Discovery BoxEzekiel 13:18 
Context13:18 and say ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Woe to those who sew bands 1 on all their wrists 2 and make headbands 3 for heads of every size to entrap people’s lives! 4 Will you entrap my people’s lives, yet preserve your own lives?
Ezekiel 13:21
Context13:21 I will tear off your headbands and rescue my people from your power; 5 they will no longer be prey in your hands. Then you will know that I am the Lord.
1 sn The wristbands mentioned here probably represented magic bands or charms. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:413.
2 tn Heb “joints of the hands.” This may include the elbow and shoulder joints.
3 tn The Hebrew term occurs in the Bible only here and in v. 21. It has also been understood as a veil or type of head covering. D. I. Block (Ezekiel [NICOT], 1:414) suggests that given the context of magical devices, the expected parallel to the magical arm bands, and the meaning of this Hebrew root (סָפַח [safakh, “to attach” or “join”]), it may refer to headbands or necklaces on which magical amulets were worn.
4 tn Heb “human lives” or “souls” (three times in v. 18 and twice in v. 19).
5 tn Heb “from your hand(s).” This refers to their power over the people.
