¹ tn Heb “will you judge.” Here the imperfect form of the verb is probably used with a desiderative nuance. Addressed to the prophet, “judge” means to warn of or pronounce God’s impending judgment upon the city. See 20:4.

² tn In the Hebrew text of vv. 30-32 the second person verbal and pronominal forms are generally feminine singular. This continues the address of the personified Babylonian sword from verse 29 (the Hebrew word for “sword” is feminine). “Return” is masculine, either due to the Hebrew preference for the masculine gender, or to the fact that soldiers were men.

² tn The pronoun “this” is feminine, while the following negated verb (“will not be”) is masculine. Some emend the verb to a feminine form (see BHS), In this case the statement refers to the destiny of the king's turban crown (symbolizing his reign). See the previous note. It ultimately denotes kingship in Israel, as with “not this” in v. 26.

¹ tn Heb “For testing (will come), and what if also a scepter it despises will not be?” The translation understands the subject of the verb “despises,” which is a feminine form in the Hebrew text, to be the sword (which is a feminine noun) mentioned in the previous verses. The text is very difficult, and any rendering is uncertain.

² tn The Hebrew term חֻקּוֹת (khuqqot; translated “statutes” elsewhere in this chapter) is normally feminine. Here Ezekiel changes the form to masculine: חֻקִּים (khuqqim). Further, they are not called “my decrees” as vv. 11 and 13 refer to “my statutes.” The change is a signal that Ezekiel is not talking about the same statutes in vv. 11 and 13, which lead to life.

² tn Heb “and he does, a brother, from one of these.” If “brother” is retained, it may be an adverbial accusative: “against a brother” (i.e., fellow Israelite). But the form is likely dittographic, as the consonants that spell “brother” אח (alef-het) occur in the following word).

³ tc The MT reads: “what appeared to be his waist and downwards was fire.” The LXX omits “what appeared to be,” reading: “from his waist to below was fire.” Suggesting that “like what appeared to be” belongs before “fire,” D. I. Block (Ezekiel [NICOT], 1:277) points out the resulting poetic symmetry of form with the next line, as followed in the translation here.

¹ tc The MT reads: “and the form of the creatures” (וּדְמוּת הַחַיּוֹת, ud^emut hakhayyot). The LXX reads: “and in the midst of the creatures,” suggesting an underlying Hebrew text of וּמִתּוֹךְ הַחַיּוֹת (umittokh hakhayyot). The subsequent description of something moving among the creatures supports the LXX.

² tc The Hebrew word עִוְרִים (ʿivrim) appears to be an adjective based on the root I עִוֵּר (ʿivver, “blind”). The LXX, using a rare perfect optative of ἐγείρω (egeirō), seems to have read a form of II עוּר (ʿur, “to rise”), while the Syriac reads “her nobles,” possibly from reading שָׂרִים (sarim). The evidence is unclear.

¹ tn Heb “offscouring and refuse.” The two nouns סְחִי וּמָאוֹס (s^ekhi umaʾos) probably form a nominal hendiadys in which the first noun functions as an adjective and the second retains its full nominal sense: “filthy refuse,” i.e., “filthy scum.”

² tn Heb “without stopping.” The noun הַפוּגָה (hafugah, “stop”) is a hapax legomenon (word that occurs only once in Hebrew scriptures). The form of the noun is unusual, probably being derived from the denominative Hiphil verbal stem of the root פּוּג (pug, “to grow weary, ineffective, numb; become cold”).

¹ tn Heb “Let us test our ways and examine.” The two verbs וְנַחְקֹרָה…נַחְפְּשָׂה (nakhp^esah…v^enakhqorah, “Let us test and let us examine”) form a verbal hendiadys in which the first functions adverbially and the second retains its full verbal force: “Let us carefully examine our ways.”

¹ tn Heb “my flesh and my skin.” The two nouns joined with ו (vav), בְשָׂרִי וְעוֹרִי (v^esari v^eʿori, “my flesh and my skin”), form a nominal hendiadys. The first functions adjectivally, and the second retains its full nominal sense: “my mortal skin.”

⁵ tn Heb “He has overthrown and has not shown mercy.” The two verbs חָרַס וְלֹא חָמָל (kharas v^eloʾ khamal) form a verbal hendiadys in which the first retains its verbal sense and the second functions adverbially: “He has overthrown you without mercy.” וְלֹא חָמָל (v^eloʾ khamal) alludes to 2:2.

³ tn Heb “worthless and enticements.” The words שָׁוְא וּמַדּוּחִים (shavʾ umaddukhim) form a nominal hendiadys meaning “worthless enticements” or “misleading falsehoods.” The noun מַדּוּחַ (madduakh), meaning “enticement” or “transgression,” is a hapax legomenon (term that appears only once in the Hebrew OT). It is related to the verb נָדָח (nadakh, “to entice, lead astray”), which often refers to idolatry.

¹ tn Heb “worthless and whitewash.” The words שָׁוְא וְתָפֵל (shavʾ v^etafel) form a nominal hendiadys, meaning “worthless whitewash” or “worthless deceptions.” The noun תָּפֵל (tafel, “whitewash”) is used literally in reference to a white-washed wall (Ezek 13:10, 11, 14, 15) and figuratively in reference to false prophets (Ezek 22:28).

⁴ tn The verb הִזִּילוּהָ (hizziluha) is generally understood as a rare form of Hiphil perfect third person common plural + third person feminine singular suffix from I זָלַל (zalal, “to despise”): “they despise her.” This follows the I nun (ן) pattern with daghesh (dot) in zayin (ז) rather than the expected geminate pattern הִזִילּוּהָ (hizilluha) with daghesh in lamed (ל) (GKC 178-79 §67.l).

¹ tc The translation follows the LXX (Greek version), which reflects the description in 1 Kgs 7:25-26. The Hebrew text reads, “the 12 bronze bulls under the movable stands.” הַיָּם (hayyam, “The Sea”) has been accidentally omitted by homoioarcton; note that the following form, הַמְּכֹנוֹת (hamm^ekhonot, “the movable stands”), also begins with the article.

⁴ tn The infinitive absolute emphasizes the following finite verb. Another option is to translate, “he certainly pays one back.” The translation assumes that the imperfect verbal form here describes the Lord’s characteristic actions. Another option is to take it as referring specifically to his judgment on Babylon, in which case one should translate, “he will pay (Babylon) back in full.”

¹ tn For this word see BDB 914 s.v. III רַב, compare usage in Prov 26:10 and Job 16:12, and see the use of the verb in Gen 49:23. Based on this evidence, it is not necessary to emend the form to רֹבִים (rovim), as many commentators contend.