Yehezkiel 2:8

2:8 As for you, son of man, listen to what I am saying to you: Do not rebel like that rebellious house! Open your mouth and eat what I am giving you.”

Yehezkiel 3:3

3:3 He said to me, “Son of man, feed your stomach and fill your belly with this scroll I am giving to you.” So I ate it, ¹  and it was sweet like honey in my mouth.

Yehezkiel 3:17

3:17 “Son of man, I have appointed you a watchman ²  for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you must give them a warning from me.

Yehezkiel 4:1

Ominous Object Lessons

4:1 “And you, son of man, take a brick ³  and set it in front of you. Inscribe ⁴  a city on it – Jerusalem.

Yehezkiel 5:1

5:1 “As for you, son of man, take a sharp sword and use it as a barber’s razor. ⁵  Shave off some of the hair from your head and your beard. ⁶  Then take scales and divide up the hair you cut off.

Yehezkiel 7:2

7:2 “You, son of man – this is what the sovereign Lord says to the land of Israel: An end! The end is coming on the four corners of the land! ⁷ 

Yehezkiel 8:5

8:5 He said to me, “Son of man, look up toward ⁸  the north.” So I looked up toward the north, and I noticed to the north of the altar gate was this statue of jealousy at the entrance.

Yehezkiel 8:15

8:15 He said to me, “Do you see this, son of man? You will see even greater abominations than these!”

Yehezkiel 12:2

12:2 “Son of man, you are living in the midst of a rebellious house. ⁹  They have eyes to see, but do not see, and ears to hear, but do not hear, ¹⁰  because they are a rebellious house.

Yehezkiel 13:2

13:2 “Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who are now prophesying. Say to the prophets who prophesy from their imagination: ¹¹  ‘Hear the word of the Lord!

Yehezkiel 14:3

14:3 “Son of man, these men have erected their idols in their hearts and placed the obstacle leading to their iniquity ¹²  right before their faces. Should I really allow them to seek ¹³  me?

Yehezkiel 18:6

18:6 does not eat pagan sacrifices on the mountains ¹⁴  or pray to the idols ¹⁵  of the house of Israel, does not defile his neighbor’s wife, does not have sexual relations with a ¹⁶  woman during her period,

Yehezkiel 20:46

20:46 “Son of man, turn toward ¹⁷  the south, ¹⁸  and speak out against the south. ¹⁹  Prophesy against the open scrub ²⁰  land of the Negev,

Yehezkiel 21:4

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 ²¹  from the south ²²  to the north.

Yehezkiel 21:9

21:9 “Son of man, prophesy and say: ‘This is what the Lord says:

“‘A sword, a sword is sharpened,

and also polished.

Yehezkiel 21:12

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. ²³ 

Yehezkiel 21:14

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.

Yehezkiel 24:16

24:16 “Son of man, realize that I am about to take the delight of your eyes away from you with a jolt, ²⁴  but you must not mourn or weep or shed tears.

Yehezkiel 24:25

24:25 “And you, son of man, this is what will happen on the day I take ²⁵  from them their stronghold – their beautiful source of joy, the object in which their eyes delight, and the main concern of their lives, ²⁶  as well as their sons and daughters: ²⁷ 

Yehezkiel 28:12

28:12 “Son of man, sing ²⁸  a lament for the king of Tyre, and say to him, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says:

“‘You were the sealer ²⁹  of perfection,

full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.

Yehezkiel 30:2

30:2 “Son of man, prophesy and say, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says:

“‘Wail, “Alas, the day is here!” ³⁰ 

Yehezkiel 30:21

30:21 “Son of man, I have broken the arm ³¹  of Pharaoh king of Egypt. ³²  Look, it has not been bandaged for healing or set with a dressing so that it might become strong enough to grasp a sword.

Yehezkiel 31:2

31:2 “Son of man, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and his hordes:

“‘Who are you like in your greatness?

Yehezkiel 32:18

32:18 “Son of man, wail ³³  over the horde of Egypt. Bring it down; ³⁴  bring ³⁵  her ³⁶  and the daughters of powerful nations down to the lower parts of the earth, along with those who descend to the pit.

Yehezkiel 33:2

33:2 “Son of man, speak to your people, ³⁷  and say to them, ‘Suppose I bring a sword against the land, and the people of the land take one man from their borders and make him their watchman.

Yehezkiel 33:7

33:7 “As for you, son of man, I have made you a watchman ³⁸  for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you must warn them on my behalf.

Yehezkiel 33:10

33:10 “And you, son of man, say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what you have said: “Our rebellious acts and our sins have caught up with us, ³⁹  and we are wasting away because of them. How then can we live?”’

Yehezkiel 36:17

36:17 “Son of man, when the house of Israel was living on their own land, they defiled it by their behavior ⁴⁰  and their deeds. In my sight their behavior was like the uncleanness of a woman having her monthly period.

Yehezkiel 36:37

36:37 “This is what the sovereign Lord says: I will allow the house of Israel to ask me to do this for them: ⁴¹  I will multiply their people like sheep. ⁴² 

Yehezkiel 37:11

37:11 Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are all the house of Israel. Look, they are saying, ‘Our bones are dry, our hope has perished; we are cut off.’

Yehezkiel 39:1

39:1 “As for you, son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say: ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal!

Yehezkiel 43:10

43:10 “As for you, son of man, describe the temple to the house of Israel, so that they will be ashamed of their sins and measure the pattern.

Yehezkiel 43:18

43:18 Then he said to me: “Son of man, this is what the sovereign Lord says: These are the statutes of the altar: On the day it is built to offer up burnt offerings on it and to sprinkle blood on it, ⁴³ 

[3:3]  ¹ 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.

[3:17]  ² tn The literal role of a watchman is described in 2 Sam 18:24; 2 Kgs 9:17.

[4:1]  ³ sn Ancient Near Eastern bricks were 10 to 24 inches long and 6 to 13 1/2 inches wide.

[4:1]  ⁴ tn Or perhaps “draw.”

[5:1]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew word occurs only here in the OT.

[5:1]  ⁶ tn Heb, “pass (it) over your head and your beard.”

[7:2]  ⁷ tn Or “earth.” Elsewhere the expression “four corners of the earth” figuratively refers to the whole earth (Isa 11:12).

[8:5]  ⁸ tn Heb “lift your eyes (to) the way of.”

[12:2]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ sn This verse is very similar to Isa 6:9-10.

[13:2]  ¹¹ 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.

[14:3]  ¹² tn Heb “the stumbling block of their iniquity.” This phrase is unique to the prophet Ezekiel.

[14:3]  ¹³ 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).

[18:6]  ¹⁴ 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]  ¹⁵ tn Heb, “does not lift up his eyes.” This refers to looking to idols for help.

[18:6]  ¹⁶ tn Heb, “does not draw near to.” “Draw near” is a euphemism for sexual intercourse (Lev 18:14; Deut 22:14; Isa 8:3).

[20:46]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “set your face toward.” This expression occurs as well in Ezek 6:2; 13:17.

[20:46]  ¹⁸ 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]  ¹⁹ 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]  ²⁰ 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.

[21:4]  ²¹ tn Heb “all flesh” (also in the following verse).

[21:4]  ²² tn Heb “Negev.” The Negev is the south country.

[21:12]  ²³ sn This physical action was part of an expression of grief. Cp. Jer. 31:19.

[24:16]  ²⁴ tn Heb “a strike.”

[24:25]  ²⁵ tn Heb “(Will) it not (be) in the day I take?”

[24:25]  ²⁶ 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]  ²⁷ 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.

[28:12]  ²⁸ tn Heb “lift up.”

[28:12]  ²⁹ tn For a discussion of possible nuances of this phrase, see M. Greenberg, Ezekiel (AB), 2:580-81.

[30:2]  ³⁰ tn Heb “Alas for the day.”

[30:21]  ³¹ sn The expression “breaking the arm” indicates the removal of power (Ps 10:15; 37:17; Job 38:15; Jer 48:25).

[30:21]  ³² sn This may refer to the event recorded in Jer 37:5.

[32:18]  ³³ tn The Hebrew verb is used as a response to death (Jer 9:17-19; Amos 5:16).

[32:18]  ³⁴ sn Through this prophetic lament given by God himself, the prophet activates the judgment described therein. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:217, and L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:136-37.

[32:18]  ³⁵ tn Heb “Bring him down, her and the daughters of the powerful nations, to the earth below.” The verb “bring down” appears in the Hebrew text only once. Because the verb takes several objects here, the repetition of the verb in the translation improves the English style.

[32:18]  ³⁶ tn This apparently refers to personified Egypt.

[33:2]  ³⁷ tn Heb “sons of your people.”

[33:7]  ³⁸ sn Jeremiah (Jer 6:17) and Habakkuk (Hab 2:1) also served in the role of a watchman.

[33:10]  ³⁹ tn Heb “(are) upon us.”

[36:17]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “way.”

[36:37]  ⁴¹ tn The Niphal verb may have a tolerative function here, “Again (for) this I will allow myself to be sought by the house of Israel to act for them.” Or it may be reflexive: “I will reveal myself to the house of Israel by doing this also.”

[36:37]  ⁴² sn Heb “I will multiply them like sheep, human(s).”

[43:18]  ⁴³ sn For the “sprinkling of blood,” see Lev 1:5, 11; 8:19; 9:12.