Ezekiel 18:6

18:6 does not eat pagan sacrifices on the mountains ¹  or pray to the idols ²  of the house of Israel, does not defile his neighbor’s wife, does not have sexual relations with a ³  woman during her period,

Ezekiel 18:11

18:11 (though the father did not do any of them). ⁴  He eats pagan sacrifices on the mountains, ⁵  defiles his neighbor’s wife,

Ezekiel 18:15

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,

Ezekiel 22:9-11

22:9 Slanderous men shed blood within you. ⁶  Those who live within you eat pagan sacrifices on the mountains; ⁷  they commit obscene acts among you. ⁸  22:10 They have sex with their father’s wife within you; ⁹  they violate women during their menstrual period within you. ¹⁰  22:11 One ¹¹  commits an abominable act with his neighbor’s wife; another obscenely defiles his daughter-in-law; another violates ¹²  his sister – his father’s daughter ¹³  – within you.

Jeremiah 5:8-9

5:8 They are like lusty, well-fed ¹⁴  stallions.

Each of them lusts after ¹⁵  his neighbor’s wife.

5:9 I will surely punish them for doing such things!” says the Lord.

“I will surely bring retribution on such a nation as this!” ¹⁶ 

[18:6]  ¹ 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]  ² tn Heb, “does not lift up his eyes.” This refers to looking to idols for help.

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

[18:11]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ sn See note on “mountains” in v. 6.

[22:9]  ⁶ tn Heb “men of slander are in you in order to shed blood.”

[22:9]  ⁷ tn Heb “and on the mountains they eat within you.” The mountains mentioned here were the site of pagan sacrifices. See 18:6.

[22:9]  ⁸ sn This statement introduces vv. 10-11 and refers in general terms to the sexual sins described there. For the legal background of vv. 10-11, see Lev 18:7-20; 20:10-21; Deut 22:22-23, 30; 27:22.

[22:10]  ⁹ tn Heb “the nakedness of a father one uncovers within you.” The ancient versions read the verb as plural (“they uncover”). If the singular is retained, it must be taken as indefinite and representative of the entire group. The idiomatic expression “uncover the nakedness” refers here to sexual intercourse (cf. Lev 18:6). To uncover a father’s nakedness could include sexual relations with one’s own mother (Lev 18:7), but more likely it refers to having intercourse with another wife of one’s father, such as a stepmother (Lev 18:8; cf. Gen 35:22; 49:4).

[22:10]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “(one who is) unclean due to the impurity they humble within you.” The use of the verb “to humble” suggests that these men forced themselves upon women during menstruation. Having sexual relations with a woman during her period was forbidden by the Law (Lev 18:19; 20:18).

[22:11]  ¹¹ tn Heb “a man.”

[22:11]  ¹² tn The verb is the same one used in verse 10b and suggests forcible sexual violation of the woman.

[22:11]  ¹³ sn Sexual relations with one’s half-sister may be primarily in view here. See Lev 18:9; 20:17.

[5:8]  ¹⁴ tn The meanings of these two adjectives are uncertain. The translation of the first adjective is based on assuming that the word is a defectively written participle related to the noun “testicle” (a Hiphil participle מַאֲשִׁכִים [ma’ashikhim] from a verb related to אֶשֶׁךְ [’eshekh, “testicle”]; cf. Lev 21:20) and hence “having testicles” (cf. HALOT 1379 s.v. שָׁכָה) instead of the Masoretic form מַשְׁכִּים (mashkim) from a root שָׁכָה (shakhah), which is otherwise unattested in either verbal or nominal forms. The second adjective is best derived from a verb root meaning “to feed” (a Hophal participle מוּזָנִים [muzanim, the Kethib] from a root זוּן [zun; cf. BDB 266 s.v. זוּן] for which there is the cognate noun מָזוֹן [mazon; cf. 2 Chr 11:23]). This is more likely than the derivation from a root יָזַן ([yazan]reading מְיֻזָּנִים [mÿyuzzanim], a Pual participle with the Qere) which is otherwise unattested in verbal or nominal forms and whose meaning is dependent only on a supposed Arabic cognate (cf. HALOT 387 s.v. יָזַן).

[5:8]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “neighs after.”

[5:9]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “Should I not punish them…? Should I not bring retribution…?” The rhetorical questions have the force of strong declarations.