Discovery BoxEzekiel 33:24-33 
Context33:24 “Son of man, the ones living in these ruins in the land of Israel are saying, ‘Abraham was only one man, yet he possessed the land, but we are many; surely the land has been given to us for a possession.’ 1 33:25 Therefore say to them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: You eat the meat with the blood still in it, 2 pray to 3 your idols, and shed blood. Do you really think you will possess 4 the land? 33:26 You rely 5 on your swords and commit abominable deeds; each of you defiles his neighbor’s wife. Will you possess the land?’
33:27 “This is what you must say to them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: As surely as I live, those living in the ruins will die 6 by the sword, those in the open field I will give to the wild beasts for food, and those who are in the strongholds and caves will die of disease. 33:28 I will turn the land into a desolate ruin; her confident pride will come to an end. The mountains of Israel will be so desolate no one will pass through them. 33:29 Then they will know that I am the Lord when I turn the land into a desolate ruin because of all the abominable deeds they have committed.’ 7
33:30 “But as for you, son of man, your people 8 (who are talking about you by the walls and at the doors of the houses) say to one another, 9 ‘Come hear the word that comes 10 from the Lord.’ 33:31 They come to you in crowds, 11 and they sit in front of you as 12 my people. They hear your words, but do not obey 13 them. For they talk lustfully, 14 and their heart is set on 15 their own advantage. 16 33:32 Realize 17 that to them you are like a sensual song, a beautiful voice and skilled musician. 18 They hear your words, but they do not obey them. 19 33:33 When all this comes true – and it certainly will 20 – then they will know that a prophet was among them.”
1 sn Outside of its seven occurrences in Ezekiel the term translated “possession” appears only in Exod 6:8 and Deut 33:4.
2 sn This practice was a violation of Levitical law (see Lev 19:26).
3 tn Heb “lift up your eyes.”
4 tn Heb “Will you possess?”
5 tn Heb “stand.”
6 tn Heb “fall.”
7 sn The judgments of vv. 27-29 echo the judgments of Lev 26:22, 25.
8 tn Heb “sons of your people.”
9 tn Heb “one to one, a man to his brother.”
10 tn Heb “comes out.”
11 tn Heb “as people come.” Apparently this is an idiom indicating that they come in crowds. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:264.
12 tn The word “as” is supplied in the translation.
13 tn Heb “do.”
14 tn Heb “They do lust with their mouths.”
15 tn Heb “goes after.”
16 tn The present translation understands the term often used for “unjust gain” in a wider sense, following M. Greenberg, who also notes that the LXX uses a term which can describe either sexual or ritual pollution. See M. Greenberg, Ezekiel (AB), 2:687.
17 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
18 tn Heb “one who makes playing music well.”
19 sn Similar responses are found in Isa 29:13; Matt 21:28-32; James 1:22-25.
20 tn Heb “behold it is coming.”
