Discovery BoxEzekiel 11:19
Context11:19 I will give them one heart and I will put a new spirit within them; 1 I will remove the hearts of stone from their bodies 2 and I will give them tender hearts, 3
Ezekiel 11:1
Context11:1 A wind 4 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. 5
Ezekiel 25:1-17
Context25:1 The word of the Lord came to me: 25:2 “Son of man, turn toward 6 the Ammonites 7 and prophesy against them. 25:3 Say to the Ammonites, ‘Hear the word of the sovereign Lord: This is what the sovereign Lord says: You said “Aha!” about my sanctuary when it was desecrated, about the land of Israel when it was made desolate, and about the house of Judah when they went into exile. 25:4 So take note, 8 I am about to make you slaves of 9 the tribes 10 of the east. They will make camps among you and pitch their tents among you. They will eat your fruit and drink your milk. 25:5 I will make Rabbah a pasture for camels and Ammon 11 a resting place for sheep. Then you will know that I am the Lord. 25:6 For this is what the sovereign Lord says: Because you clapped your hands, stamped your feet, and rejoiced with intense scorn 12 over the land of Israel, 25:7 take note, I have stretched out my hand against you, and I will hand you over as plunder 13 to the nations. I will cut you off from the peoples and make you perish from the lands. I will destroy you; then you will know that I am the Lord.’”
25:8 “This is what the sovereign Lord says: ‘Moab 14 and Seir say, “Look, the house of Judah is like all the other nations.” 25:9 So look, I am about to open up Moab’s flank, 15 eliminating the cities, 16 including its frontier cities, 17 the beauty of the land – Beth Jeshimoth, Baal Meon, and Kiriathaim. 25:10 I will hand it over, 18 along with the Ammonites, 19 to the tribes 20 of the east, so that the Ammonites will no longer be remembered among the nations. 25:11 I will execute judgments against Moab. Then they will know that I am the Lord.’”
25:12 “This is what the sovereign Lord says: ‘Edom 21 has taken vengeance against the house of Judah; they have made themselves fully culpable 22 by taking vengeance 23 on them. 24 25:13 So this is what the sovereign Lord says: I will stretch out my hand against Edom, and I will kill the people and animals within her, 25 and I will make her desolate; from Teman to Dedan they will die 26 by the sword. 25:14 I will exact my vengeance upon Edom by the hand of my people Israel. They will carry out in Edom my anger and rage; they will experience 27 my vengeance, declares the sovereign Lord.’”
25:15 “This is what the sovereign Lord says: ‘The Philistines 28 have exacted merciless revenge, 29 showing intense scorn 30 in their effort to destroy Judah 31 with unrelenting hostility. 32 25:16 So this is what the sovereign Lord says: Take note, I am about to stretch out my hand against the Philistines. I will kill 33 the Cherethites 34 and destroy those who remain on the seacoast. 25:17 I will exact great vengeance upon them with angry rebukes. 35 Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I exact my vengeance upon them.’”
Ezekiel 23:1--28:26
Context23:1 The word of the Lord came to me: 23:2 “Son of man, there were two women who were daughters of the same mother. 23:3 They engaged in prostitution in Egypt; in their youth they engaged in prostitution. Their breasts were squeezed there; lovers 36 fondled their virgin nipples there. 23:4 Oholah was the name of the older and Oholibah 37 the name of her younger sister. They became mine, and gave birth to sons and daughters. 38 Oholah is Samaria and Oholibah is Jerusalem.
23:5 “Oholah engaged in prostitution while she was mine. 39 She lusted after her lovers, the Assyrians 40 – warriors 41 23:6 clothed in blue, governors and officials, all of them desirable young men, horsemen riding on horses. 23:7 She bestowed her sexual favors on them; all of them were the choicest young men of Assyria. She defiled herself with all whom she desired 42 – with all their idols. 23:8 She did not abandon the prostitution she had practiced in Egypt; for in her youth men had sex with her, fondled her virgin breasts, and ravished her. 43 23:9 Therefore I handed her over to her lovers, the Assyrians 44 for whom she lusted. 23:10 They exposed her nakedness, seized her sons and daughters, and killed her with the sword. She became notorious 45 among women, and they executed judgments against her.
23:11 “Her sister Oholibah watched this, 46 but she became more corrupt in her lust than her sister had been, and her acts of prostitution were more numerous than those of her sister. 23:12 She lusted after the Assyrians – governors and officials, warriors in full armor, horsemen riding on horses, all of them desirable young men. 23:13 I saw that she was defiled; both of them followed the same path. 23:14 But she increased her prostitution. She saw men carved on the wall, images of the Chaldeans carved in bright red, 47 23:15 wearing belts on their waists and flowing turbans on their heads, all of them looking like officers, the image of Babylonians 48 whose native land is Chaldea. 23:16 When she saw them, 49 she lusted after them and sent messengers to them in Chaldea. 50 23:17 The Babylonians crawled into bed with her. 51 They defiled her with their lust; after she was defiled by them, she 52 became disgusted with them. 23:18 When she lustfully exposed her nakedness, 53 I 54 was disgusted with her, just as I 55 had been disgusted with her sister. 23:19 Yet she increased her prostitution, remembering the days of her youth when she engaged in prostitution in the land of Egypt. 23:20 She lusted after their genitals – as large as those of donkeys, 56 and their seminal emission was as strong as that of stallions. 23:21 This is how you assessed 57 the obscene conduct of your youth, when the Egyptians fondled 58 your nipples and squeezed 59 your young breasts.
23:22 “Therefore, Oholibah, this is what the sovereign Lord says: Look here, 60 I am about to stir up against you the lovers with whom you were disgusted; I will bring them against you from every side: 23:23 the Babylonians and all the Chaldeans, Pekod, 61 Shoa, 62 and Koa, 63 and all the Assyrians with them, desirable young men, all of them governors and officials, officers and nobles, all of them riding on horses. 23:24 They will attack 64 you with weapons, 65 chariots, wagons, and with a huge army; 66 they will array themselves against you on every side with large shields, small shields, and helmets. I will assign them the task of judgment; 67 they will punish you according to their laws. 23:25 I will direct 68 my jealous anger against you, and they will deal with you in rage. They will cut off your nose and your ears, 69 and your survivors will die 70 by the sword. They will seize your sons and daughters, and your survivors will be consumed by fire. 23:26 They will strip your clothes off you and take away your beautiful jewelry. 23:27 So I will put an end to your obscene conduct and your prostitution which you have practiced in the land of Egypt. 71 You will not seek their help 72 or remember Egypt anymore.
23:28 “For this is what the sovereign Lord says: Look here, 73 I am about to deliver you over to 74 those whom you hate, to those with whom you were disgusted. 23:29 They will treat you with hatred, take away all you have labored for, 75 and leave you naked and bare. Your nakedness will be exposed, just as when you engaged in prostitution and obscene conduct. 76 23:30 I will do these things to you 77 because you engaged in prostitution with the nations, polluting yourself with their idols. 23:31 You have followed the ways of your sister, so I will place her cup of judgment 78 in your hand. 23:32 “This is what the sovereign Lord says: “You will drink your sister’s deep and wide cup; 79 you will be scorned and derided, for it holds a great deal. 23:33 You will be overcome by 80 drunkenness and sorrow. The cup of your sister Samaria is a cup of horror and desolation. 23:34 You will drain it dry, 81 gnaw its pieces, 82 and tear out your breasts, 83 for I have spoken, declares the sovereign Lord.
23:35 “Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: Because you have forgotten me and completely disregarded me, 84 you must bear now the punishment 85 for your obscene conduct and prostitution.”
23:36 The Lord said to me: “Son of man, are you willing to pronounce judgment 86 on Oholah and Oholibah? Then declare to them their abominable deeds! 23:37 For they have committed adultery and blood is on their hands. They have committed adultery with their idols, and their sons, whom they bore to me, 87 they have passed through the fire as food to their idols. 88 23:38 Moreover, they have done this to me: In the very same day 89 they desecrated my sanctuary and profaned my Sabbaths. 23:39 On the same day they slaughtered their sons for their idols, they came to my sanctuary to desecrate it. This is what they have done in the middle of my house.
23:40 “They even sent for men from far away; when the messenger arrived, those men set out. 90 For them you bathed, 91 painted your eyes, and decorated yourself with jewelry. 23:41 You sat on a magnificent couch, with a table arranged in front of it where you placed my incense and my olive oil. 23:42 The sound of a carefree crowd accompanied her, 92 including all kinds of men; 93 even Sabeans 94 were brought from the desert. The sisters 95 put bracelets on their wrists and beautiful crowns on their heads. 23:43 Then I said about the one worn out by adultery, ‘Now they will commit immoral acts with her.’ 23:44 They had sex with her 96 as one does with a prostitute. In this way they had sex with Oholah and Oholibah, promiscuous women. 23:45 But upright men will punish them appropriately for their adultery and bloodshed, 97 because they are adulteresses and blood is on their hands.
23:46 “For this is what the sovereign Lord says: Bring up an army 98 against them and subject them 99 to terror and plunder. 23:47 That army will pelt them with stones and slash them with their swords; they will kill their sons and daughters and burn their houses. 100 23:48 I will put an end to the obscene conduct in the land; all the women will learn a lesson from this and not engage in obscene conduct. 23:49 They will repay you for your obscene conduct, and you will be punished for idol worship. 101 Then you will know that I am the sovereign Lord.”
24:1 The word of the Lord came to me in the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month 102 : 24:2 “Son of man, write down the name of this day, this very day. The king of Babylon has laid siege 103 to Jerusalem 104 this very day. 24:3 Recite a proverb to this rebellious house 105 and say to them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says:
“‘Set on the pot, 106 set it on,
pour water in it too;
24:4 add the pieces of meat to it,
every good piece,
the thigh and the shoulder;
fill it with choice bones.
24:5 Take the choice bone of the flock,
heap up bones under it;
boil rapidly,
and boil its bones in it.
24:6 “‘Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says:
Woe to the city of bloodshed,
the pot whose rot 107 is in it,
whose rot has not been removed 108 from it!
Empty it piece by piece.
No lot has fallen on it. 109
24:7 For her blood was in it;
she poured it on an exposed rock;
she did not pour it on the ground to cover it up with dust.
24:8 To arouse anger, to take vengeance,
I have placed her blood on an exposed rock so that it cannot be covered up.
24:9 “‘Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says:
Woe to the city of bloodshed!
I will also make the pile high.
24:10 Pile up the bones, kindle the fire;
cook the meat well, mix in the spices,
let the bones be charred.
24:11 Set the empty pot on the coals, 110
until it becomes hot and its copper glows,
until its uncleanness melts within it and its rot 111 is consumed.
24:12 It has tried my patience; 112
yet its thick rot is not removed 113 from it.
Subject its rot to the fire! 114
24:13 You mix uncleanness with obscene conduct. 115
I tried to cleanse you, 116 but you are not clean.
You will not be cleansed from your uncleanness 117
until I have exhausted my anger on you.
24:14 “‘I the Lord have spoken; judgment 118 is coming and I will act! I will not relent, or show pity, or be sorry! 119 I will judge you 120 according to your conduct 121 and your deeds, declares the sovereign Lord.’”
24:15 The word of Lord came to me: 24:16 “Son of man, realize that I am about to take the delight of your eyes away from you with a jolt, 122 but you must not mourn or weep or shed tears. 24:17 Groan in silence for the dead, 123 but do not perform mourning rites. 124 Bind on your turban 125 and put your sandals on your feet. Do not cover your lip 126 and do not eat food brought by others.” 127
24:18 So I spoke to the people in the morning, and my wife died in the evening. In the morning 128 I acted just as I was commanded. 24:19 Then the people said to me, “Will you not tell us what these things you are doing mean for us?”
24:20 So I said to them: “The word of the Lord came to me: 24:21 Say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Realize I am about to desecrate my sanctuary – the source of your confident pride, 129 the object in which your eyes delight, 130 and your life’s passion. 131 Your very own sons and daughters whom you have left behind will die 132 by the sword. 24:22 Then you will do as I have done: You will not cover your lip or eat food brought by others. 133 24:23 Your turbans will be on your heads and your sandals on your feet; you will not mourn or weep, but you will rot 134 for your iniquities 135 and groan among yourselves. 24:24 Ezekiel will be an object lesson for you; you will do all that he has done. When it happens, then you will know that I am the sovereign Lord.’
24:25 “And you, son of man, this is what will happen on the day I take 136 from them their stronghold – their beautiful source of joy, the object in which their eyes delight, and the main concern of their lives, 137 as well as their sons and daughters: 138 24:26 On that day a fugitive will come to you to report the news. 139 24:27 On that day you will be able to speak again; 140 you will talk with the fugitive and be silent no longer. You will be an object lesson for them, and they will know that I am the Lord.”
25:1 The word of the Lord came to me: 25:2 “Son of man, turn toward 141 the Ammonites 142 and prophesy against them. 25:3 Say to the Ammonites, ‘Hear the word of the sovereign Lord: This is what the sovereign Lord says: You said “Aha!” about my sanctuary when it was desecrated, about the land of Israel when it was made desolate, and about the house of Judah when they went into exile. 25:4 So take note, 143 I am about to make you slaves of 144 the tribes 145 of the east. They will make camps among you and pitch their tents among you. They will eat your fruit and drink your milk. 25:5 I will make Rabbah a pasture for camels and Ammon 146 a resting place for sheep. Then you will know that I am the Lord. 25:6 For this is what the sovereign Lord says: Because you clapped your hands, stamped your feet, and rejoiced with intense scorn 147 over the land of Israel, 25:7 take note, I have stretched out my hand against you, and I will hand you over as plunder 148 to the nations. I will cut you off from the peoples and make you perish from the lands. I will destroy you; then you will know that I am the Lord.’”
25:8 “This is what the sovereign Lord says: ‘Moab 149 and Seir say, “Look, the house of Judah is like all the other nations.” 25:9 So look, I am about to open up Moab’s flank, 150 eliminating the cities, 151 including its frontier cities, 152 the beauty of the land – Beth Jeshimoth, Baal Meon, and Kiriathaim. 25:10 I will hand it over, 153 along with the Ammonites, 154 to the tribes 155 of the east, so that the Ammonites will no longer be remembered among the nations. 25:11 I will execute judgments against Moab. Then they will know that I am the Lord.’”
25:12 “This is what the sovereign Lord says: ‘Edom 156 has taken vengeance against the house of Judah; they have made themselves fully culpable 157 by taking vengeance 158 on them. 159 25:13 So this is what the sovereign Lord says: I will stretch out my hand against Edom, and I will kill the people and animals within her, 160 and I will make her desolate; from Teman to Dedan they will die 161 by the sword. 25:14 I will exact my vengeance upon Edom by the hand of my people Israel. They will carry out in Edom my anger and rage; they will experience 162 my vengeance, declares the sovereign Lord.’”
25:15 “This is what the sovereign Lord says: ‘The Philistines 163 have exacted merciless revenge, 164 showing intense scorn 165 in their effort to destroy Judah 166 with unrelenting hostility. 167 25:16 So this is what the sovereign Lord says: Take note, I am about to stretch out my hand against the Philistines. I will kill 168 the Cherethites 169 and destroy those who remain on the seacoast. 25:17 I will exact great vengeance upon them with angry rebukes. 170 Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I exact my vengeance upon them.’”
26:1 In the eleventh year, on the first day of the month, 171 the word of the Lord came to me: 26:2 “Son of man, because Tyre 172 has said about Jerusalem, 173 ‘Aha, the gateway of the peoples is broken; it has swung open to me. I will become rich, 174 now that she 175 has been destroyed,’ 26:3 therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, 176 I am against you, 177 O Tyre! I will bring up many nations against you, as the sea brings up its waves. 26:4 They will destroy the walls of Tyre and break down her towers. I will scrape her soil 178 from her and make her a bare rock. 26:5 She will be a place where fishing nets are spread, surrounded by the sea. For I have spoken, declares the sovereign Lord. She will become plunder for the nations, 26:6 and her daughters 179 who are in the field will be slaughtered by the sword. Then they will know that I am the Lord.
26:7 “For this is what the sovereign Lord says: Take note that 180 I am about to bring King Nebuchadrezzar 181 of Babylon, king of kings, against Tyre from the north, with horses, chariots, and horsemen, an army and hordes of people. 26:8 He will kill your daughters in the field with the sword. He will build a siege wall against you, erect a siege ramp against you, and raise a great shield against you. 26:9 He will direct the blows of his battering rams against your walls and tear down your towers with his weapons. 182 26:10 He will cover you with the dust kicked up by his many horses. 183 Your walls will shake from the noise of the horsemen, wheels, and chariots when he enters your gates like those who invade through a city’s broken walls. 184 26:11 With his horses’ hoofs he will trample all your streets. He will kill your people with the sword, and your strong pillars will tumble down to the ground. 26:12 They will steal your wealth and loot your merchandise. They will tear down your walls and destroy your luxurious 185 homes. Your stones, your trees, and your soil he will throw 186 into the water. 187 26:13 I will silence 188 the noise of your songs; the sound of your harps will be heard no more. 26:14 I will make you a bare rock; you will be a place where fishing nets are spread. You will never be built again, 189 for I, the Lord, have spoken, declares the sovereign Lord.
26:15 “This is what the sovereign Lord says to Tyre: Oh, how the coastlands will shake at the sound of your fall, when the wounded groan, at the massive slaughter in your midst! 26:16 All the princes of the sea will vacate 190 their thrones. They will remove their robes and strip off their embroidered clothes; they will clothe themselves with trembling. They will sit on the ground; they will tremble continually and be shocked at what has happened to you. 191 26:17 They will sing this lament over you: 192
“‘How you have perished – you have vanished 193 from the seas,
O renowned city, once mighty in the sea,
she and her inhabitants, who spread their terror! 194
26:18 Now the coastlands will tremble on the day of your fall;
the coastlands by the sea will be terrified by your passing.’ 195
26:19 “For this is what the sovereign Lord says: When I make you desolate like the uninhabited cities, when I bring up the deep over you and the surging 196 waters overwhelm you, 26:20 then I will bring you down to bygone people, 197 to be with those who descend to the pit. I will make you live in the lower parts of the earth, among 198 the primeval ruins, with those who descend to the pit, so that you will not be inhabited or stand 199 in the land of the living. 26:21 I will bring terrors on you, and you will be no more! Though you are sought after, you will never be found again, declares the sovereign Lord.”
27:1 The word of the Lord came to me: 27:2 “You, son of man, sing a lament for Tyre. 200 27:3 Say to Tyre, who sits at the entrance 201 of the sea, 202 merchant to the peoples on many coasts, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says:
“‘O Tyre, you have said, “I am perfectly beautiful.”
27:4 203 Your borders are in the heart of the seas;
your builders have perfected your beauty.
27:5 They crafted 204 all your planks out of fir trees from Senir; 205
they took a cedar from Lebanon to make your mast.
27:6 They made your oars from oaks of Bashan;
they made your deck 206 with cypresses 207 from the Kittean isles. 208
27:7 Fine linen from Egypt, woven with patterns, was used for your sail
to serve as your banner;
blue and purple from the coastlands of Elishah 209 was used for your deck’s awning.
27:8 The leaders 210 of Sidon 211 and Arvad 212 were your rowers;
your skilled 213 men, O Tyre, were your captains.
27:9 The elders of Gebal 214 and her skilled men were within you, mending cracks; 215
all the ships of the sea and their mariners were within you to trade for your merchandise. 216
27:10 Men of Persia, Lud, 217 and Put were in your army, men of war.
They hung shield and helmet on you; they gave you your splendor.
27:11 The Arvadites 218 joined your army on your walls all around,
and the Gammadites 219 were in your towers.
They hung their quivers 220 on your walls all around;
they perfected your beauty.
27:12 “‘Tarshish 221 was your trade partner because of your abundant wealth; they exchanged silver, iron, tin, and lead for your products. 27:13 Javan, Tubal, and Meshech were your clients; they exchanged slaves and bronze items for your merchandise. 27:14 Beth Togarmah exchanged horses, chargers, 222 and mules for your products. 27:15 The Dedanites 223 were your clients. Many coastlands were your customers; they paid 224 you with ivory tusks and ebony. 27:16 Edom 225 was your trade partner because of the abundance of your goods; they exchanged turquoise, purple, embroidered work, fine linen, coral, and rubies for your products. 27:17 Judah and the land of Israel were your clients; they traded wheat from Minnith, 226 millet, honey, olive oil, and balm for your merchandise. 27:18 Damascus was your trade partner because of the abundance of your goods and of all your wealth: wine from Helbon, white wool from Zahar, 27:19 and casks of wine 227 from Izal 228 they exchanged for your products. Wrought iron, cassia, and sweet cane were among your merchandise. 27:20 Dedan was your client in saddlecloths for riding. 27:21 Arabia and all the princes of Kedar were your trade partners; for lambs, rams, and goats they traded with you. 27:22 The merchants of Sheba and Raamah engaged in trade with you; they traded the best kinds of spices along with precious stones and gold for your products. 27:23 Haran, Kanneh, Eden, merchants from Sheba, Asshur, and Kilmad were your clients. 27:24 They traded with you choice garments, purple clothes and embroidered work, and multicolored carpets, bound and reinforced with cords; these were among your merchandise. 27:25 The ships of Tarshish 229 were the transports for your merchandise.
“‘So you were filled and weighed down in the heart of the seas.
27:26 Your rowers have brought you into surging waters.
The east wind has wrecked you in the heart of the seas.
27:27 Your wealth, products, and merchandise, your sailors and captains,
your ship’s carpenters, 230 your merchants,
and all your fighting men within you,
along with all your crew who are in you,
will fall into the heart of the seas on the day of your downfall.
27:28 At the sound of your captains’ cry the waves will surge; 231
27:29 They will descend from their ships – all who handle the oar,
the sailors and all the sea captains – they will stand on the land.
27:30 They will lament loudly 232 over you and cry bitterly.
They will throw dust on their heads and roll in the ashes; 233
27:31 they will tear out their hair because of you and put on sackcloth,
and they will weep bitterly over you with intense mourning. 234
27:32 As they wail they will lament over you, chanting:
“Who was like Tyre, like a tower 235 in the midst of the sea?”
27:33 When your products went out from the seas,
you satisfied many peoples;
with the abundance of your wealth and merchandise
you enriched the kings of the earth.
27:34 Now you are wrecked by the seas, in the depths of the waters;
your merchandise and all your company have sunk 236 along with you. 237
27:35 All the inhabitants of the coastlands are shocked at you,
and their kings are horribly afraid – their faces are troubled.
27:36 The traders among the peoples hiss at you;
you have become a horror, and will be no more.’”
28:1 The word of the Lord came to me: 28:2 “Son of man, say to the prince 238 of Tyre, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says:
“‘Your heart is proud 239 and you said, “I am a god; 240
I sit in the seat of gods, in the heart of the seas” –
yet you are a man and not a god,
though you think you are godlike. 241
28:3 Look, you are wiser than Daniel; 242
no secret is hidden from you. 243
28:4 By your wisdom and understanding you have gained wealth for yourself;
you have amassed gold and silver in your treasuries.
28:5 By your great skill 244 in trade you have increased your wealth,
and your heart is proud because of your wealth.
28:6 “‘Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says:
Because you think you are godlike, 245
28:7 I am about to bring foreigners 246 against you, the most terrifying of nations.
They will draw their swords against the grandeur made by your wisdom, 247
and they will defile your splendor.
28:8 They will bring you down to the pit, and you will die violently 248 in the heart of the seas.
28:9 Will you still say, “I am a god,” before the one who kills you –
though you are a man and not a god –
when you are in the power of those who wound you?
28:10 You will die the death of the uncircumcised 249 by the hand of foreigners;
for I have spoken, declares the sovereign Lord.’”
28:11 The word of the Lord came to me: 28:12 “Son of man, sing 250 a lament for the king of Tyre, and say to him, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says:
“‘You were the sealer 251 of perfection,
full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.
28:13 You were in Eden, the garden of God. 252
Every precious stone was your covering,
the ruby, topaz, and emerald,
the chrysolite, onyx, and jasper,
the sapphire, turquoise, and beryl; 253
your settings and mounts were made of gold.
On the day you were created they were prepared.
28:14 I placed you there with an anointed 254 guardian 255 cherub; 256
you were on the holy mountain of God;
you walked about amidst fiery stones.
28:15 You were blameless in your behavior 257 from the day you were created,
until sin was discovered in you.
28:16 In the abundance of your trade you were filled with violence, 258 and you sinned;
so I defiled you and banished you 259 from the mountain of God –
the guardian cherub expelled you 260 from the midst of the stones of fire.
28:17 Your heart was proud because of your beauty;
you corrupted your wisdom on account of your splendor.
I threw you down to the ground;
I placed you before kings, that they might see you.
28:18 By the multitude of your iniquities, through the sinfulness of your trade,
you desecrated your sanctuaries.
So I drew fire out from within you;
it consumed you,
and I turned you to ashes on the earth
before the eyes of all who saw you.
28:19 All who know you among the peoples are shocked at you;
you have become terrified and will be no more.’”
28:20 The word of the Lord came to me: 28:21 “Son of man, turn toward 261 Sidon 262 and prophesy against it. 28:22 Say, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says:
“‘Look, I am against you, 263 Sidon,
and I will magnify myself in your midst.
Then they will know that I am the Lord
when I execute judgments on her
and reveal my sovereign power 264 in her.
28:23 I will send a plague into the city 265 and bloodshed into its streets;
the slain will fall within it, by the sword that attacks it 266 from every side.
Then they will know that I am the Lord.
28:24 “‘No longer will Israel suffer from the sharp briers 267 or painful thorns of all who surround and scorn them. 268 Then they will know that I am the sovereign Lord.
28:25 “‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: When I regather the house of Israel from the peoples where they are dispersed, I will reveal my sovereign power 269 over them in the sight of the nations, and they will live in their land that I gave to my servant Jacob. 28:26 They will live securely in it; they will build houses and plant vineyards. They will live securely 270 when I execute my judgments on all those who scorn them and surround them. Then they will know that I am the Lord their God.’”
[11:19] 1 tc The MT reads “you”; many Hebrew
[11:19] 2 tn Heb “their flesh.”
[11:19] 3 tn Heb “heart of flesh.”
[11:1] 4 tn Or “spirit.” See note on “wind” in 2:2.
[11:1] 5 sn The phrase officials of the people occurs in Neh 11:1; 1 Chr 21:2; 2 Chr 24:23.
[25:2] 7 tn Heb “set your face toward.”
[25:2] 8 tn Heb “the sons of Ammon.” Ammon was located to the east of Israel.
[25:4] 10 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates being aware of or taking notice of something and has been translated here with a verb (so also throughout the chapter).
[25:4] 11 tn Heb “Look I am about to give you for a possession to.”
[25:5] 13 tn Heb “the sons of Ammon.”
[25:6] 16 tn Heb “with all your scorn in (the) soul.”
[25:7] 19 tc The translation here follows the marginal reading (Qere) of the Hebrew text. The consonantal text (Kethib) is meaningless.
[25:8] 22 sn Moab was located immediately south of Ammon.
[25:9] 26 tn Heb “from the cities.” The verb “eliminating” has been added in the translation to reflect the privative use of the preposition (see BDB 583 s.v. מִן 7.b).
[25:9] 27 tn Heb “from its cities, from its end.”
[25:10] 28 tn Heb “I will give it for a possession.”
[25:10] 29 tn Heb “the sons of Ammon” (twice in this verse).
[25:12] 31 sn Edom was located south of Moab.
[25:12] 32 tn Heb “and they have become guilty, becoming guilty.” The infinitive absolute following the finite verb makes the statement emphatic and draws attention to the degree of guilt incurred by Edom due to its actions.
[25:12] 33 tn Heb “and they have taken vengeance.”
[25:12] 34 sn Edom apparently in some way assisted in the destruction of Jerusalem in 587/6
[25:13] 34 tn Heb “and I will cut off from her man and beast.”
[25:15] 40 sn The Philistines inhabited the coastal plain by the Mediterranean Sea, west of Judah.
[25:15] 41 tn Heb “have acted with vengeance and taken vengeance with vengeance.” The repetition emphasizes the degree of vengeance which they exhibited, presumably toward Judah.
[25:15] 42 tn Heb “with scorn in (the) soul.”
[25:15] 43 tn The object is not specified in the Hebrew text, but has been clarified as “Judah” in the translation.
[25:15] 44 tn Heb “to destroy (with) perpetual hostility.” Joel 3:4-8 also speaks of the Philistines taking advantage of the fall of Judah.
[25:16] 43 tn In Hebrew the verb “and I will cut off” sounds like its object, “the Cherethites,” and draws attention to the statement.
[25:16] 44 sn This is a name for the Philistines, many of whom migrated to Palestine from Crete.
[25:17] 46 tn Heb “with acts of punishment of anger.”
[23:3] 49 tn In the Hebrew text the subject is left unstated and must be supplied from the context.
[23:4] 52 tn The names Oholah and Oholibah are both derived from the word meaning “tent.” The meaning of Oholah is “her tent,” while Oholibah means “my tent is in her.”
[23:4] 53 sn In this allegory the Lord is depicted as being the husband of two wives. The OT law prohibited a man from marrying sisters (Lev 18:18), but the practice is attested in the OT (cf. Jacob). The metaphor is utilized here for illustrative purposes and does not mean that the Lord condoned such a practice or bigamy in general.
[23:5] 55 tn Heb “while she was under me.” The expression indicates that Oholah is viewed as the Lord’s wife. See Num 5:19-20, 29.
[23:5] 57 tn The term apparently refers to Assyrian military officers; it is better construed with the description that follows. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:738.
[23:7] 58 tn Heb “lusted after.”
[23:8] 61 tn Heb “and poured out their harlotry on her.”
[23:9] 64 tn Heb “I gave her into the hand of her lovers, into the hand of the sons of Assyria.”
[23:11] 70 tn The word “this” is not in the original text.
[23:14] 73 tn The only other occurrence of the Hebrew term is in Jer 22:14.
[23:15] 76 tn Heb “the sons of Babel.”
[23:16] 79 tn Heb “at the appearance of her eyes.”
[23:16] 80 sn The Chaldeans were prominent tribal groups of Babylonia. The imagery is reminiscent of events in the reigns of Hezekiah (2 Kgs 20:12-15) and Jehoiakim (2 Kgs 23:34-24:1).
[23:17] 82 tn Heb “The sons of Babel came to her on a bed of love.”
[23:18] 85 tn Heb “She exposed her harlotry and she exposed her nakedness.”
[23:20] 88 tn Heb “She lusted after their concubines (?) whose flesh was the flesh of donkeys.” The phrase “their concubines” is extremely problematic here. The pronoun is masculine plural, suggesting that the Egyptian men are in view, but how concubines would fit into the picture envisioned here is not clear. Some suggest that Ezekiel uses the term in an idiomatic sense of “paramour,” but this still fails to explain how the pronoun relates to the noun. It is more likely that the term refers here to the Egyptians’ genitals. The relative pronoun that follows introduces a more specific description of their genitals.
[23:21] 91 tn Or “you took note of.” The Hebrew verb פָּקַד (paqad) in the Qal implies evaluating something and then acting in light of that judgment; here the prophet depicts Judah as approving of her youthful unfaithfulness and then magnifying it at the present time. Some translations assume the verb should be repointed as a Niphal, rendering “you missed” or by extension “you longed for,” but such an extension of the Niphal “to be missing” is otherwise unattested.
[23:21] 92 tn Heb “when (they) did,” but the verb makes no sense here and is better emended to “when (they) fondled,” a verb used in vv. 3 and 8. See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:43.
[23:21] 93 tn Heb “for the sake of,” but the expression is awkward and is better emended to read “to squeeze.” See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:43.
[23:22] 94 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
[23:23] 97 sn Pekod was the name of an Aramean tribe (known as Puqudu in Mesopotamian texts) that lived in the region of the Tigris River.
[23:23] 98 sn Shoa was the name of a nomadic people (the Sutu) that lived in Mesopotamia.
[23:23] 99 sn Koa was the name of another Mesopotamian people group (the Qutu).
[23:24] 100 tn Heb “come against.”
[23:24] 101 tn This is the only occurrence of this term in the OT. The precise meaning is uncertain.
[23:24] 102 tn Heb “an assembly of peoples.”
[23:24] 103 tn Heb “I will place before them judgment.”
[23:25] 104 tn Heb “they will remove.”
[23:27] 106 tn Heb “I will cause your obscene conduct to cease from you and your harlotry from the land of Egypt.”
[23:27] 107 tn Heb “lift your eyes to them.”
[23:28] 109 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
[23:28] 110 tn Heb “I am giving you into the hand of.”
[23:29] 112 tn The Hebrew term means “labor,” but by extension it can also refer to that for which one works.
[23:29] 113 tn Heb “The nakedness of your prostitution will be exposed, and your obscene conduct and your harlotry.”
[23:30] 115 tn The infinitive absolute continues the sequence begun in v. 28: “Look here, I am about to deliver you.” See Joüon 2:430 §123.w.
[23:31] 118 tn Heb “her cup.” A cup of intoxicating strong drink is used, here and elsewhere, as a metaphor for judgment because both leave one confused and reeling. (See Jer 25:15, 17, 28; Hab 2:16.) The cup of wrath is a theme also found in the NT (Mark 14:36).
[23:32] 121 sn The image of a deep and wide cup suggests the degree of punishment; it will be extensive and leave the victim helpless.
[23:33] 124 tn Heb “filled with.”
[23:34] 127 tn Heb “You will drink it and drain (it).”
[23:34] 128 tn D. I. Block compares this to the idiom of “licking the plate” (Ezekiel [NICOT], 1:754, n. 137). The text is difficult as the word translated “gnaw” is rare. The noun is used of the shattered pieces of pottery and so could envision a broken cup. But the Piel verb form is used in only one other place (Num 24:8), where it is a denominative from the noun “bone” and seems to mean to “break (bones).” Why it would be collocated with “sherds” is not clear. For this reason some emend the phrase to read “consume its dregs” (see L. C. Allen, Ezekiel [WBC], 2:44) or emend the verb to read “swallow,” as if the intoxicated Oholibah breaks the cup and then eats the very sherds in an effort to get every last drop of the beverage that dampens them.
[23:34] 129 sn The severe action is more extreme than beating the breasts in anguish (Isa 32:12; Nah 2:7). It is also ironic for these are the very breasts she so blatantly offered to her lovers (vv. 3, 21).
[23:35] 130 tn Heb “and you cast me behind your back.” The expression pictures her rejection of the Lord (see 1 Kgs 14:9).
[23:35] 131 tn The word “punishment” is not in the Hebrew text but is demanded by the context.
[23:36] 133 tn Heb “will you judge.” Here the imperfect form of the verb is probably used with a desiderative nuance. Addressed to the prophet, “judge” means to warn of or pronounce God’s impending judgment. See 20:4; 22:2.
[23:37] 136 sn The Lord speaks here in the role of the husband of the sisters.
[23:37] 137 tn Heb “they have passed to them for food.” The verb is commonly taken to refer to passing children through fire, especially as an offering to the pagan god Molech. See Jer 32:35.
[23:38] 139 tn Heb “in that day.”
[23:40] 142 tn Heb “to whom a messenger was sent, and look, they came.” Foreign alliances are in view here.
[23:40] 143 tn The Hebrew verb form is feminine singular, indicating that Oholibah (Judah) is specifically addressed here. This address continues through verse 42a (note “her”), but then both sisters are described in verse 42b, where the feminine pronouns are again plural.
[23:42] 145 tn Heb “(was) in her.”
[23:42] 146 tn Heb “and men from the multitude of mankind.”
[23:42] 147 tn An alternate reading is “drunkards.” Sheba is located in the area of modern day Yemen.
[23:42] 148 tn Heb “they”; the referents (the sisters) have been specified in the translation for the sake of clarity.
[23:44] 148 tn Heb “and they came to her.”
[23:45] 151 tn Heb “and upright men will judge them (with) the judgment of adulteresses and the judgment of those who shed blood.”
[23:46] 154 tn Heb “assembly.”
[23:46] 155 tn Heb “give them to.”
[23:47] 157 tn The Hebrew text adds “with fire.”
[23:49] 160 tn Heb “and the sins of your idols you will bear.” By extension it can mean the punishment for the sins.
[24:1] 163 tn The date of this oracle was January 15, 588
[24:2] 166 tn Heb “lean on, put pressure on.”
[24:2] 167 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[24:3] 169 sn The book of Ezekiel frequently refers to the Israelites as a rebellious house (Ezek 2:5, 6, 8; 3:9, 26-27; 12:2-3, 9, 25; 17:12; 24:3).
[24:3] 170 sn See Ezek 11:3-12.
[24:6] 173 tn Heb “has not gone out.”
[24:6] 174 tn Here “lot” may refer to the decision made by casting lots; it is not chosen at all.
[24:11] 175 tn Heb “set it upon its coals, empty.”
[24:11] 176 tn Or “rust” (so also in v. 12).
[24:12] 178 tn Heb “(with) toil she has wearied.” The meaning of the statement is unclear in the Hebrew text; some follow the LXX and delete it. The first word in the statement (rendered “toil” in the literal translation above) occurs only here in the OT, and the verb “she has wearied” lacks a stated object. Elsewhere the Hiphil of the verb refers to wearying someone or trying someone’s patience. The feminine subject is apparently the symbolic pot.
[24:12] 179 tn Heb “does not go out.”
[24:12] 180 tn Heb “in fire its rust.” The meaning of the expression is unclear. The translation understands the statement as a command to burn the rust away. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:768.
[24:13] 181 tn Heb “in your uncleanness (is) obscene conduct.”
[24:13] 182 tn Heb “because I cleansed you.” In this context (see especially the very next statement), the statement must refer to divine intention and purpose. Despite God’s efforts to cleanse his people, they resisted him and remained morally impure.
[24:13] 183 tn The Hebrew text adds the word “again.”
[24:14] 184 tn Heb “it”; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[24:14] 185 tn Or perhaps, “change my mind.”
[24:14] 186 tc Some medieval Hebrew
[24:16] 187 tn Heb “a strike.”
[24:17] 190 tn Or “Groan silently. As to the dead….” Cf. M. Greenberg’s suggestion that דֹּם מֵתִים (dom metim) be taken together and דֹּם be derived from ָדּמַם (damam, “to moan, murmur”). See M. Greenberg, Ezekiel (AB), 2:508.
[24:17] 191 tn Heb “(For) the dead mourning you shall not conduct.” In the Hebrew text the word translated “dead” is plural, indicating that mourning rites are in view. Such rites would involve outward demonstrations of one’s sorrow, including wailing and weeping.
[24:17] 192 sn The turban would normally be removed for mourning (Josh 7:6; 1 Sam 4:12).
[24:17] 193 sn Mourning rites included covering the lower part of the face. See Lev 13:45.
[24:17] 194 tn Heb “the bread of men.” The translation follows the suggestion accepted by M. Greenberg (Ezekiel [AB], 2:509) that this refers to a meal brought by comforters to the one mourning. Some repoint the consonantal text to read “the bread of despair” (see L. C. Allen, Ezekiel [WBC], 2:56), while others, with support from the Targum and Vulgate, emend the consonantal text to read “the bread of mourners” (see D. I. Block, Ezekiel [NICOT], 1:784).
[24:18] 193 tn This may refer to the following morning. For a discussion of various interpretive options in understanding the chronology reflected in verse 18, see D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:790.
[24:21] 196 tn Heb “the pride of your strength” means “your strong pride.”
[24:21] 197 sn Heb “the delight of your eyes.” Just as Ezekiel was deprived of his beloved wife (v. 16, the “desire” of his “eyes”) so the Lord would be forced to remove the object of his devotion, the temple, which symbolized his close relationship to his covenant people.
[24:21] 198 tn Heb “the object of compassion of your soul.” The accentuation in the traditional Hebrew text indicates that the descriptive phrases (“the source of your confident pride, the object in which your eyes delight, and your life’s passion”) modify the preceding “my sanctuary.”
[24:23] 202 tn The same verb appears in 4:17 and 33:10.
[24:23] 203 tn Or “in your punishment.” The phrase “in/for [a person’s] iniquity/punishment” occurs fourteen times in Ezekiel: here; 3:18, 19; 4:17; 7:13, 16; 18:17, 18, 19, 20; 33:6, 8, 9; 39:23. The Hebrew word for “iniquity” may also mean the “punishment” for iniquity or “guilt” of iniquity.
[24:25] 205 tn Heb “(Will) it not (be) in the day I take?”
[24:25] 206 tn Heb “the uplifting of their soul.” According to BDB 672 s.v. מַשָּׂא 2, the term “uplifting” refers to “that to which they lift up their soul, their heart’s desire.” However, this text is the only one listed for this use. It seems more likely that the term has its well-attested nuance of “burden, load,” here and refers to that which weighs them down emotionally and is a constant source of concern or worry.
[24:25] 207 tn In the Hebrew text there is no conjunction before “their sons and daughters.” For this reason one might assume that the preceding descriptive phrases refer to the sons and daughters, but verse 21 suggests otherwise. The descriptive phrases appear to refer to the “stronghold,” which parallels “my sanctuary” in verse 21. The children constitute a separate category.
[24:26] 208 tn Heb “to make the ears hear.”
[24:27] 211 tn Heb “your mouth will open.”
[25:2] 214 tn Heb “set your face toward.”
[25:2] 215 tn Heb “the sons of Ammon.” Ammon was located to the east of Israel.
[25:4] 217 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates being aware of or taking notice of something and has been translated here with a verb (so also throughout the chapter).
[25:4] 218 tn Heb “Look I am about to give you for a possession to.”
[25:5] 220 tn Heb “the sons of Ammon.”
[25:6] 223 tn Heb “with all your scorn in (the) soul.”
[25:7] 226 tc The translation here follows the marginal reading (Qere) of the Hebrew text. The consonantal text (Kethib) is meaningless.
[25:8] 229 sn Moab was located immediately south of Ammon.
[25:9] 233 tn Heb “from the cities.” The verb “eliminating” has been added in the translation to reflect the privative use of the preposition (see BDB 583 s.v. מִן 7.b).
[25:9] 234 tn Heb “from its cities, from its end.”
[25:10] 235 tn Heb “I will give it for a possession.”
[25:10] 236 tn Heb “the sons of Ammon” (twice in this verse).
[25:10] 237 tn Heb “the sons.”
[25:12] 238 sn Edom was located south of Moab.
[25:12] 239 tn Heb “and they have become guilty, becoming guilty.” The infinitive absolute following the finite verb makes the statement emphatic and draws attention to the degree of guilt incurred by Edom due to its actions.
[25:12] 240 tn Heb “and they have taken vengeance.”
[25:12] 241 sn Edom apparently in some way assisted in the destruction of Jerusalem in 587/6
[25:13] 241 tn Heb “and I will cut off from her man and beast.”
[25:15] 247 sn The Philistines inhabited the coastal plain by the Mediterranean Sea, west of Judah.
[25:15] 248 tn Heb “have acted with vengeance and taken vengeance with vengeance.” The repetition emphasizes the degree of vengeance which they exhibited, presumably toward Judah.
[25:15] 249 tn Heb “with scorn in (the) soul.”
[25:15] 250 tn The object is not specified in the Hebrew text, but has been clarified as “Judah” in the translation.
[25:15] 251 tn Heb “to destroy (with) perpetual hostility.” Joel 3:4-8 also speaks of the Philistines taking advantage of the fall of Judah.
[25:16] 250 tn In Hebrew the verb “and I will cut off” sounds like its object, “the Cherethites,” and draws attention to the statement.
[25:16] 251 sn This is a name for the Philistines, many of whom migrated to Palestine from Crete.
[25:17] 253 tn Heb “with acts of punishment of anger.”
[26:1] 256 tc Date formulae typically include the month. According to D. I. Block (Ezekiel [NICOT], 2:34, n. 27) some emend to “in the twelfth year in the eleventh month” based partially on the copy of the LXX from Alexandrinus, where Albright suggested that “eleventh month” may have dropped out due to haplography.
[26:2] 259 sn Tyre was located on the Mediterranean coast north of Israel.
[26:2] 260 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[26:2] 261 tn Heb “I will be filled.”
[26:2] 262 sn That is, Jerusalem.
[26:3] 262 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) draws attention to something and has been translated here as a verb.
[26:3] 263 tn Or “I challenge you.” The phrase “I am against you” may be a formula for challenging someone to combat or a duel. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:201-2, and P. Humbert, “Die Herausforderungsformel ‘h!nn#n' ?l?K>,’” ZAW 45 (1933): 101-8. The Hebrew text switches to a second feminine singular form here, indicating that personified Jerusalem is addressed (see vv. 5-6a). The address to Jerusalem continues through v. 15. In vv. 16-17 the second masculine plural is used, as the people are addressed.
[26:6] 268 sn That is, the towns located inland that were under Tyre’s rule.
[26:7] 271 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) draws attention to something.
[26:7] 272 tn Heb “Nebuchadrezzar” is a variant and more correct spelling of Nebuchadnezzar, as the Babylonian name Nabu-kudurri-usur has an an “r” rather than an “n.”
[26:10] 277 tn Heb “From the abundance of his horses he will cover you (with) their dust.”
[26:10] 278 tn Heb “like those who enter a breached city.”
[26:12] 280 tn Heb “desirable.”
[26:12] 282 tn Heb “into the midst of the water.”
[26:13] 283 tn Heb “cause to end.”
[26:14] 286 sn This prophecy was fulfilled by Alexander the Great in 332
[26:16] 289 tn Heb “descend from.”
[26:16] 290 tn Heb “and they will be astonished over you.”
[26:17] 292 tn Heb “and they will lift up over you a lament and they will say to you.”
[26:17] 293 tn Heb “O inhabitant.” The translation follows the LXX and understands a different Hebrew verb, meaning “cease,” behind the consonantal text. See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel [WBC], 2:72, and D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:43.
[26:17] 294 tn Heb “she and her inhabitants who placed their terror to all her inhabitants.” The relationship of the final prepositional phrase to what precedes is unclear. The preposition probably has a specifying function here, drawing attention to Tyre’s inhabitants as the source of the terror mentioned prior to this. In this case, one might paraphrase verse 17b: “she and her inhabitants, who spread their terror; yes, her inhabitants (were the source of this terror).”
[26:18] 295 tn Heb “from your going out.”
[26:20] 301 tn Heb “to the people of antiquity.”
[26:20] 302 tn Heb “like.” The translation assumes an emendation of the preposition כְּ (kÿ, “like”), to בְּ (bÿ, “in, among”).
[26:20] 303 tn Heb “and I will place beauty.” This reading makes little sense; many, following the lead of the LXX, emend the text to read “nor will you stand” with the negative particle before the preceding verb understood by ellipsis; see L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:73. D. I. Block (Ezekiel [NICOT], 2:47) offers another alternative, taking the apparent first person verb form as an archaic second feminine form and translating “nor radiate splendor.”
[27:2] 304 tn Heb “lift up over Tyre a lament.”
[27:3] 307 tn Heb “entrances.” The plural noun may reflect the fact that Tyre had two main harbors.
[27:3] 308 sn Rome, another economic power, is described in a similar way in Rev 17:1.
[27:4] 310 tn The city of Tyre is described in the following account as a merchant ship.
[27:5] 314 tn Perhaps the hull or deck. The term is dual, so perhaps it refers to a double-decked ship.
[27:6] 317 tc The Hebrew reads “Your deck they made ivory, daughter of Assyria.” The syntactically difficult “ivory” is understood here as dittography and omitted, though some construe this to refer to ivory inlays. “Daughter of Assyria” is understood here as improper word division and the vowels repointed as “cypresses.”
[27:6] 318 tn Heb “from the coastlands (or islands) of Kittim,” generally understood to be a reference to the island of Cyprus, where the Phoenicians had a trading colony on the southeast coast. Many modern English versions have “Cyprus” (CEV, TEV), “the coastlands of Cyprus” (NASB), “the coasts of Cyprus” (NIV, NRSV), or “the southern coasts of Cyprus” (NLT).
[27:7] 319 sn This is probably a reference to Cyprus.
[27:8] 322 tc The MT reads “the residents of”; the LXX reads “your rulers who dwell in.” With no apparent reason for the LXX to add “the rulers” many suppose something has dropped out of the Hebrew text. While more than one may be possible, Allen’s proposal, positing a word meaning “elders,” is the most likely to explain the omission in the MT from a graphic standpoint and also provides a parallel to the beginning of v. 9. See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:81.a parallel to v. 9.
[27:8] 323 map For location see Map1 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.
[27:8] 324 sn Sidon and Arvad, like Tyre, were Phoenician coastal cities.
[27:9] 325 sn Another Phoenician coastal city located between Sidon and Arvad.
[27:9] 326 tn Heb “strengthening damages.” Here “to strengthen” means to repair. The word for “damages” occurs several times in 1 Kgs 12 about some type of damage to the temple, which may have referred to or included cracks. Since the context describes Tyre in its glory, we do not expect this reference to damages to be of significant scale, even if there are repairmen. This may refer to using pitch to seal the seams of the ship, which had to be done periodically and could be considered routine maintenance rather than repair of damage.
[27:9] 327 sn The reference to “all the ships of the sea…within you” suggests that the metaphor is changing; previously Tyre had been described as a magnificent ship, but now the description shifts back to an actual city. The “ships of the sea” were within Tyre’s harbor. Verse 11 refers to “walls” and “towers” of the city.
[27:11] 331 tn Heb “sons of Arvad.”
[27:11] 332 sn The identity of the Gammadites is uncertain.
[27:11] 333 tn See note on “quivers” in Jer 51:11 on the meaning of Hebrew שֶׁלֶט (shelet) and also M. Greenberg, Ezekiel (AB), 2:553.
[27:12] 334 sn Tarshish refers to a distant seaport sometimes believed to be located in southern Spain (others identified it as Carthage in North Africa). In any event it represents here a distant, rich, and exotic port which was a trading partner of Tyre.
[27:14] 337 tn The way in which these horses may have been distinguished from other horses is unknown. Cf. ASV “war-horses” (NASB, NIV, NRSV, CEV all similar); NLT “chariot horses.”
[27:15] 340 tn Heb “sons of Dedan.”
[27:15] 341 tn Heb “they returned as your gift.”
[27:16] 343 tc Many Hebrew
[27:17] 346 sn The location is mentioned in Judg 11:33.
[27:19] 349 tc The MT leaves v. 18 as an incomplete sentence and begins v. 19 with “and Dan and Javan (Ionia) from Uzal.” The LXX mentions “wine.” The translation follows an emendation assuming some confusions of vav and yod. See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:82.
[27:19] 350 sn According to L. C. Allen (Ezekiel [WBC], 2:82), Izal was located between Haran and the Tigris and was famous for its wine.
[27:25] 352 tn Or perhaps “Large merchant ships.” The expression “ships of Tarshish” may describe a class of vessel, that is, large oceangoing merchant ships.
[27:27] 355 tn Heb “your repairers of damage.” See v. 9.
[27:28] 358 tn Compare this phrase to Isa 57:20 and Amos 8:8. See M. Greenberg, Ezekiel (AB), 2:561.
[27:30] 361 tn Heb “make heard over you with their voice.”
[27:30] 362 tn Note a similar expression to “roll in the ashes” in Mic 1:10.
[27:31] 364 tn Heb “and they will weep concerning you with bitterness of soul, (with) bitter mourning.”
[27:32] 367 tn As it stands, the meaning of the Hebrew text is unclear. The translation follows the suggestion of M. Dahood, “Accadian-Ugaritic dmt in Ezekiel 27:32,” Bib 45 (1964): 83-84. Several other explanations and emendations have been offered. See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:83, and D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:85-86, for a list of options.
[27:34] 371 tn Heb “in the midst of you.”
[28:2] 373 tn Or “ruler” (NIV, NCV).
[28:2] 374 tn Heb “lifted up.”
[28:2] 375 tn Or “I am divine.”
[28:2] 376 tn Heb “and you made your heart (mind) like the heart (mind) of gods.”
[28:3] 376 sn Or perhaps “Danel” (so TEV), referring to a ruler known from Canaanite legend. See the note on “Daniel” in 14:14. A reference to Danel (preserved in legend at Ugarit, near the northern end of the Phoenician coast) makes more sense here when addressing Tyre than in 14:14.
[28:3] 377 sn The tone here is sarcastic, reflecting the ruler’s view of himself.
[28:6] 382 tn Heb “because of your making your heart like the heart of gods.”
[28:7] 385 sn This is probably a reference to the Babylonians.
[28:7] 386 tn Heb “they will draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom.”
[28:8] 388 tn Heb “you will die the death of the slain.”
[28:10] 391 sn The Phoenicians practiced circumcision, so the language here must be figurative, indicating that they would be treated in a disgraceful manner. Uncircumcised peoples were viewed as inferior, unclean, and perhaps even sub-human. See 31:18 and 32:17-32, as well as the discussion in D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:99.
[28:12] 395 tn For a discussion of possible nuances of this phrase, see M. Greenberg, Ezekiel (AB), 2:580-81.
[28:13] 397 sn The imagery of the lament appears to draw upon an extrabiblical Eden tradition about the expulsion of the first man (see v. 14 and the note there) from the garden due to his pride. The biblical Eden tradition speaks of cherubs placed as guardians at the garden entrance following the sin of Adam and Eve (Gen 3:24), but no guardian cherub like the one described in verse 14 is depicted or mentioned in the biblical account. Ezekiel’s imagery also appears to reflect Mesopotamian and Canaanite mythology at certain points. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:119-20.
[28:13] 398 tn The exact identification of each gemstone is uncertain. The list should be compared to that of the priest in Exod 28:17-20, which lists twelve stones in rows of three. The LXX apparently imports the Exod 28 list. See reference to the types of stones in L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:91.
[28:14] 400 tn Or “winged”; see L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:91.
[28:14] 401 tn The meaning of this phrase in Hebrew is uncertain. The word translated here “guards” occurs in Exod 25:20 in reference to the cherubim “covering” the ark.
[28:14] 402 tn Heb “you (were) an anointed cherub that covers and I placed you.” In the Hebrew text the ruler of Tyre is equated with a cherub, and the verb “I placed you” is taken with what follows (“on the holy mountain of God”). However, this reading is problematic. The pronoun “you” at the beginning of verse 14 is feminine singular in the Hebrew text; elsewhere in this passage the ruler of Tyre is addressed with masculine singular forms. It is possible that the pronoun is a rare (see Deut 5:24; Num 11:15) or defectively written (see 1 Sam 24:19; Neh 9:6; Job 1:10; Ps 6:3; Eccl 7:22) masculine form, but it is more likely that the form should be repointed as the preposition “with” (see the LXX). In this case the ruler of Tyre is compared to the first man, not to a cherub. If this emendation is accepted, then the verb “I placed you” belongs with what precedes and concludes the first sentence in the verse. It is noteworthy that the verbs in the second and third lines of the verse also appear at the end of the sentence in the Hebrew text. The presence of a conjunction at the beginning of “I placed you” is problematic for the proposal, but it may reflect a later misunderstanding of the syntax of the verse. For a defense of the proposed emendation, see L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:91.
[28:16] 406 tn Heb “they filled your midst with violence.”
[28:16] 407 tn Heb “I defiled you.” The presence of the preposition “from” following the verb indicates that a verb of motion is implied as well. See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:91.
[28:16] 408 tn Heb “and I expelled you, O guardian cherub.” The Hebrew text takes the verb as first person and understands “guardian cherub” as a vocative, in apposition to the pronominal suffix on the verb. However, if the emendation in verse 14a is accepted (see the note above), then one may follow the LXX here as well and emend the verb to a third person perfect. In this case the subject of the verb is the guardian cherub. See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:91.
[28:21] 409 tn Heb “set your face against.”
[28:21] 410 sn Sidon was located 25 miles north of Tyre.
[28:22] 412 tn Or “I challenge you.” The phrase “I am against you” may be a formula for challenging someone to combat or a duel. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:201-2, and P. Humbert, “Die Herausforderungsformel ‘h!nn#n' ?l?K>,’” ZAW 45 (1933): 101-8.
[28:22] 413 tn Or “reveal my holiness.” God’s “holiness” is fundamentally his transcendence as sovereign ruler of the world. The revelation of his authority and power through judgment is in view in this context.
[28:23] 415 tn Heb “into it”; the referent of the feminine pronoun has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[28:23] 416 tn Heb “by a sword against it.”
[28:24] 418 sn Similar language is used in reference to Israel’s adversaries in Num 33:55; Josh 23:13.
[28:24] 419 tn Heb “and there will not be for the house of Israel a brier that pricks and a thorn that inflicts pain from all the ones who surround them, the ones who scorn them.”
[28:25] 421 tn Or “reveal my holiness.” See verse 22.
[28:26] 424 sn This promise was given in Lev 25:18-19.
