Ezekiel 1:4

1:4 As I watched, I noticed ¹  a windstorm ²  coming from the north – an enormous cloud, with lightning flashing, ³  such that bright light ⁴  rimmed it and came from ⁵  it like glowing amber ⁶  from the middle of a fire.

Ezekiel 1:28

1:28 like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds after the rain. ⁷  This was the appearance of the surrounding brilliant light; it looked like the glory of the Lord. When I saw ⁸  it, I threw myself face down, and I heard a voice speaking.

Ezekiel 8:17

8:17 He said to me, “Do you see, son of man? Is it a trivial thing that the house of Judah commits these abominations they are practicing here? For they have filled the land with violence and provoked me to anger still further. Look, they are putting the branch to their nose! ⁹ 

Ezekiel 9:9

9:9 He said to me, “The sin of the house of Israel and Judah is extremely great; the land is full of murder, and the city is full of corruption, ¹⁰  for they say, ‘The Lord has abandoned the land, and the Lord does not see!’ ¹¹ 

Ezekiel 10:9

10:9 As I watched, I noticed ¹²  four wheels by the cherubim, one wheel beside each cherub; ¹³  the wheels gleamed like jasper. ¹⁴ 

Ezekiel 11:1

The Fall of Jerusalem

11:1 A wind ¹⁵  lifted me up and brought me to the east gate of the Lord’s temple that faces the east. There, at the entrance of the gate, I noticed twenty-five men. Among them I saw Jaazaniah son of Azzur and Pelatiah son of Benaiah, officials of the people. ¹⁶ 

Ezekiel 12:3

12:3 “Therefore, son of man, pack up your belongings as if for exile. During the day, while they are watching, pretend to go into exile. Go from where you live to another place. Perhaps they will understand, ¹⁷  although they are a rebellious house.

Ezekiel 12:12

12:12 “The prince ¹⁸  who is among them will raise his belongings ¹⁹  onto his shoulder in darkness, and will go out. He ²⁰  will dig a hole in the wall to leave through. He will cover his face so that he cannot see the land with his eyes.

Ezekiel 14:22-23

14:22 Yet some survivors will be left in it, sons and daughters who will be brought out. They will come out to you, and when you see their behavior and their deeds, you will be consoled about the catastrophe I have brought on Jerusalem – for everything I brought on it. 14:23 They will console you when you see their behavior and their deeds, because you will know that it was not without reason that I have done everything which I have done in it, declares the sovereign Lord.”

Ezekiel 16:8

16:8 “‘Then I passed by you and watched you, noticing ²¹  that you had reached the age for love. ²²  I spread my cloak ²³  over you and covered your nakedness. I swore a solemn oath to you and entered into a marriage covenant with you, declares the sovereign Lord, and you became mine.

Ezekiel 16:37

16:37 therefore, take note: I am about to gather all your lovers whom you enjoyed, both all those you loved and all those you hated. I will gather them against you from all around, and I will expose your nakedness to them, and they will see all your nakedness. ²⁴ 

Ezekiel 21:21

21:21 For the king of Babylon stands at the fork ²⁵  in the road at the head of the two routes. He looks for omens: ²⁶  He shakes arrows, he consults idols, ²⁷  he examines ²⁸  animal livers. ²⁹ 

Ezekiel 21:24

21:24 “Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: ‘Because you have brought up ³⁰  your own guilt by uncovering your transgressions and revealing your sins through all your actions, for this reason you will be taken by force. ³¹ 

Ezekiel 33:6

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, ³²  but I will hold the watchman accountable for that person’s death.’ ³³ 

Ezekiel 44:5

44:5 The Lord said to me: “Son of man, pay attention, ³⁴  watch closely and listen carefully to ³⁵  everything I tell you concerning all the statutes of the Lord’s house and all its laws. Pay attention to the entrances ³⁶  to the temple with all the exits of the sanctuary.

[1:4]  ¹ tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.

[1:4]  ² sn Storms are often associated with appearances of God (see Nah 1:3; Ps 18:12). In some passages, the “storm” (סְעָרָה, sÿ’arah) may be a whirlwind (Job 38:1, 2 Kgs 2:1).

[1:4]  ³ tn Heb “fire taking hold of itself,” perhaps repeatedly. The phrase occurs elsewhere only in Exod 9:24 in association with a hailstorm. The LXX interprets the phrase as fire flashing like lightning, but it is possibly a self-sustaining blaze of divine origin. The LXX also reverses the order of the descriptors, i.e., “light went around it and fire flashed like lightning within it.”

[1:4]  ⁴ tn Or “radiance.” The term also occurs in 1:27b.

[1:4]  ⁵ tc Or “was in it”; cf. LXX ἐν τῷ μέσῳ αὐτοῦ (en tw mesw autou, “in its midst”).

[1:4]  ⁶ tn The LXX translates חַשְׁמַל (khashmal) with the word ἤλεκτρον (hlektron, “electrum”; so NAB), an alloy of silver and gold, perhaps envisioning a comparison to the glow of molten metal.

[1:28]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ tn The vision closes with the repetition of the verb “I saw” from the beginning of the vision in 1:4.

[8:17]  ¹³ tn It is not clear what the practice of “holding a branch to the nose” indicates. A possible parallel is the Syrian relief of a king holding a flower to his nose as he worships the stars (ANEP 281). See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 1:145-46. The LXX glosses the expression as “Behold, they are like mockers.”

[9:9]  ¹⁹ tn Or “lawlessness” (NAB); “perversity” (NRSV). The Hebrew word occurs only here in the OT, and its meaning is uncertain. The similar phrase in 7:23 has a common word for “violence.”

[9:9]  ²⁰ sn The saying is virtually identical to that of the elders in Ezek 8:12.

[10:9]  ²⁵ tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.

[10:9]  ²⁶ tn The MT repeats this phrase, a clear case of dittography.

[10:9]  ²⁷ tn Heb “Tarshish stone.” The meaning is uncertain. The term has also been translated “topaz” (NEB), “beryl” (KJV, NASB, NRSV), and “chrysolite” (RSV, NIV).

[11:1]  ³¹ tn Or “spirit.” See note on “wind” in 2:2.

[11:1]  ³² sn The phrase officials of the people occurs in Neh 11:1; 1 Chr 21:2; 2 Chr 24:23.

[12:3]  ³⁷ tn Heb “see.” This plays on the uses of “see” in v. 2. They will see his actions with their eyes and perhaps they will “see” with their mind, that is, understand or grasp the point.

[12:12]  ⁴³ sn The prince is a reference to Zedekiah.

[12:12]  ⁴⁴ tn The words “his belongings” are not in the Hebrew text but are implied.

[12:12]  ⁴⁵ tc The MT reads “they”; the LXX and Syriac read “he.”

[16:8]  ⁴⁹ tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a participle.

[16:8]  ⁵⁰ tn See similar use of this term in Ezek 23:17; Prov 7:16; Song of Songs 4:10; 7:13.

[16:8]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “wing” or “skirt.” The gesture symbolized acquiring a woman in early Arabia (similarly, see Deut 22:30; Ruth 3:9).

[16:37]  ⁵⁵ sn Harlots suffered degradation when their nakedness was exposed (Jer 13:22, 26; Hos 2:12; Nah 3:5).

[21:21]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “mother.”

[21:21]  ⁶² 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]  ⁶³ tn This word refers to personal idols that were apparently used for divination purposes (Gen 31:19; 1 Sam 19:13, 16).

[21:21]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “sees.”

[21:21]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “the liver.”

[21:24]  ⁶⁷ tn Heb “caused to be remembered.”

[21:24]  ⁶⁸ 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.”

[33:6]  ⁷³ 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]  ⁷⁴ tn Heb “his blood from the hand of the watchman I will seek.”

[44:5]  ⁷⁹ tn Heb “set your heart” (so also in the latter part of the verse).

[44:5]  ⁸⁰ tn Heb “Set your mind, look with your eyes, and with your ears hear.”

[44:5]  ⁸¹ tc The Syriac, Vulgate, and Targum read the plural. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:618.