2:3 He said to me, “Son of man, I am sending you to the house 1 of Israel, to rebellious nations 2 who have rebelled against me; both they and their fathers have revolted 3 against me to this very day.
4:4 “Also for your part lie on your left side and place the iniquity 10 of the house of Israel on it. For the number of days you lie on your side you will bear their iniquity. 4:5 I have determined that the number of the years of their iniquity are to be the number of days 11 for you – 390 days. 12 So bear the iniquity of the house of Israel. 13
4:6 “When you have completed these days, then lie down a second time, but on your right side, and bear the iniquity of the house of Judah 40 days 14 – I have assigned one day for each year.
6:11 “‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Clap your hands, stamp your feet, and say, “Ah!” because of all the evil, abominable practices of the house of Israel, for they will fall by the sword, famine, and pestilence. 15
8:1 In the sixth year, in the sixth month, on the fifth of the month, 16 as I was sitting in my house with the elders of Judah sitting in front of me, the hand 17 of the sovereign Lord seized me. 18
11:5 Then the Spirit of the Lord came 22 upon me and said to me, “Say: This is what the Lord says: ‘This is what you are thinking, 23 O house of Israel; I know what goes through your minds. 24
18:30 “Therefore I will judge each person according to his conduct, 29 O house of Israel, declares the sovereign Lord. Repent 30 and turn from all your wickedness; then it will not be an obstacle leading to iniquity. 31
20:27 “Therefore, speak to the house of Israel, son of man, and tell them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: In this way too your fathers blasphemed me when they were unfaithful to me.
“‘Set on the pot, 34 set it on,
pour water in it too;
33:7 “As for you, son of man, I have made you a watchman 35 for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you must warn them on my behalf.
36:37 “This is what the sovereign Lord says: I will allow the house of Israel to ask me to do this for them: 37 I will multiply their people like sheep. 38
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.’
39:25 “Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: Now I will restore 39 the fortunes of Jacob, and I will have mercy on the entire house of Israel. I will be zealous for my holy name.
45:6 “‘Alongside the portion set apart as the holy allotment, you will allot for the city an area one and two-thirds miles 47 wide and eight and a quarter miles 48 long; it will be for the whole house of Israel.
1 tc The Hebrew reads “sons of,” while the LXX reads “house,” implying the more common phrase in Ezekiel. Either could be abbreviated with the first letter ב (bet). In preparation for the characterization “house of rebellion,” in vv. 5, 6, and 8, “house” is preferred (L. C. Allen, Ezekiel [WBC], 1:10 and W. Zimmerli, Ezekiel [Hermeneia], 2:564-65).
2 tc Heb “to the rebellious nations.” The phrase “to the rebellious nations” is omitted in the LXX. Elsewhere in Ezekiel the singular word “nation” is used for Israel (36:13-15; 37:22). Here “nations” may have the meaning of “tribes” or refer to the two nations of Israel and Judah.
3 tc This word is omitted from the LXX.
tn The Hebrew term used here is the strongest word available for expressing a covenant violation. The word is used in the diplomatic arena to express a treaty violation (2 Kgs 1:1; 3:5, 7).
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.
5 tn Heb “of their faces.”
6 tn The literal role of a watchman is described in 2 Sam 18:24; 2 Kgs 9:17.
7 tn Heb “you will not be to them a reprover.” In Isa 29:21 and Amos 5:10 “a reprover” issued rebuke at the city gate.
8 tn Heb “open your mouth.”
9 tn Heb “the listener will listen, the refuser will refuse.” Because the word for listening can also mean obeying, the nuance may be that the obedient will listen, or that the one who listens will obey. Also, although the verbs are not jussive as pointed in the MT, some translate them with a volitive sense: “the one who listens – let that one listen, the one who refuses – let that one refuse.”
10 tn Or “punishment” (also in vv. 5, 6).
11 tn Heb “I have assigned for you that the years of their iniquity be the number of days.” Num 14:33-34 is an example of the reverse, where the days were converted into years, the number of days spying out the land becoming the number of years of the wilderness wanderings.
12 tc The LXX reads “190 days.”
sn The significance of the number 390 is not clear. The best explanation is that “days” are used figuratively for years and the number refers to the years of the sinfulness of Israel during the period of the First Temple. Some understand the number to refer to the length of the division of the northern and southern kingdoms down to the fall of Jerusalem (931-586
13 tn Or “When you have carried the iniquity of the house of Israel,” and continuing on to the next verse.
14 sn The number 40 may refer in general to the period of Judah’s exile using the number of years Israel was punished in the wilderness. In this case, however, one would need to translate, “you will bear the punishment of the house of Judah.”
15 sn By the sword and by famine and by pestilence. A similar trilogy of punishments is mentioned in Lev 26:25-26. See also Jer 14:12; 21:9; 27:8, 13; 29:18).
16 tc The LXX reads “In the sixth year, in the fifth month, on the fifth of the month.”
sn In the sixth year, in the sixth month, on the fifth of the month would be September 17, 592
17 tn Or “power.”
sn Hand in the OT can refer metaphorically to power, authority, or influence. In Ezekiel God’s hand being on the prophet is regularly associated with communication or a vision from God (3:14, 22; 8:1; 37:1; 40:1).
18 tn Heb “fell upon me there,” that is, God’s influence came over him.
19 tn Or “pattern.”
20 tn Heb “detestable.” The word is often used to describe the figures of foreign gods.
21 sn These engravings were prohibited in the Mosaic law (Deut 4:16-18).
22 tn Heb “fell.”
23 tn The Hebrew verb commonly means “to say,” but may also mean “to think” (see also v. 3).
24 tn Heb “I know the steps of your spirits.”
25 sn I will be their God. See Exod 6:7; Lev 26:12; Jer 7:23; 11:4.
26 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).
27 tn Heb, “does not lift up his eyes.” This refers to looking to idols for help.
28 tn Heb, “does not draw near to.” “Draw near” is a euphemism for sexual intercourse (Lev 18:14; Deut 22:14; Isa 8:3).
29 tn Heb “ways.”
30 tn The verbs and persons in this verse are plural whereas the individual has been the subject of the chapter.
31 tn Or “leading to punishment.”
32 tn For similar imagery, see Isa 1:21-26; Jer 6:27-30.
33 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).
34 sn See Ezek 11:3-12.
35 sn Jeremiah (Jer 6:17) and Habakkuk (Hab 2:1) also served in the role of a watchman.
36 tn Heb “way.”
37 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.”
38 sn Heb “I will multiply them like sheep, human(s).”
39 tn Heb “cause to return.”
40 tn Heb “to desecrate.”
41 tc The Greek, Syriac, and Latin versions read “you.” The Masoretic text reads “they.”
42 tn Heb “a stumbling block of iniquity.” This is a unique phrase of the prophet Ezekiel (cf. also Ezek 7:19; 14:3, 4, 7; 18:30).
43 tn Heb “I lifted up my hand.”
44 tn Heb “will bear.”
45 tn Heb “from the offspring of the house of Israel.”
46 tn Heb has in addition “from your contributions,” a repetition unnecessary in English.
47 tn Heb “five thousand cubits” (i.e., 2.625 kilometers).
48 tn Heb “twenty-five thousand cubits” (i.e., 13.125 kilometers).