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.
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. 12
8:6 He said to me, “Son of man, do you see what they are doing – the great abominations that the people 14 of Israel are practicing here, to drive me far from my sanctuary? But you will see greater abominations than these!”
16:49 “‘See here – this was the iniquity 28 of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters had majesty, abundance of food, and enjoyed carefree ease, but they did not help 29 the poor and needy.
20:1 In the seventh year, in the fifth month, on the tenth of the month, 31 some of the elders 32 of Israel came to seek 33 the Lord, and they sat down in front of me.
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.
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. 37
“‘How you have perished – you have vanished 55 from the seas,
O renowned city, once mighty in the sea,
she and her inhabitants, who spread their terror! 56
28:17 Your heart was proud because of your beauty;
you corrupted your wisdom on account of your splendor.
I threw you down to the ground;
I placed you before kings, that they might see you.
28:23 I will send a plague into the city 57 and bloodshed into its streets;
the slain will fall within it, by the sword that attacks it 58 from every side.
Then they will know that I am the Lord.
28:24 “‘No longer will Israel suffer from the sharp briers 59 or painful thorns of all who surround and scorn them. 60 Then they will know that I am the sovereign Lord.
Because he said, “The Nile is mine and I made it,”
30:6 “‘This is what the Lord says:
Egypt’s supporters will fall;
her confident pride will crumble. 64
From Migdol to Syene 65 they will die by the sword within her,
declares the sovereign Lord.
30:11 He and his people with him,
the most terrifying of the nations, 66
will be brought there to destroy the land.
They will draw their swords against Egypt,
and fill the land with corpses.
32:3 “‘This is what the sovereign Lord says:
“‘I will throw my net over you 67 in the assembly of many peoples;
and they will haul you up in my dragnet.
32:12 By the swords of the mighty warriors I will cause your hordes to fall –
all of them are the most terrifying among the nations.
They will devastate the pride of Egypt,
and all its hordes will be destroyed.
32:15 When I turn the land of Egypt into desolation
and the land is destitute of everything that fills it,
when I strike all those who live in it,
then they will know that I am the Lord.’
32:26 “Meshech-Tubal is there, along with all her hordes around her grave. 68 All of them are uncircumcised, killed by the sword, for they spread their terror in the land of the living.
34:25 “‘I will make a covenant of peace with them and will rid the land of wild beasts, so that they can live securely 70 in the wilderness and even sleep in the woods. 71 34:26 I will turn them and the regions around my hill into a blessing. I will make showers come down in their season; they will be showers that bring blessing. 72
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.’
39:9 “‘Then those who live in the cities of Israel will go out and use the weapons for kindling 80 – the shields, 81 bows and arrows, war clubs and spears – they will burn them for seven years.
40:24 Then he led me toward the south. I saw 85 a gate on the south. He measured its jambs and its porches; they had the same dimensions as the others.
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 sn Moses (Exod 3:19) and Isaiah (Isa 6:9-10) were also told that their messages would not be received.
5 sn A similar description of Israel’s disobedience is given in 1 Sam 8:7.
6 tn Heb “hard of forehead and stiff of heart.”
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 Heb “will bereave you.”
11 tn Heb “will pass through you.” This threat recalls the warning of Lev 26:22, 25 and Deut 32:24-25.
12 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).
13 sn Or “their holy places” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NCV, NRSV).
14 tn Heb “house.”
15 tn The meaning of the Hebrew term is primarily emotional: “to pity,” which in context implies an action, as in being moved by pity in order to spare them from the horror of their punishment.
16 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the cherubim) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
17 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the wheels) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
18 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the wheels) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
19 tn Or “wind.”
20 tn Heb “living creature.”
21 tn Heb “them”; the referent (the wheels) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
22 tn Heb “the days draw near and the word of every vision (draws near).”
23 tn Heb “from your hand(s).” This refers to their power over the people.
24 sn I will be their God. See Exod 6:7; Lev 26:12; Jer 7:23; 11:4.
25 tn The word translated “set” is the same Hebrew word translated as “provide” in the previous verse.
26 sn This escape refers to the exile of Ezekiel and others in 597
27 tn The words “to your clients” are not in the Hebrew text but are implied.
28 tn Or “guilt.”
29 tn Heb “strengthen the hand of.”
30 tn Or “you have multiplied your abominable deeds beyond them.”
31 sn The date would be August 14th, 591
32 tn Heb “men from the elders.”
33 tn See the note at 14:3.
34 tn Heb “for the sake of my name.”
35 tn Heb “before the eyes of the nations in whose midst they were.”
36 tn Heb “to whom I made myself known before their eyes to bring them out from the land of Egypt.” The translation understands the infinitive construct (“to bring them out”) as indicating manner. God’s deliverance of his people from Egypt was an act of self-revelation in that it displayed his power and his commitment to his promises.
37 sn This physical action was part of an expression of grief. Cp. Jer. 31:19.
38 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the people in Jerusalem) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
39 sn When the people of Judah realized the Babylonians’ intentions, they would object on grounds that they had made a treaty with the Babylonian king (see 17:13).
40 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king of Babylon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
41 tn Or “iniquity.”
42 tn Heb “and he will remind of guilt for the purpose of being captured.” The king would counter their objections by pointing out that they had violated their treaty with him (see 17:18).
43 tn Heb “usury and interest you take.” See 18:13, 17. This kind of economic exploitation violated the law given in Lev 25:36.
44 sn Forgetting the Lord is also addressed in Deut 6:12; 8:11, 14; Jer 3:21; 13:25; Ezek 23:35; Hos 2:15; 8:14; 13:6.
45 tn The second person verb forms are feminine singular in Hebrew, indicating that the personified city is addressed here as representing its citizens.
46 tn For similar imagery, see Isa 1:21-26; Jer 6:27-30.
47 tn Heb “her prophets coat for themselves with whitewash.” The expression may be based on Ezek 13:10-15.
48 tn Heb “their way on their head I have placed.”
49 tn The names Oholah and Oholibah are both derived from the word meaning “tent.” The meaning of Oholah is “her tent,” while Oholibah means “my tent is in her.”
50 sn In this allegory the Lord is depicted as being the husband of two wives. The OT law prohibited a man from marrying sisters (Lev 18:18), but the practice is attested in the OT (cf. Jacob). The metaphor is utilized here for illustrative purposes and does not mean that the Lord condoned such a practice or bigamy in general.
51 tn The Hebrew term means “labor,” but by extension it can also refer to that for which one works.
52 tn Heb “The nakedness of your prostitution will be exposed, and your obscene conduct and your harlotry.”
53 tn Heb “your mouth will open.”
54 tn Heb “and they will lift up over you a lament and they will say to you.”
55 tn Heb “O inhabitant.” The translation follows the LXX and understands a different Hebrew verb, meaning “cease,” behind the consonantal text. See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel [WBC], 2:72, and D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:43.
56 tn Heb “she and her inhabitants who placed their terror to all her inhabitants.” The relationship of the final prepositional phrase to what precedes is unclear. The preposition probably has a specifying function here, drawing attention to Tyre’s inhabitants as the source of the terror mentioned prior to this. In this case, one might paraphrase verse 17b: “she and her inhabitants, who spread their terror; yes, her inhabitants (were the source of this terror).”
57 tn Heb “into it”; the referent of the feminine pronoun has been specified in the translation for clarity.
58 tn Heb “by a sword against it.”
59 sn Similar language is used in reference to Israel’s adversaries in Num 33:55; Josh 23:13.
60 tn Heb “and there will not be for the house of Israel a brier that pricks and a thorn that inflicts pain from all the ones who surround them, the ones who scorn them.”
61 tc Thus the Masoretic Text. The LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate translate as though the Hebrew read “cause to inhabit.”
62 tn Heb “I will cause a horn to sprout for the house of Israel.” The horn is used as a figure for military power in the OT (Ps 92:10). A similar expression is made about the Davidic dynasty in Ps 132:17.
63 tn Heb “I will grant you an open mouth.”
64 tn Heb “come down.”
65 sn Syene is known as Aswan today.
66 tn The Babylonians were known for their cruelty (2 Kgs 25:7).
67 tn The expression “throw my net” is common in Ezekiel (12:13; 17:20; 19:8).
68 tn Heb “around him her graves,” but the expression is best emended to read “around her grave” (see vv. 23-24).
69 sn The imagery may reflect the overthrow of the Israelites by the Babylonians in 587/6
70 tn The phrase “live securely” occurs in Ezek 28:26; 38:8, 11, 14; 39:26 as an expression of freedom from fear. It is a promised blessing resulting from obedience (see Lev 26:5-6).
71 sn The woods were typically considered to be places of danger (Ps 104:20-21; Jer 5:6).
72 tn Heb “showers of blessing.” Abundant rain, which in turn produces fruit and crops (v. 27), is a covenantal blessing for obedience (Lev 26:4).
73 tc The MT reads לְשֵׁם (lÿshem, “for a name”), meaning perhaps a renowned planting (place). The translation takes this to be a metathesis of שָׁלֹם (shalom) as was read by the LXX.
74 tn Heb “those gathered” for famine.
75 tn Heb “way.”
76 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
77 sn Jeremiah also attested to the reuniting of the northern and southern kingdoms (Jer 3:12, 14; 31:2-6).
78 tn The words “they are joined by” are added in the translation for purposes of English style.
79 sn The seven-nation coalition represents the north (Meshech, Tubal, Gomer, Beth-Togarmah), the south/west (Ethiopia, Put) and the east (Persia). The use of the sevenfold list suggests completeness. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:441.
80 tn Heb “burn and kindle the weapons.”
81 tn Two different types of shields are specified in the Hebrew text.
82 tn Heb “as the scouts scout.”
83 tn That is, the aforementioned bone.
84 tn Heb “there,” referring to the foreign nations to which they were exiled. The translation makes the referent clear.
85 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
86 tn The phrase “upper chambers” is not in the Hebrew text but is supplied from the context.
87 tn Heb “twenty-five thousand cubits” (i.e., 13.125 kilometers).
88 tn Heb “ten thousand cubits” (i.e., 5.25 kilometers).
89 tc The translation follows the LXX here. The MT reads “twenty.” See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:246.
90 tn Heb “the sea,” referring to the Dead Sea. This has been specified in the translation for clarity.
91 tn Heb “to the sea, those which are brought out.” The reading makes no sense. The text is best emended to read “filthy” (i.e., stagnant). See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:273.
92 tn Heb “the waters become healed.”