Ezekiel 6:2-6

6:2 “Son of man, turn toward 1  the mountains of Israel and prophesy against them: 6:3 Say, ‘Mountains of Israel, 2  Hear the word of the sovereign Lord! 3  This is what the sovereign Lord says to the mountains and the hills, to the ravines and the valleys: I am bringing 4  a sword against you, and I will destroy your high places. 5  6:4 Your altars will be ruined and your incense altars will be broken. I will throw down your slain in front of your idols. 6  6:5 I will place the corpses of the people of Israel in front of their idols, 7  and I will scatter your bones around your altars. 6:6 In all your dwellings, the cities will be laid waste and the high places ruined so that your altars will be laid waste and ruined, your idols will be shattered and demolished, your incense altars will be broken down, and your works wiped out. 8 

1 tn Heb “set your face against.” The expression occurs at the beginning of Ezekiel’s prophetic oracles in Ezek 13:17; 20:46; 21:2; 25:2; 28:21; 29:2; 35:2; 38:2.

sn Based on comparison to a similar expression in Ugaritic, the phrase may imply that Ezekiel was to actually go to these locations to deliver his message.

2 tn The phrase “mountains of Israel” occurs only in the book of Ezekiel (6:2, 3; 19:9; 33:28; 34:13, 14; 35:12; 36:1, 4, 8; 37:22; 38:8; 39:2, 4, 17). The expression refers to the whole land of Israel.

sn The mountainous terrain of Israel would contrast with the exiles’ habitat in the river valley of Babylonia.

3 tn The introductory formula “Hear the word of the sovereign Lord” parallels a pronouncement delivered by the herald of a king (2 Kgs 18:28).

4 tn Heb “Look I, I am bringing.” The repetition of the pronoun draws attention to the speaker. The construction also indicates that the action is soon to come; the Lord is “about to bring a sword against” them.

5 tn The Hebrew term refers to elevated platforms where pagan sacrifices were performed.

6 tn Thirty-nine of the forty-eight biblical occurrences of this Hebrew word are found in the book of Ezekiel.

sn This verse is probably based on Lev 26:30 in which God forecasts that he will destroy their high places, cut off their incense altars, and set their corpses by the corpses of their idols.

7 tc This first sentence, which explains the meaning of the last sentence of the previous verse, does not appear in the LXX and may be an instance of a marginal explanatory note making its way into the text.

8 tn The Hebrew verb translated “wiped out” is used to describe the judgment of the Flood (Gen 6:7; 7:4, 23).