Yehezkiel 12:1--24:27
Konteks12:1 The word of the Lord came to me: 12:2 “Son of man, you are living in the midst of a rebellious house. 1 They have eyes to see, but do not see, and ears to hear, but do not hear, 2 because they are a rebellious house.
12:3 “Therefore, son of man, pack up your belongings as if for exile. During the day, while they are watching, pretend to go into exile. Go from where you live to another place. Perhaps they will understand, 3 although they are a rebellious house. 12:4 Bring out your belongings packed for exile during the day while they are watching. And go out at evening, while they are watching, as if for exile. 12:5 While they are watching, dig a hole in the wall and carry your belongings out through it. 12:6 While they are watching, raise your baggage onto your shoulder and carry it out in the dark. 4 You must cover your face so that you cannot see the ground 5 because I have made you an object lesson 6 to the house of Israel.”
12:7 So I did just as I was commanded. I carried out my belongings packed for exile during the day, and at evening I dug myself a hole through the wall with my hands. I went out in the darkness, carrying my baggage 7 on my shoulder while they watched.
12:8 The word of the Lord came to me in the morning: 12:9 “Son of man, has not the house of Israel, that rebellious house, said to you, ‘What are you doing?’ 12:10 Say to them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: The prince will raise this burden in Jerusalem, 8 and all the house of Israel within it.’ 9 12:11 Say, ‘I am an object lesson for you. Just as I have done, it will be done to them; they will go into exile and captivity.’
12:12 “The prince 10 who is among them will raise his belongings 11 onto his shoulder in darkness, and will go out. He 12 will dig a hole in the wall to leave through. He will cover his face so that he cannot see the land with his eyes. 12:13 But I will throw my net over him, and he will be caught in my snare. I will bring him to Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans 13 (but he will not see it), 14 and there he will die. 15 12:14 All his retinue – his attendants and his troops – I will scatter to every wind; I will unleash a sword behind them.
12:15 “Then they will know that I am the Lord when I disperse them among the nations and scatter them among foreign countries. 12:16 But I will let a small number of them survive the sword, famine, and pestilence, so that they can confess all their abominable practices to the nations where they go. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”
12:17 The word of the Lord came to me: 12:18 “Son of man, eat your bread with trembling, 16 and drink your water with anxious shaking. 12:19 Then say to the people of the land, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says about the inhabitants of Jerusalem and of the land of Israel: They will eat their bread with anxiety and drink their water in fright, for their land will be stripped bare of all it contains because of the violence of all who live in it. 12:20 The inhabited towns will be left in ruins and the land will be devastated. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”
12:21 The word of the Lord came to me: 12:22 “Son of man, what is this proverb you have in the land of Israel, ‘The days pass slowly, and every vision fails’? 12:23 Therefore tell them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: I hereby end this proverb; they will not recite it in Israel any longer.’ But say to them, ‘The days are at hand when every vision will be fulfilled. 17 12:24 For there will no longer be any false visions or flattering omens amidst the house of Israel. 12:25 For I, the Lord, will speak. Whatever word I speak will be accomplished. It will not be delayed any longer. Indeed in your days, O rebellious house, I will speak the word and accomplish it, declares the sovereign Lord.’”
12:26 The word of the Lord came to me: 12:27 “Take note, son of man, the house of Israel is saying, ‘The vision that he sees is for distant days; he is prophesying about the far future.’ 12:28 Therefore say to them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: None of my words will be delayed any longer! The word I speak will come to pass, declares the sovereign Lord.’”
13:1 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 13:2 “Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who are now prophesying. Say to the prophets who prophesy from their imagination: 18 ‘Hear the word of the Lord! 13:3 This is what the sovereign Lord says: Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit but have seen nothing! 13:4 Your prophets have become like jackals among the ruins, O Israel. 13:5 You have not gone up in the breaks in the wall, nor repaired a wall for the house of Israel that it would stand strong in the battle on the day of the Lord. 13:6 They see delusion and their omens are a lie. 19 They say, “the Lord declares,” though the Lord has not sent them; 20 yet they expect their word to be confirmed. 21 13:7 Have you not seen a false vision and announced a lying omen when you say, “the Lord declares,” although I myself never spoke?
13:8 “‘Therefore, this is what the sovereign Lord says: Because you have spoken false words and forecast delusion, look, 22 I am against you, 23 declares the sovereign Lord. 13:9 My hand will be against the prophets who see delusion and announce lying omens. They will not be included in the council 24 of my people, nor be written in the registry 25 of the house of Israel, nor enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the sovereign Lord.
13:10 “‘This is because they have led my people astray saying, “All is well,” 26 when things are not well. When anyone builds a wall without mortar, 27 they coat it with whitewash. 13:11 Tell the ones who coat it with whitewash that it will fall. When there is a deluge of rain, hailstones 28 will fall and a violent wind will break out. 29 13:12 When the wall has collapsed, people will ask you, “Where is the whitewash you coated it with?”
13:13 “‘Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: In my rage I will make a violent wind break out. In my anger there will be a deluge of rain and hailstones in destructive fury. 13:14 I will break down the wall you coated with whitewash and knock it to the ground so that its foundation is exposed. When it falls you will be destroyed beneath it, 30 and you will know that I am the Lord. 13:15 I will vent my rage against the wall, and against those who coated it with whitewash. Then I will say to you, “The wall is no more and those who whitewashed it are no more – 13:16 those prophets of Israel who would prophesy about Jerusalem 31 and would see visions of peace for it, when there was no peace,” declares the sovereign Lord.’
13:17 “As for you, son of man, turn toward 32 the daughters of your people who are prophesying from their imagination. 33 Prophesy against them 13:18 and say ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Woe to those who sew bands 34 on all their wrists 35 and make headbands 36 for heads of every size to entrap people’s lives! 37 Will you entrap my people’s lives, yet preserve your own lives? 13:19 You have profaned me among my people for handfuls of barley and scraps of bread. You have put to death people 38 who should not die and kept alive those who should not live by your lies to my people, who listen to lies!
13:20 “‘Therefore, this is what the sovereign Lord says: Take note 39 that I am against your wristbands with which you entrap people’s lives 40 like birds. I will tear them from your arms and will release the people’s lives, which you hunt like birds. 13:21 I will tear off your headbands and rescue my people from your power; 41 they will no longer be prey in your hands. Then you will know that I am the Lord. 13:22 This is because you have disheartened the righteous person with lies (although I have not grieved him), and because you have encouraged the wicked person not to turn from his evil conduct and preserve his life. 13:23 Therefore you will no longer see false visions and practice divination. I will rescue my people from your power, and you 42 will know that I am the Lord.’”
14:1 Then some men from Israel’s elders came to me and sat down in front of me. 14:2 The word of the Lord came to me: 14:3 “Son of man, these men have erected their idols in their hearts and placed the obstacle leading to their iniquity 43 right before their faces. Should I really allow them to seek 44 me? 14:4 Therefore speak to them and say to them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: When any one from the house of Israel erects his idols in his heart and sets the obstacle leading to his iniquity before his face, and then consults a prophet, I the Lord am determined to answer him personally according to the enormity of his idolatry. 45 14:5 I will do this in order to capture the hearts of the house of Israel, who have alienated themselves from me on account of all their idols.’
14:6 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Return! Turn from your idols, and turn your faces away from your abominations. 14:7 For when anyone from the house of Israel, or the foreigner who lives in Israel, separates himself from me and erects his idols in his heart and sets the obstacle leading to his iniquity before his face, and then consults a prophet to seek something from me, I the Lord am determined to answer him personally. 14:8 I will set my face against that person and will make him an object lesson and a byword 46 and will cut him off from among my people. Then you will know that I am the Lord.
14:9 “‘As for the prophet, if he is made a fool by being deceived into speaking a prophetic word – I, the Lord, have made a fool of 47 that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand against him and destroy him from among my people Israel. 14:10 They will bear their punishment; 48 the punishment of the one who sought an oracle will be the same as the punishment of the prophet who gave it 49 14:11 so that the house of Israel will no longer go astray from me, nor continue to defile themselves by all their sins. They will be my people and I will be their God, 50 declares the sovereign Lord.’”
14:12 The word of the Lord came to me: 14:13 “Son of man, suppose a country sins against me by being unfaithful, and I stretch out my hand against it, cut off its bread supply, 51 cause famine to come on it, and kill both people and animals. 14:14 Even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, 52 and Job, were in it, they would save only their own lives by their righteousness, declares the sovereign Lord.
14:15 “Suppose I were to send wild animals through the land and kill its children, leaving it desolate, without travelers due to the wild animals. 14:16 Even if these three men were in it, as surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, they could not save their own sons or daughters; they would save only their own lives, and the land would become desolate.
14:17 “Or suppose I were to bring a sword against that land and say, ‘Let a sword pass through the land,’ and I were to kill both people and animals. 14:18 Even if these three men were in it, as surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, they could not save their own sons or daughters – they would save only their own lives.
14:19 “Or suppose I were to send a plague into that land, and pour out my rage on it with bloodshed, killing both people and animals. 14:20 Even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, they could not save their own son or daughter; they would save only their own lives by their righteousness.
14:21 “For this is what the sovereign Lord says: How much worse will it be when I send my four terrible judgments – sword, famine, wild animals, and plague – to Jerusalem 53 to kill both people and animals! 14:22 Yet some survivors will be left in it, sons and daughters who will be brought out. They will come out to you, and when you see their behavior and their deeds, you will be consoled about the catastrophe I have brought on Jerusalem – for everything I brought on it. 14:23 They will console you when you see their behavior and their deeds, because you will know that it was not without reason that I have done everything which I have done in it, declares the sovereign Lord.”
15:1 The word of the Lord came to me: 15:2 “Son of man, of all the woody branches among the trees of the forest, what happens to the wood of the vine? 54 15:3 Can wood be taken from it to make anything useful? Or can anyone make a peg from it to hang things on? 15:4 No! 55 It is thrown in the fire for fuel; when the fire has burned up both ends of it and it is charred in the middle, will it be useful for anything? 15:5 Indeed! If it was not made into anything useful when it was whole, how much less can it be made into anything when the fire has burned it up and it is charred?
15:6 “Therefore, this is what the sovereign Lord says: Like the wood of the vine is among the trees of the forest which I have provided as fuel for the fire – so I will provide the residents of Jerusalem 56 as fuel. 57 15:7 I will set 58 my face against them – although they have escaped from the fire, 59 the fire will still consume them! Then you will know that I am the Lord, when I set my face against them. 15:8 I will make 60 the land desolate because they have acted unfaithfully, declares the sovereign Lord.”
16:1 The word of the Lord came to me: 16:2 “Son of man, confront Jerusalem 61 with her abominable practices 16:3 and say, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says to Jerusalem: Your origin and your birth were in the land of the Canaanites; your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite. 16:4 As for your birth, on the day you were born your umbilical cord was not cut, nor were you washed in water; 62 you were certainly not rubbed down with salt, nor wrapped with blankets. 63 16:5 No eye took pity on you to do even one of these things for you to spare you; 64 you were thrown out into the open field 65 because you were detested on the day you were born.
16:6 “‘I passed by you and saw you kicking around helplessly in your blood. I said to you as you lay there in your blood, “Live!” I said to you as you lay there in your blood, “Live!” 66 16:7 I made you plentiful like sprouts in a field; you grew tall and came of age so that you could wear jewelry. Your breasts had formed and your hair had grown, but you were still naked and bare.
16:8 “‘Then I passed by you and watched you, noticing 67 that you had reached the age for love. 68 I spread my cloak 69 over you and covered your nakedness. I swore a solemn oath to you and entered into a marriage covenant with you, declares the sovereign Lord, and you became mine.
16:9 “‘Then I bathed you in water, washed the blood off you, and anointed you with fragrant oil. 16:10 I dressed you in embroidered clothing and put fine leather sandals on your feet. I wrapped you with fine linen and covered you with silk. 16:11 I adorned you with jewelry. I put bracelets on your hands and a necklace around your neck. 16:12 I put a ring in your nose, earrings on your ears, and a beautiful crown on your head. 16:13 You were adorned with gold and silver, while your clothing was of fine linen, silk, and embroidery. You ate the finest flour, honey, and olive oil. You became extremely beautiful and attained the position of royalty. 16:14 Your fame 70 spread among the nations because of your beauty; your beauty was perfect because of the splendor which I bestowed on you, declares the sovereign Lord. 71
16:15 “‘But you trusted in your beauty and capitalized on your fame by becoming a prostitute. You offered your sexual favors to every man who passed by so that your beauty 72 became his. 16:16 You took some of your clothing and made for yourself decorated high places; you engaged in prostitution on them. You went to him to become his. 73 16:17 You also took your beautiful jewelry, made of my gold and my silver I had given to you, and made for yourself male images and engaged in prostitution 74 with them. 16:18 You took your embroidered clothing and used it to cover them; you offered my olive oil and my incense to them. 16:19 As for my food that I gave you – the fine flour, olive oil, and honey I fed you – you placed it before them as a soothing aroma. That is exactly what happened, declares the sovereign Lord.
16:20 “‘You took your sons and your daughters whom you bore to me and you sacrificed them 75 as food for the idols to eat. As if your prostitution not enough, 16:21 you slaughtered my children and sacrificed them to the idols. 76 16:22 And with all your abominable practices and prostitution you did not remember the days of your youth when you were naked and bare, kicking around in your blood.
16:23 “‘After all of your evil – “Woe! Woe to you!” declares the sovereign Lord – 16:24 you built yourself a chamber 77 and put up a pavilion 78 in every public square. 16:25 At the head of every street you erected your pavilion and you disgraced 79 your beauty when you spread 80 your legs to every passerby and multiplied your promiscuity. 16:26 You engaged in prostitution with the Egyptians, your sexually aroused neighbors, 81 multiplying your promiscuity and provoking me to anger. 16:27 So see here, I have stretched out my hand against you and cut off your rations. I have delivered you into the power of those who hate you, the daughters of the Philistines, who were ashamed by your obscene conduct. 16:28 You engaged in prostitution with the Assyrians because your sexual desires were insatiable; you prostituted yourself with them and yet you were still not satisfied. 16:29 Then you multiplied your promiscuity to the land of merchants, Babylonia, 82 but you were not satisfied there either.
16:30 “‘How sick is your heart, declares the sovereign Lord, when you perform all of these acts, the deeds of a bold prostitute. 16:31 When you built your chamber at the head of every street and put up your pavilion in every public square, you were not like a prostitute, because you scoffed at payment. 83
16:32 “‘Adulterous wife, who prefers strangers instead of her own husband! 16:33 All prostitutes receive payment, 84 but instead you give gifts to every one of your lovers. You bribe them to come to you from all around for your sexual favors! 16:34 You were different from other prostitutes 85 because no one solicited you. When you gave payment and no payment was given to you, you became the opposite!
16:35 “‘Therefore O prostitute, hear the word of the Lord: 16:36 This is what the sovereign Lord says: Because your lust 86 was poured out and your nakedness was uncovered in your prostitution with your lovers, and because of all your detestable idols, and because of the blood of your children you have given to them, 16:37 therefore, take note: I am about to gather all your lovers whom you enjoyed, both all those you loved and all those you hated. I will gather them against you from all around, and I will expose your nakedness to them, and they will see all your nakedness. 87 16:38 I will punish you as an adulteress and murderer deserves. 88 I will avenge your bloody deeds with furious rage. 89 16:39 I will give you into their hands and they will destroy your chambers and tear down your pavilions. They will strip you of your clothing and take your beautiful jewelry and leave you naked and bare. 16:40 They will summon a mob who will stone you and hack you in pieces with their swords. 16:41 They will burn down your houses and execute judgments on you in front of many women. Thus I will put a stop to your prostitution, and you will no longer give gifts to your clients. 90 16:42 I will exhaust my rage on you, and then my fury will turn from you. I will calm down and no longer be angry.
16:43 “‘Because you did not remember the days of your youth and have enraged me with all these deeds, I hereby repay you for what you have done, 91 declares the sovereign Lord. Have you not engaged in prostitution on top of all your other abominable practices?
16:44 “‘Observe – everyone who quotes proverbs will quote this proverb about you: “Like mother, like daughter.” 16:45 You are the daughter of your mother, who detested her husband and her sons, and you are the sister of your sisters who detested their husbands and their sons. Your mother was a Hittite and your father an Amorite. 16:46 Your older sister was Samaria, who lived north 92 of you with her daughters, and your younger sister, who lived south 93 of you, was Sodom 94 with her daughters. 16:47 Have you not copied their behavior 95 and practiced their abominable deeds? In a short time 96 you became even more depraved in all your conduct than they were! 16:48 As surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, your sister Sodom and her daughters never behaved as wickedly as you and your daughters have behaved.
16:49 “‘See here – this was the iniquity 97 of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters had majesty, abundance of food, and enjoyed carefree ease, but they did not help 98 the poor and needy. 16:50 They were haughty and practiced abominable deeds before me. Therefore when I saw it I removed them. 16:51 Samaria has not committed half the sins you have; you have done more abominable deeds than they did. 99 You have made your sisters appear righteous with all the abominable things you have done. 16:52 So now, bear your disgrace, because you have given your sisters reason to justify their behavior. 100 Because the sins you have committed were more abominable than those of your sisters; they have become more righteous than you. So now, be ashamed and bear the disgrace of making your sisters appear righteous.
16:53 “‘I will restore their fortunes, the fortunes of Sodom and her daughters, and the fortunes of Samaria and her daughters (along with your fortunes among them), 16:54 so that you may bear your disgrace and be ashamed of all you have done in consoling them. 16:55 As for your sisters, Sodom and her daughters will be restored to their former status, Samaria and her daughters will be restored to their former status, and you and your daughters will be restored to your former status. 16:56 In your days of majesty, 101 was not Sodom your sister a byword in your mouth, 16:57 before your evil was exposed? Now you have become an object of scorn to the daughters of Aram 102 and all those around her and to the daughters of the Philistines – those all around you who despise you. 16:58 You must bear your punishment for your obscene conduct and your abominable practices, declares the Lord.
16:59 “‘For this is what the sovereign Lord says: I will deal with you according to what you have done when you despised your oath by breaking your covenant. 16:60 Yet I will remember the covenant I made with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish a lasting 103 covenant with you. 16:61 Then you will remember your conduct, and be ashamed when you receive your older and younger sisters. I will give them to you as daughters, but not on account of my covenant with you. 16:62 I will establish my covenant with you, and then you will know that I am the Lord. 16:63 Then you will remember, be ashamed, and remain silent 104 when I make atonement for all you have done, 105 declares the sovereign Lord.’”
17:1 The word of the Lord came to me: 17:2 “Son of man, offer a riddle, 106 and tell a parable to the house of Israel. 17:3 Say to them: ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: 107
“‘A great eagle 108 with broad wings, long feathers, 109
with full plumage which was multi-hued, 110
came to Lebanon 111 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 112 of the land,
placed it in a cultivated plot; 113
a shoot by abundant water,
like a willow he planted it.
17:6 It sprouted and became a vine,
spreading low to the ground; 114
its branches turning toward him, 115 its roots were under itself. 116
So it became a vine; it produced shoots and sent out branches.
17:7 “‘There was another great eagle 117
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 118 and wither?
All its foliage 119 will wither.
No strong arm or large army
will be needed to pull it out by its roots. 120
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: 121 ‘Don’t you know what these things mean?’ 122 Say: ‘See here, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem 123 and took her king and her officials prisoner and brought them to himself in Babylon. 17:13 He took one from the royal family, 124 made a treaty with him, and put him under oath. 125 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 126 rebelled against the king of Babylon 127 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 128 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 129 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 130 – he gave his promise 131 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 132 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 133 among his troops will die 134 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 135 from the lofty top of the cedar and plant it. 136
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!’”
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?’ 137
18:3 “As surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, 138 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 139 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 140 or pray to the idols 141 of the house of Israel, does not defile his neighbor’s wife, does not have sexual relations with a 142 woman during her period, 18:7 does not oppress anyone, but gives the debtor back whatever was given in pledge, 143 does not commit robbery, 144 but gives his bread to the hungry and clothes the naked, 18:8 does not engage in usury or charge interest, 145 but refrains 146 from wrongdoing, promotes true justice 147 between men, 18:9 and follows my statutes and observes my regulations by carrying them out. 148 That man 149 is righteous; he will certainly live, 150 declares the sovereign Lord.
18:10 “Suppose such a man has 151 a violent son who sheds blood and does any of these things 152 mentioned previously 18:11 (though the father did not do any of them). 153 He eats pagan sacrifices on the mountains, 154 defiles his neighbor’s wife, 18:12 oppresses the poor and the needy, 155 commits robbery, does not give back what was given in pledge, prays to 156 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. 157 He will bear the responsibility for his own death. 158
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. 159 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, 160 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; 161 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 162 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 163 for his father’s iniquity, and a father will not suffer 164 for his son’s iniquity; the righteous person will be judged according to his righteousness, and the wicked person according to his wickedness. 165
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 166 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. 167
18:25 “Yet you say, ‘The Lord’s conduct 168 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; 169 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 170 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, 171 O house of Israel, declares the sovereign Lord. Repent 172 and turn from all your wickedness; then it will not be an obstacle leading to iniquity. 173 18:31 Throw away all your sins you have committed and fashion yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! 174 Why should you die, O house of Israel? 18:32 For I take no delight in the death of anyone, 175 declares the sovereign Lord. Repent and live!
19:1 “And you, sing 176 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; 177 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. 178
19:4 The nations heard about him; he was trapped in their pit.
They brought him with hooks to the land of Egypt. 179
19:5 “‘When she realized that she waited in vain, her hope was lost.
She took another of her cubs 180 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 181 their strongholds 182 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; 183
they brought him to the king of Babylon;
they brought him to prison 184
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, 185 planted by water.
It was fruitful and full of branches because it was well-watered.
19:11 Its boughs were strong, fit 186 for rulers’ scepters; it reached up into the clouds.
It stood out because of its height and its many branches. 187
19:12 But it was plucked up in anger; it was thrown down to the ground.
The east wind 188 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. 189
19:14 A fire has gone out from its branch; it has consumed its shoot and its fruit. 190
No strong branch was left in it, nor a scepter to rule.’
This is a lament song, and has become a lament song.”
20:1 In the seventh year, in the fifth month, on the tenth of the month, 191 some of the elders 192 of Israel came to seek 193 the Lord, and they sat down in front of me. 20:2 The word of the Lord came to me: 20:3 “Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel, and tell them: ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Are you coming to seek me? As surely as I live, I will not allow you to seek me, 194 declares the sovereign Lord.’ 20:4 “Are you willing to pronounce judgment? 195 Are you willing to pronounce judgment, son of man? Then confront them with the abominable practices of their fathers, 20:5 and say to them:
“‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: On the day I chose Israel I swore 196 to the descendants 197 of the house of Jacob and made myself known to them in the land of Egypt. I swore 198 to them, “I am the Lord your God.” 20:6 On that day I swore 199 to bring them out of the land of Egypt to a land which I had picked out 200 for them, a land flowing with milk and honey, 201 the most beautiful of all lands. 20:7 I said to them, “Each of you must get rid of the detestable idols you keep before you, 202 and do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt; I am the Lord your God.” 20:8 But they rebelled against me, and refused to listen to me; no one got rid of their detestable idols, 203 nor did they abandon the idols of Egypt. Then I decided to pour out 204 my rage on them and fully vent my anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt. 20:9 I acted for the sake of my reputation, 205 so that I would not be profaned before the nations among whom they lived, 206 before whom I revealed myself by bringing them out of the land of Egypt. 207
20:10 “‘So I brought them out of the land of Egypt and led them to the wilderness. 20:11 I gave them my statutes 208 and revealed my regulations to them. The one 209 who carries 210 them out will live by them! 211 20:12 I also gave them my Sabbaths 212 as a reminder of our relationship, 213 so that they would know that I, the Lord, sanctify them. 214 20:13 But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness; they did not follow my statutes and they rejected my regulations (the one who obeys them will live by them), and they utterly desecrated my Sabbaths. So I decided to pour out 215 my rage on them in the wilderness and destroy them. 216 20:14 I acted for the sake of my reputation, so that I would not be profaned before the nations in whose sight I had brought them out. 20:15 I also swore 217 to them in the wilderness that I would not bring them to the land I had given them – a land flowing with milk and honey, the most beautiful of all lands. 20:16 I did this 218 because they rejected my regulations, did not follow my statutes, and desecrated my Sabbaths; for their hearts followed their idols. 219 20:17 Yet I had pity on 220 them and did not destroy them, so I did not make an end of them in the wilderness.
20:18 “‘But I said to their children 221 in the wilderness, “Do not follow the practices of your fathers; do not observe their regulations, 222 nor defile yourselves with their idols. 20:19 I am the Lord your God; follow my statutes, observe my regulations, and carry them out. 20:20 Treat my Sabbaths as holy 223 and they will be a reminder of our relationship, 224 and then you will know that I am the Lord your God.” 20:21 “‘But the children 225 rebelled against me, did not follow my statutes, did not observe my regulations by carrying them out (the one who obeys 226 them will live by them), and desecrated my Sabbaths. I decided to pour out 227 my rage on them and fully vent my anger against them in the wilderness. 20:22 But I refrained from doing so, 228 and acted instead for the sake of my reputation, so that I would not be profaned before the nations in whose sight I had brought them out. 20:23 I also swore 229 to them in the wilderness that I would scatter them among the nations and disperse them throughout the lands. 230 20:24 I did this 231 because they did not observe my regulations, they rejected my statutes, they desecrated my Sabbaths, and their eyes were fixed on 232 their fathers’ idols. 20:25 I also gave 233 them decrees 234 which were not good and regulations by which they could not live. 20:26 I declared them to be defiled because of their sacrifices 235 – they caused all their first born to pass through the fire 236 – so that I would devastate them, so that they will know that I am the Lord.’ 237
20:27 “Therefore, speak to the house of Israel, son of man, and tell them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: In this way too your fathers blasphemed me when they were unfaithful to me. 20:28 I brought them to the land which I swore 238 to give them, but whenever they saw any high hill or leafy tree, they offered their sacrifices there and presented the offerings that provoke me to anger. They offered their soothing aroma there and poured out their drink offerings. 20:29 So I said to them, What is this high place you go to?’” (So it is called “High Place” 239 to this day.)
20:30 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Will you defile yourselves like your fathers 240 and engage in prostitution with detestable idols? 20:31 When you present your sacrifices 241 – when you make your sons pass through the fire – you defile yourselves with all your idols to this very day. Will I allow you to seek me, 242 O house of Israel? As surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, I will not allow you to seek me! 243
20:32 “‘What you plan 244 will never happen. You say, “We will be 245 like the nations, like the clans of the lands, who serve gods of wood and stone.” 246 20:33 As surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, with a powerful hand and an outstretched arm, 247 and with an outpouring of rage, I will be king over you. 20:34 I will bring you out from the nations, and will gather you from the lands where you are scattered, with a powerful hand and an outstretched arm and with an outpouring of rage! 20:35 I will bring you into the wilderness of the nations, and there I will enter into judgment with you face to face. 20:36 Just as I entered into judgment with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will enter into judgment with you, declares the sovereign Lord. 20:37 I will make you pass under 248 the shepherd’s staff, 249 and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant. 20:38 I will eliminate from among you the rebels and those who revolt 250 against me. I will bring them out from the land where they have been residing, but they will not come to the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord.
20:39 “‘As for you, O house of Israel, this is what the sovereign Lord says: Each of you go and serve your idols, 251 if you will not listen to me. 252 But my holy name will not be profaned 253 again by your sacrifices 254 and your idols. 20:40 For there on my holy mountain, the high mountain of Israel, declares the sovereign Lord, all the house of Israel will serve me, all of them 255 in the land. I will accept them there, and there I will seek your contributions and your choice gifts, with all your holy things. 20:41 When I bring you out from the nations and gather you from the lands where you are scattered, I will accept you along with your soothing aroma. I will display my holiness among you in the sight of the nations. 20:42 Then you will know that I am the Lord when I bring you to the land of Israel, to the land I swore 256 to give to your fathers. 20:43 And there you will remember your conduct 257 and all your deeds by which you defiled yourselves. You will despise yourselves 258 because of all the evil deeds you have done. 20:44 Then you will know that I am the Lord, when I deal with you for the sake of my reputation and not according to your wicked conduct and corrupt deeds, O house of Israel, declares the sovereign Lord.’”
20:45 (21:1) 259 The word of the Lord came to me: 20:46 “Son of man, turn toward 260 the south, 261 and speak out against the south. 262 Prophesy against the open scrub 263 land of the Negev, 20:47 and say to the scrub land of the Negev, ‘Hear the word of the Lord: This is what the sovereign Lord says: Look here, 264 I am about to start a fire in you, 265 and it will devour every green tree and every dry tree in you. The flaming fire will not be extinguished, and the whole surface of the ground from the Negev to the north will be scorched by it. 20:48 And everyone 266 will see that I, the Lord, have burned it; it will not be extinguished.’”
20:49 Then I said, “O sovereign Lord! They are saying of me, ‘Does he not simply speak in eloquent figures of speech?’”
21:1 (21:6) 267 The word of the Lord came to me: 21:2 “Son of man, turn toward 268 Jerusalem 269 and speak out against the sanctuaries. Prophesy against the land of Israel 21:3 and say to them, 270 ‘This is what the Lord says: Look, 271 I am against you. 272 I will draw my sword 273 from its sheath and cut off from you both the righteous and the wicked. 274 21:4 Because I will cut off from you both the righteous and the wicked, my sword will go out from its sheath against everyone 275 from the south 276 to the north. 21:5 Then everyone will know that I am the Lord, who drew my sword from its sheath – it will not be sheathed again!’
21:6 “And you, son of man, groan with an aching heart 277 and bitterness; groan before their eyes. 21:7 When they ask you, ‘Why are you groaning?’ you will reply, ‘Because of the report that has come. Every heart will melt with fear and every hand will be limp; everyone 278 will faint and every knee will be wet with urine.’ 279 Pay attention – it is coming and it will happen, declares the sovereign Lord.”
21:8 The word of the Lord came to me: 21:9 “Son of man, prophesy and say: ‘This is what the Lord says:
“‘A sword, a sword is sharpened,
and also polished.
21:10 It is sharpened for slaughter,
it is polished to flash like lightning!
“‘Should we rejoice in the scepter of my son? No! The sword despises every tree! 280
21:11 “‘He gave it to be polished,
to be grasped in the hand –
the sword is sharpened, it is polished –
giving it into the hand of the executioner.
21:12 Cry out and moan, son of man,
for it is wielded against my people;
against all the princes of Israel.
They are delivered up to the sword, along with my people.
Therefore, strike your thigh. 281
21:13 “‘For testing will come, and what will happen when the scepter, which the sword despises, is no more? 282 declares the sovereign Lord.’
21:14 “And you, son of man, prophesy,
and clap your hands together.
Let the sword strike twice, even three times!
It is a sword for slaughter,
a sword for the great slaughter surrounding them.
21:15 So hearts melt with fear and many stumble.
At all their gates I have stationed the sword for slaughter.
Ah! It is made to flash, it is drawn for slaughter!
21:16 Cut sharply on the right!
Swing to 283 the left,
wherever your edge 284 is appointed to strike.
21:17 I too will clap my hands together,
I will exhaust my rage;
I the Lord have spoken.”
21:18 The word of the Lord came to me: 21:19 “You, son of man, mark out two routes for the king of Babylon’s sword to take; both of them will originate in a single land. Make a signpost and put it at the beginning of the road leading to the city. 21:20 Mark out the routes for the sword to take: “Rabbah of the Ammonites” and “Judah with Jerusalem in it.” 285 21:21 For the king of Babylon stands at the fork 286 in the road at the head of the two routes. He looks for omens: 287 He shakes arrows, he consults idols, 288 he examines 289 animal livers. 290 21:22 Into his right hand 291 comes the portent for Jerusalem – to set up battering rams, to give the signal 292 for slaughter, to shout out the battle cry, 293 to set up battering rams against the gates, to erect a siege ramp, to build a siege wall. 21:23 But those in Jerusalem 294 will view it as a false omen. They have sworn solemn oaths, 295 but the king of Babylon 296 will accuse them of violations 297 in order to seize them. 298
21:24 “Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: ‘Because you have brought up 299 your own guilt by uncovering your transgressions and revealing your sins through all your actions, for this reason you will be taken by force. 300
21:25 “‘As for you, profane and wicked prince of Israel, 301
whose day has come, the time of final punishment,
21:26 this is what the sovereign Lord says:
Tear off the turban, 302
take off the crown!
Things must change! 303
Exalt the lowly,
bring down the proud! 304
21:27 A total ruin I will make it! 305
It will come to an end
when the one arrives to whom I have assigned judgment.’ 306
21:28 “As for you, son of man, prophesy and say, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says concerning the Ammonites and their coming humiliation; 307 say:
“‘A sword, a sword drawn for slaughter,
polished to consume, 308 to flash like lightning –
21:29 while seeing false visions for you
and reading lying omens for you 309 –
to place that sword 310 on the necks of the profane wicked, 311
whose day has come,
the time of final punishment.
21:30 Return it to its sheath! 312
In the place where you were created, 313
in your native land, I will judge you.
21:31 I will pour out my anger on you;
the fire of my fury I will blow on you.
I will hand you over to brutal men,
who are skilled in destruction.
21:32 You will become fuel for the fire –
your blood will stain the middle of the land; 314
you will no longer be remembered,
for I, the Lord, have spoken.’”
22:1 The word of the Lord came to me: 22:2 “As for you, son of man, are you willing to pronounce judgment, 315 are you willing to pronounce judgment on the bloody city? 316 Then confront her with all her abominable deeds! 22:3 Then say, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: O city, who spills blood within herself (which brings on her doom), 317 and who makes herself idols (which results in impurity), 22:4 you are guilty because of the blood you shed and defiled by the idols you made. You have hastened the day of your doom; 318 the end of your years has come. 319 Therefore I will make 320 you an object of scorn to the nations, an object to be mocked by all lands. 22:5 Those both near and far from you will mock you, you with your bad reputation, 321 full of turmoil.
22:6 “‘See how each of the princes of Israel living within you has used his authority to shed blood. 322 22:7 They have treated father and mother with contempt 323 within you; they have oppressed the foreigner among you; they have wronged the orphan and the widow 324 within you. 22:8 You have despised my holy things and desecrated my Sabbaths! 22:9 Slanderous men shed blood within you. 325 Those who live within you eat pagan sacrifices on the mountains; 326 they commit obscene acts among you. 327 22:10 They have sex with their father’s wife within you; 328 they violate women during their menstrual period within you. 329 22:11 One 330 commits an abominable act with his neighbor’s wife; another obscenely defiles his daughter-in-law; another violates 331 his sister – his father’s daughter 332 – within you. 22:12 They take bribes within you to shed blood. You engage in usury and charge interest; 333 you extort money from your neighbors. You have forgotten me, 334 declares the sovereign Lord. 335
22:13 “‘See, I strike my hands together 336 at the dishonest profit you have made, and at the bloodshed 337 they have done among you. 22:14 Can your heart endure, 338 or can your hands be strong when I deal with you? 339 I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will do it! 22:15 I will scatter you among the nations and disperse you among various countries; I will remove your impurity from you. 340 22:16 You will be profaned within yourself 341 in the sight of the nations; then you will know that I am the Lord.’”
22:17 The word of the Lord came to me: 22:18 “Son of man, the house of Israel has become slag to me. All of them are like bronze, tin, iron, and lead in the furnace; 342 they are the worthless slag of silver. 22:19 Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: ‘Because all of you 343 have become slag, look out! – I am about to gather you in the middle of Jerusalem. 344 22:20 As silver, bronze, iron, lead, and tin are gathered in a furnace so that the fire can melt them, so I will gather you in my anger and in my rage. I will deposit you there 345 and melt you. 22:21 I will gather you and blow on you with the fire of my fury, and you will be melted in it. 22:22 As silver is melted in a furnace, so you will be melted in it, and you will know that I, the Lord, have poured out my anger on you.’”
22:23 The word of the Lord came to me: 22:24 “Son of man, say to her: ‘You are a land that receives no rain 346 or showers in the day of my anger.’ 347 22:25 Her princes 348 within her are like a roaring lion tearing its prey; they have devoured lives. They take away riches and valuable things; they have made many women widows 349 within it. 22:26 Her priests abuse my law and have desecrated my holy things. They do not distinguish between the holy and the profane, 350 or recognize any distinction between the unclean and the clean. They ignore 351 my Sabbaths and I am profaned in their midst. 22:27 Her officials are like wolves in her midst rending their prey – shedding blood and destroying lives – so they can get dishonest profit. 22:28 Her prophets coat their messages with whitewash. 352 They see false visions and announce lying omens for them, saying, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says,’ when the Lord has not spoken. 22:29 The people of the land have practiced extortion and committed robbery. They have wronged the poor and needy; they have oppressed the foreigner who lives among them and denied them justice. 353
22:30 “I looked for a man from among them who would repair the wall and stand in the gap before me on behalf of the land, so that I would not destroy it, but I found no one. 354 22:31 So I have poured my anger on them, and destroyed them with the fire of my fury. I hereby repay them for what they have done, 355 declares the sovereign Lord.”
23:1 The word of the Lord came to me: 23:2 “Son of man, there were two women who were daughters of the same mother. 23:3 They engaged in prostitution in Egypt; in their youth they engaged in prostitution. Their breasts were squeezed there; lovers 356 fondled their virgin nipples there. 23:4 Oholah was the name of the older and Oholibah 357 the name of her younger sister. They became mine, and gave birth to sons and daughters. 358 Oholah is Samaria and Oholibah is Jerusalem.
23:5 “Oholah engaged in prostitution while she was mine. 359 She lusted after her lovers, the Assyrians 360 – warriors 361 23:6 clothed in blue, governors and officials, all of them desirable young men, horsemen riding on horses. 23:7 She bestowed her sexual favors on them; all of them were the choicest young men of Assyria. She defiled herself with all whom she desired 362 – with all their idols. 23:8 She did not abandon the prostitution she had practiced in Egypt; for in her youth men had sex with her, fondled her virgin breasts, and ravished her. 363 23:9 Therefore I handed her over to her lovers, the Assyrians 364 for whom she lusted. 23:10 They exposed her nakedness, seized her sons and daughters, and killed her with the sword. She became notorious 365 among women, and they executed judgments against her.
23:11 “Her sister Oholibah watched this, 366 but she became more corrupt in her lust than her sister had been, and her acts of prostitution were more numerous than those of her sister. 23:12 She lusted after the Assyrians – governors and officials, warriors in full armor, horsemen riding on horses, all of them desirable young men. 23:13 I saw that she was defiled; both of them followed the same path. 23:14 But she increased her prostitution. She saw men carved on the wall, images of the Chaldeans carved in bright red, 367 23:15 wearing belts on their waists and flowing turbans on their heads, all of them looking like officers, the image of Babylonians 368 whose native land is Chaldea. 23:16 When she saw them, 369 she lusted after them and sent messengers to them in Chaldea. 370 23:17 The Babylonians crawled into bed with her. 371 They defiled her with their lust; after she was defiled by them, she 372 became disgusted with them. 23:18 When she lustfully exposed her nakedness, 373 I 374 was disgusted with her, just as I 375 had been disgusted with her sister. 23:19 Yet she increased her prostitution, remembering the days of her youth when she engaged in prostitution in the land of Egypt. 23:20 She lusted after their genitals – as large as those of donkeys, 376 and their seminal emission was as strong as that of stallions. 23:21 This is how you assessed 377 the obscene conduct of your youth, when the Egyptians fondled 378 your nipples and squeezed 379 your young breasts.
23:22 “Therefore, Oholibah, this is what the sovereign Lord says: Look here, 380 I am about to stir up against you the lovers with whom you were disgusted; I will bring them against you from every side: 23:23 the Babylonians and all the Chaldeans, Pekod, 381 Shoa, 382 and Koa, 383 and all the Assyrians with them, desirable young men, all of them governors and officials, officers and nobles, all of them riding on horses. 23:24 They will attack 384 you with weapons, 385 chariots, wagons, and with a huge army; 386 they will array themselves against you on every side with large shields, small shields, and helmets. I will assign them the task of judgment; 387 they will punish you according to their laws. 23:25 I will direct 388 my jealous anger against you, and they will deal with you in rage. They will cut off your nose and your ears, 389 and your survivors will die 390 by the sword. They will seize your sons and daughters, and your survivors will be consumed by fire. 23:26 They will strip your clothes off you and take away your beautiful jewelry. 23:27 So I will put an end to your obscene conduct and your prostitution which you have practiced in the land of Egypt. 391 You will not seek their help 392 or remember Egypt anymore.
23:28 “For this is what the sovereign Lord says: Look here, 393 I am about to deliver you over to 394 those whom you hate, to those with whom you were disgusted. 23:29 They will treat you with hatred, take away all you have labored for, 395 and leave you naked and bare. Your nakedness will be exposed, just as when you engaged in prostitution and obscene conduct. 396 23:30 I will do these things to you 397 because you engaged in prostitution with the nations, polluting yourself with their idols. 23:31 You have followed the ways of your sister, so I will place her cup of judgment 398 in your hand. 23:32 “This is what the sovereign Lord says: “You will drink your sister’s deep and wide cup; 399 you will be scorned and derided, for it holds a great deal. 23:33 You will be overcome by 400 drunkenness and sorrow. The cup of your sister Samaria is a cup of horror and desolation. 23:34 You will drain it dry, 401 gnaw its pieces, 402 and tear out your breasts, 403 for I have spoken, declares the sovereign Lord.
23:35 “Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: Because you have forgotten me and completely disregarded me, 404 you must bear now the punishment 405 for your obscene conduct and prostitution.”
23:36 The Lord said to me: “Son of man, are you willing to pronounce judgment 406 on Oholah and Oholibah? Then declare to them their abominable deeds! 23:37 For they have committed adultery and blood is on their hands. They have committed adultery with their idols, and their sons, whom they bore to me, 407 they have passed through the fire as food to their idols. 408 23:38 Moreover, they have done this to me: In the very same day 409 they desecrated my sanctuary and profaned my Sabbaths. 23:39 On the same day they slaughtered their sons for their idols, they came to my sanctuary to desecrate it. This is what they have done in the middle of my house.
23:40 “They even sent for men from far away; when the messenger arrived, those men set out. 410 For them you bathed, 411 painted your eyes, and decorated yourself with jewelry. 23:41 You sat on a magnificent couch, with a table arranged in front of it where you placed my incense and my olive oil. 23:42 The sound of a carefree crowd accompanied her, 412 including all kinds of men; 413 even Sabeans 414 were brought from the desert. The sisters 415 put bracelets on their wrists and beautiful crowns on their heads. 23:43 Then I said about the one worn out by adultery, ‘Now they will commit immoral acts with her.’ 23:44 They had sex with her 416 as one does with a prostitute. In this way they had sex with Oholah and Oholibah, promiscuous women. 23:45 But upright men will punish them appropriately for their adultery and bloodshed, 417 because they are adulteresses and blood is on their hands.
23:46 “For this is what the sovereign Lord says: Bring up an army 418 against them and subject them 419 to terror and plunder. 23:47 That army will pelt them with stones and slash them with their swords; they will kill their sons and daughters and burn their houses. 420 23:48 I will put an end to the obscene conduct in the land; all the women will learn a lesson from this and not engage in obscene conduct. 23:49 They will repay you for your obscene conduct, and you will be punished for idol worship. 421 Then you will know that I am the sovereign Lord.”
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 422 : 24:2 “Son of man, write down the name of this day, this very day. The king of Babylon has laid siege 423 to Jerusalem 424 this very day. 24:3 Recite a proverb to this rebellious house 425 and say to them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says:
“‘Set on the pot, 426 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 427 is in it,
whose rot has not been removed 428 from it!
Empty it piece by piece.
No lot has fallen on it. 429
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, 430
until it becomes hot and its copper glows,
until its uncleanness melts within it and its rot 431 is consumed.
24:12 It has tried my patience; 432
yet its thick rot is not removed 433 from it.
Subject its rot to the fire! 434
24:13 You mix uncleanness with obscene conduct. 435
I tried to cleanse you, 436 but you are not clean.
You will not be cleansed from your uncleanness 437
until I have exhausted my anger on you.
24:14 “‘I the Lord have spoken; judgment 438 is coming and I will act! I will not relent, or show pity, or be sorry! 439 I will judge you 440 according to your conduct 441 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, 442 but you must not mourn or weep or shed tears. 24:17 Groan in silence for the dead, 443 but do not perform mourning rites. 444 Bind on your turban 445 and put your sandals on your feet. Do not cover your lip 446 and do not eat food brought by others.” 447
24:18 So I spoke to the people in the morning, and my wife died in the evening. In the morning 448 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, 449 the object in which your eyes delight, 450 and your life’s passion. 451 Your very own sons and daughters whom you have left behind will die 452 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. 453 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 454 for your iniquities 455 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 456 from them their stronghold – their beautiful source of joy, the object in which their eyes delight, and the main concern of their lives, 457 as well as their sons and daughters: 458 24:26 On that day a fugitive will come to you to report the news. 459 24:27 On that day you will be able to speak again; 460 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.”
[12:2] 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).
[12:2] 2 sn This verse is very similar to Isa 6:9-10.
[12:3] 3 tn Heb “see.” This plays on the uses of “see” in v. 2. They will see his actions with their eyes and perhaps they will “see” with their mind, that is, understand or grasp the point.
[12:6] 4 tn Apart from this context the Hebrew term occurs only in Gen 15:17 in reference to the darkness after sunset. It may mean twilight.
[12:6] 5 tn Or “land” (ASV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
[12:6] 6 sn See also Ezek 12:11, 24:24, 27.
[12:7] 7 tn The words “my baggage” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied from the context.
[12:10] 8 tc The nearly incoherent Hebrew reads “The prince is this burden (prophetic oracle?) in Jerusalem.” The Targum, which may only be trying to make sense of a very difficult text, says “Concerning the prince is this oracle,” assuming the addition of a preposition. This would be the only case where Ezekiel uses this term for a prophetic oracle. The LXX reads the word for “burden” as a synonym for leader, as both words are built on the same root (נָשִׂיא, nasi’), but the verse is still incoherent because it is only a phrase with no verb. The current translation assumes that the verb יִשָּׂא (yisa’) from the root נָשִׂיא has dropped out due to homoioteleuton. If indeed the verb has dropped out (the syntax of the verbless clause being the problem), then context clearly suggests that it be a form of נָשִׂיא (see vv. 7 and 12). Placing the verb between the subject and object would result in three consecutive words based on the root נָשִׂיא and an environment conducive to an omission in copying: הַנָּשִׂיא יִשָּׁא הַמַּשָּׂא הַזֶּה (hannasi’ yisha’ hammasa’ hazzeh, “the Prince will raise this burden”).
[12:10] sn The prince in Jerusalem refers to King Zedekiah.
[12:10] map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[12:10] 9 tc The MT reads “within them.” Possibly a scribe copied this form from the following verse “among them,” but only “within it” makes sense in this context.
[12:12] 10 sn The prince is a reference to Zedekiah.
[12:12] 11 tn The words “his belongings” are not in the Hebrew text but are implied.
[12:12] 12 tc The MT reads “they”; the LXX and Syriac read “he.”
[12:13] 13 tn Or “Babylonians” (NCV, NLT).
[12:13] sn The Chaldeans were a group of people in the country south of Babylon from which Nebuchadnezzar came. The Chaldean dynasty his father established became the name by which the Babylonians are regularly referred to in the book of Jeremiah, while Jeremiah’s contemporary, Ezekiel, uses both terms.
[12:13] 14 sn He will not see it. This prediction was fulfilled in 2 Kgs 25:7 and Jer 52:11, which recount how Zedekiah was blinded before being deported to Babylon.
[12:13] 15 sn There he will die. This was fulfilled when King Zedekiah died in exile (Jer 52:11).
[12:18] 16 tn The Hebrew term normally refers to an earthquake (see 1 Kgs 19:11; Amos 1:1).
[12:23] 17 tn Heb “the days draw near and the word of every vision (draws near).”
[13:2] 18 tn Heb “from their mind.”
[13:2] sn Who prophesy from their imagination. Note the testimony of Moses in Num 16:28, which contains a similar expression.
[13:6] 19 sn The same description of a false prophet is found in Micah 2:11.
[13:6] 20 sn The
[13:6] 21 tn Or “confirmed”; NIV “to be fulfilled”; TEV “to come true.”
[13:8] 22 tn The word h!nn@h indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
[13:8] 23 tn Or “I challenge you.” The phrase “I am against you” may be a formula for challenging someone to combat or a duel. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:201-2, and P. Humbert, “Die Herausforderungsformel ‘h!nn#n' ?l?K>,’” ZAW 45 (1933): 101-8.
[13:9] 24 tn The Hebrew term may refer to the secret council of the
[13:9] 25 tn The reference here is probably to a civil list (as in Ezra 2:16; Neh 7:64) rather than to a “book of life” (Exod 32:32; Isa 4:3; Ps 69:29; Dan 12:1). This registry may have been established at the making of David’s census (2 Sam 24:2, 9).
[13:10] 27 tn The Hebrew word only occurs here in the Bible. According to L. C. Allen (Ezekiel [WBC], 1:202-3) it is also used in the Mishnah of a wall of rough stones without mortar. This fits the context here comparing the false prophetic messages to a nice coat of whitewash on a structurally unstable wall.
[13:11] 28 tn Heb “and you, O hailstones.”
[13:11] 29 sn A violent wind will break out. God’s judgments are frequently described in storm imagery (Pss 18:7-15; 77:17-18; 83:15; Isa 28:17; 30:30; Jer 23:19; 30:23).
[13:14] 30 tn Or “within it,” referring to the city of Jerusalem.
[13:16] 31 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[13:17] 32 tn Heb “set your face against.”
[13:17] 33 tn Heb “from their heart.”
[13:18] 34 sn The wristbands mentioned here probably represented magic bands or charms. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:413.
[13:18] 35 tn Heb “joints of the hands.” This may include the elbow and shoulder joints.
[13:18] 36 tn The Hebrew term occurs in the Bible only here and in v. 21. It has also been understood as a veil or type of head covering. D. I. Block (Ezekiel [NICOT], 1:414) suggests that given the context of magical devices, the expected parallel to the magical arm bands, and the meaning of this Hebrew root (סָפַח [safakh, “to attach” or “join”]), it may refer to headbands or necklaces on which magical amulets were worn.
[13:18] 37 tn Heb “human lives” or “souls” (three times in v. 18 and twice in v. 19).
[13:19] 38 tn Heb “human lives” or “souls.”
[13:20] 39 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
[13:20] 40 tn Heb “human lives” or “souls.”
[13:21] 41 tn Heb “from your hand(s).” This refers to their power over the people.
[13:23] 42 tn The Hebrew verb is feminine plural, indicating that it is the false prophetesses who are addressed here.
[14:3] 43 tn Heb “the stumbling block of their iniquity.” This phrase is unique to the prophet Ezekiel.
[14:3] 44 tn Or “I will not reveal myself to them.” The Hebrew word is used in a technical sense here of seeking an oracle from a prophet (2 Kgs 1:16; 3:11; 8:8).
[14:4] 45 tn Heb “in accordance with the multitude of his idols.”
[14:9] 47 tn The translation is uncertain due to difficulty both in determining the meaning of the verb’s stem and its conjugation in this context. In the Qal stem the basic meaning of the verbal root פָּתַה (patah) is “to be gullible, foolish.” The doubling stems (the Pual and Piel used in this verse) typically give such stative verbs a factitive sense, hence either “make gullible” (i.e., “entice”) or “make into a fool” (i.e., “to show to be a fool”). The latter represents the probable meaning of the term in Jer 20:7, 10 and is followed here (see L. C. Allen, Ezekiel [WBC], 1:193; R. Mosis “Ez 14, 1-11 - ein Ruf zur Umkehr,” BZ 19 [1975]: 166-69 and ThWAT 4:829-31). In this view, if a prophet speaks when not prompted by God, he will be shown to be a fool, but this does not reflect negatively on the Lord because it is God who shows him to be a fool. Secondly, the verb is in the perfect conjugation and may be translated “I have made a fool of him” or “I have enticed him,” or to show determination (see IBHS 439-41 §27.2f and g), or in certain syntactical constructions as future. Any of these may be plausible if the doubling stems used are understood in the sense of “making a fool of.” But if understood as “to make gullible,” more factors come into play. As the Hebrew verbal form is a perfect, it is often translated as present perfect: “I have enticed.” In this case the Lord states that he himself enticed the prophet to cooperate with the idolaters. Such enticement to sin would seem to be a violation of God’s moral character, but sometimes he does use such deception and enticement to sin as a form of punishment against those who have blatantly violated his moral will (see, e.g., 2 Sam 24). If one follows this line of interpretation in Ezek 14:9, one would have to assume that the prophet had already turned from God in his heart. However, the context gives no indication of this. Therefore, it is better to take the perfect as indicating certitude and to translate it with the future tense: “I will entice.” In this case the Lord announces that he will judge the prophet appropriately. If a prophet allows himself to be influenced by idolaters, then the Lord will use deception as a form of punishment against that deceived prophet. A comparison with the preceding oracles also favors this view. In 14:4 the perfect of certitude is used for emphasis (see “I will answer”), though in v. 7 a participle is employed. For a fuller discussion of this text, see R. B. Chisholm, Jr., “Does God Deceive?” BSac 155 (1998): 23-25.
[14:10] 48 tn Or “They will bear responsibility for their iniquity.” The Hebrew term “iniquity” (three times in this verse) often refers by metonymy to the consequence of sin (see Gen 4:13).
[14:10] 49 tn Or “As is the guilt of the inquirer so is the guilt of the prophet.”
[14:11] 50 sn I will be their God. See Exod 6:7; Lev 26:12; Jer 7:23; 11:4.
[14:13] 51 tn Heb “break its staff of bread.”
[14:14] 52 sn Traditionally this has been understood as a reference to the biblical Daniel, though he was still quite young when Ezekiel prophesied. One wonders if he had developed a reputation as an intercessor by this point. For this reason some prefer to see a reference to a ruler named Danel, known in Canaanite legend for his justice and wisdom. In this case all three of the individuals named would be non-Israelites, however the Ugaritic Danel is not known to have qualities of faith in the Lord that would place him in the company of the other men. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:447-50.
[14:21] 53 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[15:2] 54 tn Most modern translations take the statement as a comparison (“how is vine wood better than any forest wood?”) based on the preposition מִן (min). But a comparison should have a word as an adjective or stative verb designating a quality, i.e., a word for “good/better” is lacking. The preposition is translated above in its partitive sense.
[15:2] sn Comparing Israel to the wood of the vine may focus on Israel’s inferiority to the other nations. For the vine imagery in relation to Israel and the people of God, see Ps 80:8-13; John 15:1-7; Rom 11:17-22.
[15:4] 55 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) draws one’s attention to something. Sometimes it may be translated as a verb of perception; here it is treated as a particle that fits the context (so also in v. 5, but with a different English word).
[15:6] 56 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[15:6] 57 tn The words “as fuel” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied.
[15:7] 58 tn The word translated “set” is the same Hebrew word translated as “provide” in the previous verse.
[15:7] 59 sn This escape refers to the exile of Ezekiel and others in 597
[15:8] 60 tn The word translated “make” is the same Hebrew word translated as “provide” in v. 6.
[16:2] 61 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[16:4] 62 tn Heb “in water you were not washed for cleansing” or “with water you were not washed smooth” (see D. I. Block, Ezekiel [NICOT], 1:473, n. 57, for a discussion of possible meanings of this hapax legomenon).
[16:4] 63 sn Arab midwives still cut the umbilical cords of infants and then proceed to apply salt and oil to their bodies.
[16:5] 64 sn These verbs, “pity” and “spare,” echo the judgment oracles in 5:11; 7:4, 9; 8:18; 9:5, 10.
[16:5] 65 sn A similar concept is found in Deut 32:10.
[16:6] 66 tc The translation reflects the Hebrew text, which repeats the statement, perhaps for emphasis. However, a few medieval Hebrew manuscripts, the Old Greek, and the Syriac do not include the repetition. The statement could have been accidentally repeated or the second occurrence could have been accidentally omitted. Based on the available evidence it is difficult to know which is more likely.
[16:8] 67 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a participle.
[16:8] 68 tn See similar use of this term in Ezek 23:17; Prov 7:16; Song of Songs 4:10; 7:13.
[16:8] 69 tn Heb “wing” or “skirt.” The gesture symbolized acquiring a woman in early Arabia (similarly, see Deut 22:30; Ruth 3:9).
[16:14] 71 sn The description of the nation Israel in vv. 10-14 recalls the splendor of the nation’s golden age under King Solomon.
[16:15] 72 tn Heb “it” (so KJV, ASV); the referent (the beauty in which the prostitute trusted, see the beginning of the verse) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[16:16] 73 tc The text as written in the MT is incomprehensible (“not coming [plural] and he will not”). Driver has suggested a copying error of similar-sounding words, specifically לֹא (lo’) for לוֹ (lo). The feminine participle בָאוֹת (va’ot) has also been read as the feminine perfect בָאת (va’t). See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 1:228, n. 15.b, and D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:486, n. 137.
[16:17] 74 tn Or perhaps “and worshiped them,” if the word “prostitution” is understood in a figurative rather than a literal sense (cf. CEV, NLT).
[16:20] 75 sn The sacrifice of children was prohibited in Lev 18:21; 20:2; Deut 12:31; 18:10.
[16:21] 76 tn Heb “and you gave them, by passing them through to them.” Some believe this alludes to the pagan practice of making children pass through the fire.
[16:24] 77 tn The Hebrew גֶּב (gev) may represent more than one word, each rare in the Old Testament. It may refer to a “mound” or to “rafters.” The LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate interpret this as a brothel.
[16:24] 78 tn Or “lofty place” (NRSV). See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 1:229, and B. Lang, Frau Weisheit, 137.
[16:25] 79 tn Heb “treated as if abominable,” i.e., repudiated.
[16:25] 80 tn The only other occurrence of the Hebrew root is found in Prov 13:3 in reference to the talkative person who habitually “opens wide” his lips.
[16:26] 81 tn Heb “your neighbors, large of flesh.” The word “flesh” is used here of the genitals. It may simply refer to the size of their genitals in general, or, as the translation suggests, depicts them as sexually aroused.
[16:29] 82 tn Heb “Chaldea.” The name of the tribal group ruling Babylon (“Chaldeans”) and the territory from which they originated (“Chaldea”) is used as metonymy for the whole empire of Babylon.
[16:31] 83 tn The Hebrew term, which also occurs in vv. 34 and 41 of this chapter, always refers to the payment of a prostitute (Deut 23:19; Isa 23:17; Hos 9:1; Mic 1:7).
[16:33] 84 tn The Hebrew word occurs only here in the OT.
[16:34] 85 tn Heb “With you it was opposite of women in your prostitution.”
[16:36] 86 tn The Hebrew word occurs only here in the OT.
[16:37] 87 sn Harlots suffered degradation when their nakedness was exposed (Jer 13:22, 26; Hos 2:12; Nah 3:5).
[16:38] 88 tn Heb “and I will judge you (with) the judgments of adulteresses and of those who shed blood.”
[16:38] 89 tn Heb “and I will give you the blood of rage and zeal.”
[16:41] 90 tn The words “to your clients” are not in the Hebrew text but are implied.
[16:43] 91 tn Heb “your way on (your) head I have placed.”
[16:46] 94 sn Sodom was the epitome of evil (Deut 29:23; 32:32; Isa 1:9-10; 3:9; Jer 23:14; Lam 4:6; Matt 10:15; 11:23-24; Jude 7).
[16:47] 95 tn Heb “walked in their ways.”
[16:47] 96 tn The Hebrew expression has a temporal meaning as illustrated by the use of the phrase in 2 Chr 12:7.
[16:49] 98 tn Heb “strengthen the hand of.”
[16:51] 99 tn Or “you have multiplied your abominable deeds beyond them.”
[16:52] 100 tn Heb “because you have interceded for your sisters with your sins.”
[16:57] 102 tc So MT, LXX, and Vulgate; many Hebrew
[16:63] 104 tn Heb “and your mouth will not be open any longer.”
[16:63] 105 tn Heb “when I make atonement for you for all which you have done.”
[17:2] 106 sn The verb occurs elsewhere in the OT only in Judg 14:12-19, where Samson supplies a riddle.
[17:3] 107 tn The parable assumes the defection of Zedekiah to Egypt and his rejection of Babylonian lordship.
[17:3] 108 sn The great eagle symbolizes Nebuchadnezzar (17:12).
[17:3] 109 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] 110 tn This term was used in 16:10, 13, and 18 of embroidered cloth.
[17:3] 111 sn In the parable Lebanon apparently refers to Jerusalem (17:12).
[17:5] 112 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] 113 tn Heb “a field for seed.”
[17:6] 114 tn Heb “short of stature.”
[17:6] 115 tn That is, the eagle.
[17:6] 116 tn Or “him,” i.e., the eagle.
[17:7] 117 sn The phrase another great eagle refers to Pharaoh Hophra.
[17:9] 118 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] 119 tn Heb “all the טַרְפֵּי (tarpey) of branches.” The word טַרְפֵּי occurs only here in the Bible; its precise meaning is uncertain.
[17:9] 120 tn Or “there will be no strong arm or large army when it is pulled up by the roots.”
[17:12] 121 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] 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).
[17:12] 122 sn The narrative description of this interpretation of the riddle is given in 2 Kgs 24:11-15.
[17:12] 123 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[17:13] 124 tn Or “descendants”; Heb “seed” (cf. v. 5).
[17:13] 125 tn Heb “caused him to enter into an oath.”
[17:15] 126 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the member of the royal family, v. 13) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[17:15] 127 tn Heb “him”; the referent (the king of Babylon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[17:17] 129 tn Heb “deal with” or “work with.”
[17:18] 130 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates being aware of or taking notice of something.
[17:18] 131 sn Heb “hand.” “Giving one’s hand” is a gesture of promise (2 Kgs 10:15).
[17:19] 132 tn Heb “place it on his head.”
[17:21] 133 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).
[17:22] 135 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] 136 tc The LXX lacks “and plant it.”
[18:2] 137 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] 138 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).
[18:6] 140 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] 141 tn Heb, “does not lift up his eyes.” This refers to looking to idols for help.
[18:6] 142 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] 143 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] 144 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] 145 sn This law was given in Lev 25:36.
[18:8] 146 tn Heb, “turns back his hand.”
[18:8] 147 tn Heb “justice of truth.”
[18:9] 148 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] 150 tn Heb “living, he will live.” The infinitive absolute precedes the finite verb for emphasis.
[18:10] 152 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] 153 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] 154 sn See note on “mountains” in v. 6.
[18:12] 155 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] 156 tn Heb “lifts up his eyes.”
[18:13] 157 tn Heb “be put to death.” The translation follows an alternative reading that appears in several ancient textual witnesses.
[18:13] 158 tn Heb “his blood will be upon him.”
[18:14] 159 tn Heb “and he sees and does not do likewise.”
[18:17] 160 tc This translation follows the LXX. The MT reads “restrains his hand from the poor,” which makes no sense here.
[18:17] 161 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] 162 tn Heb “lift up, bear.”
[18:20] 163 tn Heb “lift up, bear.”
[18:20] 164 tn Heb “lift up, bear.”
[18:20] 165 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] 166 tn Heb “remembered.”
[18:24] 167 tn Heb “because of them he will die.”
[18:26] 169 tn Heb “for them” or “because of them.”
[18:30] 172 tn The verbs and persons in this verse are plural whereas the individual has been the subject of the chapter.
[18:30] 173 tn Or “leading to punishment.”
[18:31] 174 sn In Ezek 11:19, 36:26 the new heart and new spirit are promised as future blessings.
[18:32] 175 tn Heb “the death of the one dying.”
[19:2] 177 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] 179 sn The description applies to king Jehoahaz (2 Kgs 23:31-34; Jer 22:10-12).
[19:5] 180 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] 181 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] 182 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] 183 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] 184 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] 185 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] 186 tn The word “fit” does not occur in the Hebrew text.
[19:11] 187 tn Heb “and it was seen by its height and by the abundance of its branches.”
[19:12] 188 sn The east wind symbolizes the Babylonians.
[19:13] 189 sn This metaphor depicts the Babylonian exile of the Davidic dynasty.
[19:14] 190 tn The verse describes the similar situation recorded in Judg 9:20.
[20:1] 191 sn The date would be August 14th, 591
[20:1] 192 tn Heb “men from the elders.”
[20:1] 193 tn See the note at 14:3.
[20:3] 194 tn Or “I will not reveal myself to you.”
[20:4] 195 tn Heb “will you judge.” Here the imperfect form of the verb is probably used with a desiderative nuance. Addressed to the prophet, “judge” means to warn of or pronounce God’s impending judgment.
[20:5] 196 tn Heb “I lifted up my hand.”
[20:5] 198 tn Heb “I lifted up my hand.”
[20:6] 199 tn Heb “I lifted up my hand to them.”
[20:6] 200 tn Or “searched out.” The Hebrew word is used to describe the activity of the spies in “spying out” the land of Canaan (Num 13-14); cf. KJV “I had espied for them.”
[20:6] 201 sn The phrase “a land flowing with milk and honey,” a figure of speech describing the land’s abundant fertility, occurs in v. 15 as well as Exod 3:8, 17; 13:5; 33:3; Lev 20:24; Num 13:27; Deut 6:3; 11:9; 26:9; 27:3; Josh 5:6; Jer 11:5; 32:23 (see also Deut 1:25; 8:7-9).
[20:7] 202 tn Heb “each one, the detestable things of his eyes, throw away.” The Pentateuch does not refer to the Israelites worshiping idols in Egypt, but Josh 24:14 appears to suggest that they did so.
[20:8] 203 tn Heb “each one, the detestable things of their eyes did not throw away.”
[20:8] 204 tn Heb “and I said/thought to pour out.”
[20:9] 205 tn Heb “for the sake of my name.”
[20:9] 206 tn Heb “before the eyes of the nations in whose midst they were.”
[20:9] 207 tn Heb “to whom I made myself known before their eyes to bring them out from the land of Egypt.” The translation understands the infinitive construct (“to bring them out”) as indicating manner. God’s deliverance of his people from Egypt was an act of self-revelation in that it displayed his power and his commitment to his promises.
[20:11] 208 sn The laws were given at Mount Sinai.
[20:11] 211 tn The wording and the concept is contained in Lev 18:5 and Deut 30:15-19.
[20:12] 212 sn Ezekiel’s contemporary, Jeremiah, also stressed the importance of obedience to the Sabbath law (Jer 17).
[20:12] 213 tn Heb “to become a sign between me and them.”
[20:12] 214 tn Or “set them apart.” The last phrase of verse 12 appears to be a citation of Exod 31:13.
[20:13] 215 tn Heb “and I said/thought to pour out.”
[20:13] 216 tn Heb “to bring them to an end.”
[20:15] 217 tn Heb “I lifted up my hand.”
[20:16] 218 tn The words “I did this” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied for stylistic reasons. Verses 15-16 are one long sentence in the Hebrew text. The translation divides this sentence into two for stylistic reasons.
[20:16] 219 tn Heb “for after their idols their heart was going.” The use of the active participle (“was going”) in the Hebrew text draws attention to the ongoing nature of their idolatrous behavior.
[20:17] 220 tn Heb “my eye pitied.”
[20:18] 221 tn Heb “sons,” reflecting the patriarchal idiom of the culture.
[20:18] 222 tn Or “standard of justice.” See Ezek 7:27.
[20:20] 223 tn Or “set apart my Sabbaths.”
[20:20] 224 tn Heb “and they will become a sign between me and you.”
[20:21] 226 tn Or “carries them out.”
[20:21] 227 tn Heb “and I said/thought to pour out.”
[20:22] 228 tn Heb “drew my hand back.” This idiom also occurs in Lam 2:8 and Ps 74:11.
[20:23] 229 tn Heb “I lifted up my hand.”
[20:23] 230 sn Though the Pentateuch does not seem to know of this episode, Ps 106:26-27 may speak of God’s oath to exile the people before they had entered Canaan.
[20:24] 231 tn The words “I did this” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied for stylistic reasons. Verses 23-24 are one long sentence in the Hebrew text. The translation divides this sentence into two for stylistic reasons.
[20:24] 232 tn Or “they worshiped” (NCV, TEV, CEV); Heb “their eyes were on” or “were after” (cf. v. 16).
[20:25] 233 tn Or “permitted.”
[20:25] sn The content of the verse is shocking: that God would “give” bad decrees. This probably does not refer to the Mosaic law but to the practices of the Canaanites who were left in the land in order to test Israel. See Judg 2:20-23, the note on “decrees” in v. 25, and the note on “pass through the fire” in v. 26.
[20:25] 234 tn The Hebrew term חֻקּוֹת (khuqot; translated “statutes” elsewhere in this chapter) is normally feminine. Here Ezekiel changes the form to masculine: חֻקִּים (khuqim). Further, they are not called “my decrees” as vv. 11 and 13 refer to “my statutes.” The change is a signal that Ezekiel is not talking about the same statutes in vv. 11 and 13, which lead to life.
[20:26] 236 sn This act is prohibited in Deut 12:29-31 and Jer 7:31; 19:5; 32:35. See also 2 Kgs 21:6; 23:10. This custom indicates that the laws the Israelites were following were the disastrous laws of pagan nations (see Ezek 16:20-21).
[20:26] 237 sn God sometimes punishes sin by inciting the sinner to sin even more, as the biblical examples of divine hardening and deceit make clear. See Robert B. Chisholm, Jr., “Divine Hardening in the Old Testament,” BSac 153 (1996): 410-34; idem, “Does God Deceive?” BSac 155 (1998): 11-28. For other instances where the Lord causes individuals to act unwisely or even sinfully as punishment for sin, see 1 Sam 2:25; 2 Sam 17:14; 1 Kgs 12:15; 2 Chr 25:20.
[20:28] 238 tn Heb “which I lifted up my hand.”
[20:29] 239 tn The Hebrew word (“Bamah”) means “high place.”
[20:30] 240 tn Heb “in the way of your fathers.”
[20:31] 242 tn Or “Will I reveal myself to you?”
[20:31] 243 tn Or “I will not reveal myself to you.”
[20:32] 244 tn Heb “what comes upon your mind.”
[20:32] 245 tn The Hebrew could also read: “Let us be.”
[20:32] 246 tn Heb “serving wood and stone.”
[20:32] sn This verse echoes the content of 1 Sam 8:20.
[20:33] 247 sn This phrase occurs frequently in Deuteronomy (Deut 4:34; 5:15; 7:19; 11:2; 26:8).
[20:37] 248 tn This is the same Hebrew verb used to describe the passing of the children through the fire.
[20:37] 249 sn The metaphor may be based in Lev 27:32 (see also Jer 33:13; Matt 25:32-33). A shepherd would count his sheep as they passed beneath his staff.
[20:38] 250 tn See the note at 2:3.
[20:39] 251 sn Compare the irony here to Amos 4:4 and Jer 44:25.
[20:39] 252 tn Heb “and after, if you will not listen to me.” The translation leaves out “and after” for smoothness. The text is difficult. M. Greenberg (Ezekiel [AB], 1:374) suggests that it may mean “but afterwards, if you will not listen to me…” with an unspoken threat.
[20:39] 253 sn A similar concept may be found in Lev 18:21; 20:3.
[20:40] 255 tn Heb “all of it.”
[20:42] 256 tn Heb “I lifted up my hand.”
[20:43] 258 tn Heb “loathe yourselves in your faces.”
[20:45] 259 sn Beginning with 20:45, the verse numbers through 21:32 in the English Bible differ by five from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 20:45 ET = 21:1 HT, 20:46 ET = 21:2 HT, 21:1 ET = 21:6 HT etc., through 21:32 ET = 21:37 HT. Beginning with 22:1 the verse numbers in the English Bible and the Hebrew Bible are again the same.
[20:46] 260 tn Heb “set your face toward.” This expression occurs as well in Ezek 6:2; 13:17.
[20:46] 261 tn Or “the way toward the south,” or “the way toward Teman.” Teman is in the south and may be a location or the direction.
[20:46] 262 tn Or “toward Darom.” Darom may mean the south or a region just north of southern city of Beer Sheba. See M. Greenberg, Ezekiel (AB), 2:417-18.
[20:46] 263 tn The Hebrew term can also mean “forest,” but a meaning of uncultivated wasteland fits the Negev region far better. See M. Greenberg, Ezekiel (AB), 2:418.
[20:47] 264 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
[20:47] 265 tn Fire also appears as a form of judgment in Ezek 15:4-7; 19:12, 14.
[20:48] 266 tn Heb “all flesh.”
[21:1] 267 sn Ezek 21:1 in the English Bible is 21:6 in the Hebrew text (BHS). See the note at 20:45.
[21:2] 268 tn Heb “set your face toward.”
[21:2] 269 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[21:3] 270 tn Heb “the land of Israel.”
[21:3] 271 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) draws attention to something and has been translated here as a verb.
[21:3] 272 tn Or “I challenge you.” The phrase “I am against you” may be a formula for challenging someone to combat or a duel. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:201-2, and P. Humbert, “Die Herausforderungsformel ‘h!nn#n' ?l?K>,’” ZAW 45 (1933): 101-8.
[21:3] 273 sn This is the sword of judgment, see Isa 31:8; 34:6; 66:16.
[21:3] 274 sn Ezekiel elsewhere pictures the Lord’s judgment as discriminating between the righteous and the wicked (9:4-6; 18:1-20; see as well Pss 1 and 11) and speaks of the preservation of a remnant (3:21; 6:8; 12:16). Perhaps here he exaggerates for rhetorical effect in an effort to subdue any false optimism. See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:25-26; D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:669-70; and W. Zimmerli, Ezekiel (Hermeneia), 1:424-25.
[21:4] 275 tn Heb “all flesh” (also in the following verse).
[21:4] 276 tn Heb “Negev.” The Negev is the south country.
[21:6] 277 tn Heb “breaking loins.”
[21:7] 278 tn Heb “every spirit will be dim.”
[21:7] 279 sn This expression depicts in a very vivid way how they will be overcome with fear. See the note on the same phrase in 7:17.
[21:10] 280 tn Heb “Or shall we rejoice, scepter of my son, it despises every tree.” The translation understands the subject of the verb “despises,” which is a feminine form in the Hebrew text, to be the sword (which is a feminine noun) mentioned just before this. Alternatively, the line may be understood as “let us not rejoice, O tribe of my son; it despises every tree.” The same word in Hebrew may be either “rod,” “scepter,” or “tribe.” The word sometimes translated as “or” or taken as an interrogative particle may be a negative particle. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:672, n. 79.
[21:10] sn The people of Judah should not place false hope in their king, symbolized by his royal scepter, for God’s judgment (symbolized by fire and then a sword) would destroy every tree (see 20:47), symbolizing the righteous and wicked (see 21:3-4).
[21:12] 281 sn This physical action was part of an expression of grief. Cp. Jer. 31:19.
[21:13] 282 tn Heb “For testing (will come) and what if also a scepter, it despises, will not be?” The translation understands the subject of the verb “despises,” which is a feminine form in the Hebrew text, to be the sword (which is a feminine noun) mentioned in the previous verses. The text is very difficult and any rendering is uncertain.
[21:20] 285 tc The MT reads “Judah in fortified Jerusalem,” a geographic impossibility. The translation follows the LXX, which assumes בְּתוֹכָהּ (bÿtokhah, “in it”) for בְּצוּרָה (bÿtsurah, “fortified”).
[21:20] sn As the Babylonians approached from the north, one road would branch off to the left and lead down the east side of the Jordan River to Ammon. The other road would veer to the right and lead down west of the Jordan to Jerusalem.
[21:21] 287 sn Mesopotamian kings believed that the gods revealed the future through omens. They employed various divination techniques, some of which are included in the list that follows. A particularly popular technique was the examination and interpretation of the livers of animals. See R. R. Wilson, Prophecy and Society in Ancient Israel, 90-110.
[21:21] 288 tn This word refers to personal idols that were apparently used for divination purposes (Gen 31:19; 1 Sam 19:13, 16).
[21:21] 290 tn Heb “the liver.”
[21:22] 291 tn Or “on the right side,” i.e., the omen mark on the right side of the liver.
[21:22] 292 tn Heb “to open the mouth” for slaughter.
[21:22] 293 tn Heb “to raise up a voice in a battle cry.”
[21:23] 294 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the people in Jerusalem) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[21:23] 295 sn When the people of Judah realized the Babylonians’ intentions, they would object on grounds that they had made a treaty with the Babylonian king (see 17:13).
[21:23] 296 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king of Babylon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[21:23] 298 tn Heb “and he will remind of guilt for the purpose of being captured.” The king would counter their objections by pointing out that they had violated their treaty with him (see 17:18).
[21:24] 299 tn Heb “caused to be remembered.”
[21:24] 300 tn Heb “Because you have brought to remembrance your guilt when your transgressions are uncovered so that your sins are revealed in all your deeds – because you are remembered, by the hand you will be seized.”
[21:25] 301 tn This probably refers to King Zedekiah.
[21:26] 302 tn Elsewhere in the Bible the turban is worn by priests (Exod 28:4, 37, 39; 29:6; 39:28, 31; Lev 8:9; 16:4), but here a royal crown is in view.
[21:26] 303 tn Heb “This not this.”
[21:26] 304 tn Heb “the high one.”
[21:27] 305 tn Heb “A ruin, a ruin, a ruin I will make it.” The threefold repetition of the noun “ruin” is for emphasis and draws attention to the degree of ruin that would take place. See IBHS 233 §12.5a and GKC 431-32 §133.k. The pronominal suffix (translated “it”) on the verb “make” is feminine in Hebrew. The probable antecedent is the “turban/crown” (both nouns are feminine in form) mentioned in verse 26. The point is that the king’s royal splendor would be completely devastated as judgment overtook his realm and brought his reign to a violent end.
[21:27] 306 tn Heb “Also this, he was not, until the coming of the one to whom the judgment belongs and I have given it.” The Hebrew text, as it stands, is grammatically difficult. The pronoun “this” is feminine, while the following negated verb (“was not”) is masculine. Some emend the verb to a feminine form (see BHS). In this case the statement refers to the destiny of the king’s turban/crown (symbolizing his reign). See the previous note. The preposition translated “when” normally means “until,” but here it seems to refer to the period during which the preceding situation is realized, rather than its termination point. See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:19, 21. The second part of the statement, though awkward, probably refers to the arrival of the Babylonian king, to whom the Lord had assigned the task of judgment (see 23:24). Or the verse may read “A total ruin I will make, even this. It will not be until the one comes to whom is (the task of) judgment and I have assigned it.”
[21:28] 307 tn Heb “their reproach.”
[21:28] 308 tn Heb “to contain, endure.” Since the Hebrew text as it stands makes little, if any, sense, most emend the text to read either “to consume” or “for destruction.” For discussion of options see D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:693.
[21:29] 309 tn Heb “in the seeing concerning you falsehood, in divining concerning you a lie.” This probably refers to the attempts of the Ammonites to ward off judgment through prophetic visions and divination.
[21:29] 310 tn Heb “you”; the referent (the sword mentioned in v. 28) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[21:29] 311 sn The second half of the verse appears to state that the sword of judgment would fall upon the wicked, despite their efforts to prevent it.
[21:30] 312 sn Once the Babylonian king’s sword (vv. 19-20) has carried out its assigned task, the Lord commands it to halt and announces that Babylon itself will also experience his judgment. See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:28.
[21:30] 313 tn In the Hebrew text of vv. 30-32 the second person verbal and pronominal forms are feminine singular. This may indicate that the personified Babylonian sword is being addressed. The Hebrew word for “sword” (see v. 28) is feminine. However, it may refer to the Ammonites.
[21:32] 314 tn Heb “your blood will be in the middle of the land.”
[22:2] 315 tn Heb “will you judge.” Here the imperfect form of the verb is probably used with a desiderative nuance. Addressed to the prophet, “judge” means to warn of or pronounce God’s impending judgment upon the city. See 20:4.
[22:2] 316 tn The phrase “bloody city” is used of Nineveh in Nah 3:1.
[22:3] 317 tn Heb “her time”; this refers to the time of impending judgment (see the note on “doom” in v. 4).
[22:4] 318 tn Heb “you have brought near your days.” The expression “bring near your days” appears to be an adaptation of the idiom “days draw near,” which is used to indicate that an event, such as death, is imminent (see Gen 27:41; 47:29; Deut 31:14; 1 Kgs 2:1; Ezek 12:23). Here “your days” probably refers to the days of the personified city’s life, which was about to come to an end through God’s judgment.
[22:4] 319 tn Heb “and you have come to your years.” This appears to mean that she has arrived at the time when her years (i.e., life) would end, though it may mean that her years of punishment will begin. Because “day” and “time” are so closely associated in the immediate context (see 21:25, 29) some prefer to emend the text and read “you have brought near your time.” See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:31, as well as the translator’s note on verse 3.
[22:4] 320 tn The Hebrew verb is a prophetic perfect, emphasizing that the action is as good as done from the speaker’s perspective.
[22:5] 321 tn Heb “unclean of name.”
[22:6] 322 tn Heb “Look! The princes of Israel, each according to his arm, were in you in order to shed blood.”
[22:7] 323 tn Heb “treated lightly, cursed.”
[22:7] 324 tn Widows and orphans are often coupled together in the OT (Deut 14:29; 16:11, 14; 24:19-21; 26:12-13; Jer 7:6; 22:3). They represented all who were poor and vulnerable to economic exploitation.
[22:9] 325 tn Heb “men of slander are in you in order to shed blood.”
[22:9] 326 tn Heb “and on the mountains they eat within you.” The mountains mentioned here were the site of pagan sacrifices. See 18:6.
[22:9] 327 sn This statement introduces vv. 10-11 and refers in general terms to the sexual sins described there. For the legal background of vv. 10-11, see Lev 18:7-20; 20:10-21; Deut 22:22-23, 30; 27:22.
[22:10] 328 tn Heb “the nakedness of a father one uncovers within you.” The ancient versions read the verb as plural (“they uncover”). If the singular is retained, it must be taken as indefinite and representative of the entire group. The idiomatic expression “uncover the nakedness” refers here to sexual intercourse (cf. Lev 18:6). To uncover a father’s nakedness could include sexual relations with one’s own mother (Lev 18:7), but more likely it refers to having intercourse with another wife of one’s father, such as a stepmother (Lev 18:8; cf. Gen 35:22; 49:4).
[22:10] 329 tn Heb “(one who is) unclean due to the impurity they humble within you.” The use of the verb “to humble” suggests that these men forced themselves upon women during menstruation. Having sexual relations with a woman during her period was forbidden by the Law (Lev 18:19; 20:18).
[22:11] 331 tn The verb is the same one used in verse 10b and suggests forcible sexual violation of the woman.
[22:11] 332 sn Sexual relations with one’s half-sister may be primarily in view here. See Lev 18:9; 20:17.
[22:12] 333 tn Heb “usury and interest you take.” See 18:13, 17. This kind of economic exploitation violated the law given in Lev 25:36.
[22:12] 334 sn Forgetting the Lord is also addressed in Deut 6:12; 8:11, 14; Jer 3:21; 13:25; Ezek 23:35; Hos 2:15; 8:14; 13:6.
[22:12] 335 tn The second person verb forms are feminine singular in Hebrew, indicating that the personified city is addressed here as representing its citizens.
[22:13] 336 sn This gesture apparently expresses mourning and/or anger (see 6:11; 21:14, 17).
[22:13] 337 tn Heb “the blood which was in you.”
[22:14] 338 tn Heb “stand.” The heart here stands for the emotions; Jerusalem would panic in the face of God’s judgment.
[22:14] 339 tn Heb “in the days when I act against you.”
[22:15] 340 sn The ultimate purpose of divine judgment is to purify the covenant community of its sins.
[22:16] 341 tc Several ancient versions read the verb as first person, in which case the Lord refers to how his people’s sin brings disgrace upon him. For a defense of the Hebrew text, see D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:712, n. 68, and M. Greenberg, Ezekiel (AB), 2:457-58.
[22:16] tn The phrase “within yourself” is the same as the several previous occurrences of “within you” but adjusted to fit this clause which is the culmination of the series of indictments.
[22:18] 342 tn For similar imagery, see Isa 1:21-26; Jer 6:27-30.
[22:19] 343 tn The Hebrew second person pronoun is masculine plural here and in vv. 19b-21, indicating that the people are being addressed.
[22:19] 344 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[22:20] 345 tn Heb “I will put.” No object is supplied in the Hebrew, prompting many to emend the text to “I will blow.” See BHS and verse 21.
[22:24] 346 tc The MT reads “that is not cleansed”; the LXX reads “that is not drenched,” which assumes a different vowel pointing as well as the loss of a מ (mem) due to haplography. In light of the following reference to showers, the reading of the LXX certainly fits the context well. For a defense of the emendation, see L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:32. Yet the MT is not an unreasonable reading since uncleanness in the land also fits the context, and a poetic connection between rain and the land being uncleansed may be feasible since washing with water is elsewhere associated with cleansing (Num 8:7; 31:23; Ps 51:7).
[22:24] 347 tn Heb “in a day of anger.”
[22:25] 348 tn Heb “a conspiracy of her prophets is in her midst.” The LXX reads “whose princes” rather than “a conspiracy of prophets.” The prophets are mentioned later in the paragraph (v. 28). If one follows the LXX in verse 25, then five distinct groups are mentioned in vv. 25-29: princes, priests, officials, prophets, and the people of the land. For a defense of the Septuagintal reading, see L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:32, and D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:720, n. 4.
[22:25] 349 tn Heb “her widows they have multiplied.” The statement alludes to their murderous acts.
[22:26] 350 tn Or “between the consecrated and the common.”
[22:26] 351 tn Heb “hide their eyes from.” The idiom means to disregard or ignore something or someone (see Lev 20:4; 1 Sam 12:3; Prov 28:27; Isa 1:15).
[22:28] 352 tn Heb “her prophets coat for themselves with whitewash.” The expression may be based on Ezek 13:10-15.
[22:29] 353 tn Heb “and the foreigner they have oppressed without justice.”
[22:30] 354 tn Heb “I did not find.”
[22:31] 355 tn Heb “their way on their head I have placed.”
[23:3] 356 tn In the Hebrew text the subject is left unstated and must be supplied from the context.
[23:4] 357 tn The names Oholah and Oholibah are both derived from the word meaning “tent.” The meaning of Oholah is “her tent,” while Oholibah means “my tent is in her.”
[23:4] 358 sn In this allegory the Lord is depicted as being the husband of two wives. The OT law prohibited a man from marrying sisters (Lev 18:18), but the practice is attested in the OT (cf. Jacob). The metaphor is utilized here for illustrative purposes and does not mean that the Lord condoned such a practice or bigamy in general.
[23:5] 359 tn Heb “while she was under me.” The expression indicates that Oholah is viewed as the Lord’s wife. See Num 5:19-20, 29.
[23:5] sn Played the harlot refers to alliances with pagan nations in this context. In Ezek 16 harlotry described the sin of idolatry.
[23:5] 361 tn The term apparently refers to Assyrian military officers; it is better construed with the description that follows. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:738.
[23:7] 362 tn Heb “lusted after.”
[23:8] 363 tn Heb “and poured out their harlotry on her.”
[23:9] 364 tn Heb “I gave her into the hand of her lovers, into the hand of the sons of Assyria.”
[23:11] 366 tn The word “this” is not in the original text.
[23:14] 367 tn The only other occurrence of the Hebrew term is in Jer 22:14.
[23:15] 368 tn Heb “the sons of Babel.”
[23:16] 369 tn Heb “at the appearance of her eyes.”
[23:16] 370 sn The Chaldeans were prominent tribal groups of Babylonia. The imagery is reminiscent of events in the reigns of Hezekiah (2 Kgs 20:12-15) and Jehoiakim (2 Kgs 23:34-24:1).
[23:17] 371 tn Heb “The sons of Babel came to her on a bed of love.”
[23:17] 372 tn Heb “her soul.”
[23:18] 373 tn Heb “She exposed her harlotry and she exposed her nakedness.”
[23:20] 376 tn Heb “She lusted after their concubines (?) whose flesh was the flesh of donkeys.” The phrase “their concubines” is extremely problematic here. The pronoun is masculine plural, suggesting that the Egyptian men are in view, but how concubines would fit into the picture envisioned here is not clear. Some suggest that Ezekiel uses the term in an idiomatic sense of “paramour,” but this still fails to explain how the pronoun relates to the noun. It is more likely that the term refers here to the Egyptians’ genitals. The relative pronoun that follows introduces a more specific description of their genitals.
[23:21] 377 tn Or “you took note of.” The Hebrew verb פָּקַד (paqad) in the Qal implies evaluating something and then acting in light of that judgment; here the prophet depicts Judah as approving of her youthful unfaithfulness and then magnifying it at the present time. Some translations assume the verb should be repointed as a Niphal, rendering “you missed” or by extension “you longed for,” but such an extension of the Niphal “to be missing” is otherwise unattested.
[23:21] 378 tn Heb “when (they) did,” but the verb makes no sense here and is better emended to “when (they) fondled,” a verb used in vv. 3 and 8. See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:43.
[23:21] 379 tn Heb “for the sake of,” but the expression is awkward and is better emended to read “to squeeze.” See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:43.
[23:22] 380 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
[23:23] 381 sn Pekod was the name of an Aramean tribe (known as Puqudu in Mesopotamian texts) that lived in the region of the Tigris River.
[23:23] 382 sn Shoa was the name of a nomadic people (the Sutu) that lived in Mesopotamia.
[23:23] 383 sn Koa was the name of another Mesopotamian people group (the Qutu).
[23:24] 384 tn Heb “come against.”
[23:24] 385 tn This is the only occurrence of this term in the OT. The precise meaning is uncertain.
[23:24] 386 tn Heb “an assembly of peoples.”
[23:24] 387 tn Heb “I will place before them judgment.”
[23:25] 389 tn Heb “they will remove.”
[23:25] sn This method of punishment is attested among ancient Egyptian and Hittite civilizations. See W. Zimmerli, Ezekiel (Hermeneia), 1:489.
[23:27] 391 tn Heb “I will cause your obscene conduct to cease from you and your harlotry from the land of Egypt.”
[23:27] 392 tn Heb “lift your eyes to them.”
[23:28] 393 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
[23:28] 394 tn Heb “I am giving you into the hand of.”
[23:29] 395 tn The Hebrew term means “labor,” but by extension it can also refer to that for which one works.
[23:29] 396 tn Heb “The nakedness of your prostitution will be exposed, and your obscene conduct and your harlotry.”
[23:30] 397 tn The infinitive absolute continues the sequence begun in v. 28: “Look here, I am about to deliver you.” See Joüon 2:430 §123.w.
[23:31] 398 tn Heb “her cup.” A cup of intoxicating strong drink is used, here and elsewhere, as a metaphor for judgment because both leave one confused and reeling. (See Jer 25:15, 17, 28; Hab 2:16.) The cup of wrath is a theme also found in the NT (Mark 14:36).
[23:32] 399 sn The image of a deep and wide cup suggests the degree of punishment; it will be extensive and leave the victim helpless.
[23:33] 400 tn Heb “filled with.”
[23:34] 401 tn Heb “You will drink it and drain (it).”
[23:34] 402 tn D. I. Block compares this to the idiom of “licking the plate” (Ezekiel [NICOT], 1:754, n. 137). The text is difficult as the word translated “gnaw” is rare. The noun is used of the shattered pieces of pottery and so could envision a broken cup. But the Piel verb form is used in only one other place (Num 24:8), where it is a denominative from the noun “bone” and seems to mean to “break (bones).” Why it would be collocated with “sherds” is not clear. For this reason some emend the phrase to read “consume its dregs” (see L. C. Allen, Ezekiel [WBC], 2:44) or emend the verb to read “swallow,” as if the intoxicated Oholibah breaks the cup and then eats the very sherds in an effort to get every last drop of the beverage that dampens them.
[23:34] 403 sn The severe action is more extreme than beating the breasts in anguish (Isa 32:12; Nah 2:7). It is also ironic for these are the very breasts she so blatantly offered to her lovers (vv. 3, 21).
[23:35] 404 tn Heb “and you cast me behind your back.” The expression pictures her rejection of the Lord (see 1 Kgs 14:9).
[23:35] 405 tn The word “punishment” is not in the Hebrew text but is demanded by the context.
[23:36] 406 tn Heb “will you judge.” Here the imperfect form of the verb is probably used with a desiderative nuance. Addressed to the prophet, “judge” means to warn of or pronounce God’s impending judgment. See 20:4; 22:2.
[23:37] 407 sn The Lord speaks here in the role of the husband of the sisters.
[23:37] 408 tn Heb “they have passed to them for food.” The verb is commonly taken to refer to passing children through fire, especially as an offering to the pagan god Molech. See Jer 32:35.
[23:38] 409 tn Heb “in that day.”
[23:40] 410 tn Heb “to whom a messenger was sent, and look, they came.” Foreign alliances are in view here.
[23:40] 411 tn The Hebrew verb form is feminine singular, indicating that Oholibah (Judah) is specifically addressed here. This address continues through verse 42a (note “her”), but then both sisters are described in verse 42b, where the feminine pronouns are again plural.
[23:42] 412 tn Heb “(was) in her.”
[23:42] 413 tn Heb “and men from the multitude of mankind.”
[23:42] 414 tn An alternate reading is “drunkards.” Sheba is located in the area of modern day Yemen.
[23:42] 415 tn Heb “they”; the referents (the sisters) have been specified in the translation for the sake of clarity.
[23:44] 416 tn Heb “and they came to her.”
[23:45] 417 tn Heb “and upright men will judge them (with) the judgment of adulteresses and the judgment of those who shed blood.”
[23:46] 418 tn Heb “assembly.”
[23:46] 419 tn Heb “give them to.”
[23:47] 420 tn The Hebrew text adds “with fire.”
[23:49] 421 tn Heb “and the sins of your idols you will bear.” By extension it can mean the punishment for the sins.
[24:1] 422 tn The date of this oracle was January 15, 588
[24:2] 423 tn Heb “lean on, put pressure on.”
[24:2] 424 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[24:3] 425 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] 426 sn See Ezek 11:3-12.
[24:6] 428 tn Heb “has not gone out.”
[24:6] 429 tn Here “lot” may refer to the decision made by casting lots; it is not chosen at all.
[24:11] 430 tn Heb “set it upon its coals, empty.”
[24:11] 431 tn Or “rust” (so also in v. 12).
[24:12] 432 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] 433 tn Heb “does not go out.”
[24:12] 434 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] 435 tn Heb “in your uncleanness (is) obscene conduct.”
[24:13] 436 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] 437 tn The Hebrew text adds the word “again.”
[24:14] 438 tn Heb “it”; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[24:14] 439 tn Or perhaps, “change my mind.”
[24:14] 440 tc Some medieval Hebrew
[24:16] 442 tn Heb “a strike.”
[24:17] 443 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] 444 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] 445 sn The turban would normally be removed for mourning (Josh 7:6; 1 Sam 4:12).
[24:17] 446 sn Mourning rites included covering the lower part of the face. See Lev 13:45.
[24:17] 447 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] 448 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] 449 tn Heb “the pride of your strength” means “your strong pride.”
[24:21] 450 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] 451 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] 454 tn The same verb appears in 4:17 and 33:10.
[24:23] 455 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] 456 tn Heb “(Will) it not (be) in the day I take?”
[24:25] 457 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] 458 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.
