Discovery BoxEzekiel 42:1
Context42:1 Then he led me out to the outer court, toward the north, and brought me to the chamber which was opposite the courtyard and opposite the building on the north.
Ezekiel 19:1-14
Context19:1 “And you, sing 1 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; 2 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. 3
19:4 The nations heard about him; he was trapped in their pit.
They brought him with hooks to the land of Egypt. 4
19:5 “‘When she realized that she waited in vain, her hope was lost.
She took another of her cubs 5 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 6 their strongholds 7 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; 8
they brought him to the king of Babylon;
they brought him to prison 9
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, 10 planted by water.
It was fruitful and full of branches because it was well-watered.
19:11 Its boughs were strong, fit 11 for rulers’ scepters; it reached up into the clouds.
It stood out because of its height and its many branches. 12
19:12 But it was plucked up in anger; it was thrown down to the ground.
The east wind 13 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. 14
19:14 A fire has gone out from its branch; it has consumed its shoot and its fruit. 15
No strong branch was left in it, nor a scepter to rule.’
This is a lament song, and has become a lament song.”
Ezekiel 24:1-27
Context24:1 The word of the Lord came to me in the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month 16 : 24:2 “Son of man, write down the name of this day, this very day. The king of Babylon has laid siege 17 to Jerusalem 18 this very day. 24:3 Recite a proverb to this rebellious house 19 and say to them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says:
“‘Set on the pot, 20 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 21 is in it,
whose rot has not been removed 22 from it!
Empty it piece by piece.
No lot has fallen on it. 23
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, 24
until it becomes hot and its copper glows,
until its uncleanness melts within it and its rot 25 is consumed.
24:12 It has tried my patience; 26
yet its thick rot is not removed 27 from it.
Subject its rot to the fire! 28
24:13 You mix uncleanness with obscene conduct. 29
I tried to cleanse you, 30 but you are not clean.
You will not be cleansed from your uncleanness 31
until I have exhausted my anger on you.
24:14 “‘I the Lord have spoken; judgment 32 is coming and I will act! I will not relent, or show pity, or be sorry! 33 I will judge you 34 according to your conduct 35 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, 36 but you must not mourn or weep or shed tears. 24:17 Groan in silence for the dead, 37 but do not perform mourning rites. 38 Bind on your turban 39 and put your sandals on your feet. Do not cover your lip 40 and do not eat food brought by others.” 41
24:18 So I spoke to the people in the morning, and my wife died in the evening. In the morning 42 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, 43 the object in which your eyes delight, 44 and your life’s passion. 45 Your very own sons and daughters whom you have left behind will die 46 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. 47 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 48 for your iniquities 49 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 50 from them their stronghold – their beautiful source of joy, the object in which their eyes delight, and the main concern of their lives, 51 as well as their sons and daughters: 52 24:26 On that day a fugitive will come to you to report the news. 53 24:27 On that day you will be able to speak again; 54 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.”
[19:2] 1 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.
[19:4] 1 sn The description applies to king Jehoahaz (2 Kgs 23:31-34; Jer 22:10-12).
[19:5] 1 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] 1 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] 2 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] 1 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] 2 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] 1 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] 1 tn The word “fit” does not occur in the Hebrew text.
[19:11] 2 tn Heb “and it was seen by its height and by the abundance of its branches.”
[19:12] 1 sn The east wind symbolizes the Babylonians.
[19:13] 1 sn This metaphor depicts the Babylonian exile of the Davidic dynasty.
[19:14] 1 tn The verse describes the similar situation recorded in Judg 9:20.
[24:1] 1 tn The date of this oracle was January 15, 588
[24:2] 1 tn Heb “lean on, put pressure on.”
[24:2] 2 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[24:3] 1 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] 2 sn See Ezek 11:3-12.
[24:6] 2 tn Heb “has not gone out.”
[24:6] 3 tn Here “lot” may refer to the decision made by casting lots; it is not chosen at all.
[24:11] 1 tn Heb “set it upon its coals, empty.”
[24:11] 2 tn Or “rust” (so also in v. 12).
[24:12] 1 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] 2 tn Heb “does not go out.”
[24:12] 3 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] 1 tn Heb “in your uncleanness (is) obscene conduct.”
[24:13] 2 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] 3 tn The Hebrew text adds the word “again.”
[24:14] 1 tn Heb “it”; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[24:14] 2 tn Or perhaps, “change my mind.”
[24:14] 3 tc Some medieval Hebrew
[24:17] 1 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] 2 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] 3 sn The turban would normally be removed for mourning (Josh 7:6; 1 Sam 4:12).
[24:17] 4 sn Mourning rites included covering the lower part of the face. See Lev 13:45.
[24:17] 5 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] 1 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] 1 tn Heb “the pride of your strength” means “your strong pride.”
[24:21] 2 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] 3 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] 1 tn The same verb appears in 4:17 and 33:10.
[24:23] 2 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] 1 tn Heb “(Will) it not (be) in the day I take?”
[24:25] 2 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] 3 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.
