Ezekiel 24:21-22

24:21 Say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Realize I am about to desecrate my sanctuary – the source of your confident pride, 1  the object in which your eyes delight, 2  and your life’s passion. 3  Your very own sons and daughters whom you have left behind will die 4  by the sword. 24:22 Then you will do as I have done: You will not cover your lip or eat food brought by others. 5 

1 tn Heb “the pride of your strength” means “your strong pride.”

2 sn Heb “the delight of your eyes.” Just as Ezekiel was deprived of his beloved wife (v. 16, the “desire” of his “eyes”) so the Lord would be forced to remove the object of his devotion, the temple, which symbolized his close relationship to his covenant people.

3 tn Heb “the object of compassion of your soul.” The accentuation in the traditional Hebrew text indicates that the descriptive phrases (“the source of your confident pride, the object in which your eyes delight, and your life’s passion”) modify the preceding “my sanctuary.”

4 tn Heb “fall.”

5 tn See v. 17.