44:25 “‘They must not come near a dead person or they will be defiled; 5 however, for father, mother, son, daughter, brother or sister, they may defile themselves.
1 tn The Hebrew verb may mean “think” in this context. This content of what they say (or think) represents their point of view.
2 sn The expression build houses may mean “establish families” (Deut 25:9; Ruth 4:11; Prov 24:27).
3 tn Heb “she” or “it”; the feminine pronoun refers here to Jerusalem.
4 sn Jerusalem is also compared to a pot in Ezek 24:3-8. The siege of the city is pictured as heating up the pot.
5 sn This law was part of the legal code for priests (Lev 21:1-3).