Ezekiel 6:3

6:3 Say, ‘Mountains of Israel, ¹  Hear the word of the sovereign Lord! ²  This is what the sovereign Lord says to the mountains and the hills, to the ravines and the valleys: I am bringing ³  a sword against you, and I will destroy your high places. ⁴ 

Ezekiel 8:12

8:12 He said to me, “Do you see, son of man, what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the dark, each in the chamber of his idolatrous images? ⁵  For they think, ‘The Lord does not see us! The Lord has abandoned the land!’”

Ezekiel 9:9

9:9 He said to me, “The sin of the house of Israel and Judah is extremely great; the land is full of murder, and the city is full of corruption, ⁶  for they say, ‘The Lord has abandoned the land, and the Lord does not see!’ ⁷ 

Ezekiel 14:4

14:4 Therefore speak to them and say to them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: When any one from the house of Israel erects his idols in his heart and sets the obstacle leading to his iniquity before his face, and then consults a prophet, I the Lord am determined to answer him personally according to the enormity of his idolatry. ⁸ 

Ezekiel 17:24

17:24 All the trees of the field will know that I am the Lord.

I make the high tree low; I raise up the low tree.

I make the green tree wither, and I make the dry tree sprout.

I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will do it!’”

Ezekiel 20:3

20:3 “Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel, and tell them: ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Are you coming to seek me? As surely as I live, I will not allow you to seek me, ⁹  declares the sovereign Lord.’

Ezekiel 20:5

20:5 and say to them:

“‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: On the day I chose Israel I swore ¹⁰  to the descendants ¹¹  of the house of Jacob and made myself known to them in the land of Egypt. I swore ¹²  to them, “I am the Lord your God.”

Ezekiel 25:3

25:3 Say to the Ammonites, ‘Hear the word of the sovereign Lord: This is what the sovereign Lord says: You said “Aha!” about my sanctuary when it was desecrated, about the land of Israel when it was made desolate, and about the house of Judah when they went into exile.

Ezekiel 28:22

28:22 Say, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says:

“‘Look, I am against you, ¹³  Sidon,

and I will magnify myself in your midst.

Then they will know that I am the Lord

when I execute judgments on her

and reveal my sovereign power ¹⁴  in her.

Ezekiel 33:22

33:22 Now the hand of the Lord had been on me ¹⁵  the evening before the refugee reached me, but the Lord ¹⁶  opened my mouth by the time the refugee arrived ¹⁷  in the morning; he opened my mouth and I was no longer unable to speak. ¹⁸ 

Ezekiel 36:4

36:4 therefore, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the sovereign Lord: This is what the sovereign Lord says to the mountains and hills, the ravines and valleys, and to the desolate ruins and the abandoned cities that have become prey and an object of derision to the rest of the nations round about –

Ezekiel 36:23

36:23 I will magnify ¹⁹  my great name that has been profaned among the nations, that you have profaned among them. The nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the sovereign Lord, when I magnify myself among you in their sight.

Ezekiel 44:5

44:5 The Lord said to me: “Son of man, pay attention, ²⁰  watch closely and listen carefully to ²¹  everything I tell you concerning all the statutes of the Lord’s house and all its laws. Pay attention to the entrances ²²  to the temple with all the exits of the sanctuary.

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¹ 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.

² 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).

³ 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.

⁴ tn The Hebrew term refers to elevated platforms where pagan sacrifices were performed.

⁵ tn Heb “the room of his images.” The adjective “idolatrous” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

sn This type of image is explicitly prohibited in the Mosaic law (Lev 26:1).

⁶ tn Or “lawlessness” (NAB); “perversity” (NRSV). The Hebrew word occurs only here in the OT, and its meaning is uncertain. The similar phrase in 7:23 has a common word for “violence.”

⁷ sn The saying is virtually identical to that of the elders in Ezek 8:12.

⁸ tn Heb “in accordance with the multitude of his idols.”

⁹ tn Or “I will not reveal myself to you.”

¹⁰ tn Heb “I lifted up my hand.”

¹¹ tn Heb “seed.”

¹² tn Heb “I lifted up my hand.”

¹³ tn Or “I challenge you.” The phrase “I am against you” may be a formula for challenging someone to combat or a duel. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:201-2, and P. Humbert, “Die Herausforderungsformel ‘h!nn#n' ?l?K>,’” ZAW 45 (1933): 101-8.

¹⁴ tn Or “reveal my holiness.” God’s “holiness” is fundamentally his transcendence as sovereign ruler of the world. The revelation of his authority and power through judgment is in view in this context.

¹⁵ tn The other occurrences of the phrase “the hand of the Lord” in Ezekiel are in the context of prophetic visions.

¹⁶ tn Heb “he”; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁷ tn Heb “by the time of the arrival to me.” For clarity the translation specifies the refugee as the one who arrived.

¹⁸ sn Ezekiel’s God-imposed muteness was lifted (see 3:26).

¹⁹ tn Or “sanctify,” Heb “make holy.”

²⁰ tn Heb “set your heart” (so also in the latter part of the verse).

²¹ tn Heb “Set your mind, look with your eyes, and with your ears hear.”

²² tc The Syriac, Vulgate, and Targum read the plural. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:618.