In the thirtieth year,athe thirtieth year We do not know the 30th of what. on the fifth day of the fourth month, when I was in the community of exiles by the Chebar Canal, the heavens opened and I saw visions of God.
I looked, and lo, a stormy wind came sweeping out of the north—a huge cloud and flashing fire, surrounded by a radiance; and in the center of it, in the center of the fire, a gleam as of amber.
the legs of each were [fused into] a single rigid leg, and the feet of each were like a single calf’s hoof;blike a single calf’s hoof I.e., cleft in front. and their sparklecsparkle Or “plumage.” was like the luster of burnished bronze.
Each of them had a human face [at the front]; each of the four had the face of a lion on the right; each of the four had the face of an ox on the left; and each of the four had the face of an eagle [at the back].
Such were their faces. As for their wings, they were separated: above, each had two touching those of the others, while the other two covered its body.
Such then was the appearance of the creatures. With them was something that looked like burning coals of fire. This fire, suggestive of torches, kept moving about among the creatures; the fire had a radiance, and lightning issued from the fire.
Dashing to and fro [among] the creatures was something that looked like flares.dDashing to and fro [among] the creatures was something that looked like flares Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
As for the appearance and structure of the wheels, they gleamed like beryl. All four had the same form; the appearance and structure of each was as of two wheels cutting through each other.
Wherever the spirit impelled them to go, they went—wherever the spirit impelled them—and the wheels were borne alongside them; for the spirit of the creatures was in the wheels.
When those moved, these moved; and when those stood still, these stood still; and when those were borne above the earth, the wheels were borne alongside them—for the spirit of the creatures was in the wheels.
When they moved, I could hear the sound of their wings like the sound of mighty waters, like the sound of Shaddai,eShaddai Traditionally “the Almighty”; see Gen. 17.1. a tumult like the din of an army. When they stood still, they would let their wings droop.
From above the expanse over their heads came a sound.fFrom above the expanse over their heads came a sound Meaning of Heb. uncertain. When they stood still, they would let their wings droop.
Above the expanse over their heads was the semblance of a throne, in appearance like sapphire; and on top, upon this semblance of a throne, there was the semblance of a human form.
From what appeared as the loins up, I saw a gleam as of amber—what looked like a fire encased in a frame;gwhat looked like a fire encased in a frame Meaning of Heb. uncertain. and from what appeared as the loins down, I saw what looked like fire. There was a surrounding radiance.
Like the appearance of the bow that shines in the clouds on a day of rain, such was the appearance of the surrounding radiance. That was the appearance of the semblance of the Presence of GOD. When I beheld it, I flung myself down on my face. And I heard the voice of someone speaking.
[God] said to me, “O mortal, I am sending you to the people of Israel, that nation of rebels, who have rebelled against Me.—They as well as their ancestors have defied Me to this very day;
“And you, mortal, do not fear them and do not fear their words, though thistles and thorns press againstapress against Lit. “are with.” you, and you sit upon scorpions. Do not be afraid of their words and do not be dismayed by them, though they are a rebellious breed;
not to the many peoples of unintelligible speech and difficult language, whose talk you cannot understand. If I sent you to them, they would listen to you.
But the House of Israel will refuse to listen to you, for they refuse to listen to Me; for the whole House of Israel are brazen of forehead and stubborn of heart.
Then a spirit carried me away, and behind me I heard a great roaring sound: “Blessed is the Presence of GOD, in its place,”asound: “Blessed is the Presence of GOD, in its place” Emendation yields “sound, as the Presence of GOD rose from where it stood.”
And I came to the exile community that dwelt in Tel Abib by the Chebar Canal, and I remained where they dwelt. And for seven days I sat there stunned among them.
If I say to someone wicked, ‘You shall die,’ and you do not give warning—you do not speak to warn thembthem Heb. “the wicked one.” of their wicked course in order to save their life—then that wicked one shall die for their own iniquity, while from you I will require a reckoning for their blood.
But if you do warn someone wicked, and they do not turn back from their wickedness and their wicked course, they shall die for their iniquity, while you will have saved your own life.
Again, if someone righteous abandons righteousness and does wrong—when I put a stumbling block before them—they shall die. They shall die for their sins; the righteous deeds that they did shall not be remembered; while from you, because you did not warn them, I will require a reckoning for their blood.
If, however, you warn someone righteous not to sin, and that righteous one does not sin, they shall live because they took warning, while you will have saved your own life.”
I arose and went out to the valley, and there stood the Presence of GOD, like the Presence that I had seen at the Chebar Canal; and I flung myself down on my face.
As for you, O mortal, cords have been placed upon you, and you have been bound with them, and you shall not go out among the people.cthe people Heb. “them.”
But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Sovereign GOD!’ Whoever listens will listen, and whoever does not will not—for they are a rebellious breed.”
Set up a siege against it, and build towers against it, and cast a mound against it; pitch camps against it, and bring up battering rams round about it.
Then take an iron plate and place it as an iron wall between yourself and the city, and set your face against it.aset your face against it I.e., adopt a hostile stance. Thus it shall be under siege, you shall besiege it. This shall be an omen for the House of Israel.
“Then lie on your left side, and let it bear the punishment of the House of Israel;bleft…Israel Since left and right also denote north and south (e.g., 16.46), respectively, the left side represents Israel, the northern kingdom, and the right side Judah, the southern kingdom. for as many days as you lie on it you shall bear their punishment.
For I impose upon you three hundred and ninety days, corresponding to the number of the years of their punishment; and so you shall bear the punishment for the House of Israel.
When you have completed these, you shall lie another forty days on your right side, and bear the punishment of the House of Judah.cright…Judah See note at v. 4. I impose on you one day for each year.
“Further, take wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, and emmer. Put them into one vessel and bake them into bread. Eat it as many days as you lie on your side: three hundred and ninety.
Then I said, “Ah, my Sovereign GOD, my personeperson Or “throat.” was never defiled; nor have I eaten anything that died of itself or was torn by beasts from my youth until now, nor has foul flesh entered my mouth.”
fResuming the thought of v. 11. And I was told, “O mortal, I am going to break the staff of bread in Jerusalem, and they shall eat bread by weight, in anxiety, and drink water by measure, in horror,
“And you, O mortal, take a sharp knife; use it as a barber’s razor and pass it over your head and beard. Then take scales and divide the hair.athe hair Lit. “them.”
When the days of siege are completed, destroy a third part in fire in the city, take a third and strike it with the sword all around the city,bthe city Heb. “it.” and scatter a third to the wind and unsheathecunsheathe Cf. v. 12; lit. “I will unsheathe.” a sword after them.
But she rebelled against My rules and My laws, acting more wickedly than the nations and the countries round about her; shedshe Heb. “they.” rejected My rules and disobeyed My laws.
Assuredly, thus said the Sovereign GOD: Because you have outdone the nations that are round about you—you have not obeyed My laws or followed My rules, nor have you even observed the rules of the nations round about you—
Assuredly, parents shall eat their children in your midst, and children shall eat their parents. I will execute judgments against you, and I will scatter all your survivors in every direction.
Assuredly, as I live—said the Sovereign GOD—because you defiled My Sanctuary with all your detestable things and all your abominations, I in turn will shear [you] awayeshear…away Cf. Isa. 15.2 and Jer. 48.37; here an allusion to the symbolism in v. 1. and show no pity. I in turn will show no compassion:
One-third of you shall die of pestilence or perish in your midst by famine, one-third shall fall by the sword around you, and I will scatter one-third in every direction and will unsheathe the sword after them.
And when I execute judgment upon you in anger and rage and furious chastisement, youfyou Heb. “she.” shall be a mockery and a derision, a warning and a horror, to the nations round about you: I, GOD, have spoken.
When I loose the deadly arrows of famine against those doomed to destruction, when I loose them against you to destroy you, I will heap more famine upon you and break your staff of bread.
I will let loose against you famine and wild beasts and they shall bereave you; pestilence and bloodshed shall sweep through you, and I will bring the sword upon you. I, GOD, have spoken.
and say: O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Sovereign GOD. Thus said the Sovereign GOD to the mountains and the hills, to the streams and the valleys: See, I will bring a sword against you and destroy your shrines.
in all your settlements. The towns shall be laid waste and the shrines shall be devastated. Thus your altars shall be laid waste and bear their punishment;abear their punishment Targum and other ancient versions read “shall be devastated.” your fetishes shall be smashed and annihilated, your incense stands cut down, and your handiwork wiped out;
And those of you that escape will remember Me among the nations where they have been taken captive, how I was brokenhearted throughbhow I was brokenhearted through Emendation yields “how I broke.” their faithless hearts that turned away from Me, and through their eyes that lusted after their fetishes. And they shall loathe themselves for all the evil they committed and for all their abominable deeds.
Thus said the Sovereign GOD: Strike your hands together and stamp your feet and cry: Aha! over all the vile abominations of the House of Israel who shall fall by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence.
Those who are far away shall die of pestilence, and those who are nearby shall fall by the sword, and anyone who survives and is protected shall die of famine. Thus I will spend My fury upon them.
And you shall know that I am GOD, when your slain lie among the fetishes round about their altars, on every high hill, on all the mountaintops, under every green tree, and under every leafy oak—wherever they presented pleasing odors to all their fetishes.
I will stretch out My hand against them, and lay the land waste and desolate in all their settlements, from the wilderness as far as Diblah;cDiblah A few Heb. mss. read “Riblah”; cf. 2 Kings 23.33; 25.6ff. then they shall know that I am GOD.
I will show you no pity and no compassion; but I will requite you for your ways and for the abominations in your midst. And you shall know that I am GOD.
Thus said the Sovereign GOD: A singular disaster; a disasteraA singular disaster; a disaster A number of mss. and editions, as well as Targum, read “Disaster after disaster.” is coming.
bMeaning of verse uncertain. The cycle has come around for you, O inhabitants of the land; the time has come; the day is near. There is panic on the mountains, not joy.
Very soon I will pour out My wrath upon you and spend My anger on you; I will judge you according to your ways, and I will requite you for all your abominations.
I will show you no pity and no compassion; but I will requite you for your ways, and for the abominations in your midst. And you shall know it was I, GOD, who punished.
lawlessness has grown into a rod of wickedness. Nothing comes of them, nor of their abundance, nor of their wealth; nor is there preeminence among them.ccycle has come round … among them Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
The time has come, the day has arrived. Let not the buyer rejoice nor the seller mourn—for divine wrath shall overtake all Jerusalem’sdJerusalem’s Heb. “her.” multitude.
For the seller shall not return to what was sold so long as both partieseboth parties Heb. “they.” remain among the living. For the vision concerns all her multitude, it shall not be revoked. And because of their own guilt, none shall hold fast to their life.
The sword is outside and pestilence and famine are inside; those in the field shall die by the sword, those in the town shall be devoured by famine and pestilence.
And if any survive, they shall take to the mountains; they shall be like doves of the valley, moaning togetherflike doves of the valley, moaning together Emendation yields “like moaning doves. All of them shall perish.”—everyone for their own iniquity.
They shall throw their silver into the streets, and their gold shall be treated as something unclean. Their silver and gold shall not avail to save them in the day of GOD’s wrath—to satisfy their hunger or to fill their stomachs. Because they made them stumble into guilt—
for out of their beautiful adornments, in which they took pride, they made their images and their detestable abominations—therefore I will make their adornmentsgtheir adornments Heb. “it.” a source of uncleanness to them.
I will bring in the worst of the nations to take possession of their houses; so shall I turn to naught the pride of the powerful, and their sanctuaries shall be defiled.
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25
קְפָ֖דָה־בָ֑א וּבִקְשׁ֥וּ שָׁל֖וֹם וָאָֽיִן׃
HorroriHorror Meaning of Heb. uncertain. comes, and they shall seek safety, but there shall be none.
Calamity shall follow calamity, and rumor follow rumor. Then they shall seek vision from the prophet in vain; instruction shall perish from the priest, and counsel from the elders.
The king shall mourn, the princejthe prince Possibly denoting the king, as is usual in Ezekiel. shall clothe himself with desolation, and the hands of the people of the land shall tremble. I will treat them in accordance with their own ways and judge them according to their deserts. And they shall know that I am GOD.
In the sixth year, on the fifth day of the sixth month, I was sitting at home, and the elders of Judah were sitting before me, and there the hand of the Sovereign GOD fell upon me.
As I looked, there was a figure that had the appearance of fire:afire Septuagint “a man.” from what appeared as the loins down, [there was] fire; and from the loins up, the appearance was resplendent and had the color of amber.
The form of a hand stretched out, and took me by the hair of my head. A spirit lifted me up between heaven and earth and brought me in visions of God to Jerusalem, to the entrance of the PenimithbPenimith Meaning of Heb. uncertain. Gate that faces north; that was the site of the infuriating image that provokes fury.
And the Presence of the God of Israel appeared there, like the vision that I had seen in the valley.cthe vision that I had seen in the valley See chap. 1 and 3.22–23.
And I was told, “O mortal, turn your eyes northward.” I turned my eyes northward, and there, north of the gate of the altar, wasdnorth of the gate of the altar, was Meaning of Heb. uncertain; emendation yields “north of the gate was the altar of.” that infuriating image on the approach.eapproach Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
And [God] said to me, “Mortal, do you see what they are doing, the terrible abominations that the House of Israel is practicing here, to drive Me farfto drive Me far Or “at a distance.” from My Sanctuary? You shall yet see even greater abominations!”
I entered and looked, and there all detestable forms of creeping things and beasts and all the fetishes of the House of Israel were depicted over the entire wall.
Before them stood seventy of the elders of the House of Israel, with Jaazaniah son of Shaphan standing in their midst. Everyone had a censer in his hand, and a thick cloud of incense smoke ascended.
Again [God] spoke to me, “O mortal, have you seen what the elders of the House of Israel are doing in the darkness, everyone in his image-covered chamber? For they say, ‘GOD does not see us; GOD has abandoned the country.’”
Next [God] brought me to the entrance of the north gate of the House of GOD;hgate of the House of GOD I.e., the gate of the inner court. and there sat the women bewailing Tammuz.iTammuz A Babylonian god.
Then [God] brought me into the inner court of the House of GOD, and there, at the entrance to the Temple of GOD, between the portico and the altar, were about twenty-five men, their backs to the Temple of GOD and their faces to the east; they were bowing low to the sun in the east.
And I was told, “Do you see, O mortal? Is it not enough for the House of Judah to practice the abominations that they have committed here, that they must fill the country with lawlessness and provoke Me still further and thrust the branch to their nostrils?jthrust the branch to their nostrils Apparently meaning “goad Me to fury”; “their” is a euphemism for “My.”
And six figures entered by way of the upper gate that faces north, each with his club in his hand; and among them was another one, clothed in linen, with a writing case at his waist. They came forward and stopped at the bronze altar.
Now the Presence of the God of Israel had moved from the cherub on which it had rested to the platformathe platform The raised platform on which the temple stood; cf. 47.1. of the House. The figure clothed in linen with the writing case at his waist was summoned;
and GOD said to him, “Pass through the city, through Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the persons who moan and groan because of all the abominations that are committed in it.”
Kill off graybeard, youth and maiden, women and children; but do not touch any person who bears the mark. Begin here at My Sanctuary.” So they began with the elders who were in front of the House.
When they were out killing, and I remained alone, I flung myself on my face and cried out, “Ah, my Sovereign GOD! Are you going to annihilate all that is left of Israel, pouring out Your fury upon Jerusalem?”
The answer came, “The iniquity of the Houses of Judah and Israel is very very great, the land is full of crime and the city is full of corruption. For they say, ‘GOD has forsaken the land, and GOD does not see.’
I looked, and on the expanse over the heads of the cherubs, there was something like a sapphire stone; an appearance resembling a throne could be seen over them.
[God] spoke to the figure clothed in linen and said, “Step inside the wheelwork, under the cherubs, and fill your hands with glowing coals from among the cherubs, and scatter them over the city.” And he went in as I looked on.
But when the Presence of GOD moved from the cherubs to the platformaplatform See note at 47.1. of the House, the House was filled with the cloud, and the court was filled with the radiance of the Presence of GOD.
And a cherub stretched out a hand among the cherubs to the fire that was among the cherubs; he took some and put it into the hands of the one clothed in linen, who took it and went out.
I could see that there were four wheels beside the cherubs, one wheel beside each of the cherubs; as for the appearance of the wheels, they gleamed like the beryl stone.
And when they moved, each could move in the direction of any of its four quarters; they did not veer as they moved. The [cherubs] moved in the direction in which one of the heads faced, without turning as they moved.
Whenever the cherubs went, the wheels went beside them; and when the cherubs lifted their wings to ascend from the earth, the wheels did not roll away from their side.
And I saw the cherubs lift their wings and rise from the earth, with the wheels beside them as they departed; and theyethey Lit. “it.” stopped at the entrance of the eastern gate of the House of GOD, with the Presence of the God of Israel above them.
They were the same creatures that I had seen below the God of Israel at the Chebar Canal; so now I knew that they were cherubs.fI knew that they were cherubs Because they had been called “cherubs” (cf. v. 2).
As for the form of their faces, they were the very faces that I had seen by the Chebar Canal—their appearance and their featuresgtheir features Lit. “themselves.”—and each could move in the direction of any of its faces.
Then a spirit lifted me up and brought me to the east gate of the House of GOD, which faces eastward; and there, at the entrance of the gate, were twenty-five men, among whom I saw Jaazaniah son of Azzur and Pelatiah son of Benaiah, leaders of the people.
who say: ‘There is no need now to build houses; this [city] is the pot, and we are the meat.’athis [city] is the pot, and we are the meat I.e., the exiles will not return.
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4
לָכֵ֖ן הִנָּבֵ֣א עֲלֵיהֶ֑ם הִנָּבֵ֖א בֶּן־אָדָֽם׃
I adjure you, prophesy against them; prophesy, O mortal!”
Thereupon the spirit of GOD fell upon me, and I was told, “Speak: Thus said GOD: Such are your thoughts, O House of Israel; I know what comes into your mind.
Assuredly, thus says the Sovereign GOD: The corpses that you have piled up in it are the meat for which it is the pot; but you shall be taken out of it.
Then you shall know that I am GOD, whose laws you did not follow and whose rules you did not obey, acting instead according to the rules of the nations around you.”
Now, as I prophesied, Pelatiah son of Benaiah dropped dead. I threw myself upon my face and cried out aloud, “Ah, my Sovereign GOD! You are wiping out the remnant of Israel!”
“O mortal, [I will save] your kinsfolk, your relatives—your next of kinbyour next of kin I.e., the exiles.—all of that very House of Israel to whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem say, ‘Keep far from GOD; the land has been given as a heritage to us.’
Say then: Thus said the Sovereign GOD: I have indeed removed them far among the nations and have scattered them among the countries, and I have become to them a diminished sanctity in the countries whither they have gone.
Yet say: Thus said the Sovereign GOD: I will gather youcyou I.e., the exiles. from the peoples and assemble you out of the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the Land of Israel.
I will give them one heart and put a new spirit in them;dthem Heb. “you.” I will remove the heart of stone from their bodies and give them a heart of flesh,
But as for them whose heart is set upon their detestable things and their abominations, I will repay them for their conduct—declares the Sovereign GOD.”
Therefore, mortal, get yourself gear for exile, and go into exile by day before their eyes. Go into exile from your home to another place before their very eyes; perhaps they will take note, even though they are a rebellious breed.
Carry out your gear as gear for exile by day before their very eyes; and go out again in the evening before their eyes, as one who goes out into exile.
before their eyes, carry it on your shoulder. Take it out in the dark, and cover your face that you may not see the land; for I make you a portent to the House of Israel.
I did just as I was ordered: I took out my gear by day as gear for exile, and in the evening I broke through the wall with my own hands.awith my own hands Lit. “by hand.” In the darkness I carried [the gear] out on my shoulder, carrying it before their eyes.
Say to them: “Thus said the Sovereign GOD: This pronouncement concerns the princebprince I.e., the king of Judah, presumably Zedekiah; cf. Rashi, Kimhi. in Jerusalem and all the House of Israel who are in it.”
And the prince among them shall carry his gear on his shoulder as he goes out in the dark. HecHe Heb. “They.” shall break through the wall in order to carry [his gear] out through it; he shall cover his face, because he himself shall not see the land with his eyes.”
I will spread My net over him, and he shall be caught in My snare. I will bring him to Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans, but he shall not see it;dhe shall not see it Cf. 2 Kings 25.7. and there he shall die.
But I will spare a few of them from the sword, from famine, and from pestilence, that they may recount all their abominable deeds among the nations to which they come; and they shall know that I am GOD!
And say to the people of the land: Thus said the Sovereign GOD concerning the inhabitants of Jerusalem in the land of Israel: They shall eat their bread in anxiety and drink their water in desolation, because their land will be desolate of its multitudes on account of the lawlessness of all its inhabitants.
Assuredly, say to them, Thus said the Sovereign GOD: I will put an end to this proverb; it shall not be used in Israel anymore. Speak rather to them: The days draw near, and the fulfillment of every vision.
But whenever I, GOD, speak what I speak, that word shall be fulfilled without any delay; in your days, O rebellious breed, I will fulfill every word I speak—declares the Sovereign GOD.
Assuredly, say to them: Thus said the Sovereign GOD: There shall be no more delay; whenever I speak a word, that word shall be fulfilled—declares the Sovereign GOD.
They prophesied falsehood and lying divination; they said, “Declares GOD,” when GOD did not send them, and then they waited for their word to be fulfilled.
My hand will be against the prophets who prophesy falsehood and utter lying divination. They shall not remain in the assembly of My people, they shall not be inscribed in the lists of the House of Israel, and they shall not come back to the land of Israel. Thus shall you know that I am the Sovereign GOD.
Inasmuch as they have misled My people, saying, “It is well,” when nothing is well, daubing with plaster the flimsy wall that the peopleathe people Heb. “it.” were building,
say to those daubers of plaster: It shall collapse; a driving rain shall descend—and you, O great hailstones, shall fall—and a hurricane wind shall rend it.
Assuredly, thus said the Sovereign GOD: In My fury I will let loose hurricane winds; in My anger a driving rain shall descend, and great hailstones in destructive fury.
I will throw down the wall that you daubed with plaster, and I will raze it to the ground so that its foundation is exposed; and when it falls, you shall perish in its midst; then you shall know that I am GOD.
and say: Thus said the Sovereign GOD: Woe to those who sew padsbpads Meaning of Heb. uncertain. on all arm-joints and make bonnetscbonnets Meaning of Heb. uncertain. for the head of every person, in order to entrap! Can you hunt down lives among My people, while you preserve your own lives?
You have profaned My namedMy name Heb. “Me.” among My people in return for handfuls of barley and morsels of bread; you have announced the death of persons who will not die and the survival of persons who will not live—lying to My people, who listen to your lies.
Assuredly, thus said the Sovereign GOD: I am going to deal with your pads,epads Meaning of Heb. uncertain. by whichfby which Heb. “where.” you hunt down lives like birds, and I will tear them from your arms and free the persons whose lives you hunt down like birds.
I will tear off your bonnetsgbonnets Meaning of Heb. uncertain. and rescue My people from your hands, and they shall no longer be prey in your hands; then you shall know that I am GOD.
Because you saddened the heart of the innocent with lies, when I would not inflict suffering on them, and encouraged the wicked not to repent of their evil ways and so gain life—
O mortal, these men have turned their thoughts upon their fetishes and set their minds upon the sin through which they stumbled: Shall I respond to their inquiry?
Now speak to them and tell them: Thus said the Sovereign GOD: If anyone at all of the House of Israel turns their thoughts upon their fetishes and sets their mind upon the sin through which they stumbled, and yet comes to the prophet, I, GOD, will respond as they come withaas they come with Emendation yields “directly, because of”; cf. v. 7. their multitude of fetishes.
Now say to the House of Israel: Thus said the Sovereign GOD: Repent, and turn back from your fetishes and turn your minds away from all your abominations.
For if anyone at all of the House of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell in Israel, breaks away from Me and turns their thoughts upon their fetishes and sets their mind upon the sins through which they stumbled, and then goes to the prophet to inquire of Me through him, I, GOD, will respond directly.
I will set My face against that party and make them a sign and a byword, and I will cut them off from the midst of My people. Then you shall know that I am GOD.
And if a prophet is seduced and does speak a word [to such people], it was I, GOD, who seduced that prophet; I will stretch out My hand and destroy that prophetbthat prophet Heb. “him.” from among My people Israel.
so that the House of Israel may never again stray from Me and defile itself with all its transgressions. Then they shall be My people and I will be their God—declares the Sovereign GOD.
O mortal, if a land were to sin against Me and commit a trespass, and I stretched out My hand against it and broke its staff of bread, and sent famine against it and cut off human and animal from it,
Or, if I were to send wild beasts to roam the land and they depopulated it, and it became a desolation with none passing through it because of the beasts,
as I live—declares the Sovereign GOD—those three men in it would save neither sons nor daughters; they alone would be saved, but the land would become a desolation.
should Noah, Daniel, and Job be in it, as I live—declares the Sovereign GOD—they would save neither son nor daughter; they would save themselves alone by their righteousness.
Assuredly, thus said the Sovereign GOD: How much less [should any escape] now that I have let loose against Jerusalem all four of My terrible punishments—the sword, famine, wild beasts, and pestilence—to cut off human and animal from it!
Yet there are survivors left of it, sons and daughters who are being brought out.csons and daughters who are being brought out Several ancient versions read “who are bringing out sons and daughters.” They are coming out to you; and when you see their ways and their deeds, you will be consoled for the disaster that I brought on Jerusalem, for all that I brought on it.
You will be consoled through them, when you see their ways and their deeds and realize that not without cause did I do all that I did in it—declares the Sovereign GOD.
Even when it was whole it could not be used for anything; how much less when fire has consumed it and it is charred! Can it still be used for anything?
Assuredly, thus said the Sovereign GOD: Like the wood of the grapevine among the trees of the forest, which I have designated to be fuel for fire, so will I treat the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
and say: Thus said the Sovereign GOD to Jerusalem: By origin and birth you are from the land of the Canaanites—your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite.
As for your birth, when you were born your navel cord was not cut, and you were not bathed in water to smooth you;asmooth you Meaning of Heb. uncertain. you were not rubbed with salt, nor were you swaddled.
No one pitied you enough to do any one of these things for you out of compassion for you; on the day you were born, you were left lying, rejected, in the open field.
When I passed by you and saw you wallowing in your blood, I said to you: “Live despite your blood.” Yea, I said to you: “Live despite your blood.”bYea, I said to you: “Live despite your blood.” This sentence is missing from some ancient versions and a few Heb. mss.
I let you grow like the plants of the field; and you continued to grow up until you attained to womanhood,cto womanhood Meaning of Heb. uncertain. until your breasts became firm and your hair sprouted.You were still naked and bare
when I passed by you [again] and saw that your time for love had arrived. So I spread My robe over youdSo I spread My robe over you An act symbolizing espousal; cf. note at Deut. 23.1; Ruth 3.9. and covered your nakedness, and I entered into a covenant with you by oath—declares the Sovereign GOD; thus you became Mine.
I clothed you with embroidered garments, and gave you sandals of dolphin leatheredolphin leather Or leather of a certain dyed hue. Meaning of Heb. uncertain. to wear, and wound fine linen about your head, and dressed you in silks.
You adorned yourself with gold and silver, and your apparel was of fine linen, silk, and embroidery. Your food was choice flour, honey, and oil. You grew more and more beautiful, and became fit for royalty.
But confident in your beauty and fame, you played the whore: you lavished your favors on every passerby; they were his.fthey were his Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
You even took some of your cloths and made yourself tapestried platformsgtapestried platforms Meaning of Heb. uncertain. and fornicated on them—not in the future; not in time to come.hnot in the future; not in time to come See note at Exod. 25.4.
The food that I had given you—the choice flour, the oil, and the honey that I had provided for you to eat—you set it before them for a pleasing odor.ifor a pleasing odor I.e., as a sacrifice; cf. Lev. 2.2. And so it went—declares the Sovereign GOD.
Now, I will stretch out My arm against you and withhold your maintenance; and I will surrender you to the will of your enemies, the Philistine women, who are shocked by your lewd behavior.
How sick was your heartkHow sick was your heart Change of vocalization yields “How furious I was with you”; lit. “How I was filled with your fury” (libbat, as in Akkadian and Old Aramaic).—declares the Sovereign GOD—when you did all those things, the acts of a self-willed whore,
You were the opposite of other women: you solicited instead of being solicited; you paid fees instead of being paid fees. Thus you were just the opposite!
Thus said the Sovereign GOD: Because of your brazen effrontery, offering your nakedness to your lovers for whoring—just like the blood of your children, which you gave to all your abominable fetishes:ljust like the blood of your children, which you gave to all your abominable fetishes Construction of Heb. uncertain.—
I will assuredly assemble all the lovers to whom you gave your favors, along with everybody you accepted and everybody you rejected. I will assemble them against you from every quarter, and I will expose your nakedness to them, and they shall see all your nakedness.
I will deliver you into their hands, and they shall tear down your eminence and level your mounds; and they shall strip you of your clothing and take away your dazzling jewels, leaving you naked and bare.
They shall put your houses to the flames and execute punishment upon you in the sight of many women; thus I will put a stop to your whoring, and you shall pay no more fees.
Because you did not remember the days of your youth, but infuriated Me with all those things, I will pay you back for your conductmwill pay you back for your conduct Meaning of Heb. uncertain.—declares the Sovereign GOD.Have you not committed depravity on top of all your other abominations?
You are the daughter of your mother, who rejected her husband and children. And you are the sister of your sisters, who rejected their husbands and children; for you are daughters of a Hittite mother and an Amorite father.
Your elder sister was Samaria, who lived with her daughters to the north of you; your younger sister was Sodom, who lived with her daughters to the south of you.
Did you not walk in their ways and practice their abominations? Why, you were almostnalmost Meaning of Heb. uncertain. more corrupt than they in all your ways.
Only this was the sin of your sister Sodom: arrogance! She and her daughters had plenty of bread and untroubled tranquility; yet she did not support the poor and the needy.
In their haughtiness, they committed abomination before Me; and so I removed them, as you saw.oyou saw Construed as second-person feminine; cf. qere, vv. 47 and 51; and see above vv. 13, 18, 22, 31, 43.
Nor did Samaria commit even half your sins. You committed more abominations than they, and by all the abominations that you committed you made your sisters look righteous.
Truly, you must bear the disgrace of serving as your sisters’ advocate: Since you have sinned more abominably than they, they appear righteous in comparison. So be ashamed and bear your disgrace, because you have made your sisters look righteous.
I will restore their fortunes—the fortunes of Sodom and her daughters and the fortunes of Samaria and her daughters—and your fortunes along with theirs.
Then your sister Sodom and her daughters shall return to their former state, and Samaria and her daughters shall return to their former state, and you and your daughters shall return to your former state.
before your own wickedness was exposed? So must you now bear the mockery of the daughters of ArampAram Many Heb. mss. and editions read “Edom.” and all her neighbors, the daughters of Philistia who jeer at you on every side.
You shall remember your ways and feel ashamed, when you receive your older sisters and your younger sisters, and I give them to you as daughters, though they are not of your covenant.
Thus you shall remember and feel shame, and you shall be too abashed to open your mouth again, when I have forgiven you for all that you did—declares the Sovereign GOD.
Say: Thus said the Sovereign GOD: The great eagle with the great wings and the long pinions, with the full plumage and the brilliant colors,awith the full plumage and the brilliant colors This description suggests the golden eagle; the vulture, called by the same word in Heb. (nesher), has a bald head (Mic. 1.16) and dark feathers. came to the Lebanon range and seized the top of the cedar.
He then took some of the seed of the landcland Emendation yields “cedar.” and planted it in a fertile field; he planted and set it like a willowdhe planted and set it like a willow Meaning of Heb. uncertain. beside abundant waters.
It grew and became a spreading vine of low stature; it became a vine, produced branches, and sent out boughs. [He had intended] that its twigs should turn to him, and that its roots should stay under him.
But there was another great eagle with great wings and full plumage; and this vine now bent its roots in his direction and sent out its twigs toward him, that he might water it more than the bed where it was planted—
Say: Thus said the Sovereign GOD: Will it thrive? Will heehe I.e., the first eagle. not tear out its roots and rip off its crown, so that its entire foliage withers? It shall wither, despite any strong arm or mighty army [that may come] to remove it from its roots.
Say to the rebellious breed: Do you not know what these things mean? Say: The king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, and carried away its kingfits king I.e., Jehoiachin, exiled to Babylonia in 597 BCE. and its officers and brought them back with him to Babylon.
He took one of the seed royalgone of the seed royal I.e., Zedekiah. and made a covenant with him and imposed an oath on him, and he carried away the nobles of the land—
But [that prince] rebelled against him and sent his envoys to Egypt to get horses and a large army. Will he succeed? Will he who does such things escape? Shall he break a covenant and escape?
As I live—declares the Sovereign GOD—in the very homeland of the king who made him king, whose oath he flouted and whose covenant he broke—right there, in Babylon, he shall die.
Pharaoh will not fight at his side with a great army and with numerous troops in the war, when mounds are thrown up and siege towers erected to destroy many lives.
I will spread My net over him and he shall be caught in My snare; I will carry him to Babylon and enter with him into judgment there for the trespass that he committed against Me.
And all the fugitiveshfugitives Many mss. read “elite troops.” of all his battalions shall fall by the sword, and those who remain shall scatter in every direction; then you will know that I, GOD, have spoken.
Thus said the Sovereign GOD: Then I in turn will take and set [in the ground a slip] from the lofty top of the cedar; I will pluck a tender twig from the tip of its crown, and I will plant it on a tall, towering mountain.
I will plant it in Israel’s lofty highlands, and it shall bring forth boughs and produce branchesibranches In contrast to others “fruit.” and grow into a noble cedar. Every bird of every feather shall take shelter under it, shelter in the shade of its boughs.
Then shall all the trees of the field know that it is I, GOD, who have abased the lofty tree and exalted the lowly tree, who have dried up the green tree and made the withered tree bud. I, GOD, have spoken, and I will act.
What do you mean by quoting this proverb upon the soil of Israel, “Parents eat sour grapes and their children’s teeth are blunted”?ablunted In contrast to others “set on edge.”
If he has not eaten on the mountainsbon the mountains I.e., in idolatry. Emendation yields “with the blood”; cf. 33.25; Lev. 17.10–11; 19.26. or raised his eyes to the fetishes of the House of Israel; if he has not defiled another man’s wife or approached a menstruous woman;
if he has not wronged anyone; if he has returned the debtor’s pledge to him and has taken nothing by robbery; if he has given bread to the hungry and clothed the naked;
if he has not lent at advance interest or exacted accrued interest;cadvance interest or…accrued interest I.e., interest deducted in advance or interest added at the time of repayment; cf. Lev. 25.36. if he has abstained from wrongdoing and executed true justice between one party and the other;
Suppose, now, that he has begotten a son who is a ruffian, a shedder of blood, who does any of these things,ddoes any of these things Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
whereas he himself did none of these things. That is, [the son] has eaten on the mountains,eon the mountains See note at v. 6. has defiled another man’s wife,
has lent at advance interest, or exacted accrued interest—shall he live? He shall not live! If he has committed any of these abominations, he shall die; he has forfeited his life.
He has not eaten upon the mountainsfupon the mountains See note at v. 6. or raised his eyes to the fetishes of the House of Israel; he has not defiled another man’s wife;
he has refrained from oppressing the poor;grefrained from oppressing the poor Lit. “turned his hand back from the poor.” Emendation yields “abstained from wrongdoing”; cf. v. 8. he has not exacted advance or accrued interest; he has obeyed My rules and followed My laws—he shall not die for the iniquity of his father, but shall live.
and now you ask, “Why has not the son shared the burden of his father’s guilt?” But the son has done what is right and just, and has carefully kept all My laws: he shall live!
Only the person who sins shall die. A child shall not share the burden of a parent’s guilt, nor shall a parent share the burden of a child’s guilt; the righteousness of the righteous shall be accounted to them alone, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be accounted to them alone.
Moreover, if someone wicked repents of all the sins that were committed and keeps all My laws and does what is just and right, they shall live; they shall not die.
So, too, if someone righteous turns away from righteousness and does wrong, practicing the very abominations that the wicked person practiced, shall they live? None of the righteous deeds that they did shall be remembered; because of the treachery they have practiced and the sins they have committed—because of these, they shall die.
Be assured, O House of Israel, I will judge each one of you according to your own ways—declares the Sovereign GOD. Repent and turn back from all your transgressions; let them not be a stumbling block of guilt for you.
He raped their widows,braped their widows Emendation yields “ravaged their castles.” Laid waste their cities;The land and all in it were appalledAt the sound of his roaring.
With hooks he was put in a cage,They carried him off to the king of BabylonAnd confined him in a fortress,So that never again should his roar be heardOn the hills of Israel.
Your mother was like a vine in your blood,cin your blood Meaning of Heb. uncertain; emendation yields “in a vineyard.” Planted beside streams,With luxuriant boughs and branchesThanks to abundant waters.
And she had a mighty roddrod Heb. plural. Fit for a ruler’s scepter.escepter Heb. plural. It towered highest among the leafy trees,famong the leafy trees Meaning of Heb. uncertain. It was conspicuous by its height,By the abundance of its boughs.
But plucked up in a fury,She was hurled to the ground.The east wind withered her branches,They broke apart and dried up;And her mighty rod was consumed by fire.
Fire has issued from her twig-laden branchAnd has consumed her boughs,She is left without a mighty rod,A scepter to rule with.This is a dirge, and it has become a [familiar] dirge.
O mortal, speak to the elders of Israel and say to them: Thus said the Sovereign GOD: Have you come to inquire of Me? As I live, I will not respond to your inquiry—declares the Sovereign GOD.
Arraign, arraign them, O mortal!aArraign, arraign them, O mortal! Lit. “Will you arraign them, will you arraign, O mortal?” Declare to them the abhorrent deeds of their ancestors.
Say to them: Thus said the Sovereign GOD:On the day that I chose Israel, I gave My oathbgave My oath Lit. “raised My hand.” to the stock of the House of Jacob; when I made Myself known to them in the land of Egypt, I gave my oath to them. When I said, “I the ETERNAL am your God,”
that same day I swore to them to take them out of the land of Egypt into a land flowing with milk and honey, a land that I had sought out for them, the fairest of all lands.
I also said to them: Cast away, every one of you, the detestable things that you are drawn to,cthat you are drawn to Lit. “of his eyes.” and do not defile yourselves with the fetishes of Egypt—I the ETERNAL am your God.
But they defied Me and refused to listen to Me. They did not cast away the detestable things they were drawn to, nor did they give up the fetishes of Egypt. Then I resolved to pour out My fury upon them, to vent all My anger upon them there, in the land of Egypt.
But I acted for the sake of My name, that it might not be profaned in the sight of the nations among whom they were. For it was before their eyes that I had made Myself known to IsraeldIsrael Lit. “them.” to bring them out of the land of Egypt.
But the House of Israel rebelled against Me in the wilderness; they did not follow My laws and they rejected My rules—by the pursuit of which humans shall live—and they grossly desecrated My sabbaths. Then I thought to pour out My fury upon them in the wilderness and to make an end of them;
However, I sworeeswore See note at v. 5. to them in the wilderness that I would not bring them into the land flowing with milk and honey, the fairest of all lands, that I had assigned [to them],
I warned their children in the wilderness: Do not follow the practices of your ancestors, do not keep their ways, and do not defile yourselves with their fetishes.
But the children rebelled against Me: they did not follow My laws and did not faithfully observe My rules, by the pursuit of which humans shall live; they profaned My sabbaths. Then I resolved to pour out My fury upon them, to vent all My anger upon them, in the wilderness.
But I held back My hand and acted for the sake of My name, that it might not be profaned in the sight of the nations before whose eyes I had led them out.
When they set aside every first issue of the womb, I defiled them by their very giftsgby their very gifts See v. 31.—that I might render them desolate,hdesolate Emendation yields “guilty.” that they might know that I am GOD.
Now, O mortal, speak to the House of Israel and say to them: Thus said the Sovereign GOD: By this too your ancestors affronted Me and committed trespass against Me:
When I brought them to the land that I had swornisworn See note at v. 5. to give them, and they saw any high hill or any leafy tree, they slaughtered their sacrifices there and presented their offensive offerings there; there they produced their pleasing odors and poured out their libations.
Then I said to them, “What is this shrine that you visit?” (Therefore such [a shrine] is called bamah jbamah As if from ba “visit” and mah “what.” to this day.)
Now say to the House of Israel: Thus said the Sovereign GOD: If you defile yourselves as your ancestors did and go astray after their detestable things,
and if to this very day you defile yourselves in the presentation of your gifts by making your children pass through the fire to all your fetishes, shall I respond to your inquiry, O House of Israel? As I live—declares the Sovereign GOD—I will not respond to you.
And what you have in mind shall never come to pass—when you say, “We will be like the nations, like the families of the lands, worshiping wood and stone.”
With a strong hand and an outstretched arm and overflowing fury I will bring you out from the peoples and gather you from the lands where you are scattered,
As I entered into judgment with your ancestors in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so will I enter into judgment with you—declares the Sovereign GOD.
I will make you pass under the shepherd’s staff,kI will make you pass under the shepherd’s staff I.e., I will count you; see Lev. 27.32. and I will bring you into the bondlbond Meaning of Heb. uncertain. of the covenant.
I will remove from you those who rebel and transgress against Me; I will take them out of the countries where they sojourn, but they shall not enter the land of Israel. Then you shall know that I am GOD.
As for you, O House of Israel, thus said the Sovereign GOD: Go, every one of you, and worship your fetishes and continue,mcontinue Meaning of Heb. uncertain. if you will not obey Me; but do not profane My holy name anymore with your idolatrous gifts.
For only on My holy mountain, on the lofty mount of Israel—declares the Sovereign GOD—there, in the land, the entire House of Israel, all of it, must worship Me. There I will accept them, and there I will take note of your contributions and the choicest offerings of all your sacred things.
When I bring you out from the peoples and gather you from the lands in which you are scattered, I will accept you as a pleasing odor; and I will be sanctified through you in the sight of the nations.
Then, when I have brought you to the land of Israel, to the country that I sworenswore See note at v. 5. to give to your fathers,ofathers See note at Josh. 1.6. you shall know that I am GOD.
Then, O House of Israel, you shall know that I am GOD, when I deal with you for My name’s sake—not in accordance with your evil ways and corrupt acts—declares the Sovereign GOD.
O mortal, set your face toward Teman, and proclaim to Darom, and prophesy against the brushland of the Negeb.aTeman…Darom…Negeb Three terms for “the south.” The allusion is to Jerusalem (v. 7), which was always approached from Babylon by way of the north.
Say to the brushland of the Negeb: Hear the word of GOD. Thus said the Sovereign GOD: I am going to kindle a fire in you, which shall devour every tree of yours, both green and withered. Its leaping flame shall not go out, and every face from south to north shall be scorched by it.
Say to the land of Israel: Thus said GOD: I am going to deal with you! I will draw My sword from its sheath, and I will wipe out from you both the righteous and the wicked.
And when they ask you, “Why do you sigh?” answer, “Because of the tidings that have come.” Every heart shall sink and all hands hang nerveless; every spirit shall grow faint and all knees turn to water because of the tidings that have come. It is approaching, it shall come to pass—declares the Sovereign GOD.
It has been whetted to wreak slaughter; [therefore] it has been ground to a brilliant polish.b[therefore] it has been ground to a brilliant polish Lit. “it has been polished in order that it may have lightning.” How can we rejoice? My child, it scornscHow can we rejoice? My child, it scorns Meaning of Heb. uncertain. the rod and every stick.
It has been given to be polished and then grasped in the hand; for this has the sword been whetted, for this polished—to be put into the hand of a slayer.
Cry and wail, O mortal, for this shall befall My people, this shall befall all the chieftains of Israel: they shall be cast before the sword together with My people; oh, strike the thigh [in grief].
Consider: How shall it fail to happen, seeing that it even scorns the rod?dConsider: How shall it fail to happen, seeing that it even scorns the rod? Meaning of Heb. uncertain.—says the Sovereign GOD.
Further, O mortal, prophesy, striking hand against hand. Let the sword strike a second time and yet a third time; it is a sword for massacre, a sword for great carnage, that pressesepresses Meaning of Heb. uncertain. upon them.
Thus hearts shall lose courage and many shall fall. At all their gates I have appointed slaughterfslaughter Meaning of Heb. uncertain. by the sword. Ah! it is made to flash brilliantly, it is honedghoned Meaning of Heb. uncertain. for slaughter.
And you, O mortal, choose two roads on which the sword of the king of Babylon may advance, both issuing from the same country; and select a spot, select it where roads branch off to [two] cities.
For the king of Babylon has stood at the fork of the road, where two roads branch off, to perform divination: He has shaken arrows, consulted oracle idols, and inspected the liver.iinspected the liver Of a sacrificed animal.
In his right hand came up the omen against Jerusalem—to set battering rams, to proclaim murder, to raise battle shouts, to set battering rams against the gates, to cast up mounds, to erect towers.
jThe inhabitants of Jerusalem disregarded their oaths to the Babylonians; cf. 17.13ff. In their eyes, the oaths they had sworn to them were like empty divination; but this shall serve to recall their guilt, for which they shall be taken to task.
Assuredly, thus said the Sovereign GOD: For causing your guilt to be recalled, your transgressions to be uncovered, and your sins to be revealed—all your misdeeds—because you have brought yourselves to [My] mind, you shall be taken to task.
Ruin, an utter ruin I will make it. It shall be no morekIt shall be no more Meaning of Heb. uncertain. until he comes to whom it rightfully belongs; and I will give it to him.
Further, O mortal, prophesy and say: Thus said the Sovereign GOD concerning the Ammonites and their blasphemies: Proclaim: O sword! O sword unsheathed for slaughter, polished to the utmost, to a flashing brilliance!
Because they have prophesied falsely about you and have divined deceitfully concerning you, you shall be wielded over the necks of the dishonored wicked ones, for their day has come, the time set for their punishment.lset for their punishment Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
Return it to its sheath!mReturn it to its sheath! Emendation yields “Return to your scabbard!” In this and the following verses, the prophet describes the future punishment of Babylon, still symbolized by the sword. In the place where you were created, in the land of your origin, I will judge you.
I will pour out My indignation upon you, I will blow upon you with the fire of My wrath; and I will deliver you into the hands of barbarians, skilled in destruction.
Say: Thus said the Sovereign GOD: O city in whose midst blood is shed, so that your hour is approaching; within which fetishes are made, so that you have become impure!
You stand guilty of the blood you have shed, defiled by the fetishes you have made. You have brought on your day; you have reached your year.byou have reached your year Some Babylonian mss. and ancient versions read “the time of your years has come.” Therefore I will make you the mockery of the nations and the scorn of all the lands.
BasecBase Meaning of Heb. uncertain. men in your midst were intent on shedding blood; in you they have eaten on the mountains;don the mountains Cf. note at 18.6. and they have practiced depravity in your midst.
In you they have uncovered their fathers’ nakedness;euncovered their fathers’ nakedness I.e., cohabited with their father’s (former) wife; cf. Lev. 18.7–8. in you they have violated women during their menstrual impurity.
They have committed abhorrent acts with other men’s wives; in their depravity they have defiled their own daughters-in-law; in you they have violated their own sisters, daughters of their fathers.
They have taken bribes within you to shed blood. You have taken advance and accrued interest;fadvance and accrued interest Cf. note at 18.8. you have defrauded your fellow [Israelites] to your profit. You have forgotten Me—declares the Sovereign GOD.
O mortal, the House of Israel has become dross to Me; they are all copper, tin, iron, and lead. But in a crucible, the dross shall turn into silver.gBut in a crucible, the dross shall turn into silver Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
As silver, copper, iron, lead, and tin are gathered into a crucible to blow the fire upon them, so as to melt them, so will I gather you in My fierce anger and cast you [into the fire] and melt you.
O mortal, say to her: You are an unpurified land, not to be washed with rainhnot to be washed with rain Meaning of Heb. uncertain. on the day of indignation.
Her gang of prophetsiHer gang of prophets Septuagint reads “Whose chieftains.” are like roaring lions in her midst, rending prey. They devour human beings; they seize treasure and wealth; they have widowed many women in her midst.
Her priests have violated My Teaching: they have profaned what is sacred to Me, they have not distinguished between the sacred and the profane, they have not taught the difference between the impure and the pure, and they have closed their eyes to My sabbaths. I am profaned in their midst.
Her prophets, too, daub the wall for them with plaster:jdaub the wall for them with plaster Cf. 13.10ff. They prophesy falsely and divine deceitfully for them; they say, “Thus said the Sovereign GOD,” when GOD has not spoken.
And the people of the land have practiced fraud and committed robbery; they have wronged the poor and needy, have defrauded the stranger without redress.
And I sought someone among them to repair the wall or to stand in the breach before Me in behalf of this land, that I might not destroy it; but I found none.
I have therefore poured out My indignation upon them; I will consume them with the fire of My fury. I will repay them for their conduct—declares the Sovereign GOD.
They played the whore in Egypt; they played the whore while still young. There their breasts were squeezed, and there their virgin nipples were handled.
Their names were: the elder one, Oholah;aOholah I.e., “Tent.” and her sister, Oholibah.bOholibah I.e., “My Tent Is in Her.” They became Mine, and they bore sons and daughters. As for their names, Oholah is Samaria, and Oholibah is Jerusalem.
She did not give up the whoring she had begun with the Egyptians; for they had lain with her in her youth, and they had handled her virgin nipples and had poured out their lust upon her.
They exposed her nakedness; they seized her sons and daughters, and she herself was put to the sword. And because of the punishment inflicted upon her, she became a byword among women.
She lusted after the Assyrians, governors and prefects, warriorsdwarriors Meaning of Heb. uncertain. gorgeously clad, horsemen mounted on steeds—all of them handsome young fellows.
girded with belts round their waists, and with flowing turbans on their heads, all of them looking like officers—a picture of Babylonians whose native land was Chaldea.
So the Babylonians came to her for lovemaking and defiled her with their whoring; and she defiled herself with them until she turned from them in disgust.
she lusted for concubinage with them, whose members were like those of donkeys and whose organseorgans Meaning of Heb. uncertain. were like those of stallions.
Thus you reverted to the wantonness of your youth, rememberingfremembering Lit. “for the sake of.” your youthful breasts, when the men of Egypt handled your nipples.
Assuredly, Oholibah, thus said the Sovereign GOD: I am going to rouse against you the lovers from whom you turned in disgust, and I will bring them upon you from all around—
the Babylonians and all the Chaldeans, [the people of] Pekod, Shoa, and Koa, and all the Assyrians with them, all of them handsome young fellows, governors and prefects, officers and warriors,gwarriors Meaning of Heb. uncertain. all of them riding on horseback.
They shall attack you with fleetshfleets Meaning of Heb. uncertain. of wheeled chariots and a host of troops; they shall set themselves against you on all sides with bucklers, shields, and helmets. And I will entrust your punishment to them, and they shall inflict their punishments on you.
I will direct My passion against you, and they shall deal with you in fury: They shall cut off your nose and ears;icut off your nose and ears A typical way of punishing a faithless subordinate in the ancient Near East. the last of you shall fall by the sword. They shall take away your sons and daughters, and your remnant shall be devoured by fire.
They shall treat you with hate, and they shall take away all you have toiled for, and leave you naked and bare; your naked licentiousness, wantonness, and whoredom will be exposed.
You shall drink it and drain it,And gnaw its shards;jAnd gnaw its shards Meaning of Heb. uncertain. And you shall tear your breasts.For I have spoken—declares the Sovereign GOD.
For they have committed adultery, and blood is on their hands; truly they have committed adultery with their fetishes, and have even offered to them as food the children they bore to Me.
Moreover, they sent for men to come from afar, [men] to whom a messenger was sent; and they came. For them, [Oholibah,] you bathed, painted your eyes, and donned your finery;
And the noise of a carefree multitude was there, of numerous men brought drunk from the desert;lof numerous men brought drunk from the desert Meaning of Heb. uncertain. and they put bracelets on their arms and splendid crowns upon their heads.
Then I said, “To destruction with adultery! Look, they are still going on with those same fornications of hers.”mTo destruction … hers Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
But righteous mennrighteous men Or “other, unimplicated parties.” shall punish them with the punishments for adultery and for bloodshed, for they are adulteresses and have blood on their hands.
Further, speak in an allegory to the rebellious breed and say to them: Thus said the Sovereign GOD:Put the cauldron [on the fire], put it on,And then pour water into it.
Assuredly, thus said the Sovereign GOD:Woe to the city of blood—A cauldron whose scumcscum Or “rust.” is in it,Whose scum has not been cleaned out!Empty it piece by piece;No lot has fallen upon it.dNo lot has fallen upon it Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
Pile on the logs,Kindle the fire,Cook the meat throughAnd stew it completely,fstew it completely Emendation yields “Pour out the broth.” And let the bones be charred.
For your vile defilement—because I sought to purify you of your defilement, but you would not be purified—you shall never be pure again until I have satisfied My fury upon you.
I, GOD, have spoken: It shall come to pass and I will do it. I will not refrain or spare or relent. You shall be punished according to your ways and your deeds—declares the Sovereign GOD.
Moan softly; observe no mourning for the dead: Put on your turban and put your sandals on your feet; do not cover over your upper lip, and do not eat the bread of comforters.”hcomforters Lit. “participants.”
Tell the House of Israel: Thus said the Sovereign GOD: ‘I am going to desecrate My Sanctuary, your pride and glory, the delight of your eyes and the desire of your heart; and the sons and daughters you have left behind shall fall by the sword.
(Accordingly, you shall do as IiI I.e., Ezekiel. have done: you shall not cover over your upper lips or eat the bread of comforters;jcomforters See note at v. 17.
and your turbans shall remain on your heads, and your sandals upon your feet. You shall not lament or weep, but you shall be heartsick because of your iniquities and shall moan to one another.)
kThis verse would read well before v. 22. And Ezekiel shall become a portent for you: you shall do just as he has done, when the predicted punishmentlthe predicted punishment Heb. “it”; cf. v. 14. happens; and you shall know that I am the Sovereign GOD.’”
You, O mortal, take note: On the day that I take their stronghold from them, their pride and joy, the delight of their eyes and the longing of their hearts—their sons and daughters—
On that day your mouth shall be opened to the fugitive, and you shall speak and no longer be dumb. So you shall be a portent for them, and they shall know that I am GOD.
Say to the Ammonites: Hear the word of the Sovereign GOD! Thus said the Sovereign GOD: Because you cried “Aha!” over My Sanctuary when it was desecrated, and over the land of Israel when it was laid waste, and over the House of Judah when it went into exile—
assuredly, I will deliver you to the Kedemites as a possession. They shall set up their encampments among you and pitch their dwellings in your midst; they shall eat your produce and they shall drink your milk.
assuredly, I will stretch out My hand against you and give you as booty to the nations; I will cut you off from among the peoples and wipe you out from among the countries and destroy you. And you shall know that I am GOD.
assuredly, thus said the Sovereign GOD: I will stretch out My hand against Edom and cut off from it human and animal, and I will lay it in ruins; from Tema to Dedan they shall fall by the sword.
I will wreak My vengeance on Edom through My people Israel, and they shall take action against Edom in accordance with My blazing anger; and they shall know My vengeance—declares the Sovereign GOD.
assuredly, thus said the Sovereign GOD: I will stretch out My hand against the Philistines and cut off the Cherethites and wipe out the last survivors of the seacoast.
O mortal, because Tyre gloated over Jerusalem, “Aha! The gatewaybgateway Targum reads “trafficker”; cf. 27.3. of the peoples is broken, it has become mine; I shall be filled, now that it is laid in ruins”—
She shall be in the heart of the seaA place for dryingcdrying Lit. “spreading out.” nets;For I have spoken it—declares the Sovereign GOD.She shall become spoil for the nations,
For thus said the Sovereign GOD: I will bring from the north, against Tyre, King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon, a king of kings, with horses, chariots, and riders—a great mass of troops.
Your daughter-towns in the countryHe shall put to the sword;He shall erect towers against you,And cast up mounds against you,And raise [a wall of] bucklers against you.
From the cloud raised by his horsesDust shall cover you;From the clatter of ridersAnd wheels and chariots,Your walls shall shake—When he enters your gatesAs those who enter a breached city.eAs those who enter a breached city Or “Which will become like alleyways of a breached city.”
They shall plunder your wealthAnd loot your merchandise.They shall raze your wallsAnd tear down your splendid houses,And they shall cast into the waterYour stones and timber and soil.
I will make you a naked rock,You shall be a place for dryingfdrying Lit. “spreading out.” nets;You shall never be rebuilt.For I, GOD, have spoken—declares the Sovereign GOD.
Thus said the Sovereign GOD to Tyre: The coastlands shall quake at the sound of your downfall, when the wounded groan, when slaughter is rife within you.
All the rulers of the sea shall descend from their thrones; they shall remove their robes and strip off their embroidered garments. They shall clothe themselves with trembling, and shall sit on the ground; they shall tremble every moment, and they shall be aghast at you.
And they shall intone a dirge over you, and they shall say to you:How you have perished, you who were peopledgyou who were peopled Septuagint reads “vanished.” from the seas,O renowned city!Mighty on the sea were she and her inhabitants,Who cast their terror on all its inhabitants.hits inhabitants I.e., denizens of the sea. Emendation yields “the dry land.”
For thus said the Sovereign GOD: When I make you a ruined city, like cities empty of inhabitants; when I bring the deep over you, and its mighty waters cover you,
then I will bring you down, with those who go down to the Pit, to the people of old. I will install you in the netherworld, with those that go down to the Pit, like the ruins of old, so that you shall not be inhabited and shall not radiateiradiate Understanding nathatti as second-person singular feminine; cf. 16.50 and note. But meaning of Heb. uncertain. splendor in the land of the living.
Say to Tyre:O you who dwell at the gateway of the sea,Who trade with the peoples on many coastlands:Thus said the Sovereign GOD:O Tyre, you boasted,I am perfect in beauty.aO Tyre, you boasted, / I am perfect in beauty Emendation yields: “O Tyre, you are a ship / Perfect in beauty.”
The inhabitants of Sidon and ArvadWere your rowers;Your skilled men,bskilled men I.e., experts in navigation; cf. Kimhi. O Tyre,cYour skilled men, O Tyre Emendation yields “The skilled men of Zemar”; cf. Gen. 10.18. were within you,They were your pilots.
Gebal’s elders and artisans were within you,Making your repairs.All the ships of the sea, with their crews,Were in your harbordin your harbor Lit. “in you.” To traffic in your wares.
Men of Arvad and HelechWere upon your walls all around,And men of Gammad were stationed in your towers;They hung their quivers all about your walls;They perfected your beauty.
Aram traded with you because of your wealth of merchandise, dealing with you in turquoise, purple stuff, embroidery, fine linen, coral, and agate.eturquoise…agate The exact identity of these two stones is uncertain.
Judah and the land of Israel were your merchants; they trafficked with you in wheat of Minnith and Pannag,fMinnith and Pannag Meaning of Heb. uncertain; cf. “Minnith,” Judg. 11.33. honey, oil, and balm.
hMeaning of verse uncertain. These were your merchants in choice fabrics, embroidered cloaks of blue, and many-colored carpets tied up with cords and preserved with cedar—among your wares.
The ships of Tarshish were in the service of your trade.iResuming the description of Tyre as a ship, as in vv. 3b–9a. So you were full and richly ladenOn the high seas.
Your wealth, your wares, your merchandise,Your sailors and your pilots,Those who made your repairs,Those who carried on your traffic,And all the warriors within you—All the multitude within you—Shall go down into the depths of the seaOn the day of your downfall.
On your account, they shall makeBald patches on their heads,And shall gird themselves with sackcloth.They shall weep over you, brokenhearted,With bitter lamenting;
The merchants among the peoples hissedkhissed To ward off the calamity from the viewer; cf. Jer. 18.16; 49.17; Job 27.23; Lam. 2.15. at you;You have become a horror,And have ceased to be forever.
O mortal, say to the prince of Tyre: Thus said the Sovereign GOD:Because you have been so haughty and have said, “I am a god; I sit enthroned like a god in the heart of the seas,” whereas you are not a god but a human, though you deemed your mind equal to a god’sagod’s This sentence is continued in v. 6; vv. 3–5 are parenthetical.—
I swear I will bring against youStrangers, the most ruthless of nations.They shall unsheathe their swordsAgainst your prized shrewdness,And they shall strike downbstrike down Meaning of Heb. uncertain. your splendor.
By the hands of strangers you shall dieThe death of the uncircumcised;cThe death of the uncircumcised According to popular belief, males who die uncircumcised and persons left unburied are relegated to the lower level of the netherworld; cf. 31.18; 32.19ff. For I have spoken—declares the Sovereign GOD.
O mortal, intone a dirge over the king of Tyre and say to him: Thus said the Sovereign GOD:You were the seal of perfection,Full of wisdom and flawless in beauty.
You were in Eden, the garden of God;Every precious stone was your adornment:Carnelian, chrysolite, and amethyst;Beryl, lapis lazuli, and jasper;Sapphire, turquoise, and emerald;And gold beautifully wrought for you,Mined for you, prepared the day you were created.dbeautifully wrought … created Meaning of Heb. uncertain. On the stones, see note at Exod. 28.17.
I created you as a cherubWith outstretched shielding wings;eI created … wings Meaning of Heb. uncertain. And you resided on God’s holy mountain;You walked among stones of fire.
By your far-flung commerceYou were filled with lawlessnessAnd you sinned.So I have struck you downFrom the mountain of God,And I have destroyed you, O shielding cherub,From among the stones of fire.
You grew haughty because of your beauty,You debased your wisdom for the sake of your splendor;I have cast you to the ground,I have made you an object for kings to stare at.
By the greatness of your guilt,Through the dishonesty of your trading,You desecrated your sanctuaries.So I made a fire issue from you,And it has devoured you;I have reduced you to ashes on the ground,In the sight of all who behold you.
Say: Thus said the Sovereign GOD:I am going to deal with you, O Sidon.I will gain glory in your midst;And they shall know that I am GOD,When I wreak punishment upon herAnd show Myself holy through her.
I will let pestilence loose against herAnd bloodshed into her streets.And the slain shall fall in her midstWhen the sword comes upon her from all sides.And they shall know that I am GOD.
Then shall the House of Israel no longer be afflicted with prickling briers and lacerating thorns from all the neighbors who despise them; and they shall know that I am the Sovereign GOD.
Thus said the Sovereign GOD: When I have gathered the House of Israel from the peoples among which they have been dispersed, and have shown Myself holy through them in the sight of the nations, they shall settle on their own soil, which I gave to My servant Jacob,
and they shall dwell on it in security. They shall build houses and plant vineyards, and shall dwell on it in security, when I have meted out punishment to all those about them who despise them. And they shall know that I the ETERNAL One am their God.
Speak these words:Thus said the Sovereign GOD:I am going to deal with you, O Pharaoh king of Egypt,Mighty monster, sprawling in yourayour Lit. “its.” channels,Who said,My Nile is my own;I made it for myself.
I will put hooks in your jaws,And make the fish of your channelsCling to your scales;I will haul you up from your channels,With all the fish of your channelsClinging to your scales.
And I will fling you into the desert,With all the fish of your channels.You shall be left lying in the open,Ungathered and unburied:I have given you as foodTo the beasts of the earthAnd the birds of the sky.
When they grasped you with the hand, you would splinter,And wound all their shoulders,cshoulders Septuagint and Syriac read “palms”; cf. 2 Kings 18.21; Isa. 36.6. And when they leaned on you, you would break,And make all their loins unsteady.dunsteady Taking ʻamad as a byform of maʻad; cf. Syriac translation.
so that the land of Egypt shall fall into desolation and ruin. And they shall know that I am GOD—because he boasted, “The Nile is mine, and I made it.”
Assuredly, I am going to deal with you and your channels, and I will reduce the land of Egypt to utter ruin and desolation, from Migdol to Syene, all the way to the border of Cush.efrom Migdol to Syene, all the way to the border of Cush I.e., the length of Egypt, from north to south. Syene is modern Aswan.
For forty years I will make the land of Egypt the most desolate of desolate lands, and its cities shall be the most desolate of ruined cities. And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them throughout the countries.
I will restore the fortunes of the Egyptians and bring them back to the land of their origin, the land of Pathros,fPathros I.e., southern Egypt. and there they shall be a lowly kingdom.
It shall be the lowliest of all the kingdoms, and shall not lord it over the nations again. I will reduce the Egyptians,gEgyptians Heb. “them.” so that they shall have no dominion over the nations.
Never again shall they be the trust of the House of Israel, recalling its guilt in having turned to them. And they shall know that I am the Sovereign GOD.
O mortal, King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon has made his army expend vast labor on Tyre; every head is rubbed bald and every shoulder scraped. But he and his army have had no return for the labor he expended on Tyre.
Assuredly, thus said the Sovereign GOD: I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon. He shall carry off her wealth and take her spoil and seize her booty; and she shall be the recompense of his army.
On that day I will endow the House of Israel with strength, and you shall be vindicatedhendow the House of Israel with strength, and you shall be vindicated Lit. “cause a horn to sprout for the House of Israel, and I will grant you opening of the mouth.” among them. And they shall know that I am GOD.
A sword shall pierce Egypt,And Cush shall be seized with trembling,When the slain fall in EgyptAnd her wealth is seizedAnd her foundations are overthrown.
Cush, Put, and Lud, and all the mixed populations,athe mixed populations Meaning of Heb. uncertain. and Cub, and the inhabitants of the allied countries shall fall by the sword with them.
Thus said GOD:Those who support Egypt shall fall,And her proud strength shall sink;There they shall fall by the sword,From Migdol to Syene—declares the Sovereign GOD.
On that day, messengers shall set out at My bidding to strike terror into confident Cush. And they shall be seized with trembling on Egypt’s day [of doom]—for it is at hand.
He, together with his troops, the most ruthless of the nations, shall be brought to ravage the land. And they shall unsheathe the sword against Egypt and fill the land with the slain.
I will turn the channels into dry ground, and I will deliver the land into the hands of evildoers. I will lay waste the land and everything in it by the hands of strangers. I, GOD, have spoken.
Thus said the Sovereign GOD: I will destroy the fetishes and make an end of the idols in Noph; and no longer shall there be a prince in the land of Egypt; and I will strike the land of Egypt with fear.
I will set fire to Egypt; Sin shall writhe in anguish and No shall be torn apart; and Noph [shall face] adversaries in broad daylight.band Noph [shall face] adversaries in broad daylight Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
The young men of AvencAven Elsewhere called “On”; cf. Gen. 41.45, 50; 46.20. and Pi-beseth shall fall by the sword, and those [towns]dthose [towns] Or “those [women of the towns]”; cf. Kimhi. shall go into captivity.
In TehaphneheseTehaphnehes Elsewhere vocalized “Tahpanhes”; e.g., Jer. 2.16; 44.1. daylight shall be withheld,fwithheld Some Heb. mss. and editions read “darkened.” when I break there the power of Egypt, and there her proud strength comes to an end. [The city] itself shall be covered with cloud, and its daughter townsgits daughter towns Or “its women.” shall go into captivity.
O mortal, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt; it has not been bound up to be healed nor firmly bandaged to make it strong enough to grasp the sword.
Assuredly, thus said the Sovereign GOD: I am going to deal with Pharaoh king of Egypt. I will break his arms, both the sound one and the injured, and make the sword drop from his hand.
I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon and put My sword in his hand; and I will break the arms of Pharaoh, and he shall groan before him with the groans of one struck down.
I will make firm the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh shall fail. And they shall know that I am GOD, when I put My sword into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he lifts it against the land of Egypt.
Assyria was a cedar in LebanonWith beautiful branches and shady thickets,ashady thickets Meaning of Heb. uncertain. Of lofty stature,With its top among leafy trees.bleafy trees Septuagint reads “clouds.”
Waters nourished it,The deep made it grow tall,Washing with its streamsThe place where it was planted,Making its channels well upTo allcTo all Meaning of Heb. uncertain; emendation yields “more than for all.” the trees of the field.
Therefore it exceeded in statureAll the trees of the field;Its branches multiplied and its boughs grew longBecause of the abundant waterThat welled up for it.
In its branches nestedAll the birds of the sky;All the beasts of the fieldBore their young under its boughs,And in its shadow livedAll the great nations.
Cedars in the garden of GodCould not compare with it;Cypresses could not match its boughs,And plane trees could not vie with its branches;No tree in the garden of GodWas its peer in beauty.
Assuredly, thus said the Sovereign GOD: Because itdit Heb. “you.” towered high in stature, and thrust its top up among the leafy trees,eleafy trees Meaning of Heb. uncertain. and it was arrogant in its height,
Strangers, the most ruthless of nations, cut it down and abandoned it; its branches fell on the mountains and in every valley; its boughs were splintered in every watercourse of the earth; and all the peoples of the earth departed from its shade and abandoned it.
so that no trees by water should exalt themselves in stature or set their tops among the leafy trees,fleafy trees Meaning of Heb. uncertain. and that no well-watered tree may reach up to them in height. For they are all consigned to death, to the lowest part of the netherworld,glowest part of the netherworld To which popular belief relegated those who died uncircumcised or by the sword; cf. v. 18. together with human beings who descend into the Pit.
Thus said the Sovereign GOD: On the day it went down to Sheol, I closedhclosed Cf. Aramaic ʼabulla, “gate.” the deep over it and covered it; I held back its streams, and the great waters were checked. I made Lebanon mourn deeply for it, and all the trees of the field languished on its account.
I made nations quake at the crash of its fall, when I cast it down to Sheol with those who descend into the Pit; and all the trees of Eden, the choicest and best of Lebanon, all that were well watered, were consoled in the lowest part of the netherworld.
They also descended with it into Sheol, to those slain by the sword, together with its supporters,isupporters Heb. “arm.” they who had lived under its shadow among the nations.
[Now you know] who is comparable to you in glory and greatness among the trees of Eden. And you too shall be brought down with the trees of Eden to the lowest part of the netherworld; you shall lie among the uncircumcised and those slain by the sword. Such shall be [the fate of] Pharaoh and all his hordes—declares the Sovereign GOD.
O mortal, intone a dirge over Pharaoh king of Egypt. Say to him:O great beast among the nations,aO great beast among the nations Meaning of Heb. uncertain. you are doomed!You are like the dragon in the seas,Thrusting through theirbtheir Heb. “your.” streams,Stirring up the water with your feetAnd muddying their streams!
And I will fling you to the ground,Hurl you upon the open field.I will cause all the birds of the skyTo settle upon you.I will cause the beasts of all the earthTo batten on you.
I will vex the hearts of many peoplesWhen I bring your shattered remnantsdshattered remnants Septuagint reads “captives.” among the nations,To countries that you never knew.
I will strike many peoples with horror over your fate;And their kings shall be aghast over you,When I brandish My sword before them.Everyone shall tremble continuallyFor their own life,On the day of your downfall.
I will cause your multitude to fallBy the swords of warriors,All the most ruthless among the nations.They shall ravage the splendor of Egypt,And all her masses shall be wiped out.
I will make all her cattle vanish from beside abundant waters;The feet of humans shall not muddy them anymore,Nor shall the hoofs of cattle muddy them.
When I lay the land of Egypt waste,When the land is emptied of [the life] that filled it,When I strike down all its inhabitants.And they shall know that I am GOD.
This is a dirge, and it shall be intoned;The women of the nations shall intone it,They shall intone it over Egypt and all her multitude—declares the Sovereign GOD.
fConstruction of this verse uncertain. O mortal, wail [the dirge]—along with the women of the mighty nations—over the masses of Egypt, accompanying their descent to the lowest part of the netherworld, among those who have gone down into the Pit.
They shall lie amid those slain by the sword,gWhom do you surpass … by the sword Cf. 31.18ff. and the second note at 31.14. hConstruction of this verse uncertain. [amid those slain by] the sword [Egypt] has been dragged and left with all her masses.
From the depths of Sheol the mightiest of warriors speak to PharaohiPharaoh Heb. “him”; cf. v. 2. and his allies; the uncircumcised, the slain by the sword, have gone down and lie [there].
Their graves set in the farthest recesses of the Pit, all her company are round about her tomb, all of them slain, fallen by the sword—they who struck terror in the land of the living.
There too is Elam and all her masses round about her tomb, all of them slain, fallen by the sword—they who descended uncircumcised to the lowest part of the netherworld, who struck terror in the land of the living—now they bear their shame with those who have gone down to the Pit.
They made a bed for her among the slain, with all her masses; their graves are round about her. They are all uncircumcised, slain by the sword. Though their terror was once spread over the land of the living, they bear their shame with those who have gone into the Pit; they are placed among the slain.
Meshech and Tubal and all their masses are there; their graves are round about. They are all uncircumcised, pierced through by the sword—they who once struck terror in the land of the living.
And they do not lie with the fallen uncircumcised warriors, who went down to Sheol with their battle gear, who put their swords beneath their heads and their iniquitiesjiniquities Emendation yields “shields.” upon their bones—for the terror of the warriors was upon the land of the living.
Edom is there, her kings and all her chieftains, who, for all their might, are laid among those who are slain by the sword; they too lie with the uncircumcised and with those who have gone down to the Pit.
All the princes of the north and all the Sidonians are there, who went down in disgrace with the slain, despite the terror that their might inspired; and they lie, uncircumcised, with those who are slain by the sword, and bear their shame with those who have gone down to the Pit.
These Pharaoh shall see, and he shall be consoled for all his masses, those of Pharaoh’s men slain by the sword and all his army—declares the Sovereign GOD.
I strike terror into the land of the living; PharaohkI strike terror into the land of the living; Pharaoh Emendation yields “because he struck terror in the land of the living, Pharaoh.” and all his masses are laid among the uncircumcised, along with those who were slain by the sword—said the Sovereign GOD.
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Chapter 32 of 48
פֶּרֶק ל״גEzekiel as watchman; individual accountability
O mortal, speak to your people and say to them: When I bring the sword against a country, the citizens of that country take one of their number and appoint him their lookout.
Since they heard the sound of the horn but ignored the warning, their bloodguilt shall be upon themselves; had they taken the warning, they would have saved their life.
But if the lookout sees the sword advancing and does not blow the horn, so that the people are not warned, and the sword comes and destroys one of them, that person was destroyed for their own sins; however, I will demand a reckoning for their blood from the lookout.
Now, O mortal, I have appointed you a lookout for the House of Israel; and whenever you hear a message from My mouth, you must transmit My warning to them.
When I say to someone wicked, “Wicked one, you shall die,” but you have not spoken to warn themathem Heb. “the wicked one.” against their ways, then that wicked one shall die for their own iniquity, while from you I will demand a reckoning for their blood.
But if you have warned someone wicked to turn back from their ways, and they have not turned from their ways, they shall die for their own iniquity, while you will have saved your life.
Now, O mortal, say to the House of Israel: This is what you have been saying: “Our transgressions and our sins weigh heavily upon us; we are sick at heart about them. How can we survive?”
Say to them: As I live—declares the Sovereign GOD—it is not My desire that the wicked shall die, but that the wicked turn from their [evil] ways and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil ways, that you may not die, O House of Israel!
Now, O mortal, say to your people: The righteousness of the righteous shall not save them when they transgress, nor shall the wickedness of the wicked cause them to stumble when they turn back from their wickedness. The righteous shall not survive through their righteousnessbtheir righteousness Heb. “it.” when they sin.
When I say of the righteous “They shall surely live,” and, relying on their righteousness, they commit iniquity, none of their righteous deeds shall be remembered; but for the iniquity that they have committed they shall die.
if the wicked restore a pledge, make good what they have taken by robbery, follow the laws of life,claws of life Cf. Lev. 18.5. and do not commit iniquity—they shall live, they shall not die.
When someone righteous turns away from their righteous deeds to commit iniquity, they shall die for it.dfor it Or “despite them,” i.e., their righteous deeds.
Now GOD’s hand had come upon me the evening before the fugitive arrived, opening my mouth before he came to me in the morning; thus my mouth was opened and I was no longer speechless.
O mortal, those who live in these ruins in the land of Israel argue, “Abraham was but one man, yet he was granted possession of the land. We are many; surely, the land has been given as a possession to us.”
Therefore say to them: Thus said the Sovereign GOD: You eat with the blood, you raise your eyes to your fetishes, and you shed blood—yet you expect to possess the land!
Thus shall you speak to them: Thus said the Sovereign GOD: As I live, those who are in the ruins shall fall by the sword, and those who are in the open I have allotted as food to the beasts, and those who are in the strongholds and caves shall die by pestilence.
Note well, O mortal: your people who converse about you by the walls and in the doorways of their houses and say to each other and propose to one another, “Come and hear what word has issued from GOD.”
They will come to you in crowds and sit before you in throngsein crowds and sit before you in throngs Meaning of Heb. uncertain. Lit. “as a people come, and sit before you as My people.” and will hear your words, but they will not obey them. For they produce nothing but lust with their mouths;fthey produce nothing but lust with their mouths Meaning of Heb. uncertain. and their hearts pursue nothing but gain.
But when the predicted punishmentgthe predicted punishment Heb. “it”; cf. vv. 27–28. comes—and come it will—they shall know that a prophet has been among them.
O mortal, prophesy against the shepherdsashepherds I.e., rulers. of Israel. Prophesy, and say to them:To the shepherds: Thus said the Sovereign GOD: Ah, you shepherds of Israel, who have been tending yourselves! Is it not the flock that the shepherds ought to tend?
You partake of the fat,bfat Septuagint and Vulgate, reading the Hebrew consonants with different vowels, translate “milk.” you clothe yourselves with the wool, and you slaughter the fatlings; but you do not tend the flock.
You have not sustained the weak, healed the sick, or bandaged the injured; you have not brought back the strayed, or looked for the lost; but you have driven them with harsh rigor,
My sheep stray through all the mountains and over every lofty hill; My flock is scattered all over the face of the earth, with none to take thought of them and none to seek them.
As I live—declares the Sovereign GOD: Because My flock has been a spoil—My flock has been a prey for all the wild beasts, for want of anyone to tend them since My shepherds have not taken thought of My flock, for the shepherds tended themselves instead of tending the flock—
Thus said the Sovereign GOD: I am going to deal with the shepherds! I will demand a reckoning of them for My flock, and I will dismiss them from tending the flock. The shepherds shall not tend themselves anymore; for I will rescue My flock from their mouths, and it shall not be their prey.
As shepherds seek out their flock when some [animals] in their flock have gotten separated, so I will seek out My flock, I will rescue them from all the places to which they were scattered on a day of cloud and gloom.
I will take them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and I will bring them to their own land, and will pasture them on the mountains of Israel, by the watercourses and in all the settled portions of the land.
I will feed them in good grazing land, and the lofty hills of Israel shall be their pasture. There, in the hills of Israel, they shall lie down in a good pasture and shall feed on rich grazing land.
I will look for the lost, and I will bring back the strayed; I will bandage the injured, and I will sustain the weak; and the fat and healthy ones I will destroy.cdestroy Several ancient versions read “guard.” I will tend them rightly.
Is it not enough for you to graze on choice grazing ground, but you must also trample with your feet what is left from your grazing? And is it not enough for you to drink clear water,dclear water Lit. “water that has settled.” but you must also muddy with your feet what is left?
And I will grant them a covenant of friendship. I will banish vicious beasts from their land, and they shall live secure in the wasteland, they shall even sleep in the woodland.
I will make these and the environs of My hillethese and the environs of My hill Meaning of Heb. uncertain. a blessing: I will send down the rain in its season, rains that bring blessing.
The trees of the field shall yield their fruit and the land shall yield its produce. [My people] shall continue secure on its own soil. They shall know that I am GOD when I break the bars of their yoke and rescue them from those who enslave them.
I shall establish for them a planting of renown;fa planting of renown Meaning of Heb. uncertain. they shall no more be carried off by famine, and they shall not have to bear again the taunts of the nations.gtaunts of the nations Cf. 36.30.
assuredly, as I live, declares the Sovereign GOD, I will doom you with blood; blood shall pursue you; I swear that, for your bloodthirsty hatred, blood shall pursue you.aI will doom you … pursue you Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
Because you thought “The two nations and the two lands shall be mine and we shall possess them”—although GOD was therebalthough GOD was there Meaning of Heb. uncertain; emendation yields “and the Sovereign heard it.”—
assuredly, as I live, declares the Sovereign GOD, I will act with the same anger and passion that you acted with in your hatred of them. And I will make Myself known through them when I judge you.
You shall know that I, GOD, have heard all the taunts you uttered against the hills of Israel: “They have been laid waste; they have been given to us as prey.”
And you spoke arrogantly against Me and multiplied your wordscmultiplied your words Emendation yields “and spoke arrogantly.” against Me: I have heard it.
As you rejoiced when the heritage of the House of Israel was laid waste, so will I treat you: the hill country of Seir and the whole of Edom, all of it, shall be laid waste. And they shall know that I am GOD.
therefore prophesy, and say: Thus said the Sovereign GOD: Just because they eagerly lusted to see you become a possession of the other nations round about, so that you have become the butt of gossip in every language and of the jibes from every peopleathey eagerly lusted … from every people Meaning of Heb. uncertain.—
truly, you mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Sovereign GOD: Thus said the Sovereign GOD to the mountains and the hills, to the watercourses and the valleys, and to the desolate wastes and deserted cities that have become a prey and a laughingstock to the other nations round about:
Assuredly, thus said the Sovereign GOD: I have indeed spoken in My blazing wrath against the other nations and against all of Edom that, with wholehearted glee and with contempt, have made My land a possession for themselves for pasture and for prey.bwith wholehearted glee … for prey Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
Yes, prophesy about the land of Israel, and say to the mountains and the hills, to the watercourses and to the valleys, Thus said the Sovereign GOD: Behold, I declare in My blazing wrath: Because you have suffered the taunting of the nations,
I will multiply human and animal upon you, and they shall increase and be fertile, and I will resettle you as you were formerly, and will make you more prosperous than you were at first. And you shall know that I am GOD.
I will lead a multitude—My people Israel—to you, and they shall possess you. You shall be their heritage, and you shall not again cause them to be bereaved.
Thus said the Sovereign GOD: Because they say to you, “You are [a land] that devours humans, you have been a bereaver of your nations,”cyour nations I.e., Israel and Judah; cf. 37.15–22.
No more will I allow the jibes of the nations to be heard against you, no longer shall you suffer the taunting of the peoples; and never again shall you cause your nations to stumbledstumble Many mss. read “be bereaved”; cf. vv. 13–14.—declares the Sovereign GOD.
O mortal, when the House of Israel dwelt on their own soil, they defiled it with their ways and their deeds; their ways were in My sight like the impurity of a menstruous woman.
But when they came to those nations,ethose nations Lit. “the nations they came to there.” they caused My holy name to be profaned,fcaused My holy name to be profaned I.e., the exile of Israel was taken by the nations to be evidence of GOD’s weakness. in that it was said of them, “These are GOD’s people, yet they had to leave theirgtheir Heb. “[God’s].” land.”
Say to the House of Israel: Thus said the Sovereign GOD: Not for your sake will I act, O House of Israel, but for My holy name, which you have caused to be profaned among the nations to which you have come.
I will sanctify My great name that has been profaned among the nations—among whom you have caused it to be profaned. And the nations shall know that I am GOD—declares the Sovereign GOD—when I manifest My holiness before their eyes through you.
I will make the fruit of your trees and the crops of your fields abundant, so that you shall never again be humiliated before the nations because of famine.
And it shall be said, “That land, once desolate, has become like the garden of Eden; and the cities, once ruined, desolate, and ravaged, are now populated and fortified.”
And the nations that are left around you shall know that I, GOD, have rebuilt the ravaged places and replanted the desolate land. I, GOD, have spoken and will act.
As Jerusalem is filled with sacrificial sheep during her festivals, so shall the ruined cities be filled with flocks of people. And they shall know that I am GOD.
I will lay sinews upon you, and cover you with flesh, and form skin over you. And I will put breath into you, and you shall live again. And you shall know that I am GOD!”
I prophesied as I had been commanded. And while I was prophesying, suddenly there was a sound of rattling, and the bones came together, bone to matching bone.
Then [God] said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, O mortal! Say to the breath: Thus said the Sovereign GOD: Come, O breath, from the four winds, and breathe into these slain, that they may live again.”
Prophesy, therefore, and say to them: Thus said the Sovereign GOD: I am going to open your graves and lift you out of the graves, O My people, and bring you to the land of Israel.
I will put My breath into you and you shall live again, and I will set you upon your own soil. Then you shall know that I, GOD, have spoken and have acted”—declares GOD.
And you, O mortal, take a stick and write on it, “Of Judah and the Israelites associated with him”; and take another stick and write on it, “Of Joseph—the stick of Ephraim—and all the House of Israel associated with him.”
answer them, “Thus said the Sovereign GOD: I am going to take the stick of Joseph—which is in the hand of Ephraim—and of the tribes of Israel associated with him, and I will place the stick of Judah upon itaupon it Meaning of Heb. uncertain. and make them into one stick; they shall be joined in My hand.”
and you shall declare to them: Thus said the Sovereign GOD: I am going to take the Israelite people from among the nations they have gone to, and gather them from every quarter, and bring them to their own land.
I will make them a single nation in the land, on the hills of Israel, and one king shall be king of them all. Never again shall they be two nations, and never again shall they be divided into two kingdoms.
Nor shall they ever again defile themselves by their fetishes and their abhorrent things, and by their other transgressions. I will save them in all their settlements where they sinned, and I will purify them. Then they shall be My people, and I will be their God.
Thus they shall remain in the land that I gave to My servant Jacob and in which your ancestors dwelt; they and their children and their children’s children shall dwell there forever, with My servant David as their prince for all time.
I will make a covenant of friendship with them—it shall be an everlasting covenant with them—I will establishbestablish Meaning of Heb. uncertain. them and multiply them, and I will place My Sanctuary among them forever.
I will turn you around and put hooks in your jaws, and lead you out with all your army, horses, and riders, all of them clothed in splendor, a vast assembly, all of them with bucklers and shields, wielding swords.
After a long time you shall be summoned; in the distant future you shall march against the land [of a people] restored from the sword, gathered from the midst of many peoples—against the mountains of Israel, which have long lain desolate—[a people] liberated from the nations, and now all dwelling secure.
You will say, “I will invade a land of open towns, I will fall upon a tranquil people living secure, all of them living in unwalled towns and lacking bars and gates,
in order to take spoil and seize plunder”—to turn your hand against repopulated wastes, and against a people gathered from among nations, acquiring livestock and possessions, living at the center of the earth.
Sheba and Dedan, and the merchants and all the magnates of Tarshish will say to you, “Have you come to take spoil? Is it to seize plunder that you assembled your hordes—to carry off silver and gold, to make off with livestock and goods, to gather an immense booty?”
Therefore prophesy, O mortal, and say to Gog: Thus said the Sovereign GOD: Surely, on that day, when My people Israel are living secure, you will take note,ctake note Septuagint reads “rouse yourself.”
and you will advance upon My people Israel, like a cloud covering the earth. This shall happen on that distant day: I will bring you to My land, that the nations may know Me when, before their eyes, I manifest My holiness through you, O Gog!
Thus said the Sovereign GOD: Why, you are the one I spoke of in ancient days through My servants, the prophets of Israel, who prophesied for years in those days that I would bring you against them!
The fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the beasts of the field, all creeping things that move on the ground, and every human being on earth shall quake before Me. Mountains shall be overthrown, cliffs shall topple, and every wall shall crumble to the ground.
I will then summon the sword against him throughout My mountainsdI will then summon the sword against him throughout My mountains Meaning of Heb. uncertain.—declares the Sovereign GOD—and every man’s sword shall be turned against his kin.
I will punish him with pestilence and with bloodshed; and I will pour torrential rain, hailstones, and sulfurous fire upon him and his hordes and the many peoples with him.
I will turn you around and drive you on,adrive you on Meaning of Heb. uncertain. and I will take you from the far north and lead you toward the mountains of Israel.
You shall fall on the mountains of Israel, you and all your battalions and the peoples who are with you; and I will give you as food to carrion birds of every sort and to the beasts of the field,
I will make My holy name known among My people Israel, and never again will I let My holy name be profaned. And the nations shall know that I, GOD, am holy in Israel.
Then the inhabitants of the cities of Israel will go out and make fires and feed them with the weapons—shields and bucklers, bows and arrows, clubs and spears; they shall use them as fuel for seven years.
They will not gather firewood in the fields or cut any in the forests, but will use the weapons as fuel for their fires. They will despoil those who despoiled them and plunder those who plundered them—declares the Sovereign GOD.
On that day I will assign to Gog a burial site there in Israel—the Valley of the Travelers, east of the Sea. It shall block the path of travelers, for there Gog and all his multitude will be buried. It shall be called the Valley of Gog’s Multitude.
all the people of the land shall bury them. The day I manifest My glory shall bring renown to thembThe day I manifest My glory shall bring renown to them Meaning of Heb. uncertain.—declares the Sovereign GOD.
And they shall appoint members of a corps to traverse the land and bury any invaders who remain above ground, in order to purify it. The search shall go on for a period of seven months.
As those who traverse the country make their rounds, any one of them who sees a human bone shall erect a marker beside it, until the buriers have interred them in the Valley of Gog’s Multitude.
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16
וְגַ֥ם שֶׁם־עִ֛יר הֲמוֹנָ֖הֿ וְטִהֲר֥וּ הָאָֽרֶץ׃
There shall also be a city named Multitude.cThere shall also be a city named Multitude Meaning of Heb. uncertain. And thus the land shall be purified.
And you, O mortal, say to every winged bird and to all the wild beasts: Thus said the Sovereign GOD: Assemble, come and gather from all around for the sacrificial feast that I am preparing for you—a great sacrificial feast—upon the mountains of Israel, and eat flesh and drink blood.
And you shall sate yourselves at My table with horses, charioteers,dcharioteers Lit. “chariots”; Septuagint reads “riders.” warriors, and all soldiers—declares the Sovereign GOD.
And the nations shall know that the House of Israel were exiled only for their iniquity, because they trespassed against Me, so that I hid My face from them and delivered them into the hands of their adversaries, and they all fell by the sword.
Assuredly, thus said the Sovereign GOD: I will now restore the fortunes of Jacob and take the whole House of Israel back in love; and I will be zealous for My holy name.
They will bearebear Change of diacritical point yields “forget.” their shame and all their trespasses that they committed against Me, when they dwell in their land secure and untroubled,
when I have brought them back from among the peoples and gathered them out of the lands of their enemies and have manifested My holiness through them in the sight of many nations.
They shall know that I the ETERNAL am their GOD when, having exiled them among the nations, I gather them back into their land and leave none of them behind.
In the twenty-fifth year of our exile,aour exile I.e., the exile of King Jehoiachin; see 1.2. the fourteenth year after the city had fallen, at the beginning of the year, the tenth day of the month—on that very day—GOD’s hand came upon me, and it brought me there.
It brought me, in divine visions, to the Land of Israel, and set me down on a very high mountainbvery high mountain Cf. Isa. 2.2; Mic. 4.1. on which there seemed to be the outline of a city on the south.con the south Septuagint reads “in the distance.”
He spoke to me: “Mortal, look closely and listen attentively and note well everything I am going to show you—for you have been brought here in order to be shown—and report everything you see to the House of Israel.”
Along the outside of the temple [area] ran a wall on every side. The rod that the figure held was six cubits long, plus one handbreadth for each cubit; and when he applied it to that structure, it measured one rod deepddeep In this chapter’s descriptions, the Hebrew word that ordinarily corresponds to English “width” sometimes designates a measurement from an opening or outer surface inward, and so corresponds to the English “depth”; and the word that ordinarily corresponds to English “length” designates the distance from side to side of a vestibule or a passage, and so corresponds to the English “width.” and one rod high.
He went up to the gate that faced eastward and mounted its steps. He measured the threshold of the gate; it was one rod deep—the one threshold was one rod deep.ethe one threshold was one rod deep Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
Each recess was one rod widefwide See note at v. 5. and one rod deep, with [a partition of] 5 cubits between recesses; and the threshold of the gate, at the inner vestibule of the gate, was one rod deep.
hThis verse would read well before v. 7. On either side of this eastern gate there were three recesses, all three of the same size; of identical sizes were also the supportsisupports In connection with recesses, the “supports” are partitions. on either side.
He measured the opening of the gate and found it 10 cubits wide, while the gate itself measured 13 cubits across.jThe opening was perhaps narrowed by a stone on each side for receiving the hinge of a door-leaf.
At the fronts of the recesses on either side were barriers of one cubit;kbarriers of one cubit Meaning of Heb. uncertain. the recesses on either side were 6 cubits [deep].
Their openings faced each other directly across the gate passage, so that when he measured from rearlrear Meaning of Heb. uncertain. of recess to rearmrear Meaning of Heb. uncertain. of recess he obtained a width of 25 cubits.n25 cubits Since each of the recesses was 6 cubits deep (v. 7a) and the passage in the middle was 13 cubits wide (v. 11).
oMeaning of verse uncertain. He made the vestibulepvestibule Here, ʼelim is the same as ʼelam in vv. 16, 21, 22, etc.—60 cubits—and the gate next to the support on every side of the court.
The recesses—and their supports—had windows with framesrwith frames Meaning of Heb. uncertain. on the interior of the gate complex on both sides, and the interiors of the vestibules also had windows on both sides; and the supports were adorned with palms.
He took me into the outer court. There were chambers there, and there was a pavement laid out all around the court. There were 30 chambers on the pavement.
The pavements flanked the gates; the depth of the lower pavementsslower pavements The outer court and its gates were 8 steps lower than the inner ones; cf. v. 34. paralleled that of the gates.
Then he measured the width of the lower court,tlower court See note at v. 18. from in front of the inner gate to in front of the outer gateuthe lower court, from in front of the inner gate to in front of the outer gate In this rendering, the adjectives “lower” and “inner” are construed, not with the nouns they stand next to in the Hebrew, but with those with which they agree in gender.—100 cubits.After the east [gate], the north [gate].vAfter the east [gate], the north [gate] Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
its three recesses on either side and its supports, as also its vestibule. It measured, like the first gate, 50 cubits in length and 25 cubits in width.
Its windows and [those of] its vestibule, as also its palm trees, corresponded to those of the gate that faced east. [From the outside] one had to climb 7 steps to reach it, and its vestibule was ahead of them.wahead of them Septuagint reads “at its inner end.”
Like the east gate, the north gate faced a gate leading into the inner forecourt; and when he measured the distance from gate to gate, it was 100 cubits.
Then he took me to the south side. There was also a gate on the south side, and he got the same measurements as before for its supports and its vestibule.
Its staircase consisted of 7 steps; its vestibule was ahead of them,xahead of them See note at v. 22. and its supports were decorated on both sides with palm trees.
The inner court likewise had a gate facing south; and on the south side, too, he measured a distance of 100 cubits from the [outer] gate to the [inner] gate.
Its recesses, its supports, and its vestibule had the same measurements. Both it and its vestibule had windows on both sides; it was 50 cubits long and 25 cubits wide—
vestibules on both sides, 25 cubits long, 5 cubits wide.yvestibules on both sides, 25 cubits long, 5 cubits wide Connection unclear; wanting in some Heb. mss. and versions.
Its vestibule, however, gave on the outer court.zgave on the outer court I.e., in the inner gates the vestibules were situated at their entrances, and so they were true vestibules, in contrast to the “inner vestibules” of the outer gates. Its supports were adorned on either side with palms, and its staircase consisted of 8 steps.
its recesses, supports, and vestibule had the above measurements. Both it and its vestibule had windows on both sides; it was 50 cubits long and 25 cubits wide,
Its supportsasupports Septuagint reads “vestibules”; cf. vv. 31, 34. gave on the outer court; its supports were decorated on both sides with palm trees; and its staircase consisted of eight steps.
A chamber opened into the gate;bgate Heb. “gates”; the reference is apparently to the north gate; cf. v. 40 and Lev. 1.11; 4.24; 7.2. there the burnt offering would be washed.
And inside the vestibule of the gate, there were two tables on each side, at which the burnt offering, the purgation offering, and the reparation offering were to be slaughtered;
while outside—as one goes up towardcas one goes up toward Emendation yields “the vestibule at.” the opening of the north gate—there were two tables on one side, and there were two tables on the other side of the gate’s vestibule.
As for the four tables for the burnt offeringdburnt offering See v. 39.—they were of hewn stone, one and a half cubits long, one and a half cubits wide, and one cubit high—on them were laid out the instruments with which burnt offerings and sacrifices were slaughtered.eon them were laid out the instruments with which burnt offerings and sacrifices were slaughtered This clause would read well after v. 43.
Shelves,fShelves Meaning of Heb. uncertain. one handbreadth wide, were attached all around the inside; and the sacrificial flesh was [laid] on the tables.
There were chambers for singersgchambers for singers Septuagint reads “two chambers.” in the inner forecourt: [one] beside the north gate facing south, and one beside the eastheast Septuagint reads “south.” gate facing north.
and the chamber that faces north is for the priests who perform the duties of the altar—they are the descendants of Zadok, who alone of the descendants of Levi may approach GOD to be in attendance.”
He took me into the portico of the temple and measured it. The jambsijambs I.e., the edges of the flanking walls. of the portico were 5 cubits deep on either side. The width of the gate-opening was [14 cubits, and the flanking wall of the gate was]j[14 cubits, and the flanking wall of the gate was] Preserved in the Septuagint. 3 cubits on either side.
The portico was 20 cubits wide and 11k11 Septuagint reads “12”; see note at 41.13. cubits deep, and it was by steps that it was reached.lit was by steps that it was reached Septuagint reads “it was reached by ten steps.” There were columns by the jambs on either side.
He then led me into the great hall. He measured the jambs, 6 cubits on either side; such was the depthadepth See note at 40.5. of each jamb.bjamb This sense is demanded by the context; usually, ʼohel means “tent.”
The entrance was 10 cubits wide, and the flanking walls of the entrance were each 5 cubits wide. Next he measured the depth [of the hall], 40 cubits, and the width, 20 cubits.
And then he entered the inner room. He measured each jamb of the entrance, 2 cubits [deep]; the entrance itself, 6 cubits across; and the width of [the flanking wall on either side of]c[the flanking wall on either side of] Preserved in the Septuagint. the entrance, 7 cubits.
Then he measured the depth, 20 cubits; and the width at the inner end of the great hall was also 20 cubits. And he said to me, “This is the Holy of Holies.”
Then he measured the wall of the temple. [It was] 6 cubits [thick] on every side of the temple, and the side-chamber measured 4 cubits [across].d6 cubits [thick] … 4 cubits [across] On the ground level; cf. v. 7.
The side chambers were arranged one above the other, in 33 sections.esections Lit. “times.” Emendation yields “in three sections of three tiers each,” i.e., one section next to each of the two side walls of the temple and one next to its rear wall; cf. v. 7. All around, there were projections in the temple wall to serve the side chambers as supports, so that [their] supports should not be the temple wall itself.
The winding passagefwinding passage So Targum; cf. Mishnah Tamid 1.1. of the side chambers widened from story to story; and since the structure was furnished all over with winding passages from story to story, the structure itself became wider from story to story.gand since the structure was furnished … wider from story to story Exact meaning of Heb. uncertain, but for the general sense cf. 1 Kings 6.6a, 8b. It was by this means that one ascended from the bottom story to the top one by way of the middle one.
Of entrances to the side chambers giving on the walk, there was one entrance on the north side and one entrance on the south side; and the spaceispace Emendation yields “parapet.” of the walk was 5 cubits thick all around.
And the structure that fronted on the vacant space at the [Temple’s] western end was 70 cubits deep; the walls of the structure were 5 cubits thick on every side; and it was 90 cubits wide.jwide See note at 40.5.
He measured the [total] depth of the temple, 100 cubits;k100 cubits Comprising the 5 cubits of 40.48, the 12 of 40.49 (see note there), the 6 of 41.1, the 40 of 41.2, the 2 of 41.3, the 20 of 41.4, the 6 of 41.5a, the 4 of 41.5b, and the 5 of 41.9. and the depth of the vacant space and of the structure, with its walls, also came to 100 cubits.l100 cubits The structure was 70 cubits deep and its front and rear walls each 5 cubits thick (v. 12). The remaining 20 cubits are accounted for by the vacant space; cf. 42.1–2.
The front side of the temple, like the vacant space on the east, was 100 cubits wide.m100 cubits wide To the inside width of 20 cubits (40.49; 41.2–4) must be added on each side: one temple wall of 6 cubits equals 12; one side-chamber wall of 5 cubits equals 10; one side chamber’s inner depth of 4 cubits equals 8; a walk’s width of 20 cubits (40.9–10) equals 40; and a parapet’s thickness of 5 cubits (v. 11) equals 10; totaling 100 cubits.
He also measured the width of the structure facing the vacant space in the rear, inclusive of its ledges,nledges Emendation yields “walls”; cf. v. 12. 100 cubits.Both the great hall inside and the portico next to the court—
the thresholdsothe thresholds Septuagint reads “were paneled.”—and the windows with framespwith frames Meaning of Heb. uncertain. and the ledgesqledges Here perhaps designating the door frames, since it is these that (as required by the continuation of the verse) are situated at the threshold and consist of three parts (a lintel and two doorposts). at the threshold, all over the three parts of each, were completely overlaidroverlaid Meaning of Heb. uncertain. with wood. There was wainscoting from the floor to the windows, including the window [frame]s
and extending above the openings, both in the inner temple and outside.sboth in the inner temple and outside Meaning perhaps the great hall and the vestibule; cf. v. 5. And all over the wall, both in the inner one and in the outer,tboth in the inner one and in the outer See preceding note. ran a pattern.upattern Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
a human face turned toward the palm tree on one side and a lion’s face turned toward the palm tree on the other side. This was repeated all over the temple;
a wooden altar 3 cubits high and 2 cubits long and having inner corners;winner corners Apparently meaning that it had a rim around the top, like the table of Exod. 25.25; see the final note on the present verse. and its lengthxlength Septuagint reads “base.” and its walls were of wood. And he said to me, “This is the tableytable Serving to hold the bread of display; cf. Exod. 25.30; 40.22–23; 1 Kings 7.48. that stands before GOD.”
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23
וּשְׁתַּ֧יִם דְּלָת֛וֹת לַהֵיכָ֖ל וְלַקֹּֽדֶשׁ׃
The great hall had a double door, and the Shrine likewise had
a double door, and each door had two swinging leaves:zswinging leaves Meaning of Heb. uncertain. two for the one door and two such leavesasuch leaves Meaning of Heb. uncertain. for the other.
Cherubs and palm trees were carved on these—on the doors of the hall—just as they were carved on the walls; and there was a latticeblattice Meaning of Heb. uncertain. of wood outside in front of the portico.
And there were windows with framescwith frames Meaning of Heb. uncertain. and palm trees on the flanking walls of the portico on either side [of the entrance] and [on] the Temple’s side chambers and [on] the lattices.dand [on] the Temple’s side chambers and [on] the lattices Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
He took me out, by way of the northern gate, into the outer court, and he led me [westward] up to a complex of chambersacomplex of chambers Heb. simply “chambers,” and so elsewhere. that ran parallel to the northern ends of the vacant space and the structure.
The widthbwidth See note at 40.5. of its façade—its north side, the one from which it was enteredcits north side, the one from which it was entered Lit. “the north entrance”; but cf. v. 4.—was 100 cubits, and its depthddepth See note at 40.5. was 50 cubits.
At right angles to the 20 cubitsethe 20 cubits I.e., the vacant space; cf. 41.13 and second note there. of the inner court and to the pavement of the outer court,fpavement of the outer court Cf. 40.17. the complex rose ledge by ledgegrose ledge by ledge Because this part of the inner court was considerably higher than the outer; Cf. 40.28–31; 41.8, 9b–10. in three tiers.
There was an areaway, 10 cubits wide and a road of one cubit,ha road of one cubit Septuagint and Syriac read “and 100 cubits long”; cf. vv. 2–3. running along the inner-court side of the chamber complex, but its entrances were on its north side.
Here its upper chambers were cut back, because ledges took away from them as construction proceeded backward from the bottom ones and then from the middle ones.
For they were arranged in three tiers, and they had no columns like those of the chambers in the courts.ichambers in the courts See vv. 8–9 referring to chambers along the west wall. That is why the rise proceeded by stages: from the ground, from the bottom ones, and from the middle ones.
In the outer court, a wall 50 cubits long ran parallel to the chamber complex up to the chambers in the outer court;jchambers in the outer court Cf. 40.17.
for the chambers in the outer court were themselves 50 cubits deep, thus completing 100 cubits alongside the edifice.kedifice Apparently meaning the chamber complex of v. 1.
Thus, at the foot of that complex of chambers ran a passagelpassage So kethib; qere “thing giving access.”—of a width set by the wall in the outer courtmof a width set by the wall in the outer court Moved up from v. 10 for clarity.—that one entered from the east in order to gain access to them from the outer court.
likewise with a passage in front—just like the complex on the north side, with which this one agreed in width and depth and in the exact layout of its exits and entrances.
Accordingly, the entrances to the chamber complex on the south side were approached from the east by the entrance at the head of the corresponding passage along the matching wall.othe corresponding passage along the matching wall Exact meaning of Heb. uncertain; the phrase apparently refers to vv. 7–8.
And he said to me, “The northern chambers and the southern chambers by the vacant space are the consecrated chambers in which the priests who have access to GOD shall eat the most holy offerings. There they shall deposit the most holy offerings—the grain offerings, the purgation offerings, and the reparation offerings, for the place is consecrated.
When the priests enter, they shall not proceed from the consecrated place to the outer court without first leaving here the vestments in which they minister; for the [vestments] are consecrated. Before proceeding to the area open to the people,pthe area open to the people Cf. 44.19 and note. they shall put on other garments.”
When he had finished the measurements of the inner temple [area], he led me out by way of the gate that faces east, and he measured off the entire area.
Thus he measured it on the four sides; it had a wall completely surrounding it, 500 [cubits] long on each side,qon each side Lit. “and 500 wide.” to separate the consecrated from the unconsecrated.
And there, coming from the east with a roar like the roar of mighty waters, was the Presence of the God of Israel, and the earth was lit up by that Presence.
The vision was like the vision I had seen when IaI Six mss. and two ancient versions read “He.” came to destroy the city, the very same vision that I had seen by the Chebar Canal. Forthwith, I fell on my face.
It said to me:O mortal, this is the place of My throne and the place for the soles of My feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the people Israel forever. The House of Israel and their kings must not again defile My holy name by their apostasy and by the corpses of their kings at their death.cat their death So with a number of Heb. mss. The usual vocalization yields “their shrines.”
When they placed their threshold next to My threshold and their doorposts next to My doorposts with only a wall between Me and them,dwith only a wall between Me and them The south wall of the First Temple enclosure was also the north wall of the royal enclosure; the two communicated by the Gate of the Guard (2 Kings 11.19). Thus temple and palace could be regarded as a single dwelling (“tent”) in the sense of Num. 19.14, and the death of a king in the palace would defile the temple. Hence the zoning provisions of 45.2ff. they would defile My holy name by the abominations that they committed, and I consumed them in My anger.
[Now] you, O mortal, describe the temple to the House of Israel,edescribe the temple to the House of Israel In accordance with the three preceding chapters; cf. 40.4. and let them measure its design. But let them be ashamed of their iniquities:
When they are ashamed of all they have done, make known to them the plan of the temple and its layout, its exits and entrances—its entire plan, and all the laws and instructions pertaining to its entire plan. Write it down before their eyes, that they may faithfully follow its entire plan and all its laws.
Such are the instructions for the temple on top of the mountain: the entire area of its enclosure shall be most holy. Thus far the instructions for the temple.
fSome of the terms and details in vv. 13–17 are obscure. And these are the dimensions of the altar, in cubits where each is a cubit and a handbreadth. The trenchgtrench Lit. “bosom.” shall be a cubit deep and a cubit wide, with a rim one span high around its edge. And the heighthheight Lit. “bulge.” shall be as follows:
From the trench in the ground to the lower ledge, which shall be a cubit wide: 2 cubits; from the lower ledge to the upperilower ledge to the upper Lit. “lesser ledge to the greater.” ledge, which shall likewise be a cubit wide: 4 cubits;
Hence, the [upper] basejbase Heb. ʻazarah, which in v. 14 means “ledge.” The altar consists of 3 blocks, each smaller than the one below it. shall be 14 cubits broad, with 4 equal sides. The surrounding rim shall be half a cubit [high],k[high] Half a cubit is identical with the one span of v. 13. and the surrounding trench shall measure one cubit. And the ramplramp Leading up to the altar; cf. Exod. 20.23. shall face east.
Then that figuremthat figure Heb. “he.” See note at v. 6. said to me: O mortal, thus said the Sovereign GOD: These are the directions for the altar on the day it is erected, so that burnt offerings may be offered up on it and blood dashed against it.
You shall give to the levitical priests who are of the stock of Zadok, and so eligible to minister to Me—declares the Sovereign GOD—a young bull of the herd for a purgation offering.
You shall take some of its blood and apply it to the four horns [of the altar],nthe four horns [of the altar] Heb. “its four horns.” to the four corners of the base, and to the surrounding rim; thus you shall purge it and perform purification upon it.
Then you shall take the bull of purgation offering and burn it in the designated areaodesignated area Meaning of Heb. uncertain. Emendation yields “burning place”; cf. Lev. 6.2; Isa. 33.14; Ps. 102.4 (for the word), and Lev. 4.12; 6.4 (for the place). of the temple, outside the Sanctuary.
On the following day, you shall offer a goat without blemish as a purgation offering; and the altar shall be purged [with it] just as it was purged with the bull.
Every day, for seven days, you shall present a goat of purgation offering, as well as a bull of the herd and a ram of the flock; youpyou Heb. “they.” shall present unblemished ones.
Seven days they shall purge the altar and purify it; thus shall it be consecrated.qthus shall it be consecrated Lit. “they shall fill its hands”; cf. note at Exod. 28.41.
And when these days are over, then from the eighth day onward the priests shall offer your burnt offerings and your offerings of well-being on the altar; and I will extend My favor to you—declares the Sovereign GOD.
And GOD said to me: This gate is to be kept shut and is not to be opened! No one shall enter by it because the ETERNAL, the God of Israel, has entered by it; therefore it shall remain shut.
Only the prince may sit in it and eat bread before GOD, since he is a prince; he shall enter by way of the vestibule of the gate,athe vestibule of the gate This does not contradict v. 2 because the vestibule is at the inner end of the gate; cf. 40.9. and shall depart by the same way.
Then he led me, by way of the north gate, to the front of the temple. I looked, and lo! the Presence of GOD filled the Temple of GOD; and I fell upon my face.
Then GOD said to me: O mortal, mark well, look closely and listen carefully to everything that I tell you regarding all the laws of the Temple of GOD and all the instructions regarding it. Note well who may enter the temple and all who must be excluded from the Sanctuary.
admitting aliens, uncircumcised of spirit and uncircumcised of flesh, to be in My Sanctuary and profane My very Temple, when you offer up My food—the fat and the blood. YoubYou Heb. “They.” have broken My covenant with all your abominations.
They shall be servitors in My Sanctuary, appointed over the Temple gates, and performing the chores of My Temple; they shall slaughter the burnt offerings and the sacrifices for the people. They shall attend on them and serve them.
Because they served the House of Israel in the presence of their fetishes and made them stumble into guilt, therefore—declares the Sovereign GOD—I have sworn concerning them that they shall suffer their punishment:
They shall not approach Me to serve Me as priests, to come near any of My sacred offerings, the most holy things. They shall bear their shame for the abominations that they committed.
But the levitical priests descended from Zadok,cBut the levitical priests descended from Zadok By contrast with the Levite-priests whose demotion has just been announced. who maintained the service of My Sanctuary when the people of Israel went astray from Me—they shall approach Me to minister to Me; they shall stand before Me to offer Me fat and blood—declares the Sovereign GOD.
And when they enter the gates of the inner court, they shall wear linen vestments: they shall have nothing woolen upon them when they minister inside the gates of the inner court.
When they go out to the outer court—the outer court where the people are—they shall remove the vestments in which they minister and shall deposit them in the sacred chambers;dsacred chambers Cf. 42.13–14. they shall put on other garments, lest they make the people consecratedeconsecrated Thereby rendering the people unfit for ordinary activity. by [contact with] their vestments.
They shall not marry widows or divorced women of the stock of the House of Israel, but only virgins;fof the stock of the House of Israel, but only virgins Phrases transposed for clarity. or they may marry widows who are widows of priests.
In lawsuits, too, it is they who shall act as judges; they shall decide them in accordance with My rules. They shall preserve My teachings and My laws regarding all My fixed occasions; and they shall maintain the sanctity of My sabbaths.
[A priest] shall not defile himself by entering [a house] where there is a dead person. He shall defile himself only for father or mother, son or daughter, brother or unmarried sister.
and on the day that he reenters the inner court of the Sanctuary to minister in the Sanctuary, he shall present his purgation offering—declares the Sovereign GOD.
The grain offerings, purgation offerings, and reparation offerings shall be consumed by them. Everything proscribedgproscribed See Lev. 27.28. in Israel shall be theirs.
All the choice first fruits of every kind, and all the gifts of every kind—of all your contributions—shall go to the priests. You shall further give the first of the yield of your bakinghthe first of the yield of your baking See Num. 15.20–21. to the priest, that a blessing may rest upon your home.
When you allot the land as an inheritance, you shall set aside from the land, as a gift sacred to GOD, an areaaarea Lit. “length.” 25,000 [cubits] long and 10,000b10,000 Septuagint reads 20,000; cf. vv. 3–5. wide: this shall be holy through its entire extent.
Of this, a square measuring a full 500 by 500 shall be reserved for the Sanctuary,creserved for the Sanctuary Cf. 42.15–20. and 50 cubits for an open space all around it.
it is a sacred portion of the land; it shall provide space for houses for the priests, the ministrants of the Sanctuary who are qualified to minister to GOD, as well as holy ground for the Sanctuary.
Another [space], 25,000 long by 10,000 wide, shall be the property of the Levites, the servants of the temple—twenty chambers.dtwenty chambers Septuagint reads “for towns to dwell in.”
Alongside the sacred reserve, you shall set aside [a space] 25,000 long by 5,000 wide, as the property of the city; it shall belong to the whole House of Israel.
And to the prince shall belong, on both sides of the sacred reserve and the property of the city and alongside the sacred reserve and the property of the city, on the west extending westward and on the east extending eastward, a portioneportion Meaning of Heb. uncertain. corresponding to one of the [tribal] portions that extend from the western border to the eastern border
of the land.f[tribal] portions … of the land Cf. 48.1–29. That shall be his property in Israel; and My princes shall no more defraud My people, but shall leave the rest of the land to the several tribes of the House of Israel.
Thus said the Sovereign GOD: Enough, princes of Israel! Make an end of lawlessness and rapine, and do what is right and just! Put a stop to your evictions of My people—declares the Sovereign GOD.
The ephah and the bath shall comprise the same volume, the bath a tenth of a ḥomer and the ephah a tenth of a ḥomer; their capacity shall be gauged by the ḥomer.
And the shekel shall weigh 20 gerahs. 20 shekels, 25 shekels [and] 10 plus 5 shekels shall count with you as a mina.h20 shekels, 25 shekels [and] 10 plus 5 shekels shall count with you as a mina The Mesopotamian mina of 60 shekels; but meaning of Heb. uncertain.
while the due from the oil—the oil being measured by the bath ithe oil being measured by the bath Meaning of Heb. uncertain.—shall be one-tenth of a bath from every kor.—As 10 baths make a ḥomer, so 10 baths make a ḥomer.jḥomer The Vulgate reads “kor”; ḥomer and kor are synonyms.—
And [the due] from the flock shall be one animal from every 200. [All these shall be contributed] from Israel’s productskproducts Meaning of Heb. uncertain. for grain offerings, burnt offerings, and offerings of well-being, to make expiation for them—declares the Sovereign GOD.
But the burnt offerings, the grain offerings, and the libations on festivals, new moons, sabbaths—all fixed occasions—of the House of Israel shall be the obligation of the prince; he shall provide the purgation offerings, the grain offerings, the burnt offerings, and the offerings of well-being, to make expiation for the House of Israel.
Thus said the Sovereign GOD: On the first day of the first month, you shall take a bull of the herd without blemish, and you shall cleanse the Sanctuary.
The priest shall take some of the blood of the purgation offering and apply it to the doorposts of the temple, to the four corners of the ledgelledge Meaning of Heb. uncertain. of the altar, and to the doorposts of the gate of the inner court.
You shall do the same on the seventh day of the monthmon the seventh day of the month Septuagint reads “in the seventh month.” to purge the temple from impurity caused by unwitting or ignorant persons.
and during the seven days of the festival, he shall provide daily—for seven days—seven bulls and seven rams, without blemish, for a burnt offering to GOD, and one goat daily for a purgation offering.
He shall provide a grain offering of an ephah ngrain offering of an ephah Of choice flour. for each bull and an ephah for each ram, with a hin of oil to every ephah.
So, too, during the festival of the seventh month, for seven days from the fifteenth day on, he shall provide the same purgation offerings, burnt offerings, grain offerings, and oil.
Thus said the Sovereign GOD: The gate of the inner court that faces east shall be closed on the six working days; it shall be opened on the sabbath day and it shall be opened on the day of the new moon.
The prince shall enter by way of the vestibule outside the gate, and shall attend at the gatepost while the priests sacrifice his burnt offering and his offering of well-being; he shall then bow low at the threshold of the gate and depart. The gate, however, shall not be closed until evening.
The common peopleacommon people I.e., those other than the priests, the Levites, and the prince; lit. “the people of the land.” shall worship before GOD on sabbaths and new moons at the entrance of the same gate.
And he shall provide a grain offering of an ephah for the bull, an ephah for the ram, and as much as he can afford for the lambs, with a hin of oil to every ephah.
But on the fixed occasions, when the common people come before GOD, whoever enters by the north gate to bow low shall leave by the south gate; and whoever enters by the south gate shall leave by the north gate. They shall not go back through the gate by which they came in, but shall go out by the opposite one.bby the opposite one Lit. “straight before him.”
On festivals and fixed occasions, the grain offering shall be an ephah for each bull, an ephah for each ram, and as much as he wishes for the lambs, with a hin of oil for every ephah.
The gate that faces east shall also be opened for the prince whenever he offers a freewill offering—be it burnt offering or offering of well-being—freely offered to GOD, so that he may offer his burnt offering or his offering of well-being just as he does on the sabbath day. Then he shall leave, and the gate shall be closed after he leaves.
And every morning regularly you shall offer a grain offering with it: a sixth of an ephah, with a third of a hin of oil to moisten the choice flour, as a grain offering to GOD—a law for all time.
Thus said the Sovereign GOD: If the prince makes a gift to any of his sons, it shall become the latter’s inheritance; it shall pass on to his sons; it is their holding by inheritance.
But if he makes a gift from his inheritance to any of his subjects, it shall only belong to the latter until the year of release.cyear of release Cf. Lev. 25.10. Then it shall revert to the prince; his inheritance must by all means pass on to his sons.
But the prince shall not take property away from any of the people and rob them of their holdings. Only out of his own holdings shall he endow his sons, in order that none of My people may be dispossessed of their holdings.
Then the guidedthe guide Heb. “he”; see 40.3–4. led me into the passage at the side of the gate to the sacred chambers of the priests, which face north, and there, at the rear of it, in the west, I saw a space.
He said to me, “This is the place where the priests shall boil the reparation offerings and the purgation offerings, and where they shall bake the grain offerings, so as not to take them into the outer court and make the people consecrated.”emake the people consecrated See the second note at 44.19.
These unroofedfunroofed So Mishnah Middoth 2.5; emendation yields “small.” enclosures, [each] 40 [cubits] long and 30 wide, were in the four corners of the court; the four corner enclosures had the same measurements.
I was led back to the entrance of the temple, and I found that water was issuing from below the platformaplatform See note at 9.3. of the temple—eastward, since the temple faced east—but the water was running out at the south of the altar,bsouth of the altar Connection unclear. Emendation yields “southeast.” under the south wall of the temple.
Then he led me out by way of the northern gate and led me around to the outside of the outer gate that faces in the direction of the east;ceast The end of the verse explains why he could not have made the detour by way of the south gate. For the reasons why he could not have proceeded to his present position directly by way of the east gate, see 43.1–2; 44.1–2. and I found that water was gushing from [under] the south wall.
As that figuredthat figure I.e., the guide introduced in 40.3–4. went on eastward with a measuring line in his hand, he measured off a thousand cubits and led me across the water; the water was ankle deep.
Then he measured off another thousand and led me across the water; the water was knee deep. He measured off a further thousand and led me across the water; the water was up to the waist.
When he measured yet another thousand, it was a stream I could not cross; for the water had swollen into a stream that could not be crossed except by swimming.
“This water,” he told me, “runs out to the eastern region, and flows into the Arabah; and when it comes into the sea, into the sea of foul waters,ethe sea of foul waters I.e., the Dead Sea. the water will become wholesome.
Every living creature that swarms will be able to live wherever this stream goes; the fish will be very abundant once these waters have reached there. It will be wholesome, and everything will live wherever this stream goes.
Fishermen shall stand beside it all the way from En-gedi to En-eglaim; it shall be a place for drying nets; and the fish will be of various kinds [and] most plentiful, like the fish of the Great Sea.
All kinds of trees for food will grow up on both banks of the stream. Their leaves will not wither nor their fruit fail; they will yield new fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the temple. Their fruit will serve for food and their leaves for healing.”
Thus said the Sovereign GOD: These shall be the boundaries of the land that you shall allot to the twelve tribes of Israel. Joseph shall receive two portions,
and you shall share the rest equally. As I swore to give it to your fathers,ffathers See note at Josh. 1.6. so shall this land fall to you as your heritage.
These are the boundaries of the land:As the northern limit: From the Great Sea by way of Hethlon, Lebo-hamath,g-hamath Moved up from v. 16 for clarity. Zedad,
Thus the boundary shall run from the Sea to Hazar-enon,hHazar-enon Apparently identical with Hazer-hatticon in v. 16. to the north of the territory of Damascus, with the territory of Hamath to the north of it. That shall be the northern limit.
As the eastern limit: A line between Hauran and Damascus, and between Gilead and the land of Israel: with the Jordan as a boundary, you shall measure down to the Eastern Sea.iEastern Sea I.e., the Dead Sea. That shall be the eastern limit.
The southern limit shall run: A line from Tamar to the Waters of Meribath-kadesh,jMeribath-kadesh Heb. “Meriboth-kadesh.” along the Wadi [of Egypt and] the Great Sea. That is the southern limit.
You shall allot it as a heritage for yourselves and for the strangers who reside among you, who have begotten children among you. You shall treat them as Israelite citizens; they shall receive allotments along with you among the tribes of Israel.
These are the names of the tribes:At the northern end, along the Hethlon road, [from] Lebo-hamath to Hazar-enan—which is the border of Damascus, with Hamath to the north—from the eastern border to the Sea: Dan—one [tribe].
Adjoining the territory of Judah, from the eastern border to the western border, shall be the reserve that you set aside: 25,000 [cubits] in breadth and in length equal to one of the portions from the eastern border to the western border; the Sanctuary shall be in the middle of it.
It shall be apportioned to the following: The sacred reserve for the priests shall measure 25,000 [cubits] on the north, 10,000 on the west, 10,000 on the east, and 25,000 on the south,b10,000 on the west, 10,000 on the east, and 25,000 on the south Lit. “10,000 in breadth on the west; 10,000 in breadth on the east; and 25,000 in length on the south.” with GOD’s Sanctuary in the middle of it.
This consecrated area shall be for the priests of the line of Zadok, who kept My charge and did not go astray, as the Levites did when the people of Israel went astray.
Alongside the territory of the priests, the Levites shall have [an area] 25,000 long by 10,000 wide; the total length shall be 25,000 and the breadth 10,000.c10,000 Septuagint reads “20,000”; cf. note at v. 9.
The remaining 5,000 in breadth by 25,000 shall be for common use—serving the city for dwellings and pasture. The city itself shall be in the middle of it;
As for the remaining 10,000 to the east and 10,000 to the west, adjoining the long sidedlong side I.e., the south side. of the sacred reserve, the produce of these areas adjoining the sacred reserve shall serve as food for the workers in the city;
What remains on either side of the sacred reserve and the city property shall belong to the prince. The prince shall own [the land] from the border of the 25,000 of the reserveeof the reserve Emendation yields “on the east.” up to the eastern boundary, and from the border of the 25,000 on the west up to the western boundary, corresponding to the [tribal] portions. The sacred reserve, with the Temple Sanctuary in the middle of it
and the property of the Levites and the city property as well, shall be in the middle of the [area belonging] to the prince; [the rest of the land] between the territory of Judah and the territory of Benjamin shall belong to the prince.
As for the remaining tribes:fremaining tribes The tribes not provided for in vv. 1–7, and lying south of the sacred reserve treated in vv. 8–22. From the eastern border to the western border: Benjamin—one.
The other border of Gad shall be the southern boundary. This boundary shall run from Tamar to the Waters of Meribath-kadesh, to the Wadi [of Egypt], and to the Great Sea.