Yehezkiel 6:3-5

6:3 Say, ‘Mountains of Israel, ¹  Hear the word of the sovereign Lord! ²  This is what the sovereign Lord says to the mountains and the hills, to the ravines and the valleys: I am bringing ³  a sword against you, and I will destroy your high places. ⁴  6:4 Your altars will be ruined and your incense altars will be broken. I will throw down your slain in front of your idols. ⁵  6:5 I will place the corpses of the people of Israel in front of their idols, ⁶  and I will scatter your bones around your altars.

[6:3]  ¹ tn The phrase “mountains of Israel” occurs only in the book of Ezekiel (6:2, 3; 19:9; 33:28; 34:13, 14; 35:12; 36:1, 4, 8; 37:22; 38:8; 39:2, 4, 17). The expression refers to the whole land of Israel.

[6:3]  sn The mountainous terrain of Israel would contrast with the exiles’ habitat in the river valley of Babylonia.

[6:3]  ² tn The introductory formula “Hear the word of the sovereign Lord” parallels a pronouncement delivered by the herald of a king (2 Kgs 18:28).

[6:3]  ³ tn Heb “Look I, I am bringing.” The repetition of the pronoun draws attention to the speaker. The construction also indicates that the action is soon to come; the Lord is “about to bring a sword against” them.

[6:3]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew term refers to elevated platforms where pagan sacrifices were performed.

[6:4]  ⁵ tn Thirty-nine of the forty-eight biblical occurrences of this Hebrew word are found in the book of Ezekiel.

[6:4]  sn This verse is probably based on Lev 26:30 in which God forecasts that he will destroy their high places, cut off their incense altars, and set their corpses by the corpses of their idols.

[6:5]  ⁶ tc This first sentence, which explains the meaning of the last sentence of the previous verse, does not appear in the LXX and may be an instance of a marginal explanatory note making its way into the text.