the laws the Israelites were following were the disastrous laws of pagan nations (see Ezek 16:20-21).
[20:26] 47 sn God sometimes punishes sin by inciting the sinner to sin even more, as the biblical examples of divine hardening and deceit make clear. See Robert B. Chisholm, Jr., “Divine Hardening in the Old Testament,” BSac 153 (1996): 410-34; idem, “Does God Deceive?” BSac 155 (1998): 11-28. For other instances where the Lord causes individuals to act unwisely or even sinfully as punishment for sin, see 1 Sam 2:25; 2 Sam 17:14; 1 Kgs 12:15; 2 Chr 25:20.
[20:28] 48 tn Heb “which I lifted up my hand.”
[20:29] 49 tn The Hebrew word (“Bamah”) means “high place.”
[20:30] 50 tn Heb “in the way of your fathers.”
[20:31] 52 tn Or “Will I reveal myself to you?”
[20:31] 53 tn Or “I will not reveal myself to you.”
[20:32] 54 tn Heb “what comes upon your mind.”
[20:32] 55 tn The Hebrew could also read: “Let us be.”
[20:32] 56 tn Heb “serving wood and stone.”
[20:33] 57 sn This phrase occurs frequently in Deuteronomy (Deut 4:34; 5:15; 7:19; 11:2; 26:8).
[20:37] 58 tn This is the same Hebrew verb used to describe the passing of the children through the fire.
[20:37] 59 sn The metaphor may be based in Lev 27:32 (see also Jer 33:13; Matt 25:32-33). A shepherd would count his sheep as they passed beneath his staff.
[20:38] 60 tn See the note at 2:3.
[20:39] 61 sn Compare the irony here to Amos 4:4 and Jer 44:25.
[20:39] 62 tn Heb “and after, if you will not listen to me.” The translation leaves out “and after” for smoothness. The text is difficult. M. Greenberg (Ezekiel [AB], 1:374) suggests that it may mean “but afterwards, if you will not listen to me…” with an unspoken threat.
[20:39] 63 sn A similar concept may be found in Lev 18:21; 20:3.
[20:40] 65 tn Heb “all of it.”
[20:42] 66 tn Heb “I lifted up my hand.”
[20:43] 68 tn Heb “loathe yourselves in your faces.”
[20:45] 69 sn Beginning with 20:45, the verse numbers through 21:32 in the English Bible differ by five from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 20:45 ET = 21:1 HT, 20:46 ET = 21:2 HT, 21:1 ET = 21:6 HT etc., through 21:32 ET = 21:37 HT. Beginning with 22:1 the verse numbers in the English Bible and the Hebrew Bible are again the same.
[20:46] 70 tn Heb “set your face toward.” This expression occurs as well in Ezek 6:2; 13:17.
[20:46] 71 tn Or “the way toward the south,” or “the way toward Teman.” Teman is in the south and may be a location or the direction.
[20:46] 72 tn Or “toward Darom.” Darom may mean the south or a region just north of southern city of Beer Sheba. See M. Greenberg, Ezekiel (AB), 2:417-18.
[20:46] 73 tn The Hebrew term can also mean “forest,” but a meaning of uncultivated wasteland fits the Negev region far better. See M. Greenberg, Ezekiel (AB), 2:418.
[20:47] 74 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
[20:47] 75 tn Fire also appears as a form of judgment in Ezek 15:4-7; 19:12, 14.
[20:48] 76 tn Heb “all flesh.”
[21:1] 77 sn Ezek 21:1 in the English Bible is 21:6 in the Hebrew text (BHS). See the note at 20:45.
[21:2] 78 tn Heb “set your face toward.”
[21:2] 79 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[21:3] 80 tn Heb “the land of Israel.”
[21:3] 81 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) draws attention to something and has been translated here as a verb.
[21:3] 82 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.
[21:3] 83 sn This is the sword of judgment, see Isa 31:8; 34:6; 66:16.
[21:3] 84 sn Ezekiel elsewhere pictures the Lord’s judgment as discriminating between the righteous and the wicked (9:4-6; 18:1-20; see as well Pss 1 and 11) and speaks of the preservation of a remnant (3:21; 6:8; 12:16). Perhaps here he exaggerates for rhetorical effect in an effort to subdue any false optimism. See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:25-26; D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:669-70; and W. Zimmerli, Ezekiel (Hermeneia), 1:424-25.
[21:4] 85 tn Heb “all flesh” (also in the following verse).
[21:4] 86 tn Heb “Negev.” The Negev is the south country.
[21:6] 87 tn Heb “breaking loins.”
[21:7] 88 tn Heb “every spirit will be dim.”
[21:7] 89 sn This expression depicts in a very vivid way how they will be overcome with fear. See the note on the same phrase in 7:17.
[21:10] 90 tn Heb “Or shall we rejoice, scepter of my son, it despises every tree.” The translation understands the subject of the verb “despises,” which is a feminine form in the Hebrew text, to be the sword (which is a feminine noun) mentioned just before this. Alternatively, the line may be understood as “let us not rejoice, O tribe of my son; it despises every tree.” The same word in Hebrew may be either “rod,” “scepter,” or “tribe.” The word sometimes translated as “or” or taken as an interrogative particle may be a negative particle. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:672, n. 79.
[21:12] 91 sn This physical action was part of an expression of grief. Cp. Jer. 31:19.
[21:13] 92 tn Heb “For testing (will come) and what if also a scepter, it despises, will not be?” The translation understands the subject of the verb “despises,” which is a feminine form in the Hebrew text, to be the sword (which is a feminine noun) mentioned in the previous verses. The text is very difficult and any rendering is uncertain.
[21:20] 95 tc The MT reads “Judah in fortified Jerusalem,” a geographic impossibility. The translation follows the LXX, which assumes בְּתוֹכָהּ (bÿtokhah, “in it”) for בְּצוּרָה (bÿtsurah, “fortified”).
[21:21] 97 sn Mesopotamian kings believed that the gods revealed the future through omens. They employed various divination techniques, some of which are included in the list that follows. A particularly popular technique was the examination and interpretation of the livers of animals. See R. R. Wilson, Prophecy and Society in Ancient Israel, 90-110.
[21:21] 98 tn This word refers to personal idols that were apparently used for divination purposes (Gen 31:19; 1 Sam 19:13, 16).
[21:21] 100 tn Heb “the liver.”
[21:22] 101 tn Or “on the right side,” i.e., the omen mark on the right side of the liver.
[21:22] 102 tn Heb “to open the mouth” for slaughter.
[21:22] 103 tn Heb “to raise up a voice in a battle cry.”
[21:23] 104 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the people in Jerusalem) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[21:23] 105 sn When the people of Judah realized the Babylonians’ intentions, they would object on grounds that they had made a treaty with the Babylonian king (see 17:13).
[21:23] 106 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king of Babylon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[21:23] 108 tn Heb “and he will remind of guilt for the purpose of being captured.” The king would counter their objections by pointing out that they had violated their treaty with him (see 17:18).
[21:24] 109 tn Heb “caused to be remembered.”
[21:24] 110 tn Heb “Because you have brought to remembrance your guilt when your transgressions are uncovered so that your sins are revealed in all your deeds – because you are remembered, by the hand you will be seized.”
[21:25] 111 tn This probably refers to King Zedekiah.
[21:26] 112 tn Elsewhere in the Bible the turban is worn by priests (Exod 28:4, 37, 39; 29:6; 39:28, 31; Lev 8:9; 16:4), but here a royal crown is in view.
[21:26] 113 tn Heb “This not this.”
[21:26] 114 tn Heb “the high one.”
[21:27] 115 tn Heb “A ruin, a ruin, a ruin I will make it.” The threefold repetition of the noun “ruin” is for emphasis and draws attention to the degree of ruin that would take place. See IBHS 233 §12.5a and GKC 431-32 §133.k. The pronominal suffix (translated “it”) on the verb “make” is feminine in Hebrew. The probable antecedent is the “turban/crown” (both nouns are feminine in form) mentioned in verse 26. The point is that the king’s royal splendor would be completely devastated as judgment overtook his realm and brought his reign to a violent end.
[21:27] 116 tn Heb “Also this, he was not, until the coming of the one to whom the judgment belongs and I have given it.” The Hebrew text, as it stands, is grammatically difficult. The pronoun “this” is feminine, while the following negated verb (“was not”) is masculine. Some emend the verb to a feminine form (see BHS). In this case the statement refers to the destiny of the king’s turban/crown (symbolizing his reign). See the previous note. The preposition translated “when” normally means “until,” but here it seems to refer to the period during which the preceding situation is realized, rather than its termination point. See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:19, 21. The second part of the statement, though awkward, probably refers to the arrival of the Babylonian king, to whom the Lord had assigned the task of judgment (see 23:24). Or the verse may read “A total ruin I will make, even this. It will not be until the one comes to whom is (the task of) judgment and I have assigned it.”
[21:28] 117 tn Heb “their reproach.”
[21:28] 118 tn Heb “to contain, endure.” Since the Hebrew text as it stands makes little, if any, sense, most emend the text to read either “to consume” or “for destruction.” For discussion of options see D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:693.
[21:29] 119 tn Heb “in the seeing concerning you falsehood, in divining concerning you a lie.” This probably refers to the attempts of the Ammonites to ward off judgment through prophetic visions and divination.
[21:29] 120 tn Heb “you”; the referent (the sword mentioned in v. 28) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[21:29] 121 sn The second half of the verse appears to state that the sword of judgment would fall upon the wicked, despite their efforts to prevent it.
[21:30] 122 sn Once the Babylonian king’s sword (vv. 19-20) has carried out its assigned task, the Lord commands it to halt and announces that Babylon itself will also experience his judgment. See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:28.
[21:30] 123 tn In the Hebrew text of vv. 30-32 the second person verbal and pronominal forms are feminine singular. This may indicate that the personified Babylonian sword is being addressed. The Hebrew word for “sword” (see v. 28) is feminine. However, it may refer to the Ammonites.
[21:32] 124 tn Heb “your blood will be in the middle of the land.”
[22:2] 125 tn Heb “will you judge.” Here the imperfect form of the verb is probably used with a desiderative nuance. Addressed to the prophet, “judge” means to warn of or pronounce God’s impending judgment upon the city. See 20:4.
[22:2] 126 tn The phrase “bloody city” is used of Nineveh in Nah 3:1.
[22:3] 127 tn Heb “her time”; this refers to the time of impending judgment (see the note on “doom” in v. 4).
[22:4] 128 tn Heb “you have brought near your days.” The expression “bring near your days” appears to be an adaptation of the idiom “days draw near,” which is used to indicate that an event, such as death, is imminent (see Gen 27:41; 47:29; Deut 31:14; 1 Kgs 2:1; Ezek 12:23). Here “your days” probably refers to the days of the personified city’s life, which was about to come to an end through God’s judgment.
[22:4] 129 tn Heb “and you have come to your years.” This appears to mean that she has arrived at the time when her years (i.e., life) would end, though it may mean that her years of punishment will begin. Because “day” and “time” are so closely associated in the immediate context (see 21:25, 29) some prefer to emend the text and read “you have brought near your time.” See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:31, as well as the translator’s note on verse 3.
[22:4] 130 tn The Hebrew verb is a prophetic perfect, emphasizing that the action is as good as done from the speaker’s perspective.
[22:5] 131 tn Heb “unclean of name.”
[22:6] 132 tn Heb “Look! The princes of Israel, each according to his arm, were in you in order to shed blood.”
[22:7] 133 tn Heb “treated lightly, cursed.”
[22:7] 134 tn Widows and orphans are often coupled together in the OT (Deut 14:29; 16:11, 14; 24:19-21; 26:12-13; Jer 7:6; 22:3). They represented all who were poor and vulnerable to economic exploitation.
[22:9] 135 tn Heb “men of slander are in you in order to shed blood.”
[22:9] 136 tn Heb “and on the mountains they eat within you.” The mountains mentioned here were the site of pagan sacrifices. See 18:6.
[22:9] 137 sn This statement introduces vv. 10-11 and refers in general terms to the sexual sins described there. For the legal background of vv. 10-11, see Lev 18:7-20; 20:10-21; Deut 22:22-23, 30; 27:22.
[22:10] 138 tn Heb “the nakedness of a father one uncovers within you.” The ancient versions read the verb as plural (“they uncover”). If the singular is retained, it must be taken as indefinite and representative of the entire group. The idiomatic expression “uncover the nakedness” refers here to sexual intercourse (cf. Lev 18:6). To uncover a father’s nakedness could include sexual relations with one’s own mother (Lev 18:7), but more likely it refers to having intercourse with another wife of one’s father, such as a stepmother (Lev 18:8; cf. Gen 35:22; 49:4).
[22:10] 139 tn Heb “(one who is) unclean due to the impurity they humble within you.” The use of the verb “to humble” suggests that these men forced themselves upon women during menstruation. Having sexual relations with a woman during her period was forbidden by the Law (Lev 18:19; 20:18).
[22:11] 141 tn The verb is the same one used in verse 10b and suggests forcible sexual violation of the woman.
[22:11] 142 sn Sexual relations with one’s half-sister may be primarily in view here. See Lev 18:9; 20:17.
[22:12] 143 tn Heb “usury and interest you take.” See 18:13, 17. This kind of economic exploitation violated the law given in Lev 25:36.
[22:12] 144 sn Forgetting the Lord is also addressed in Deut 6:12; 8:11, 14; Jer 3:21; 13:25; Ezek 23:35; Hos 2:15; 8:14; 13:6.
[22:12] 145 tn The second person verb forms are feminine singular in Hebrew, indicating that the personified city is addressed here as representing its citizens.
[22:13] 146 sn This gesture apparently expresses mourning and/or anger (see 6:11; 21:14, 17).
[22:13] 147 tn Heb “the blood which was in you.”
[22:14] 148 tn Heb “stand.” The heart here stands for the emotions; Jerusalem would panic in the face of God’s judgment.
[22:14] 149 tn Heb “in the days when I act against you.”
[22:15] 150 sn The ultimate purpose of divine judgment is to purify the covenant community of its sins.
[22:16] 151 tc Several ancient versions read the verb as first person, in which case the Lord refers to how his people’s sin brings disgrace upon him. For a defense of the Hebrew text, see D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:712, n. 68, and M. Greenberg, Ezekiel (AB), 2:457-58.
[22:18] 152 tn For similar imagery, see Isa 1:21-26; Jer 6:27-30.
[22:19] 153 tn The Hebrew second person pronoun is masculine plural here and in vv. 19b-21, indicating that the people are being addressed.
[22:19] 154 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[22:20] 155 tn Heb “I will put.” No object is supplied in the Hebrew, prompting many to emend the text to “I will blow.” See BHS and verse 21.
[22:24] 156 tc The MT reads “that is not cleansed”; the LXX reads “that is not drenched,” which assumes a different vowel pointing as well as the loss of a מ (mem) due to haplography. In light of the following reference to showers, the reading of the LXX certainly fits the context well. For a defense of the emendation, see L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:32. Yet the MT is not an unreasonable reading since uncleanness in the land also fits the context, and a poetic connection between rain and the land being uncleansed may be feasible since washing with water is elsewhere associated with cleansing (Num 8:7; 31:23; Ps 51:7).
[22:24] 157 tn Heb “in a day of anger.”
[22:25] 158 tn Heb “a conspiracy of her prophets is in her midst.” The LXX reads “whose princes” rather than “a conspiracy of prophets.” The prophets are mentioned later in the paragraph (v. 28). If one follows the LXX in verse 25, then five distinct groups are mentioned in vv. 25-29: princes, priests, officials, prophets, and the people of the land. For a defense of the Septuagintal reading, see L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:32, and D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:720, n. 4.
[22:25] 159 tn Heb “her widows they have multiplied.” The statement alludes to their murderous acts.
[22:26] 160 tn Or “between the consecrated and the common.”
[22:26] 161 tn Heb “hide their eyes from.” The idiom means to disregard or ignore something or someone (see Lev 20:4; 1 Sam 12:3; Prov 28:27; Isa 1:15).
[22:28] 162 tn Heb “her prophets coat for themselves with whitewash.” The expression may be based on Ezek 13:10-15.
[22:29] 163 tn Heb “and the foreigner they have oppressed without justice.”
[22:30] 164 tn Heb “I did not find.”
[22:31] 165 tn Heb “their way on their head I have placed.”
[23:3] 166 tn In the Hebrew text the subject is left unstated and must be supplied from the context.
[23:4] 167 tn The names Oholah and Oholibah are both derived from the word meaning “tent.” The meaning of Oholah is “her tent,” while Oholibah means “my tent is in her.”
[23:4] 168 sn In this allegory the Lord is depicted as being the husband of two wives. The OT law prohibited a man from marrying sisters (Lev 18:18), but the practice is attested in the OT (cf. Jacob). The metaphor is utilized here for illustrative purposes and does not mean that the Lord condoned such a practice or bigamy in general.
[23:5] 169 tn Heb “while she was under me.” The expression indicates that Oholah is viewed as the Lord’s wife. See Num 5:19-20, 29.
[23:5] 171 tn The term apparently refers to Assyrian military officers; it is better construed with the description that follows. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:738.
[23:7] 172 tn Heb “lusted after.”
[23:8] 173 tn Heb “and poured out their harlotry on her.”
[23:9] 174 tn Heb “I gave her into the hand of her lovers, into the hand of the sons of Assyria.”
[23:11] 176 tn The word “this” is not in the original text.
[23:14] 177 tn The only other occurrence of the Hebrew term is in Jer 22:14.
[23:15] 178 tn Heb “the sons of Babel.”
[23:16] 179 tn Heb “at the appearance of her eyes.”
[23:16] 180 sn The Chaldeans were prominent tribal groups of Babylonia. The imagery is reminiscent of events in the reigns of Hezekiah (2 Kgs 20:12-15) and Jehoiakim (2 Kgs 23:34-24:1).
[23:17] 181 tn Heb “The sons of Babel came to her on a bed of love.”
[23:17] 182 tn Heb “her soul.”
[23:18] 183 tn Heb “She exposed her harlotry and she exposed her nakedness.”
[23:20] 186 tn Heb “She lusted after their concubines (?) whose flesh was the flesh of donkeys.” The phrase “their concubines” is extremely problematic here. The pronoun is masculine plural, suggesting that the Egyptian men are in view, but how concubines would fit into the picture envisioned here is not clear. Some suggest that Ezekiel uses the term in an idiomatic sense of “paramour,” but this still fails to explain how the pronoun relates to the noun. It is more likely that the term refers here to the Egyptians’ genitals. The relative pronoun that follows introduces a more specific description of their genitals.
[23:21] 187 tn Or “you took note of.” The Hebrew verb פָּקַד (paqad) in the Qal implies evaluating something and then acting in light of that judgment; here the prophet depicts Judah as approving of her youthful unfaithfulness and then magnifying it at the present time. Some translations assume the verb should be repointed as a Niphal, rendering “you missed” or by extension “you longed for,” but such an extension of the Niphal “to be missing” is otherwise unattested.
[23:21] 188 tn Heb “when (they) did,” but the verb makes no sense here and is better emended to “when (they) fondled,” a verb used in vv. 3 and 8. See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:43.
[23:21] 189 tn Heb “for the sake of,” but the expression is awkward and is better emended to read “to squeeze.” See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:43.
[23:22] 190 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
[23:23] 191 sn Pekod was the name of an Aramean tribe (known as Puqudu in Mesopotamian texts) that lived in the region of the Tigris River.
[23:23] 192 sn Shoa was the name of a nomadic people (the Sutu) that lived in Mesopotamia.
[23:23] 193 sn Koa was the name of another Mesopotamian people group (the Qutu).
[23:24] 194 tn Heb “come against.”
[23:24] 195 tn This is the only occurrence of this term in the OT. The precise meaning is uncertain.
[23:24] 196 tn Heb “an assembly of peoples.”
[23:24] 197 tn Heb “I will place before them judgment.”
[23:25] 199 tn Heb “they will remove.”
[23:27] 201 tn Heb “I will cause your obscene conduct to cease from you and your harlotry from the land of Egypt.”
[23:27] 202 tn Heb “lift your eyes to them.”
[23:28] 203 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
[23:28] 204 tn Heb “I am giving you into the hand of.”
[23:29] 205 tn The Hebrew term means “labor,” but by extension it can also refer to that for which one works.
[23:29] 206 tn Heb “The nakedness of your prostitution will be exposed, and your obscene conduct and your harlotry.”
[23:30] 207 tn The infinitive absolute continues the sequence begun in v. 28: “Look here, I am about to deliver you.” See Joüon 2:430 §123.w.
[23:31] 208 tn Heb “her cup.” A cup of intoxicating strong drink is used, here and elsewhere, as a metaphor for judgment because both leave one confused and reeling. (See Jer 25:15, 17, 28; Hab 2:16.) The cup of wrath is a theme also found in the NT (Mark 14:36).
[23:32] 209 sn The image of a deep and wide cup suggests the degree of punishment; it will be extensive and leave the victim helpless.
[23:33] 210 tn Heb “filled with.”
[23:34] 211 tn Heb “You will drink it and drain (it).”
[23:34] 212 tn D. I. Block compares this to the idiom of “licking the plate” (Ezekiel [NICOT], 1:754, n. 137). The text is difficult as the word translated “gnaw” is rare. The noun is used of the shattered pieces of pottery and so could envision a broken cup. But the Piel verb form is used in only one other place (Num 24:8), where it is a denominative from the noun “bone” and seems to mean to “break (bones).” Why it would be collocated with “sherds” is not clear. For this reason some emend the phrase to read “consume its dregs” (see L. C. Allen, Ezekiel [WBC], 2:44) or emend the verb to read “swallow,” as if the intoxicated Oholibah breaks the cup and then eats the very sherds in an effort to get every last drop of the beverage that dampens them.
[23:34] 213 sn The severe action is more extreme than beating the breasts in anguish (Isa 32:12; Nah 2:7). It is also ironic for these are the very breasts she so blatantly offered to her lovers (vv. 3, 21).
[23:35] 214 tn Heb “and you cast me behind your back.” The expression pictures her rejection of the Lord (see 1 Kgs 14:9).
[23:35] 215 tn The word “punishment” is not in the Hebrew text but is demanded by the context.
[23:36] 216 tn Heb “will you judge.” Here the imperfect form of the verb is probably used with a desiderative nuance. Addressed to the prophet, “judge” means to warn of or pronounce God’s impending judgment. See 20:4; 22:2.
[23:37] 217 sn The Lord speaks here in the role of the husband of the sisters.
[23:37] 218 tn Heb “they have passed to them for food.” The verb is commonly taken to refer to passing children through fire, especially as an offering to the pagan god Molech. See Jer 32:35.
[23:38] 219 tn Heb “in that day.”
[23:40] 220 tn Heb “to whom a messenger was sent, and look, they came.” Foreign alliances are in view here.
[23:40] 221 tn The Hebrew verb form is feminine singular, indicating that Oholibah (Judah) is specifically addressed here. This address continues through verse 42a (note “her”), but then both sisters are described in verse 42b, where the feminine pronouns are again plural.
[23:42] 222 tn Heb “(was) in her.”
[23:42] 223 tn Heb “and men from the multitude of mankind.”
[23:42] 224 tn An alternate reading is “drunkards.” Sheba is located in the area of modern day Yemen.
[23:42] 225 tn Heb “they”; the referents (the sisters) have been specified in the translation for the sake of clarity.
[23:44] 226 tn Heb “and they came to her.”
[23:45] 227 tn Heb “and upright men will judge them (with) the judgment of adulteresses and the judgment of those who shed blood.”
[23:46] 228 tn Heb “assembly.”
[23:46] 229 tn Heb “give them to.”
[23:47] 230 tn The Hebrew text adds “with fire.”
[23:49] 231 tn Heb “and the sins of your idols you will bear.” By extension it can mean the punishment for the sins.
[24:1] 232 tn The date of this oracle was January 15, 588
[24:2] 233 tn Heb “lean on, put pressure on.”
[24:2] 234 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[24:3] 235 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).
[24:3] 236 sn See Ezek 11:3-12.
[24:6] 238 tn Heb “has not gone out.”
[24:6] 239 tn Here “lot” may refer to the decision made by casting lots; it is not chosen at all.
[24:11] 240 tn Heb “set it upon its coals, empty.”
[24:11] 241 tn Or “rust” (so also in v. 12).
[24:12] 242 tn Heb “(with) toil she has wearied.” The meaning of the statement is unclear in the Hebrew text; some follow the LXX and delete it. The first word in the statement (rendered “toil” in the literal translation above) occurs only here in the OT, and the verb “she has wearied” lacks a stated object. Elsewhere the Hiphil of the verb refers to wearying someone or trying someone’s patience. The feminine subject is apparently the symbolic pot.
[24:12] 243 tn Heb “does not go out.”
[24:12] 244 tn Heb “in fire its rust.” The meaning of the expression is unclear. The translation understands the statement as a command to burn the rust away. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:768.
[24:13] 245 tn Heb “in your uncleanness (is) obscene conduct.”
[24:13] 246 tn Heb “because I cleansed you.” In this context (see especially the very next statement), the statement must refer to divine intention and purpose. Despite God’s efforts to cleanse his people, they resisted him and remained morally impure.
[24:13] 247 tn The Hebrew text adds the word “again.”
[24:14] 248 tn Heb “it”; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[24:14] 249 tn Or perhaps, “change my mind.”
[24:14] 250 tc Some medieval Hebrew
[24:16] 252 tn Heb “a strike.”
[24:17] 253 tn Or “Groan silently. As to the dead….” Cf. M. Greenberg’s suggestion that דֹּם מֵתִים (dom metim) be taken together and דֹּם be derived from ָדּמַם (damam, “to moan, murmur”). See M. Greenberg, Ezekiel (AB), 2:508.
[24:17] 254 tn Heb “(For) the dead mourning you shall not conduct.” In the Hebrew text the word translated “dead” is plural, indicating that mourning rites are in view. Such rites would involve outward demonstrations of one’s sorrow, including wailing and weeping.
[24:17] 255 sn The turban would normally be removed for mourning (Josh 7:6; 1 Sam 4:12).
[24:17] 256 sn Mourning rites included covering the lower part of the face. See Lev 13:45.
[24:17] 257 tn Heb “the bread of men.” The translation follows the suggestion accepted by M. Greenberg (Ezekiel [AB], 2:509) that this refers to a meal brought by comforters to the one mourning. Some repoint the consonantal text to read “the bread of despair” (see L. C. Allen, Ezekiel [WBC], 2:56), while others, with support from the Targum and Vulgate, emend the consonantal text to read “the bread of mourners” (see D. I. Block, Ezekiel [NICOT], 1:784).
[24:18] 258 tn This may refer to the following morning. For a discussion of various interpretive options in understanding the chronology reflected in verse 18, see D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:790.
[24:21] 259 tn Heb “the pride of your strength” means “your strong pride.”
[24:21] 260 sn Heb “the delight of your eyes.” Just as Ezekiel was deprived of his beloved wife (v. 16, the “desire” of his “eyes”) so the Lord would be forced to remove the object of his devotion, the temple, which symbolized his close relationship to his covenant people.
[24:21] 261 tn Heb “the object of compassion of your soul.” The accentuation in the traditional Hebrew text indicates that the descriptive phrases (“the source of your confident pride, the object in which your eyes delight, and your life’s passion”) modify the preceding “my sanctuary.”
[24:23] 264 tn The same verb appears in 4:17 and 33:10.
[24:23] 265 tn Or “in your punishment.” The phrase “in/for [a person’s] iniquity/punishment” occurs fourteen times in Ezekiel: here; 3:18, 19; 4:17; 7:13, 16; 18:17, 18, 19, 20; 33:6, 8, 9; 39:23. The Hebrew word for “iniquity” may also mean the “punishment” for iniquity or “guilt” of iniquity.
[24:25] 266 tn Heb “(Will) it not (be) in the day I take?”
[24:25] 267 tn Heb “the uplifting of their soul.” According to BDB 672 s.v. מַשָּׂא 2, the term “uplifting” refers to “that to which they lift up their soul, their heart’s desire.” However, this text is the only one listed for this use. It seems more likely that the term has its well-attested nuance of “burden, load,” here and refers to that which weighs them down emotionally and is a constant source of concern or worry.
[24:25] 268 tn In the Hebrew text there is no conjunction before “their sons and daughters.” For this reason one might assume that the preceding descriptive phrases refer to the sons and daughters, but verse 21 suggests otherwise. The descriptive phrases appear to refer to the “stronghold,” which parallels “my sanctuary” in verse 21. The children constitute a separate category.
[24:26] 269 tn Heb “to make the ears hear.”
[24:27] 270 tn Heb “your mouth will open.”
[25:2] 271 tn Heb “set your face toward.”
[25:2] 272 tn Heb “the sons of Ammon.” Ammon was located to the east of Israel.
[25:4] 273 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates being aware of or taking notice of something and has been translated here with a verb (so also throughout the chapter).
[25:4] 274 tn Heb “Look I am about to give you for a possession to.”
[25:5] 276 tn Heb “the sons of Ammon.”
[25:6] 277 tn Heb “with all your scorn in (the) soul.”
[25:7] 278 tc The translation here follows the marginal reading (Qere) of the Hebrew text. The consonantal text (Kethib) is meaningless.
[25:8] 279 sn Moab was located immediately south of Ammon.
[25:9] 281 tn Heb “from the cities.” The verb “eliminating” has been added in the translation to reflect the privative use of the preposition (see BDB 583 s.v. מִן 7.b).
[25:9] 282 tn Heb “from its cities, from its end.”
[25:10] 283 tn Heb “I will give it for a possession.”
[25:10] 284 tn Heb “the sons of Ammon” (twice in this verse).
[25:10] 285 tn Heb “the sons.”
[25:12] 286 sn Edom was located south of Moab.
[25:12] 287 tn Heb “and they have become guilty, becoming guilty.” The infinitive absolute following the finite verb makes the statement emphatic and draws attention to the degree of guilt incurred by Edom due to its actions.
[25:12] 288 tn Heb “and they have taken vengeance.”
[25:12] 289 sn Edom apparently in some way assisted in the destruction of Jerusalem in 587/6
[25:13] 290 tn Heb “and I will cut off from her man and beast.”
[25:15] 293 sn The Philistines inhabited the coastal plain by the Mediterranean Sea, west of Judah.
[25:15] 294 tn Heb “have acted with vengeance and taken vengeance with vengeance.” The repetition emphasizes the degree of vengeance which they exhibited, presumably toward Judah.
[25:15] 295 tn Heb “with scorn in (the) soul.”
[25:15] 296 tn The object is not specified in the Hebrew text, but has been clarified as “Judah” in the translation.
[25:15] 297 tn Heb “to destroy (with) perpetual hostility.” Joel 3:4-8 also speaks of the Philistines taking advantage of the fall of Judah.
[25:16] 298 tn In Hebrew the verb “and I will cut off” sounds like its object, “the Cherethites,” and draws attention to the statement.
[25:16] 299 sn This is a name for the Philistines, many of whom migrated to Palestine from Crete.
[25:17] 300 tn Heb “with acts of punishment of anger.”
[26:1] 301 tc Date formulae typically include the month. According to D. I. Block (Ezekiel [NICOT], 2:34, n. 27) some emend to “in the twelfth year in the eleventh month” based partially on the copy of the LXX from Alexandrinus, where Albright suggested that “eleventh month” may have dropped out due to haplography.
[26:2] 302 sn Tyre was located on the Mediterranean coast north of Israel.
[26:2] 303 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[26:2] 304 tn Heb “I will be filled.”
[26:2] 305 sn That is, Jerusalem.
[26:3] 306 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) draws attention to something and has been translated here as a verb.
[26:3] 307 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. The Hebrew text switches to a second feminine singular form here, indicating that personified Jerusalem is addressed (see vv. 5-6a). The address to Jerusalem continues through v. 15. In vv. 16-17 the second masculine plural is used, as the people are addressed.
[26:6] 309 sn That is, the towns located inland that were under Tyre’s rule.
[26:7] 310 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) draws attention to something.
[26:7] 311 tn Heb “Nebuchadrezzar” is a variant and more correct spelling of Nebuchadnezzar, as the Babylonian name Nabu-kudurri-usur has an an “r” rather than an “n.”
[26:10] 313 tn Heb “From the abundance of his horses he will cover you (with) their dust.”
[26:10] 314 tn Heb “like those who enter a breached city.”
[26:12] 315 tn Heb “desirable.”
[26:12] 317 tn Heb “into the midst of the water.”
[26:13] 318 tn Heb “cause to end.”
[26:14] 319 sn This prophecy was fulfilled by Alexander the Great in 332
[26:16] 320 tn Heb “descend from.”
[26:16] 321 tn Heb “and they will be astonished over you.”
[26:17] 322 tn Heb “and they will lift up over you a lament and they will say to you.”
[26:17] 323 tn Heb “O inhabitant.” The translation follows the LXX and understands a different Hebrew verb, meaning “cease,” behind the consonantal text. See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel [WBC], 2:72, and D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:43.
[26:17] 324 tn Heb “she and her inhabitants who placed their terror to all her inhabitants.” The relationship of the final prepositional phrase to what precedes is unclear. The preposition probably has a specifying function here, drawing attention to Tyre’s inhabitants as the source of the terror mentioned prior to this. In this case, one might paraphrase verse 17b: “she and her inhabitants, who spread their terror; yes, her inhabitants (were the source of this terror).”
[26:18] 325 tn Heb “from your going out.”
[26:20] 327 tn Heb “to the people of antiquity.”
[26:20] 328 tn Heb “like.” The translation assumes an emendation of the preposition כְּ (kÿ, “like”), to בְּ (bÿ, “in, among”).
[26:20] 329 tn Heb “and I will place beauty.” This reading makes little sense; many, following the lead of the LXX, emend the text to read “nor will you stand” with the negative particle before the preceding verb understood by ellipsis; see L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:73. D. I. Block (Ezekiel [NICOT], 2:47) offers another alternative, taking the apparent first person verb form as an archaic second feminine form and translating “nor radiate splendor.”
[27:2] 330 tn Heb “lift up over Tyre a lament.”
[27:3] 331 tn Heb “entrances.” The plural noun may reflect the fact that Tyre had two main harbors.
[27:3] 332 sn Rome, another economic power, is described in a similar way in Rev 17:1.
[27:4] 333 tn The city of Tyre is described in the following account as a merchant ship.
[27:5] 335 tn Perhaps the hull or deck. The term is dual, so perhaps it refers to a double-decked ship.
[27:6] 337 tc The Hebrew reads “Your deck they made ivory, daughter of Assyria.” The syntactically difficult “ivory” is understood here as dittography and omitted, though some construe this to refer to ivory inlays. “Daughter of Assyria” is understood here as improper word division and the vowels repointed as “cypresses.”
[27:6] 338 tn Heb “from the coastlands (or islands) of Kittim,” generally understood to be a reference to the island of Cyprus, where the Phoenicians had a trading colony on the southeast coast. Many modern English versions have “Cyprus” (CEV, TEV), “the coastlands of Cyprus” (NASB), “the coasts of Cyprus” (NIV, NRSV), or “the southern coasts of Cyprus” (NLT).
[27:7] 339 sn This is probably a reference to Cyprus.
[27:8] 340 tc The MT reads “the residents of”; the LXX reads “your rulers who dwell in.” With no apparent reason for the LXX to add “the rulers” many suppose something has dropped out of the Hebrew text. While more than one may be possible, Allen’s proposal, positing a word meaning “elders,” is the most likely to explain the omission in the MT from a graphic standpoint and also provides a parallel to the beginning of v. 9. See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:81.a parallel to v. 9.
[27:8] 341 map For location see Map1 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.
[27:8] 342 sn Sidon and Arvad, like Tyre, were Phoenician coastal cities.
[27:9] 344 sn Another Phoenician coastal city located between Sidon and Arvad.
[27:9] 345 tn Heb “strengthening damages.” Here “to strengthen” means to repair. The word for “damages” occurs several times in 1 Kgs 12 about some type of damage to the temple, which may have referred to or included cracks. Since the context describes Tyre in its glory, we do not expect this reference to damages to be of significant scale, even if there are repairmen. This may refer to using pitch to seal the seams of the ship, which had to be done periodically and could be considered routine maintenance rather than repair of damage.
[27:9] 346 sn The reference to “all the ships of the sea…within you” suggests that the metaphor is changing; previously Tyre had been described as a magnificent ship, but now the description shifts back to an actual city. The “ships of the sea” were within Tyre’s harbor. Verse 11 refers to “walls” and “towers” of the city.
[27:11] 348 tn Heb “sons of Arvad.”
[27:11] 349 sn The identity of the Gammadites is uncertain.
[27:11] 350 tn See note on “quivers” in Jer 51:11 on the meaning of Hebrew שֶׁלֶט (shelet) and also M. Greenberg, Ezekiel (AB), 2:553.
[27:12] 351 sn Tarshish refers to a distant seaport sometimes believed to be located in southern Spain (others identified it as Carthage in North Africa). In any event it represents here a distant, rich, and exotic port which was a trading partner of Tyre.
[27:14] 352 tn The way in which these horses may have been distinguished from other horses is unknown. Cf. ASV “war-horses” (NASB, NIV, NRSV, CEV all similar); NLT “chariot horses.”
[27:15] 353 tn Heb “sons of Dedan.”
[27:15] 354 tn Heb “they returned as your gift.”
[27:16] 355 tc Many Hebrew
[27:17] 356 sn The location is mentioned in Judg 11:33.
[27:19] 357 tc The MT leaves v. 18 as an incomplete sentence and begins v. 19 with “and Dan and Javan (Ionia) from Uzal.” The LXX mentions “wine.” The translation follows an emendation assuming some confusions of vav and yod. See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:82.
[27:19] 358 sn According to L. C. Allen (Ezekiel [WBC], 2:82), Izal was located between Haran and the Tigris and was famous for its wine.
[27:25] 359 tn Or perhaps “Large merchant ships.” The expression “ships of Tarshish” may describe a class of vessel, that is, large oceangoing merchant ships.
[27:27] 360 tn Heb “your repairers of damage.” See v. 9.
[27:28] 361 tn Compare this phrase to Isa 57:20 and Amos 8:8. See M. Greenberg, Ezekiel (AB), 2:561.
[27:30] 362 tn Heb “make heard over you with their voice.”
[27:30] 363 tn Note a similar expression to “roll in the ashes” in Mic 1:10.
[27:31] 364 tn Heb “and they will weep concerning you with bitterness of soul, (with) bitter mourning.”
[27:32] 365 tn As it stands, the meaning of the Hebrew text is unclear. The translation follows the suggestion of M. Dahood, “Accadian-Ugaritic dmt in Ezekiel 27:32,” Bib 45 (1964): 83-84. Several other explanations and emendations have been offered. See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:83, and D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:85-86, for a list of options.
[27:34] 367 tn Heb “in the midst of you.”
[28:2] 368 tn Or “ruler” (NIV, NCV).
[28:2] 369 tn Heb “lifted up.”
[28:2] 370 tn Or “I am divine.”
[28:2] 371 tn Heb “and you made your heart (mind) like the heart (mind) of gods.”
[28:3] 372 sn Or perhaps “Danel” (so TEV), referring to a ruler known from Canaanite legend. See the note on “Daniel” in 14:14. A reference to Danel (preserved in legend at Ugarit, near the northern end of the Phoenician coast) makes more sense here when addressing Tyre than in 14:14.
[28:3] 373 sn The tone here is sarcastic, reflecting the ruler’s view of himself.
[28:6] 375 tn Heb “because of your making your heart like the heart of gods.”
[28:7] 376 sn This is probably a reference to the Babylonians.
[28:7] 377 tn Heb “they will draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom.”
[28:8] 378 tn Heb “you will die the death of the slain.”
[28:10] 379 sn The Phoenicians practiced circumcision, so the language here must be figurative, indicating that they would be treated in a disgraceful manner. Uncircumcised peoples were viewed as inferior, unclean, and perhaps even sub-human. See 31:18 and 32:17-32, as well as the discussion in D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:99.
[28:12] 381 tn For a discussion of possible nuances of this phrase, see M. Greenberg, Ezekiel (AB), 2:580-81.
[28:13] 382 sn The imagery of the lament appears to draw upon an extrabiblical Eden tradition about the expulsion of the first man (see v. 14 and the note there) from the garden due to his pride. The biblical Eden tradition speaks of cherubs placed as guardians at the garden entrance following the sin of Adam and Eve (Gen 3:24), but no guardian cherub like the one described in verse 14 is depicted or mentioned in the biblical account. Ezekiel’s imagery also appears to reflect Mesopotamian and Canaanite mythology at certain points. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:119-20.
[28:13] 383 tn The exact identification of each gemstone is uncertain. The list should be compared to that of the priest in Exod 28:17-20, which lists twelve stones in rows of three. The LXX apparently imports the Exod 28 list. See reference to the types of stones in L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:91.
[28:14] 384 tn Or “winged”; see L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:91.
[28:14] 385 tn The meaning of this phrase in Hebrew is uncertain. The word translated here “guards” occurs in Exod 25:20 in reference to the cherubim “covering” the ark.
[28:14] 386 tn Heb “you (were) an anointed cherub that covers and I placed you.” In the Hebrew text the ruler of Tyre is equated with a cherub, and the verb “I placed you” is taken with what follows (“on the holy mountain of God”). However, this reading is problematic. The pronoun “you” at the beginning of verse 14 is feminine singular in the Hebrew text; elsewhere in this passage the ruler of Tyre is addressed with masculine singular forms. It is possible that the pronoun is a rare (see Deut 5:24; Num 11:15) or defectively written (see 1 Sam 24:19; Neh 9:6; Job 1:10; Ps 6:3; Eccl 7:22) masculine form, but it is more likely that the form should be repointed as the preposition “with” (see the LXX). In this case the ruler of Tyre is compared to the first man, not to a cherub. If this emendation is accepted, then the verb “I placed you” belongs with what precedes and concludes the first sentence in the verse. It is noteworthy that the verbs in the second and third lines of the verse also appear at the end of the sentence in the Hebrew text. The presence of a conjunction at the beginning of “I placed you” is problematic for the proposal, but it may reflect a later misunderstanding of the syntax of the verse. For a defense of the proposed emendation, see L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:91.
[28:16] 388 tn Heb “they filled your midst with violence.”
[28:16] 389 tn Heb “I defiled you.” The presence of the preposition “from” following the verb indicates that a verb of motion is implied as well. See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:91.
[28:16] 390 tn Heb “and I expelled you, O guardian cherub.” The Hebrew text takes the verb as first person and understands “guardian cherub” as a vocative, in apposition to the pronominal suffix on the verb. However, if the emendation in verse 14a is accepted (see the note above), then one may follow the LXX here as well and emend the verb to a third person perfect. In this case the subject of the verb is the guardian cherub. See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:91.
[28:21] 391 tn Heb “set your face against.”
[28:21] 392 sn Sidon was located 25 miles north of Tyre.
[28:22] 393 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.
[28:22] 394 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.
[28:23] 395 tn Heb “into it”; the referent of the feminine pronoun has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[28:23] 396 tn Heb “by a sword against it.”
[28:24] 397 sn Similar language is used in reference to Israel’s adversaries in Num 33:55; Josh 23:13.
[28:24] 398 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.”
[28:25] 399 tn Or “reveal my holiness.” See verse 22.
[28:26] 400 sn This promise was given in Lev 25:18-19.
[29:1] 401 tn January 7, 587
[29:2] 402 tn Heb “set your face against.”
[29:3] 403 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.
[29:3] 404 tn Heb “jackals,” but many medieval Hebrew
[29:3] 405 sn In Egyptian theology Pharaoh owned and controlled the Nile. See J. D. Currid, Ancient Egypt and the Old Testament, 240-44.
[29:5] 406 tc Some Hebrew
[29:6] 407 sn Compare Isa 36:6.
[29:7] 408 tn The Hebrew consonantal text (Kethib) has “by your hand,” but the marginal reading (Qere) has simply “by the hand.” The LXX reads “with their hand.”
[29:7] 409 tn Or perhaps “dislocated.”
[29:7] 410 tn Heb “you caused to stand for them all their hips.” An emendation which switches two letters but is supported by the LXX yields the reading “you caused all their hips to shake.” See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:103. In 2 Kgs 18:21 and Isa 36:6 trusting in the Pharaoh is compared to leaning on a staff. The oracle may reflect Hophra’s attempt to aid Jerusalem (Jer 37:5-8).
[29:8] 411 tn Heb “I will cut off from you.”
[29:10] 412 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.
[29:10] 413 sn This may refer to a site in the Egyptian Delta which served as a refuge for Jews (Jer 44:1; 46:14).
[29:10] 414 sn Syene is known today as Aswan.
[29:13] 415 sn In Ezek 4:4-8 it was said that the house of Judah would suffer forty years.
[29:14] 416 tc Thus the Masoretic Text. The LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate translate as though the Hebrew read “cause to inhabit.”
[29:16] 417 tn Heb “reminding of iniquity when they turned after them.”
[29:17] 418 sn April 26, 571
[29:18] 419 tn Heb “Nebuchadrezzar” is a variant and more correct spelling of Nebuchadnezzar, as the Babylonian name Nabu-kudurri-usur has an “r” rather than an “n” (so also in v. 19).
[29:18] 420 sn Nebuchadnezzar besieged Tyre from 585 to 571
[29:20] 421 tn Heb “for which he worked,” referring to the assault on Tyre (v. 18).
[29:21] 422 tn Heb “I will cause a horn to sprout for the house of Israel.” The horn is used as a figure for military power in the OT (Ps 92:10). A similar expression is made about the Davidic dynasty in Ps 132:17.
[29:21] 423 tn Heb “I will grant you an open mouth.”
[30:2] 424 tn Heb “Alas for the day.”
[30:3] 425 tn Heb “a day of clouds.” The expression occurs also in Joel 2:2 and Zeph 1:15; it recalls the appearance of God at Mount Sinai (Exod 19:9, 16, 18).
[30:3] 426 tn Heb “a time.” The words “of judgment” have been added in the translation for clarification (see the following verses).
[30:5] 427 tn The same expression appears in Exod 12:38; Jer 25:20; 50:37; Neh 13:3. It may refer to foreign mercenaries serving in the armies of the nations listed here.
[30:5] 429 tn The expression “sons of the covenant land” possibly refers to Jews living in Egypt (Jer 44).
[30:6] 430 tn Heb “come down.”
[30:6] 431 sn Syene is known as Aswan today.
[30:8] 432 tn Heb “all who aid her are broken.”
[30:9] 433 tn Heb “in the day of Egypt.” The word “doom” has been added in the translation to clarify the nature of this day.
[30:10] 434 tn Heb “Nebuchadrezzar” is a variant and more correct spelling of Nebuchadnezzar, as the Babylonian name Nabu-kudurri-usur has an “r” rather than an “n.”
[30:11] 435 tn The Babylonians were known for their cruelty (2 Kgs 25:7).
[30:12] 436 tn Heb “and I will sell the land into the hand of.”
[30:13] 437 tn Heb “I will put fear in the land of Egypt.”
[30:15] 438 tn Heb “Sin” (so KJV, NASB), a city commonly identified with Pelusium, a fortress on Egypt’s northeastern frontier.
[30:16] 440 tc The LXX reads “Syene,” which is Aswan in the south. The MT reads Sin, which has already been mentioned in v. 15.
[30:17] 441 sn On and Pi-beseth are generally identified with the Egyptian cities of Heliopolis and Bubastis.
[30:17] 442 tn Heb “they will go.” The pronoun and verb are feminine plural, indicating that the cities just mentioned are the antecedent of the pronoun and the subject of the verb. The translation makes this clear by stating the subject as “the cities.”
[30:18] 443 sn In Zeph 1:15 darkness is associated with the day of the
[30:20] 444 tn April 29, 587
[30:21] 445 sn The expression “breaking the arm” indicates the removal of power (Ps 10:15; 37:17; Job 38:15; Jer 48:25).
[30:21] 446 sn This may refer to the event recorded in Jer 37:5.
[30:22] 447 tn The word h!nn@h indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
[30:22] 448 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.
[30:24] 449 tn Heb “him”; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[31:1] 450 sn June 21, 587
[31:3] 451 sn Either Egypt, or the Lord compares Egypt to Assyria, which is described in vv. 3-17 through the metaphor of a majestic tree. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:185. Like Egypt, Assyria had been a great world power, but in time God brought the Assyrians down. Egypt should learn from history the lesson that no nation, no matter how powerful, can withstand the judgment of God. Rather than following the text here, some prefer to emend the proper name Assyria to a similar sounding common noun meaning “boxwood” (see Ezek 27:6), which would make a fitting parallel to “cedar of Lebanon” in the following line. In this case vv. 3-18 in their entirety refer to Egypt, not Assyria. See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:121-27.
[31:3] 452 sn Lebanon was know for its cedar trees (Judg 9:15; 1 Kgs 4:33; 5:6; 2 Kgs 14:9; Ezra 3:7; Pss 29:5; 92:12; 104:16).
[31:4] 453 tn Heb “Waters made it grow; the deep made it grow tall. It (the deep) was flowing with its rivers around the place it (the tree) was planted, it (the deep) sent out its channels to all the trees of the field.”
[31:5] 454 tn Heb “when it sends forth.” Repointing the consonants of the Masoretic text would render the proposed reading “shoots” (cf. NRSV).
[31:8] 456 tn Or “cypress trees” (cf. NASB, NLT); NIV “pine trees.”
[31:11] 457 tn Heb “acting he has acted with regard to it.” The infinitive absolute precedes the main verb to emphasize the certainty and decisiveness of the action depicted.
[31:12] 458 tn Or “earth” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
[31:12] 459 tn Heb “gone down.”
[31:13] 460 tn Heb “the beasts of the field,” referring to wild as opposed to domesticated animals.
[31:14] 462 tn Heb “and they will not stand to them in their height, all the drinkers of water.”
[31:14] 463 tn Heb “for death, to the lower earth.”
[31:14] 464 tn Heb “the sons of men.”
[31:15] 466 tn Heb “I caused lamentation.” D. I. Block (Ezekiel [NICOT], 2:194-95) proposes an alternative root which would give the meaning “I gated back the waters,” i.e., shut off the water supply.
[31:16] 467 sn For the expression “going down to the pit,” see Ezek 26:20; 32:18, 24, 29.
[32:1] 469 sn This would be March 3, 585
[32:2] 470 tn The lion was a figure of royalty (Ezek 19:1-9).
[32:2] 471 tc The Hebrew reads “their streams”; the LXX reads “your streams.”
[32:3] 472 tn The expression “throw my net” is common in Ezekiel (12:13; 17:20; 19:8).
[32:4] 476 tn Heb “the beasts of the field,” referring to wild as opposed to domesticated animals.
[32:5] 477 tc The Hebrew text is difficult here, apparently meaning “your height.” Following Symmachus and the Syriac, it is preferable to emend the text to read “your maggots.” See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:203.
[32:7] 479 tn Heb “will not shine its light.” For similar features of cosmic eschatology, see Joel 2:10; 4:15; Amos 5:18-20; Zeph 1:5.
[32:9] 480 tn Heb “I will provoke the heart of.”
[32:11] 481 sn The king of Babylon referred to here was Nebuchadnezzar (Ezek 21:19).
[32:11] 482 tn Heb “approach.”
[32:13] 484 tn Heb “them,” that is, the waters mentioned in the previous line. The translation clarifies the referent.
[32:14] 485 tn Heb “sink,” that is, to settle and become clear, not muddied.
[32:17] 486 tn March 17, 585
[32:18] 487 tn The Hebrew verb is used as a response to death (Jer 9:17-19; Amos 5:16).
[32:18] 488 sn Through this prophetic lament given by God himself, the prophet activates the judgment described therein. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:217, and L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:136-37.
[32:18] 489 tn Heb “Bring him down, her and the daughters of the powerful nations, to the earth below.” The verb “bring down” appears in the Hebrew text only once. Because the verb takes several objects here, the repetition of the verb in the translation improves the English style.
[32:18] 490 tn This apparently refers to personified Egypt.
[32:19] 491 tc The LXX places this verse after v. 21.
[32:19] 492 tn Heb “pleasantness.”
[32:22] 493 tn Heb “around him his graves.” The masculine pronominal suffixes are problematic; the expression is best emended to correspond to the phrase “around her grave” in v. 23. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:219.
[32:22] 494 tn Heb “all of them slain, the ones felled by the sword.” See as well vv. 23-24.
[32:23] 496 tn The only other occurrence of the phrase “remote slopes of the pit” is in Isa 14:15.
[32:25] 497 tn Heb “around him her graves,” but the expression is best emended to read “around her grave” (see vv. 23-24).
[32:26] 498 tn Heb “around him her graves,” but the expression is best emended to read “around her grave” (see vv. 23-24).
[32:27] 499 tc Heb “of the uncircumcised.” The LXX reads, probably correctly, “from of old” rather than “of the uncircumcised.” The phrases are very similar in spelling. The warriors of Meshech-Tubal are described as uncircumcised, so it would be odd for them to not be buried with the uncircumcised. Verse 28 specifically says that they would lie with the uncircumcised.
[32:27] 500 tn Heb “and their iniquities were over their bones.” The meaning of this statement is unclear; in light of the parallelism (see “swords”) it is preferable to emend “their iniquities” to “their swords.” See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:135.
[33:2] 501 tn Heb “sons of your people.”
[33:3] 502 tn Heb “shofar,” a ram’s horn rather than a brass instrument (so throughout the chapter).
[33:3] 503 tn Sounding the trumpet was a warning of imminent danger (Neh 4:18-20; Jer 4:19; Amos 3:6).
[33:4] 504 tn Heb “his blood will be on his own head.”
[33:5] 505 tn Heb “his blood will be on him.”
[33:6] 506 tn Or “in his punishment.” The phrase “in/for [a person’s] iniquity/punishment” occurs fourteen times in Ezekiel: here and in vv. 8 and 9; 3:18, 19; 4:17; 7:13, 16; 18: 17, 18, 19, 20; 24:23; 39:23. The Hebrew word for “iniquity” may also mean the “punishment” for iniquity or “guilt” of iniquity.
[33:6] 507 tn Heb “his blood from the hand of the watchman I will seek.”
[33:7] 508 sn Jeremiah (Jer 6:17) and Habakkuk (Hab 2:1) also served in the role of a watchman.
[33:8] 509 tn The same expression occurs in Gen 2:17.
[33:8] 510 tn Heb “and you do not speak to warn.”
[33:8] 512 tn Heb “and his blood from your hand I will seek.”
[33:9] 513 tn Heb “from his way to turn from it.”
[33:9] 514 tn Heb “and he does not turn from his way.”
[33:10] 515 tn Heb “(are) upon us.”
[33:11] 516 tn Heb “turn from his way.”
[33:11] 517 tn Heb “ways.” This same word is translated “behavior” earlier in the verse.
[33:12] 518 tn Heb “the sons of your people.”
[33:12] 519 tn Heb “in the day of his rebellion.” The statement envisions a godly person rejecting what is good and becoming sinful. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:247-48.
[33:12] 520 tn Heb “and the wickedness of the wicked, he will not stumble in it in the day of his turning from his wickedness.”
[33:12] 522 tn Heb “in the day of his sin.”
[33:15] 523 tn Heb “the wicked one.”
[33:15] 524 tn Heb “and in the statutes of life he walks.”
[33:16] 525 tn Heb “remembered.”
[33:17] 526 tn Heb “the sons of your people.”
[33:17] 528 tn The Hebrew verb translated “is (not) right” has the basic meaning of “to measure.” For a similar concept, see Ezek 18:25, 29.
[33:21] 530 tn January 19, 585
[33:21] 531 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[33:22] 533 tn The other occurrences of the phrase “the hand of the
[33:22] 534 tn Heb “he”; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[33:22] 535 tn Heb “by the time of the arrival to me.” For clarity the translation specifies the refugee as the one who arrived.
[33:22] 536 sn Ezekiel’s God-imposed muteness was lifted (see 3:26).
[33:24] 537 sn Outside of its seven occurrences in Ezekiel the term translated “possession” appears only in Exod 6:8 and Deut 33:4.
[33:25] 538 sn This practice was a violation of Levitical law (see Lev 19:26).
[33:25] 539 tn Heb “lift up your eyes.”
[33:25] 540 tn Heb “Will you possess?”
[33:29] 543 sn The judgments of vv. 27-29 echo the judgments of Lev 26:22, 25.
[33:30] 544 tn Heb “sons of your people.”
[33:30] 545 tn Heb “one to one, a man to his brother.”
[33:30] 546 tn Heb “comes out.”
[33:31] 547 tn Heb “as people come.” Apparently this is an idiom indicating that they come in crowds. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:264.
[33:31] 548 tn The word “as” is supplied in the translation.
[33:31] 550 tn Heb “They do lust with their mouths.”
[33:31] 551 tn Heb “goes after.”
[33:31] 552 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.
[33:32] 553 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
[33:32] 554 tn Heb “one who makes playing music well.”
[33:32] 555 sn Similar responses are found in Isa 29:13; Matt 21:28-32; James 1:22-25.
[33:33] 556 tn Heb “behold it is coming.”
[34:2] 557 tn The term shepherd is applied to kings in the ancient Near East. In the OT the
[34:4] 558 tn The term translated “harshness” is used to describe the oppression the Israelites suffered as slaves in Egypt (Exod 1:13).
[34:5] 559 tn As a case of dittography, the MT repeats “and they were scattered” at the end of the verse.
[34:10] 560 tn Heb “I will cause them to cease from feeding sheep.”
[34:12] 561 sn The imagery may reflect the overthrow of the Israelites by the Babylonians in 587/6
[34:23] 564 sn The messianic king is here called “David” (see Jer 30:9 and Hos 3:5, as well as Isa 11:1 and Mic 5:2) because he will fulfill the Davidic royal ideal depicted in the prophets and royal psalms (see Ps 2, 89).
[34:24] 565 sn The messianic king (“David”) is called both “king” and “prince” in 37:24-25. The use of the term “prince” for this king facilitates the contrast between this ideal ruler and the Davidic “princes” denounced in earlier prophecies (see 7:27; 12:10, 12; 19:1; 21:25; 22:6, 25).
[34:25] 566 tn The phrase “live securely” occurs in Ezek 28:26; 38:8, 11, 14; 39:26 as an expression of freedom from fear. It is a promised blessing resulting from obedience (see Lev 26:5-6).
[34:25] 567 sn The woods were typically considered to be places of danger (Ps 104:20-21; Jer 5:6).
[34:26] 568 tn Heb “showers of blessing.” Abundant rain, which in turn produces fruit and crops (v. 27), is a covenantal blessing for obedience (Lev 26:4).
[34:29] 569 tc The MT reads לְשֵׁם (lÿshem, “for a name”), meaning perhaps a renowned planting (place). The translation takes this to be a metathesis of שָׁלֹם (shalom) as was read by the LXX.
[34:29] 570 tn Heb “those gathered” for famine.
[34:30] 571 sn A promise given to Abraham (Gen 15:7) and his descendants (Gen 15:8; Exod 6:7).
[34:30] 572 sn The blessings described in vv. 25-30 are those promised for obedience in Lev 26:4-13.
[34:31] 573 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.
[35:2] 574 tn Heb “set your face against.”
[35:2] 575 sn Mount Seir is to be identified with Edom (Ezek 35:15), home of Esau’s descendants (Gen 25:21-30).
[35:5] 576 tn Or “gave over…to the power of the sword.” This phrase also occurs in Jer 18:21 and Ps 63:10.
[35:7] 577 tc The translation reads with some manuscripts לְשִׁמְמָה וּמְשַׁמָּה (lÿshimmah umÿshammah, “desolate ruin”) as in verse 3 and often in Ezekiel. The majority reading reverses the first mem (מ) with the shin (שׁ) resulting in the repetition of the word desolate: לְשִׁמְמָה וּשְׁמָמָה (lÿshimmah ushÿmamah).
[35:10] 579 sn The reference is to Israel and Judah.
[35:13] 581 tn Heb “your mouth.”
[35:13] 582 tn Heb “and you multiplied against me your words.” The Hebrew verb occurs only here and in Prov 27:6, where it refers to the “excessive” kisses of an enemy. The basic idea of the verb appears to be “to be abundant.” Here it occurs in the causative (Hiphil) stem.
[36:2] 583 tn Or “high places.”
[36:3] 584 tn Heb “lip of the tongue.”
[36:7] 585 tn Heb “I lifted up my hand.”
[36:8] 586 tn Heb “they draw near to arrive.”
[36:9] 587 tn Heb “I (am) toward you.”
[36:10] 588 tn Heb “I will multiply on you human(s).”
[36:11] 589 sn These verbs occur together in Gen 1:22, 28; 9:1.
[36:11] 590 tn Heb “your beginning.”
[36:15] 591 tn Heb “cause you to hear.”
[36:15] 592 tc The MT reads תַכְשִׁלִי (takhshiliy), a metathesis for תַשְׁכִלִי (tashkhiliy) from the root שָׁכַל (shakhal) which is used in each of the previous verses.
[36:18] 594 sn See Ezek 7:8; 9:8; 14:19; 20:8, 13, 21; 22:22; 30:15.
[36:18] 595 sn For the concept of defiling the land in legal literature, see Lev 18:28; Deut 21:23.
[36:22] 597 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.
[36:23] 598 tn Or “sanctify,” Heb “make holy.”
[36:25] 599 sn The Lord here uses a metaphor from the realm of ritual purification. For the use of water in ritual cleansing, see Exod 30:19-20; Lev 14:51; Num 19:18; Heb 10:22.
[36:26] 600 sn That is, a heart which symbolizes a will that is stubborn and unresponsive (see 1 Sam 25:37). In Rabbinic literature a “stone” was associated with an evil inclination (b. Sukkah 52a).
[36:26] 601 sn That is, a heart which symbolizes a will that is responsive and obedient to God.
[36:27] 602 tn Or “in the midst of you.” The word “you” is plural.
[36:27] 603 tn Heb “and I will do that which in my statutes you will walk.” The awkward syntax (verb “to do, act” + accusative sign + relative clause + prepositional phrase + second person verb) is unique, though Eccl 3:14 contains a similar construction. In the last line of that verse we read that “God acts so that (relative pronoun) they fear before him.” However, unlike Ezek 36:27, the statement has no accusative sign before the relative pronoun.
[36:27] 604 tn Heb “and my laws you will guard and you will do them.” Jer 31:31-34 is parallel to this passage.
[36:28] 605 sn This promise reflects the ancient covenantal ideal (see Exod 6:7).
[36:32] 607 tn Heb “Let it be known.”
[36:37] 608 tn The Niphal verb may have a tolerative function here, “Again (for) this I will allow myself to be sought by the house of Israel to act for them.” Or it may be reflexive: “I will reveal myself to the house of Israel by doing this also.”
[36:37] 609 sn Heb “I will multiply them like sheep, human(s).”
[36:38] 610 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[37:1] 612 tn Heb “caused me to rest.”
[37:2] 613 tn Heb “and he made me pass over them, around, around.”
[37:2] 614 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and is here translated as “I realized” because it results from Ezekiel’s recognition of the situation around him. In Hebrew, the exclamation is repeated in the following sentence.
[37:5] 615 tn Heb “I am about to bring a spirit.”
[37:6] 616 tn The exact physiological meaning of the term is uncertain. In addition to v. 8, the term occurs only in Gen 32:33; Job 10:11; 40:17; and Jer 48:4.
[37:7] 618 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
[37:8] 619 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
[37:9] 622 tn Or “spirit,” and several times in this verse.
[37:14] 623 tn Or “spirit.” This is likely an allusion to Gen 2 and God’s breath which creates life.
[37:17] 624 tn Heb “bring near.”
[37:17] 625 tn Heb “one to one for you for one stick.”
[37:18] 626 tn Heb “the sons of your people.”
[37:19] 627 tn Heb “I will place them on it, that is, on the stick of Judah.”
[37:19] 628 sn The reunification of Israel and Judah is envisioned as well in Ezek 33:23, 29; Jer 3:18; 23:5-6; Hos 1:11; Amos 9:11.
[37:22] 629 sn Jeremiah also attested to the reuniting of the northern and southern kingdoms (Jer 3:12, 14; 31:2-6).
[37:23] 630 tc Heb “their dwellings.” The text as it stands does not make sense. Based on the LXX, a slight emendation of two vowels, including a mater, yields the reading “from their turning,” a reference here to their turning from God and deviating from his commandments. See BDB 1000 s.v. מְשׁוּבָה, and D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:407.
[37:24] 631 tn Heb “walk [in].”
[37:24] 632 tn Heb “and my statutes they will guard and they will do them.”
[37:26] 633 sn See Isa 24:5; 55:3; 61:8; Jer 32:40; 50:5; Ezek 16:60, for other references to perpetual covenants.
[37:26] 634 tn Heb “give them.”
[37:28] 635 sn The sanctuary of Israel becomes the main focus of Ezek 40-48.
[38:2] 636 tn Heb “set your face against.”
[38:2] 637 sn This may refer to a Lydian king in western Asia Minor in the seventh century
[38:2] 638 sn One of the sons of Japheth according to Gen 10:2; 1 Chr 1:5.
[38:2] 639 tn Heb “the prince, the chief of Meshech and Tubal.” Some translate “the prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal,” but it is more likely that the Hebrew noun in question is a common noun in apposition to “prince,” rather than a proper name. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:434-35. As Block demonstrates, attempts by some popular writers to identify these proper names with later geographical sites in Russia are anachronistic. See as well E. Yamauchi, Foes From the Northern Frontier, 19-27.
[38:3] 640 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.
[38:4] 641 sn The Hebrew text mentions two different types of shields here.
[38:5] 642 tn D. I. Block prefers to see the Hebrew word as referring here to a western ally of Egypt or as an alternative spelling for Pathros, that is, Upper Egypt. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:439-40.
[38:6] 644 tn The words “they are joined by” are added in the translation for purposes of English style.
[38:6] 645 sn The seven-nation coalition represents the north (Meshech, Tubal, Gomer, Beth-Togarmah), the south/west (Ethiopia, Put) and the east (Persia). The use of the sevenfold list suggests completeness. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:441.
[38:7] 646 tn The second person singular verbal and pronominal forms in the Hebrew text indicate that Gog is addressed here.
[38:8] 647 tn Heb “from the sword.”
[38:10] 650 tn Heb “words will go up upon your heart.”
[38:11] 651 tn Heb “go up against.”
[38:11] 652 tn Heb “come (to).”
[38:12] 653 tn Heb “to turn your hand against.”
[38:12] 654 tn The Hebrew term occurs elsewhere only in Judg 9:37. Perhaps it means “high point, top.”
[38:13] 655 tn Heb “young lions.”
[38:14] 656 tn The Hebrew text is framed as a rhetorical question: “will you not take notice?”
[38:16] 658 tn Or “reveal my holiness.”
[38:17] 659 tn Heb “by the hand of my servants.”
[38:17] 660 tn The Hebrew text adds “years” here, but this is probably a scribal gloss on the preceding phrase. See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:201.
[38:18] 661 tn Heb “goes up against.”
[38:19] 662 sn The phrase “in the fire of my fury” occurs in Ezek 21:31; 22:21, 31.
[38:20] 665 tn The term occurs only here and in Song of Songs 2:14.
[38:21] 667 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Gog, cf. v. 18) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[39:2] 668 tn The Hebrew root occurs only here in the OT. An apparent cognate in the Ethiopic language means “walk along.” For a discussion of the research on this verb, see D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:460.
[39:7] 669 sn The basic sense of the word “holy” is “set apart from that which is commonplace, special, unique.” The
[39:9] 670 tn Heb “burn and kindle the weapons.”
[39:9] 671 tn Two different types of shields are specified in the Hebrew text.
[39:10] 672 tn Heb “they will not carry.”
[39:10] 673 tn Heb “loot their looters and plunder their plunderers.”
[39:11] 674 tn The name means “horde of Gog.”
[39:12] 675 tn Heb “the house of Israel.”
[39:14] 677 tn Heb “men of perpetuity.”
[39:14] 678 tn Heb “and bury the travelers and those who remain on the surface of the ground.” The reference to “travelers” seems odd and is omitted in the LXX. It is probably an accidental duplication (see v. 11).
[39:15] 679 tn Heb “as the scouts scout.”
[39:15] 680 tn That is, the aforementioned bone.
[39:16] 681 tn This name appears to be a feminine form of the word “horde,” used in the name Hamon-Gog.
[39:17] 682 tn Or “sacrifice” (so also in the rest of this verse).
[39:18] 683 sn See Rev 19:17-18.
[39:19] 684 sn Eating the fat and drinking blood were God’s exclusive rights in Israelite sacrifices (Lev 3:17).
[39:19] 685 tn Or “sacrifice” (so also in the rest of this verse).
[39:20] 686 tn Heb “chariots.”
[39:21] 688 tn Heb “my hand which I have placed.”
[39:23] 689 tn Or “in their punishment.” The phrase “in/for [a person’s] iniquity/punishment” occurs fourteen times in Ezekiel: here; 3:18, 19; 4:17; 7:13, 16; 18: 17, 18, 19, 20; 24:23; 33:6, 8, 9. The Hebrew word for “iniquity” may also mean the “punishment” for iniquity or “guilt” of iniquity.
[39:25] 690 tn Heb “cause to return.”
[39:28] 691 tn Heb “there,” referring to the foreign nations to which they were exiled. The translation makes the referent clear.
[39:29] 692 sn See Ezek 11:19; 37:14.
[40:1] 693 sn That is, Jerusalem.
[40:1] 694 tn April 19, 573
[40:1] 696 sn That is, to the land of Israel (see v. 2).
[40:2] 697 tn The expression introduces the three major visions of Ezekiel (1:1; 8:3; 40:2).
[40:2] 698 tn The reference to a very high mountain is harmonious with Isa 2:2.
[40:3] 699 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
[40:4] 700 tn Heb “look with your eyes, hear with your ears, and set your mind on.”
[40:4] 701 tn Heb “in order to show (it) to you.”
[40:5] 702 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
[40:5] 704 tn Heb “a measuring stick of six cubits, [each] a cubit and a handbreadth.” The measuring units here and in the remainder of this section are the Hebrew “long” cubit, consisting of a cubit (about 18 inches or 45 cm) and a handbreadth (about 3 inches or 7.5 cm), for a total of 21 inches (52.5 cm). Therefore the measuring stick in the man’s hand was 10.5 feet (3.15 meters) long. Because modern readers are not familiar with the cubit as a unit of measurement, and due to the additional complication of the “long” cubit as opposed to the regular cubit, all measurements have been converted to American standard feet and inches, with the Hebrew measurements and the metric equivalents given in the notes.
[40:5] 706 tn Heb “one rod [or “reed”]” (also a second time in this verse, twice in v. 6, three times in v. 7, and once in v. 8).
[40:6] 707 tn The Hebrew text adds “the one threshold 10½ feet deep.” This is probably an accidental duplication of what precedes. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:517.
[40:7] 708 tn Heb “five cubits” (i.e., 2.625 meters) according to the “long” cubit. See the note on the first occurrence of the phrase “10½ feet” in v. 5.
[40:9] 709 tn Heb “eight cubits” (i.e., 4.2 meters).
[40:9] 710 tn Heb “two cubits” (i.e., 1.05 meters).
[40:10] 711 sn The three alcoves are parallel to the city gates found at Megiddo, Hazor, and Gezer.
[40:11] 712 tn Heb “ten cubits” (i.e., 5.25 meters).
[40:11] 713 tn Heb “thirteen cubits” (i.e., 6.825 meters).
[40:12] 714 tn Heb “one cubit” (i.e., 52.5 cm).
[40:12] 715 tn Heb “six cubits” (i.e., 3.15 meters).
[40:13] 716 tn Heb “twenty-five cubits” (i.e., 13.125 meters).
[40:14] 718 tc The MT reads “jambs” which does not make sense in context. Supposing a confusion of yod for vav, the text may be emended to read “porch.” See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:518.
[40:14] 719 tn Heb “sixty cubits” (i.e., 31.5 meters).
[40:14] 720 tn The word “high” is not in the Hebrew text but is supplied for sense.
[40:15] 721 tn Heb “fifty cubits” (i.e., 26.25 meters).
[40:16] 722 sn Decorative palm trees were also a part of Solomon’s temple (1 Kgs 6:29, 32, 35).
[40:17] 723 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
[40:19] 724 tn Heb “one hundred cubits” (i.e., 52.5 meters).
[40:21] 725 tn Heb “fifty cubits” (i.e., 26.25 meters).
[40:21] 726 tn Heb “twenty-five cubits” (i.e., 13.125 meters).
[40:23] 727 tn Heb “one hundred cubits” (i.e., 52.5 meters).
[40:24] 728 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
[40:25] 729 tn Heb “as these windows.”
[40:25] 730 tn Heb “fifty cubits” (i.e., 26.25 meters).
[40:25] 731 tn Heb “twenty-five cubits” (i.e., 13.125 meters).
[40:27] 732 tn Heb “one hundred cubits” (i.e., 52.5 meters).
[40:29] 733 tn Heb “fifty cubits” (i.e., 26.25 meters).
[40:29] 734 tn Heb “twenty-five cubits” (i.e., 13.125 meters).
[40:30] 735 tn Heb “twenty-five cubits” (i.e., 13.125 meters).
[40:30] 736 tn Heb “five cubits” (i.e., 2.625 meters).
[40:33] 737 tn Heb “fifty cubits” (i.e., 26.25 meters).
[40:33] 738 tn Heb “twenty-five cubits” (i.e., 13.125 meters).
[40:36] 739 tn Heb “fifty cubits” (i.e., 26.25 meters).
[40:36] 740 tn Heb “twenty-five cubits” (i.e., 13.125 meters).
[40:37] 741 tc The LXX reads “porches.”
[40:38] 742 tc The MT reads “jambs of the gates” which does not make sense in a context discussing one chamber. The emendation to “porch” is similar to v. 14. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:530.
[40:42] 743 tn Heb “one and a half cubits” (i.e., 78.75 cm).
[40:42] 744 tn Heb “one and a half cubits” (i.e., 78.75 cm).
[40:42] 745 tn Heb “one cubit” (i.e., 52.5 cm).
[40:43] 746 tc This reading is supported by the Aramaic Targum. The LXX, Vulgate, and Syriac read “shelves” or some type of projection.
[40:43] 747 tn Heb “one handbreadth” (7.5 cm).
[40:44] 748 tn “One” is not in the Hebrew text but is supplied for clarity in the translation.
[40:44] 749 tc This reading is supported by the LXX; the MT reads “east.”
[40:45] 750 tn Heb “the house.”
[40:47] 751 tn Heb “one hundred cubits long and one hundred cubits wide, a square” (i.e., 52.5 meters by 52.5 meters).
[40:48] 752 tn Heb “five cubits” (i.e., 2.625 meters).
[40:48] 753 tn The LXX reads “fourteen cubits” (i.e., 7.35 meters). See following note.
[40:48] 754 tc The translation follows the LXX. The MT reads “the width of the gate was three cubits,” the omission due to haplography.
[40:48] 755 tn Heb “three cubits” (i.e., 1.575 meters).
[40:49] 756 tn Heb “twenty cubits” (i.e., 10.5 meters).
[40:49] 757 tn Heb “eleven cubits” (i.e., 5.775 meters).
[40:49] 758 tc The LXX reads “ten steps.”
[41:1] 759 tn Heb “six cubits” (i.e., 3.15 meters).
[41:2] 760 tn Heb “ten cubits” (i.e., 5.25 meters).
[41:2] 761 tc The translation follows the LXX. The MT reads “the width of the gate was three cubits,” the omission due to haplography.
[41:2] 762 tn Heb “five cubits” (i.e., 2.625 meters).
[41:2] 763 tn Heb “forty cubits” (i.e., 21 meters).
[41:2] 764 tn Heb “twenty cubits” (i.e., 10.5 meters).
[41:3] 765 tn Heb “two cubits” (i.e., 1.05 meters).
[41:3] 766 tn Heb “six cubits” (i.e., 3.15 meters).
[41:3] 767 tn Heb “seven cubits” (i.e., 3.675 meters).
[41:4] 768 tn Heb “twenty cubits” (i.e., 10.5 meters).
[41:4] 769 tn Heb “twenty cubits” (i.e., 10.5 meters).
[41:5] 770 tn Heb “house” throughout Ezek 41.
[41:5] 771 tn Heb “six cubits” (i.e., 3.15 meters).
[41:5] 772 tn Heb “four cubits” (2.1 meters).
[41:7] 773 tc The Hebrew is difficult here. The Targum envisions a winding ramp or set of stairs, which entails reading the first word as a noun rather than a verb and reading the second word also not as a verb, supposing that an initial mem has been read as vav and nun. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:549.
[41:7] 774 tn The Hebrew term occurs only here in the OT.
[41:8] 776 tn Heb “six cubits” (i.e., 3.15 meters).
[41:9] 777 tn Heb “five cubits” (i.e., 2.625 meters).
[41:10] 778 tn Heb “twenty cubits” (i.e., 10.5 meters).
[41:11] 779 tn Heb “five cubits” (i.e., 2.625 meters).
[41:12] 780 tn Heb “seventy cubits” (36.75 meters).
[41:12] 781 tn Heb “five cubits” (i.e., 2.625 meters).
[41:12] 782 tn Heb “ninety cubits” (i.e., 47.25 meters).
[41:13] 783 tn Heb “one hundred cubits” (i.e., 52.5 meters).
[41:13] 784 tn Heb “one hundred cubits” (i.e., 52.5 meters).
[41:14] 785 tn Heb “one hundred cubits” (i.e., 52.5 meters).
[41:15] 786 tn Heb “one hundred cubits” (i.e., 52.5 meters).
[41:15] 787 tc Some Hebrew
[41:17] 788 tc The LXX does not have the word “by measurements.” The word may be a technical term referring to carpentry technique, the exact meaning of which is unclear.
[41:22] 789 tn Heb “three cubits” (i.e., 1.575 meters).
[41:22] 790 tn Heb “two cubits” (i.e., 1.05 meters).
[41:22] 791 tc So the Masoretic text. The LXX reads “base.”
[41:24] 792 tn Heb “turning” leaves.
[41:25] 793 tn Or “railings.” See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:218.
[42:2] 794 tn Heb “one hundred cubits” (i.e., 52.5 meters).
[42:2] 795 tn Heb “the door of the north.”
[42:2] 796 tn Heb “fifty cubits” (i.e., 26.25 meters).
[42:3] 797 tn Heb “twenty cubits” (i.e., 10.5 meters).
[42:4] 798 tn Heb “ten cubits” (i.e., 5.25 meters).
[42:4] 799 tc Heb “one cubit” (i.e., 52.5 cm). The LXX and the Syriac read “one hundred cubits” (= 175 feet).
[42:6] 800 tn The phrase “upper chambers” is not in the Hebrew text but is supplied from the context.
[42:7] 801 tn Heb “fifty cubits” (i.e., 26.25 meters).
[42:8] 802 tn Heb “fifty cubits” (i.e., 26.25 meters).
[42:8] 803 tn Heb “one hundred cubits” (i.e., 52.5 meters).
[42:10] 804 tc The reading is supported by the LXX.
[42:10] 805 tc This reading is supported by the LXX; the MT reads “east.”
[42:12] 806 tc The MT apparently evidences dittography, repeating most of the last word of the previous verse: “and like the openings of.”
[42:13] 807 sn The priests are from the Zadokite family (Ezek 40:6; 44:15).
[42:16] 808 tn Heb “reed” (also in the following verses).
[42:16] 809 tn Heb “five hundred cubits” (i.e., 262.5 meters).
[43:2] 810 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
[43:2] 811 sn This same title appears in 8:4; 9:3; 10:19; and 11:22.
[43:2] 812 sn Earlier Ezekiel had observed God leaving the temple to the east (11:23).
[43:2] 813 sn See Ezek 1:24; Rev 1:15; 14:2; 19:6.
[43:2] 814 tn Heb “shone from.”
[43:3] 815 tc Heb “I.” The reading is due to the confusion of yod (י, indicating a first person pronoun) and vav (ו, indicating a third person pronoun). A few medieval Hebrew
[43:5] 816 tn See note on “wind” in 2:2.
[43:5] 817 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
[43:5] 818 sn In 1 Kgs 8:10-11 we find a similar event with regard to Solomon’s temple. See also Exod 40:34-35. and Isa 6:4.
[43:7] 819 sn God’s throne is mentioned in Isa 6:1; Jer 3:17.
[43:7] 820 sn See 1 Chr 28:2; Ps 99:5; 132:7; Isa 60:13; Lam 2:1.
[43:7] 821 tn Heb “by their corpses in their death.” But the term normally translated “corpses” is better understood here as a reference to funeral pillars or funerary offerings. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:583-85, and L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:257.
[43:13] 822 tn Heb “the measurements of the altar by cubits, the cubit being a cubit and a handbreadth.” The measuring units here and in the remainder of this section are the Hebrew “long” cubit, consisting of a cubit (about 18 inches or 45 cm) and a handbreadth (about 3 inches or 7.5 cm), for a total of 21 inches (52.5 cm). Because modern readers are not familiar with the cubit as a unit of measurement, and due to the additional complication of the “long” cubit as opposed to the regular cubit, all measurements have been converted to American standard feet and inches, with the Hebrew measurements and the metric equivalents given in the notes. On the altar see Ezek 40:47.
[43:13] 823 tn The Hebrew term normally means “bosom.” Here it refers to a hollow in the ground.
[43:13] 824 tn Heb “one cubit” (i.e., 52.5 cm).
[43:13] 825 tn The word “high” is not in the Hebrew text but is supplied in the translation for clarity.
[43:13] 826 tn Heb “one cubit” (i.e., 52.5 cm).
[43:13] 827 tn Heb “one span.” A span was three handbreadths, or about nine inches (i.e., 22.5 cm).
[43:13] 828 tc Heb “bulge, protuberance, mound.” The translation follows the LXX.
[43:14] 829 tn Heb “two cubits” (i.e., 1.05 meters).
[43:14] 830 tn Heb “one cubit” (i.e., 52.5 cm; the phrase occurs again later in this verse).
[43:14] 831 tn Heb “four cubits” (i.e., 2.1 meters; the phrase also occurs in the next verse).
[43:16] 832 tn The precise Hebrew word used here to refer to an “altar hearth” occurs only here in the OT.
[43:16] 833 tn Heb “twelve cubits” (i.e., 6.3 meters; the phrase occurs twice in this verse).
[43:17] 834 tn Heb “fourteen”; the word “cubits” is not in the Hebrew text but is understood from the context; the phrase occurs again later in this verse. Fourteen cubits is about 7.35 meters.
[43:17] 835 tn Heb “half a cubit” (i.e., 26.25 cm).
[43:17] 836 tn Heb “one cubit” (i.e., 52.5 cm).
[43:18] 837 sn For the “sprinkling of blood,” see Lev 1:5, 11; 8:19; 9:12.
[43:20] 838 sn Note the similar language in Lev 16:18.
[43:24] 839 sn It is likely that salt was used with sacrificial meals (Num 18:19; 2 Chr 13:5).
[43:26] 840 tn Heb “fill its hands.”
[43:27] 841 tn Heb “and they will complete the days.”
[43:27] 842 sn The people also could partake of the food of the peace offering (Lev 3).
[44:3] 843 tn Heb “to eat bread.”
[44:4] 844 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
[44:5] 845 tn Heb “set your heart” (so also in the latter part of the verse).
[44:5] 846 tn Heb “Set your mind, look with your eyes, and with your ears hear.”
[44:5] 847 tc The Syriac, Vulgate, and Targum read the plural. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:618.
[44:6] 848 tc The LXX reads “house of rebellion.”
[44:7] 849 tn Heb “to desecrate.”
[44:7] 850 tc The Greek, Syriac, and Latin versions read “you.” The Masoretic text reads “they.”
[44:8] 851 tc Instead of an energic nun (ן), the text may have read a third masculine plural suffix ם (mem), “them,” which was confused with ן (nun) in the old script. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:621.
[44:9] 852 sn Tobiah, an Ammonite (Neh 13:8), was dismissed from the temple.
[44:10] 853 tn Heb “will bear.”
[44:12] 854 tn Heb “a stumbling block of iniquity.” This is a unique phrase of the prophet Ezekiel (cf. also Ezek 7:19; 14:3, 4, 7; 18:30).
[44:12] 855 tn Heb “I lifted up my hand.”
[44:12] 856 tn Heb “will bear.”
[44:15] 857 sn Zadok was a descendant of Aaron through Eleazar (1 Chr 6:50-53), who served as a priest during David’s reign (2 Sam 8:17).
[44:19] 858 sn For a similar concept of the transmitting of holiness, see Exod 19:12-14; Lev 10:1-2; 2 Sam 6:7. Similar laws concerning the priest are found in Lev 10 and 21.
[44:20] 859 sn The shaving of the head was associated with mourning (Ezek 7:18).
[44:20] 860 sn Letting the hair grow was associated with the taking of a vow (Num 6:5; Acts 21:23-26).
[44:22] 861 tn Heb “from the offspring of the house of Israel.”
[44:23] 862 sn This task was a fundamental role of the priest (Lev 10:10).
[44:24] 863 sn For a historical illustration of the priest carrying out this function, see 2 Chr 19:9-11.
[44:24] 864 tn Heb “sanctify, set apart.”
[44:25] 865 sn This law was part of the legal code for priests (Lev 21:1-3).
[44:26] 866 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the priest) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[44:26] 867 tc One medieval Hebrew
[44:28] 868 sn See Num 18:20; Deut 10:9; 18:2; Josh 13:33; 18:7.
[44:30] 869 tn Heb has in addition “from your contributions,” a repetition unnecessary in English.
[44:31] 870 tn The words “by a wild animal” are not in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied in the translation as a clarification of the circumstances.
[45:1] 871 tn Heb “a contribution.”
[45:1] 872 tn Heb “twenty-five thousand cubits” (i.e., 13.125 kilometers). The measuring units here are the Hebrew “long” cubit, consisting of a cubit (about 18 inches or 45 cm) and a handbreadth (about 3 inches or 7.5 cm), for a total of 21 inches (52.5 cm). Because modern readers are not familiar with the cubit as a unit of measurement, and due to the additional complication of the “long” cubit as opposed to the regular cubit, all measurements have been converted to American standard miles (one mile = 5,280 feet), with the Hebrew measurements and the metric equivalents given in the notes.
[45:1] 873 tc The LXX reads “twenty thousand cubits.”
[45:1] 874 tn Heb “holy it is in all its territory round about.”
[45:2] 875 tn Heb “five hundred cubits” (i.e., 262.5 meters); the phrase occurs twice in this verse.
[45:2] 876 tn Heb “fifty cubits” (i.e., 26.25 meters).
[45:3] 877 tn Heb “twenty-five thousand cubits” (i.e., 13.125 kilometers).
[45:3] 878 tn Heb “ten thousand cubits” (i.e., 5.25 kilometers).
[45:4] 879 tc The LXX apparently understood “open land” instead of “sanctuary.”
[45:5] 880 tn Heb “twenty-five thousand cubits” (i.e., 13.125 kilometers).
[45:5] 881 tn Heb “ten thousand cubits” (i.e., 5.25 kilometers).
[45:5] 882 tc The translation follows the LXX here. The MT reads “twenty.” See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:246.
[45:6] 883 tn Heb “five thousand cubits” (i.e., 2.625 kilometers).
[45:6] 884 tn Heb “twenty-five thousand cubits” (i.e., 13.125 kilometers).
[45:9] 885 sn Evictions of the less fortunate by the powerful are described in 1 Kgs 21:1-16; Jer 22:1-5, 13-17; Ezek 22:25.
[45:10] 886 sn Previous legislation regarding this practice may be found in Lev 19:35-36; Deut 25:13-16; Mic 6:10-12.
[45:10] 887 tn Heb “ephah,” which was 1/2 bushel.
[45:10] 888 tn Heb “bath,” a liquid measure, was 5 1/2 gallons.
[45:11] 889 sn The homer was about 5 bushels as a dry measure and 55 gallons as a liquid measure.
[45:12] 890 tn Heb “twenty shekels, twenty-five shekels, fifteen shekels.”
[45:24] 892 tn Heb “a hin of oil.” A hin was about 1/16 of a bath. See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:266, and O. R. Sellers, “Weights,” IDB 4:835 g.
[45:24] 893 tn Heb “ephah.” The words “of grain” are supplied in the translation as a clarification.
[45:25] 894 sn That is, the Feast of Temporary Shelters, traditionally known as the Feast of Tabernacles (Exod 23:16; 34:22; Deut 16:16).
[46:1] 895 sn The east gate of the outer court was permanently closed (Ezek 44:2).
[46:5] 896 tn Or “as much as he wishes.” Heb “a gift of his hand.”
[46:5] 897 tn Heb “a hin of oil.” A hin was about 1/16 of a bath. See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:266, and O. R. Sellers, “Weights,” IDB 4:835 g.
[46:6] 898 tn The phrase “he will offer” is not in the Hebrew text but is warranted from the context.
[46:7] 899 tn Heb “with the lambs as his hand can reach.”
[46:7] 900 tn Heb “a hin of oil.” A hin was about 1/16 of a bath. See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:266, and O. R. Sellers, “Weights,” IDB 4:835 g.
[46:7] 901 tn Heb “ephah.” The words “of grain” are supplied in the translation as a clarification.
[46:11] 902 tn Or “as much as he wishes.” Heb “a gift of his hand.”
[46:11] 903 tn Heb “a hin of oil.” A hin was about 1/16 of a bath. See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:266, and O. R. Sellers, “Weights,” IDB 4:835 g.
[46:11] 904 tn Heb “ephah.” The words “of grain” are supplied in the translation as a clarification.
[46:12] 905 tn Heb “he shall shut the gate after he goes out.”
[46:13] 906 tc A few Hebrew
[46:14] 907 tc Two medieval Hebrew
[46:14] 908 tn Heb “a hin of oil.” A hin was about 1/16 of a bath. See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:266, and O. R. Sellers, “Weights,” IDB 4:835 g.
[46:16] 909 tn The Hebrew text has no preposition; the LXX reads “from” (see v. 17).
[46:17] 910 sn That is, the year of Jubilee (Lev 25:8-15).
[46:19] 911 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
[46:21] 912 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
[46:22] 913 tc The meaning of the Hebrew term is unclear. The LXX and Syriac render “small.”
[46:22] 914 tn Heb “forty cubits” (i.e., 21 meters).
[46:22] 915 tn Heb “thirty cubits” (i.e., 15.75 meters).
[47:1] 916 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
[47:2] 917 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
[47:3] 918 tn Heb “one thousand cubits” (i.e., 525 meters); this phrase occurs three times in the next two verses.
[47:7] 919 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
[47:8] 920 tn Heb “the sea,” referring to the Dead Sea. This has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[47:8] 921 tn Heb “to the sea, those which are brought out.” The reading makes no sense. The text is best emended to read “filthy” (i.e., stagnant). See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:273.
[47:8] 922 tn Heb “the waters become healed.”
[47:9] 923 tn Heb “two rivers,” perhaps under the influence of Zech 14:8. The translation follows the LXX and other ancient versions in reading the singular, which is demanded by the context (see vv. 5-7, 9b, 12).
[47:9] 924 tn Heb “will be healed.”
[47:10] 925 sn The Great Sea refers to the Mediterranean Sea (also in vv. 15, 19, 20).
[47:12] 926 sn See Rev 22:1-2.
[47:13] 927 tc This translation follows the reading זֶה (zeh) instead of גֵּה (geh), a nonexistent word, as supported by the LXX.
[47:13] 928 tn Or “territory”; see D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:715.
[47:13] 929 tc The grammar is awkward, though the presence of these words is supported by the versions. L. C. Allen (Ezekiel [WBC], 2:274) suggests that it is an explanatory gloss.
[47:14] 930 sn Gen 15:9-21.
[47:14] 931 tn Heb “will fall to you as an inheritance.”
[47:15] 932 sn The measurements resemble those in Num 34:1-2.
[47:19] 933 tn Or “valley.” The syntax is difficult. Some translate “to the river,” others “from the river”; in either case the preposition is supplied for the sake of English.
[47:22] 934 sn A similar attitude toward non-Israelites is found in Isa 56:3-8.
[48:2] 935 sn The tribes descended from Jacob’s maidservants are placed farthest from the sanctuary. See Gen 30.
[48:7] 936 sn The tribe from which the Davidic prince would come is given the most prestigious allotment (see Gen 49:8-12).
[48:8] 937 tn Heb “twenty-five thousand cubits” (i.e., 13.125 kilometers).
[48:9] 938 tn Heb “twenty-five thousand cubits” (i.e., 13.125 kilometers).
[48:9] 939 tn Heb “ten thousand cubits” (i.e., 5.25 kilometers).
[48:10] 940 tn Heb “twenty-five thousand cubits” (i.e., 13.125 kilometers).
[48:10] 941 tn Heb “ten thousand cubits” (i.e., 5.25 kilometers).
[48:10] 942 tn Heb “ten thousand cubits” (i.e., 5.25 kilometers).
[48:10] 943 tn Heb “twenty-five thousand cubits” (i.e., 13.125 kilometers).
[48:11] 944 tn Heb “strayed off.”
[48:13] 945 tn Heb “twenty-five thousand cubits” (i.e., 13.125 kilometers).
[48:13] 946 tn Heb “ten thousand cubits” (i.e., 5.25 kilometers).
[48:13] 947 tn Heb “twenty-five thousand cubits” (i.e., 13.125 kilometers).
[48:13] 948 tn Heb “ten thousand cubits” (i.e., 5.25 kilometers).
[48:15] 950 tn Heb “five thousand cubits” (i.e., 2.625 kilometers).
[48:15] 951 tn Heb “twenty-five thousand cubits” (i.e., 13.125 kilometers).
[48:16] 952 tn Heb “four thousand five hundred cubits” (i.e., 2.36 kilometers); the phrase occurs three more times in this verse.
[48:17] 953 tn Heb “two hundred fifty cubits” (i.e., 131.25 meters); the phrase occurs three more times in this verse.
[48:18] 954 tn Heb “ten thousand cubits” (i.e., 5.25 kilometers); the phrase occurs again later in this verse.
[48:20] 955 tn Heb “twenty-five thousand cubits” (i.e., 13.125 kilometers).
[48:21] 956 tn Heb “twenty-five thousand cubits” (i.e., 13.125 kilometers).
[48:21] 957 tn Heb “twenty-five thousand cubits” (i.e., 13.125 kilometers).
[48:28] 958 tn Traditionally “the Brook of Egypt,” although a number of recent translations have “the Wadi of Egypt” (cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV). The word “Egypt” is not in the Hebrew text, but is implied.
[48:30] 959 tn Heb “four thousand five hundred cubits” (i.e., 2.36 kilometers); the phrase occurs again in vv. 32-34.
[48:31] 960 sn See Rev 21:12-14.
[48:35] 961 tn Heb “eighteen thousand cubits” (i.e., 9.45 kilometers).
[48:35] 962 sn See Rev 21:12-21.
