3:1 He said to me, “Son of man, eat what you see in front of you 5 – eat this scroll – and then go and speak to the house of Israel.”
3:24 Then a wind 9 came into me and stood me on my feet. The Lord 10 spoke to me and said, “Go shut yourself in your house.
8:14 Then he brought me to the entrance of the north gate of the Lord’s house. I noticed 12 women sitting there weeping for Tammuz. 13
14:6 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Return! Turn from your idols, and turn your faces away from your abominations.
18:25 “Yet you say, ‘The Lord’s conduct 16 is unjust!’ Hear, O house of Israel: Is my conduct unjust? Is it not your conduct that is unjust?
20:30 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Will you defile yourselves like your fathers 18 and engage in prostitution with detestable idols?
25:8 “This is what the sovereign Lord says: ‘Moab 19 and Seir say, “Look, the house of Judah is like all the other nations.”
25:12 “This is what the sovereign Lord says: ‘Edom 20 has taken vengeance against the house of Judah; they have made themselves fully culpable 21 by taking vengeance 22 on them. 23
29:6 Then all those living in Egypt will know that I am the Lord
because they were a reed staff 24 for the house of Israel;
43:10 “As for you, son of man, describe the temple to the house of Israel, so that they will be ashamed of their sins and measure the pattern.
1 tn Heb “they”; the phrase “And as for them” has been used in the translation for clarity.
2 tn The Hebrew word implies obedience rather than mere hearing or paying attention.
3 tn This Hebrew adjective is also used to describe the Israelites in Num 17:25 and Isa 30:9.
4 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).
5 tn Heb “eat what you find.”
6 tn Heb “deep of lip” (in the sense of incomprehensible).
7 tn Heb “heavy of tongue.” Similar language occurs in Exod 4:10; Isa 33:19.
8 tn The conjunction “but” is not in the Hebrew text, but is implied from the context.
9 tn See the note on “wind” in 2:2.
10 tn Heb “he.”
11 tn Heb “into the midst of” (so KJV, ASV). This phrase has been left untranslated for stylistic reasons.
12 tn Given the context this could be understood as a shock, e.g., idiomatically “Good grief! I saw….”
13 sn The worship of Tammuz included the observation of the annual death and descent into the netherworld of the god Dumuzi. The practice was observed by women in the ancient Near East over a period of centuries.
14 tc The nearly incoherent Hebrew reads “The prince is this burden (prophetic oracle?) in Jerusalem.” The Targum, which may only be trying to make sense of a very difficult text, says “Concerning the prince is this oracle,” assuming the addition of a preposition. This would be the only case where Ezekiel uses this term for a prophetic oracle. The LXX reads the word for “burden” as a synonym for leader, as both words are built on the same root (נָשִׂיא, nasi’), but the verse is still incoherent because it is only a phrase with no verb. The current translation assumes that the verb יִשָּׂא (yisa’) from the root נָשִׂיא has dropped out due to homoioteleuton. If indeed the verb has dropped out (the syntax of the verbless clause being the problem), then context clearly suggests that it be a form of נָשִׂיא (see vv. 7 and 12). Placing the verb between the subject and object would result in three consecutive words based on the root נָשִׂיא and an environment conducive to an omission in copying: הַנָּשִׂיא יִשָּׁא הַמַּשָּׂא הַזֶּה (hannasi’ yisha’ hammasa’ hazzeh, “the Prince will raise this burden”).
sn The prince in Jerusalem refers to King Zedekiah.
map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
15 tc The MT reads “within them.” Possibly a scribe copied this form from the following verse “among them,” but only “within it” makes sense in this context.
16 tn Heb “way.”
17 sn In Ezek 11:19, 36:26 the new heart and new spirit are promised as future blessings.
18 tn Heb “in the way of your fathers.”
19 sn Moab was located immediately south of Ammon.
20 sn Edom was located south of Moab.
21 tn Heb “and they have become guilty, becoming guilty.” The infinitive absolute following the finite verb makes the statement emphatic and draws attention to the degree of guilt incurred by Edom due to its actions.
22 tn Heb “and they have taken vengeance.”
23 sn Edom apparently in some way assisted in the destruction of Jerusalem in 587/6
24 sn Compare Isa 36:6.
25 tn Heb “ways.”
26 sn A promise given to Abraham (Gen 15:7) and his descendants (Gen 15:8; Exod 6:7).
27 sn The blessings described in vv. 25-30 are those promised for obedience in Lev 26:4-13.
28 tn Heb “I will multiply on you human(s).”
29 tn Heb “Let it be known.”
30 sn See Ezek 11:19; 37:14.
31 tc This reading is supported by the Aramaic Targum. The LXX, Vulgate, and Syriac read “shelves” or some type of projection.
32 tn Heb “one handbreadth” (7.5 cm).