Ezekiel 36:25

36:25 I will sprinkle you with pure water ¹  and you will be clean from all your impurities. I will purify you from all your idols.

Ezekiel 36:1

Blessings on the Mountains of Israel

36:1 “As for you, son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel, and say: ‘O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord!

Ezekiel 17:1--18:32

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, ²  and tell a parable to the house of Israel. 17:3 Say to them: ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: ³ 

“‘A great eagle ⁴  with broad wings, long feathers, ⁵ 

with full plumage which was multi-hued, ⁶ 

came to Lebanon ⁷  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 ⁸  of the land,

placed it in a cultivated plot; ⁹ 

a shoot by abundant water,

like a willow he planted it.

17:6 It sprouted and became a vine,

spreading low to the ground; ¹⁰ 

its branches turning toward him, ¹¹  its roots were under itself. ¹² 

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

17:7 “‘There was another great eagle ¹³ 

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 ¹⁴  and wither?

All its foliage ¹⁵  will wither.

No strong arm or large army

will be needed to pull it out by its roots. ¹⁶ 

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: ¹⁷  ‘Don’t you know what these things mean?’ ¹⁸  Say: ‘See here, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem ¹⁹  and took her king and her officials prisoner and brought them to himself in Babylon. 17:13 He took one from the royal family, ²⁰  made a treaty with him, and put him under oath. ²¹  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 ²²  rebelled against the king of Babylon ²³  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 ²⁴  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 ²⁵  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 ²⁶  – he gave his promise ²⁷  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 ²⁸  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 ²⁹  among his troops will die ³⁰  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 ³¹  from the lofty top of the cedar and plant it. ³² 

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?’ ³³ 

18:3 “As surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, ³⁴  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 ³⁵  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 ³⁶  or pray to the idols ³⁷  of the house of Israel, does not defile his neighbor’s wife, does not have sexual relations with a ³⁸  woman during her period, 18:7 does not oppress anyone, but gives the debtor back whatever was given in pledge, ³⁹  does not commit robbery, ⁴⁰  but gives his bread to the hungry and clothes the naked, 18:8 does not engage in usury or charge interest, ⁴¹  but refrains ⁴²  from wrongdoing, promotes true justice ⁴³  between men, 18:9 and follows my statutes and observes my regulations by carrying them out. ⁴⁴  That man ⁴⁵  is righteous; he will certainly live, ⁴⁶  declares the sovereign Lord.

18:10 “Suppose such a man has ⁴⁷  a violent son who sheds blood and does any of these things ⁴⁸  mentioned previously 18:11 (though the father did not do any of them). ⁴⁹  He eats pagan sacrifices on the mountains, ⁵⁰  defiles his neighbor’s wife, 18:12 oppresses the poor and the needy, ⁵¹  commits robbery, does not give back what was given in pledge, prays to ⁵²  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. ⁵³  He will bear the responsibility for his own death. ⁵⁴ 

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. ⁵⁵  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, ⁵⁶  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; ⁵⁷  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 ⁵⁸  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 ⁵⁹  for his father’s iniquity, and a father will not suffer ⁶⁰  for his son’s iniquity; the righteous person will be judged according to his righteousness, and the wicked person according to his wickedness. ⁶¹ 

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 ⁶²  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. ⁶³ 

18:25 “Yet you say, ‘The Lord’s conduct ⁶⁴  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; ⁶⁵  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 ⁶⁶  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, ⁶⁷  O house of Israel, declares the sovereign Lord. Repent ⁶⁸  and turn from all your wickedness; then it will not be an obstacle leading to iniquity. ⁶⁹  18:31 Throw away all your sins you have committed and fashion yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! ⁷⁰  Why should you die, O house of Israel? 18:32 For I take no delight in the death of anyone, ⁷¹  declares the sovereign Lord. Repent and live!

[36:25]  ¹ sn The Lord here uses a metaphor from the realm of ritual purification. For the use of water in ritual cleansing, see Exod 30:19-20; Lev 14:51; Num 19:18; Heb 10:22.

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

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

[17:3]  ⁴ sn The great eagle symbolizes Nebuchadnezzar (17:12).

[17:3]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ tn This term was used in 16:10, 13, and 18 of embroidered cloth.

[17:3]  ⁷ sn In the parable Lebanon apparently refers to Jerusalem (17:12).

[17:5]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ tn Heb “a field for seed.”

[17:6]  ⁵ tn Heb “short of stature.”

[17:6]  ⁶ tn That is, the eagle.

[17:6]  ⁷ tn Or “him,” i.e., the eagle.

[17:7]  ⁶ sn The phrase another great eagle refers to Pharaoh Hophra.

[17:9]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ tn Heb “all the טַרְפֵּי (tarpey) of branches.” The word טַרְפֵּי occurs only here in the Bible; its precise meaning is uncertain.

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

[17:12]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ sn The narrative description of this interpretation of the riddle is given in 2 Kgs 24:11-15.

[17:12]  ¹⁰ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[17:13]  ⁹ tn Or “descendants”; Heb “seed” (cf. v. 5).

[17:13]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “caused him to enter into an oath.”

[17:15]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the member of the royal family, v. 13) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[17:15]  ¹¹ tn Heb “him”; the referent (the king of Babylon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[17:16]  ¹¹ tn Heb “place.”

[17:17]  ¹² tn Heb “deal with” or “work with.”

[17:18]  ¹³ tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates being aware of or taking notice of something.

[17:18]  ¹⁴ sn Heb “hand.” “Giving one’s hand” is a gesture of promise (2 Kgs 10:15).

[17:19]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “place it on his head.”

[17:21]  ¹⁵ 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]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “fall.”

[17:22]  ¹⁶ 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]  ¹⁷ tc The LXX lacks “and plant it.”

[18:2]  ¹⁷ 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]  ¹⁸ 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]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “life.”

[18:6]  ²⁰ 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]  ²¹ tn Heb, “does not lift up his eyes.” This refers to looking to idols for help.

[18:6]  ²² 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]  ²¹ 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]  ²² 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]  ²² sn This law was given in Lev 25:36.

[18:8]  ²³ tn Heb, “turns back his hand.”

[18:8]  ²⁴ tn Heb “justice of truth.”

[18:9]  ²³ 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]  ²⁴ tn Heb “he.”

[18:9]  ²⁵ tn Heb “living, he will live.” The infinitive absolute precedes the finite verb for emphasis.

[18:10]  ²⁴ tn Heb “begets.”

[18:10]  ²⁵ 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]  ²⁵ 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]  ²⁶ sn See note on “mountains” in v. 6.

[18:12]  ²⁶ 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]  ²⁷ tn Heb “lifts up his eyes.”

[18:13]  ²⁷ tn Heb “be put to death.” The translation follows an alternative reading that appears in several ancient textual witnesses.

[18:13]  ²⁸ tn Heb “his blood will be upon him.”

[18:14]  ²⁸ tn Heb “and he sees and does not do likewise.”

[18:17]  ²⁹ tc This translation follows the LXX. The MT reads “restrains his hand from the poor,” which makes no sense here.

[18:17]  ³⁰ 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]  ³⁰ tn Heb “lift up, bear.”

[18:20]  ³¹ tn Heb “lift up, bear.”

[18:20]  ³² tn Heb “lift up, bear.”

[18:20]  ³³ 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]  ³² tn Heb “remembered.”

[18:24]  ³³ tn Heb “because of them he will die.”

[18:25]  ³⁴ tn Heb “way.”

[18:26]  ³⁵ tn Heb “for them” or “because of them.”

[18:28]  ³⁶ tn Heb “he saw.”

[18:30]  ³⁷ tn Heb “ways.”

[18:30]  ³⁸ tn The verbs and persons in this verse are plural whereas the individual has been the subject of the chapter.

[18:30]  ³⁹ tn Or “leading to punishment.”

[18:31]  ³⁸ sn In Ezek 11:19, 36:26 the new heart and new spirit are promised as future blessings.

[18:32]  ³⁹ tn Heb “the death of the one dying.”