Ezekiel 3:1

3:1 He said to me, “Son of man, eat what you see in front of you ¹  – eat this scroll – and then go and speak to the house of Israel.”

Ezekiel 1:1

A Vision of God’s Glory

1:1 In the thirtieth year, ²  on the fifth day of the fourth month, while I was among the exiles ³  at the Kebar River, ⁴  the heavens opened ⁵  and I saw a divine vision. ⁶ 

Ezekiel 18:1--19:14

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?’ ⁷ 

18:3 “As surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, ⁸  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 ⁹  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 ¹⁰  or pray to the idols ¹¹  of the house of Israel, does not defile his neighbor’s wife, does not have sexual relations with a ¹²  woman during her period, 18:7 does not oppress anyone, but gives the debtor back whatever was given in pledge, ¹³  does not commit robbery, ¹⁴  but gives his bread to the hungry and clothes the naked, 18:8 does not engage in usury or charge interest, ¹⁵  but refrains ¹⁶  from wrongdoing, promotes true justice ¹⁷  between men, 18:9 and follows my statutes and observes my regulations by carrying them out. ¹⁸  That man ¹⁹  is righteous; he will certainly live, ²⁰  declares the sovereign Lord.

18:10 “Suppose such a man has ²¹  a violent son who sheds blood and does any of these things ²²  mentioned previously 18:11 (though the father did not do any of them). ²³  He eats pagan sacrifices on the mountains, ²⁴  defiles his neighbor’s wife, 18:12 oppresses the poor and the needy, ²⁵  commits robbery, does not give back what was given in pledge, prays to ²⁶  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. ²⁷  He will bear the responsibility for his own death. ²⁸ 

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. ²⁹  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, ³⁰  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; ³¹  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 ³²  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 ³³  for his father’s iniquity, and a father will not suffer ³⁴  for his son’s iniquity; the righteous person will be judged according to his righteousness, and the wicked person according to his wickedness. ³⁵ 

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 ³⁶  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. ³⁷ 

18:25 “Yet you say, ‘The Lord’s conduct ³⁸  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; ³⁹  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 ⁴⁰  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, ⁴¹  O house of Israel, declares the sovereign Lord. Repent ⁴²  and turn from all your wickedness; then it will not be an obstacle leading to iniquity. ⁴³  18:31 Throw away all your sins you have committed and fashion yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! ⁴⁴  Why should you die, O house of Israel? 18:32 For I take no delight in the death of anyone, ⁴⁵  declares the sovereign Lord. Repent and live!

Lament for the Princes of Israel

19:1 “And you, sing ⁴⁶  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; ⁴⁷  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. ⁴⁸ 

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

They brought him with hooks to the land of Egypt. ⁴⁹ 

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

She took another of her cubs ⁵⁰  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 ⁵¹  their strongholds ⁵²  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; ⁵³ 

they brought him to the king of Babylon;

they brought him to prison ⁵⁴ 

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, ⁵⁵  planted by water.

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

19:11 Its boughs were strong, fit ⁵⁶  for rulers’ scepters; it reached up into the clouds.

It stood out because of its height and its many branches. ⁵⁷ 

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

The east wind ⁵⁸  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. ⁵⁹ 

19:14 A fire has gone out from its branch; it has consumed its shoot and its fruit. ⁶⁰ 

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

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

[3:1]  ¹ tn Heb “eat what you find.”

[1:1]  ² 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]  ³ 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]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ tn Or “saw visions from God.” References to divine visions occur also in Ezek 8:3; 40:2

[18:2]  ³ 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]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ tn Heb “life.”

[18:6]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ tn Heb, “does not lift up his eyes.” This refers to looking to idols for help.

[18:6]  ⁸ 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]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ 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]  ⁸ sn This law was given in Lev 25:36.

[18:8]  ⁹ tn Heb, “turns back his hand.”

[18:8]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “justice of truth.”

[18:9]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “he.”

[18:9]  ¹¹ tn Heb “living, he will live.” The infinitive absolute precedes the finite verb for emphasis.

[18:10]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “begets.”

[18:10]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² sn See note on “mountains” in v. 6.

[18:12]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ tn Heb “lifts up his eyes.”

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

[18:13]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “his blood will be upon him.”

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

[18:17]  ¹⁵ tc This translation follows the LXX. The MT reads “restrains his hand from the poor,” which makes no sense here.

[18:17]  ¹⁶ 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]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “lift up, bear.”

[18:20]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “lift up, bear.”

[18:20]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “lift up, bear.”

[18:20]  ¹⁹ 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]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “remembered.”

[18:24]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “because of them he will die.”

[18:25]  ²⁰ tn Heb “way.”

[18:26]  ²¹ tn Heb “for them” or “because of them.”

[18:28]  ²² tn Heb “he saw.”

[18:30]  ²³ tn Heb “ways.”

[18:30]  ²⁴ tn The verbs and persons in this verse are plural whereas the individual has been the subject of the chapter.

[18:30]  ²⁵ tn Or “leading to punishment.”

[18:31]  ²⁴ sn In Ezek 11:19, 36:26 the new heart and new spirit are promised as future blessings.

[18:32]  ²⁵ tn Heb “the death of the one dying.”

[19:1]  ²⁶ tn Heb “lift up.”

[19:2]  ²⁷ 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]  ²⁸ tn Heb “a man.”

[19:4]  ²⁹ sn The description applies to king Jehoahaz (2 Kgs 23:31-34; Jer 22:10-12).

[19:5]  ³⁰ 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]  ³¹ 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]  ³² 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]  ³² 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]  ³³ 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]  ³³ 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]  ³⁴ tn The word “fit” does not occur in the Hebrew text.

[19:11]  ³⁵ tn Heb “and it was seen by its height and by the abundance of its branches.”

[19:12]  ³⁵ sn The east wind symbolizes the Babylonians.

[19:13]  ³⁶ sn This metaphor depicts the Babylonian exile of the Davidic dynasty.

[19:14]  ³⁷ tn The verse describes the similar situation recorded in Judg 9:20.