Yehezkiel 3:7

3:7 But the house of Israel is unwilling to listen to you, ¹  because they are not willing to listen to me, ²  for the whole house of Israel is hard-headed and hard-hearted. ³ 

Yehezkiel 3:9

3:9 I have made your forehead harder than flint – like diamond! ⁴  Do not fear them or be terrified of the looks they give you, ⁵  for they are a rebellious house.”

Yehezkiel 20:16

20:16 I did this ⁶  because they rejected my regulations, did not follow my statutes, and desecrated my Sabbaths; for their hearts followed their idols. ⁷ 

Yehezkiel 23:45

23:45 But upright men will punish them appropriately for their adultery and bloodshed, ⁸  because they are adulteresses and blood is on their hands.

[3:7]  ¹ sn Moses (Exod 3:19) and Isaiah (Isa 6:9-10) were also told that their messages would not be received.

[3:7]  ² sn A similar description of Israel’s disobedience is given in 1 Sam 8:7.

[3:7]  ³ tn Heb “hard of forehead and stiff of heart.”

[3:9]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ tn Heb “of their faces.”

[20:16]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ 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.

[23:45]  ⁸ tn Heb “and upright men will judge them (with) the judgment of adulteresses and the judgment of those who shed blood.”