Ezekiel 1:27-28

1:27 I saw an amber glow ¹  like a fire enclosed all around ²  from his waist up. From his waist down I saw something that looked like fire. There was a brilliant light around it, 1:28 like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds after the rain. ³  This was the appearance of the surrounding brilliant light; it looked like the glory of the Lord. When I saw ⁴  it, I threw myself face down, and I heard a voice speaking.

Ezekiel 13:18

13:18 and say ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Woe to those who sew bands ⁵  on all their wrists ⁶  and make headbands ⁷  for heads of every size to entrap people’s lives! ⁸  Will you entrap my people’s lives, yet preserve your own lives?

Ezekiel 30:25

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.

[1:27]  ¹ tn See Ezek 1:4.

[1:27]  ² tc The LXX lacks this phrase. Its absence from the LXX may be explained as a case of haplography resulting from homoioteleuton, skipping from כְּמַרְאֵה (kÿmar’eh) to מִמַּרְאֵה (mimmar’eh). On the other hand, the LXX presents a much more balanced verse structure when it is recognized that the final words of this verse belong in the next sentence.

[1:28]  ³ sn Reference to the glowing substance and the brilliant light and storm phenomena in vv. 27-28a echoes in reverse order the occurrence of these phenomena in v. 4.

[1:28]  ⁴ tn The vision closes with the repetition of the verb “I saw” from the beginning of the vision in 1:4.

[13:18]  ⁵ sn The wristbands mentioned here probably represented magic bands or charms. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:413.

[13:18]  ⁶ tn Heb “joints of the hands.” This may include the elbow and shoulder joints.

[13:18]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew term occurs in the Bible only here and in v. 21. It has also been understood as a veil or type of head covering. D. I. Block (Ezekiel [NICOT], 1:414) suggests that given the context of magical devices, the expected parallel to the magical arm bands, and the meaning of this Hebrew root (סָפַח [safakh, “to attach” or “join”]), it may refer to headbands or necklaces on which magical amulets were worn.

[13:18]  ⁸ tn Heb “human lives” or “souls” (three times in v. 18 and twice in v. 19).