Ezekiel 2:10

2:10 He unrolled it before me, and it had writing on the front ¹  and back; ²  written on it were laments, mourning, and woe.

Ezekiel 3:14

3:14 A wind lifted me up and carried me away. I went bitterly, ³  my spirit full of fury, and the hand of the Lord rested powerfully ⁴  on me.

[2:10]  ¹ tn Heb “on the face.”

[2:10]  ² 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.

[3:14]  ³ 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]  ⁴ 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.