Yehezkiel 3:1-15
Konteks3:1 He said to me, “Son of man, eat what you see in front of you 1 – eat this scroll – and then go and speak to the house of Israel.” 3:2 So I opened my mouth and he fed me the scroll.
3:3 He said to me, “Son of man, feed your stomach and fill your belly with this scroll I am giving to you.” So I ate it, 2 and it was sweet like honey in my mouth.
3:4 He said to me, “Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak my words to them. 3:5 For you are not being sent to a people of unintelligible speech 3 and difficult language, 4 but 5 to the house of Israel – 3:6 not to many peoples of unintelligible speech and difficult language, whose words you cannot understand 6 – surely if 7 I had sent you to them, they would listen to you! 3:7 But the house of Israel is unwilling to listen to you, 8 because they are not willing to listen to me, 9 for the whole house of Israel is hard-headed and hard-hearted. 10
3:8 “I have made your face adamant 11 to match their faces, and your forehead hard to match their foreheads. 3:9 I have made your forehead harder than flint – like diamond! 12 Do not fear them or be terrified of the looks they give you, 13 for they are a rebellious house.”
3:10 And he said to me, “Son of man, take all my words that I speak to you to heart and listen carefully. 3:11 Go to the exiles, to your fellow countrymen, 14 and speak to them – say to them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says,’ whether they pay attention or not.”
3:12 Then a wind lifted me up 15 and I heard a great rumbling sound behind me as the glory of the Lord rose from its place, 16 3:13 and the sound of the living beings’ wings brushing against each other, and the sound of the wheels alongside them, a great rumbling sound. 3:14 A wind lifted me up and carried me away. I went bitterly, 17 my spirit full of fury, and the hand of the Lord rested powerfully 18 on me. 3:15 I came to the exiles at Tel Abib, 19 who lived by the Kebar River. 20 I sat dumbfounded among them there, where they were living, for seven days. 21
Yehezkiel 47:1-12
Konteks47:1 Then he brought me back to the entrance of the temple. I noticed 22 that water was flowing from under the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east). The water was flowing down from under the right side of the temple, from south of the altar. 47:2 He led me out by way of the north gate and brought me around the outside of the outer gate that faces toward the east; I noticed 23 that the water was trickling out from the south side.
47:3 When the man went out toward the east with a measuring line in his hand, he measured 1,750 feet, 24 and then he led me through water, which was ankle deep. 47:4 Again he measured 1,750 feet and led me through the water, which was now knee deep. Once more he measured 1,750 feet and led me through the water, which was waist deep. 47:5 Again he measured 1,750 feet and it was a river I could not cross, for the water had risen; it was deep enough to swim in, a river that could not be crossed. 47:6 He said to me, “Son of man, have you seen this?”
Then he led me back to the bank of the river. 47:7 When I had returned, I noticed 25 a vast number of trees on the banks of the river, on both sides. 47:8 He said to me, “These waters go out toward the eastern region and flow down into the Arabah; when they enter the Dead Sea, 26 where the sea is stagnant, 27 the waters become fresh. 28 47:9 Every living creature which swarms where the river 29 flows will live; there will be many fish, for these waters flow there. It will become fresh 30 and everything will live where the river flows. 47:10 Fishermen will stand beside it; from Engedi to En-eglaim they will spread nets. They will catch many kinds of fish, like the fish of the Great Sea. 31 47:11 But its swamps and its marshes will not become fresh; they will remain salty. 47:12 On both sides of the river’s banks, every kind of tree will grow for food. Their leaves will not wither nor will their fruit fail, but they will bear fruit every month, because their water source flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food and their leaves for healing.” 32
[3:1] 1 tn Heb “eat what you find.”
[3:3] 2 tc Heb “I ate,” a first common singular preterite plus paragogic he (ה). The ancient versions read “I ate it,” which is certainly the meaning in the context, and indicates they read the he as a third feminine singular pronominal suffix. The Masoretes typically wrote a mappiq in the he for the pronominal suffix but apparently missed this one.
[3:3] sn I ate it. A similar idea of consuming God’s word is found in Jer 15:16 and Rev 10:10, where it is also compared to honey and may be specifically reminiscent of this text.
[3:5] 3 tn Heb “deep of lip” (in the sense of incomprehensible).
[3:5] 4 tn Heb “heavy of tongue.” Similar language occurs in Exod 4:10; Isa 33:19.
[3:5] 5 tn The conjunction “but” is not in the Hebrew text, but is implied from the context.
[3:6] 7 tc The MT reads “if not” but most ancient versions translate only “if.” The expression occurs with this sense in Isa 5:9; 14:24. See also Ezek 34:8; 36:5; 38:19.
[3:7] 8 sn Moses (Exod 3:19) and Isaiah (Isa 6:9-10) were also told that their messages would not be received.
[3:7] 9 sn A similar description of Israel’s disobedience is given in 1 Sam 8:7.
[3:7] 10 tn Heb “hard of forehead and stiff of heart.”
[3:8] 11 tn Heb “strong, resolute.”
[3:9] 12 tn The Hebrew term translated “diamond” is parallel to “iron” in Jer 17:1. The Hebrew uses two terms which are both translated at times as “flint,” but here one is clearly harder than the other. The translation “diamond” attempts to reflect this distinction in English.
[3:9] 13 tn Heb “of their faces.”
[3:11] 14 tn Heb “to the sons of your people.”
[3:12] 15 sn See note on “wind” in 2:2.
[3:12] 16 tc This translation accepts the emendation suggested in BHS of בְּרוּם (bÿrum) for בָּרוּךְ (barukh). The letters mem (מ) and kaph (כ) were easily confused in the old script while בָּרוּךְ (“blessed be”) both implies a quotation which is out of place here and also does not fit the later phrase, “from its place,” which requires a verb of motion.
[3:14] 17 tn The traditional interpretation is that Ezekiel embarked on his mission with bitterness and anger, either reflecting God’s attitude toward the sinful people or his own feelings about having to carry out such an unpleasant task. L. C. Allen (Ezekiel [WBC], 1:13) takes “bitterly” as a misplaced marginal note and understands the following word, normally translated “anger,” in the sense of fervor or passion. He translates, “I was passionately moved” (p. 4). Another option is to take the word translated “bitterly” as a verb meaning “strengthened” (attested in Ugaritic). See G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 152.
[3:14] 18 tn Heb “the hand of the Lord was on me heavily.” The “hand of the Lord” is a metaphor for his power or influence; the modifier conveys intensity.
[3:14] sn In Ezekiel God’s “hand” being on the prophet is regularly associated with communication or a vision from God (1:3; 3:14, 22; 8:1; 37:1; 40:1).
[3:15] 19 sn The name “Tel Abib” is a transliteration of an Akkadian term meaning “mound of the flood,” i.e., an ancient mound. It is not to be confused with the modern city of Tel Aviv in Israel.
[3:15] 21 sn A similar response to a divine encounter is found in Acts 9:8-9.
[47:1] 22 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
[47:2] 23 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
[47:3] 24 tn Heb “one thousand cubits” (i.e., 525 meters); this phrase occurs three times in the next two verses.
[47:7] 25 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
[47:8] 26 tn Heb “the sea,” referring to the Dead Sea. This has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[47:8] 27 tn Heb “to the sea, those which are brought out.” The reading makes no sense. The text is best emended to read “filthy” (i.e., stagnant). See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:273.
[47:8] 28 tn Heb “the waters become healed.”
[47:9] 29 tn Heb “two rivers,” perhaps under the influence of Zech 14:8. The translation follows the LXX and other ancient versions in reading the singular, which is demanded by the context (see vv. 5-7, 9b, 12).
[47:9] 30 tn Heb “will be healed.”
[47:10] 31 sn The Great Sea refers to the Mediterranean Sea (also in vv. 15, 19, 20).
[47:12] 32 sn See Rev 22:1-2.
