Ezekiel 18:2

“What do you mean by quoting this proverb concerning the land of Israel, “‘The fathers eat sour grapes And the children’s teeth become numb?’ ¹ 

"What do you people mean by quoting this proverb about the land of Israel: "‘The fathers eat sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge’?

"What do you mean by using this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying, ‘The fathers eat the sour grapes, But the children’s teeth are set on edge’?

"Why do you quote this proverb in the land of Israel: ‘The parents have eaten sour grapes, but their children’s mouths pucker at the taste’?

"What do you people mean by going around the country repeating the saying, The parents ate green apples, The children got stomachache?

Why do you make use of this saying about the land of Israel, The fathers have been tasting bitter grapes and the children’s teeth are on edge?

What do you mean by repeating this proverb concerning the land of Israel, "The parents have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge"?

"What do you mean when you use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying: ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, And the children’s teeth are set on edge’?

“What do you mean by quoting this proverb concerning the land of Israel, “‘The fathers eat sour grapes And the children’s teeth become numb?’ ¹ 

¹ tn This word only occurs here and in the parallel passage in Jer 31:29-30 in the Qal stem and in Eccl 10:10 in the Piel stem. In the latter passage it refers to the bluntness of an ax that has not been sharpened. Here the idea is of the “bluntness” of the teeth, not from having ground them down due to the bitter taste of sour grapes but to the fact that they have lost their “edge,” “bite,” or “sharpness” because they are numb from the sour taste. For this meaning for the word, see W. L. Holladay, Jeremiah (Hermeneia), 2:197.