Ezekiel 1:1--19:14

A Vision of God’s Glory

1:1 In the thirtieth year, ¹  on the fifth day of the fourth month, while I was among the exiles ²  at the Kebar River, ³  the heavens opened ⁴  and I saw a divine vision. ⁵  1:2 (On the fifth day of the month – it was the fifth year of King Jehoiachin’s exile – 1:3 the word of the Lord came to the priest Ezekiel ⁶  the son of Buzi, ⁷  at the Kebar River in the land of the Babylonians. ⁸  The hand ⁹  of the Lord came on him there).

1:4 As I watched, I noticed ¹⁰  a windstorm ¹¹  coming from the north – an enormous cloud, with lightning flashing, ¹²  such that bright light ¹³  rimmed it and came from ¹⁴  it like glowing amber ¹⁵  from the middle of a fire. 1:5 In the fire ¹⁶  were what looked like ¹⁷  four living beings. ¹⁸  In their appearance they had human form, ¹⁹  1:6 but each had four faces and four wings. 1:7 Their legs were straight, but the soles of their feet were like calves’ feet. They gleamed ²⁰  like polished bronze. 1:8 They had human hands ²¹  under their wings on their four sides. As for the faces and wings of the four of them, 1:9 their wings touched each other; they did not turn as they moved, but went straight ahead. ²² 

1:10 Their faces had this appearance: Each of the four had the face of a man, with the face of a lion on the right, the face of an ox on the left and also the face of an eagle. ²³  1:11 Their wings were spread out above them; each had two wings touching the wings of one of the other beings on either side and two wings covering their bodies. 1:12 Each moved straight ahead ²⁴  – wherever the spirit ²⁵  would go, they would go, without turning as they went. 1:13 In the middle ²⁶  of the living beings was something like ²⁷  burning coals of fire ²⁸  or like torches. It moved back and forth among the living beings. It was bright, and lightning was flashing out of the fire. 1:14 The living beings moved backward and forward as quickly as flashes of lightning. ²⁹ 

1:15 Then I looked, ³⁰  and I saw one wheel ³¹  on the ground ³²  beside each of the four beings. 1:16 The appearance of the wheels and their construction ³³  was like gleaming jasper, ³⁴  and all four wheels looked alike. Their structure was like a wheel within a wheel. ³⁵  1:17 When they moved they would go in any of the four directions they faced without turning as they moved. 1:18 Their rims were high and awesome, ³⁶  and the rims of all four wheels were full of eyes all around.

1:19 When the living beings moved, the wheels beside them moved; when the living beings rose up from the ground, the wheels rose up too. 1:20 Wherever the spirit ³⁷  would go, they would go, ³⁸  and the wheels would rise up beside them because the spirit ³⁹  of the living being was in the wheel. 1:21 When the living beings moved, the wheels moved, and when they stopped moving, the wheels stopped. ⁴⁰  When they rose up from the ground, the wheels rose up from the ground; the wheels rose up beside them because the spirit of the living being was in the wheel.

1:22 Over the heads of the living beings was something like a platform, ⁴¹  glittering awesomely like ice, ⁴²  stretched out over their heads. 1:23 Under the platform their wings were stretched out, each toward the other. Each of the beings also had two wings covering ⁴³  its body. 1:24 When they moved, I heard the sound of their wings – it was like the sound of rushing waters, or the voice of the Almighty, ⁴⁴  or the tumult ⁴⁵  of an army. When they stood still, they lowered their wings.

1:25 Then there was a voice from above the platform over their heads when they stood still. ⁴⁶  1:26 Above the platform over their heads was something like a sapphire shaped like a throne. High above on the throne was a form that appeared to be a man. 1:27 I saw an amber glow ⁴⁷  like a fire enclosed all around ⁴⁸  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. ⁴⁹  This was the appearance of the surrounding brilliant light; it looked like the glory of the Lord. When I saw ⁵⁰  it, I threw myself face down, and I heard a voice speaking.

Ezekiel’s Commission

2:1 He said to me, “Son of man, ⁵¹  stand on your feet and I will speak with you.” 2:2 As he spoke to me, ⁵²  a wind ⁵³  came into me and stood me on my feet, and I heard the one speaking to me.

2:3 He said to me, “Son of man, I am sending you to the house ⁵⁴  of Israel, to rebellious nations ⁵⁵  who have rebelled against me; both they and their fathers have revolted ⁵⁶  against me to this very day. 2:4 The people ⁵⁷  to whom I am sending you are obstinate and hard-hearted, ⁵⁸  and you must say to them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says.’ ⁵⁹  2:5 And as for them, ⁶⁰  whether they listen ⁶¹  or not – for they are a rebellious ⁶²  house ⁶³  – they will know that a prophet has been among them. 2:6 But you, son of man, do not fear them, and do not fear their words – even though briers ⁶⁴  and thorns ⁶⁵  surround you and you live among scorpions – do not fear their words and do not be terrified of the looks they give you, ⁶⁶  for they are a rebellious house! 2:7 You must speak my words to them whether they listen or not, for they are rebellious. 2:8 As for you, son of man, listen to what I am saying to you: Do not rebel like that rebellious house! Open your mouth and eat what I am giving you.”

2:9 Then I looked and realized a hand was stretched out to me, and in it was a written scroll. 2:10 He unrolled it before me, and it had writing on the front ⁶⁷  and back; ⁶⁸  written on it were laments, mourning, and woe.

3:1 He said to me, “Son of man, eat what you see in front of you ⁶⁹  – eat this scroll – and then go and speak to the house of Israel.” 3:2 So I opened my mouth and he fed me the scroll.

3:3 He said to me, “Son of man, feed your stomach and fill your belly with this scroll I am giving to you.” So I ate it, ⁷⁰  and it was sweet like honey in my mouth.

3:4 He said to me, “Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak my words to them. 3:5 For you are not being sent to a people of unintelligible speech ⁷¹  and difficult language, ⁷²  but ⁷³  to the house of Israel – 3:6 not to many peoples of unintelligible speech and difficult language, whose words you cannot understand ⁷⁴  – surely if ⁷⁵  I had sent you to them, they would listen to you! 3:7 But the house of Israel is unwilling to listen to you, ⁷⁶  because they are not willing to listen to me, ⁷⁷  for the whole house of Israel is hard-headed and hard-hearted. ⁷⁸ 

3:8 “I have made your face adamant ⁷⁹  to match their faces, and your forehead hard to match their foreheads. 3:9 I have made your forehead harder than flint – like diamond! ⁸⁰  Do not fear them or be terrified of the looks they give you, ⁸¹  for they are a rebellious house.”

3:10 And he said to me, “Son of man, take all my words that I speak to you to heart and listen carefully. 3:11 Go to the exiles, to your fellow countrymen, ⁸²  and speak to them – say to them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says,’ whether they pay attention or not.”

Ezekiel Before the Exiles

3:12 Then a wind lifted me up ⁸³  and I heard a great rumbling sound behind me as the glory of the Lord rose from its place, ⁸⁴  3:13 and the sound of the living beings’ wings brushing against each other, and the sound of the wheels alongside them, a great rumbling sound. 3:14 A wind lifted me up and carried me away. I went bitterly, ⁸⁵  my spirit full of fury, and the hand of the Lord rested powerfully ⁸⁶  on me. 3:15 I came to the exiles at Tel Abib, ⁸⁷  who lived by the Kebar River. ⁸⁸  I sat dumbfounded among them there, where they were living, for seven days. ⁸⁹ 

3:16 At the end of seven days the word of the Lord came to me: ⁹⁰  3:17 “Son of man, I have appointed you a watchman ⁹¹  for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you must give them a warning from me. 3:18 When I say to the wicked, “You will certainly die,” ⁹²  and you do not warn him – you do not speak out to warn the wicked to turn from his wicked deed and wicked lifestyle so that he may live – that wicked person will die for his iniquity, ⁹³  but I will hold you accountable for his death. ⁹⁴  3:19 But as for you, if you warn the wicked and he does not turn from his wicked deed and from his wicked lifestyle, he will die for his iniquity but you will have saved your own life. ⁹⁵ 

3:20 “When a righteous person turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and I set an obstacle ⁹⁶  before him, he will die. If you have not warned him, he will die for his sin. The righteous deeds he performed will not be considered, but I will hold you accountable for his death. 3:21 However, if you warn the righteous person not to sin, and he ⁹⁷  does not sin, he will certainly live because he was warned, and you will have saved your own life.”

Isolated and Silenced

3:22 The hand ⁹⁸  of the Lord rested on me there, and he said to me, “Get up, go out to the valley, ⁹⁹  and I will speak with you there.” 3:23 So I got up and went out to the valley, and the glory of the Lord was standing there, just like the glory I had seen by the Kebar River, ¹⁰⁰  and I threw myself face down.

3:24 Then a wind ¹⁰¹  came into me and stood me on my feet. The Lord ¹⁰²  spoke to me and said, “Go shut yourself in your house. 3:25 As for you, son of man, they will put ropes on you and tie you up with them, so you cannot go out among them. 3:26 I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth so that you will be silent and unable to reprove ¹⁰³  them, for they are a rebellious house. 3:27 But when I speak with you, I will loosen your tongue ¹⁰⁴  and you must say to them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says.’ Those who listen will listen, but the indifferent will refuse, ¹⁰⁵  for they are a rebellious house.

Ominous Object Lessons

4:1 “And you, son of man, take a brick ¹⁰⁶  and set it in front of you. Inscribe ¹⁰⁷  a city on it – Jerusalem. 4:2 Lay siege to it! Build siege works against it. Erect a siege ramp ¹⁰⁸  against it! Post soldiers outside it ¹⁰⁹  and station battering rams around it. 4:3 Then for your part take an iron frying pan ¹¹⁰  and set it up as an iron wall between you and the city. Set your face toward it. It is to be under siege; you are to besiege it. This is a sign ¹¹¹  for the house of Israel.

4:4 “Also for your part lie on your left side and place the iniquity ¹¹²  of the house of Israel on it. For the number of days you lie on your side you will bear their iniquity. 4:5 I have determined that the number of the years of their iniquity are to be the number of days ¹¹³  for you – 390 days. ¹¹⁴  So bear the iniquity of the house of Israel. ¹¹⁵ 

4:6 “When you have completed these days, then lie down a second time, but on your right side, and bear the iniquity of the house of Judah 40 days ¹¹⁶  – I have assigned one day for each year. 4:7 You must turn your face toward the siege of Jerusalem with your arm bared and prophesy against it. 4:8 Look here, I will tie you up with ropes, so you cannot turn from one side to the other until you complete the days of your siege. ¹¹⁷ 

4:9 “As for you, take wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, and spelt, ¹¹⁸  put them in a single container, and make food ¹¹⁹  from them for yourself. For the same number of days that you lie on your side – 390 days ¹²⁰  – you will eat it. 4:10 The food you eat will be eight ounces ¹²¹  a day by weight; you must eat it at fixed ¹²²  times. 4:11 And you must drink water by measure, a pint and a half; ¹²³  you must drink it at fixed times. 4:12 And you must eat the food like you would a barley cake. You must bake it in front of them over a fire made with dried human excrement.” ¹²⁴  4:13 And the Lord said, “This is how the people of Israel will eat their unclean food among the nations ¹²⁵  where I will banish them.”

4:14 And I said, “Ah, sovereign Lord, I have never been ceremonially defiled before. I have never eaten a carcass or an animal torn by wild beasts; from my youth up, unclean meat ¹²⁶  has never entered my mouth.”

4:15 So he said to me, “All right then, I will substitute cow’s manure instead of human excrement. You will cook your food over it.”

4:16 Then he said to me, “Son of man, I am about to remove the bread supply ¹²⁷  in Jerusalem. ¹²⁸  They will eat their bread ration anxiously, and they will drink their water ration in terror 4:17 because they will lack bread and water. Each one will be terrified, and they will rot for their iniquity. ¹²⁹ 

5:1 “As for you, son of man, take a sharp sword and use it as a barber’s razor. ¹³⁰  Shave off some of the hair from your head and your beard. ¹³¹  Then take scales and divide up the hair you cut off. 5:2 Burn a third of it in the fire inside the city when the days of your siege are completed. Take a third and slash it with a sword all around the city. Scatter a third to the wind, and I will unleash a sword behind them. 5:3 But take a few strands of hair ¹³²  from those and tie them in the ends of your garment. ¹³³  5:4 Again, take more of them and throw them into the fire, ¹³⁴  and burn them up. From there a fire will spread to all the house of Israel.

5:5 “This is what the sovereign Lord says: This is Jerusalem; I placed her in the center of the nations with countries all around her. 5:6 Then she defied my regulations and my statutes, becoming more wicked than the nations ¹³⁵  and the countries around her. ¹³⁶  Indeed, they ¹³⁷  have rejected my regulations, and they do not follow my statutes.

5:7 “Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: Because you are more arrogant ¹³⁸  than the nations around you, ¹³⁹  you have not followed my statutes and have not carried out my regulations. You have not even ¹⁴⁰  carried out the regulations of the nations around you!

5:8 “Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: I – even I – am against you, ¹⁴¹  and I will execute judgment ¹⁴²  among you while the nations watch. ¹⁴³  5:9 I will do to you what I have never done before and will never do again because of all your abominable practices. ¹⁴⁴  5:10 Therefore fathers will eat their sons within you, Jerusalem, ¹⁴⁵  and sons will eat their fathers. I will execute judgments on you, and I will scatter any survivors ¹⁴⁶  to the winds. ¹⁴⁷ 

5:11 “Therefore, as surely as I live, says the sovereign Lord, because you defiled my sanctuary with all your detestable idols and with all your abominable practices, I will withdraw; my eye will not pity you, nor will I spare ¹⁴⁸  you. 5:12 A third of your people will die of plague or be overcome by the famine within you. ¹⁴⁹  A third of your people will fall by the sword surrounding you, ¹⁵⁰  and a third I will scatter to the winds. I will unleash a sword behind them. 5:13 Then my anger will be fully vented; I will exhaust my rage on them, and I will be appeased. ¹⁵¹  Then they will know that I, the Lord, have spoken in my jealousy ¹⁵²  when I have fully vented my rage against them.

5:14 “I will make you desolate and an object of scorn among the nations around you, in the sight of everyone who passes by. 5:15 You will be ¹⁵³  an object of scorn and taunting, ¹⁵⁴  a prime example of destruction ¹⁵⁵  among the nations around you when I execute judgments against you in anger and raging fury. ¹⁵⁶  I, the Lord, have spoken! 5:16 I will shoot against them deadly, ¹⁵⁷  destructive ¹⁵⁸  arrows of famine, ¹⁵⁹  which I will shoot to destroy you. ¹⁶⁰  I will prolong a famine on you and will remove the bread supply. ¹⁶¹  5:17 I will send famine and wild beasts against you and they will take your children from you. ¹⁶²  Plague and bloodshed will overwhelm you, ¹⁶³  and I will bring a sword against you. I, the Lord, have spoken!”

Judgment on the Mountains of Israel

6:1 The word of the Lord came to me: 6:2 “Son of man, turn toward ¹⁶⁴  the mountains of Israel and prophesy against them: 6:3 Say, ‘Mountains of Israel, ¹⁶⁵  Hear the word of the sovereign Lord! ¹⁶⁶  This is what the sovereign Lord says to the mountains and the hills, to the ravines and the valleys: I am bringing ¹⁶⁷  a sword against you, and I will destroy your high places. ¹⁶⁸  6:4 Your altars will be ruined and your incense altars will be broken. I will throw down your slain in front of your idols. ¹⁶⁹  6:5 I will place the corpses of the people of Israel in front of their idols, ¹⁷⁰  and I will scatter your bones around your altars. 6:6 In all your dwellings, the cities will be laid waste and the high places ruined so that your altars will be laid waste and ruined, your idols will be shattered and demolished, your incense altars will be broken down, and your works wiped out. ¹⁷¹  6:7 The slain will fall among you and then you will know that I am the Lord. ¹⁷² 

6:8 “‘But I will spare some of you. Some will escape the sword when you are scattered in foreign lands. ¹⁷³  6:9 Then your survivors will remember me among the nations where they are exiled. They will realize ¹⁷⁴  how I was crushed by their unfaithful ¹⁷⁵  heart which turned from me and by their eyes which lusted after their idols. They will loathe themselves ¹⁷⁶  because of the evil they have done and because of all their abominable practices. 6:10 They will know that I am the Lord; my threats to bring this catastrophe on them were not empty.’ ¹⁷⁷ 

6:11 “‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Clap your hands, stamp your feet, and say, “Ah!” because of all the evil, abominable practices of the house of Israel, for they will fall by the sword, famine, and pestilence. ¹⁷⁸  6:12 The one far away will die by pestilence, the one close by will fall by the sword, and whoever is left and has escaped these ¹⁷⁹  will die by famine. I will fully vent my rage against them. 6:13 Then you will know that I am the Lord – when their dead lie among their idols around their altars, on every high hill and all the mountaintops, under every green tree and every leafy oak, ¹⁸⁰  the places where they have offered fragrant incense to all their idols. 6:14 I will stretch out my hand against them ¹⁸¹  and make the land a desolate waste from the wilderness to Riblah, ¹⁸²  in all the places where they live. Then they will know that I am the Lord!”

The End Arrives

7:1 The word of the Lord came to me: 7:2 “You, son of man – this is what the sovereign Lord says to the land of Israel: An end! The end is coming on the four corners of the land! ¹⁸³  7:3 The end is now upon you, and I will release my anger against you; I will judge ¹⁸⁴  you according to your behavior, ¹⁸⁵  I will hold you accountable for ¹⁸⁶  all your abominable practices. 7:4 My eye will not pity you; I will not spare ¹⁸⁷  you. ¹⁸⁸  For I will hold you responsible for your behavior, ¹⁸⁹  and you will suffer the consequences of your abominable practices. ¹⁹⁰  Then you will know that I am the Lord!

7:5 “This is what the sovereign Lord says: A disaster ¹⁹¹  – a one-of-a-kind ¹⁹²  disaster – is coming! 7:6 An end comes ¹⁹³  – the end comes! ¹⁹⁴  It has awakened against you ¹⁹⁵  – the end is upon you! Look, it is coming! ¹⁹⁶  7:7 Doom is coming upon you who live in the land! The time is coming, the day ¹⁹⁷  is near. There are sounds of tumult, not shouts of joy, on the mountains. ¹⁹⁸  7:8 Soon now I will pour out my rage ¹⁹⁹  on you; I will fully vent my anger against you. I will judge you according to your behavior. I will hold you accountable for all your abominable practices. 7:9 My eye will not pity you; I will not spare ²⁰⁰  you. For your behavior I will hold you accountable, ²⁰¹  and you will suffer the consequences of your abominable practices. Then you will know that it is I, the Lord, who is striking you. ²⁰² 

7:10 “Look, the day! Look, it is coming! Doom has gone out! The staff has budded, pride has blossomed! 7:11 Violence ²⁰³  has grown into a staff that supports wickedness. Not one of them will be left ²⁰⁴  – not from their crowd, not from their wealth, not from their prominence. ²⁰⁵  7:12 The time has come; the day has struck! The customer should not rejoice, nor the seller mourn; for divine wrath ²⁰⁶  comes against their whole crowd. 7:13 The customer will no longer pay the seller ²⁰⁷  while both parties are alive, for the vision against their whole crowd ²⁰⁸  will not be revoked. Each person, for his iniquity, ²⁰⁹  will fail to preserve his life.

7:14 “They have blown the trumpet and everyone is ready, but no one goes to battle, because my anger is against their whole crowd. ²¹⁰  7:15 The sword is outside; pestilence and famine are inside the house. Whoever is in the open field will die by the sword, and famine and pestilence will consume everyone in the city. 7:16 Their survivors will escape to the mountains and become like doves of the valleys; all of them will moan – each one for his iniquity. 7:17 All of their hands will hang limp; their knees will be wet with urine. ²¹¹  7:18 They will wear sackcloth, terror will cover them; shame will be on all their faces, and all of their heads will be shaved bald. ²¹²  7:19 They will discard their silver in the streets, and their gold will be treated like filth. ²¹³  Their silver and gold will not be able to deliver them on the day of the Lord’s fury. ²¹⁴  They will not satisfy their hunger or fill their stomachs because their wealth ²¹⁵  was the obstacle leading to their iniquity. ²¹⁶  7:20 They rendered the beauty of his ornaments into pride, ²¹⁷  and with it they made their abominable images – their detestable idols. Therefore I will render it filthy to them. 7:21 I will give it to foreigners as loot, to the world’s wicked ones as plunder, and they will desecrate it. 7:22 I will turn my face away from them and they will desecrate my treasured place. ²¹⁸  Vandals will enter it and desecrate it. ²¹⁹  7:23 (Make the chain, ²²⁰  because the land is full of murder ²²¹  and the city is full of violence.) 7:24 I will bring the most wicked of the nations and they will take possession of their houses. I will put an end to the arrogance of the strong, and their sanctuaries ²²²  will be desecrated. 7:25 Terror ²²³  is coming! They will seek peace, but find none. 7:26 Disaster after disaster will come, and one rumor after another. They will seek a vision from a prophet; priestly instruction will disappear, along with counsel from the elders. 7:27 The king will mourn and the prince will be clothed with shuddering; the hands of the people of the land will tremble. Based on their behavior I will deal with them, and by their standard of justice ²²⁴  I will judge them. Then they will know that I am the Lord!”

A Desecrated Temple

8:1 In the sixth year, in the sixth month, on the fifth of the month, ²²⁵  as I was sitting in my house with the elders of Judah sitting in front of me, the hand ²²⁶  of the sovereign Lord seized me. ²²⁷  8:2 As I watched, I noticed ²²⁸  a form that appeared to be a man. ²²⁹  From his waist downward was something like fire, ²³⁰  and from his waist upward something like a brightness, ²³¹  like an amber glow. ²³²  8:3 He stretched out the form ²³³  of a hand and grabbed me by a lock of hair on my head. Then a wind ²³⁴  lifted me up between the earth and sky and brought me to Jerusalem ²³⁵  by means of divine visions, to the door of the inner gate which faces north where the statue ²³⁶  which provokes to jealousy was located. 8:4 Then I perceived that the glory of the God of Israel was there, as in the vision I had seen earlier in the valley.

8:5 He said to me, “Son of man, look up toward ²³⁷  the north.” So I looked up toward the north, and I noticed to the north of the altar gate was this statue of jealousy at the entrance.

8:6 He said to me, “Son of man, do you see what they are doing – the great abominations that the people ²³⁸  of Israel are practicing here, to drive me far from my sanctuary? But you will see greater abominations than these!”

8:7 He brought me to the entrance of the court, and as I watched, I noticed a hole in the wall. 8:8 He said to me, “Son of man, dig into the wall.” So I dug into the wall and discovered a doorway.

8:9 He said to me, “Go in and see the evil abominations they are practicing here.” 8:10 So I went in and looked. I noticed every figure ²³⁹  of creeping thing and beast – detestable images ²⁴⁰  – and every idol of the house of Israel, engraved on the wall all around. ²⁴¹  8:11 Seventy men from the elders of the house of Israel ²⁴²  (with Jaazaniah son of Shaphan standing among them) were standing in front of them, each with a censer in his hand, and fragrant ²⁴³  vapors from a cloud of incense were swirling upward.

8:12 He said to me, “Do you see, son of man, what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the dark, each in the chamber of his idolatrous images? ²⁴⁴  For they think, ‘The Lord does not see us! The Lord has abandoned the land!’” 8:13 He said to me, “You will see them practicing even greater abominations!”

8:14 Then he brought me to the entrance of the north gate of the Lord’s house. I noticed ²⁴⁵  women sitting there weeping for Tammuz. ²⁴⁶  8:15 He said to me, “Do you see this, son of man? You will see even greater abominations than these!”

8:16 Then he brought me to the inner court of the Lord’s house. Right there ²⁴⁷  at the entrance to the Lord’s temple, between the porch and the altar, ²⁴⁸  were about twenty-five ²⁴⁹  men with their backs to the Lord’s temple, ²⁵⁰  facing east – they were worshiping the sun ²⁵¹  toward the east!

8:17 He said to me, “Do you see, son of man? Is it a trivial thing that the house of Judah commits these abominations they are practicing here? For they have filled the land with violence and provoked me to anger still further. Look, they are putting the branch to their nose! ²⁵²  8:18 Therefore I will act with fury! My eye will not pity them nor will I spare ²⁵³  them. When they have shouted in my ears, I will not listen to them.”

The Execution of Idolaters

9:1 Then he shouted in my ears, “Approach, ²⁵⁴  you who are to visit destruction on the city, each with his destructive weapon in his hand!” 9:2 Next, I noticed ²⁵⁵  six men ²⁵⁶  coming from the direction of the upper gate ²⁵⁷  which faces north, each with his war club in his hand. Among them was a man dressed in linen with a writing kit ²⁵⁸  at his side. They came and stood beside the bronze altar.

9:3 Then the glory of the God of Israel went up from the cherub where it had rested to the threshold of the temple. ²⁵⁹  He called to the man dressed in linen who had the writing kit at his side. 9:4 The Lord said to him, “Go through the city of Jerusalem ²⁶⁰  and put a mark ²⁶¹  on the foreheads of the people who moan and groan over all the abominations practiced in it.”

9:5 While I listened, he said to the others, ²⁶²  “Go through the city after him and strike people down; do no let your eye pity nor spare ²⁶³  anyone! 9:6 Old men, young men, young women, little children, and women – wipe them out! But do not touch anyone who has the mark. Begin at my sanctuary!” So they began with the elders who were at the front of the temple.

9:7 He said to them, “Defile the temple and fill the courtyards with corpses. Go!” So they went out and struck people down throughout the city. 9:8 While they were striking them down, I was left alone, and I threw myself face down and cried out, “Ah, sovereign Lord! Will you destroy the entire remnant of Israel when you pour out your fury on Jerusalem?”

9:9 He said to me, “The sin of the house of Israel and Judah is extremely great; the land is full of murder, and the city is full of corruption, ²⁶⁴  for they say, ‘The Lord has abandoned the land, and the Lord does not see!’ ²⁶⁵  9:10 But as for me, my eye will not pity them nor will I spare ²⁶⁶  them; I hereby repay them for what they have done.” ²⁶⁷ 

9:11 Next I noticed the man dressed in linen with the writing kit at his side bringing back word: “I have done just as you commanded me.”

God’s Glory Leaves the Temple

10:1 As I watched, I saw ²⁶⁸  on the platform ²⁶⁹  above the top of the cherubim something like a sapphire, resembling the shape of a throne, appearing above them. 10:2 The Lord ²⁷⁰  said to the man dressed in linen, “Go between the wheelwork ²⁷¹  underneath the cherubim. ²⁷²  Fill your hands with burning coals from among the cherubim and scatter them over the city.” He went as I watched.

10:3 (The cherubim were standing on the south side ²⁷³  of the temple when the man went in, and a cloud filled the inner court.) 10:4 Then the glory of the Lord arose from the cherub and moved to the threshold of the temple. The temple was filled with the cloud while the court was filled with the brightness of the Lord’s glory. 10:5 The sound of the wings of the cherubim could be heard from the outer court, like the sound of the sovereign God ²⁷⁴  when he speaks.

10:6 When the Lord ²⁷⁵  commanded the man dressed in linen, “Take fire from within the wheelwork, from among the cherubim,” the man ²⁷⁶  went in and stood by one of the wheels. ²⁷⁷  10:7 Then one of the cherubim ²⁷⁸  stretched out his hand ²⁷⁹  toward the fire which was among the cherubim. He took some and put it into the hands of the man dressed in linen, who took it and left. 10:8 (The cherubim appeared to have the form ²⁸⁰  of human hands under their wings.)

10:9 As I watched, I noticed ²⁸¹  four wheels by the cherubim, one wheel beside each cherub; ²⁸²  the wheels gleamed like jasper. ²⁸³  10:10 As for their appearance, all four of them looked the same, something like a wheel within a wheel. ²⁸⁴  10:11 When they ²⁸⁵  moved, they would go in any of the four directions they faced without turning as they moved; in the direction the head would turn they would follow ²⁸⁶  without turning as they moved, 10:12 along with their entire bodies, ²⁸⁷  their backs, their hands, and their wings. The wheels of the four of them were full of eyes all around. 10:13 As for their wheels, they were called “the wheelwork” ²⁸⁸  as I listened. 10:14 Each of the cherubim ²⁸⁹  had four faces: The first was the face of a cherub, ²⁹⁰  the second that of a man, the third that of a lion, and the fourth that of an eagle.

10:15 The cherubim rose up; these were the living beings ²⁹¹  I saw at the Kebar River. 10:16 When the cherubim moved, the wheels moved beside them; when the cherubim spread ²⁹²  their wings to rise from the ground, the wheels did not move from their side. 10:17 When the cherubim ²⁹³  stood still, the wheels ²⁹⁴  stood still, and when they rose up, the wheels ²⁹⁵  rose up with them, for the spirit ²⁹⁶  of the living beings ²⁹⁷  was in the wheels. ²⁹⁸ 

10:18 Then the glory of the Lord moved away from the threshold of the temple and stopped above the cherubim. 10:19 The cherubim spread ²⁹⁹  their wings, and they rose up from the earth ³⁰⁰  while I watched (when they went the wheels went alongside them). They stopped at the entrance to the east gate of the Lord’s temple as the glory of the God of Israel hovered above them.

10:20 These were the living creatures ³⁰¹  which I saw at the Kebar River underneath the God of Israel; I knew that they were cherubim. 10:21 Each had four faces; each had four wings and the form of human hands under the wings. 10:22 As for the form of their faces, they were the faces whose appearance I had seen at the Kebar River. Each one moved straight ahead.

The Fall of Jerusalem

11:1 A wind ³⁰²  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. ³⁰³  11:2 The Lord ³⁰⁴  said to me, “Son of man, these are the men who plot evil and give wicked advice in this city. 11:3 They say, ³⁰⁵  ‘The time is not near to build houses; ³⁰⁶  the city ³⁰⁷  is a cooking pot ³⁰⁸  and we are the meat in it.’ 11:4 Therefore, prophesy against them! Prophesy, son of man!”

11:5 Then the Spirit of the Lord came ³⁰⁹  upon me and said to me, “Say: This is what the Lord says: ‘This is what you are thinking, ³¹⁰  O house of Israel; I know what goes through your minds. ³¹¹  11:6 You have killed many people in this city; you have filled its streets with corpses.’ 11:7 Therefore, this is what the sovereign Lord says: ‘The corpses you have dumped ³¹²  in the midst of the city ³¹³  are the meat, and this city ³¹⁴  is the cooking pot, but I will take you out of it. ³¹⁵  11:8 You fear the sword, so the sword I will bring against you,’ declares the sovereign Lord. 11:9 ‘But I will take you out of the city. ³¹⁶  And I will hand you over to foreigners. I will execute judgments on you. 11:10 You will die by the sword; I will judge you at the border of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord. 11:11 This city will not be a cooking pot for you, and you will not ³¹⁷  be meat within it; I will judge you at the border of Israel. 11:12 Then you will know that I am the Lord, whose statutes you have not followed and whose regulations you have not carried out. Instead you have behaved according to the regulations of the nations around you!’”

11:13 Now, while I was prophesying, Pelatiah son of Benaiah died. Then I threw myself face down and cried out with a loud voice, “Alas, sovereign Lord! You are completely wiping out the remnant of Israel!” ³¹⁸ 

11:14 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 11:15 “Son of man, your brothers, ³¹⁹  your relatives, ³²⁰  and the whole house of Israel, all of them are those to whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem ³²¹  have said, ‘They have gone ³²²  far away from the Lord; to us this land has been given as a possession.’

11:16 “Therefore say: ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Although I have removed them far away among the nations and have dispersed them among the countries, I have been a little ³²³  sanctuary for them among the lands where they have gone.’

11:17 “Therefore say: ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: When I regather you from the peoples and assemble you from the lands where you have been dispersed, I will give you back the country of Israel.’

11:18 “When they return to it, they will remove from it all its detestable things and all its abominations. 11:19 I will give them one heart and I will put a new spirit within them; ³²⁴  I will remove the hearts of stone from their bodies ³²⁵  and I will give them tender hearts, ³²⁶  11:20 so that they may follow my statutes and observe my regulations and carry them out. Then they will be my people, and I will be their God. ³²⁷  11:21 But those whose hearts are devoted to detestable things and abominations, I hereby repay them for what they have done, ³²⁸  says the sovereign Lord.”

11:22 Then the cherubim spread ³²⁹  their wings with their wheels alongside them while the glory of the God of Israel hovered above them. 11:23 The glory of the Lord rose up from within the city and stopped ³³⁰  over the mountain east of it. 11:24 Then a wind ³³¹  lifted me up and carried me to the exiles in Babylonia, ³³²  in the vision given to me by the Spirit of God.

Then the vision I had seen went up from me. 11:25 So I told the exiles everything ³³³  the Lord had shown me.

Previewing the Exile

12:1 The word of the Lord came to me: 12:2 “Son of man, you are living in the midst of a rebellious house. ³³⁴  They have eyes to see, but do not see, and ears to hear, but do not hear, ³³⁵  because they are a rebellious house.

12:3 “Therefore, son of man, pack up your belongings as if for exile. During the day, while they are watching, pretend to go into exile. Go from where you live to another place. Perhaps they will understand, ³³⁶  although they are a rebellious house. 12:4 Bring out your belongings packed for exile during the day while they are watching. And go out at evening, while they are watching, as if for exile. 12:5 While they are watching, dig a hole in the wall and carry your belongings out through it. 12:6 While they are watching, raise your baggage onto your shoulder and carry it out in the dark. ³³⁷  You must cover your face so that you cannot see the ground ³³⁸  because I have made you an object lesson ³³⁹  to the house of Israel.”

12:7 So I did just as I was commanded. I carried out my belongings packed for exile during the day, and at evening I dug myself a hole through the wall with my hands. I went out in the darkness, carrying my baggage ³⁴⁰  on my shoulder while they watched.

12:8 The word of the Lord came to me in the morning: 12:9 “Son of man, has not the house of Israel, that rebellious house, said to you, ‘What are you doing?’ 12:10 Say to them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: The prince will raise this burden in Jerusalem, ³⁴¹  and all the house of Israel within it.’ ³⁴²  12:11 Say, ‘I am an object lesson for you. Just as I have done, it will be done to them; they will go into exile and captivity.’

12:12 “The prince ³⁴³  who is among them will raise his belongings ³⁴⁴  onto his shoulder in darkness, and will go out. He ³⁴⁵  will dig a hole in the wall to leave through. He will cover his face so that he cannot see the land with his eyes. 12:13 But I will throw my net over him, and he will be caught in my snare. I will bring him to Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans ³⁴⁶  (but he will not see it), ³⁴⁷  and there he will die. ³⁴⁸  12:14 All his retinue – his attendants and his troops – I will scatter to every wind; I will unleash a sword behind them.

12:15 “Then they will know that I am the Lord when I disperse them among the nations and scatter them among foreign countries. 12:16 But I will let a small number of them survive the sword, famine, and pestilence, so that they can confess all their abominable practices to the nations where they go. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”

12:17 The word of the Lord came to me: 12:18 “Son of man, eat your bread with trembling, ³⁴⁹  and drink your water with anxious shaking. 12:19 Then say to the people of the land, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says about the inhabitants of Jerusalem and of the land of Israel: They will eat their bread with anxiety and drink their water in fright, for their land will be stripped bare of all it contains because of the violence of all who live in it. 12:20 The inhabited towns will be left in ruins and the land will be devastated. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”

12:21 The word of the Lord came to me: 12:22 “Son of man, what is this proverb you have in the land of Israel, ‘The days pass slowly, and every vision fails’? 12:23 Therefore tell them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: I hereby end this proverb; they will not recite it in Israel any longer.’ But say to them, ‘The days are at hand when every vision will be fulfilled. ³⁵⁰  12:24 For there will no longer be any false visions or flattering omens amidst the house of Israel. 12:25 For I, the Lord, will speak. Whatever word I speak will be accomplished. It will not be delayed any longer. Indeed in your days, O rebellious house, I will speak the word and accomplish it, declares the sovereign Lord.’”

12:26 The word of the Lord came to me: 12:27 “Take note, son of man, the house of Israel is saying, ‘The vision that he sees is for distant days; he is prophesying about the far future.’ 12:28 Therefore say to them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: None of my words will be delayed any longer! The word I speak will come to pass, declares the sovereign Lord.’”

False Prophets Denounced

13:1 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 13:2 “Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who are now prophesying. Say to the prophets who prophesy from their imagination: ³⁵¹  ‘Hear the word of the Lord! 13:3 This is what the sovereign Lord says: Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit but have seen nothing! 13:4 Your prophets have become like jackals among the ruins, O Israel. 13:5 You have not gone up in the breaks in the wall, nor repaired a wall for the house of Israel that it would stand strong in the battle on the day of the Lord. 13:6 They see delusion and their omens are a lie. ³⁵²  They say, “the Lord declares,” though the Lord has not sent them; ³⁵³  yet they expect their word to be confirmed. ³⁵⁴  13:7 Have you not seen a false vision and announced a lying omen when you say, “the Lord declares,” although I myself never spoke?

13:8 “‘Therefore, this is what the sovereign Lord says: Because you have spoken false words and forecast delusion, look, ³⁵⁵  I am against you, ³⁵⁶  declares the sovereign Lord. 13:9 My hand will be against the prophets who see delusion and announce lying omens. They will not be included in the council ³⁵⁷  of my people, nor be written in the registry ³⁵⁸  of the house of Israel, nor enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the sovereign Lord.

13:10 “‘This is because they have led my people astray saying, “All is well,” ³⁵⁹  when things are not well. When anyone builds a wall without mortar, ³⁶⁰  they coat it with whitewash. 13:11 Tell the ones who coat it with whitewash that it will fall. When there is a deluge of rain, hailstones ³⁶¹  will fall and a violent wind will break out. ³⁶²  13:12 When the wall has collapsed, people will ask you, “Where is the whitewash you coated it with?”

13:13 “‘Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: In my rage I will make a violent wind break out. In my anger there will be a deluge of rain and hailstones in destructive fury. 13:14 I will break down the wall you coated with whitewash and knock it to the ground so that its foundation is exposed. When it falls you will be destroyed beneath it, ³⁶³  and you will know that I am the Lord. 13:15 I will vent my rage against the wall, and against those who coated it with whitewash. Then I will say to you, “The wall is no more and those who whitewashed it are no more – 13:16 those prophets of Israel who would prophesy about Jerusalem ³⁶⁴  and would see visions of peace for it, when there was no peace,” declares the sovereign Lord.’

13:17 “As for you, son of man, turn toward ³⁶⁵  the daughters of your people who are prophesying from their imagination. ³⁶⁶  Prophesy against them 13:18 and say ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Woe to those who sew bands ³⁶⁷  on all their wrists ³⁶⁸  and make headbands ³⁶⁹  for heads of every size to entrap people’s lives! ³⁷⁰  Will you entrap my people’s lives, yet preserve your own lives? 13:19 You have profaned me among my people for handfuls of barley and scraps of bread. You have put to death people ³⁷¹  who should not die and kept alive those who should not live by your lies to my people, who listen to lies!

13:20 “‘Therefore, this is what the sovereign Lord says: Take note ³⁷²  that I am against your wristbands with which you entrap people’s lives ³⁷³  like birds. I will tear them from your arms and will release the people’s lives, which you hunt like birds. 13:21 I will tear off your headbands and rescue my people from your power; ³⁷⁴  they will no longer be prey in your hands. Then you will know that I am the Lord. 13:22 This is because you have disheartened the righteous person with lies (although I have not grieved him), and because you have encouraged the wicked person not to turn from his evil conduct and preserve his life. 13:23 Therefore you will no longer see false visions and practice divination. I will rescue my people from your power, and you ³⁷⁵  will know that I am the Lord.’”

Well-Deserved Judgment

14:1 Then some men from Israel’s elders came to me and sat down in front of me. 14:2 The word of the Lord came to me: 14:3 “Son of man, these men have erected their idols in their hearts and placed the obstacle leading to their iniquity ³⁷⁶  right before their faces. Should I really allow them to seek ³⁷⁷  me? 14:4 Therefore speak to them and say to them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: When any one from the house of Israel erects his idols in his heart and sets the obstacle leading to his iniquity before his face, and then consults a prophet, I the Lord am determined to answer him personally according to the enormity of his idolatry. ³⁷⁸  14:5 I will do this in order to capture the hearts of the house of Israel, who have alienated themselves from me on account of all their idols.’

14:6 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Return! Turn from your idols, and turn your faces away from your abominations. 14:7 For when anyone from the house of Israel, or the foreigner who lives in Israel, separates himself from me and erects his idols in his heart and sets the obstacle leading to his iniquity before his face, and then consults a prophet to seek something from me, I the Lord am determined to answer him personally. 14:8 I will set my face against that person and will make him an object lesson and a byword ³⁷⁹  and will cut him off from among my people. Then you will know that I am the Lord.

14:9 “‘As for the prophet, if he is made a fool by being deceived into speaking a prophetic word – I, the Lord, have made a fool of ³⁸⁰  that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand against him and destroy him from among my people Israel. 14:10 They will bear their punishment; ³⁸¹  the punishment of the one who sought an oracle will be the same as the punishment of the prophet who gave it ³⁸²  14:11 so that the house of Israel will no longer go astray from me, nor continue to defile themselves by all their sins. They will be my people and I will be their God, ³⁸³  declares the sovereign Lord.’”

14:12 The word of the Lord came to me: 14:13 “Son of man, suppose a country sins against me by being unfaithful, and I stretch out my hand against it, cut off its bread supply, ³⁸⁴  cause famine to come on it, and kill both people and animals. 14:14 Even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, ³⁸⁵  and Job, were in it, they would save only their own lives by their righteousness, declares the sovereign Lord.

14:15 “Suppose I were to send wild animals through the land and kill its children, leaving it desolate, without travelers due to the wild animals. 14:16 Even if these three men were in it, as surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, they could not save their own sons or daughters; they would save only their own lives, and the land would become desolate.

14:17 “Or suppose I were to bring a sword against that land and say, ‘Let a sword pass through the land,’ and I were to kill both people and animals. 14:18 Even if these three men were in it, as surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, they could not save their own sons or daughters – they would save only their own lives.

14:19 “Or suppose I were to send a plague into that land, and pour out my rage on it with bloodshed, killing both people and animals. 14:20 Even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, they could not save their own son or daughter; they would save only their own lives by their righteousness.

14:21 “For this is what the sovereign Lord says: How much worse will it be when I send my four terrible judgments – sword, famine, wild animals, and plague – to Jerusalem ³⁸⁶  to kill both people and animals! 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.”

Burning a Useless Vine

15:1 The word of the Lord came to me: 15:2 “Son of man, of all the woody branches among the trees of the forest, what happens to the wood of the vine? ³⁸⁷  15:3 Can wood be taken from it to make anything useful? Or can anyone make a peg from it to hang things on? 15:4 No! ³⁸⁸  It is thrown in the fire for fuel; when the fire has burned up both ends of it and it is charred in the middle, will it be useful for anything? 15:5 Indeed! If it was not made into anything useful when it was whole, how much less can it be made into anything when the fire has burned it up and it is charred?

15:6 “Therefore, this is what the sovereign Lord says: Like the wood of the vine is among the trees of the forest which I have provided as fuel for the fire – so I will provide the residents of Jerusalem ³⁸⁹  as fuel. ³⁹⁰  15:7 I will set ³⁹¹  my face against them – although they have escaped from the fire, ³⁹²  the fire will still consume them! Then you will know that I am the Lord, when I set my face against them. 15:8 I will make ³⁹³  the land desolate because they have acted unfaithfully, declares the sovereign Lord.”

God’s Unfaithful Bride

16:1 The word of the Lord came to me: 16:2 “Son of man, confront Jerusalem ³⁹⁴  with her abominable practices 16:3 and say, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says to Jerusalem: Your origin and your birth were in the land of the Canaanites; your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite. 16:4 As for your birth, on the day you were born your umbilical cord was not cut, nor were you washed in water; ³⁹⁵  you were certainly not rubbed down with salt, nor wrapped with blankets. ³⁹⁶  16:5 No eye took pity on you to do even one of these things for you to spare you; ³⁹⁷  you were thrown out into the open field ³⁹⁸  because you were detested on the day you were born.

16:6 “‘I passed by you and saw you kicking around helplessly in your blood. I said to you as you lay there in your blood, “Live!” I said to you as you lay there in your blood, “Live!” ³⁹⁹  16:7 I made you plentiful like sprouts in a field; you grew tall and came of age so that you could wear jewelry. Your breasts had formed and your hair had grown, but you were still naked and bare.

16:8 “‘Then I passed by you and watched you, noticing ⁴⁰⁰  that you had reached the age for love. ⁴⁰¹  I spread my cloak ⁴⁰²  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.

16:9 “‘Then I bathed you in water, washed the blood off you, and anointed you with fragrant oil. 16:10 I dressed you in embroidered clothing and put fine leather sandals on your feet. I wrapped you with fine linen and covered you with silk. 16:11 I adorned you with jewelry. I put bracelets on your hands and a necklace around your neck. 16:12 I put a ring in your nose, earrings on your ears, and a beautiful crown on your head. 16:13 You were adorned with gold and silver, while your clothing was of fine linen, silk, and embroidery. You ate the finest flour, honey, and olive oil. You became extremely beautiful and attained the position of royalty. 16:14 Your fame ⁴⁰³  spread among the nations because of your beauty; your beauty was perfect because of the splendor which I bestowed on you, declares the sovereign Lord. ⁴⁰⁴ 

16:15 “‘But you trusted in your beauty and capitalized on your fame by becoming a prostitute. You offered your sexual favors to every man who passed by so that your beauty ⁴⁰⁵  became his. 16:16 You took some of your clothing and made for yourself decorated high places; you engaged in prostitution on them. You went to him to become his. ⁴⁰⁶  16:17 You also took your beautiful jewelry, made of my gold and my silver I had given to you, and made for yourself male images and engaged in prostitution ⁴⁰⁷  with them. 16:18 You took your embroidered clothing and used it to cover them; you offered my olive oil and my incense to them. 16:19 As for my food that I gave you – the fine flour, olive oil, and honey I fed you – you placed it before them as a soothing aroma. That is exactly what happened, declares the sovereign Lord.

16:20 “‘You took your sons and your daughters whom you bore to me and you sacrificed them ⁴⁰⁸  as food for the idols to eat. As if your prostitution not enough, 16:21 you slaughtered my children and sacrificed them to the idols. ⁴⁰⁹  16:22 And with all your abominable practices and prostitution you did not remember the days of your youth when you were naked and bare, kicking around in your blood.

16:23 “‘After all of your evil – “Woe! Woe to you!” declares the sovereign Lord – 16:24 you built yourself a chamber ⁴¹⁰  and put up a pavilion ⁴¹¹  in every public square. 16:25 At the head of every street you erected your pavilion and you disgraced ⁴¹²  your beauty when you spread ⁴¹³  your legs to every passerby and multiplied your promiscuity. 16:26 You engaged in prostitution with the Egyptians, your sexually aroused neighbors, ⁴¹⁴  multiplying your promiscuity and provoking me to anger. 16:27 So see here, I have stretched out my hand against you and cut off your rations. I have delivered you into the power of those who hate you, the daughters of the Philistines, who were ashamed by your obscene conduct. 16:28 You engaged in prostitution with the Assyrians because your sexual desires were insatiable; you prostituted yourself with them and yet you were still not satisfied. 16:29 Then you multiplied your promiscuity to the land of merchants, Babylonia, ⁴¹⁵  but you were not satisfied there either.

16:30 “‘How sick is your heart, declares the sovereign Lord, when you perform all of these acts, the deeds of a bold prostitute. 16:31 When you built your chamber at the head of every street and put up your pavilion in every public square, you were not like a prostitute, because you scoffed at payment. ⁴¹⁶ 

16:32 “‘Adulterous wife, who prefers strangers instead of her own husband! 16:33 All prostitutes receive payment, ⁴¹⁷  but instead you give gifts to every one of your lovers. You bribe them to come to you from all around for your sexual favors! 16:34 You were different from other prostitutes ⁴¹⁸  because no one solicited you. When you gave payment and no payment was given to you, you became the opposite!

16:35 “‘Therefore O prostitute, hear the word of the Lord: 16:36 This is what the sovereign Lord says: Because your lust ⁴¹⁹  was poured out and your nakedness was uncovered in your prostitution with your lovers, and because of all your detestable idols, and because of the blood of your children you have given to them, 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. ⁴²⁰  16:38 I will punish you as an adulteress and murderer deserves. ⁴²¹  I will avenge your bloody deeds with furious rage. ⁴²²  16:39 I will give you into their hands and they will destroy your chambers and tear down your pavilions. They will strip you of your clothing and take your beautiful jewelry and leave you naked and bare. 16:40 They will summon a mob who will stone you and hack you in pieces with their swords. 16:41 They will burn down your houses and execute judgments on you in front of many women. Thus I will put a stop to your prostitution, and you will no longer give gifts to your clients. ⁴²³  16:42 I will exhaust my rage on you, and then my fury will turn from you. I will calm down and no longer be angry.

16:43 “‘Because you did not remember the days of your youth and have enraged me with all these deeds, I hereby repay you for what you have done, ⁴²⁴  declares the sovereign Lord. Have you not engaged in prostitution on top of all your other abominable practices?

16:44 “‘Observe – everyone who quotes proverbs will quote this proverb about you: “Like mother, like daughter.” 16:45 You are the daughter of your mother, who detested her husband and her sons, and you are the sister of your sisters who detested their husbands and their sons. Your mother was a Hittite and your father an Amorite. 16:46 Your older sister was Samaria, who lived north ⁴²⁵  of you with her daughters, and your younger sister, who lived south ⁴²⁶  of you, was Sodom ⁴²⁷  with her daughters. 16:47 Have you not copied their behavior ⁴²⁸  and practiced their abominable deeds? In a short time ⁴²⁹  you became even more depraved in all your conduct than they were! 16:48 As surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, your sister Sodom and her daughters never behaved as wickedly as you and your daughters have behaved.

16:49 “‘See here – this was the iniquity ⁴³⁰  of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters had majesty, abundance of food, and enjoyed carefree ease, but they did not help ⁴³¹  the poor and needy. 16:50 They were haughty and practiced abominable deeds before me. Therefore when I saw it I removed them. 16:51 Samaria has not committed half the sins you have; you have done more abominable deeds than they did. ⁴³²  You have made your sisters appear righteous with all the abominable things you have done. 16:52 So now, bear your disgrace, because you have given your sisters reason to justify their behavior. ⁴³³  Because the sins you have committed were more abominable than those of your sisters; they have become more righteous than you. So now, be ashamed and bear the disgrace of making your sisters appear righteous.

16:53 “‘I will restore their fortunes, the fortunes of Sodom and her daughters, and the fortunes of Samaria and her daughters (along with your fortunes among them), 16:54 so that you may bear your disgrace and be ashamed of all you have done in consoling them. 16:55 As for your sisters, Sodom and her daughters will be restored to their former status, Samaria and her daughters will be restored to their former status, and you and your daughters will be restored to your former status. 16:56 In your days of majesty, ⁴³⁴  was not Sodom your sister a byword in your mouth, 16:57 before your evil was exposed? Now you have become an object of scorn to the daughters of Aram ⁴³⁵  and all those around her and to the daughters of the Philistines – those all around you who despise you. 16:58 You must bear your punishment for your obscene conduct and your abominable practices, declares the Lord.

16:59 “‘For this is what the sovereign Lord says: I will deal with you according to what you have done when you despised your oath by breaking your covenant. 16:60 Yet I will remember the covenant I made with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish a lasting ⁴³⁶  covenant with you. 16:61 Then you will remember your conduct, and be ashamed when you receive your older and younger sisters. I will give them to you as daughters, but not on account of my covenant with you. 16:62 I will establish my covenant with you, and then you will know that I am the Lord. 16:63 Then you will remember, be ashamed, and remain silent ⁴³⁷  when I make atonement for all you have done, ⁴³⁸  declares the sovereign Lord.’”

A Parable of Two Eagles and a Vine

17:1 The word of the Lord came to me: 17:2 “Son of man, offer a riddle, ⁴³⁹  and tell a parable to the house of Israel. 17:3 Say to them: ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: ⁴⁴⁰ 

“‘A great eagle ⁴⁴¹  with broad wings, long feathers, ⁴⁴² 

with full plumage which was multi-hued, ⁴⁴³ 

came to Lebanon ⁴⁴⁴  and took the top of the cedar.

17:4 He plucked off its topmost shoot;

he brought it to a land of merchants

and planted it in a city of traders.

17:5 He took one of the seedlings ⁴⁴⁵  of the land,

placed it in a cultivated plot; ⁴⁴⁶ 

a shoot by abundant water,

like a willow he planted it.

17:6 It sprouted and became a vine,

spreading low to the ground; ⁴⁴⁷ 

its branches turning toward him, ⁴⁴⁸  its roots were under itself. ⁴⁴⁹ 

So it became a vine; it produced shoots and sent out branches.

17:7 “‘There was another great eagle ⁴⁵⁰ 

with broad wings and thick plumage.

Now this vine twisted its roots toward him

and sent its branches toward him

to be watered from the soil where it was planted.

17:8 In a good field, by abundant waters, it was planted

to grow branches, bear fruit, and become a beautiful vine.

17:9 “‘Say to them: This is what the sovereign Lord says:

“‘Will it prosper?

Will he not rip out its roots

and cause its fruit to rot ⁴⁵¹  and wither?

All its foliage ⁴⁵²  will wither.

No strong arm or large army

will be needed to pull it out by its roots. ⁴⁵³ 

17:10 Consider! It is planted, but will it prosper?

Will it not wither completely when the east wind blows on it?

Will it not wither in the soil where it sprouted?’”

17:11 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 17:12 “Say to the rebellious house of Israel: ⁴⁵⁴  ‘Don’t you know what these things mean?’ ⁴⁵⁵  Say: ‘See here, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem ⁴⁵⁶  and took her king and her officials prisoner and brought them to himself in Babylon. 17:13 He took one from the royal family, ⁴⁵⁷  made a treaty with him, and put him under oath. ⁴⁵⁸  He then took the leaders of the land 17:14 so it would be a lowly kingdom which could not rise on its own but must keep its treaty with him in order to stand. 17:15 But this one from Israel’s royal family ⁴⁵⁹  rebelled against the king of Babylon ⁴⁶⁰  by sending his emissaries to Egypt to obtain horses and a large army. Will he prosper? Will the one doing these things escape? Can he break the covenant and escape?

17:16 “‘As surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, surely in the city ⁴⁶¹  of the king who crowned him, whose oath he despised and whose covenant he broke – in the middle of Babylon he will die! 17:17 Pharaoh with his great army and mighty horde will not help ⁴⁶²  him in battle, when siege ramps are erected and siege-walls are built to kill many people. 17:18 He despised the oath by breaking the covenant. Take note ⁴⁶³  – he gave his promise ⁴⁶⁴  and did all these things – he will not escape!

17:19 “‘Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: As surely as I live, I will certainly repay him ⁴⁶⁵  for despising my oath and breaking my covenant! 17:20 I will throw my net over him and he will be caught in my snare; I will bring him to Babylon and judge him there because of the unfaithfulness he committed against me. 17:21 All the choice men ⁴⁶⁶  among his troops will die ⁴⁶⁷  by the sword and the survivors will be scattered to every wind. Then you will know that I, the Lord, have spoken!

17:22 “‘This is what the sovereign Lord says:

“‘I will take a sprig ⁴⁶⁸  from the lofty top of the cedar and plant it. ⁴⁶⁹ 

I will pluck from the top one of its tender twigs;

I myself will plant it on a high and lofty mountain.

17:23 I will plant it on a high mountain of Israel,

and it will raise branches and produce fruit and become a beautiful cedar.

Every bird will live under it;

Every winged creature will live in the shade of its branches.

17:24 All the trees of the field will know that I am the Lord.

I make the high tree low; I raise up the low tree.

I make the green tree wither, and I make the dry tree sprout.

I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will do it!’”

Individual Retribution

18:1 The word of the Lord came to me: 18:2 “What do you mean by quoting this proverb concerning the land of Israel,

“‘The fathers eat sour grapes

And the children’s teeth become numb?’ ⁴⁷⁰ 

18:3 “As surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, ⁴⁷¹  you will not quote this proverb in Israel anymore! 18:4 Indeed! All lives are mine – the life of the father as well as the life of the son is mine. The one ⁴⁷²  who sins will die.

18:5 “Suppose a man is righteous. He practices what is just and right, 18:6 does not eat pagan sacrifices on the mountains ⁴⁷³  or pray to the idols ⁴⁷⁴  of the house of Israel, does not defile his neighbor’s wife, does not have sexual relations with a ⁴⁷⁵  woman during her period, 18:7 does not oppress anyone, but gives the debtor back whatever was given in pledge, ⁴⁷⁶  does not commit robbery, ⁴⁷⁷  but gives his bread to the hungry and clothes the naked, 18:8 does not engage in usury or charge interest, ⁴⁷⁸  but refrains ⁴⁷⁹  from wrongdoing, promotes true justice ⁴⁸⁰  between men, 18:9 and follows my statutes and observes my regulations by carrying them out. ⁴⁸¹  That man ⁴⁸²  is righteous; he will certainly live, ⁴⁸³  declares the sovereign Lord.

18:10 “Suppose such a man has ⁴⁸⁴  a violent son who sheds blood and does any of these things ⁴⁸⁵  mentioned previously 18:11 (though the father did not do any of them). ⁴⁸⁶  He eats pagan sacrifices on the mountains, ⁴⁸⁷  defiles his neighbor’s wife, 18:12 oppresses the poor and the needy, ⁴⁸⁸  commits robbery, does not give back what was given in pledge, prays to ⁴⁸⁹  idols, performs abominable acts, 18:13 engages in usury and charges interest. Will he live? He will not! Because he has done all these abominable deeds he will certainly die. ⁴⁹⁰  He will bear the responsibility for his own death. ⁴⁹¹ 

18:14 “But suppose he in turn has a son who notices all the sins his father commits, considers them, and does not follow his father’s example. ⁴⁹²  18:15 He does not eat pagan sacrifices on the mountains, does not pray to the idols of the house of Israel, does not defile his neighbor’s wife, 18:16 does not oppress anyone or keep what has been given in pledge, does not commit robbery, gives his food to the hungry, and clothes the naked, 18:17 refrains from wrongdoing, ⁴⁹³  does not engage in usury or charge interest, carries out my regulations and follows my statutes. He will not die for his father’s iniquity; ⁴⁹⁴  he will surely live. 18:18 As for his father, because he practices extortion, robs his brother, and does what is not good among his people, he will die for his iniquity.

18:19 “Yet you say, ‘Why should the son not suffer ⁴⁹⁵  for his father’s iniquity?’ When the son does what is just and right, and observes all my statutes and carries them out, he will surely live. 18:20 The person who sins is the one who will die. A son will not suffer ⁴⁹⁶  for his father’s iniquity, and a father will not suffer ⁴⁹⁷  for his son’s iniquity; the righteous person will be judged according to his righteousness, and the wicked person according to his wickedness. ⁴⁹⁸ 

18:21 “But if the wicked person turns from all the sin he has committed and observes all my statutes and does what is just and right, he will surely live; he will not die. 18:22 None of the sins he has committed will be held ⁴⁹⁹  against him; because of the righteousness he has done, he will live. 18:23 Do I actually delight in the death of the wicked, declares the sovereign Lord? Do I not prefer that he turn from his wicked conduct and live?

18:24 “But if a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and practices wrongdoing according to all the abominable practices the wicked carry out, will he live? All his righteous acts will not be remembered; because of the unfaithful acts he has done and the sin he has committed, he will die. ⁵⁰⁰ 

18:25 “Yet you say, ‘The Lord’s conduct ⁵⁰¹  is unjust!’ Hear, O house of Israel: Is my conduct unjust? Is it not your conduct that is unjust? 18:26 When a righteous person turns back from his righteousness and practices wrongdoing, he will die for it; ⁵⁰²  because of the wrongdoing he has done, he will die. 18:27 When a wicked person turns from the wickedness he has committed and does what is just and right, he will preserve his life. 18:28 Because he considered ⁵⁰³  and turned from all the sins he had done, he will surely live; he will not die. 18:29 Yet the house of Israel says, ‘The Lord’s conduct is unjust!’ Is my conduct unjust, O house of Israel? Is it not your conduct that is unjust?

18:30 “Therefore I will judge each person according to his conduct, ⁵⁰⁴  O house of Israel, declares the sovereign Lord. Repent ⁵⁰⁵  and turn from all your wickedness; then it will not be an obstacle leading to iniquity. ⁵⁰⁶  18:31 Throw away all your sins you have committed and fashion yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! ⁵⁰⁷  Why should you die, O house of Israel? 18:32 For I take no delight in the death of anyone, ⁵⁰⁸  declares the sovereign Lord. Repent and live!

Lament for the Princes of Israel

19:1 “And you, sing ⁵⁰⁹  a lament for the princes of Israel, 19:2 and say:

“‘What a lioness was your mother among the lions!

She lay among young lions; ⁵¹⁰  she reared her cubs.

19:3 She reared one of her cubs; he became a young lion.

He learned to tear prey; he devoured people. ⁵¹¹ 

19:4 The nations heard about him; he was trapped in their pit.

They brought him with hooks to the land of Egypt. ⁵¹² 

19:5 “‘When she realized that she waited in vain, her hope was lost.

She took another of her cubs ⁵¹³  and made him a young lion.

19:6 He walked about among the lions; he became a young lion.

He learned to tear prey; he devoured people.

19:7 He broke down ⁵¹⁴  their strongholds ⁵¹⁵  and devastated their cities.

The land and everything in it was frightened at the sound of his roaring.

19:8 The nations – the surrounding regions – attacked him.

They threw their net over him; he was caught in their pit.

19:9 They put him in a collar with hooks; ⁵¹⁶ 

they brought him to the king of Babylon;

they brought him to prison ⁵¹⁷ 

so that his voice would not be heard

any longer on the mountains of Israel.

19:10 “‘Your mother was like a vine in your vineyard, ⁵¹⁸  planted by water.

It was fruitful and full of branches because it was well-watered.

19:11 Its boughs were strong, fit ⁵¹⁹  for rulers’ scepters; it reached up into the clouds.

It stood out because of its height and its many branches. ⁵²⁰ 

19:12 But it was plucked up in anger; it was thrown down to the ground.

The east wind ⁵²¹  dried up its fruit;

its strong branches broke off and withered –

a fire consumed them.

19:13 Now it is planted in the wilderness,

in a dry and thirsty land. ⁵²² 

19:14 A fire has gone out from its branch; it has consumed its shoot and its fruit. ⁵²³ 

No strong branch was left in it, nor a scepter to rule.’

This is a lament song, and has become a lament song.”

[1:1]  ¹ sn The meaning of the thirtieth year is problematic. Some take it to mean the age of Ezekiel when he prophesied (e.g., Origen). The Aramaic Targum explains the thirtieth year as the thirtieth year dated from the recovery of the book of the Torah in the temple in Jerusalem (2 Kgs 22:3-9). The number seems somehow to be equated with the fifth year of Jehoiachin’s exile in 1:2, i.e., 593 b.c.

[1:1]  ² sn The Assyrians started the tactic of deportation, the large-scale forced displacement of conquered populations, in order to stifle rebellions. The task of uniting groups of deportees, gaining freedom from one’s overlords and returning to retake one’s own country would be considerably more complicated than living in one’s homeland and waiting for an opportune moment to drive out the enemy’s soldiers. The Babylonians adopted this practice also, after defeating the Assyrians. The Babylonians deported Judeans on three occasions. The practice of deportation was reversed by the Persian conquerors of Babylon, who gained favor from their subjects for allowing them to return to their homeland and, as polytheists, sought the favor of the gods of the various countries which had come under their control.

[1:1]  ³ sn The Kebar River is mentioned in Babylonian texts from the city of Nippur in the fifth century b.c. It provided artificial irrigation from the Euphrates.

[1:1]  ⁴ sn For the concept of the heavens opened in later literature, see 3 Macc 6:18; 2 Bar. 22:1; T. Levi 5:1; Matt 3:16; Acts 7:56; Rev 19:11.

[1:1]  ⁵ tn Or “saw visions from God.” References to divine visions occur also in Ezek 8:3; 40:2

[1:3]  ⁶ sn The prophet’s name, Ezekiel, means in Hebrew “May God strengthen.”

[1:3]  ⁷ tn Or “to Ezekiel son of Buzi the priest.”

[1:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “Chaldeans.” The name of the tribal group ruling Babylon, “Chaldeans” is used as metonymy for the whole empire of Babylon. The Babylonians worked with the Medes to destroy the Assyrian Empire near the end of the 7th century b.c. Then, over the next century, the Babylonians dominated the West Semitic states (such as Phoenicia, Aram, Moab, Edom, and Judah in the modern countries of Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Israel) and made incursions into Egypt.

[1:3]  ⁹ tn Or “power.”

[1:4]  ¹⁰ tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.

[1:4]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ tn Or “radiance.” The term also occurs in 1:27b.

[1:4]  ¹⁴ tc Or “was in it”; cf. LXX ἐν τῷ μέσῳ αὐτοῦ (en tw mesw autou, “in its midst”).

[1:4]  ¹⁵ 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.

[1:5]  ¹⁶ tc Heb “from its midst” (מִתּוֹכָהּ, mitokhah). The LXX reads ἐν τῷ μέσῳ (en tw mesw, “in the midst of it”). The LXX also reads ἐν for מִתּוֹךְ (mitokh) in v. 4. The translator of the LXX of Ezekiel either read בְּתוֹךְ (bÿtokh, “within”) in his Hebrew exemplar or could not imagine how מִתּוֹךְ could make sense and so chose to use ἐν. The Hebrew would be understood by adding “from its midst emerged the forms of four living beings.”

[1:5]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “form, figure, appearance.”

[1:5]  ¹⁸ tn The Hebrew term is feminine plural yet thirty-three of the forty-five pronominal suffixes and verbal references which refer to the living beings in the chapter are masculine plural. The grammatical vacillation between masculine and feminine plurals suggests the difficulty Ezekiel had in penning these words as he was overcome by the vision of God. In ancient Near Eastern sculpture very similar images of part-human, part-animal creatures serve as throne and sky bearers. For a discussion of ancient Near Eastern parallels, see L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 1:26-31. Ezekiel’s vision is an example of contextualization, where God accommodates his self-revelation to cultural expectations and norms.

[1:5]  ¹⁹ sn They had human form may mean they stood erect.

[1:7]  ²⁰ sn The Hebrew verb translated gleamed occurs only here in the OT.

[1:8]  ²¹ tc The MT reads “his hand” while many Hebrew mss as well as the Qere read “hands of.” Two similar Hebrew letters, vav and yod, have been confused.

[1:9]  ²² tn Heb “They each went in the direction of one of his faces.”

[1:10]  ²³ tc The MT has an additional word at the beginning of v. 11, וּפְנֵיהֶם (ufÿnehem, “and their faces”), which is missing from the LXX. As the rest of the verse only applies to wings, “their faces” would have to somehow be understood in the previous clause. But this would be very awkward and is doubly problematic since “their faces” are already introduced as the topic at the beginning of v. 10. The Hebrew scribe appears to have copied the phrase “and their faces and their wings” from v. 8, where it introduces the content of 9-11. Only “and (as for) their wings” belongs here.

[1:12]  ²⁴ tn See the note on “straight ahead” in v. 9.

[1:12]  ²⁵ tn Or “wind.”

[1:13]  ²⁶ tc The MT reads “and the form of the creatures” (וּדְמוּת הַחַיּוֹת, udÿmut hakhayyot). The LXX reads “and in the midst of the creatures,” suggesting an underlying Hebrew text of וּמִתּוֹךְ הַחַיּוֹת (umittokh hakhayyot). The subsequent description of something moving among the creatures supports the LXX.

[1:13]  ²⁷ tc The MT reads “and the form of the creatures – their appearance was like burning coals of fire.” The LXX reads “in the midst of the creatures was a sight like burning coals of fire.” The MT may have adjusted “appearance” to “their appearance” to fit their reading of the beginning of the verse (see the tc note on “in the middle”). See M. Greenberg, Ezekiel (AB), 1:46.

[1:13]  ²⁸ sn Burning coals of fire are also a part of David’s poetic description of God’s appearance (see 2 Sam 22:9, 13; Ps 18:8).

[1:14]  ²⁹ tc The LXX omits v. 14 and may well be correct. The verse may be a later explanatory gloss of the end of v. 13 which was copied into the main text. See M. Greenberg, Ezekiel (AB), 1:46.

[1:15]  ³⁰ tc The MT adds “at the living beings” which is absent from the LXX.

[1:15]  ³¹ sn Another vision which includes wheels on thrones occurs in Dan 7:9. Ezek 10 contains a vision similar to this one.

[1:15]  ³² tn The Hebrew word may be translated either “earth” or “ground” in this context.

[1:16]  ³³ tc This word is omitted from the LXX.

[1:16]  ³⁴ tn Heb “Tarshish stone.” The meaning of this term is uncertain. The term has also been translated “topaz” (NEB); “beryl” (KJV, NASB, NRSV); or “chrysolite” (RSV, NIV).

[1:16]  ³⁵ tn Or “like a wheel at right angles to another wheel.” Some envision concentric wheels here, while others propose “a globe-like structure in which two wheels stand at right angles” (L. C. Allen, Ezekiel [WBC], 1:33-34). The description given in v. 17 favors the latter idea.

[1:18]  ³⁶ tc The MT reads וְיִרְאָה לָהֶם (vÿyir’ah lahem, “and fear belonged to them”). In a similar vision in 10:12 the wheels are described as having spokes (יִדֵיהֶם, yideyhem). That parallel would suggest יָדוֹת (yadot) here (written יָדֹת without the mater). By positing both a ד/ר (dalet/resh) confusion and a ת/ה (hey/khet) confusion the form was read as וְיָרֵה (vÿyareh) and was then misunderstood and subsequently written as וְיִרְאָה (vÿyir’ah) in the MT. The reading וְיִרְאָה does not seem to fit the context well, though in English it can be made to sound as if it does. See W. H. Brownlee, Ezekiel 1-19 (WBC), 8-9. The LXX reads καὶ εἶδον αὐτά (kai eidon auta, “and I saw”), which assumes וָאֵרֶא (va’ere’). The existing consonants of the MT may also be read as “it was visible to them.”

[1:20]  ³⁷ tn Or “wind”; the same Hebrew word can be translated as either “wind” or “spirit” depending on the context.

[1:20]  ³⁸ tc The MT adds the additional phrase “the spirit would go,” which seems unduly redundant here and may be dittographic.

[1:20]  ³⁹ tn Or “wind.” The Hebrew is difficult since the text presents four creatures and then talks about “the spirit” (singular) of “the living being” (singular). According to M. Greenberg (Ezekiel [AB], 1:45) the Targum interprets this as “will.” Greenberg views this as the spirit of the one enthroned above the creatures, but one would not expect the article when the one enthroned has not yet been introduced.

[1:21]  ⁴⁰ tc The LXX reads “when it went, they went; when it stood, they stood.”

[1:22]  ⁴¹ tn Or “like a dome” (NCV, NRSV, TEV).

[1:22]  ⁴² tn Or “like crystal” (NRSV, NLT).

[1:23]  ⁴³ tc Heb “each had two wings covering and each had two wings covering,” a case of dittography. On the analogy of v. 11 and the support of the LXX, which reads the same for v. 11 and this verse, one should perhaps read “each had two wings touching another being and each had two wings covering.”

[1:24]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “Shaddai” (probably meaning “one of the mountain”), a title that depicts God as the sovereign ruler of the world who dispenses justice. The Old Greek translation omitted the phrase “voice of the Almighty.”

[1:24]  ⁴⁵ tn The only other occurrence of the Hebrew word translated “tumult” is in Jer 11:16. It indicates a noise like that of the turmoil of a military camp or the sound of an army on the march.

[1:25]  ⁴⁶ tc The MT continues “when they stood still they lowered their wings,” an apparent dittography from the end of v. 24. The LXX commits haplography by homoioteleuton, leaving out vv. 25b and 26a by skipping from רֹאשָׁם (rosham) in v. 25 to רֹאשָׁם in v. 26.

[1:27]  ⁴⁷ tn See Ezek 1:4.

[1:27]  ⁴⁸ 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]  ⁴⁹ 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]  ⁵⁰ tn The vision closes with the repetition of the verb “I saw” from the beginning of the vision in 1:4.

[2:1]  ⁵¹ sn The phrase son of man occurs ninety-three times in the book of Ezekiel. It simply means “human one,” and distinguishes the prophet from the nonhuman beings that are present in the world of his vision.

[2:2]  ⁵² tc The phrase “as he spoke to me” is absent from the LXX.

[2:2]  ⁵³ tn Or “spirit.” NIV has “the Spirit,” but the absence of the article in the Hebrew text makes this unlikely. Elsewhere in Ezekiel the Lord’s Spirit is referred to as “the Spirit of the Lord” (11:5; 37:1), “the Spirit of God” (11:24), or “my (that is, the Lord’s) Spirit” (36:27; 37:14; 39:29). Some identify the “spirit” of 2:2 as the spirit that energized the living beings, however, that “spirit” is called “the spirit” (1:12, 20) or “the spirit of the living beings” (1:20-21; 10:17). Still others see the term as referring to an impersonal “spirit” of strength or courage, that is, the term may also be understood as a disposition or attitude. The Hebrew word often refers to a wind in Ezekiel (1:4; 5:10, 12; 12:4; 13:11, 13; 17:10, 21; 19:12; 27:26; 37:9). In 37:5-10 a “breath” originates in the “four winds” and is associated with the Lord’s life-giving breath (see v. 14). This breath enters into the dry bones and gives them life. In a similar fashion the breath of 2:2 (see also 3:24) energizes paralyzed Ezekiel. Breath and wind are related. On the one hand it is a more normal picture to think of breath rather than wind entering someone, but since wind represents an external force it seems more likely for wind rather than breath to stand someone up (unless we should understand it as a disposition). It may be that one should envision the breath of the speaker moving like a wind to revive Ezekiel, helping him to regain his breath and invigorating him to stand. A wind also transports the prophet from one place to another (3:12, 14; 8:3; 11:1, 24; 43:5).

[2:3]  ⁵⁴ tc The Hebrew reads “sons of,” while the LXX reads “house,” implying the more common phrase in Ezekiel. Either could be abbreviated with the first letter ב (bet). In preparation for the characterization “house of rebellion,” in vv. 5, 6, and 8, “house” is preferred (L. C. Allen, Ezekiel [WBC], 1:10 and W. Zimmerli, Ezekiel [Hermeneia], 2:564-65).

[2:3]  ⁵⁵ tc Heb “to the rebellious nations.” The phrase “to the rebellious nations” is omitted in the LXX. Elsewhere in Ezekiel the singular word “nation” is used for Israel (36:13-15; 37:22). Here “nations” may have the meaning of “tribes” or refer to the two nations of Israel and Judah.

[2:3]  ⁵⁶ tc This word is omitted from the LXX.

[2:4]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “sons.” The word choice may reflect treaty idiom, where the relationship between an overlord and his subjects can be described as that of father and son.

[2:4]  ⁵⁸ tc Heb “stern of face and hard of heart.” The phrases “stern of face” and “hard of heart” are lacking in the LXX.

[2:4]  ⁵⁹ tn The phrase “thus says [the Lord]” occurs 129 times in Ezekiel; the announcement is identical to the way messengers often introduced their messages (Gen 32:5; 45:9; Exod 5:10; Num 20:14; Judg 11:15).

[2:5]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “they”; the phrase “And as for them” has been used in the translation for clarity.

[2:5]  ⁶¹ tn The Hebrew word implies obedience rather than mere hearing or paying attention.

[2:5]  ⁶² tn This Hebrew adjective is also used to describe the Israelites in Num 17:25 and Isa 30:9.

[2:5]  ⁶³ 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).

[2:6]  ⁶⁴ tn The Hebrew term occurs only here in the OT.

[2:6]  ⁶⁵ tn The Hebrew term is found elsewhere in the OT only in Ezek 28:24.

[2:6]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “of their faces.”

[2:10]  ⁶⁷ tn Heb “on the face.”

[2:10]  ⁶⁸ sn Written on the front and back. While it was common for papyrus scrolls to have writing on both sides the same was not true for leather scrolls.

[3:1]  ⁶⁹ tn Heb “eat what you find.”

[3:3]  ⁷⁰ tc Heb “I ate,” a first common singular preterite plus paragogic he (ה). The ancient versions read “I ate it,” which is certainly the meaning in the context, and indicates they read the he as a third feminine singular pronominal suffix. The Masoretes typically wrote a mappiq in the he for the pronominal suffix but apparently missed this one.

[3:5]  ⁷¹ tn Heb “deep of lip” (in the sense of incomprehensible).

[3:5]  ⁷² tn Heb “heavy of tongue.” Similar language occurs in Exod 4:10; Isa 33:19.

[3:5]  ⁷³ tn The conjunction “but” is not in the Hebrew text, but is implied from the context.

[3:6]  ⁷⁴ tn Heb “hear.”

[3:6]  ⁷⁵ tc The MT reads “if not” but most ancient versions translate only “if.” The expression occurs with this sense in Isa 5:9; 14:24. See also Ezek 34:8; 36:5; 38:19.

[3:7]  ⁷⁶ sn Moses (Exod 3:19) and Isaiah (Isa 6:9-10) were also told that their messages would not be received.

[3:7]  ⁷⁷ sn A similar description of Israel’s disobedience is given in 1 Sam 8:7.

[3:7]  ⁷⁸ tn Heb “hard of forehead and stiff of heart.”

[3:8]  ⁷⁹ tn Heb “strong, resolute.”

[3:9]  ⁸⁰ tn The Hebrew term translated “diamond” is parallel to “iron” in Jer 17:1. The Hebrew uses two terms which are both translated at times as “flint,” but here one is clearly harder than the other. The translation “diamond” attempts to reflect this distinction in English.

[3:9]  ⁸¹ tn Heb “of their faces.”

[3:11]  ⁸² tn Heb “to the sons of your people.”

[3:12]  ⁸³ sn See note on “wind” in 2:2.

[3:12]  ⁸⁴ tc This translation accepts the emendation suggested in BHS of בְּרוּם (bÿrum) for בָּרוּךְ (barukh). The letters mem (מ) and kaph (כ) were easily confused in the old script while בָּרוּךְ (“blessed be”) both implies a quotation which is out of place here and also does not fit the later phrase, “from its place,” which requires a verb of motion.

[3:14]  ⁸⁵ tn The traditional interpretation is that Ezekiel embarked on his mission with bitterness and anger, either reflecting God’s attitude toward the sinful people or his own feelings about having to carry out such an unpleasant task. L. C. Allen (Ezekiel [WBC], 1:13) takes “bitterly” as a misplaced marginal note and understands the following word, normally translated “anger,” in the sense of fervor or passion. He translates, “I was passionately moved” (p. 4). Another option is to take the word translated “bitterly” as a verb meaning “strengthened” (attested in Ugaritic). See G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 152.

[3:14]  ⁸⁶ tn Heb “the hand of the Lord was on me heavily.” The “hand of the Lord” is a metaphor for his power or influence; the modifier conveys intensity.

[3:15]  ⁸⁷ sn The name “Tel Abib” is a transliteration of an Akkadian term meaning “mound of the flood,” i.e., an ancient mound. It is not to be confused with the modern city of Tel Aviv in Israel.

[3:15]  ⁸⁸ tn Or “canal.”

[3:15]  ⁸⁹ sn A similar response to a divine encounter is found in Acts 9:8-9.

[3:16]  ⁹⁰ sn This phrase occurs about fifty times in the book of Ezekiel.

[3:17]  ⁹¹ tn The literal role of a watchman is described in 2 Sam 18:24; 2 Kgs 9:17.

[3:18]  ⁹² sn Even though the infinitive absolute is used to emphasize the warning, the warning is still implicitly conditional, as the following context makes clear.

[3:18]  ⁹³ tn Or “in his punishment.” The phrase “in/for [a person’s] iniquity” occurs fourteen times in Ezekiel: here and v. 19; 4:17; 7:13, 16; 18: 17, 18, 19, 20; 24:23; 33:6, 8, 9; 39:23. The Hebrew word for “iniquity” may also mean the “punishment for iniquity.”

[3:18]  ⁹⁴ tn Heb “his blood I will seek from your hand.” The expression “seek blood from the hand” is equivalent to requiring the death penalty (2 Sam 4:11-12).

[3:19]  ⁹⁵ tn Verses 17-19 are repeated in Ezek 33:7-9.

[3:20]  ⁹⁶ tn Or “stumbling block.” The Hebrew term refers to an obstacle in the road in Lev 19:14.

[3:21]  ⁹⁷ tn Heb “the righteous man.”

[3:22]  ⁹⁸ tn Or “power.”

[3:22]  ⁹⁹ sn Ezekiel had another vision at this location, recounted in Ezek 37.

[3:23]  ¹⁰⁰ tn Or “canal.”

[3:24]  ¹⁰¹ tn See the note on “wind” in 2:2.

[3:24]  ¹⁰² tn Heb “he.”

[3:26]  ¹⁰³ tn Heb “you will not be to them a reprover.” In Isa 29:21 and Amos 5:10 “a reprover” issued rebuke at the city gate.

[3:27]  ¹⁰⁴ tn Heb “open your mouth.”

[3:27]  ¹⁰⁵ tn Heb “the listener will listen, the refuser will refuse.” Because the word for listening can also mean obeying, the nuance may be that the obedient will listen, or that the one who listens will obey. Also, although the verbs are not jussive as pointed in the MT, some translate them with a volitive sense: “the one who listens – let that one listen, the one who refuses – let that one refuse.”

[4:1]  ¹⁰⁶ sn Ancient Near Eastern bricks were 10 to 24 inches long and 6 to 13 1/2 inches wide.

[4:1]  ¹⁰⁷ tn Or perhaps “draw.”

[4:2]  ¹⁰⁸ tn Or “a barricade.”

[4:2]  ¹⁰⁹ tn Heb “set camps against it.”

[4:3]  ¹¹⁰ tn Or “a griddle,” that is, some sort of plate for cooking.

[4:3]  ¹¹¹ tn That is, a symbolic object lesson.

[4:4]  ¹¹² tn Or “punishment” (also in vv. 5, 6).

[4:5]  ¹¹³ tn Heb “I have assigned for you that the years of their iniquity be the number of days.” Num 14:33-34 is an example of the reverse, where the days were converted into years, the number of days spying out the land becoming the number of years of the wilderness wanderings.

[4:5]  ¹¹⁴ tc The LXX reads “190 days.”

[4:5]  ¹¹⁵ tn Or “When you have carried the iniquity of the house of Israel,” and continuing on to the next verse.

[4:6]  ¹¹⁶ sn The number 40 may refer in general to the period of Judah’s exile using the number of years Israel was punished in the wilderness. In this case, however, one would need to translate, “you will bear the punishment of the house of Judah.”

[4:8]  ¹¹⁷ sn The action surely refers to a series of daily acts rather than to a continuous period.

[4:9]  ¹¹⁸ sn Wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, and spelt. All these foods were common in Mesopotamia where Ezekiel was exiled.

[4:9]  ¹¹⁹ tn Heb “bread.”

[4:9]  ¹²⁰ tc The LXX reads “190 days.”

[4:10]  ¹²¹ sn Eight ounces (Heb “twenty shekels”). The standards for weighing money varied considerably in the ancient Near East, but the generally accepted weight for the shekel is 11.5 grams (0.4 ounce). This makes the weight of grain about 230 grams here (8 ounces).

[4:10]  ¹²² tn Heb “from time to time.”

[4:11]  ¹²³ sn A pint and a half [Heb “one-sixth of a hin”]. One-sixth of a hin was a quantity of liquid equal to about 1.3 pints or 0.6 liters.

[4:12]  ¹²⁴ sn Human waste was to remain outside the camp of the Israelites according to Deut 23:15.

[4:13]  ¹²⁵ sn Unclean food among the nations. Lands outside of Israel were considered unclean (Josh 22:19; Amos 7:17).

[4:14]  ¹²⁶ tn The Hebrew term refers to sacrificial meat not eaten by the appropriate time (Lev 7:18; 19:7).

[4:16]  ¹²⁷ tn Heb, “break the staff of bread.” The bread supply is compared to a staff that one uses for support.

[4:16]  ¹²⁸ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[4:17]  ¹²⁹ tn Or “in their punishment.” Ezek 4:16-17 alludes to Lev 26:26, 39. The phrase “in/for [a person’s] iniquity” occurs fourteen times in Ezekiel: here, 3:18, 19; 7:13, 16; 18: 17, 18, 19, 20; 24:23; 33:6, 8, 9; 39:23. The Hebrew word for “iniquity” may also mean the “punishment for iniquity.”

[5:1]  ¹³⁰ tn The Hebrew word occurs only here in the OT.

[5:1]  ¹³¹ tn Heb, “pass (it) over your head and your beard.”

[5:3]  ¹³² tn Heb “from there a few in number.” The word “strands” has been supplied in the translation for clarification.

[5:3]  ¹³³ sn Objects could be carried in the end of a garment (Hag 2:12).

[5:4]  ¹³⁴ tn Heb “into the midst of” (so KJV, ASV). This phrase has been left untranslated for stylistic reasons.

[5:6]  ¹³⁵ sn The nations are subject to a natural law according to Gen 9; see also Amos 1:3-2:3; Jonah 1:2.

[5:6]  ¹³⁶ tn Heb “she defied my laws, becoming wicked more than the nations, and [she defied] my statutes [becoming wicked] more than the countries around her.”

[5:6]  ¹³⁷ sn One might conclude that the subject of the plural verbs is the nations/countries, but the context (vv. 5-6a) indicates that the people of Jerusalem are in view. The text shifts from using the feminine singular (referring to personified Jerusalem) to the plural (referring to Jerusalem’s residents). See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 1:73.

[5:7]  ¹³⁸ tn Traditionally this difficult form has been derived from a hypothetical root הָמוֹן (hamon), supposedly meaning “be in tumult/uproar,” but such a verb occurs nowhere else. It is more likely that it is to be derived from a root מָנוֹן (manon), meaning “disdain” (see L. C. Allen, Ezekiel [WBC], 1:52). A derivative from this root is used in Prov 29:21 of a rebellious servant. See HALOT 600 s.v. מָנוֹן.

[5:7]  ¹³⁹ sn You are more arrogant than the nations around you. Israel is accused of being worse than the nations in Ezek 16:27; 2 Kgs 21:11; Jer 2:11.

[5:7]  ¹⁴⁰ tc Some Hebrew mss and the Syriac omit the words “not even.” In this case they are being accused of following the practices of the surrounding nations. See Ezek 11:12.

[5:8]  ¹⁴¹ 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.

[5:8]  ¹⁴² tn The Hebrew text uses wordplay here to bring out the appropriate nature of God’s judgment. “Execute” translates the same Hebrew verb translated “carried out” (literally meaning “do”) in v. 7, while “judgment” in v. 8 and “regulations” in v. 7 translate the same Hebrew noun (meaning “regulations” or in some cases “judgments” executed on those who break laws). The point seems to be this: God would “carry out judgments” against those who refused to “carry out” his “laws.”

[5:8]  ¹⁴³ tn Heb “in the sight of the nations.”

[5:9]  ¹⁴⁴ tn Or “abominable idols.”

[5:10]  ¹⁴⁵ tn In context “you” refers to the city of Jerusalem. To make this clear for the modern reader, “Jerusalem” has been supplied in the translation in apposition to “you.”

[5:10]  ¹⁴⁶ tn Heb “all of your survivors.”

[5:10]  ¹⁴⁷ tn Heb “to every wind.”

[5:11]  ¹⁴⁸ tn The meaning of the Hebrew term is primarily emotional: “to pity,” which in context implies an action, as in being moved by pity in order to spare them from the horror of their punishment.

[5:12]  ¹⁴⁹ sn The judgment of plague and famine comes from the covenant curse (Lev 26:25-26). As in v. 10, the city of Jerusalem is figuratively addressed here.

[5:12]  ¹⁵⁰ sn Judgment by plague, famine, and sword occurs in Jer 21:9; 27:13; Ezek 6:11, 12; 7:15.

[5:13]  ¹⁵¹ tn Or “calm myself.”

[5:13]  ¹⁵² tn The Hebrew noun translated “jealousy” is used in the human realm to describe suspicion of adultery (Num 5:14ff.; Prov 6:34). Since Israel’s relationship with God was often compared to a marriage this term is appropriate here. The term occurs elsewhere in Ezekiel in 8:3, 5; 16:38, 42; 23:25.

[5:15]  ¹⁵³ tc This reading is supported by the versions and by the Dead Sea Scrolls (11QEzek). Most Masoretic Hebrew mss read “it will be,” but if the final he (ה) is read as a mater lectionis, as it can be with the second masculine singular perfect, then they are in agreement. In either case the subject refers to Jerusalem.

[5:15]  ¹⁵⁴ tn The Hebrew word occurs only here in the OT. A related verb means “revile, taunt” (see Ps 44:16).

[5:15]  ¹⁵⁵ tn Heb “discipline and devastation.” These words are omitted in the Old Greek. The first term pictures Jerusalem as a recipient or example of divine discipline; the second depicts her as a desolate ruin (see Ezek 6:14).

[5:15]  ¹⁵⁶ tn Heb “in anger and in fury and in rebukes of fury.” The heaping up of synonyms emphasizes the degree of God’s anger.

[5:16]  ¹⁵⁷ tn The Hebrew word carries the basic idea of “bad, displeasing, injurious,” but when used of weapons has the nuance “deadly” (see Ps 144:10).

[5:16]  ¹⁵⁸ tn Heb “which are/were to destroy.”

[5:16]  ¹⁵⁹ tn The language of this verse may have been influenced by Deut 32:23.

[5:16]  ¹⁶⁰ tn Or “which were to destroy those whom I will send to destroy you” (cf. NASB).

[5:16]  ¹⁶¹ tn Heb, “break the staff of bread.” The bread supply is compared to a staff that one uses for support. See 4:16, as well as the covenant curse in Lev 26:26.

[5:17]  ¹⁶² tn Heb “will bereave you.”

[5:17]  ¹⁶³ tn Heb “will pass through you.” This threat recalls the warning of Lev 26:22, 25 and Deut 32:24-25.

[6:2]  ¹⁶⁴ tn Heb “set your face against.” The expression occurs at the beginning of Ezekiel’s prophetic oracles in Ezek 13:17; 20:46; 21:2; 25:2; 28:21; 29:2; 35:2; 38:2.

[6:3]  ¹⁶⁵ tn The phrase “mountains of Israel” occurs only in the book of Ezekiel (6:2, 3; 19:9; 33:28; 34:13, 14; 35:12; 36:1, 4, 8; 37:22; 38:8; 39:2, 4, 17). The expression refers to the whole land of Israel.

[6:3]  ¹⁶⁶ tn The introductory formula “Hear the word of the sovereign Lord” parallels a pronouncement delivered by the herald of a king (2 Kgs 18:28).

[6:3]  ¹⁶⁷ tn Heb “Look I, I am bringing.” The repetition of the pronoun draws attention to the speaker. The construction also indicates that the action is soon to come; the Lord is “about to bring a sword against” them.

[6:3]  ¹⁶⁸ tn The Hebrew term refers to elevated platforms where pagan sacrifices were performed.

[6:4]  ¹⁶⁹ tn Thirty-nine of the forty-eight biblical occurrences of this Hebrew word are found in the book of Ezekiel.

[6:5]  ¹⁷⁰ tc This first sentence, which explains the meaning of the last sentence of the previous verse, does not appear in the LXX and may be an instance of a marginal explanatory note making its way into the text.

[6:6]  ¹⁷¹ tn The Hebrew verb translated “wiped out” is used to describe the judgment of the Flood (Gen 6:7; 7:4, 23).

[6:7]  ¹⁷² sn The phrase you will know that I am the Lord concludes over sixty oracles in the book of Ezekiel and indicates the ultimate goal of God’s action. The phrase is often used in the book of Exodus as well (Exod 7:5; 14:4, 18). By Ezekiel’s day the people had forgotten that the Lord (Yahweh) was their covenant God and had turned to other gods. They had to be reminded that Yahweh alone deserved to be worshiped because only he possessed the power to meet their needs. Through judgment and eventually deliverance, Israel would be reminded that Yahweh alone held their destiny in his hands.

[6:8]  ¹⁷³ tn Heb “when you have fugitives from the sword among the nations, when you are scattered among the lands.”

[6:9]  ¹⁷⁴ tn The words “they will realize” are not in the Hebrew text; they are added here for stylistic reasons since this clause assumes the previous verb “to remember” or “to take into account.”

[6:9]  ¹⁷⁵ tn Heb “how I was broken by their adulterous heart.” The image of God being “broken” is startling, but perfectly natural within the metaphorical framework of God as offended husband. The idiom must refer to the intense grief that Israel’s unfaithfulness caused God. For a discussion of the syntax and semantics of the Hebrew text, see M. Greenberg, Ezekiel (AB), 1:134.

[6:9]  ¹⁷⁶ tn Heb adds “in their faces.”

[6:10]  ¹⁷⁷ tn Heb “not in vain did I speak to do to them this catastrophe.” The wording of the last half of v. 10 parallels God’s declaration after the sin of the golden calf (Exod 32:14).

[6:11]  ¹⁷⁸ sn By the sword and by famine and by pestilence. A similar trilogy of punishments is mentioned in Lev 26:25-26. See also Jer 14:12; 21:9; 27:8, 13; 29:18).

[6:12]  ¹⁷⁹ tn Heb “the one who is left, the one who is spared.”

[6:13]  ¹⁸⁰ sn By referring to every high hill…all the mountaintops…under every green tree and every leafy oak Ezekiel may be expanding on the phraseology of Deut 12:2 (see 1 Kgs 14:23; 2 Kgs 16:4; 17:10; Jer 2:20; 3:6, 13; 2 Chr 28:4).

[6:14]  ¹⁸¹ sn I will stretch out my hand against them is a common expression in the book of Ezekiel (14:9, 13; 16:27; 25:7; 35:3).

[6:14]  ¹⁸² tc The Vulgate reads the name as “Riblah,” a city north of Damascus. The MT reads Diblah, a city otherwise unknown. The letters resh (ר) and dalet (ד) may have been confused in the Hebrew text. The town of Riblah was in the land of Hamath (2 Kgs 23:33) which represented the northern border of Israel (Ezek 47:14).

[7:2]  ¹⁸³ tn Or “earth.” Elsewhere the expression “four corners of the earth” figuratively refers to the whole earth (Isa 11:12).

[7:3]  ¹⁸⁴ tn Or “punish” (cf. BDB 1047 s.v. שָׁפַט 3.c).

[7:3]  ¹⁸⁵ tn Heb “ways.”

[7:3]  ¹⁸⁶ tn Heb “I will place on you.”

[7:4]  ¹⁸⁷ tn The meaning of the Hebrew term is primarily emotional: “to pity,” which in context implies an action, as in being moved by pity in order to spare them from the horror of their punishment.

[7:4]  ¹⁸⁸ tn The pronoun “you” is not in the Hebrew text, but is implied.

[7:4]  ¹⁸⁹ tn “I will set your behavior on your head.”

[7:4]  ¹⁹⁰ tn Heb “and your abominable practices will be among you.”

[7:5]  ¹⁹¹ tn The Hebrew term often refers to moral evil (see Ezek 6:10; 14:22), but in many contexts it refers to calamity or disaster, sometimes as punishment for evil behavior.

[7:5]  ¹⁹² tc So most Hebrew mss; many Hebrew mss read “disaster after disaster” (cf. NAB, NCV, NRSV, NLT).

[7:6]  ¹⁹³ tn Or “has come.”

[7:6]  ¹⁹⁴ tn Or “has come.”

[7:6]  ¹⁹⁵ tc With different vowels the verb rendered “it has awakened” would be the noun “the end,” as in “the end is upon you.” The verb would represent a phonetic wordplay. The noun by virtue of repetition would continue to reinforce the idea of the end. Whether verb or noun, this is the only instance to occur with this preposition.

[7:6]  ¹⁹⁶ tc For this entire verse, the LXX has only “the end is come.”

[7:7]  ¹⁹⁷ sn The day refers to the day of the Lord, a concept which, beginning in Amos 5:18-20, became a common theme in the OT prophetic books. It refers to a time when the Lord intervenes in human affairs as warrior and judge.

[7:7]  ¹⁹⁸ tc The LXX reads “neither tumult nor birth pains.” The LXX varies at many points from the MT in this chapter. The context suggests that one or both of these would be present on a day of judgment, thus favoring the MT. Perhaps more significant is the absence of “the mountains” in the LXX. If the ר (resh) in הָרִים (harim, “the mountains” not “on the mountains”) were a ד (dalet), which is a common letter confusion, then it could be from the same root as the previous word, הֵד (hed), meaning “the day is near – with destruction, not joyful shouting.”

[7:8]  ¹⁹⁹ tn The expression “to pour out rage” also occurs in Ezek 9:8; 14:19; 20:8, 13, 21; 22:31; 30:15; 36:18.

[7:9]  ²⁰⁰ tn The meaning of the Hebrew term is primarily emotional: “to pity,” which in context implies an action, as in being moved by pity in order to spare them from the horror of their punishment.

[7:9]  ²⁰¹ tn Heb “According to your behavior I will place on you.”

[7:9]  ²⁰² tn The MT lacks “you.” It has been added for clarification.

[7:11]  ²⁰³ tn Heb “the violence.”

[7:11]  ²⁰⁴ tc The LXX reads “he will crush the wicked rod without confusion or haste.”

[7:11]  ²⁰⁵ tn The Hebrew word occurs only here in the OT.

[7:12]  ²⁰⁶ tn Heb “wrath.” Context clarifies that God’s wrath is in view.

[7:13]  ²⁰⁷ tc The translation follows the LXX for the first line of the verse, although the LXX has lost the second line due to homoioteleuton (similar endings of the clauses). The MT reads “The seller will not return to the sale.” This Hebrew reading has been construed as a reference to land redemption, the temporary sale of the use of property, with property rights returned to the seller in the year of Jubilee. But the context has no other indicator that land redemption is in view. If correct, the LXX evidence suggests that one of the cases of “the customer” has been replaced by “the seller” in the MT, perhaps due to hoimoioarcton (similar beginnings of the words).

[7:13]  ²⁰⁸ tn The Hebrew word refers to the din or noise made by a crowd, and by extension may refer to the crowd itself.

[7:13]  ²⁰⁹ tn Or “in their punishment.” The phrase “in/for [a person’s] iniquity” occurs fourteen times in Ezekiel: here and in v. 16; 3:18, 19; 4:17; 18:17, 18, 19, 20; 24:23; 33:6, 8, 9; 39:23. The Hebrew word for “iniquity” may also mean the “punishment for iniquity.”

[7:14]  ²¹⁰ tn The Hebrew word refers to the din or noise made by a crowd, and by extension may refer to the crowd itself.

[7:17]  ²¹¹ tn Heb “their knees will run with water.” The expression probably refers to urination caused by fright, which is how the LXX renders the phrase. More colloquial English would simply be “they will wet their pants,” but as D. I. Block (Ezekiel [NICOT], 1:261, n. 98) notes, the men likely wore skirts which were short enough to expose urine on the knees.

[7:18]  ²¹² tn Heb “baldness will be on their heads.”

[7:19]  ²¹³ tn The Hebrew term can refer to menstrual impurity. The term also occurs at the end of v. 20.

[7:19]  ²¹⁴ sn Compare Zeph 1:18.

[7:19]  ²¹⁵ tn Heb “it.” Apparently the subject is the silver and gold mentioned earlier (see L. C. Allen, Ezekiel [WBC], 1:102).

[7:19]  ²¹⁶ tn The “stumbling block of their iniquity” is a unique phrase of the prophet Ezekiel (Ezek 14:3, 4, 7; 18:30; 44:12).

[7:20]  ²¹⁷ tc The MT reads “he set up the beauty of his ornament as pride.” The verb may be repointed as plural without changing the consonantal text. The Syriac reads “their ornaments” (plural), implying עֶדְיָם (’edyam) rather than עֶדְיוֹ (’edyo) and meaning “they were proud of their beautiful ornaments.” This understands “ornaments” in the common sense of women’s jewelry, which then were used to make idols. The singular suffix “his ornaments” would refer to using items from the temple treasury to make idols. D. I. Block points out the foreshadowing of Ezek 16:17 which, with Rashi and the Targum, supports the understanding that this is a reference to temple items. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:265.

[7:22]  ²¹⁸ sn My treasured place probably refers to the temple (however, cf. NLT “my treasured land”).

[7:22]  ²¹⁹ sn Since the pronouns “it” are both feminine, they do not refer to the masculine “my treasured place”; instead they probably refer to Jerusalem or the land, both of which are feminine in Hebrew.

[7:23]  ²²⁰ tc The Hebrew word “the chain” occurs only here in the OT. The reading of the LXX (“and they will make carnage”) seems to imply a Hebrew text of ַהבַּתּוֹק (habbattoq, “disorder, slaughter”) instead of הָרַתּוֹק (haratoq, “the chain”). The LXX is also translating the verb as a third person plural future and taking this as the end of the preceding verse. As M. Greenberg (Ezekiel [AB], 1:154) notes, this may refer to a chain for a train of exiles but “the context does not speak of exile but of the city’s fall. The versions guess desperately and we can do little better.”

[7:23]  ²²¹ tn Heb “judgment for blood,” i.e., indictment or accountability for bloodshed. The word for “judgment” does not appear in the similar phrase in 9:9.

[7:24]  ²²² sn Or “their holy places” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NCV, NRSV).

[7:25]  ²²³ tn The Hebrew word occurs only here in the OT. It is interpreted based on a Syriac cognate meaning “to bristle or stiffen (in terror).”

[7:27]  ²²⁴ tn Heb “and by their judgments.”

[8:1]  ²²⁵ tc The LXX reads “In the sixth year, in the fifth month, on the fifth of the month.”

[8:1]  ²²⁶ tn Or “power.”

[8:1]  ²²⁷ tn Heb “fell upon me there,” that is, God’s influence came over him.

[8:2]  ²²⁸ tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb (so also throughout the chapter).

[8:2]  ²²⁹ tc The MT reads “fire” rather than “man,” the reading of the LXX. The nouns are very similar in Hebrew.

[8:2]  ²³⁰ tc The MT reads “what appeared to be his waist and downwards was fire.” The LXX omits “what appeared to be,” reading “from his waist to below was fire.” Suggesting that “like what appeared to be” belongs before “fire,” D. I. Block (Ezekiel [NICOT], 1:277) points out the resulting poetic symmetry of form with the next line as followed in the translation here.

[8:2]  ²³¹ tc The LXX omits “like a brightness.”

[8:2]  ²³² tn See Ezek 1:4.

[8:3]  ²³³ tn The Hebrew term is normally used as an architectural term in describing the pattern of the tabernacle or temple or a representation of it (see Exod 25:8; 1 Chr 28:11).

[8:3]  ²³⁴ tn Or “spirit.” See note on “wind” in 2:2.

[8:3]  ²³⁵ map For the location of Jerusalem see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[8:3]  ²³⁶ tn Or “image.”

[8:5]  ²³⁷ tn Heb “lift your eyes (to) the way of.”

[8:6]  ²³⁸ tn Heb “house.”

[8:10]  ²³⁹ tn Or “pattern.”

[8:10]  ²⁴⁰ tn Heb “detestable.” The word is often used to describe the figures of foreign gods.

[8:10]  ²⁴¹ sn These engravings were prohibited in the Mosaic law (Deut 4:16-18).

[8:11]  ²⁴² sn Note the contrast between these seventy men who represented Israel and the seventy elders who ate the covenant meal before God, inaugurating the covenant relationship (Exod 24:1, 9).

[8:11]  ²⁴³ tn The Hebrew word occurs only here in the OT.

[8:12]  ²⁴⁴ tn Heb “the room of his images.” The adjective “idolatrous” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[8:14]  ²⁴⁵ tn Given the context this could be understood as a shock, e.g., idiomatically “Good grief! I saw….”

[8:14]  ²⁴⁶ sn The worship of Tammuz included the observation of the annual death and descent into the netherworld of the god Dumuzi. The practice was observed by women in the ancient Near East over a period of centuries.

[8:16]  ²⁴⁷ tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something.

[8:16]  ²⁴⁸ sn The priests prayed to God between the porch and the altar on fast days (Joel 2:17). This is the location where Zechariah was murdered (Matt 23:35).

[8:16]  ²⁴⁹ tc The LXX reads “twenty” instead of twenty-five, perhaps because of the association of the number twenty with the Mesopotamian sun god Shamash.

[8:16]  ²⁵⁰ sn The temple faced east.

[8:16]  ²⁵¹ tn Or “the sun god.”

[8:17]  ²⁵² 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.”

[8:18]  ²⁵³ tn The meaning of the Hebrew term is primarily emotional: “to pity,” which in context implies an action, as in being moved by pity in order to spare them from the horror of their punishment.

[9:1]  ²⁵⁴ tc Heb “they approached.” Reading the imperative assumes the same consonantal text but different vowels.

[9:2]  ²⁵⁵ tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.

[9:2]  ²⁵⁶ sn The six men plus the scribe would equal seven, which was believed by the Babylonians to be the number of planetary deities.

[9:2]  ²⁵⁷ sn The upper gate was built by Jotham (2 Kgs 15:35).

[9:2]  ²⁵⁸ tn Or “a scribe’s inkhorn.” The Hebrew term occurs in the OT only in Ezek 9 and is believed to be an Egyptian loanword.

[9:3]  ²⁵⁹ tn Heb “house.”

[9:4]  ²⁶⁰ tn Heb “through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem.”

[9:4]  ²⁶¹ tn The word translated “mark” is in Hebrew the letter ת (tav). Outside this context the only other occurrence of the word is in Job 31:35. In ancient Hebrew script this letter was written like the letter X.

[9:5]  ²⁶² tn Heb “to these he said in my ears.”

[9:5]  ²⁶³ tn The meaning of the Hebrew term is primarily emotional: “to pity,” which in context implies an action, as in being moved by pity in order to spare them from the horror of their punishment.

[9:9]  ²⁶⁴ 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]  ²⁶⁵ sn The saying is virtually identical to that of the elders in Ezek 8:12.

[9:10]  ²⁶⁶ tn The meaning of the Hebrew term is primarily emotional: “to pity,” which in context implies an action, as in being moved by pity in order to spare them from the horror of their punishment.

[9:10]  ²⁶⁷ tn Heb “their way on their head I have placed.” The same expression occurs in 1 Kgs 8:32; Ezek 11:21; 16:43; 22:31.

[10:1]  ²⁶⁸ tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.

[10:1]  ²⁶⁹ tn Or “like a dome.” See 1:22-26.

[10:2]  ²⁷⁰ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:2]  ²⁷¹ tn The Hebrew term often refers to chariot wheels (Isa 28:28; Ezek 23:24; 26:10).

[10:2]  ²⁷² tc The LXX, Syriac, Vulgate, and Targum mss read plural “cherubim” while the MT is singular here, “cherub.” The plural ending was probably omitted in copying the MT due to the similar beginning of the next word.

[10:3]  ²⁷³ tn Heb “right side.”

[10:5]  ²⁷⁴ tn The name (“El Shaddai”) has often been translated “God Almighty,” primarily because Jerome translated it omnipotens (“all powerful”) in the Latin Vulgate. There has been much debate over the meaning of the name. For discussion see W. F. Albright, “The Names Shaddai and Abram,” JBL 54 (1935): 173-210; R. Gordis, “The Biblical Root sdy-sd,” JTS 41 (1940): 34-43; and especially T. N. D. Mettinger, In Search of God, 69-72.

[10:6]  ²⁷⁵ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:6]  ²⁷⁶ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the man dressed in linen) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:6]  ²⁷⁷ tn Heb “the wheel.”

[10:7]  ²⁷⁸ tn Heb “the cherub.”

[10:7]  ²⁷⁹ tn The Hebrew text adds, “from among the cherubim.”

[10:8]  ²⁸⁰ tn The Hebrew term is normally used as an architectural term in describing the plan or pattern of the tabernacle or temple or a representation of it (see Exod 25:8; 1 Chr 28:11).

[10:9]  ²⁸¹ tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.

[10:9]  ²⁸² tn The MT repeats this phrase, a clear case of dittography.

[10:9]  ²⁸³ tn Heb “Tarshish stone.” The meaning is uncertain. The term has also been translated “topaz” (NEB), “beryl” (KJV, NASB, NRSV), and “chrysolite” (RSV, NIV).

[10:10]  ²⁸⁴ tn Or “like a wheel at right angles to another wheel.” Some envision concentric wheels here, while others propose “a globe-like structure in which two wheels stand at right angles” (L. C. Allen, Ezekiel [WBC], 1:33-34). See also 1:16.

[10:11]  ²⁸⁵ sn That is, the cherubim.

[10:11]  ²⁸⁶ tn Many interpreters assume that the human face of each cherub was the one that looked forward.

[10:12]  ²⁸⁷ tc The phrase “along with their entire bodies” is absent from the LXX and may be a gloss explaining the following words.

[10:13]  ²⁸⁸ tn Or “the whirling wheels.”

[10:14]  ²⁸⁹ tn Heb “each one”; the referent (the cherubim) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:14]  ²⁹⁰ sn The living creature described here is thus slightly different from the one described in Ezek 1:10, where a bull’s face appeared instead of a cherub’s. Note that some English versions harmonize the two descriptions and read the same here as in 1:10 (cf. NAB, NLT “an ox”; TEV, CEV “a bull”). This may be justified based on v. 22, which states the creatures’ appearance was the same.

[10:15]  ²⁹¹ tn Heb “it was the living creature.”

[10:16]  ²⁹² tn Heb “lifted.”

[10:17]  ²⁹³ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the cherubim) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:17]  ²⁹⁴ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the wheels) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:17]  ²⁹⁵ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the wheels) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:17]  ²⁹⁶ tn Or “wind.”

[10:17]  ²⁹⁷ tn Heb “living creature.”

[10:17]  ²⁹⁸ tn Heb “them”; the referent (the wheels) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:19]  ²⁹⁹ tn Heb “lifted.”

[10:19]  ³⁰⁰ tn Or “the ground” (NIV, NCV).

[10:20]  ³⁰¹ tn Heb “That was the living creature.”

[11:1]  ³⁰² tn Or “spirit.” See note on “wind” in 2:2.

[11:1]  ³⁰³ sn The phrase officials of the people occurs in Neh 11:1; 1 Chr 21:2; 2 Chr 24:23.

[11:2]  ³⁰⁴ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[11:3]  ³⁰⁵ tn The Hebrew verb may mean “think” in this context. This content of what they say (or think) represents their point of view.

[11:3]  ³⁰⁶ sn The expression build houses may mean “establish families” (Deut 25:9; Ruth 4:11; Prov 24:27).

[11:3]  ³⁰⁷ tn Heb “she” or “it”; the feminine pronoun refers here to Jerusalem.

[11:3]  ³⁰⁸ sn Jerusalem is also compared to a pot in Ezek 24:3-8. The siege of the city is pictured as heating up the pot.

[11:5]  ³⁰⁹ tn Heb “fell.”

[11:5]  ³¹⁰ tn The Hebrew verb commonly means “to say,” but may also mean “to think” (see also v. 3).

[11:5]  ³¹¹ tn Heb “I know the steps of your spirits.”

[11:7]  ³¹² tn Heb “placed.”

[11:7]  ³¹³ tn Heb “in its midst.”

[11:7]  ³¹⁴ tn Heb “she/it.” See v. 3.

[11:7]  ³¹⁵ tc Many of the versions read “I will bring you out” (active) rather than “he brought out” (the reading of MT).

[11:9]  ³¹⁶ tn Heb “its midst.”

[11:11]  ³¹⁷ tn The Hebrew text does not have the negative particle, but it is implied. The negative particle in the previous line does double duty here.

[11:13]  ³¹⁸ tc The LXX reads this statement as a question. Compare this to the question in 9:8. It is possible that the interrogative particle has been omitted by haplography. However, an exclamatory statement as in the MT also makes sense and the LXX may have simply tried to harmonize this passage with 9:8.

[11:15]  ³¹⁹ tc The MT reads “your brothers, your brothers” either for empahsis (D. I. Block, Ezekiel [NICOT], 1:341, n. 1; 346) or as a result of dittography.

[11:15]  ³²⁰ tc The MT reads גְאֻלָּתֶךָ (gÿ’ullatekha, “your redemption-men”), referring to the relatives responsible for deliverance in times of hardship (see Lev 25:25-55). The LXX and Syriac read “your fellow exiles,” assuming an underlying Hebrew text of גָלוּתֶךָ (galutekha) or having read the א (aleph) as an internal mater lectionis for holem.

[11:15]  ³²¹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[11:15]  ³²² tc The MT has an imperative form (“go far!”), but it may be read with different vowels as a perfect verb (“they have gone far”).

[11:16]  ³²³ tn Or “have been partially a sanctuary”; others take this as temporal (cf. NASB, NIV, NRSV “a little while”).

[11:19]  ³²⁴ tc The MT reads “you”; many Hebrew mss along with the LXX and other ancient versions read “within them.”

[11:19]  ³²⁵ tn Heb “their flesh.”

[11:19]  ³²⁶ tn Heb “heart of flesh.”

[11:20]  ³²⁷ sn The expression They will be my people, and I will be their God occurs as a promise to Abraham (Gen 17:8), Moses (Exod 6:7), and the nation (Exod 29:45).

[11:21]  ³²⁸ tn Heb “their way on their head I have placed.”

[11:22]  ³²⁹ tn Heb “lifted.”

[11:23]  ³³⁰ tn Heb “stood.”

[11:24]  ³³¹ tn Or “spirit.” See note on “wind” in 2:2.

[11:24]  ³³² tn Heb “to Chaldea.”

[11:25]  ³³³ tn Heb “all the words of.”

[12:2]  ³³⁴ 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).

[12:2]  ³³⁵ sn This verse is very similar to Isa 6:9-10.

[12:3]  ³³⁶ 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.

[12:6]  ³³⁷ tn Apart from this context the Hebrew term occurs only in Gen 15:17 in reference to the darkness after sunset. It may mean twilight.

[12:6]  ³³⁸ tn Or “land” (ASV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[12:6]  ³³⁹ sn See also Ezek 12:11, 24:24, 27.

[12:7]  ³⁴⁰ tn The words “my baggage” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied from the context.

[12:10]  ³⁴¹ tc The nearly incoherent Hebrew reads “The prince is this burden (prophetic oracle?) in Jerusalem.” The Targum, which may only be trying to make sense of a very difficult text, says “Concerning the prince is this oracle,” assuming the addition of a preposition. This would be the only case where Ezekiel uses this term for a prophetic oracle. The LXX reads the word for “burden” as a synonym for leader, as both words are built on the same root (נָשִׂיא, nasi’), but the verse is still incoherent because it is only a phrase with no verb. The current translation assumes that the verb יִשָּׂא (yisa’) from the root נָשִׂיא has dropped out due to homoioteleuton. If indeed the verb has dropped out (the syntax of the verbless clause being the problem), then context clearly suggests that it be a form of נָשִׂיא (see vv. 7 and 12). Placing the verb between the subject and object would result in three consecutive words based on the root נָשִׂיא and an environment conducive to an omission in copying: הַנָּשִׂיא יִשָּׁא הַמַּשָּׂא הַזֶּה (hannasi’ yisha’ hammasa’ hazzeh, “the Prince will raise this burden”).

[12:10]  ³⁴² tc The MT reads “within them.” Possibly a scribe copied this form from the following verse “among them,” but only “within it” makes sense in this context.

[12:12]  ³⁴³ sn The prince is a reference to Zedekiah.

[12:12]  ³⁴⁴ tn The words “his belongings” are not in the Hebrew text but are implied.

[12:12]  ³⁴⁵ tc The MT reads “they”; the LXX and Syriac read “he.”

[12:13]  ³⁴⁶ tn Or “Babylonians” (NCV, NLT).

[12:13]  ³⁴⁷ sn He will not see it. This prediction was fulfilled in 2 Kgs 25:7 and Jer 52:11, which recount how Zedekiah was blinded before being deported to Babylon.

[12:13]  ³⁴⁸ sn There he will die. This was fulfilled when King Zedekiah died in exile (Jer 52:11).

[12:18]  ³⁴⁹ tn The Hebrew term normally refers to an earthquake (see 1 Kgs 19:11; Amos 1:1).

[12:23]  ³⁵⁰ tn Heb “the days draw near and the word of every vision (draws near).”

[13:2]  ³⁵¹ tn Heb “from their mind.”

[13:6]  ³⁵² sn The same description of a false prophet is found in Micah 2:11.

[13:6]  ³⁵³ sn The Lord has not sent them. A similar concept is found in Jer 14:14; 23:21.

[13:6]  ³⁵⁴ tn Or “confirmed”; NIV “to be fulfilled”; TEV “to come true.”

[13:8]  ³⁵⁵ tn The word h!nn@h indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.

[13:8]  ³⁵⁶ 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.

[13:9]  ³⁵⁷ tn The Hebrew term may refer to the secret council of the Lord (Jer 23:18; Job 15:8), but here it more likely refers to a human council comprised of civic leaders (Gen 49:6; Jer 6:11; 15:17 Ps 64:3; 111:1).

[13:9]  ³⁵⁸ tn The reference here is probably to a civil list (as in Ezra 2:16; Neh 7:64) rather than to a “book of life” (Exod 32:32; Isa 4:3; Ps 69:29; Dan 12:1). This registry may have been established at the making of David’s census (2 Sam 24:2, 9).

[13:10]  ³⁵⁹ tn Or “peace.”

[13:10]  ³⁶⁰ tn The Hebrew word only occurs here in the Bible. According to L. C. Allen (Ezekiel [WBC], 1:202-3) it is also used in the Mishnah of a wall of rough stones without mortar. This fits the context here comparing the false prophetic messages to a nice coat of whitewash on a structurally unstable wall.

[13:11]  ³⁶¹ tn Heb “and you, O hailstones.”

[13:11]  ³⁶² sn A violent wind will break out. God’s judgments are frequently described in storm imagery (Pss 18:7-15; 77:17-18; 83:15; Isa 28:17; 30:30; Jer 23:19; 30:23).

[13:14]  ³⁶³ tn Or “within it,” referring to the city of Jerusalem.

[13:16]  ³⁶⁴ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[13:17]  ³⁶⁵ tn Heb “set your face against.”

[13:17]  ³⁶⁶ tn Heb “from their heart.”

[13:18]  ³⁶⁷ sn The wristbands mentioned here probably represented magic bands or charms. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:413.

[13:18]  ³⁶⁸ tn Heb “joints of the hands.” This may include the elbow and shoulder joints.

[13:18]  ³⁶⁹ 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]  ³⁷⁰ tn Heb “human lives” or “souls” (three times in v. 18 and twice in v. 19).

[13:19]  ³⁷¹ tn Heb “human lives” or “souls.”

[13:20]  ³⁷² tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.

[13:20]  ³⁷³ tn Heb “human lives” or “souls.”

[13:21]  ³⁷⁴ tn Heb “from your hand(s).” This refers to their power over the people.

[13:23]  ³⁷⁵ tn The Hebrew verb is feminine plural, indicating that it is the false prophetesses who are addressed here.

[14:3]  ³⁷⁶ tn Heb “the stumbling block of their iniquity.” This phrase is unique to the prophet Ezekiel.

[14:3]  ³⁷⁷ tn Or “I will not reveal myself to them.” The Hebrew word is used in a technical sense here of seeking an oracle from a prophet (2 Kgs 1:16; 3:11; 8:8).

[14:4]  ³⁷⁸ tn Heb “in accordance with the multitude of his idols.”

[14:8]  ³⁷⁹ tn Heb “proverbs.”

[14:9]  ³⁸⁰ tn The translation is uncertain due to difficulty both in determining the meaning of the verb’s stem and its conjugation in this context. In the Qal stem the basic meaning of the verbal root פָּתַה (patah) is “to be gullible, foolish.” The doubling stems (the Pual and Piel used in this verse) typically give such stative verbs a factitive sense, hence either “make gullible” (i.e., “entice”) or “make into a fool” (i.e., “to show to be a fool”). The latter represents the probable meaning of the term in Jer 20:7, 10 and is followed here (see L. C. Allen, Ezekiel [WBC], 1:193; R. Mosis “Ez 14, 1-11 - ein Ruf zur Umkehr,” BZ 19 [1975]: 166-69 and ThWAT 4:829-31). In this view, if a prophet speaks when not prompted by God, he will be shown to be a fool, but this does not reflect negatively on the Lord because it is God who shows him to be a fool. Secondly, the verb is in the perfect conjugation and may be translated “I have made a fool of him” or “I have enticed him,” or to show determination (see IBHS 439-41 §27.2f and g), or in certain syntactical constructions as future. Any of these may be plausible if the doubling stems used are understood in the sense of “making a fool of.” But if understood as “to make gullible,” more factors come into play. As the Hebrew verbal form is a perfect, it is often translated as present perfect: “I have enticed.” In this case the Lord states that he himself enticed the prophet to cooperate with the idolaters. Such enticement to sin would seem to be a violation of God’s moral character, but sometimes he does use such deception and enticement to sin as a form of punishment against those who have blatantly violated his moral will (see, e.g., 2 Sam 24). If one follows this line of interpretation in Ezek 14:9, one would have to assume that the prophet had already turned from God in his heart. However, the context gives no indication of this. Therefore, it is better to take the perfect as indicating certitude and to translate it with the future tense: “I will entice.” In this case the Lord announces that he will judge the prophet appropriately. If a prophet allows himself to be influenced by idolaters, then the Lord will use deception as a form of punishment against that deceived prophet. A comparison with the preceding oracles also favors this view. In 14:4 the perfect of certitude is used for emphasis (see “I will answer”), though in v. 7 a participle is employed. For a fuller discussion of this text, see R. B. Chisholm, Jr., “Does God Deceive?” BSac 155 (1998): 23-25.

[14:10]  ³⁸¹ tn Or “They will bear responsibility for their iniquity.” The Hebrew term “iniquity” (three times in this verse) often refers by metonymy to the consequence of sin (see Gen 4:13).

[14:10]  ³⁸² tn Or “As is the guilt of the inquirer so is the guilt of the prophet.”

[14:11]  ³⁸³ sn I will be their God. See Exod 6:7; Lev 26:12; Jer 7:23; 11:4.

[14:13]  ³⁸⁴ tn Heb “break its staff of bread.”

[14:14]  ³⁸⁵ sn Traditionally this has been understood as a reference to the biblical Daniel, though he was still quite young when Ezekiel prophesied. One wonders if he had developed a reputation as an intercessor by this point. For this reason some prefer to see a reference to a ruler named Danel, known in Canaanite legend for his justice and wisdom. In this case all three of the individuals named would be non-Israelites, however the Ugaritic Danel is not known to have qualities of faith in the Lord that would place him in the company of the other men. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:447-50.

[14:21]  ³⁸⁶ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[15:2]  ³⁸⁷ tn Most modern translations take the statement as a comparison (“how is vine wood better than any forest wood?”) based on the preposition מִן (min). But a comparison should have a word as an adjective or stative verb designating a quality, i.e., a word for “good/better” is lacking. The preposition is translated above in its partitive sense.

[15:4]  ³⁸⁸ tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) draws one’s attention to something. Sometimes it may be translated as a verb of perception; here it is treated as a particle that fits the context (so also in v. 5, but with a different English word).

[15:6]  ³⁸⁹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[15:6]  ³⁹⁰ tn The words “as fuel” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied.

[15:7]  ³⁹¹ tn The word translated “set” is the same Hebrew word translated as “provide” in the previous verse.

[15:7]  ³⁹² sn This escape refers to the exile of Ezekiel and others in 597 b.c. (Ezek 1:2; 2 Kgs 24:10-16).

[15:8]  ³⁹³ tn The word translated “make” is the same Hebrew word translated as “provide” in v. 6.

[16:2]  ³⁹⁴ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[16:4]  ³⁹⁵ tn Heb “in water you were not washed for cleansing” or “with water you were not washed smooth” (see D. I. Block, Ezekiel [NICOT], 1:473, n. 57, for a discussion of possible meanings of this hapax legomenon).

[16:4]  ³⁹⁶ sn Arab midwives still cut the umbilical cords of infants and then proceed to apply salt and oil to their bodies.

[16:5]  ³⁹⁷ sn These verbs, “pity” and “spare,” echo the judgment oracles in 5:11; 7:4, 9; 8:18; 9:5, 10.

[16:5]  ³⁹⁸ sn A similar concept is found in Deut 32:10.

[16:6]  ³⁹⁹ tc The translation reflects the Hebrew text, which repeats the statement, perhaps for emphasis. However, a few medieval Hebrew manuscripts, the Old Greek, and the Syriac do not include the repetition. The statement could have been accidentally repeated or the second occurrence could have been accidentally omitted. Based on the available evidence it is difficult to know which is more likely.

[16:8]  ⁴⁰⁰ tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a participle.

[16:8]  ⁴⁰¹ tn See similar use of this term in Ezek 23:17; Prov 7:16; Song of Songs 4:10; 7:13.

[16:8]  ⁴⁰² tn Heb “wing” or “skirt.” The gesture symbolized acquiring a woman in early Arabia (similarly, see Deut 22:30; Ruth 3:9).

[16:14]  ⁴⁰³ tn Heb “name.”

[16:14]  ⁴⁰⁴ sn The description of the nation Israel in vv. 10-14 recalls the splendor of the nation’s golden age under King Solomon.

[16:15]  ⁴⁰⁵ tn Heb “it” (so KJV, ASV); the referent (the beauty in which the prostitute trusted, see the beginning of the verse) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:16]  ⁴⁰⁶ tc The text as written in the MT is incomprehensible (“not coming [plural] and he will not”). Driver has suggested a copying error of similar-sounding words, specifically לֹא (lo’) for לוֹ (lo). The feminine participle בָאוֹת (va’ot) has also been read as the feminine perfect בָאת (va’t). See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 1:228, n. 15.b, and D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:486, n. 137.

[16:17]  ⁴⁰⁷ tn Or perhaps “and worshiped them,” if the word “prostitution” is understood in a figurative rather than a literal sense (cf. CEV, NLT).

[16:20]  ⁴⁰⁸ sn The sacrifice of children was prohibited in Lev 18:21; 20:2; Deut 12:31; 18:10.

[16:21]  ⁴⁰⁹ tn Heb “and you gave them, by passing them through to them.” Some believe this alludes to the pagan practice of making children pass through the fire.

[16:24]  ⁴¹⁰ tn The Hebrew גֶּב (gev) may represent more than one word, each rare in the Old Testament. It may refer to a “mound” or to “rafters.” The LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate interpret this as a brothel.

[16:24]  ⁴¹¹ tn Or “lofty place” (NRSV). See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 1:229, and B. Lang, Frau Weisheit, 137.

[16:25]  ⁴¹² tn Heb “treated as if abominable,” i.e., repudiated.

[16:25]  ⁴¹³ tn The only other occurrence of the Hebrew root is found in Prov 13:3 in reference to the talkative person who habitually “opens wide” his lips.

[16:26]  ⁴¹⁴ tn Heb “your neighbors, large of flesh.” The word “flesh” is used here of the genitals. It may simply refer to the size of their genitals in general, or, as the translation suggests, depicts them as sexually aroused.

[16:29]  ⁴¹⁵ tn Heb “Chaldea.” The name of the tribal group ruling Babylon (“Chaldeans”) and the territory from which they originated (“Chaldea”) is used as metonymy for the whole empire of Babylon.

[16:31]  ⁴¹⁶ tn The Hebrew term, which also occurs in vv. 34 and 41 of this chapter, always refers to the payment of a prostitute (Deut 23:19; Isa 23:17; Hos 9:1; Mic 1:7).

[16:33]  ⁴¹⁷ tn The Hebrew word occurs only here in the OT.

[16:34]  ⁴¹⁸ tn Heb “With you it was opposite of women in your prostitution.”

[16:36]  ⁴¹⁹ tn The Hebrew word occurs only here in the OT.

[16:37]  ⁴²⁰ sn Harlots suffered degradation when their nakedness was exposed (Jer 13:22, 26; Hos 2:12; Nah 3:5).

[16:38]  ⁴²¹ tn Heb “and I will judge you (with) the judgments of adulteresses and of those who shed blood.”

[16:38]  ⁴²² tn Heb “and I will give you the blood of rage and zeal.”

[16:41]  ⁴²³ tn The words “to your clients” are not in the Hebrew text but are implied.

[16:43]  ⁴²⁴ tn Heb “your way on (your) head I have placed.”

[16:46]  ⁴²⁵ tn Heb “left.”

[16:46]  ⁴²⁶ tn Heb “right.”

[16:46]  ⁴²⁷ sn Sodom was the epitome of evil (Deut 29:23; 32:32; Isa 1:9-10; 3:9; Jer 23:14; Lam 4:6; Matt 10:15; 11:23-24; Jude 7).

[16:47]  ⁴²⁸ tn Heb “walked in their ways.”

[16:47]  ⁴²⁹ tn The Hebrew expression has a temporal meaning as illustrated by the use of the phrase in 2 Chr 12:7.

[16:49]  ⁴³⁰ tn Or “guilt.”

[16:49]  ⁴³¹ tn Heb “strengthen the hand of.”

[16:51]  ⁴³² tn Or “you have multiplied your abominable deeds beyond them.”

[16:52]  ⁴³³ tn Heb “because you have interceded for your sisters with your sins.”

[16:56]  ⁴³⁴ tn Or “pride.”

[16:57]  ⁴³⁵ tc So MT, LXX, and Vulgate; many Hebrew mss and Syriac read “Edom.”

[16:60]  ⁴³⁶ tn Or “eternal.”

[16:63]  ⁴³⁷ tn Heb “and your mouth will not be open any longer.”

[16:63]  ⁴³⁸ tn Heb “when I make atonement for you for all which you have done.”

[17:2]  ⁴³⁹ sn The verb occurs elsewhere in the OT only in Judg 14:12-19, where Samson supplies a riddle.

[17:3]  ⁴⁴⁰ tn The parable assumes the defection of Zedekiah to Egypt and his rejection of Babylonian lordship.

[17:3]  ⁴⁴¹ sn The great eagle symbolizes Nebuchadnezzar (17:12).

[17:3]  ⁴⁴² tn Hebrew has two words for wings; it is unknown whether they are fully synonymous or whether one term distinguishes a particular part of the wing such as the wing coverts (nearest the shoulder), secondaries (mid-feathers of the wing) or primaries (last and longest section of the wing).

[17:3]  ⁴⁴³ tn This term was used in 16:10, 13, and 18 of embroidered cloth.

[17:3]  ⁴⁴⁴ sn In the parable Lebanon apparently refers to Jerusalem (17:12).

[17:5]  ⁴⁴⁵ tn Heb “took of the seed of the land.” For the vine imagery, “seedling” is a better translation, though in its subsequent interpretation the “seed” refers to Zedekiah through its common application to offspring.

[17:5]  ⁴⁴⁶ tn Heb “a field for seed.”

[17:6]  ⁴⁴⁷ tn Heb “short of stature.”

[17:6]  ⁴⁴⁸ tn That is, the eagle.

[17:6]  ⁴⁴⁹ tn Or “him,” i.e., the eagle.

[17:7]  ⁴⁵⁰ sn The phrase another great eagle refers to Pharaoh Hophra.

[17:9]  ⁴⁵¹ tn The Hebrew root occurs only here in the OT and appears to have the meaning of “strip off.” In application to fruit the meaning may be “cause to rot.”

[17:9]  ⁴⁵² tn Heb “all the טַרְפֵּי (tarpey) of branches.” The word טַרְפֵּי occurs only here in the Bible; its precise meaning is uncertain.

[17:9]  ⁴⁵³ tn Or “there will be no strong arm or large army when it is pulled up by the roots.”

[17:12]  ⁴⁵⁴ tn The words “of Israel” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation as a clarification of the referent.

[17:12]  ⁴⁵⁵ sn The narrative description of this interpretation of the riddle is given in 2 Kgs 24:11-15.

[17:12]  ⁴⁵⁶ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[17:13]  ⁴⁵⁷ tn Or “descendants”; Heb “seed” (cf. v. 5).

[17:13]  ⁴⁵⁸ tn Heb “caused him to enter into an oath.”

[17:15]  ⁴⁵⁹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the member of the royal family, v. 13) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[17:15]  ⁴⁶⁰ tn Heb “him”; the referent (the king of Babylon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[17:16]  ⁴⁶¹ tn Heb “place.”

[17:17]  ⁴⁶² tn Heb “deal with” or “work with.”

[17:18]  ⁴⁶³ tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates being aware of or taking notice of something.

[17:18]  ⁴⁶⁴ sn Heb “hand.” “Giving one’s hand” is a gesture of promise (2 Kgs 10:15).

[17:19]  ⁴⁶⁵ tn Heb “place it on his head.”

[17:21]  ⁴⁶⁶ tc Some manuscripts and versions read “choice men,” while most manuscripts read “fugitives”; the difference arises from the reversal, or metathesis, of two letters, מִבְרָחָיו (mivrakhyv) for מִבְחָריו (mivkharyv).

[17:21]  ⁴⁶⁷ tn Heb “fall.”

[17:22]  ⁴⁶⁸ sn The language is analogous to messianic imagery in Isa 11:1; Zech 3:8; 6:4 although the technical terminology is not the same.

[17:22]  ⁴⁶⁹ tc The LXX lacks “and plant it.”

[18:2]  ⁴⁷⁰ tn This word only occurs here and in the parallel passage in Jer 31:29-30 in the Qal stem and in Eccl 10:10 in the Piel stem. In the latter passage it refers to the bluntness of an ax that has not been sharpened. Here the idea is of the “bluntness” of the teeth, not from having ground them down due to the bitter taste of sour grapes but to the fact that they have lost their “edge,” “bite,” or “sharpness” because they are numb from the sour taste. For this meaning for the word, see W. L. Holladay, Jeremiah (Hermeneia), 2:197.

[18:3]  ⁴⁷¹ tn This expression occurs often in Ezekiel (5:11; 14:16, 18, 20; 16:48; 17:16, 19; 20:3, 31, 33; 33:11, 27; 34:8; 35:6, 11).

[18:4]  ⁴⁷² tn Heb “life.”

[18:6]  ⁴⁷³ tn Heb, “on the mountains he does not eat.” The mountains are often mentioned as the place where idolatrous sacrifices were eaten (Ezek 20:28; 22:9; 34:6).

[18:6]  ⁴⁷⁴ tn Heb, “does not lift up his eyes.” This refers to looking to idols for help.

[18:6]  ⁴⁷⁵ tn Heb, “does not draw near to.” “Draw near” is a euphemism for sexual intercourse (Lev 18:14; Deut 22:14; Isa 8:3).

[18:7]  ⁴⁷⁶ tn Heb “restores to the debtor his pledge.” The root occurs in Exod 22:25 in reference to restoring a man’s garment as a pledge before nightfall.

[18:7]  ⁴⁷⁷ tn The Hebrew term refers to seizure of property, usually by the rich (Isa 3:14; 10:2; Mic 2:2 [see Lev 5:21, 22]).

[18:8]  ⁴⁷⁸ sn This law was given in Lev 25:36.

[18:8]  ⁴⁷⁹ tn Heb, “turns back his hand.”

[18:8]  ⁴⁸⁰ tn Heb “justice of truth.”

[18:9]  ⁴⁸¹ tc The MT reads לַעֲשׂוֹת אֱמֶת (la’asot ’emet, “to do with integrity”), while the LXX reads “to do them,” presupposing לַעֲשׂוֹת אֹתָם (la’asot ’otam). The ם (mem) and ת (tav) have been reversed in the MT. The LXX refelcts the original, supported by similar phrasing in Ezekiel 11:20; 20:19.

[18:9]  ⁴⁸² tn Heb “he.”

[18:9]  ⁴⁸³ tn Heb “living, he will live.” The infinitive absolute precedes the finite verb for emphasis.

[18:10]  ⁴⁸⁴ tn Heb “begets.”

[18:10]  ⁴⁸⁵ tn Heb “and he does, a brother, from one of these.” If “brother” is retained, it may be an adverbial accusative, “against a brother” (i.e., fellow Israelite). But the form is likely dittographic (note the אח [aleph-heth] combination in the following form).

[18:11]  ⁴⁸⁶ tn Heb “and he all of these did not do.” The parenthetical note refers back to the father described in the preceding verses.

[18:11]  ⁴⁸⁷ sn See note on “mountains” in v. 6.

[18:12]  ⁴⁸⁸ sn The poor and needy are often mentioned together in the OT (Deut 24:14; Jer 22:16; Ezek 14:69; Ps 12:6; 35:10; 37:14).

[18:12]  ⁴⁸⁹ tn Heb “lifts up his eyes.”

[18:13]  ⁴⁹⁰ tn Heb “be put to death.” The translation follows an alternative reading that appears in several ancient textual witnesses.

[18:13]  ⁴⁹¹ tn Heb “his blood will be upon him.”

[18:14]  ⁴⁹² tn Heb “and he sees and does not do likewise.”

[18:17]  ⁴⁹³ tc This translation follows the LXX. The MT reads “restrains his hand from the poor,” which makes no sense here.

[18:17]  ⁴⁹⁴ tn Or “in his father’s punishment.” The phrase “in/for [a person’s] iniquity/punishment” occurs fourteen times in Ezekiel: here and in vv. 18, 19, 20; 3:18, 19; 4:17; 7:13, 16; 24:23; 33:6, 8, 9; 39:23. The Hebrew word for “iniquity” may also mean the “punishment for iniquity.”

[18:19]  ⁴⁹⁵ tn Heb “lift up, bear.”

[18:20]  ⁴⁹⁶ tn Heb “lift up, bear.”

[18:20]  ⁴⁹⁷ tn Heb “lift up, bear.”

[18:20]  ⁴⁹⁸ tn Heb “the righteousness of the righteous one will be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked one will be upon him.”

[18:22]  ⁴⁹⁹ tn Heb “remembered.”

[18:24]  ⁵⁰⁰ tn Heb “because of them he will die.”

[18:25]  ⁵⁰¹ tn Heb “way.”

[18:26]  ⁵⁰² tn Heb “for them” or “because of them.”

[18:28]  ⁵⁰³ tn Heb “he saw.”

[18:30]  ⁵⁰⁴ tn Heb “ways.”

[18:30]  ⁵⁰⁵ tn The verbs and persons in this verse are plural whereas the individual has been the subject of the chapter.

[18:30]  ⁵⁰⁶ tn Or “leading to punishment.”

[18:31]  ⁵⁰⁷ sn In Ezek 11:19, 36:26 the new heart and new spirit are promised as future blessings.

[18:32]  ⁵⁰⁸ tn Heb “the death of the one dying.”

[19:1]  ⁵⁰⁹ tn Heb “lift up.”

[19:2]  ⁵¹⁰ sn Lions probably refer to Judahite royalty and/or nobility. The lioness appears to symbolize the Davidic dynasty, though some see the referent as Hamutal, the wife of Josiah and mother of Jehoahaz and Zedekiah. Gen 49:9 seems to be the background for Judah being compared to lions.

[19:3]  ⁵¹¹ tn Heb “a man.”

[19:4]  ⁵¹² sn The description applies to king Jehoahaz (2 Kgs 23:31-34; Jer 22:10-12).

[19:5]  ⁵¹³ sn The identity of this second lion is unclear; the referent is probably Jehoiakim or Zedekiah. If the lioness is Hamutal, then Zedekiah is the lion described here.

[19:7]  ⁵¹⁴ tc The Hebrew text reads “knew,” but is apparently the result of a ר-ד (dalet-resh) confusion. For a defense of the emendation, see L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 1:284. However, Allen retains the reading “widows” as the object of the verb, which he understands in the sense of “do harm to,” and translates the line: “He did harm to women by making them widows” (p. 282). The line also appears to be lacking a beat for the meter of the poem.

[19:7]  ⁵¹⁵ tc The Hebrew text reads “widows” instead of “strongholds,” apparently due to a confusion of ר (resh) and ל (lamed). L. C. Allen (Ezekiel [WBC], 1:284) favors the traditional text, understanding “widows” in the sense of “women made widows.” D. I. Block, (Ezekiel [NICOT], 1:602) also defends the Hebrew text, arguing that the image is that of a dominant male lion who takes over the pride and by copulating with the females lays claim to his predecessor’s “widows.”

[19:9]  ⁵¹⁶ tn Or “They put him in a neck stock with hooks.” The noun סּוּגַר (sugar), translated “collar,” occurs only here in the Bible. L. C. Allen and D. I. Block point out a Babylonian cognate that refers to a device for transporting prisoners of war that held them by their necks (D. I. Block, Ezekiel [NICOT], 1:597, n. 35; L. C. Allen, Ezekiel [WBC], 1:284). Based on the Hebrew root, the traditional rendering had been “cage” (cf. ASV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[19:9]  ⁵¹⁷ tc The term in the MT occurs only here and in Eccl 9:12 where it refers to a net for catching fish. The LXX translates this as “prison,” which assumes a confusion of dalet and resh took place in the MT.

[19:10]  ⁵¹⁸ tc The Hebrew text reads “in your blood,” but most emend to “in your vineyard,” assuming a ב-כ (beth-kaph) confusion. See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 1:284. Another attractive emendation assumes a faulty word division and yields the reading “like a vine full of tendrils, which/because…”; see D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:607, n. 68.

[19:11]  ⁵¹⁹ tn The word “fit” does not occur in the Hebrew text.

[19:11]  ⁵²⁰ tn Heb “and it was seen by its height and by the abundance of its branches.”

[19:12]  ⁵²¹ sn The east wind symbolizes the Babylonians.

[19:13]  ⁵²² sn This metaphor depicts the Babylonian exile of the Davidic dynasty.

[19:14]  ⁵²³ tn The verse describes the similar situation recorded in Judg 9:20.