Isaiah 3:18-24

3:18 ¹ At that time ²  the sovereign master will remove their beautiful ankle jewelry, ³  neck ornaments, crescent shaped ornaments, 3:19 earrings, bracelets, veils, 3:20 headdresses, ankle ornaments, sashes, sachets, ⁴  amulets, 3:21 rings, nose rings, 3:22 festive dresses, robes, shawls, purses, 3:23 garments, vests, head coverings, and gowns. ⁵ 

3:24 A putrid stench will replace the smell of spices, ⁶ 

a rope will replace a belt,

baldness will replace braided locks of hair,

a sackcloth garment will replace a fine robe,

and a prisoner’s brand will replace beauty.

Ezekiel 24:17

24:17 Groan in silence for the dead, ⁷  but do not perform mourning rites. ⁸  Bind on your turban ⁹  and put your sandals on your feet. Do not cover your lip ¹⁰  and do not eat food brought by others.” ¹¹ 

Ezekiel 24:1

The Boiling Pot

24:1 The word of the Lord came to me in the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month ¹² :

Ezekiel 2:9-10

2:9 Then I looked and realized a hand was stretched out to me, and in it was a written scroll. 2:10 He unrolled it before me, and it had writing on the front ¹³  and back; ¹⁴  written on it were laments, mourning, and woe.

Ezekiel 2:1

Ezekiel’s Commission

2:1 He said to me, “Son of man, ¹⁵  stand on your feet and I will speak with you.”

Ezekiel 3:3

3:3 He said to me, “Son of man, feed your stomach and fill your belly with this scroll I am giving to you.” So I ate it, ¹⁶  and it was sweet like honey in my mouth.

[3:18]  ¹ sn The translation assumes that the direct quotation ends with v. 17. The introductory formula “in that day” and the shift from a poetic to prosaic style indicate that a new speech unit begins in v. 18.

[3:18]  ² tn Or “in that day” (KJV).

[3:18]  ³ tn Or “the beauty of [their] ankle jewelry.”

[3:20]  ⁴ tn Heb “houses of breath.” HALOT 124 s.v. בַּיִת defines them as “scent-bottles”; cf. NAB, NRSV “perfume boxes.”

[3:23]  ⁵ tn The precise meaning of many of the words in this list is uncertain.

[3:24]  ⁶ tn Heb “and it will be in place of spices there will be a stench.” The nouns for “spices” and “stench” are right next to each other in the MT for emphatic contrast. The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.

[24:17]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ sn The turban would normally be removed for mourning (Josh 7:6; 1 Sam 4:12).

[24:17]  ¹⁰ sn Mourning rites included covering the lower part of the face. See Lev 13:45.

[24:17]  ¹¹ 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).

[24:1]  ¹² tn The date of this oracle was January 15, 588 b.c.

[2:10]  ¹³ tn Heb “on the face.”

[2:10]  ¹⁴ 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.

[2:1]  ¹⁵ sn The phrase son of man occurs ninety-three times in the book of Ezekiel. It simply means “human one,” and distinguishes the prophet from the nonhuman beings that are present in the world of his vision.

[3:3]  ¹⁶ tc Heb “I ate,” a first common singular preterite plus paragogic he (ה). The ancient versions read “I ate it,” which is certainly the meaning in the context, and indicates they read the he as a third feminine singular pronominal suffix. The Masoretes typically wrote a mappiq in the he for the pronominal suffix but apparently missed this one.