33 Ezekiel

31
z ;5 ? Rv 4:2-3 Ex 24:10 Zc 5:2 ? Rv5:1; 10:2 Jr 1: 9 /' Rv 10:8- 11 Ps 106:8 Rv 10:10 Dn 8:17: 10:1 1 1 :14 Dt 9:7,24 12:2: 33:33 Dt 18:21-24 Jr 28:9 Jr 1:8 Jr 1:8,1 7 Gn 9:13-15 Si 43:11 1:11: 8:4; 10:4, 18 Ex 24:16+ Dn 8:17 » R v 1:17 3:3 i, 'each of the four ' cor r. following versions j. Hebr. adds 'and their construc tion' . k. 'four ways' versions. He be. inserts 'go ing'. l, Tex t obsc ure : tra ns lat io n unc ert ain , rn. Hebr. adds 't he spirit to go'. n. Hebe. 'lik e terr ible crystal' . o. T he th rone of Yahweh is therefore s upported, ra the r tha n drawn along, by these an ima ls. Compare the ark of the cove na nt, Ex 25:10 + ; there Yahweh is 'seated on the cher ubs' , 1S 4:4, etc. n. He br . repea ts 'each had two cove ring him '. q. Hebr. adds 'above the vault over their heads, when they ha lted they folded their wings'. t, The 'glory of Yahweh', Ex 24:16+ . is normally descr ibed as a bright cloud . Ex 16:10: Ezk here th e c lo ud is accompanied by a br illiant . luminous silhou ett e in huma n shape. 2 a. The vision of the chariot of Yahweh is cont inued later, 3:12. It is here inte rrupt ed by the vision of the book, wh ich was pr ob abl y Ezekie l's first vision (in 593) in which he received his prophetic call, cf Introductio n to the Prop hets. b , The exp ress io n 'son of man' used bY Go d of his pro ph et is pecu lia r to Ezk (Dn 8:I7 exc ep ted >. It emph asises the dis ta nce betw een Go d and man. In Dn 7:13 the same expression beco mes a mess ianic title which is later adopted bYJesus, cf. Mt8 :20 + . c. 'to the rebe ls' Greek d. 'There arc thorns all round you' cor r. following Greek . e. 'set (lit. house) of rebels' Greek. t, 'on it (was written)' corr. 3 a. The mou th of Isa iah had bee n touched by a seraph , Is 6:5-7, that of Jeremiah by Ya hweh himself who 'put his words into the prophe t's mout h' , Jr 1:9, an idea which Ezekiel expresses even more rea listtcal ly, EZEKIE L 1363 1 •. Vv. I·] appear to juxtapose two distinct truro- ductions. One, vv , 2-3a, speaks of Ezekiel in the third perso n and serves as introduction to the whole book , dnting the prophet's first vision to the 5th year of Jchoiachin 's exile, 593-592. The other, v, I, may have Introd uced the vision of the 'chariot of Yahweh' before this occupied its present position, cf. lmr odu crion to the Prophets. If so, the date Ctne th irt ieth yea r') is lJlI1lCUIt to interpret, unles s we amend it to 'thi r teen th vcut' (of Jeh oiachin's exile), i.e. summer of 585. b, Though some details are obscure, the substa ntial meanin g of the vision is clear, namely Yahweh's tra n- aceudence of place: he is not tied to the Temple of Jer usa lem but ca n foll ow his peo ple into exile if he wishes. c. 'on me' versio n s; 'on him' Hebr. A p hrase commonly used by Ezekiel to indicate ecstasy, cf. 3:22; K: I : 33:22: 37:1 : 40: I. d, 'the races . four Quarters' corr.: 'towards the Iour sides, and their faces, and their wings' Hebr , e. These st ra nge a nima ls a rc reminiscent of the Assyrian Karibu (a name akin to that of the cherubs over the ark , cr. Ex 25:18 + ), creatures with the head of a man, the body of a lion, the hoov es of a bull and the wlugs of an eagle: their effigies stood guard outside the nnlnces of Babylon. These servants of the pagan gods Me her e sho wn harnessed to the chariot or the God of Iaruel, a vivid illustr ation of Ya hweh 's tr an scen dence. The Characteristics of these creatu res were later used to describe the 'four living beings' in Rv etc.). In Christian traditi on they have become symbolic of the four eva ngelists. r, 'Their wings' G reek. K, ' Between' versio ns; 'the likeness of' He br . 'co uld be seen' Gre ek; 't heir appea ra nce' He br , h. li t. ' went ' following VuIS.; Hebe. incompre- hensible , Above the vault over their heads was something that looked like a sapph ire ; it was shaped like a throne and high up on this thro ne was a being that looked like a man.• I saw him shine like bronze, and close to and all around him from 8:2 what seemed his loins upw ards was what looked like fire ; and from what seemed IK his loins downwards I saw what looked like fire, and a light all ro und -Iike a bow in the clouds on rainy days; that is how the surrounding light appeared. It was something that looked like the glory of Yahweh! I looked, and prostrated myself, and I heard a voice speaking. I t. The vision of the scroll" 2 It said, 'Son of man," stand up ; I am going to speak to you'. -As he said these words the spirit came into me and made me stand up, and I heard him I speaking to me.• He said, 'Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, to the rebe ls' who have turned against me. Till now they and their ancestors have ·1 been in revo lt agai nst me. -The sons are defiant and obstinate; I am sending , you to them, to say, "The Lord Yahweh says this". • Whet her they listen or not, this set of rebels shall know there is a prophet amon g them. •And you, son of man, do not be afra id of them, do not be afraid when they say, "There are tho rns all roun d you" and scorpions under you" . There is no need to be afraid either of their words or of their looks, for they are a set of rebels. You must deliver my words to them whether they listen or not, for they are a set of rebels. e 'You, son of man, listen to the words I say ; do not be a rebel like that rebellious set. Open your mo uth and eat what I am about to give you .' I looked.A han d was there, stretching out to me and holding a scroll . •He unrolled it in front of me; it was written on back and front; on it was written! 'la mentat ions , 1 wailings, moanings'. 3 He said, 'Son of man , eat what is given to you; eat this scroll, then go and speak to the House of Israel'. •1 opened my mouth; he gave I me the scroll to eat • and said, 'Son of man, feed and be satisfied by the scroll I am giving you'. I ate it, and it tasted sweet as honey." l In the thirtieth year, on the fifth day of the fourth month, as I was a mong 1 t he exiles on the ban k of the river Chebar, heaven opened a nd I saw visions from God . 'On the fifth of the month-it was the fifth year of exile for K ing le ho iachin- -t he word of Ya hweh was add ressed to the priest Ezekiel son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldaeans, on the bank of the river C hebar.v INTROD UCTION EZEKIEL The vision of the 'Chariot of Yahweh'> There the hand of Yahweh came on me.' ·1 looked; a stormy wind blew from the nor th, a great cloud with light aroun d it, a fire from which flashes of lightning darted, and in the cent re a sheen like bron ze at the heart of the fire.• In the centre I saw what seemed four animals. They looked like this. They were of hum an form.• Each had four faces, eac h had four wings. •T heir legs were stra ight; they had hooves like oxen , glittering like polished brass. •Human hands showed under their wings; the faces of all four were turn ed to the fou r quart ers." -Thcir wings touched each other ; they did not turn as they moved; each one went strai gh t forw a rd. -As to what they l ooked like, they had human faces, an d all 10 four had a lion's face to the right, and all four had a bull's face to the left, and all four had an eagle's face. e Their wings ! were spre ad upwards; each had two 11 wings that touched, and two wings that covered his body ; -and they all went 12 st raight forward; they went where the spirit urged them ; they did not turn as they moved. Between these animals something could be seen v like flaming brands or 13 torches, dart ing between the animals; the fire flashed light, and lightn ing streaked from the fire. 'And the creatures ran to and fro« like thunde rbo lts. 14 I looked at the animals; there was a wheel on the ground by each of them, one IS beside each of the fOUL ' -Th e wheels/ glittered as if made of chrysolite. All four 16 looked alike,and seemed to be made one inside the oth er. -They went forward four 17 ways- and kept their cou rse unswervingly. -Their rims seemed enormou s when 18 I looked at them and all four rims had eyes ' all the way r ound . •When the animals 19 went forward, the wheels went forward beside them ; and when the animals left the ground, the wheels too left the gr ound .• Where the spirit urged them, 20 the re the Wheels went , m since the spirit of the animal was in the wheels .• W hen 21 the animals moved on, they moved on; when the former halted, the latte r halted; when the former left the ground, the wheels too left the ground, since the spirit of the animal was in the wheels. -Over the heads of the animals a sort 22 of vault, gleaming like crystal," arc hed abo ve their heads; " •under this vault 23 their wings stretched out to one anot her, and each had two covering his body." I heard the noise of their wings as they moved ; it sounded like rushing water, 24 like the voice of Shaddai, a noise like a storm, like the noise of a camp; when they halted, they folded their wings, -and there was a noise. Q 25 43:3 O n 10:5 Zc 4:10 /' Rv 4:8 Ex 19:18 Ps 104:4 10 :9- 13 Is 6:2 10:1 Ex 24: 10 /' Rv 4:6 10 R v4 10:16 8:1 I K 18:46 Si 49:8 10:5 Gn 17:1 + 10:8-22 Ex 25: 18+ " Rv 4:6-8 I I III I I I ili:

Transcript of 33 Ezekiel

Page 1: 33 Ezekiel

z;5

~

? R v 4:2-3

Ex 24:10

Zc 5:2

? Rv5:1;10:2

Jr 1:9/' Rv 10:8- 11

Ps 106:8

R v 10:10

Dn 8:17:10:1 1

1 :14

D t 9:7,24

12:2: 33:33Dt 18:21-24Jr 28:9

Jr 1:8

Jr 1:8,1 7

G n 9:13-15Si 43:111:11: 8:4;

10:4, 18Ex 24:16+D n 8:17» R v 1:17

3:3

i , 'each of the four ' cor r. following versionsj. Hebr. add s ' and thei r co nst ruc tion' .k . ' four ways' vers ions . He be. inserts 'go ing ' .l , Tex t obsc ure : tra nslat ion unc ert ain ,rn. Heb r. adds 't he spiri t to go' .n. Hebe. 'lik e terr ible cr ystal' .o . T he th rone of Ya hweh is therefore supported,

ra the r than d raw n alo ng, by these an ima ls. Comparethe ark of the cove na nt, Ex 25:10 + ; there Yahweh is' sea ted on the cher ubs' , 1 S 4:4, etc.

n. He br . repeats 'each had two cove ring him '.q . Hebr. ad ds 'above the vault over the ir heads,

when they ha lted they fo lded their wings' .

t, The ' glory of Ya hwe h' , Ex 24:16+ . is normallydescribed as a bright cloud . Ex 16: 10 : Ezk 43: 1 ~5 : hereth e clo ud is accompanied by a br illiant . lum inou s

silhou ett e in huma n shape.2 a . T he vision of the cha rio t of Yahweh is cont inuedlater, 3:12. It is here inte rrupt ed by the visio n of thebook, wh ich was pr ob abl y Ezekie l's first vision (in 593)in which he received his prophetic ca ll, cf Int roductio nto the Prop hets.

b , The exp ress ion 'son of man' used bY Go d of hispro ph et is pecu lia r to Ezk (D n 8: I7 excep ted >. Itemphasises the dis ta nce betw een Go d and man. InDn 7:13 the same express ion beco mes a mess ianic titl ewhic h is la ter adopted bY Jesus, cf. Mt8:20 + .

c. ' to the rebe ls' Gr eekd . 'T here arc thorns a ll round you' cor r. following

Greek.e . ' se t (lit. house) of rebels' Greek.t , 'o n it (was wr itt en)' corr .

3 a . T he mou th of Isa iah had been touched by aseraph , Is 6:5-7, tha t of Je rem iah by Ya hweh himselfwho 'put his words into the prophe t's mouth' , J r 1:9,an idea wh ich Ezekiel expresses even more rea listtcal ly,

EZEKIE L1363

1 •. Vv. I·] appe ar to juxtap ose two dis tinct truro­d uct ions. One, vv , 2-3a, speaks of Ezekiel in the thirdperso n and serves as introduction to the who le book,d nting the prophet's first vision to the 5th year ofJchoiachin 's exile , 593-592. The other , v, I , may haveIntrod uced the vision of the 'c ha rio t of Ya hwe h' befo rethis occupied its present positi on , cf. lmr odu crion tothe Prophets. If so, the dat e Ctne th irt ieth year') islJlI1lCUIt to int er pret, unles s we amend it to 'thir teen thvcut' (o f Jeh oiachin 's exile), i.e . summer of 585.

b, Though some details a re obscu re , the substantia lmeanin g of the vision is clear , namely Yahweh's tra n­aceudence of place: he is not tied to the Temple ofJer usa lem but ca n foll ow his peo ple into exile if hewishes .

c. ' on me' versio ns; 'on him' Hebr. A phrasecommonly used by Ezekiel to indicat e ecstasy , cf. 3:22 ;K: I : 33:22: 37:1 : 40: I.

d, 'the races . four Quarter s' corr. : 'towards theIour sides , and their faces , and their wings ' Hebr,

e. These st ra nge a nima ls a rc reminiscen t of theAssyrian Karibu (a name akin to that of the cherubsover the ark , cr. Ex 25:18 + ), creatures with the head ofa man, the body of a lion, the hoov es of a bull and thewlugs of an eag le: their effigies stoo d guard outside thennlnces of Babylon. These se rva nts of the pagan godsM e her e sho wn harnessed to the cha rio t or the Go d ofIaruel, a vivid illustr ation of Ya hweh 's tr anscen dence.The Characteris t ics of these cre atu res were lat er used todescribe the 'four living be ings' in Rv (4:7~8 et c.). InChrist ian tradition they have becom e sym bolic of thefou r eva ngelists.

r, 'Their wings' G reek.K, ' Between' versio ns; ' the likeness of' He br .

'co uld be seen' Gre ek; 't heir appeara nce' He br ,h. li t. ' went ' fo llowing VuIS.; Hebe . incompre­

hensible ,

Above the vault over their heads was something that looked like a sapphire ;it was shaped like a throne and high up on this throne was a being that lookedlike a man.• I saw him shine like bronze, and close to and all around him from 8:2

what seemed his loins upw ards was what looked like fire ; and from what seemedI K his loins downwards I saw what looked like fire, a nd a light all ro und -Iike a

bow in the clouds on rain y days ; that is how the surrounding light a ppeared.It was something that looked like the glory of Yahweh! I looked, and prostratedmyself, and I heard a voice speaking.

I t.

The vision of the scroll"

2 It said, 'Son of man," stand up ; I am going to spea k to you '. -As he saidthese words the spirit came into me and made me stand up, and I heard him

I speak ing to me.• He said, 'Son of ma n, I am sending you to the Israelites, tothe rebe ls' who have turned against me. T ill now they and their ancestors have

·1 been in revo lt agai nst me. -The sons are defiant and obstinate; I am sending, you to them, to say, "T he Lord Yahweh says this" . •Whether they listen or~ not, this set of rebels sha ll know there is a prophet among them. •And you,

son of man, do not be afraid of them, do not be afraid when they say, "Thereare tho rns all round you" and scorpions under you". There is no need to beafraid either of their words or of their looks, for they a re a set of rebels.You must de liver my words to them whether they listen or not, for they a rea set of rebels. e

'You, son of man , listen to the words I say ; do not be a rebel likethat rebellious set. Open your mo uth and eat what I am about to give you .'

I;~ I looked. A han d was there, stretching out to me and holding a scroll . • He unrolledit in front of me; it was written on back and front; on it was written! 'lamentat ions ,

1 wa ilings, moanings' . 3 He said , 'Son of man, eat what is given to you; eat thisscro ll, then go and spea k to the House of Israel' . •1 opened my mouth; he gave

I me the scroll to eat •and said, 'Son of man, feed and be satisfied by the scrollI am giving you'. I ate it, and it tasted sweet as honey. "

l In the th irtieth year , on the fifth day of the fourth month , as I was among 1

the exiles on the ban k of the river Chebar, heaven opened a nd I sawvisions from God. 'On the fifth of the mo nth-it was the fifth yea r of exile forK ing leho iachin- -t he word of Ya hweh was addressed to the priest Ezekielson of Buzi, in the lan d of the Chaldaeans , on the bank of the river Chebar.v

INTROD UCTION

EZEK IEL

The vision of the 'Chariot of Yahweh '>

There the hand of Ya hweh came on me.' · 1 looked ; a sto rmy wind blewfrom the north, a great clou d with light around it, a fire from which flashes oflightning da rted, a nd in the cent re a sheen like bron ze at the hea rt of the fire.• Inthe cen tre I saw what seemed four a nima ls. Th ey looked like this. They were ofhum an form.• Each had four faces, eac h had four wings. •T heir legs were stra ight;they had hooves like oxen , glitte ring like polished brass. • Huma n hands showedunder their wings; the faces of a ll four were turned to the fou r quarters." -Thcirwing s touched each other ; they did not turn as they moved ; each one wentstraigh t forw ard. -As to what they looked like, they had human faces, an d all 10

four had a lion 's face to the righ t, a nd all four had a bull's face to the left , andall four had an eagle's face.e • Their wings ! were spre ad upwards; each had two 11

wings that touched, and two wings that covered his body ; -and they all went 12

straight forward; they went where the spirit urged them ; they did not turn asthey moved.

Between the se animals someth ing could be seen v like flaming brands or 13

torches, darting between the animals; the fire flashed light, and lightn ingstreaked from the fire. 'And the creatures ran to a nd fro« like thunderbo lts. 14

I loo ked at the animals; there was a wheel on the ground by each of them, one I S

beside each of the fOUL ' -The wheels/ glittered as if made of chrysol ite. All fou r 16

looked a like,a nd seemed to be made one inside the oth er. -They went forward four 17

ways- a nd kept their course un swer vingly. -Their rims seemed enormous when 18

I looked at them and all four rims had eyes ' all the way round . •When the animals 19

went forward , the wheels went forward beside them ; and when the animalsleft the ground, the wheels too left the ground.• Wh ere the spirit urged them, 20

the re th e Wheels went , m since the spirit of the animal was in the wheels .• When 21

the a nima ls moved on , th ey moved on; when the former halted, the latterhalted ; when the former left the gro und, the wheels too left the gro und, sinc ethe spirit of the a nimal was in the wheels . -Ov er the heads of the animals a sort 22

of vault, gleam ing like crystal," arched above the ir heads; " •un der this vaul t 23

their wings stretched out to one another , a nd each had two covering his body."I hea rd the no ise of their wing s as they moved ; it sounded like rushing water, 24

like the voice of Shaddai, a noise like a storm, like the noise of a camp; whenthey halted, they folded their wings, -and there was a noise. Q 25

43:3O n 10:5

Zc 4:10/' Rv 4:8

Ex 19:18

Ps 104:4

10:9- 13

Is 6:2

10:1

Ex 24: 10/' Rv 4:6

10Rv4

10:16

8:1I K 18:46

Si 49: 8

10:5

Gn 17:1 +

10:8-22Ex 25:18+" Rv 4:6-8

I

I

III

I~I

I

Iili:

Page 2: 33 Ezekiel

'III I

3:4 EZEKIEL /]64 / 365 EZEKI EL 5:6

Is 50:7

Is 28:9 -13:33:19

Jon 3M'1 2:38-42

zCl

38:12

Ex 22:30Lv 17:15:

22:8D'1 4:3-21AclO:14

Lv 26:26Ps 105: 16/2 :18-/9R v 6:6Lv 26:39

3:25

21:27

stric t int erpr eta tio n o n these figures as p ro ph ecies of thed uruuon o f th e respective exiles o f Israel a nd J uda h.Presumably they are o nly to be taken as the prophecyof a s iege, t hc d urnuo n of which has not bee n reve a led ,des igned us puni shmen t for the prot racted infidelit y ofthe t\ ...'o kingdo ms.

c. ' u hund red an d nine ty ' G ree k; 't h ree hundr eda nd ni nety ' Hebr .

f. 's ay , . , God of Israe l' G reek .

~. D ried d un g is used as fue l in th e Eas t.

h. Lit. ' t he s t aff of bread ' (loa ves were lo ng andth in), cr. 5: 16; 14:13,

5 ;S. T he sieg e will end in massacre : the meaning ofthe pro phet's mim e is un mis ta ka ble .

b. T he ' re mnant ' tha t is spa red a nd . af ter fu rt he ro rd ea l, sa ved , cr. Is 4:3 + .

c . Mean ing ob scur e . Pos sib ly a gloss suggested by19:14.

d . ' lire. And yo u will say to the entire ' Greek : ' firefO T th e entire ' Hebr,

b. In 33:1-9 th e same th eme is developed moreco he ren tly : it may have bee n rep rod uced , barely modi ­ned. here, since it o ut lines (he programme of thepr ophe t's fu tur e career. Ezek iel stresses th e indi vid ua lrespo ns ib ility o f h is hea rers, ct . 14:12 -:-.

c . By 'b onds' so me und erst and a para lysis of SOmekind , cr.4:4f, and that t his ph ysica l o rdeal acq u ires , byrevela tion . a symbo lic meani ng incorpor at ing it into then ron henc message. cf. J r IS: 1-

4 a. Ezekiel is co mmanded to mime the for thcomlnusiege of Jerusalem (the bri ck 'b esie ged ' , tile mo tionle ssp ro phet, t he po or food a nd its mea gre rat io n. the hai rburn t o r sca tte red to (he winds), Fo r th ese symbo licgestures. parti cu la rly elabora te with Ezek iel, cf.Ir IS: l + .

1> . ' on Yo ursel f ' corr.c. ' t he years they will s in' co r r . : 't he two sins'

I lebr. 'a hu nd red and nin ety' Greek : ' th ree hun d reda nd ninety' He br .

d. Un su ccessful a tte mp ts ha ve been made to pu t a

3 camps and bring up battering-rams all round.•Then take an iron pan and placeit as if it were an iron wall between you and the city. Then turn to it; it is beingbesieged and you are besieging it. Th is is a sign for the Ho use of Israel.

'Lie dow n on your left side and take the sin of the House of Israel on5 yourself. b Iam maki ng you bear their sin for as many days as you lie there .• I myself

have set the years the y will sin at a hundred and ninety days;' during these you6 are to bear the sin of the Hous e of Israe l. •And at the end of these days, yo u are

to lie dow n again on your right side and bear the sin of the Ho use of Ju da h for7 forty days." I have set the lengt h for you as one.day for one year. -And you are to

turn towar ds the siege of Jerusalem, lift your bare arm and prophesy aga inst it.8 I have laid bonds on you, and you must not turn over until the period of your

seclusion is finished .'You must then take wheat, ba rley, bean s, lentil s, millet and spe1t; put them

all in the same pot and make yourse lf some bread. You are to eat it for as many10 days as you have been lying on your side, a hundred and ninety days. ' -As

regards this food you are to measure out a dail y portion of twenty shekels andII make it last the who le day . -A nd you are to drink water spa ringly; your drink12 is to be the sixth of a hin and to last the whole day . -Take this food in the shapeI ) of a barley cake baked where the y can see you , over human dun g. -And say,

"Yahweh, the God of Israel , says th is:" This is the way the Israelites will have to14 eat their defiled food, wherever I disperse them among the nations".' ·1 then

said, 'Lord Yahweh, my soul is not defiled. From my childhood unt il now, I havenever eaten an anim al that has died a natural deat h or been savaged ; no unclean

15 flesh has ever entered my mouth .' · 'Very well,' he said ' I grant you cow's dung"I'. instead of human du ng; you are to bake your bread on that .' •He then said , 'Son

of man, I mean to destroy the stock of bread" in Jerusalem ; in their distressthey will eat bread st rictly weighed ; in terror they will drink water grudgi ngly

17 measured, -since bread and water will be scarce; they will all pine and waste awayas a result of their sins.

1 5 'Son of man, take a sha rp blade, sharp as a barber's razor ; take it and useit on your head and bea rd . Then take scales and divide the hair you have cut

2 off. •You are to set fire to a third in the centre of the city , while the time of thesiege is workin g itself out. Then take another third and toss it by sword point a llround the city. The last third you are to scat ter to the wind, while I unsheathe the

1 sword behind them ." -Then take a few hairs" and wrap them in the folds-I of your cloak ; -and of these aga in take a few, and th row them on the fire and

burn them. Fro m them will issue fire,' and you a re to say to the entire Ho use of5 Israe l," · "The Lord Yahweh says this: T his is Jerusa lem, which I have placed" in the middle of the nat ions, surrounded with foreign countries. -S he is so

perverse that she has rebelled more agai nst my obse rvances than the nations,

I. BEFORE THE SIEGE OF JERUSALEM

Then he said, 'Son of man. go to the House of Israel and tell them what 4

I have said . •You are not being sent to a nation that speaks a difficult forei gnlanguage; you are being sent to the House of Israel. •Not to big nations thatspeak difficult foreign lan guages, and whose words you would not und erst and-if I sent you to them, they would listen to you ; •but the House of Israe l will not 7

listen to you because it will not listen to me. The whole House of Israel isstubborn and obstinate . • But now, I will make you as defiant as they are, and as 8

obstinate as they a re; •I am going to make your resolut ion as hard as a diamond 9

and diam ond is har der than flint. So do not be af raid of them , do not be overaw edby them for they are a set of rebels.'

Then he said , 'Son of man , remember everything I say to you, listen closely, 10

and go to your exiled countrymen and talk to them. Tell them, "T he Lor d II

Yahweh says this", whether they listen or not.'The spirit lifted me up , and behind me I could hear a tumultuous shouting, 12

'B lessed be the glory of Yahweh in his dwe lling place' .•This was the sou nd of the D

animals' wings beating against each other, and the sound of the wheels besidethem; a tumultuous shouting. -The spirit lifted me up and took me; my heart, 14

as I went, overflowed with bitterness and anger, and the hand of Yahweh layheavy on me. ·1 came to Tel Abib, to the exiles beside the river Cheba r where 15

they were then living; and I stayed with them for seven days like a man stunned.

The prophet as sentry b

After seven days the word of Ya hweh was addressed to me as follows, 16

'So n of man, I have appointed you as sentry to the House of Israel. Whenever 17

you hear a word from me, warn them in my Name. •If I say to a wicked man: 18

Yo u are to die, and you do not warn him; if you do not speak and warn himto renounce his evil ways and so live, then he shall die for his sin, but I will holdyou responsible for his death.• If, however, you do warn a wicked man and he 19

doe s not renoun ce his wickedness and his evil ways, then he shall die for his sin ,but you yourself will have saved your life. •When the upr ight man renounces 20

his integrity to do evil and I set a trap for him, he too shall die; since you failedto warn him, he shall die for his sin and the integrity he prac tised will no longerbe remembered ; but I will hold you respo nsib le for his death.• If, however, you 21

warn the upright man not to sin and he absta ins from sinn ing, he shall live,thanks to your warning, and you too will have saved your life.'

Ezekiel is str uck dumb

While I was there the hand of Yahweh ca me on me; he said, 'Get up, go out 22

into the valley ; I am going to speak to you'. ·1 got up and went out into the 23

valley; the glory of Ya hweh was rest ing there, like the glory I had seen bythe river Chebar, and I prostrated myself. -The spirit of Yahweh then entered me, 24

and made me stand up, and spoke to me.He said, 'Go and shut yourself in you r house.•Son of man , bo nds are now 25

about to be laid on you ;' you will be bound with them and not be able to mixwith oth ers. ·1 am going to make you r tongue st ick to the roo f of your mou th ; 26

you will be dumb; you will stop warning them , for the y are a set of rebe ls.•When 27

I spea k to you, I shall open your mouth and you will tell them, "The LordYanweh says this" . Wh oever will listen, let him listen ; whoever will not , lethim not; for they are a set of rebels.

The siege of Jerusalem foretold

4 'Son of man , take a brick and lay it in front of you; on it scratch a city,Jerusalem.• You are then to besiege it,a trench round it, build earthworks, pitch

8:4

1:28

2:2

Jr 18:1 +

26:8

24:27; 33:22

8:3: 11:1,24:37:1

I K 18: 12 +

ILk 2:13- 14

II

IPs 137:1

I'

II33:1-9

Is 2 1:6; 8:1 1Jr 6:17Ho 8:1

Heb 13: 17

18:24 :33:12-13

2 P 2:21,, I

Page 3: 33 Ezekiel

I~I 5:7 EZEK IE L / 366 / 367 EZE K I E L 7:19

their alt ars, on every high hill, on every mountain top, und er every spreading tree,under every leafy oak, in fact whereve r they offer an appeas ing frag ra nce to all

14 their idols. · 1 mean to st retch out my ha nd aga inst them a nd reduce thecou ntry to an empty was teland from the desert to Riblah ,' the length andbreadth of the country; a nd so they will learn that I am Yahweh." ,

The sins of Israel/

IS Outside, the sword; inside, plagu e and fam ine. Anyo ne who is found inthe countryside will die by the sword ; anyo ne who is found in the city will

I " be devo ured by famine and plague. -T hcir fugitives will run away and ma kefor the mo untains; I shall slaug hter them all" like do ves of the va lleys, each

: ~ for his sin. -W ith limp hands and quaking knees , - they will put on sackcloth ;and shudder all ove r. All their faces will be red with shame a nd every head

1" will be shaved. ' -They will throw their silver down in the streets and theirgold will fill them with horror. '" Never again will they have enough to eat,

The end is near

7 Th e word of Ya hweh was addressed to me as follows, ·'Son of man , say,"The Lo rd Yahweh says th is to the land of Israe l: Finished ! The end is

3 coming for the four quarters of the land . •Now all is over with you ; Imean to unleash my anger on you, an d judge yo u as your conduct deserves and

4 forc e you to an swer for all your filthy prac tices . • ( mea n to show you no pity,I will not spare yo u ; I am going to call you to acco unt for your conduct and forthe filthy pract ices that you pa rade; and so yo u will learn tha t I am Ya hweh .

The Lord Ya hweh says th is: Now disaster is going to follow on disaster. b

The end is coming, the end is comi ng for you ;' it is coming now.• Now it isyour turn ," you who live in th is countr y. The time has come, the da y is near; " no

H joy now , only tumult, on the mo unta ins. -Soon I am going to pour out myfury on you and exha ust my ange r at you; I will judge you as your co nd uct

<) deserves and call yo u to account for all your filthy practices. • ( mean to show youneither pity nor mercy. since I am goin g to ca ll you to account for /y our condu cta nd for the filthy practices which you parad e: a nd so yo u will learn that I amYahweh , an d that I strike.

III Here is the day! It has co me: you r turn has co me, the scourge is read y, fI pr ide: ~ is at its pea k. •Violence has risen to become the scourge of wicked ness .. ." •The

time has come and the day is nea r. Let neither buyer rejoice, nor seller regret ,13 for anger rages against all alike.' -The seller will not recover what he has sold ;14 they will all carryon sinning and be none th e stro nger for it. •The t rumpe t will

sound, all will be ready ; but no one will go into batt le, since my anger ragesagainst all alike.

Q

z;5

Dt 32:25," M I24:16­

IH

21:12

A m 8: 10

Ps 49 :7-8Zp 1:18

~ 7: 3 -4

Is 5:R.»R v 8:13 :

9: 12 ; 11: 14

R v 7:1

= 7:8-9

5:11

Am 5:18 +

Dt 12:2 +

Ex 29: 18 +

d . ' your turn ' t rans la tio n uncer ta in. lit. 'yourcro wn' , So a lso in v. 10.

c. T he ' ue v of Yah weh ', cf. Am 5 : 1~ I .

r. 'stucc I am J.:OiIlR to cal l yo u to acco unt fo r ' .:orr . ;'I a m Roi ng to iudn c yo u accordi ng 10 ' Heb r.

/-: ' Te xt ve ry obscu re . We have tri ed III gtve a tra ns­lat ion co nsis ten t wit h v. 7. Lit e ra lly. t he Hcbr. wou ldRive ' the cro wn has come ou t, the scep tre (or : rod ) hasb lossomed ' .

h. Th e end of this verse is unint ctliui blc. Lit. ' no t(coming) f rom them, no r fro m th ei r tumult o r theirm ul ti tud e. a nd th ey a rc wort hless'. T he G ree k int erpr etsthe who le verse 'H e will br eak th e pro p of the wicked ,wit ho u t tum ult , wit hou t has te".

i . Lit. ' ag ainst all it s (Jc rus alem's'h mul tit ude". Soalso in v. I ~ .

l . T his na ssa ee is th e seq uel of 6: I I ·I ~ ,

k . ' I sha ll stuua ntcr the m a ll" G rce k : 'a ll moan ing'Hcbr .

I , Siun of dis uracc .m. He br. ad ds 'Nei t he r the ir s ilver nor thei r gold

will be ab le to res cue them on t he day of th e wrat h ofYahweh', cf. ZP I: IS,

e . ' rebe llio us' co rr .: ' t ur bulen t ' Hcbr .f. ' p un ishmen ts' co r r .1:. ' reiecr' co rr.: ' sha ve ' Hebr.h. ' Ag a ins t yo u' co rr .; ' ag a inst th em ' H cb r .

() a . Hebr. insert s a t t he openin g o f the ver se ' I a m~o i n ~ to la y th e co rpse s o f the Isra elit es in fron t o f thei rId nls' , cr. Lv 26:30 .

b. ' You arc go ing (0 lea rn tha t I a m Y ahweh', arecurrent exp ression wit h Ezek iel. Ya hweh 's d eed s fo rcemen, how ever ill-d isposed , lO ac kno wledge his om nlpo­l CI1Ce, cf. Is 4 2:8 -+- .

c, ' I shall have broken ' vers ions ; '1 sha ll hav e bee nbrok en ' He br.

d. 'f ro m th e desert 10 Ri blnh ' som e MS S : 'a wast emor e desolate than the d esert of R ibla h ' T ext, Rcc .Rt blah . cf . 2 K 23:3 3: 25:6f . here stands for t he mos tnor therl y po int of Pa lest ine , and 't he de sert' is its so u­t hern bou nd ary ; cf. Jg 20: 1+ .7 a 'say ' is abse n t fro m Hebr.

b. 'd isa ster on d isaster' so me M SS and Svr. : ' a1I l n ~ le disaster , beho ld a dis aste r co mes ' He br.

c. Heb r. adds 'i t a wa ken s'

and more aga inst my laws than the surrou nding countries ; for she has rejected myobservanc es a nd refused to keep my laws.

T herefore, the Lord Ya hweh says this: Since you are more rebelliou s' 7

than the nations ro und you, since you do no t keep my laws or respect myobservances , and since you do not even respec t the observances of the surroundin gnat ions, 'so then , the Lord Ya hweh says this: I have now set myself aga inst 8

you, I will inflict punish ments! upon you for all the nations to see. •On account 9

of all you r filthy practi ces I will do thi ngs to you that I have never donebefore and that I will never do again . • Fathers among you will ea t their 10

children , an d children ea t their fat hers. I will inflict punishments on you anddisperse what remains of you to the winds. •Therefore, as I live-it is the I I

Lord Yahweh who spea ks-as sure as you have defiled my sanctuary with allyour hor ro rs a nd al l yo ur filthy prac tices, I too will reject " pit ilessly : I will notspare, ei ther. ·A third of your inhabita nts shall die of plague or sta rve to dea th 12

inside you; a third sha ll fall by the sword, outside you ; a thi rd I will scatter toevery wind, while I unsheathe the swo rd beh ind them.• My anger will be 13

sat isfied ; I mea n to sa tisfy my fury aga inst them and be avenged; they will knowthat I, Ya hweh, have spoken in my jealou sy, when I have exhausted my fu ryaga inst them . •1 mean to red uce you to a ruin, a n object of con tem pt to sur- 14

ro unding nat ions, in the eyes of all who pass by. • Yo u will become a n o bject of 15

contempt a nd shame, an exa mple a nd a thi ng of horror , to a ll the sur ro und ingnat ions, when I execu te my ju dgements on you in anger an d fury, wit h bitterpun ishments. I, Yahweh, have spoken . ·Aga inst you" I mean to send the deadly 16

ar ro ws of starvat ion-which will destroy yo u, since I shall send them to destr oyyo u-and I will destroy yo ur stock of bread . -A gainst yo u I mea n to send famine 17

a nd wild animals, to ro b you of your children ; plag ue and bloodshed sha ll visityou. I will summo n the swo rd aga inst you. I, Ya hweh, have spoken ." ,

Against the mountain s of Isra el

6 T he wo rd of Ya hweh was add ressed to me as follows, · 'Son of ma n, turntoward s the moun tain s o f Israel an d proph esy again st them. •Say , " Mountains

of Israe l, hea r the wo rd of the Lord Ya hweh. T he Lord Ya hweh says this tomo unta ins and hills a nd ravi nes and val leys: Listen : I a m going to summo nthe sword aga inst you and destroy your high places . •You r altars will be wrecked, 4

and your incen se burners smashed; your inha bita nts are going to be cut to piecesa nd thrown down in front of you r ido ls, •"and their bo nes spread all round your 5

a lta rs. •Throughou t your territ ory the towns will be destroyed a nd the high 6

places wrecked, to thc ruin and wrec king of yo ur a ltars, the shattering anda bolition of your idols, the sma shing of your incense bu rners a nd thc utt erdestruction of all your works. •Amo ng you men will fall , a nd be cut to pieces: 7

and so you will learn that ( am Ya hwe h."But I shall spa re so me of you ; they will esca pe the sword and be dispersed 8

by me amo ng the nation s.• Yo ur survivors will remember me a mo ng the nat ionswhere they have been depo rte d. I sha ll have broken " their wan ton hear ts forhavi ng deserted me, a nd blinded thei r adultero us eyes for ha ving faw ned onidols. T hey will loath e th emselves for all the wrong they have caused by their filthypractices, -and so they will learn that I a m Yahweh ; I have sa id, a nd I have 10

meant it, that I am go ing to inflict a ll the se disas ters on them .

The sins of Israel

T he Lord Ya hweh says this: Clap your ha nds , stam p your feet, and say : II

Alas ! for a ll the abomina ble sins of the House of Israel, which is about toperi sh by sword, famine and plag ue. •Far off, they will die by plag ue; nea r at 12

ha nd they will fall by the sword; those who a re spa red and besieged will d ie ofhun ger, since I mean to satisfy my fury agai nst them . •You will kno w th at I a m 13

Yahweh when their corpses, cut to pieces, lie there a mon g the ir idols, all round

Is 2:18Jr 10: 14- 15

M i 1:7

22:4

Lv 26:32

Ps 59:13

Ps 59: 13

Dt 32; 23

22:13

Jr 8: 1-2

Jr 1:16

4:16R v 6;1

Lv 26:29D t 28: 53

Jr 19:9Lm 2:20: 4:

10L~' 26:33

Mt 12:38-42

7:4 : 8: 18: 9:10 ; 24: 14

Is4:3 +

Lv 26:40-4 1DI 30:1-2

16:23Ps 5 1:3

Lv 26:30-3 1

11 ~I

Page 4: 33 Ezekiel

li t)

II7:2 0 E Z EK I E L 1] 68 1369 EZEK IE L 10:9

A vision of the sins of J erusalem

14:1: 20:,1 8 In the sixth year , on the fifth d~y of the sixth month ,« I was s i tt i ~g at home 1

1:3 - and the elders of Judah were sittmg With me, when the hand 01 the LordYahweh fell on me.

1:26-28 I looked and saw something that looked like a man ." Downwards from what 2

seemed to be his loins he was fire; and upwards fro m his loins he seemed to shineD n 1 1~;~ like polished bron ze.' - He stretched out what seemed to be a hand and took 3

3: 12 me by the hair ; and the spirit lifted me into the a ir and, in visions from God," tookD' 31:1 / me to Jerusa lem, to the entrance of the inner nor th gate , where the ido l of

i~2~~:~l~ f Jea lousy stands, provoking jea lousy.' -There I saw the glory of the G od of 4

Israel, as I had seen it in the valley. - He said, 'Son of man , raise your eyes to 5

the north' . I raised my eyes to the north, and there, to the no rth of the a ltargate, stood this statue of Jea lousy at the entra nce. • He said , 'So n of ma n, do 6

you see what they are doing? Do you see all the filth practise d here by the Houseof Israel, to drive me out of my sanctuary? You will see filthier prac t ices yet.'

He next took me to the entra nce to the court. I looked ; there was a hole 7

in the wall. -He said, 'So n of ma n, break through the wall'. I brok e thro ughthe wall; there was a door . •He said, 'G o in and look at the filthy thin gs theya re do ing inside' . ·1 went in and looked: all sorts of images of snakes and repul sive IU

animals and a ll the idols of the Ho use of Israel drawn on the wall all roun d.Seventy ciders of the Ho use of Israel were sta nd ing in front of the idols, among I I

them Jaa zaniah son of Shaphan, each one, censer in hand ; the fragranceLd6:1 of incense was rising. • He sa id, 'Son of man, have you seen what the elders of 12

the Ho use of lsrael do in the dark, eac h in his paint ed room? They say, "YahwehI S 2"~I:~ ca nnot see us; Yahweh has aba ndone d the country" . ' · He sa id, 'You will see .3

them at filthier pract ices still'.He next took me to the ent rance of the nort h gate of the Temple of Yahweh 14

where women were sitt ing, weeping for Tam muzJ .He said, 'So n of ma n, do you 15

see that ? Yo u will see even filthier th ings than that .'He then led me to the inner court of the Temple of Yahweh. And there, 16

at the entrance to the sanct uary of Yahweh, between the porch and the alta r,there were about twent y-five men, with their backs to the sanctuary of Yahweh

Jb 31:26 and their faces turn ed to the east. They were bowing to the east, towards the sun.He said to me, 'Son of man , do you see that? Is it not bad enough for the Ho use 17

of Ju dah to do the filthy th ings that they are doing here? But they fill the countrywith violence and pro voke my anger fur ther ; loo k at them now putti ng tha t

Jr I f: : ~ branch to thei r nost rils." • My anger forces me to it ; I will show neither pity 18

nor mercy. They may sho ut as loud as they like ; I will not listen to them.'

28:14.16G o 19:24Ps 11:6.» R v 8:5

11:13Is 6:1IAm 7:2.51<4:3

fI

Lm 4:13

nv8; 13

Ps 74:8Is 29: 14Lm 1:1,'M i 3:6

never again will they fill their bellies, since this has been the cause of their crimes .They used to pride themselves on the beauty of the ir jewellery, out of which 20

they made their loathsome images and idols. That is why I mean to make it anobject of ho rror to them. - [ intend to hand it over to be the plunder of foreign- 2\

ers and loot for local brigands, who will profane it. •I shall turn my face from 22

them; my treasury" will be profaned ; barbarians will for ce their way in andpro fane it.

Forge yourself a chain; 0 for the country is filled with bloody mur ders, the 23

city is full of violent cr ime. ·1 am going to summon the cruellest of the nations 24

to seize their houses . I will break the pride of their grandees ; their sanctua rieswill be profaned. -A nguish is on its way: they will look for peace and there 25

will be none.• Disaste r will follow on disas ter, rumo ur on rumour ; they will 26

pester the pro phet for a vision; the priest will be at a loss over the law an d theciders on how to advise. -T he king will go into mourning," the prince be 27

plunged in grief, the hand s of the country peo ple tremb le. I mean to treat themas their conduct deserves, and judge them as their own verd icts merit ; and sothey will learn that I am Yahweh." ,

The punishment"

9 Then as I listened he shou ted, 'Come here, you scourges of the city, andbrin g your weapons of destruction' . - Immediately six men advanced from Tb 5:4+

the upper north gate, each holding a deadly wea pon. In the middle of them wasa man in white, with a scribe's ink horn in his belt. They came in and haltedin front of the bron ze altar. -The glory of the G od of Israel rose off the cherubs ~;~t l 8+where it had been and went up to the thr eshold of the Temple. He calledthe man in white wit h a scribe's ink horn in his belt -and said, b 'G o all throughthe city, all through Jerusalem, an d mark a cross ' on the foreheads of all who ~nf~?i~~

5 deplore and disapprove of all the filth practised in it' . •I heard him say to the » Rv 7:2-3

ot hers, 'Follow him through the city, and strike. Show neither pity nor mercy;old men, young men , virgins, children, women, kill and exterminate them all. ~1,3A?l. 8But do not touch anyone with a cross on his forehe ad . Begin at my sanctuary.' /' R, 9:4

So they began with the old men in front of the Temple. -H e said to them , 'Defilethe Te mple; fill the cou rts with corpses, an d go' . They went ou t and hac kedthe ir way thro ugh the city.

While they were hack ing them down , I stayed behind ; I fell face downwardsand exclaimed, 'Ah, Lord Yahweh, are you going to annihilate all that is leftof Israel as you turn your anger on Jerusalem?' -He said , 'The guilt of the Houseof Israel and Judah is immense, boundless ; the country is full of bloodshed, the 24:9

city overflows with wickedness, for they say, "Y ahweh has abandoned the ~nO:ll +10 country, Yahweh cannot see" . -Right, then, I too will show no pity, I too will 5:1 1

I I not spare. I mean to call them to accou nt for all their behaviour.' -The manin white with the scribe 's ink horn in his belt the n came back and mad e hisreport, ' I have carried out your orders' .

10 01 looked, and I saw that abo ve the vault over the cherubs' head s there 1:22

was something that loo ked like a sapp hire, and there showed above them /' R v 4:3

2 the semblance of a throne. - He then sa id to the man in white, 'G o unde r thechariot, beneath the cherubs ; ta ke a hand ful of burning coal fro m betweenthe cherubs and scatter it over the city'. He went in as [ watched.

The cherubs were on the righ t of the Temple as the man went in, and the4 cloud filled the inner court. -The glory of Yahweh rose off the cherubs and 1:28+

up to the threshold of the Temple; the Temple was filled with the cloud and EXJ\i~31:5 the court was filled with the brightness of the glory of Yahweh. -The no ise of \ KR:IO-II

the cherubs' wings could be heard even in the out er court , like the thunder of ~;~9: 19

God Almighty when he spea ks. Ps 29:3fWhen he orde red the man in white to take the fire from under the chariot,

7 between the cherubs, the man went and stopped by the wheel; -one cherub 28:16

stretched his hand b towards the fire which was between the cherubs, took someR and put it into the hands of the man in white , who took it and went off. -I then

saw' that the cheru bs had what seemed to be a human hand under their wings.9 I looked; there were four wheels at the side of the cherubs, one wheel at the side 1:5-2 1

n, Possibly th e city of Je rusa lem . f. Assyro-Babvlon ian de ity of popular origin,o , Perhaps a llud ing to th e coming dep ort a tion ; but known in Mediterranea n myth o logy as Ado nis ('My

the text is doubtful. Lord') . Mourni ng was he ld for him every yea r in th ep . The se words. not in the G reek. may be a later mo nth of Ta m muz to commemor ate the peri od of his

nddi tio n : reference 10 the king is excep tio na l in E7k. sta y in th e und er worl d .S a . Sep tember-Oc to be r 592 . R. The cere mo ny referred to here cannot be iden -

b. ' lik e a man ' G ree k; ' like fire' Hebr. t fftcd with am' cer tainty ,c. As in 1:26-28. Yahweh him self appears to the

prophe t. ln ' v . 4 it is onl y the ' glory of Ya hwe h' . cf. 9 a. The vision will show tha t the punish me nt will no ta lso 1:28 . str ike indiscrim ina tely; it will spare th e innocent . cf .

d. These a re to show th e pr ophet th e guilt of 14:12+ .Jerusa lem, no t fo r past sins or for a ny co llec tive ide nu- b. '( he) sa id' G reek ; ' Ya hweh said ' Hebr.Ilcau on with sinners who di srega rd the Law . b ut for c. Lit. ' a tall' , as the Vulg, translates. In th~

present and po sit ive faul ts call ing for im med iate ancient scrip t this lett e r was crucifo rm .punishment , cf. 14:12 + . 10 a . Art er th e massacre of th e inh abitants, the

e . T he jea lousy of Yahweh aroused by any form dest ru ction of the C1ty itsel f.of idol atr y. This ' ido l of jea lousy' is perhaps the stat ue b. He br. ad ds ' between the cherubs ' .o f Astarte set up in th e Temple by M anasse h, 2 K 21:7. c . ' I saw ' vers ions; ' he saw ' Hebr

z(3

Page 5: 33 Ezekiel

Q.I

z;3

1:28 +Ex 24: t 6 ~

Lm 1:6

Jr 18:1 +

Jr 18:1+

Is 8:18 +

2:5-7Jr 5:21

Mk 8:18

43:3Ps 85:9M t 23:38

3:12

36:27Jr 31:31 ;+-

J r 30:22

39:29 : 44:,D t 30:6-8Jr 4:4 +Zc 7:12

36:24-25DI30:3-5

36:19

12: 10

g. 'a stns te heart ' , or per haps 'a not her hear t '(G reek ) : or ' a new heart ' (Sy r.). Cf. Jr4:4 +.

h . ' in them' versions.l. ' t hose whose ' co rr .j . Vv. 24-25 presuppose th at Ezekiel is livin g in

Ba bylonia. If the hypo thesis o f a mi nistry in Jer usa lemis to be ma int ai ned. these ver ses mu s t be regarded asadd it ions or ada p ta tions.12 a. T his ne w sy mbolic actio n, mimed. in du mb -sho w.for ete lls the a pn roaching deporta tio n of the populat ionof Jerusa lem .

b . ' ~hl our' versions.c. '1 went ou t' vers io ns .d, He bt . insert s ' t he crtnce' .

f . T he ci tize ns o f Jeru salem , spared fro m dep ort a­tio n . co nsidered th em se lves the cho sen o nes o f th enati on . Jere mi ah hall alr ea dy attacked th is ass umpt io n,pr o phesying . Jr 24. t hat Ya hweh wo uld u ltim atel yprefer th e exiles. Ezekie l adds th at possess ion of th eTe mple is o f litt le importa nce s ince Ya hwe h ca n be a'sanctuary' for his peo ple in a foreign co untry. cf.l:3 +

EZE K I E L

d. M eaning un cer ta in, possibl y 'c hariot' or ' whi rl­wino' .

e. Hebr. ad ds ' fro m besi de them' .I. W hich overlooks the Ked ron va lley to th e Mo unt

of Olives, cf. 11:23.g. Hebr . adds two unin telli gib le words.

11 a . Th is passa ge. 11:1-2 1. sh o uld be-attached to ch . 8(p rior to the destr uction of the city) un less it is adoublet . cr.8:7f. The vis ion of th e dep ar tur e of Yahweh,cf. 10: 18-22, sho uld have its nor mal co n tinua tio n in11:22-23.

b. ' Yah weh' is a bse nt fro m Hebr.c . 'S ha ll we ( li t. ' thev') not soon' Greek.d. A proverb. The cit ize ns of Jerusa lem believe

themselves safe , protec ted by their ramparts as the po tstands be twee n the mea t in it and the lire . Ezek iel t urn sthe: p roverb: th e ci ty is indeed a Do t - full of men foull ymurdered . Ya hweh will d r ive {l U I those wh o think tosbe trer there. La ter th e prophet o tte rs. aO\.I mimes.ano ther int er pretat io n of th e pro verb . 24:1-14.

e . '1 mea n to dri ve' G reek : ' yo u will be driv en' Te xt.nee .

1371

The mime of the emigrant"

12 The word of Ya hweh was address ed to me as follows, •'Son of man, youare living wit h that set of rebels who have eyes and never see, ears

and never hear, for the y are a set of rebels. •You, son of ma n, pack anexile's bund le and emigrate by da ylight when they ca n see you, emigrat e fromwhere you are to so mewhe re else while they watc h. Perhaps they will ad mit

4 then that they are a set of rebels. -You will pack your baggage like an exile'sbundle, by daylight , for them to see, and leave like an exile in the evening, mak ingsure that they are looking. •As they watch, make a hole in the wall, and go

" out through it." •As they watc h, you will sho ulder your pack and go out intothe dar k ; you will co ver yo ur face so that yo u can not see the country, sinceI have made you a symbol for the House of Israe l.'

I did as I had been told . I packed my baggage like an exile's bundle,by day light; and in the evenin g I made a ho le through the wall with my hand.I went OuF into the da rk and shouldered my pack as they watched.

The next morning the word of Ya hweh was addressed to me as follows, · 'Sonof man, did not the Ho use of Israel, did not that set of rebels, ask you what

III you were doing? -Say, "The Lord Ya hweh says this:" T his oracle is directed

The glory of Yahweh leaves J erusalem

22 The cherubs then spread their wings and the wheels began to move with them,23 while the glory of the God of Israel hove red over them. •And the glory of

Yahwe h rose to leave the city and paused on the mountain to the east of thecity.

24 The spirit lifted me up in vision , in the spi rit of God, and to ok me to25 the Chaldaeans, away to the exiles, and so the vision I had seen faded ; -and

then I told the exiles/ everything that Ya hweh had shown me.

Yes , I have sent them far away amo ng the na tions and I have dispersed themto foreign countries ; an d for a while I have been a sanctua ry for them in the

17 co unt ry to which the y have gone" . •Th en say, "The Lord Yahweh says thi s:I will gather you togethe r from the peop les, I will br ing you all bac k from thecou ntries where you have been scattered and I will give you the land of Israel.

18 They will come and will purge it of all the horr ors and the filthy prac tices. ·1 will19 give them a single heart ' and I will put a new spirit in them ;" ·1 will remove20 the heart of stone from their bodi es and give them a heart of flesh instead, -so

that they will keep my laws and respect my observances and put them into2 1 practice. Then they sha ll be my people a nd I will be their G od. -B ut thos e

whose ' hearts are set on their idols and their filthy practices I will call to acco untfor thei r conduct-it is the Lord Yahw eh who spea ks." ,

1370EZEK IEL10: 10

of each cherub, and the wheels glitte red as if made of chrysolite.•All four looked 10

alike, and seemed to be one ins ide the ot her. -T hey went forw ard four ways I I

and kept their course unswe rvingly, moving the way they faced and never swervingoff their course . -T heir bod ies, their backs, their hands , thei r wings, and the 12

wheels- the wheels of all fou r-were covered in eyes all over. • I hea rd that 13

the wheels were called 'galgal'.« -Each cherub had four faces: the first face 14

was the face of the cheru b, the second face the face of a man, the th ird the faceof a lion , the fourth the face of an eagle. ·The cher ubs rose ; this was the creature 15

I had seen by the river Che ba r. -As the cheru bs went forward, the wheels went 16

forward beside them ; and the wheels did no t swerve' even when the cherubsspread their wings to leave the ground .• When the former stopp ed, the latt er 17

stopped ; when the former rose, the latt er rose with them , since the spiri t of thecreature was in them.

The glory of Yahweh leaves the Temple

The glory of Ya hweh ca me ou t from the Temple threshold a nd paused over 18

the cherubs. -T he cherubs spread their wings a nd rose from the ground to leave, 19

and as I watched the wheels rose with the m. T hey paused at the entra nce to theeast gate! of the Temple of Ya hweh, and the glory of the God of Israe l hove redover them. -This was the creature tha t I had seen supporti ng the God of Israel 2ll

beside the river Cheba r, and I was now certa in that these were cher ubs. -Each 2 1

had fou r faces and four wings and what seemed to be human hands under thei rwings. -T heir faces were just as I had seen them beside the river Cheba r.v Each 22

moved straight forward .

The sins of Jerusalem (continued)"

11 The spirit lifted me up and ca rried me to the east gate of the Temple of I

Yah weh, the gate tha t looks eastwards. T here at the entra nce to the gatestood twenty-five men , a mong whom I saw Jaazan iah son of Azzu r a nd Pelat ia hson of Benaiah , leaders of the people. •Ya hweh" said , 'Son of man, thes e ar ethe wicked schemers who a re spreading their bad advi ce th rough th is city. •T heysay, "Shall we not soon' be bu ilding houses ? Here is the cook ing pot a nd we a rethe meat.": -T herefore pro phesy against the m, pro phesy, son of man .' -The ~

spirit of Ya hweh fell on me, and he said to me, 'Say, " Yahw eh says th is: I knowwhat you are saying, H ouse of Israel , I kno w how inso lent you are . -You havefilled thi s city with more and more cor pses of murdered men, you ha ve st rewnits str eets with yo ur victims. •And so, the Lord Ya hweh says this: The corpses 7

you have thrown into it a re the meat , and the city is the coo king pot ; but I mea nto d rive you out. ' •You are afraid o f the sword and I will summon it agai nst yo u- 8

it is the Lord Ya hweh who spea ks. · 1 sha ll drive you from the city a nd ha nd 9

you over to foreigners , and I shall carry out my sente nce on yo u; -you will fall 10

by the sword on the soil of Isra el; I shall execute j ustice on you ; and so you willlearn that I am Ya hweh. -Th is city will be no cooking po t for you , and you II

will never be the meat inside; I am going to execute justice on you on the so il ofIsrael ; -an d so you will learn that I am Ya hweh,whose laws you have not obeyed 12

and whose observances you have not kept ; instead, yo u have adopted the ma nnersof the nations round you." ,

Now as I was prophesying, Pela tia h son of Bena iah d ropped dead . I prostra ted 13

myself and cried aloud, 'Ah, Lord Ya hweh, are you going to wipe out a ll thatis left of Israel?'

The new covenant promised to the exiles

Th e word of Ya hweh was then addressed to me as follows , · 'Son of man , : ~

you r brothers, you r kinsmen, the whole Ho use of Israel, these a re to ld by thecitizens of Je rusalem, "You have been sent away from Ya hweh; it is to us that theland was given as our do main". " -Say therefore, "The Lord Yahweh says th is: 16

3:12

9:8 +

I r 24

33:24

24 :1·14

DI22:29·30

Rv 4:8

Rv 4:7

I 1:20

f1:28 +

Ex 24:16 +43:3

Lm 1:6

I

: ~Ii,

Is 6:2

Page 6: 33 Ezekiel

o

z;3

8:1; 20:1-4

Ps 59:13

1 59:7 +

Ps 87:6

22:28Jr 6:14 +Lm2:14M17:27Ac23 :3

14:4EZEKIEL1373

Against idolatry

14 When some elders of Israel had come to my hou se and sat do wn with me,the word of Ya hweh was addressed to me as follows, · 'Son of man, these

peo ple have enshrined their own idols in their hearts, they cling to the cause4 of their sins; am I going to let myself be consulted by them ? •Well then, speak

to them; tell them thi s, "T he Lord Ya hweh says this: Every memb er of theHouse of Israe l who enshrines his own idols in his heart, or who, clinging to the

e . Poss ibly fo re te lling two incid en ts at once : th e c. T he ill ust rat io n is pr esum ab ly tak en from reala ttempted escape of Ze dek ia h and hi s army through life: in a bo u t 590 B.C .. people were pr eoccupied witha breach in the walls, 2 K 25:4f. a nd the putt ing ou t of repair ing th e def en ces of Jer usal em . Eze kiel dr a ws ahis eyes before he was led captive to Baby lon . 2 K 25:7. mor a l lesso n : where th e wa ll sho uld have been rebu ilt .

r. Per haps a co mmand to perform a no the r symbo lic th e cracks ha ve merel y bee n plaste red ov er ; a n im age ofac tion. th e deceptive o p timism of th e false prophe ts.

g. The tra ns lat io n foll o ws the G reek . d . Hcbr. add s ' a nd it will fall ' ,b . People had ev idently refused to believe Ezek iel 's e . ' It will' Greek . Aft er ' ha il' Hebr. adds ' I shall

p rophecies of disasrer : he no w turns their wor ds aga ins t send' .t hem. r. Fo llowing th e co mpla ints aga ins t spuriou s13 a . 'p ro phesy' Greek : ' who prophesy' Hebr. pr op het s co me o bsc u re a llusio ns to wha t appear to be

ma gical o r idol a tro us pra ctices.b . T he wo rd 'peace' means no t mer el y the a bsence g . Lit. 'e very wris t' vers ions.

of dan ger from ab road but prosperity and harmony h. ' like (birds)' co rr .wit hin the community . cf . Jr 6:14 + . L ' YOUdistr ess th e heart' versi o ns.

The false prophetesses

17 ' And you, son of man, turn to the daughters of your peop le who make up18 pro phecies ou t of their own heads ; prophesy agai nst them '! -Say, "T he Lord

Ya hweh says this: Trouble is coming to the women who sew frills round wrists, "who mak e veils for people of a ll sizes, the better to ensnare lives! You ensnare

19 the lives of the men of my peop le while loo king after your own . -You dishonourme in fron t of my peo ple for a few ha ndfuls of barley, a few bits of bread, killingthose who ought not to die and sparing those who ought not to live, lying tomy peo ple who love to listen to lies.

20 Well then, the Lo rd Ya hweh says this. We sha ll see about these frills youuse for sna ring lives like birds. I intend to rip them off your arms, and free those

2 1 lives you try to sna re like birds." .1 am going to rip your veils to pieces andrescue my peop le from you; they will no longer be fair game for you . And soyou will learn that I am Ya hweh.

22 Since you dis tress with lies the heart ! of the up right man whom I wouldnever distress, and since you encourage the wicked man not to give up his wicked

23 ways and find life again, -very well, you will have no more empty visions, andyo u will not ma ke any more predicti ons. I mean to rescue my people from you ,and then you will learn th at I am Ya hweh." ,

speaks. -I am going to stretch my hand over the prophets who have empty visionsand give lying predict ions ; they will not be admitted to the co unci l of my peop le,thei r names will no t be entered in the Book of the House of Israel , they will not

10 set foot on the soil of Israel; and yo u will learn that I am the Lord Ya hweh, -sincethey have misled my people by saying: Peace! b when there is no peace. Instead

II of my people rebui lding the wall, these men come and slap on plaster. c -Tell12 these plasterers:" It will rain har d, it will hail,' it will blow a gale, -and down

will come the wall. Will not people ask : Where is the plaster you slapped on it?13 Well then, the Lord Yahweh says this : I am going to unleash a stormy wind in14 my anger , torrential rain in my wra th, hailst ones in my destructive fury. ·1 mean

to shatter the wall you slapped with plaster, to throw it down and lay its foun -dations bare. It will fall and you will perish under it; and so you will learn that Iam Yahweh.

15 When I have exha usted my anger again st the wall and those who plastered it, Isha ll say to you: The wall is gone, and so are those who slapped it over with

16 plaster, -these prophets of Israe l who prophesy about Jerusalem and have visionsof peace for her when there is no peace-it is the Lord Ya hweh who speaks."

137 2EZEK IE L1 2: I I

against Jerusalem and the whole Ho use of Israel wherever they are living ".Say, "I am a symbol for you; the th ing I have done will be done to them ; they I I

will go into exile, into bani shment" . •Their ruler will shou lder his pack in the 12

dark and go out through the wall: a hole will be made to let him out ; he willcover his face rather than see the country,' ·1 shall throw my net over him and 13

catch him in my mesh; I shall take him to Babylon, to the land of the Chaldaeans,though he will not see it; and ther e he will d ie. -And all those who form his 14

court, his guards and all his troops, I shall scatter to all the winds and uns heathethe sword beh ind them. •They will learn that I am Yahweh, when I scatter 15

them throughout the nations and disperse them in foreign count ries. - However, 16

I intend to leave some of them unscathed by sword, famine a nd plague, todescribe all their filthy practices to the peopl es among whom thcy will go, sothat these too may learn that I am Ya hweh.'

The word of Yahweh was addressed to me as fo llows, • 'So n of man , you are : ~

to tremble as you eat your brea d and to behave rest lessly and anx iously as youdrink your water," -a nd you are to say to the people of the country, "The 19

Lord Ya hweh says this to the citizens of Jerusalem scattered throughoutIsrael: The y are going to cat their bread in an xiety, and drink their water infear, unti l the country and those who live in it a re free" of the viole nce of all itsinhabitants. -The inhabited towns a re going to be destroyed and the count ry 20

will be reduced to desert; an d so you will learn tha t I am Ya hweh." ,

Popula r proverbs

T he word of Yah weh was addressed to me as follows, -'Son of man , what ndo you mean by th is proverb co mmon th rougho ut the land of Israel: Days goby and visions fade?"

'Very well, tell them, "T he Lord Ya hweh says th is: I will put an end to 23

this proverb; it sha ll never be heard in Israel again" . Instead, tell them:"T he day is comi ng when every vision will come true." -From now on there 24

will be no empty vision, no dece itfu l prophecy in the House of Israel, -si ncc 25

it is I, Ya hweh, who will speak . What I say is sa id and will soo n come tr ue;since wha t I pro no unce I will fulfil in your own lifetime , you set of rebels-itis the Lord Ya hweh who spea ks.'

Th e word of Ya hweh was addressed to me as follows, · 'Son of man , the ~~

House of Israe l is saying, "The vision that thi s man sees co ncerns thc dista ntfut ure; he is prophesying for times far ahead". -Very well, tell them, "T he Lord 2H

Ya hweh says this: T here will be no furt her dela y in the fulfilling of any of mywords. What I say is sa id and will co me tr ue- it is the Lord Ya hwehwho spea ks." ,

Aga inst the false prophets

13 The word of Ya hweh was addressed to me as follows, · 'Son of man ,prophesy aga inst the prophets of Israel ; pro phesy,a an d say to those who

make up prophecies out of their own heads, "Hear the word of Ya hweh. -T hc 3

Lord Ya hweh says this: Woe to the foolis h prophets who follow their ownspirit, without seeing anything ! • Like jackals in a ru in, so are your prophets, 4

Israel.You have never ventured into the breach ; yo u have never bot hered to 5

fort ify the House of Israel, to hold fast in ba tt le on the day of Yahweh. •T hey 6

have empty visions a nd give lying prop hecies a nd say: It is Yahweh who spea ks,a lthough Ya hweh has no t sent them ; and they a re still waiting for their word sto co me true. · Can you deny that you have only empty visions, that you utt er 7

only lying prophecies when yo u say: It is Ya hweh who speaks, when I myselfhave not spoken?

Very well, the Lord Ya hweh says this: Beca use of your em pty words and 8

lying visio ns, I have now set myself aga inst you-it is the Lord Yahweh who

Nb 11:23

.» Rv 10:6

Jr 1:11- 12

2 P 3:3-4

Am 5: IH+

Jr 14:13-16 ;23:9-4 0 :27:9-10.

16- IH: 28

III ...

~ 1 7: 20

H ab 1:14

I

II Lv 26: 33

T b 14:4

I

Ii ~ Is4:3 +

Ps 46:10

4: 16

Page 7: 33 Ezekiel

14:5 EZEKI EL 1374 1375 EZEKIEL 16:8

o.I:

z~

23Is 1:21J r 2:2; 3:6fHo 1:3:vIt 22:2- 1.J;

25:1- 13I n 3:29Ep 5:25-.'0Rv 17' 6:45

Hn2:5

16 a . Israel, fai th less wife o f Ya hweh. ' who re ' o f ali e ngo ds: a fami liar irnaue in pro p he tic liter a tur e from Hoo n wards, cf'. 110 1:2 t , Eze kiel deve lo ps il in a lo ngal kg l1ry (r esumed in another form in "..h . ~ .~ ) s ll l"\'ey i n~

th e wh ole h ist\ll"Y (11' Isra el tch . 20, c t . 22. is a dir ec tacc o un t o f th c sa me eve n ts). As in It o . thi s a llegoryends. vv. 6()-6 .~. wit h a free pa rdo n from t he h usb andwho es ta blis hes a new co ven a nt. th us nr ctlgurtug thema rr-iage o f G o d wit h his nc onle in mcssiu tuc dnvs. ath em e which is tak en u p in the N .T.

b. II cbr. repeat s ' A nd I sa id til yo u: Live in yo u rb lood', The c hild rem ai ns po llu ted with b loo d a ndgrows like a w-i11.1 plan t un til the covenan t of Sinai .repre se n ted lu-re as a wed d ing. vv. xf.

c. ' grow like ' Iolt owlng S}T,: Hebr . ins erts ' I shal lmak e YOU' , ' o f marriageable aac ' corr . : 'w it h th efinest jewels' Hebr.

the se usscrttons , if stricl ly a nd excl usively app lied tohuman life in thi s world . are co ntra dic ted by everydayex perie nce (d. Job) . a nd th is com radicticn ca lls fo rfu rth er doctrinal ucvcton mcm effec ted by the rcvelu ­lio n of sunc uo ns be yon d the grave (d. Inr rod uc tlo nto Wis dom Bunks). In th e end. thc N .T . (a mi especia llySt Paul) reso lves the ten sio n between Ihe indi vidualismof En'kiel and th e p rin cip le of collec tive so lid ari ty bysho wing how C hr ist ian 11(Ipe is ba sed o n fa ith in t herise n C hr ist in uni on wit h whom mankind . manki ndcreated a nd sa ved b y (ind . is unit ed in red em p tio n asit was nrc vious ty in s in,

v. lsructt tc tra d itio n wa s ev ide nt ly familiar with theD a ne l ce leb ra ted in t he Ras-Sh a m ra text s for h iswisd om a nd vir tue .

f. ' conn- Ive t he esca pe of' ve rs ions .A. T he w icked de eds wh ich will convince the: exi les

that Yahwe h has bee n fu lly jus tified in in f'licjing suchtr cutmcru o n Jerusal em .15 a . If th e co m partson is to be urged . Isra el has bee nde p rived o r th e terrillll')' o r Su mar ta in 720 and of Ju da hin 5\)7. Jer usale m itsel f (t he ' m idd le') is no lo nger"in tac t' since it 11:Is a lrea dY suffered siege a nd dcno rta­t iou .

W hile it was in tact, it was impossib le to carve;bu rne d and charred, will it be now fit for carvi ng?Therefo re, the Lord Ya hweh says this:As the wood of the vine among the forest trees,which I have thrown on the fire fo r fue l,so have I treated the citizens of Jerusalem.I have turned my face agai nst the m.T hey have escaped th e fire, but the fire will devour them yet.A nd you will learn tha t I am Ya hwe h, when I turn my face

aga ins t them.( mea n to reduce th e co untry to de ser t, to punish thei r fait hlessness to me- it is the Lo rd Ya hweh who speaks.'

14 a. In the lenistation o f Ezk , the fo reien cr se u fiugin Isr ael . d. Ex 12 :4~H- . has the same lega l sta tus as' anIsr ael ite . Elk 47:22 .

b. Ya hwe h refuses to Rive a n a nswer thro ugh hisprophet when t he apos tate Isr aelit es co nsult him . li ewill answer t hem him sel f by punishi n u them .

c. I.e . if t he pro p het all ows himsel f to be led as tray ,I m yself shall have permitted h im to be led as tra}.' ,becau se I have decided to destroy h im,

d . W ith ch. 18 a nd 33:10-20. t h is te xt ma rks adeci sive ad va nce in the develo p me n t of moru t rea chi ngin the O.T. Early texts were ma inl y co ncern ed with theind ividual as a n in teg ra l pa rt o f familv. tr ibe a nd . lat er .na tio n , Not o n ly N oa h b u t h is relatio ns to o a rc saved.G n 6: 18 : Ab ra ham is ca lled b)' God b u t h is wh ole cla nacco mp an ies hi m to C a naa n. G n 12. This o ut loo k a lso.co nJ it ioned co nce p ts o f res po nsib ili ty and o f re tri­but ion . When A b ra ham in te rce d es for So do r n. G n 18:22-23. he is as king no t th at the goo d be isolated a ndspared b u t tha t, by vir tue of a soli d ari ty that ca n workboth ways. the eood sho uld ea rn Immunij v for t hewick ed . It had been ta ken for granted tha t a ci ty or ana tion wo u ld be pu nished as o ne ent ity, vir tuo us andsin ner a like . and also t ha t th e fa te of the ch ildre n wou ldco rrespo nd tr- th e behavio u r of th eir father s. Ex 20:5 ;O t 5:9. cr. J r 31:29 = Ezk 18:2. But the prophets werela te r to lay st ress o n th e individual a nd thus co r rect theem phasis of the earli er te ach in g. Jeremiah ma y sec assomething s till to co me the break wit h th is so lidar it y insin uno punishment between the nenerunons.J r 31: 29-J O,bu t the Dcu tero no mist has a lready protested ag ainstthe punishm e nt o f the ch ild ren fo r the sins o f thefathers, D t 24: 16, cf. 2 K 14:6. Eze kie l, co n vinced bythe visio n of ch. H- IO th at the imminent punishment ofJerusa lem is d ue to her present s ins, bec om es th echam pio n and ex po nen t of the p rinci p le of ind ivid ualresp on sibi lit y. A man's sa lva tio n o r ru in docs no tdepe nd o n a nces to r or associa tes : no t eve n on his ow npas t life. Ya h weh is co nce rned o n ly with h is pr ese ntdi spositions. T he se radi ca l asser tio ns of indi vid ua lismwill in t heir turn be qualifi ed by t he principl e of so lid ­ari ty as expresse d in the fo u rth sons of th e se rva n t ofYahweh , Is 52:13 -53:12, e~. Is 42: 1+. In a n)' case ,

An a llegorica l history of Israel "

16 T he wor d of Ya hwe h was add ressed to me as follows , ·'Son of man ,co nfro nt Je rusa lem with her filth y crim es.•Say, "The Lo rd Ya hwe h

says thi s: By or igin and bi rth yo u belong to the land of Ca naan. Yo ur fat herwas an Amorite a nd yo ur mot her a Hi ttite. ·A t birt h, the very da y you wereborn , there was no one to cut yo ur nave l-stri ng , or was h yo u in clea ns ing water,or ru b yo u with sa lt, or wra p you in na pkins . •No one leaned kind ly over youto do a nything like th at fo r yo u. You were exposed in the o pen fields ; youwere as un loved as that on the da y yo u were bo rn.

( saw yo u st ruggling in yo ur blood as ( was pass ing, and I said to you asyo u lay in yo ur blood: " Live, •and grow like the grass of the fields. Yo u deve loped ,yo u grew, you reac hed mar riagea ble age.' You r breasts and your hai r bo th grew,bu t yo u were quite nak ed . •T hen I saw yo u as I was pass ing. Your time had co me,

'Son of man , how is the wood of the vine betterthan wood fro m the bran ch of a forest tree?Do peo ple use its wood to ca rve it into something?Do the y make a peg o ut of it, and hang things on it?There it is, thrown on th e fire fo r fuel.T he fire burns off bot h ends ;the middle is charred ; is it fit for carving now?"

cause of his sins, comes looking for th e prophet, will get his answer from me ,Yahweh, on acco unt of his hundred s of ido ls"; •and in th is way I ho pe to to uc hthe hea rt o f the House of Israel who ha ve dese rted me in favour of a pack of idols.

'Say therefo re to the House of Israel , "The Lo rd Yahweh says this: Co meback, renounce your ido ls and give up a ll yo ur filt hy prac tices; -for if a ny memberof the House of Israel-or even any fo reig ner living in Israelv--descrts me toenshrine his own ido ls in his hear t, and, clinging to the cau se of his sins, th encomes looking fo r the prophet to consult me, he will get his answer from me,Yahweh." •I will tu rn ag a inst thi s man; I will ma ke him an example and abywo rd; I will cut him off from my peopl e; and you will learn th at ( a m Ya hweh.If the prophet is led as tray and speaks , it is I, Ya hweh, who ha ve led thatprophet as tray;' ( will stretch out my ha nd against him and will wipe himout from my peo ple Israel. •T hey will bear the weight of the ir fa ult s, a nd the 10

fault o f the prophet will be as grave as the fault of the man who con sult s him.So the Ho use of Israe l will not de sert me any more ; it will not defile itse lf with II

any more of these sins. T hey sha ll be my people, a nd I will be their God- itis the Lord Ya hweh who speaks." ,

Individual respo nsibility"

The word of Yahweh was addressed to me as follows, ·'Son of man , if a : ~

co untry were to sin aga inst me by fait hlessness, and if I were to st retch out myhand against it and destroy its stoc k of bread a nd send fami ne to it to ki ll itsme n a nd beas ts, -and if in tha t co untr y th ere were th ese thr ee men , Noah, Da nel 14

a nd Job," these me n would hav e the ir lives spared because of their int egr ity- it is the Lo rd Ya hweh who spea ks.• We re I to unl eash wild anima ls on that 15

co untry to ro b it of its child ren and red uce it to suc h a dese rt that no one wo ulddare to cross it becau se of the a nima ls, -a nd if th ese th ree men we re in th a t 16

co unt ry, the n, as I live-it is the Lord Ya hweh who speaks- they would not beab le to save eithe r so n o r daughter ; they a lone would be saved, a nd the co unt rywo uld beco me a desert. ·11' I were tu br ing th e swo rd into tha t cou ntry a nd 17

say : Let the sword pass thr ou gh the country; I will strike down men a ndbeasts wit h it, -a nd if these three men were in that count ry, then, as I live-i t I K

is th e Lo rd Ya hweh who speaks-they would not be able to save either so n o rdaughter ; th ey a lone would be saved. · 11' I were to send the plague into that 19

cou ntry and satisfy my anger with them by bloodshed, cu tt ing o lTmen a nd beasts,if Noah and Da ncl a nd Jo b were in the country, as I live-i t is the Lord Ya hweh 20

who spea ks - they would not be a ble to sa ve either son or da ughte r, thoughth ey wo uld sa ve their own lives becau se of the ir integrity .

'The Lo rd Ya hweh says th is: Now, if I do send my four dr eadfu l sco urges 2\

against Je rusa lem-sword, fam ine, wild a nimals and plague-to cut ofT its menand beasts, · and if an y surv ivors a rc left there to contrive th e escap e off 22

so n a nd dau ghter, they will com e fur you to sec thei r conduct and actions andso be co mforte d in spite of th e sco urges I sha ll have brough t on Jeru salem,in spite of eve rything I sha ll have bro ug ht on her. •T hey will co mfort yo u, when 23

yo u see th eir co nduct and ac tions," a nd so you will learn that I have not doneall I have do ne aga inst her fo r nothi ng-it is the Lord Ya hweh who speaks.'

Rv 6:8

Jr 5: 1

R v6:1

Is 5: 1+ A parable of the vine

I n 15:6 15 T he wo rd of Ya hweh was ad dressed to me as follows:

Lv 2/l:22

18 :33: Io-zo

28:3Gn IS:22-3J

.lh 1: 1

)

II)

Page 8: 33 Ezekiel

oJ:

z~

Ho 2:5 . ~

Ifd

21:1

36: 31

(in ]\)

20:.19

3fJ:21L \' 211 :41J r3 1 : 3 . 3 1~ q

Ho 2 : 1 6 · 2 ~

16:6 1

m. ' on rour OWI1 head' versio ns . " l ave Y\lU not'co r r.

11. ' o f yo ur sisters ' co rr.: ' of your si ster ' H ebr.0 , The ' Jcf't' a nd 'rig h t' as o ne fuccs ca st, i.c. no rt h

a nd so u th .p , Tr nn ..lation coni.II , ' vo u h av e see n' ClHT.: "l have seen ' Hebr.r . '~'OU I s .s tcr , ' (I\\ kc ) versions.s. ' D id yo u no r' l.:orr . : ' You did not ' He b r .I. 'you . na ked ' lit , ' Y0 Ur nakedness was un ­

co vered ' co rr .. cr. v. 3'7: ' yo ur wickedness' Hebr ."N o w. YOU' l i t. 'A nd (o r '''\s' ) now you are Ihe scor no f t he daua tuers . co r r. 'E dom ' co r r. : ' A rum'Il/: h r .

u. ' I rak e' cor r . : 'you take ' Hcbr .

EZ EKI EL/377

J6 d . Hcbr . adds two uni ntelli aib le words ab sent fromth e vers ions.

c . Possiblv t his mean s ' tcn ts on the high p laces' ,r. Fo ur unt ra nsl atable words. lit. ' they do not

co me a nd it will no ! be so'.

g. T he Phil istine th reat was renewed lo ne after theiudges and Sau l. i n the dars of Ahaz , 2 C h 2X:! X, andeven of H czck tah .

h. Especi a lly in the reign of Ma na sseh when ido la tr ywa s en coura ged by for ei gn all iances .

i , Text u ncert ain .

[. ' built' and "ou t fo r': vers ions.

k , l.u . 'b ecau se ( If yo ur ch ildren ' s blood' vers io ns.

I. ' I intend to hand ~' OU o ver In f ur y' cor r.

40 off, ta ke yo ur jewel s and lea ve yo u completel y na ked. •T hey will then whipup th e crowd ag ainst yo u; you will be stoned and run thro ugh with a swo rd ;

41 t hey will se t your houses on fire a nd execute j ust ice on yo u with crowds of wo menlo ok in g on ; I will put a n end to yo ur whoring: no more paid lo ver s for yo u.

4 2 I will exhaust m y fury aga ins t yo u . My jealousy will th en leave you ; I sha ll43 be appeased and my anger will sto p. •Since yo u have never remembered your

you th , s ince in all thi s yo u ha ve done nothing but provoke me, I in m y turnintend to bring your cond uct down on your ow n head -it is th e Lo rd Yahwehwho speaks. Have you not bee n di sgusti ng wit h a ll your filt hy practices?"

44 Now all the proverb-makers will make up a proverb about yo u: Like mother,4 5 like daughter. •Yes ; you are a t ru e daug ht er of yo ur mothe r, who hated her

husband and her children ; a true sister of yo u r s isters, " who hated their husba ndsand their child ren . Your mothe r was a Hitti te a nd your fa th er a n Amo rite .

4 6 Your elder s ister is Samaria , who lives on yo u r left with her daughters. Your47 yo unger s iste r is Sadam, who lives on yo ur r ight " with her daughters.• You

have not failed to copy their behaviou r ;" throughout yo ur career yo u ha ve48 shown yourself more corrupt than they were. •A s I live- it is the Lord Yahweh

who speaks-your sister Sadam and her daughters ha ve not been a s bad a s you44 and your daughters . •The crime of your siste r So dom was pride, glu tto ny, a rro ­

gance, complacency ; such were the sin s o f Sod om and her daughters. They ne ver'50 helped the poor and needy; -they we re proud and engaged in filt hy practices in5 1 front of me; that is why I have swe pt them away as you ha ve seen. 'I -A nd yet

Samaria ne ver committed half the crimes tha t you ha ve .You have done far filthi er things tha n they did . By you r filt hy prac tices

52 you have made your sis te rs see m a lm ost innocent , -and now yo u ha veto bear the shame for a ll those fault s o f which yo u ha ve clea red yo ur sisters ;s ince the grossness of the sins for which yo u bear the gu ilt is more horr ib lethan t he irs, they now appea r more virtuo us t han yo u a re . Be ashamed, th en :bear the shame of ha ving put your siste rs in the r ight. '

53 I will resto re them . I will restore Sodom and he r daug hter s. I will res toreSa maria an d her daughte rs; and, after that , I will resto re you a lo ng wi th th em ,

54 that yo u may bear you r sha me a nd be as ha me d of a ll yo u ha ve do ne, a nd so55 con sole the m . • You r s iste r Sodom a nd her da ug hte rs will be restored to what

they we re. Sa ma r ia a nd he r daug hte rs will he restored to wha t they were. You56 a nd yo ur dau ghter s will be res to red to what yo u wer e. • D id yo u nor - g loat57 ov er yo ur siste r Sodo rn when yo u we re st ill in your finer y, • before you we re

str ip ped na ked ? N ow the daug hters of Edorn a nd a ll the wo men a ro und are jeeringa t you, ' a nd the daughters of th e Philist ines a re treat in g yo u like so met hing

5" benea t h them, a nd so a re all yo ur ne ighbo urs. • You ha ve bro ught it on yo urse lfby your brazenness and filth - it is the Lo rd Yahweh who speaks.

59 For the Lo rd Yahw eh says this: I wi ll trea t yo u as yo u dese rve, yo u who/,n have despi sed your oat h eve n to the extent of b reaki ng a covena n t, • hut I will

remember the covenan t that I mad e with yo u when yo u were a gir l, and I wi ll'01 conclude a covena nt with yo u t ha t sha ll last for eve r . •A nd yo u for yo ur pa rt

will re member yo ur past behaviour and be cove red with shame when I take"

/ 376EZEKIEL16:9

the t ime for lov e. I spread part of my cloak over you and covered your nakedness ;I bo und mysel f by oa th, I made a cov ena n t with yo u-it is the Lord Yahwehwho speaks-and you became mine. ·1 bathed yo u in water, I washed the bloodo ff yo u, I a no inted yo u with oil. . 1 gave yo u embroide red dresses, fine leather 10

shoes, a linen headband a nd a cloak of silk .• I loaded yo u wit h jewels, gave you II

bracelets for yo ur wrists and a necklace for your throat . • I gav e yo u nose-ring 12

and ea rrings ; I put a beauti fu l d iade m on your head. -Y ou we re loaded with 13

gold a nd silver, a nd dressed in fine lin en and embroidered silks. You r food wast he fines t flou r, hon ey a nd o il. Y o u grew more and more beautiful ; and yo u rose tobe queen.•T he fa me o f yo ur beauty sprea d th ro ugh the nati on s, s ince it was 14

perfect, becau se I had clothed yo u with my own splendour-it is the Lo rdYahweh who spea ks .

You ha ve beco me infatuated with you r own beauty; yo u ha ve used yo ur 15

fame to make yo urse lf a pro stit ute; yo u ha ve offered yo ur se rv ices to a llco me rs .. ." •You hav e taken yo ur clothes to bri ghten your high places" and th ere 16

yo u hav e play ed t he whore .. .! • You ha ve taken m y presents of go ld and silver 17

jewe lle ry a nd made yo urse lf human images to use in yo u r whorings. • You ha ve IX

ta ken yo ur em bro ide red clothes and put th em on the ima ges , a nd the o il andincense whi ch are rig htl y mine yo u ha ve offered to them . •T he bread I ga ve 19

you, t he finest flou r, oil and ho ney wit h which I used to feed you, you ha venow offered to them as a n a ppeas ing fragrance.

You ha ve even- it is t he Lo rd Yahwe h who spea ks-·taken the sons and 20

Lv IX:2 1 1 daughters yo u bore me and sacr ificed them as food to the ima ges. Was it notenough for yo u just to be a whore?· You ha ve slaughtered my child ren and ha nd ed 2 1

them over as a burnt offering to them , -and in a ll your filthy pract ices and 22

your whoring s you ha ve never rem em bered yo u r yout h or th e tim e when youwere quite naked a nd strugg ling in yo ur own blood .

i'I :21 To crown yo ur w icked ness -tro ub le fo r yo u, it is th e Lo rd Ya hwe h who 23

II I 12:2 · spea ks -s-vyo u ha ve bu ilt yo urse lf a mou nd and made a high place at every cross- 24

roads. ·At the beg inning o f every road yo u ha ve buil t a hig h place to defi le yo ur 25

beauty there and to g ive your body to every comer; you ha ve pil ed who ri ng onIs 30:3 1 w ho ring .• Yo u ha ve lai n down for th ose big-membered neigh bours, th e Egy pt ia ns; 26

yo u ha ve piled whoring o n whoring to pr ovoke me, -a nd now I ha ve ra ised my 27

hand ag a ins t yo u. I ha ve ra t io ned your food, I ha ve han ded yo u o ver to th eme rcy of yo ur enem ies , t he daug hters of th e Ph ilist ines, " who a re s ick o f yo ur

2tf,lrt'--t'(~ filt hy ways . -S t ill un sa tisfi ed , you ha ve prostituted yourse lf to the Ass yr ia ns; yo u 2M

ha ve pla yed th e whore a nd not been sa tisfied even th en. " - Yo u ha ve piled w ho r- 29

17:4 in g o n wh orin g wi th Ca na a nite and C ha ldaea n, and even then not been sa t isfied .H ow eas ily led yo u wer e i-it is the Lord Y a hweh who spea ks- to be have 30

no bet ter th an a bo ld- faced who re ! - W hen yo u bu ilt yo urse lf a mound a t the 3 1

begin nin g o f eve ry road a nd mad e a high plac e a t eve ry cr ossr oads, yo u wer enot , lik e the whore, o ut for money ; ' 'an adulteress welco mes st ra nge rs in stea d J2

Ho M:9 -'- o f her husb and ; 'a pr ostitute is paid . But you , in your who ring, ha ve give n yo ur .1.1

pr esents away to a ll yo ur lover s; yo u have o ffe red them gifts to a tt ra ct t hemfrom eve ryw he re. • In you r wh oring yo u ha ve done the exact o p pos ite from 34

o ther wome n ; no o ne was running after you, so yo u went a nd paid t hem ; theyd id no t pay you since your beh av iour was so o utrageous.

Well th en , whore, hear t he word of Yahweh . •T he Lord Ya hwe h sa ys this: ~ ~

For hav ing und ressed a nd let yourself be see n naked wh ile who ring with yo ur/ R v 17:5-6 lo ve rs a nd wit h your filt hy id o ls, and for giving them your children's blood ' ­

for a ll th is, I am going to band together a ll t he lovers who ha ve ple asu red you, 37

both those yo u liked a nd th ose yo u di sliked, I am going to ba nd t he m to ge the ri.:n4?~ aga inst you from a ll a ro und; I will strip you in front of them , and let t he m see you

.'~~", f: ~ nak ed . · A nd I mea n to pu nish yo u like wo men w ho com mit adulte ry a nd murder ; 38

I intend to ha nd yo u over to fu ry and jea lo usy ; I will ha nd yo u ov er to th em; they 39

will leve l yo ur mound and de mo lish yo u r h igh places ; they will tear yo ur clothes

r'II D t 23:1 T

Ex 19: 1 +-

Ps ~5:1 -l - 15

1 Th 2 14

Dl32:13

I•

1: 1D I .H : 16 ;

32: 15J J t X: l lJ

Is 57:X

E.\ .\ 1:2J r 2:20

H n 2: IO

Page 9: 33 Ezekiel

yo ur elder and younger siste rs an d mak e th em your dau gh ters, a lt ho ugh th iswas no t included in thi s covenant. ·1 am go ing to renew my covena nt with yo u ;" 6 2

a nd you will lea rn that I am Ya hwe h, -a nd so reme mber a nd be covered with 63

sha me, and in your co nfusion be red uced to silence, when I have pardoned yo ufor a ll that yo u ha ve done -it is the Lord Ya hweh who speaks." ,

IjJ

oJ.

z~

= 1 ~ : 13

Hab 1:14

/ !\ot t D :3:!-: Lk 13:19

= 18:20D124: 16

Ps . , ):7-9Lk L5 1-53

I ·U 2 -l­33 : JO-2~

22 :6Ps 15:2-5:

24:36

IIl r 31:29 +

Lm 5:7

J b 22:0M t 25:J5f

2 K 24:2 0

18:8

d . ' W il l ( thix v ine) thrive '," so me M SS : ' (I t) w illt hrive' Text. uc c.

c . 'save ' co rr. : ' mukc' l ic br .f. "The nic k' corr.u . Af ter t he cxnluna to ry prose sect ion the poem is

resum ed and no w Iorc tclls the future res torat io n , de ­scr ibed as a mcssia ntc aue .

h. I lcbr. a dds 'a nd I will aive ". ab sen t from vers io ns.18 a . The followinl! catal ogue rec alls t he co nfes sio nsor ' p ro tcs ra no ns' whic h presumably acco mp an iedcer tai n lit u rgicul ceremo nies.

b. Ea ting (t he sacred meal) on ' hilol h p laces ' was aoracucc in ido la trous cults.

EZEKIEL

Fro m the top of th e cedar,"from the highest branch I will ta ke a shootand plan t it myself on a very hig h mounta in.I will plant it o n the high mount ain 01' Israe l.It wi ll spro ut bran ches and bea r frui t,an d become a nobl e ceda r.Every kind o f bird will live beneath it,every winged crea ture rest in the shade of its branches.And eve ry tree of the field will learn that I, Yahweh , am the o newho stunts tall tree s a nd ma kes the low o nes grow,who wither s gree n tr ees and makes the wit hered green.I, Yahweh, have spoken, and I will do it. " .

J379

v, Eze k iel insist s that these divine gifts a re bes towedfreely: Isra el 's repe nt a nce (which in effec t takes pla ceaf te r the csta b lishi na of th e new cov e nan t) does nOIea rn them; with th is emp ha sis o n God 's d isin terestedbenefi ts Ezekie l a nricina tcs the re velat io n of the N. T ..cr. I J n 4 : 10. etc .17 a . Nc buchad nczzar who in 597. hav ing deportedJehoia chi n . pu t Zedek ia h {In t hc rh ro ue. cf'. vv. 12(.

b. 'cedar ' corr.: ' o f t he lund' Hebr. Before ' by theside of ' Heb r. inser ts ' take', absent fro m G reek .

c. "another la rge eag le' COlT. fo lh lwi nR versions :'o ne large eau lc ' Hcbr. This eaalc is Egyp t, on whosehel p Zedekiah was a lways disp osed to rel y fo r SUPPOria gainst Babylon. cr. v. 15.

23

19

Individual respons ibili ty

18 T he word of Ya hwe h was add ressed to me as fo llows, ·'Why do yo u. kee p repeat ing thi s proverb in the land of Is rael:

The fa thers have ea ten un ripe gra pes ;and the ch ildren 's tee th a rc set o n edge?

'As I live- it is t he Lord Ya hweh who speaks-there will no lon ger be anyreas on to repeat thi s pr overb in Israel. -See now: a ll life belo ngs to me ; thefat her's life a nd the son's life, both alike belong to me . T he man who has sinned,he is the one who sha ll d ie.

'The up right man " is law-abiding a nd hon est ; -h e does no t ea t on themounta ins " or raise his eyes to the ido ls of the Hous~ of Israe l, does not sed uce

7 his neig hbour 's wife or sleep with a wo ma n during her periods . • He oppressesno one, returns pledges, never stea ls, gives h is own brea d to the hun gry, his clothes

H to the na ked.• He never cha rges usury on loan s, takes no interest, a bsta ins fro m

24

prince rebelled and sen t envo ys to Egypt, aski ng for hor ses and a la rge numberof t roo ps. Is he goi ng to thri ve? Wi ll a man who has done this go unpuni shed ?

16 Ca n he break a tr ea ty and go unpunished? -A s I live, I swea r- it is the LordYa hwe h who spea ks: In Bab ylon , in the co untry of the king who put him onthe thro ne, wh ose oath he has ignored, who se treaty he has brok en , there

17 will he die. • Despite th e pha rao h' s grea t a rmy and ho rdes of men, he will no tbe abl e to sa ve him ' by fighting, ho weve r man y eart hwo rks a rc ra ised, howev er

I X many tr enches dug to the loss of man y lives.• He has igno red the oa th and br ok enthe treaty by which he was bound . He has do ne a ll this a nd sha ll not gounpunished.

" And so, the Lord Yahwe h says this: As I live, I swea r: my oat h wh ichhe has igno red, my tre aty wh ich he has broken . I will ma ke them both recoi l

20 on his own head. ·1 mean to throw my net over him and ca tch him in my mesh;I mea n to tak e him to Bab ylon and puni sh him there for breaki ng his oa th to me .

2 1 T he pick ! of his army will fa ll by the sword, a nd the survivo rs be sca ttered toall the winds. A nd so you will learn that I, Yah weh , ha ve spoken.

The Lord Ya hweh says thi s:"

10

1378EZEKIEL16:62

The allegory of the eagl e

17 T he wo rd of Ya hwe h was addressed to me as fo llows, · 'Son of man , askthem a ridd le; pr op ound a parable to the Ho use of Israel. -Say, " T he

Lo rd Yahweh says thi s:

A la rge eagle," with hu ge wingsand a wide spa n,co vered with speckled fea thers,came to Leba no n.He to ok hold of thc top of the cedar,pluck ed all' the top bra nch,carried it 011' to the la nd of merchants,and set it down in a city of sho pkeepers.T hen he ca rr ied 011'a seed ling vine,and planted it in fertile soil ;by the side of a wide stream ,as a borde r he set it."T he seed ling grew, and tu rne d into a vine,not tall but well spread out;its branches grew up towards the eag le,its roots grew down.It tu rned into a vine ;it sent ou t stems and pu t out sprays.T her e was a not her lar ge eag le,"with huge wings a nd thickly feat hered.And now th e vine twisted its roots toward him,stre tched its bran ches towards himaway fro m the bed where it was plantedfo r him to wat er them .It was in a fer tile field , by the side of a wid e strea m,that the vine had been planted ,to grow shoots, bear fruitand become a noble vine."Say, " T he Lo rd Yahweh says this:Will thi s vine thri ve?"Will not the ea gle brea k its roots,and sna p up the fru it,so that a ll the new leaves will wither when they shoot?It will take no effort a nd no strong natio nto pu ll it u p by the roots.It is planted th ere ; will it th rive?Will it not shr ivel when th e cast wind blows?It will withe r on th e soil where it was gro wing ." ,

T he word of Ya hweh wa s addressed to me as follows: 11

'Say to that set o f rebels, "Do yo u not know what this means?" Say thi s, 12

"Listen; the kin g of Babylon cam e to Jerusa lem; he carried away the king a nd th eprin ces, and took them to where he lives in Babylon . • He took a member of th e 13

roya l fa mily a nd made a tr ea ty with him , fo rcing him to swea r loyal ty, aft er ha vingalready dep o rted the chief me n of the lan d , -so that the kingdom wou ld remai n 14

mod est and witho ut ambit ion and so maintain his treaty faithfully. • But the 15

Is 5:1

19:10

16:29

J r :22:6

JR 14:12

2K24:10- 17

Ii ul

'I

Page 10: 33 Ezekiel

o.x;

z~

2K24:8-17

Is 5: 1 --'-Ezk 17:6-10

Ps 1:3

Rv22:1 ~2

J n 15:6

Jb 40 :262Ch33:11

Jb 40:262 K 23:33 -34

19: I 2

c. ' com bin ed ' cor r.d . Ki ng Jeh o uhaz, deposed an d taken hack to Egyp t

hy Nc co in 609 .e. 's tor med thei r pa laces ' co r r , foll o win g vers io ns,f. A pp are nt ly Jch o iachin . ta ken cnnnve to Ba bylo n

in 597, T he n ro nhct docs no t men tion Jeh oia kim(609 -591') who d ied a nat ur al dea th a nd therefo refurn ish ed no lesson for Zede kia h and his co ruempor ­aries .

/-: . "like ' T a rn. A seco nd alle eo rv: the vine is thenation . onc e nrosncrous a nd no w sho rt ly 10 bede str o yed .

h. 'cl o uds' co r r .: 'ro r cs ' Hcbr.I. ' was b roken un ' a nd ' wit hered away: G ree k,

b. Th e lio ness is t he natio n o f Israel, the ki ngs herwhelps.

EZEKIEL

he learn t to tea r his prey;he became a man-cater.The nations comb ined ' aga inst him ;he was caught in the ir pit ;they dragged him off with hooksto the land of Egypt."Her expectati on thwarted,her hope dashed ,she took another of her whelpsan d made a young lion of him.He grew to prowl with other lions,and grew into a young lion;he learned to tear his prey;he beca me a man-eater.He stormed the ir palaces,'and sac ked their cities;the co untry a nd its inhabitants were alarmedby the sou nd of his roars.The nat ions marched out aga inst himfrom the surround ing prov inces;they spread their net for him ;he was caught in their pit.They caged him with hooks(they too k him to the king of Babylon);they took him into a fortress ,so that his voice: co uld never aga in be hea rdon the mou nta ins of Israel J

"Y our moth er was like a vine "planted beside the water ,fruitful and leafy,beca use the water flowed so full.It put out st rong branchesthat turn ed to royal sceptres ;they reached up , reac hed so highthey touched the clo uds; "men admired them for the ir heightand their thick foliage.But it was roo ted upa nd thrown on the gro und ;the east wind dri ed up its fruit;it was brok en up ;its stro ng branc h withered awa y; i

fire co nsumed it all.

/3 8/

c . ' who com mhs on e' vers ion s : ' a bro ther co mmit­ti ng ' H eh r .

d. 's ha ll ce rt a in ly not live' co r r.e . ' fro m evi l' fo~low i ng ( , rec k ; 'f ro m the wre tched '

H ebr.f. 'robbe d' an d ' m y people ' cor r.g . Not on ly is a ma ll not b urdened with the gui lt

o f his for ef athers, but he ca n esca pe the: burd en of h isow n pa s t. Her e the idea of ind ivid ua l. a nd not co llec t ive .obedience o r d iso bed ien ce is d ear ly stated, II is a ma n' sprese nt disposlt ton s. a nd these o nlv . t ha i det ermi nethe jud gem ent o f God. cf. 14: 11 - · and M I 3:: '19 a . This poem is a qinah, i.e. a la men t c huractcr tsedrhvth ruicallv by an inequ a lity o f th e lines within eachco up let. C f. El. k 1(1: 17- 1X: 27:3- 9.25- .\6. It is clea r lya llego rical . t ho ugh it is d itficult to li nd a mean ing fo r•111 Ihe deta ils.

11

12

10

/3 80EZEKIEL

"W ha t was your mother? A lionesssurrounded by lions;lying a mong the cubsshe nursed her whelps. /,She reared one of her whelpsand it grew into a you ng lion;

18:9

A lamentation over the rulers of Israel a

19 'As for you, rai se a dirge for the princes of Israel. -Say:

evil, gives honest ju dgement between man and man, •keeps my laws an d sincerelyrespects my obse rvances- such a man is t ruly uprigh t. It is Ya hweh who speaks.

' But if anyo ne has a so n prone to violence and bloodshed , who commits 10

one ' of these misdeeds-s-veven though the father never has- a son who dares I I

to eat on the mounta ins and to seduce his neighbour's wife, •who oppresses the 12

poor and needy , steals, fails to return pledges, raises his eyes to idols, engages infilthy pract ices, 'charges usu ry on loans and takes interest, then th is son sha ll 13

certainly not live ;" hav ing committed all these appalling crimes he will have todie, and his blood be on his own head.

' But if he in tu rn has a son who, in spite of seeing all the sins that his father 14

has com mitted, does not imita te him, -do es not eat on the mountains or ra ise 15

his eyes to the idols of the Ho use of Israel , does not seduce his neigh bour'swife, •opp resses no one, takes no pledges, neve r steals, gives his own bread 16

to the hu ngry, clothes to the naked, -absta ins fro m evil,' does not cha rge usury 17

or tak e interest, respects my observances and keeps my laws, he will not diefor his father's sins, th is so n shal l certainly live. • Because the fath er was violent , 18

robbed ot hers and never did good among my people," be sure he sha ll die forhis sins. • But you object. "W hy does the son not suffer for the sins of his father?" I ~

T he son, however, has been law-abiding a nd ho nest, has kept all my laws andfollowed them, and so he shall certainly live.•T he man who has sinned is the 20

one who must die; a son is not to suffer for the sins of his father, nor a fat herfor the sins of his son. To the upright man his integr ity will be credited, to thewicked his wickedness.

' But if the wicked man renounces all the sins he has com mitted, respects my 2 1

laws and is law-ab iding a nd ho nest , he will certai nly live; he will not d ie.? ·AIl 22

the sins he committed will be forgott en from then on; he shall live because of theintegr ity he has pract ised.• What! Am I likely to take pleasu re in the death of 23

a wicked man- it is the Lo rd Ya hweh who speaks-and not prefer to see himreno unce his wicked ness a nd live?

'But if the upright man reno unces his integrity, com mits sin . copies the 24

wicked man a nd pract ises every kind of filth , is he to live? All the integri tyhe has pract ised shall be forgott en from then on ; but this is beca use he himselfhas bro ken fait h and committed sin, a nd for this he sha ll die.•'But yo u object, 25

"What the Lord does is unjust" . Listen, yo u House of Israe l: is what I do unj ust?Is it not what you do that is unjust ? When the upright man renounces his integr ity 26

to commit sin and d ies becau se of th is, he dies beca use of the evil that he himselfhas committed. •When the sinner renounces sin to become law-a bidin g and 27

hon est , he deserves to live.• He has chosen to renounce all his prev ious sins ; 28

he shall certa inly live ; he sha ll no t die. •And yet the Ho use of Israel objects , 29

" What the Lord does is unj ust" . Is what I do unju st, you House of Isra el? Is itnot wha t you do that is unjust? •House of Israel. in future I mea n to judge 30

each of you by wha t he does- it is the Lord Ya hweh who speak s. Repen t,renounce a ll your sins, avo id a ll occasions of sin ! -S ha ke off all the sins you have 31

committed against me, and mak e yo urselves a new hear t and a new spi rit !Why are you so anx ious to die, House of Israe l? · 1 take no pleasu re in the death 32

of a nyon e- it is the Lor d Ya hweh who spea ks. Repent and live !

J r HI;8

~ 1 8 : 4

D'24:16In 8:2 1

- 33:20M1 16:27

3:20 ; 33:12- 13

- 33:17

~ 3 3 : 1 6

18:3 1: 33: 11ws 11:26

H o 11:9Lk 15:7. 10.

32I n 8:1 1

Rm 11:322P 3:9

11:19 I·J r 4:4 +

J J : II : /8:23ws 1:13Ho JJ:9

M ' 3:2 +I n 8:1 1

I! .!

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Page 11: 33 Ezekiel

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D 13 2:5 1

16:59-63

36:20 : 43:8Lv 17:1 +

Is 4:3 +

Dt 12::' .......

Lv 26:41

L v 18:2 1-f

20: 14Ps 78:.\8

20A3EZE KIEL

d. Pri mitive th co lo zv ascrt bcu custo ms and nru cr­ices 10 Yahweh fo r whi ch me n themselves we reresponsib le. He re Ezek iel seems to hav e in mind 1 1~e

20 a . July- A uu ust , 5<) 1. co mmu udmc nt 10 offe r Ihe new ly born (Ex 22:2~-29).

b. Like so meo ne tak iru; a n path . often so gwssl y misco ns trued by t he Israelites. c r.c. T he so le reason fo r Yahweh's fo rbe ar an ce wit h Lv IS:2 1 ; .

h is people . despite t he ir aD\)SWS~' . is the ho nou r o f hi s c, PI;w o n t he word Bamah: "high place ' =name. hahhamah: ' (w here ) you ~ l\' ,,;: huhb aim,

f. The express io n indi cates th e deser t of Syr ia.e , As the shcnbc rd makes th e sheep file past him

III count th em . d . Lv 27:32. See Elk 34:1+.h: 'a few' G reek.i. ' likt:' co r r.: ' in' Hebr.

/3 83

hand; respect for my ow n na me kep t me from a llow ing it to be profa ned in the23 opinion of th e nat ions, unde r whose eyes I had brought th em ou t. -Once again,

however, I ra ised my ha nd ove r th em in t he wilderness, swearing to scatter2-l them throu ghout t he nati ons a nd d isperse them in foreign countries, • because

they had not followed my observances but had rejected my laws and p rofa nedmy sabbaths, and because they had kept their eyes fastened on their a ncestors'

25 id ols. ·1 even gave them la ws that were not good a nd observances by whic h they2(, co uld neve r live ;" -a nd I polluted them with their own offerings, maki ng them

sacrifice a ll the ir firs t-born; which wa s to punish them, so that they would learnthat I am Yahweh."

27 'For th is reason, son o f man. spe ak to the House of Israel. Say to them,"The Lord Yahweh says this: Here is an other wa y by wh ich your ancesto rs

2X outraged me, behaving treache rously to me, -even though I led them into the la ndwh ich I had solemnly swo rn to give them. There they sawall sorts of high hill s,all ki nds o f lea fy trees, a nd there they perfo rmed their sacrifices and madeofferings that provoked my anger ; there they la id their appeasing frag rance

29 and pou red their libations . · 1 sa id to them: What is the name of the h ighplace where you go? And they gave, and sti ll give it, the name of Ba mah ." >

30 Very well, say to the House of Israe l, "The Lord Ya hweh says this: Since yo uinsist on defil ing yo urselves by be hav ing like your fat hers, by whoring with their

3 1 idols,' by offeri ng your gifts a nd by burning your child ren as sacrifices . poll utingyourselves with yo ur pack of id ols ( 0 this very day, how can I let yo u con su ltme, H ouse of Isr ae l? As I live- it is th e Lord Ya hwe h who speaks-I a m not

32 go ing to let my self be co nsu lted by yo u. -And th at dr ea m ever haunt ing yourm ind will ne ver co me true , when yo u say: We sha ll be like th e nat ions, like fo re ign

.1.1 t ribes wo rsh ipping wood a nd sto ne . •As ( live I swear it-it is the Lord Yahwehwho spea ks- I a m t he o ne wh o will reig n over yo u, with a strong hand and

H o uts t retched arm. th ro ugh t he discharge o f my a nge r. •W ith a st ro ng han dand outs tre tched arm , t hrough t he di scharge of my anger, I will bring youout from th e peo ples a nd gather yo u togeth er from fo reign co u ntries a mo ng

.\5 which you ha ve been scattered .• ( will lead you int o the Desert of th e Nat ion s!

.16 a nd condemn you to your face . •As I judged yo ur fa thers in the deser t of the land.1 7 of Egypt. so will I judge you -it is the Lord Yahweh who spe aks.• I mean to3X ma ke yo u pass un de r my crook " a nd I will bri ng a few o f yo u" back i - I will sort

oat t he rebels w ho ha ve reb elled aga inst me . I int end to bri ng th em o ut of thecountry where they a re stay ing. bu t th ey sha ll not enter the la nd of Is rae l, a nd you

39 will lea rn that I a m Yahweh. • House of Israe l, th e Lo rd Ya hwe h says this:Go o n, all o f yo u, wo rs hip yo ur ido ls, but I swear th at yo u will hear me in th eend . You will stop pro fa ning my Holy Name with yo ur offerings a nd your idol s.

.10 Fo r on my ho ly mo untain . o n the high mountain of Israel-it is the Lord Yahwehwho speaks- is where th e who le House of Israe l, resett led in th e co untry, willwo rship me. T here I will welcome you, a nd th ere expect your presents, your

,II cho icest gifts and all yo ur holy o ffer ings. · 1 will we lco me yo u like ; a n appeas ingfragran ce when I br ing yo u out from amon g t he peop les ; I mean to gather youtogeth er from the fo re ign co untries in whi ch yo u ha ve been scattered: throu gh

-12 yo u I inte nd to d ispl ay my ho liness for all th e na tion s to see; -and you will learnthat I am Ya hweh , when I bring yo u bac k to the so il of Israel, to the land I

.13 so lemnly swore to give to you r fa th ers. •T here you will rem ember your past

q

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/382EZEK IE L

Now it ha s been transpl an ted int o th e de sert,the wa te rless co untry o f dr ought ;fire ha s co me out o f its stem,consu med its branc hes and fruit.No more strong bra nch for her,no more kingly sceptre." ,

This is a dirge; it was used as such .

19:13

16: 1+ An account of Israel' s infidelities

20 In the seventh year, on t he tenth day of the fifth month ," some of thc I

elders of Israel came to consult Yahwe h and sat down in front o f me.The word of Ya hwe h was add ressed to me as follows, • 'So n of ma n, speak tothe elders of Israel. Sa y, "T he Lord Yahweh says thi s: Have yo u come toconsult me?" As (live, I a m not going to let myse lf be consulted by them-it is th eLord Yahweh who speaks. • Are you ready to j udge them? Are you ready to j udge .I

them, son o f ma n') Co nfro nt them with the filth y pra ctices of th eir fa thers.Say , "T he Lord Ya hweh says th is: On the day whe n I chose Israel. whe n Iraised my ha nd over the descen da nts of the House of Jacob. I tol d them thenin the land of Egypt; I ra ised my hand over them /, an d said: I am Yahwe h yo urGod. -On that day I raised my hand ove r them and swo re to lead th em out "of th e land of Egypt a nd bring t hem into the la nd I had chosen for th em. a la ndwher e milk a nd hon ey flow , an d th e noblest o f th em a ll. ·1 sa id: Eac h o ne of 7

yo u mu st reject tho se horrors tha t attract you ; do not pol lut e yo ur selves wit hthe ido ls of Egy pt: I a m Ya hweh. yo ur God . -But they rebelled agai ns t me a nd"would not listen to me. Not on e o f them reject ed those hor rors th at att ract edthem ; th ey d id not give up the ido ls of Egyp t. I reso lved to d ischa rge my a nge ro n them and ex ha ust my fu ry ag a inst them in Egy pt. • But res pec t fo r my 9

own name ke pt me from a llowin g it to be profaned in t he o pinion o f t he nation samong wh om they wer e livin g,' fo r I had given them my word that in th e sighto f those nations I wo uld lead my peo ple out o f th e land of Egy pt. -So I h i 10

the m ou t of Egypt a nd into the wilderness.• I ga ve them my la ws a nd ta ug ht II

them my observances, which must be pra ctised by a ll who wa nt to live. ·1 12

eve n gave t hem my sabbat hs to be a sign between me and the m. so th at th eym ight lea rn t ha t I, Yahwe h, a m th e on e who sa nct ifies th em. -Thc Ho use o f 13

Is rae l, however, rebel led aga inst me in the wilderness ; th ey refused to keep mylaws, th ey sco rne d my o bserva nces, which mu st be pr acti sed by all who wishto live, a nd they pro fan ed my sa b ba t hs . T hen I resolved to d ischarge mya nge r o n th em in th e wilde rne ss a nd to destroy th em . • But respect for my 1.1

own na me kep t me fro m a llowing it to be pr ofan ed in th e opinion o f the nati on s,in whose sight I had b rou ght them out. • However . I did rai se my ha nd over 15

them in th e wilde rness a nd swea r that I wou ld not lead them to th e la nd whichI had given them , a la nd where m ilk a nd ho ney flow, the nob lest of the m a ll,since they ha d sco rne d my o bserva nces, had re fused to keep my law s and had 16

pr ofan ed my sa b ba ths , th eir hearts bein g so a ttac hed to idols. - In spite o f thi s, 17

I took pi ty o n the m; I refra ined from destroyin g them , a nd I di d not kil l th ema ll in the wilderness.

I sa id to the ir child ren in t he wilderness: Do not live by yo ur a nces to rs' IK

sta ndards, do not pr acti se the ob ser vances they pr act ised, do not defileyo urse lves with the ir ido ls. ·1 am Yahweh yo ur God . Keep my la ws, respec t my 19

observances a nd p racti se th em .• Ke ep my sa bba ths holy; let th em be a sign 20

bet ween me a nd yo u, so t hat men may lea rn t ha t I am Yahweh you r God .The so ns, however, rebelled agai nst me ; t hey refused to keep my law s, they d id 21

not respect or practise my observances, which mu st be pract ised by all wh o wantto live ; they profaned my sa bba ths. I then resolved to discharge my an ger o nthem and exhaust my fury against them in t he wilderness.• But I restrained my 22

Lv IR:5

8:1 ;14: 1-5

22 :2:23 :36

II U

ID1 7:6 l-

Ex 3:14 +

I On 8:10

Ex 3:8 -t-

23:3Lv 19:3

= 20:14 : 22:16 : 36:22

Ex 32: 12Lv 26:4 1I S 12:22

Lv IH:5-+

Ex 20:R+,L\' 26:2Rm 7: 10

Ex 31:13

T:x 14:1 1+Lv 26:41Ps 78 : 17

~~ 20 :9

20:22.40$Ex 32 : 12 I

.Vh 1 4:28~J()

DI 1:34-35Ps 95:1 1;106:26D n H: I O

Lv 26:4 1

JI

JI

III 'III\

Page 12: 33 Ezekiel

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2

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25:1

18:5-9

20:4: 23:36Ps 55:9

Hab 2:18

4:2·3

5:14

Lv H:9

Is 40:4

(in 49 :10

22:7

j. T he lo t fa lls to Je rusalem , v. 27 ; the Am mo nitesm ay th ink they ha ve esca ped , bu t th ey too will bepunished .

k , ' to des tro y' lit. ' destruct io n ' vers io ns.I. 'to s la ugh te r' co rr . fo llowing ver sion s.

22 a . T he th eme is th at o f ch . 16.20,23. He re, however ,th e prop het does not speak in pa rabl e . nor doc s here fer to the sins of past gene rations but to th ose of thepresen t, listed in vv , 1-16.

b. Lit. 'ea ch accord ing to h is arm' .

He br. un in tell igible .h. 'vict ims' Grcek ; 's tumbling (cbloc ks )' Hebr.

Befo re and afte r ' a swo rd ' an: two un tn telliui blc words.' po lished' cc rr .

i . Thus Ihe Greek: Hebr . un in tel ligible .

EZEKIEL1385

21 a. 'c urse the ir sanc tuary' ver sion s.b. Eze k iel agai n enuncia tes th e ancien t p rincip le of

co llec tive punishment ; he co nfro nts it else where.14:12 to with that of ind ivid ua l res po nsib ili ty.

c. A poem . in ur gent rh yth m . on the sword ofYa hweh given into th e hands of th e 'sra ue tu ercr' . i.c .the Ba bylo nians. 10 exe cu te God 's judge me nt. T hetext is badly pr eserved ; many detail s a re d ifficu lt tointe rp ret.

d Wh at fo llo ws is unintclligtble: 'o r we shallrejoice. T he scept re of my son defies every kind ofwood,'

e . Lit. ' beat your thig h ' , ges tu re of mourn ing andpa in.

r.Te xt corrupt ; transla tion doubtful.g. T he tra nsla tio n of th is verse follow s th e versio ns;

3328

The crimes of Jerusalem"

22 T he word of Ya hweh was add ressed to me as follows, ·'Son of ma n, a reyou prepared to judge? Are yo u pre pared to judge the murderous city'?

) Confront her with all her filthy crimes! -Say, "The Lord Yahweh says thi s:City shedd ing bloo d inside yourself to bring yo ur hour close r, setting up idols

4 on your so il to defile you rself, -yo u have incur red guilt by the blood you haveshed, you have defiled yo urse lf with the ido ls you ha ve made, you have broughtyour hou r closer, you have come to the end of yo ur time. And so I have madeyou an object of scorn to the nations and a laughin g-stock to every country.

5 Nea r and far, they will sco ff at yo u, the turbulent city with a tarnished name:" where a ll the princes of Israe l live, eac h one busy shedding blood, a nd a law7 to himself ; I,. where people despise their fathers and mothers ; where they ill-t reat

out two roads for the sword of the king of Babylon to come along, makingboth of them begin from the same country. Put up a signpost where they begin,

~g showing the way to a city, -showing the sword the way to Rabbah of the~1 Ammonites, and the way to Juda h, to the fortress of Jerusalem. • For the king

of Babylon has halted at the fork where thes e two roads diverge, to tak e theomens. He has shaken the arrows, questioned the teraph irn, inspected the liver.

~} Into his right hand the lot for Jer usalem falls ; there he must set up battering­ram s, give the word fo r slaughter, raise the war cry, level battering-rams against

~j the gate s, cast up earthworks, bui ld entrenchments.•The citizens believe thatthes e omens are idle, whatever oaths have been sworn. But he is evide nce of

~~ their crime s, and these will bring about their ca pture. -And so, thu s saysthe Lord Ya hweh. Since you give evidence of your cr imes by parading yoursins and flaunting your wicked ness in every thing you do, and since this evidence

~~ is now produced agai nst you, you will be punished. -As for you, prince of Israel,~A vile crim ina l on the last of whose cr imes the day is about to dawn, -the Lord

Yahweh says this: They will take away your turban and remove your crown ;~~ everyth ing will be changed ; the low will be high and the high brought low. •To

rui n, and to ruin on ruin, am I going to bri ng it, to such mi n as was neverknown befor e this man cam e who is appointed to inflict the punishment whichI am determined to impose on it.

The punishment of Ammon/'Son of man, prophesy a nd say, "The Lo rd Yahweh says this: T o the

Ammonites with their insults, say: The sword, the sword is drawn for slaughter ,~~ polished to destroy," to flash like lightning-e-vwhi le you have empt y visions

and co nsult lying ome ns-to slaug hter ' the vile criminals on the last of whose3J crime s the day is ab ou t to dawn . •Put it back in the sca bbard. In the place

where you were created, in the country where you were born, there I will judge11 you; . 1 am going to discharge my ange r on you , blow the flames of my fury13 against you and hand you over to ba rba rous men whose trade is destructi on. •You

will be fuel to the fire, your blood will flow through the coun try , you will leaveno memory behind you ; for I, Ya hweh, have spoken ." ,

15to

17/ 2

16II

18J.I

1914

2015

2 1/ 62217

J 384EZEKIEL20:44

behaviour and all the misdeeds by which you have detiled yourselves, and youwill loathe yo urselves for a ll the sins that you have committed. •Then you will 44

learn that I am Yahweh, when I treat you as respect for my own nam e req uires,an d not as yo ur wicked behav iour and co rrupt act ions deserve, Ho use of Isra el.It is the Lord Ya hweh who speak s." ,

The sword of Yahweh

21 Th e wor d of Ya hweh was addressed to me as follows, • 'Son of man , tu rn ~}46

to the right ; utter you r word towards the sou th, pro phesy aga inst thefores t land of the Negeb . -Say te the forest of the Negeb, " Hea r the word of ~7

Ya hweh. The Lord Ya hweh says this: Liste n; I am a bout to kindle a fire inyou that will burn up every green tree as well as every dry one; it will be anunquenchable blaze and every face will be sco rched by it from the Negeb tothe North. ·AlI mankind will see that it was I, Ya hweh, who kindled it, and ~8

it will not be put out." ·1 said, ' Lord Ya hweh, they say of me, "What a story- ~y

telle r this man is !" -T he word of Ya hweh was addressed to me as fo llows, ~ 1 :J

'Son of man, turn towards Jerusalem, curse their sa nctua ry" and pr op hesy }aga inst the la nd of Israel. -Say to the land of Israel , Ya hweh says thi s: Now ~

I set myself against you; Iam a bout to uns heat he my sword and to kill bo th uprightma n and sinner. " •My sword will leave its shea th to kill upright and sinful ~

alike and turn against all ma nkind from the Negeb to the North. •AlI mankind is 10

going to learn tha t I, Ya hweh, a m the one who has drawn the sword from itsshea th ; it will not go back agai n."

'Son of man, groa n as th ou gh your heart were breaki ng. Bitter ly utt er yo ur AIgroa ns where they ca n see yo u. · And if they say, " Wh y these groans'?" rep ly, ?"The news has made all hea rts sink, has numbed han ds, t rou bled spirits, ca usedknees to tremble. Now it has come, it is here ; it is the Lord Ya hwehwho speaks." ,

The word of Ya hweh was ad dressed to me as follows, .'Son of man , proph esy. k:~14Say, "The Lord says this".' Say :

"The sword, the swordsharpened a nd polished!Shar pened for sla ught er,polished to flash like lightning.. .'polished only to be wielded,shar pened a nd polished to fit the sla ughterers ha nd!Yes, shout a nd howl, son of man ;it is meant for my people,for a ll the princes of Isra el, doomed like my peop le to the sword.So beat yo ur breast ;' .t his is no first attempt ,a nd what wou ld ha ppen, were there no haughty sceptrc"- it is the Lord Ya hweh who speaks .So n of man , prophesy a nd clap your ha nds.Let the sword be twice, thr ee times, as cruel,the butcher's sword,the great sword of slaught er , menacing all arou nd. "To mak e hea rts sink and to increase the number of victimsI have pos ted a sword at every gateto flash like lightning, polished for havoc ."Behind! To the right ! To the left! In front! 'And I too will cla p my hand s ;I will exha ust my wrat h.I, Yahweh, have spoke n." ,

The king of Babylon at the crossroads

The word of Yahweh was addresse d to me as follows, ·'Son of man , ma rk yt}2

Jr 31:19

20:1 4P,79:9

Ex 32:12

Lv 26:25

7:17Lv 26:36

D 1 32:4 1I\ v 6:4

16:46 +

['9:17: 10:17-19Jr 2 1:14

21:3p, 83: 14L k 23:3 1

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Jr 25:15-18

Ps 75 :8 -;·Is 51;17 +

Ex 16:3: 17:3

Rv 17:16

.2 K 20:12-/9

23:32

C. ' \\";111 her' corr.d . Possi bl v a n a tluston 10 the f ric ndlv n-tauo ns

between Hcvc kia h an d Mcrodach -bnlud .m .c . l'conles liyin~ ro t he E. of Ba bvto nia .f. 'rrom th e N orth' Greek .g . T hi s short nocm is p ro bab lv a o onular Sll l1g o r

a sa urtcul crunra m wh ich ELd..ic ! app lies II) Jerusalem.

EZE K IE L

c . ' ) sha ll he rdi sho no urcd) ' vers io ns: 'You w ill be ' b . O hola h: ' he r- lc n t ' . O th l liba h: ' tll y- te lH-( is- )i n -her ',H cb r , T he c (ymo l o~y of th e words seems (0 co nt ras t rhe

d . ' t hey a n; hast' mc tul' corr. sc tu sma tic c ult of Sa m ar ia with th e a u then tic cul t o fe . T he o rnclc m av hav e been p ro no u nced wh e n the Jcrusa tcm. Thcv m a y, however. allude ro ev e n ts o r

ponufuuon of J ud ah was tak ing refuge in Jeru sa lem , p ra ct ices un k no wn to LI S, Possibb' there is reference toi.c . sh o rt ly be fo re the s iege o f 5~l)-5ln , thc te n ts erec ted on [he ' hi gh p laces' ,

f. T hi s th ird secuon of [be oracle was perhap swr itt e n after [h e dty had fallen .

1;, 'ra i n ' corr. fo llowinn Greek .h. 'whose pr inces' Greek.i . L it. -daubcd wi th plaste r ", d . U: IO-16,

23 a , The allcg l)ry of Israc f's historv. cf 16: 1 ' , isre sumed here a nd e laborated by a cornnarison be twee nSa ma ria a nd Je ru sa lem ,

1387

Egyp t, whe re men ha d slep t with her e from her girlhood, fon dling her virginbreast , deba uching her.

'A nd th at is why I have handed her over to her lovers, to those Assyr ians forto whom she lusted . -T hey uncovered her na kedness, they seized her sons and

daughters and put her to the sword , She became notoriou s among women forthe justice done on her.

\ 1 'Though her sister O ho liba h sawall this , her own lust and whorings were12 even more shameful than her sister's. -She lusted for her neighbours the Assyrians,

governor and nobles, dressed in sumpt uo us clot hes, ski lful horsemen, all young13 an d desira ble. -I saw tha t she was unchaste , that both sisters were as bad as14 each other. -S he began who ring wo rse than ever; no sooner ha d she seen wall­15 car vings of men, pa intings of Cha ldaeans colou red vermilion, -rncn with sashes

ro und their waists an d elaborate tur ban s on their heads, all so impe rious of16 bear ing, port rait s of Baby lo nians fro m Chaldaea, •than she fell in love with the m17 at first sight a nd sent messe ngers to them in Chaldaea. d - The Babylo nians cam e

to her, sha red her love-bed a nd defiled her with their debauchery. Once defiled18 she lost interest in them. -S he flaunted her whoring, she str ipped naked ; th en19 I tu rned away from her as I had turn ed away from her sister, -S he began who ring

worse than ever, rememb ering her girlhood, when she had played the whore20 in the land o f Egypt. -when she had been infa tuated by pro fligates big-me mbere d

as donkeys, ejacu lat ing as violently as stallions.21 'Y ou were hankering for the debau chery of your girlhood, when they used to22 hand le you r nipp les in Egypt a nd fond le yo ur you ng brea sts . -And 50, O holibah ,

the Lord Ya hweh says this: I intend to call up agai nst you th ose of your loversin who m you have lost interest ; I will bri ng the m against you fro m everywh ere,

23 the Baby lonians a nd a ll the Chaldacans, the men of Pekod and Shoa and Koa, :an d all the Assy rians with them, yo ung and des ira ble, all gove rno rs a nd nobl es,

24 a ll fam ous oflicers a nd hor semen , -They will ad vance on you fro m the No rth,!with chariots and wagons, a t the head of a ho rde of peop les, From every sidethey will a rm aga inst yo u with shield, buckler and helmet. [ have told them to

2 5 pass sente nce on you , they will pass sentence on you as they think fit. -1shall direet my jealousy agai nst you; they will trea t you with fur y ; they willcut off your nose and ea rs, an d what is left of yo ur fa mily will fall by the sword ;they will seize yo ur sons and dau ghters, and wha t is left of you will be bu rn t.

~~ They will strip off yo ur ga rments and rob you of your jewels. -I mea n to put anend to your debauc her y a nd to the whor ings you began in Egypt; you will not look

2H to the Egypt ians any mor e, you will never think of them again. -Fo r the LordYahweh says this: 1 now hand you over to th ose you hate, to those in whom you

29 have lost interest. -T hey will treat you with hatred, they will ro b you of thefru it of your labours and leave you completely naked. And thus your shameful

30 whorin g will be exposed. Yo ur de bauchery and your whorings -a re the causeof these afllictions, since by playi ng the whore with the nations you have defiled

3 1 yourself with their idols. -As you have cop ied yo ur sister' s behavi our, 1 will32 put her cup in your ha nd. -The Lord Ya hweh says th is:

You will drink your sister's cu p,"a cup that is wide and deep,

1386EZEKIEL22 :8

the sett ler ; where they oppress the widow and the orphan ; -where you have 8

no reverence for my sanctuaries and profane my sabbaths ; -where informers 9

incite to bloodshed; where there a re people who eat on the mountains an dcouple promiscuo usly; -where men uncover their father's nakedness; whe re 10

they force women in thei r unclean condition ; -where one man engages in filth y 11

practices wit h his neighbour's wife, another defiles himself with his daughter-in­law, another violates his sister, his own father 's da ughter ; -where people take 12

bribes for shedding blood ; you cha rge usury and interest, you rob your neighbourby extortion, you forget all about me- it is the Lord Ya hweh who speaks.

Now 1 will clap my hands at your acts of banditry and the blood that 13

flows in you, -Will your heart be abl e to resist, will your hands be strong on the 14

day 1 call you to acco unt? I, Ya hweh, have spo ken, a nd 1 will do it.1 mean to disperse you thr oughout the nat ions , to sca tter you in for eign 15

cou nt ries, and to tak e your foulness from you, -I shall be dishonoured' by 16

you in the opi nio n of the nat ion s ; and so you will learn that 1 am Ya hweh."The word of Yahweh was addressed to me as follows, -' Son of man , the Ii

H ouse of Israe l, as I see it, is base metal; they are all copper, tin, iron, lead, inthe melting-pot; they are base metal." -A nd so, the Lord Ya hweh says this: 19

Since you are al l base metal, 1 will collect you inside Jerusalem." -As silver, 20

co ppe r, iron, lead and tin are thrown into the meltin g-pot together, and thefire is stoked undern eat h to melt it all down, so 1 will collect you in my furiousan ger and melt you down; -I will collect you an d stoke the fire of my fury 2 1

for you , and melt you down inside the city , -As silver is melted in the melting-pot , 22

so you will be melted down inside the city; and thus you will learn that I,Ya hweh, a m the one who has discharged my anger on you.'

The word of Ya hweh was addressed to me as follows,! - 'Son of man, say nto her, "You are a land that has not received ra in" or shower on the day of anger ,and whose princes" are like a roaring lion tearing its prey inside her. They have 25

eaten the people, seized wealth and jewels and widowed many inside her. -Her 26

pr iests have viola ted my Law and desecrated my sanctuaries ; they have drawnno distinct ion between sacred a nd profane, they have not taught people thedifference between clean and unclean ; they have turned their eyes away from mysabbaths and 1 have been dishonoured by them . - Her leaders in the city are 27

like wol ves tearing their prey, shedding blood and killin g people to steal theirpossession s. -Her prophets have whit ewashed : these crimes with their empty 28

visions and lying prophecies. They have said: Ya hweh says this; althoughYahweh has not spo ken. -The peop le of the country have taken to extortion 29

and ban dit ry ; the y have oppressed the poor and needy an d ill-t reated the sett lerfor no reason. -1 have been loo king for someone among them to bu ild a wall 30

and man the breach in front of me, to defend the country an d pre vent me fromdestroying it ; but I have no t found anyone. -Hence I have discha rged my an ger 31

on th em ; 1 have dest ro yed them in the fire of my fury . 1 have made their cond uctreco il on their own head s-it is the Lord Yahweh who spea ks." ,

An allegorical history of Jerusalem and Samariaa

23 T he wor d of Ya hweh was addressed to me as follows, -'Son of man,there were onee two women, daughter s of the same mother. -They became

prostitutes in Egy pt, when they were girls . There their nipples were handled,there their virgin breas ts were first fondled. -The ir names were: O holah the 4

elder, O holi ba h her sister." They belon ged to me an d bore sons and daughters,As rega rds thei r na mes, Sam aria is Oho lah, Jerusalem Ohol ibah. -Now O ho lahplayed the who re, a lthough she belonged to me ; she lusted for her lovers , herneighbours the Assyrians, -d ressed in pur ple, governor s and noble s, all of themyoung and des irable, and skilful horsemen. -S he gran ted them her favours- 7

they were all the flower of the Assyrians-and she defiled hersel f with all theidols of a ll those she lusted for. -She did not renounce the whor ing begun in 8

13:10-16

Z P 3:3-4

Ex 20:13, 15

L v [<):30

Lv 17-22

Lv 11: 16Ex 20:8-11

Lv 23:3

Go 18:32Ps 106: 23

Is 59 :15- 16

20:9 +

Lv 26:33

6:1 1

20:7-H

Ps 119:119Is 1:22,25Jr 6:29-3 0

16:1+Tb 14:4

Jr 3:6-13R v 17:1-6

M 13:2-3

Ex 22:2 \ -22Lv 19 :3

D . 27:16Lv 19:30Lv / 9:/6

D t 12:2 I·t» / 8:7

Lv 18:19

L v 18: 15.20

Lv 18:9L I' 25:35- 37

D127:25

Ps 62:10

II

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Jh I fI: I ;";

Go 17:2')

9:9

Mi I:X

5: 11:-':b 11:2 3

Jr 18:1 --

Jr 7: 1-15Lm 2:7

2 4 :2 2E ZE KI E L

Fo r the Lord Ya hweh says this:

Trou ble for the bloodsta ined ci ty,that rusty coo king-potwhose rust can never be scoured awa y!Empty it scrap by scrap, draw ing no lo ts.For her blood is in her ;she has put it on the naked rock ;she has not shed it on the grou nd to hide it in dust.To make my anger overflow, to take revenge,I have put her blood on the naked rock, un hidden.

So, the Lord Yahweh says th is:

Trouble for the bloods ta ined city!I too plan to bui ld a grea t fire.Heap on the wood, light it,cook the meat, prepare the spices,let the bo nes burn.Set the pot em pty to hea t on the coal s ;let the bron ze glow red- hot,the filth inside melt away,the rust inside be consumed .

/ ] 89

10

11

1213 "But a ll tha t rust will not d isappea r in the flames.• , have tried to purge

yo u of the filth of yo ur deba uchery, but yo u wo uld not let yourself be purgedof yo ur filth . So now you will not be purged unt il my a nger has been exha usted

14 agai nst yo u. · 1, Yahweh, have spok en; my wor d will co me true ; I sha ll act an dnot relent ; I sha ll show no pity, no co mpassion. I intend to judge you as yourco ndu ct a nd ac tions deser ve- it is the Lord Ya hwe h who speaks." ,

1516

h. T he prop he t now ad dr esses h is co ntempo ra ries the ucucru l sense is clcar : th e city is so co r rupt tha td irect ly a nd blam es them fo r their rece nt si ns; hen ce uothina ca ll suvc it. A u-ansu o rv ordea l wo uld no t be[h e usc of t he se co nd pe rs o n . The pa ssa ge no do ubt e no u g h; t he c ity m us t be dc strovcd . The wa lls w ill no tco n tains a nu mb er of a llusions 10 rece nt sncc tflc po]· ru'ot ect it s peo ple who will he d r iven ou r a nd sca t tered.it icaJ eve n ts , hu t ' the tex t is co rr upt a mi no t eas ily d . 'wood ' em f .understo od .

i. T ext co rr, C'. A t th e hcgin nin i-: of th is ve rse Hcbr . in se rt sj. D ou bt f u l renderi ng of a p ro bably co rr up t text. 'S he has wear ied me (wi th) her lab ours ' .

24 a. Decem ber 5HlJ-Ja nua n/ 5,o.;s. r. Te rm of n tlccu o n, here desi/.:nal inR th e pr o phe t'sb. l lc nce. from the da ta of 2 K 25: 1; J r 52:4 wife, v. IS,

(d. 39: I) . the bcuinnrne o f the s iege of Jerusalem . If th e J:. Mour ntnu r iles . T he 'com mon bread' ( li t. ' bre adpro phet is no w in Bab ylo nia , t his d al e , which he se ts of men ' ) allud es to so me uniden t ified p ractice.do wn in writ ing. will lat er sene 10 veri fy t hc accura cy h. ' pass io n' so me MSS : 'co m passio n ' Hc br.o f his rc vcla uous. i. N o t t ha t (he cuizc ns of Jerusa lem are fo r-

e. A sym bolic acn o n. The p rophet iro nicallv mimes bidde n to larn cur t heir si ns . bu t th at t he re will be noth e d ict um o f 11:3 bo as ting t hc irn nr ceuubl fit v o f time fo r dll ing so; th e ca rusu-op hc wil l be to o sudde nJeru sa lem . T he de tails arc not a ll ea sy 10 int erpr et bu t and 100 sharp,

T he persona l orde als of the proph et

T he wor-d of Ya hwe h was addressed to me as fo llows, • 'So n of man, I ama bo ut to de prive yo u suddenly of the deligh t of yo ur eyes." But yo u a re not

17 to la ment, not to weep, not to let your tea rs run dow n. · Groa n in silence, donot go in to mourni ng for the dead , knot yo ur turban round your head, putyour sa ndals on yo ur feet, do not co ver your bea rd, do not ea t co mmo n bread .' :

18 I told this to the peop le in the morn ing, and my wife died in the evening, and the19 next morni ng I did as I had been orde red. -Thc people then said to me, 'A re20 you not go ing to exp lain wha t mea ning these ac tions have for us?' · 1 repli ed,2 1 'The word of Ya hweh has been addressed to me as fol lows, •"Say to the Hou se

of Israel : T he Lord Ya hweh says this. I a m a bout to profan e my sa nctuary,the prid e of yo ur stre ngt h, the de light of yo ur eyes, the passion " of yo ur sou ls.T hose of your sons a nd dau ghters who m you have left behind will fall by the

22 sword . -A nd you a re to do as I have don e ;' yo u must not cove r yo ur beards or

34

33

1]88EZEKI E L

Put the po t on the fire;put it on; pou r water into it. c

Put cuts of meat in too,the best cuts , leg a nd shoulder .Fill it with the best bones.Take the best of the flock .Th en heap woo d" und erneath ;ma ke the po t boi l and bubbleunti l even the bones ar e co oked .

23:33

A prophecy of the siege of Jerusalem

24 In the ninth year, on the tenth day of the tenth month," the word ofYa hweh was add ressed to me as fo llows, . 'So n of man , write down today's

date, since this is the very day the king of Ba bylon ha s la id siege " to Jerusalem.•Sopronounce a pa rable for th is set of re bels. Say, "The Lord Ya hweh saysthis:

11:3- 12

leadi ng to laughter and mockery,so a mp le the dra ught it holds.You will be filled with dr unkenness and sorrow.Cup of affliction and devastat ion,the cup of yo ur sister Samaria,you will drink it, you will dr ain it;then it will be sha ttered to piecesand lacerate yo ur breast.

I ha ve spoken-it is the Lor d Ya hweh who speak s.' And so, the Lord Ya hweh says this : Since you have forgotten me 35

a nd have turned yo ur back on me, you too will have to bear the weight ofyour de ba uchery and who rings.' -A nd Ya hweh sa id to me, 'Son of ma n, a re 31>

20:4 : 22.2 you willing to ju dge O hola h and Oho liba h and charge them with their filthycri mes? •They have bee n ad ulteresses, the ir hands a re drippi ng with blood, 37

they have co mmitted ad ultery with thei r idols. As for the child ren they hadLv 18:2 1 I- bo rne me, they have made them pass throu gh the fire to be co nsumed. •A nd 38

Lv 19:30 he re is something else they ha ve done to me: they have defiled my sa nctua rythe sa me da y a nd have pro faned my sa bbaths. •Th e sa me da y as sac rificing their 39

child ren to their ido ls, the y ha ve been to my sa nctuary an d pro faned it. Yes,this is what they have do ne in my own house.

'W orse still," these men summoned from distant co untries, inv ited by 40

Jr 4:3 0 messen ger, ar rived ; yo u bathed and pai nted your eyes, put on you r jewels -and 41

sat on a sumptuous bed, by which stood a ta ble on whic h you had put my incensean d my oil. •T he revelry of a carefree co mpa ny re-echoed becau se of the 42

crowd of men bro ught in fro m the desert ;' they put bracelets on the women'sI Th 2: 19 a rms a nd magnificen t crowns o n their head s. •1 tho ught: T he pr ost itutes a re 4 3

a t work in the hou se of a woma n worn out with adulterie s. And she is still play ingthe whore too/, -and men keep visiting her ju st like a pros titute , j ust as they 44

went to those pro fliga te women O holah a nd O holiba h. • But upright men will 45

D I~nng judge them as ad u l te re~ses a nd mur deresses a re judged, since they a re adulteressesa nd their hands are d ripping With blood.

'The Lord Ya hweh says this: Summo n an assembly to deal with them, and 46

hand the m ove r to terror a nd pillage ; -Iet the asse mbly sto ne them a nd hack 47

them to death with the sword ; let their so ns an d da ughters be slaughtered andtheir hou ses be set on fire. · 1mea n to purge the lan d of de ba uchery; a ll the wom en 48

will thus be wa rned, and a pe you r deba uchery no more. •Yo ur deb auchery will 49

recoi l on yo ur ow n heads, a nd yo u will bear the weight of you r idola tro us sin s ;a nd so yo u will lea rn tha t I a m the Lord Yahweh.'

II

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24:23 EZ EKI EL 1390 139 1 EZEKIEL 26 : I I

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llJ.l

/5

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Is 23

4:1·3

29: 17-21

25:3Ps 35:25

25 a. The Amm o ni tes. N b 20:23 + . had ta ken pari in h. Ne ighbo urs of . cr. J os 13:2 + . and rela ted to th ethe various rebe llio ns agai nst Ne buc had nczzar. Late r Ph ilist ines, cr. 2 S 8:18+. Here the tw o nam es ar ethey desert ed their a llies and profit ed fro m Jerusa lem 's vir tual ly syno nym ous.m isfo rt un e. 26 a . Ty re a t t he beg innin g of the 6th ce ntury was a

h. Add ressed to Am mo n. here personified (the grea t commercial ci ty. It playe d a lead ing part in a llpro no un is in the singu lar ). t he a n ti-Ba bylo n ia n ac tivities befo re 587. bu t desert ed

c . T he nom ad ic Ara bs. cf. Is 11:14; Jr 49: 28 : its a lly. Jerusa lem . a nd rejoiced ill its do wnfal l.N b 24:2 1+. b. T he yea r 587-586. T he G reek re ads 'twelfth yea r '

d . ' towns ' co r r.: ' so "~ ' Heb e. a nd :~r<~a:?~~~;. i.\~~~la~t~~· versions.

f ;;b~~ i1 ~abT"h"d Seir .<ano thre r. ~"~~ fo r Edo~) d. Tvre, So r, was bui lt o n a rock • sur, lyin g offc. : ' ", e me n t ion tl Seir- om he re IS the co as t.pe rhaps a gloss. c . T he siege of Tvre , begun by N ebuchadnezzar ,

f. Li t. 'o pen the sho ulder ' . Meanin g doubtfu l. lasted 13 years. T he ci ty was cap tu red bu t no t co m-g. 'und destr o y her towns ' co rr. ple telY de stroyed un til many yea rs later.

10

16 and with persistent hatr ed have do ne the ir best to dest roy, -very well, thusspeaks the Lord Ya hwe h: I will stretch out my hand aga inst the Phi listines;I shall destroy the Cherethites" and wipe out all the rest of the coastal peoples.

17 I shall perfor m frightful acts of vengeance and inflict fur ious punishments onthem; and when I exact vengeance on the m they will learn that I am Yahweh."

Against Tyre«

I 26 In the elevent h year, on the first of the mo nth," the word of Ya hweh wasaddressed to me as follows:

'So n of man , since Tyre has jeered at Jerusalem,"A ha ! It is shattered , that ga te of nations ;it is opening to me; its wealth is ruined ", "very well, the Lord Yahweh says thi s:No w, Tyre, I set myself agains t yo u.I mean to ca use many nations to surge against youlike the sea a nd its waves .T hey will destroy the walls of Tyre,they will demolish her towers ;I will sweep away her dustand leave her a nak ed rock ."She will be a dr ying-ground in mid -ocean for fishi ng net s.For I have spoken- it is the Lo rd Ya hweh who spea ks­she will be the prey of the nati ons.As for her da ughters on the mainlan d ,these will be put to the sword,and everyone will learn that I am Ya hweh.For the Lord Ya hweh says this.From the Nort h, I a m sending Neb uchad nezza r,king of Babylon, king of kings, again st Tyrewith hor ses a nd chariots an d hor sem en,a ho rde of man y races.He will pu t you r da ughterson the ma inland to the sword .He will build siege-works against you,cas t up a mound aga inst you,ra ise a siege-tower aga inst you;he will break do wn your walls with his ba tter ing-ra ms,and demol ish your towe rs with his siege-engines.'His horses are so many their du st will hide you.No ise of his hor semen an d his cha riots and wagon swill mak e your walls tremb le as he rides through your gateslike a man entering a conquered city.His horses' hoofs will trample throu gh your streets ;he will put yo ur peop le to the sword,a nd thr ow you r massive pillar s to the ground .

Agai nst the Ammonites"

25 T he word of Ya hweh was addressed to me as follows, ·'Son of man ,tu rn towa rds the Ammonites a nd pro phesy aga inst them . -Say to the

Ammonites, "Hear the word of the Lord Ya hweh. The Lord Ya hwehsays th is:

You" cried: Aha! over my sa nct uary when it was profaned, a nd ove r theland of Israe l when it was ravaged, and over the Ho use of Juda h when it wentinto exile, -and becau se of that I am going to ha nd you over to the sons of the 4

East' ; they will pitch their ca mps inside yo ur fro ntiers, they will settle there.They a re going to ea t your fru it, and drink your milk. • I inten d to tu rn Ra bba h 5

into a camel ya rd a nd the tow ns" of Ammo n into sheepfolds. And so you willlearn that I a m Ya hweh.

The Lord Ya hweh says th is: Since you have clap ped you r han ds and 6

da nced for joy, inwardly full of malic e aga inst the land of Israe l.• I mea n to stre tch 7

out my hand aga inst yo u for th is ; I will hand yo u over to be looted by thepeoples, obliterate yo u as a nat ion, wipe you out as a country. I will reduceyou to no thing, and so you will learn that I a m Ya hweh.

Agai nst Moab

Th e Lord Yahweh says this:Since Moab and Seirr have said: Look at the House of J udah ; it is no different

from any other nation ; -very well, I will strip the hillsides of Moab ba re! a nd 9

destroy her town s thro ugho ut the cou ntry, 'I includ ing her pride, Beth-jcs hirno th,Baa l-rneon a nd Kiria th-a im.· I shall hand her over to the sons of the Eas t, the 10

enemies of the Ammo nites ; I sha ll han d her ove r so that the Amm onites willno t even be rememb ered as a nat ion . -Thus sha ll I pun ish Mo ab, and everyo ne II

will learn that I am Ya hweh.

Against Edom

The Lord Yahweh says this: 12

Since Edom has taken revenge on the House of J udah a nd committe d greatcrimes in doi ng so, -very well, the Lord Ya hweh says this: I will stretch 13

out my han d aga inst Ed om too and wipe out all the men and animals in thecountry. I sha ll red uce it to dese rt ; peo ple will be put to the swor d from Temanto Deda n. ·1 shall unleas h my revenge o n Edom by mean s of my people Israel. 14

They will treat Edo m as my an ger and fury dictat e, and everyone will lea rnthat this is my vengean ce- it is the Lord Ya hweh who speaks.

Agai nst the P hilistines

T he Lord Yahweh says this:Since the Philistines have acted in revenge and taken revenge ma liciously,

II. O RACLES AGAI NST T HE NATIONS

eat co mmon bread; •you must keep your tur bans on your heads and your 23

sandals on your feet; you must not lam ent or weep. Yo u shall waste away ow ingto your sins and groan among yourselves. •Ezekie l is to be a sign for you . You 24

are to do just as he has do ne. And when this ha ppens, you will learn that Iam Ya hweh. "

'And, son of man, on the very day I de pr ive them of their sons and daughters 25

who a re their stre ngt h, their pr ide a nd glory, the de light of their eyes, the joyof their hearts, -o n that very day a fugi tive will come and br ing you news of this. 26

On that day your mouth will be ope ned to speak to the fugit ive ; you will speak 27

and not be du mb a ny mo re ; you are to be a sign for them, and they will learnthat I am Yahweh.'

3:26: 33:22

12:6 +

Jos )3:2 -f­ZP 2:4-7

26:2.Ps 35:25

Jr 49:1-6

Jr 47:1 -7

21:3 3-37N b 20:23 TAm 1: 13-15

Nb 24:21 +

Is 15: 1Z p 2:8- 11

27:15. 20:38: 13

Is 21:/3· 14

N b 20:2H­J r 48

A m 2:1-3

35Nb 20:23 +

Ps 137:7Is 34

Jr 49:7 -22Am 1:11

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Rv 18: 17

Ho 14:8

Go 10:27

25:13

Go 10:71 K 10:1 +

G o 11:31;12:5

Is 23:1+

J811 :33

32:26 : 38:2J14:6

38:6

25:13

38:5Jr46:9 +S, 4:4

27:27EZEKIEL

f . T hese IW O towns of the Phoen icia n co as t mo re o rless recognised the economic suzera inty o f Tyre.

f. T he term ' isla nds ' mea ns a ll th e d is ta n t co asta l g. I .e . Byblcs , a not her Phoen icia n city .reg io ns. h. T he poe m is here int er rup ted by a deta iled list

g . A qtnah, cr. 19: 1+ . of the com me rcia l in terest s of Ty re.h . ' swept from the sea s ' vers io ns. 'continentSvr. i. ' thei r a rmy' co r r. ' kep t wa tch' G reek.I. 'pit' is a synonym of "Shcol', cf Nb 16:33 1· . i. Jnvan. i.c . Io nia , ind ica tes th e G ree ks or eve n

' in the so litud es ' so me MS S and ver sion s. 'yo u ca n the wes tern pe ople s in ge neral . On Tuba l and Mesbech,never co me ba ck ' corr. ' a nd be rest o red ' vers io ns. d . 38:2 + .27 a. Described a llegor ica lly a s a shipwreck . the k , Prob a bly Arme nia , cf 38:6.descr ip tio n bei ng in technical te r ms th e meani ng of J. ' Edom ' vers io ns; ' A ram ' He br.whic h is no t a lways cert a in . m . A regi on in th e co un try o f Amm o n. 'w ax' co r r.

b. 'a sh ip ' ad ded . n. Hcl bon is N .E. of Damascus. Za har un kno wn.c. T he Amori te name fo r Hermo n. o. An Ara b tri be like Sheba a nd Raama h, v. 22-23,d . ' Fro m the ta llest' co r r. cf. I K 10:1 +.c. ' cedar' co r r. K itt im here mea ns the popula tloa p. 'usatnsr ' cor r.

no t o nly of Cy prus but a lso o f th e o ther isla nds a nd Q. tla ran is o n the uppe r Euphrat es. C a nneh andcoastal to wns of the Me d ite rra nea n. Ede n a ppa ren tly co rrespo nd to th e Ka nnu and Bit

Ad ini o f the Assvr fun text s, to wn s o n the middl eEuphra tes . Fo r S heba . cr. I K 10:1 I . C hllmad is a nu nknow n to wn . probably nca r Asshur.

/393

27

2 1>

Purple an d sca rlet from the Elisha h islandsfor med yo ur deck-ten t.Men from Sidon and from Ar vad !were yo ur oarsmen .Your sages, Ty re, were aboardserv ing as sa ilo rs.The elde rs and craftsmen of Gebal« were thereto ca ulk yo ur seams.

All the ships" of the sea and the sa ilors in them visited yo u to t rade with you.10 Me n of Pers ia a nd Lud and Put served in yo ur a rmy and were yo ur warriors.I I T hey hung up shield and helmet in you . T hey bro ught you glory. -The sons

of A rvad a nd their ar my ma nned your wall s a ll ro und and kept wa tch fro myour bast ion s. i T hey hung thei r sh ields a ll round your wa lls and helped to make

12 your beauty per fect. •Ta rshish was your cl ient, profiti ng from your a bundantwea lth. People paid yo u in silver a nd iro n, tin and lead for your mer cha nd ise.

13 Javan, T ubal a nd Meshech/ t rad ed with yo u . For yo ur merc ha nd ise they bartered14 men a nd bron ze im plement s. -T he people of Beth-togar rnah- traded you horses,15 cha rgers, mules. •T he so ns of Deda n traded with you; many shores were you r16 client s ; you were paid in ivory tusks and ebony. •Edo m' was you r clien t, because

of the va riety an d quant ity of your goo ds ; she excha nged carbuncles , purple,17 embro ideries, fine linen, coral a nd rubies aga inst you r goods. -J uda h and the

land of Israel also tr aded with you, supplying you with co rn from Minn ith, '" wax ,IX honey, tallow an d balm . • Da mascus was your client , beca use of the plenti fulness

of your goods a nd the immensi ty of your wea lth, furn ish ing you with wine from19 Helbon and woo l fro m Za har.« • Da n a nd Ja va n, fro m Uzal onwards, " sup plied20 you with wrough t iron, cass ia an d calam us in excha nge for your good s. •Dedan2 1 traded with you in hor se-clot hs. •Arab ia a nd eve n the sheikhs of Kedar were22 a ll your cl ients ; they paid in la mbs, ram s and he-goa ts. -T he merchants of

Sheba an d Ra ama h trad ed with yo u; they supplied yo u with the bes t qu al ity2 ) spices, precious sto nes a nd go ld aga inst yo ur goods ." •Haran, Canneh a nd Ede n,24 traders of Sheba, Asshur a nd Chilrnad trad ed with yo u. •They traded rich

clothes, embroid ered and purple cloaks, multi-co loured mat eria ls and stro ng plait­25 cd cords in your markets.•The ships of Ta rshish crossed the seas fo r your t ra de .

T hen you were rich an d glor ioussurro unded by the seas .Out to the open seayour oarsmen rowe d you.The east wind has sha tte red you,su rrounded by the seas .Yo ur riches, your goo ds , yo ur ca rgo ,your crew, yo ur sailors,

1392E Z EKIEL

Your wealth will be seized , yo ur merchandise looted, 12

your walls razed, your luxuri ous houses shattered,your stones, your timbers, you r very dust, th ro wn into the sea.I will stop your music and so ngs; 13

the sound of your harps will not be heard again.I will reduce you to a naked rock, 14

and make you into a dry ing-ground for fish ing nets,never to be rebuilt;for I, Yahweh, have spoken- it is the Lord Yahweh who speaks.

The Lo rd Ya hweh says this to Tyre: Wh en they hear of yo ur fall, the groans 15

of your wounded and the havoc inside your wall s, will not the islands! shake?The rulers of the sea will a ll get off thei r thrones, lay asid e their cloaks and ta ke 16

off their embroide red ro bes . Dressed in terror they will sit on the ground una bleto stop trembli ng, ter rified a t you r fat e.

'They will ra ise a dirge" a nd say to yo u: 17

"You a re destr oyed then , swept fro m th e seas,city of pr ide,you who were mighty on the sea,you and you r citizens,who used to terro risethe co ntinent- far and near.Now the isla nd s ar e trembling 18

on the da y of yo ur fa ll ;the islands of the sea are terrified by you r end."

'For the Lord Ya hwe h says th is: 19

'W hen I make yo u as desolat e as any depopu lated city, when I br ing up thedeep against you a nd the ocean covers you , ·1 will cas t yo u down with those 20

who go down to the pit, down to the men of old ; I will make yo u live in theregions un derground, in the eternal so litudes, with those who go down to thepit, so that you can never come bac k and be restored to the lan d of the living.'I will make you an object of terr or; you will not exist . People will loo k for you 2 1

and never find yo u agai n-it is the Lord Ya hweh wh o speaks.'

A lame nta tion over the fall of Tyre-

27 The word of Yahweh was addressed to me as fo llows, ·'Son of man,ra ise the dirge over Tyre. -Say to Tyre, that city standing a t the edge of

the sea, doing bus iness with the nations in innum erable islan ds, "The LordYa hweh says this:

Tyre, you used to say : I am a ship>perfect in beauty.Your frontiers stretched far out to sea ;those who built you made youperfect in beauty.Cypress from Senirr they usedfor all your pla nking.They took a cedar from Leba nonto make you a mast.From the tallest" -oaks of Bashanthey mad e your oars.They built yo u a deck of cedar inlai d with ivoryfrom the Kitt irn- isles.Embroidered linen of Egypt was used for your saila nd for your flag.

26:12

32:18-32

I

I Rv 18:2 1

Rv 18:9f

II1(1

I

)1

IIIs 24:8-9Jr 25: 10

Rv 18:22

II

I

IIJon 3:6

Rv 18:9-19

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Agai nst the kin!.: of Tyre

28 T he word or Ya hwe h was addressed to me as fo llows ,the ru ler of Tyre, "The Lo rd Ya hweh says this:

Bein g swollen with pri de,yo u ha ve sa id : I am a go d;I am sitt ing o n th e th ro ne or G od,su rro unde d by t he seas.T ho ug h yo u arc a man and not a god,yo u con sider yo urse lf the equal of G od.You a rc wiser now t han Da nel ;t here is no sage" as wise as you .By yo ur wisdom a nd yo ur in telligenceyo u have amassed grea t wea lth ;yo u ha ve piles o r gold a nd silver

The fall of the ki ng of Tyre

The word of Yahwe h was addressed to me as follows, · 'Son of man,rais e a d irge over the kin g of Ty re ." Say to him , "The Lord Yahwe h says this:

You we re once an exemplar of pe rfection, "full of wisdom,perfect in beauty ;you were in Eden, in the garden of God.A thousand gems formed yo ur mantle.Sard, to paz, diamond , chrysolite, onyx,jasper, sapph ire, carbuncle , emerald,the gold of which yo ur flutes an d ta mbouri nes are made,"all we re prepared on the day o f your creation.I ha d provided you with ' a guard ian che rub;yo u were on the holy mounta in of God;yo u walked a mid red-ho t coals'!Your behaviou r was exemplary fro m the day of your creatio nuntil the day wh en evil was first fo u nd in yo u.You r bu sy tradinghas filled yo u with violence a nd sin.I have thrown you down fro m th e mountain of G od,a nd the guardian cherub ha s dest ro yed yo u from a mid the coals.'Yo ur heart has grown swo llen with prideon account of yo ur beauty.Yo u have corrupted yo ur wisdomowing to you r sp lendour.

EZ EKIEL

-'"

o:I:

z~

Is 31:3

10:2.7

G n 3:24

)s 14:13

10:2

28:17

model' Hcbr. : ' 3 sea l of perfecti on ' G reek.d. Transla tion do ub tful.e. ' W it h ' G reek.f. T hese ver ses seem to co nta in reminiscences no t

only of the bib lical tradi t io n of the ga rde n of Eden buta lso of eleme nts o f eas tern my tholog ies: the mountainof t ile gods . si tuated in the far thest nor th . cr. Ps 48: 1-2;Is 14:13. the a llusio n to the guard ia n Kerub , cf G n 3:24,an d to the bu rn ing coals, Ezk 10:2, to the fall andannihil a tio n, v. 16. Some det a ils. howe ver. rema inobsc ure .

g. Tex t correc ted, foll owing G ree k.

inside your treasure-hou ses.Such is yo ur ski ll in tra d ing,yo ur wealt h has conti nued to increase,and with t his your hea rt ha s grown more arrogant.And so, the Lord Yahweh says th is:Since you consider yourself t he equal of God,very well, I am go ing to bri ng foreigners against you,the m ost barbarous of the nat ions.They will draw swo rd against yo ur fine wisdom,they will defile your glo ry;they will throw yo u down into the pitand yo u will die a violent dea thsurrou nded by the seas.Are yo u still going to say: I am a god,whe n yo ur murderers co nfront yo u?No, yo u are a ma n and not a godin the cl utches of your murderers!Yo u will die like the u ncircumcisedat the hand of fore igne rs .For I ha ve spoken- it is the Lord Yahwe h who speaks." ,

/ 395

b. At th at tim e Itt obaal II. though the poem isaddressed not so much to a n Indiv id ua l as "10 theperson ified mi ght of the ci ty. Not un na tu rall y. ct. 28:2 .Chris tia n tr adit ion has o ften a pplied rh rs text in a n' accommodated ' sense to the fall of Luc ifer .

c , 'a n exempl ar of perfection ' co rr.; 'sealing the

r , ' with hau ght y T vre' corr. ; ' with Tvre, with thesilent one' Hebr.28 a. ' no sage' cor r. following versions ; ' no secret'Heb r.

17

IS

16

14

IJ

I I12

10

30

3 1

29

n

32

35

.13

.14

3"

/ 394

•'So n of ma n, tell

EZEKIEL

yo ur ca ulke rs, yo u r co mme rcia l a gen ts,a ll th e so ld iersyo u ca r ry with yo u, th e wh ole hostwho a re aboard:a ll wi ll sink su rrounde d by th e season th e day of you r shipw rec k.

W hen th ey hea r th e cr ies of yo u r sail orsthe coasts will tr emb le.T hen th e oa rs men will a ll deserttheir ships .T he sa ilo rs a nd sea far ing peopl ewill stay as ho re.T hey will ra ise their vo ices for yo u,a nd weep bitterly.T hey will t hrow du st o n t heir heads,a nd ro ll in as hes;the y will shave their heads for yo u,an d pu t sackc lo th ro u nd t heir wa ists .T hey will raise a bitt er d irge over you,in t he ir despa ir ;t hey will ra ise a d irge a nd m ourn for you ,t hey will bewa il yo u:Wh o co uld co m pa re with haughty T y re :su rro unded by the sea s')W he n yo u un load ed yo ur goodsto sat isfy so man y peo ples,yo u ma de th e k ings o r the ea rt h richwith yo u r exce ss or wea lth a nd goods.Now yo u arc sha tte red by the waves ,su r ro unded by the seas .You r ca rgo and a ll yo u r crewha ve founde red with you.A ll those w ho live in th e d ista nt islan dsha ve been horritied a t your ra te.T he ir kings ha ve been pani c-str ick en,their faces quite cas t do wn.T he t raders or t he nati on shave whist led at yo ur fat e,since yo u ha ve become an o bjec t of d rea d ,gone for eve r." ,

27:28

Jon 3:7

G n 3:5

14: 14

Ba 3:22

R v 1S: J S

xv IS:9f

. R v I X: I ')

" Rv UU9

Is J4: [4

Is 14:13 +:2Th 2:4

I

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III

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Page 18: 33 Ezekiel

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28: 18 E Z EKI EL 1396 1397 E Z EKI EL 3°:2III

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Is 13:6111 :15Am5:18 +

30:10.24;32;llf

Ps 132:17

Jr 43 :10 ; 44;30 : 46:26

30:14

30:6

30:11

2 K 18:21Is 36:6Lm 4:17

c. ' t heir hands all over' vers io ns. 's ha k ing ' Syr,d . ' dese rt' vers io ns. Mi gda l. a fo r tress in N . Egypt.

Syene (Assuan) a ci ty in the ext reme S. nea r theEthiopian fro ntier.

e. T he exiles fro m Egypt th us receive the samepromi se of re turn as has been given to Israe l, cf. 11:16· 17; her e however (unlike the seco nd pa rt of Isa iah,

h. Sidon, one of the principal towns of Phoe nicia , cf. Is 45: 14 + ) they are not 10 be asso cia ted with thebut before the Persian period Jess important than Tvre. cho sen pe op le in the res to red worship of Ya hweh .Accord ing to Jr 27:3 . Sidon was party 10 the policy f. Pat h ros, the 'land of the South', i.e . U ppe r Egypt.leadi n g to the ruin of J udah ; henc e Eze kiel' s ho sttlity . g . Mar ch-April 57 1. Chronologica lly the last of29 a . December 588-January 587 . Ezekiel' s ora cles : it completes or revises his ea rlier ones :

b. ' My Nil es' (the various branches of the river as co mpe nsatio n fo r his failure 10 reduce Tyre co m-Nile) versions: ' My N ile' Hebr. nre rerv. v , IR, cf. 26:9+, Nebu ch adn ezzar is given

pe rmiss io n 10 plun der Egypt. As the agent of divinepunishme nt he deser ves his wages .

h. Symbol of power, so me times of me ssia nlc signifi­ca nce, e.s . Ps 132:17.

I. Referring not to Ezekiel's recurrent attacks ofd um bness, 3:26 : 24:26-27; 33:2 1-22. but 10 a silenceinduced by sha me. cr. 16:63, and now to be broken bym anksgtvi ng.30 a. A sup plement. probab ly lat e, to the p receding.

Against Egypt : the day of Yahweh

30 The word of Yahweh was addressed to me as follows," ·'So n of man,prophesy and say, "The Lord Ya hweh says this: How l: Alas, the day!

to the beasts of the earth an d the birds of heaven,so that all the inhab itants of Egypt may learn that I am Ya hweh,since they hav e given no more sup po rt than a reed to the Hou se

of Israel.Whenever they grasped you, you brok e in their handsan d cut the ir hands all ove r.Whenever they lea ned on you, yo u brokeand left their loin s shaking.c

8 For thi s reason , the Lor d Yahweh says this: I am sending the swor d aga inst you,9 to kill your men and your beasts . •Egypt will be reduced to desert and desolation,

and men will learn that I am Ya hweh. Since he has said: The Nile is mine,10 I made it, -very well, now I set myself against you and your Nile s. I mean to

red uce Egypt to desert and desolation, from Migdol to Syene and beyond toII the fro ntiers of Ethiopia ." -The feet of men will not pass that way, the feet

of animals will not pass that way . For forty years it will remain uninhabited.12 I inte nd to red uce the land of Egypt to a waste among wasted countries; for forty

years its cit ies will be a waste among ruined cities. And I shall scatter the13 Egyptian s among the nations, dispersing them throughout the peoples. -A nd

the Lord Ya hweh says this: After forty years have passed, I will gather the14 inhabitants of Egypt from the nations where they have been scattered. ' · 1 will

bring the Egypt ian captives back and reinsta l them in the land of Pathros,!15 the land they came from. T here they will constitute a weak kingdom. •Egypt

will be the weakest of kingdoms and no longer dom inat e other nati ons ; I shall16 reduce her, an d she will not rule any more over the nations. -She will no longer

be anything for the House of Israe l to trust in, but will be living evidence ofthe sins of Israel at the time when Israel turned to her for help . And men willlearn that I am the Lo rd Yahweh."

17 In the twenty-seventh yea r, on the first day of the first month," the wordof Yahweh was addressed to me as follows:

18 'Son of man , Nebuchadnezzar king of Ba bylon mobilised his army fora great expedition agai nst Tyre. Their head s have a ll gone bald , their sho uldersare all chafed, but even so he has derived no profit from the exped ition mounted

19 against Tyre either for himself or for his a rmy. -Since this is so, the LordYahweh says this: I am going to hand Egypt ove r to Nebuchadnezzar king ofBabylon. He will levy his share of riches there instead, will loot it and car ry

20 off the booty to pay his army. • In reward for his effor ts agai nst Tyre I amha nd ing th e land of Egypt over to him, since he has been working for me- it isthe Lord Yahweh who speaks.

2 1 'On that day I will cau se the House of Israel to sprout a horn, h and I shall allowyou to open your mouth for all to hear .' And so they will learn that I am Yahweh.'

18

19

23

24

4

I have th row n yo u to the ground ;I have made yo u a specta cle for other kings.By the immense numb er of your sins,by the dishonesty of your trad ing,you have de nied your sa nct ua ries.I have bro ugh t fire ou t of you to consume you .I have made you as hes on the gro undbefore the eyes of all who saw you .Of the nation s, a ll who know youare lost in a mazement ove r you .Yo u are an object of terror ;go ne for ever." ,

Aga inst Sido n"

The word of Ya hweh was ad d ressed to me as follows, · 'Son of man , turn ~?

towards Sido n a nd proph esy aga inst her. -Say, "The Lord Yahweh says th is: 22

Sidon, now I set myself against you ;I will show my glory thro ugh you.Men shall learn tha t I a m Ya hweh,since I will exec ute sente nce on herand displ ay my hol iness in her .I will send the plagu e to her ;blood shall flow in her streets,a nd in her the dead will fallunder the sword raised aga inst her on a ll sides,and so men will learn that I am Ya hweh.

Isra el delivered from the na tions

No mor e, for the Ho use of Israel,shall any of the host ile nation s sur rounding herbe a thorn that wou nds or a br iar that tea rs;a nd so men will learn that I am the Lord Ya hweh.

The Lord Ya hweh says this. When I ga ther the House of Israel from the peop les 25

among whom it is dispersed, this is how I a m going to display my holin ess inthe sight of the nati ons. They sha ll live on the soil that I gave to my servantJacob . -They shall live there in confidence, build hou ses, plant vineyards ; they 26

sha ll live in confid ence. When I inflict punishments on a ll the hostil esu rro unding nations, then men will lea rn that I am Yahweh their G od." ,

Aga inst Egypt

29 In the tent h year , on the twelfth da y of the tenth month ," the wo rd of I

Ya hweh was addressed 10 me as follow s, ·'Son of man, turn toward s 2

Pha raoh king of Egypt a nd prophesy against him and against the whole ofEgypt. -Spea k to him and say, "The Lord Ya hweh says th is:

Now I set myself aga inst you, Pha raoh king of Egypt,you grea t croco di le wallowing in your Niles,you have said : My Niles" are mine, 1 made the m.I a m going to put hook s through your jaws,mak e you r Nile fish stick to you r scales,and pull you out of your Nileswith all your Nile fish stick ing to yo ur scales .I sha ll dr op yo u in the desert , with all your Nile fish.Yo u will fall o n o pen grounda nd not be tak en up or bu ried .I shall give you as food

S136:3

~ 37:25

Is 19Jr 46

Zp 2:12

Ps 68:30

J r 25:33

38:4Jb 40::26

Ha b 1:14

32:2Jb 40: 25-41 :

26

I ~11 "

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3°:3 EZEKIEL / 398 1399 EZEK I E L 31: 18 ~

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32: 17-32

Ps 37:35Lm 3:33

Nb 16:33 +

Gn 2:8

ma aniflce ncc of E~YIl( which wi ll suddenly be dest royedby divine pun is hm ent .

c . '(0 a cedar of Lebanon' co rr .: Hcbr. a nd vers ionshave 'Surely (Hr . ' Behol d' ) A ssyr ia is a ceda r ofL ebano n',

b. ' Arabia' vers io ns . C ub is no t known : the G reekreads ' Lub' (Libya) .

c. 'sons of my covenant' Greek ; 'so ns of the landof the co vena nt ' Hebr ,

d. 'rams' Greek; ' va n it ies ' Hc br.e . Le. M em phi s in Lo wer ERYOL Fo r Pat hros

cr. 29:14 +. Z oa n is T a nis. a ci ty of the De lta . No isT hebes , capita l of Up per Egyp t, cf. Jr 46:25 -1- . Sin is d . ' the douds' G reek.one of the fo r t resses in the Delta. On is Heliopolis, e. 'to th e c lo uds ' Greek .Pi-bes eth Bubasris , bo th towns in Lower Egypt. f. ' th e p ri nce of the nat io ns' G reek: 'a ra nt ' Hebr.Ta hpa nhes is a front ier (Own east of th e Delta. The refe re nce is ev ident ly to Nebuc ha dnczzar, cf. Jr 43 :

t , ' t here will be a . . . ' Greek; Heb r. unintelligible. 12 f- , or to his successors. The severity of the punish-g . March-April 587. mcru desc ri bed eve n sug gests th e co nq ues t of Egyp th. Egyp t tri ed to int ervene with a view to ra isi ng by C am byscs in 525.

the sie ge of Je rus al em. but fa iled, cf. Jr 37:5· 8. g . 'cl o uds ' co r r.l, Pred icti o n o r a fu r ther defeat which will destr o y h. Hc br . ad ds ' h is ar m' .

th e rem ain der o f th e Egyptian a rmi es. I. The Ph a raoh bei ng the cedar. t he o ther kin gs are31 a . M a y-June 587. th e other t rees in th e eart hly pa ra d ise. d. vv, 7-9. All

b. T he sa me im ages arc used 'in the a llegory of thes e ' trees', ha vin g eone down to Sheol . will becit. 17 bu t wit h a d ifferent meaning. T hey descr ibe the consoled by the arrival of the Pharaoh. 32: 17f.

9

4

with noble branches, th ick -set need les a nd lofty trunk .It s to p p ierces the clouds."T he wa ters have made it grow , the deep has made it tall ,po uri ng its r ivers round t he pla ce where it is pla nted,se ndi ng its streams to all the other t rees .T his is why its trunk grew tall er than all the other tre es ;its branches incre ased in number, its bo ugh s stretched wide,because the ple ntiful wat ers reached it.All the b irds of heave n used to nes t in its branches ;under its boughs all wi ld a nima ls used to drop th eir young ;in its shade every kind of people sa t.It was beautifu l in its size, in the span of its bough s;its roots went deep into plent iful waters .No cedar eq ualled it in the garden of God,no cypress had branc hes such as these;no plane tree could match its boughs,no tree in the garden of God could rival its beauty.I had made it lo vely with branching gre en.It was the envy of every tree in Eden , in the ga rden of God.

10 "Very well th en , the Lord Yahweh says this:Since it has ra ised itself to its full heigh t, has lifted its top to th e clouds,'

11 an d has grown arrogant in its he ight, • [ have handed it over to th e prince of the12 nati ons;' to do with it as its wick edn ess deserves; I ha ve destroyed it. • Fo reigners,

the most barba ro us o f the nations, ha ve cut it down and felle d it. On themounta ins, in all th e va lleys, lie its branches ; its broken bo ug hs fill every ra vinethrough ou t the co untry ; every bo dy in t he cou ntry has left its sha de a nd deserted

13 it. -O n t he wreck age per ch a ll th e bir ds of hea ven ; a ll the wild a nimals havem ade th eir den s under its bran ch es.

14 In futu re let no t ree r ise in prid e beside th e wa ters, non e pus h its to pthrough t he clouds," no well-wa tered tree stretc h its who le height to wa rdsthem. Fo r all of t hem are d oomed to deat h, to th e region s underground , withthe common run of ma n kind, with t hose who go d own to th e pit.

15 T he Lord Yahweh says thi s: O n th e day it went down to Sheo l, I closedthe deep over it in sign of mourning. [ stopped its river s, the plen tiful wa tersdried up; I made Leba non dark fo r its sa ke, a nd a ll th e tre es of the fields wilted

16 for its sak e. •W ith th e noise wh en it fell I made th e na tion s qu ak e, as I hurledit down to Sheo l, with those wh o go down to the pit. In the regi on s u nd ergroundall t he trees of Eden took co mfort , all the noble a nd lovely trees of Leba non

17 no urished by th e waters. ·And wit h it went down to Sheo l, to th e vict ims ofth e swo rd ," a ll t hos e nations who used to live in its shade. '

I ~ Was anyone of a ll t he trees of Eden you r eq ua l in glory a nd size, for you to

Fo r the day is near, the day o f Yahweh is near; it will be a day da rk with clou d , 3

th e end o f a n epoc h for the nation s.The sword will come o n Egy pt, and terror will visit E thio pia wh en the 4

sla ug hte red fall in Egy pt, whe n her riches a re ca r ried aw ay , wh en her fou ndat io nsare destro yed.• C ush and Put and Lud , the whole of Arabia and C u b" an d the 5

so ns of my cove nant :' will fa ll by the sword along with th em.Ya hwe h says this:T he sup po rts o f Egypt will fall ; the pr ide of her st rength will cru mble ; peo ple

wi ll fall by th e sword from Migdol to Syene-it is the Lord Ya hweh who speaks.T hey will be la id waste among wasted countries; her cities will ran k wi th 7

other ru ined cities. -They will learn that I am Yah weh when [ set fire to Egypt ~

and a ll her supports are shattered .O n th a t day messenge rs despa tch ed by me will set out in boats to shake 9

the co m place ncy of Et hiopia. Terror will ru n through her inha bita nt s on theday o f Egypt-it is co ming no w! •T he Lord Yahweh says thi s: [ intend to destroy 10

the huge po pula t ion o f Egypt a t t he han d of Ne buchad nezzar king o f Babylon .He and his people, most barba ro us o f nat ion s, will be sent to ra vage the co untry . II

Th ey will d raw the swo rd against Egy pt a nd fill the country with corpses.I am go ing to dry u p the arms of the Nile, ha nd th e country over to brigands, 12

and lay the who le co untry was te a nd everything in it, a t th e ha nd of fore igne rs .l, Ya hwe h, have spo ken.

T he Lord Yahweh says this: I mea n to destroy th e idols, a nd ta ke the 13

rams" away from Noph.r T he la nd of Egypt will be left without a ruler. I shallspr ead terro r through the la nd of Egy pt. • [ shall lay Pathros waste, set Zoan on 14

fire, inflict my punis hment s on N o . • I s ha ll discharge my fu ry o n Sin, the 15

stro ng ho ld o f Egy pt; [ sha ll wip e ou t th e crowd ing populati on of N o . • I sha ll 16

se t fi re to Egy pt; Sin will be racked with a ngu ish; there will be a flood ' a t No,t he wat er s will inundate it. •T he yo u ng men of O n a nd Pi-bescth will fall by th e 17

swo rd a nd the cit ies them se lves go in to capti vity. ·At Ta hpanhes day will tu rn I~

to darkness when I sha tte r th e yo ke o f Egypt th ere, wh en the pride o f her st re ngthceases. A cloud will cov er her, a nd her daughter s will go in to ca ptivity . -S uch 19

will be th e punishments th a t I a m going to inflict on Egypt. A nd so men willlea rn th at I am Ya hweh."

In th e eleve nth year, on the sevent h day of the first mo nth," t he word o f 20

Ya hwe h wa s addressed to me as fo llo ws, · 'Son of m an , I have broken th e arm 21

of Pharao h king of Egypt; you can see th a t no one has bound up his woundto heal it, given it a ba ndage o r a dressing to make th e a rm stro ng en ou gh towield t he sword ag a in ." -A nd so, t he Lord Yahweh says thi s: Now I set my self 22

aga ins t Pha raoh king o f Egy pt ; I intend to bre a k his arms, th e so und o ne a nd t hebr o ken o ne, a nd mak e the swo rd drop from his hand. ' • I sha ll scatter Egypt among 23

the na tion s a nd d isperse he r th rou ghout th e coun tries . • I sha ll strengthen the 24

arms of the king of Babylo n a nd put my sword in h is han d . [ shall b reakPharao h's arms a nd , confronted wi th h is enemy, he will groan like a dying man .[ shall strengt hen the arms o f the king of Ba bylon, a nd the arms of Pharaoh 25

will fal l. A nd so men will learn th at I a m Ya hweh , wh en [ put my sword in to th ehands of the king o f Ba by lo n a nd he wields it a gai nst th e la nd of Egypt. .) mean 26

to sca tte r Egy pt a mo ng th e nat io ns and disperse her thr oug ho ut t he countries;a nd me n will lea rn th a t I a m Ya hwe h. '

The cedar

31 In the elevent h yea r, o n the first day o f the th ird mo nth," the word o f I

Ya hwe h was addressed to me as follo ws, ·'Son of man, say to Pharaohking of Egy pt a nd to all his subjects: "

" T o what sha ll I co m pa re you in yo ur grea tness?Su re ly, to a cedar of Lebanon"

29 :19

29: 19

29:10

Dn 4:7

29: 14 I·

29 : 11- 12

Jr 46:9 1

;1

I,

" I

If

I

II

Page 20: 33 Ezekiel

'IT'!

32 : 1 EZEKIEL 14°° 14° 1 EZEKIE L 33=3 ~

III. D U RI N G AND AFTER THE SIEGE OF JER USAL EM"

The prophet as sentry

33T he word of Ya hweh was addressed to me as fo llows, · 'Son of man,speak to the mem bers of you r nation. Sa y to them , " When I sen d the

sword aga inst a country, the peopl e of that cou ntry select one of the mselves3 and post him as a sen try; -if he sees the sword co ming against the co untry,

II)

oI

z(5

27:13:38:2,3 ; 39:1

Is66 :19Lxx

3:17-21

r. v. 19 is p laced af ter v, 21a as in the Greek.g, ' he r s treng th sha ll . .. totally ' Greek: Heb r,

un intelligib le.h . Heb r. adds 'c o me do wn and make yo ur

with th e uncircu mcise d ' .

3 2 a . Fe brua ry- M arc h 5l:l5. i . 'Co me do wn. make yo ur bed ' G ree k; 'They ca meb. 'yo u r no st rils' corr. down. thcy made their bed ' He br.c. ' lea d yo ur captives' Greek; 'cause your destr uc- i . Egy pt is welcomed by a ll the ki ngs o f th e nati on s

tio n' He br. kil led in bu ule befo re.d . Vv. 10·1 5 seem a later a dd ition. T he co nclusion. k , ' ro und her tomb' cor r.: ' ro und him h is tom bs'

v, 16. mu st o rig ina lly ha ve been jo ined 10 v. 9. Hcbr.e . ' t he Ilrst mon th ' Greek. Ma rc h-A pril 51':6. I. ' lo ng ago' Greek. ' sh ields ' corr.

m. Hebr. add s ' YOU sha ll be b ro ke n' .n . He br . add s 'asha med ' .o, ' He . . . lies' Targ. : ' I. . . lie ' Hebr.

33 a.The thir d sect io n of th e boo k co n tai ns the ora clesu tte red af te r Nebuc had nezz ar's invasi o n o f Pales tine

bed (ot hers a re fo u nd in th e sec on d sec tton : th e poe msag ai nst the na tion s) .

30

29

3 1

26

24

22

na tions in their majesty, to the region s und ergr ound, with those who go downto the pit.!

' With those who hav e fallen by the swo rd they too will fall; her strengthshall be totally extinguished. g - In Sheol the grea test her oes will address her," Do you excel anyone in bea ut y" now? -Co rne down, make your bed ' with theunc ircumcised who have fallen by the sword. " ;

'A ssyria is there with all her warrio rs round her tomb;" a ll killed , all victims23 of the sword ; ·their graves have been made in the deepest part o f the pit, wit h

he r army ro und her tomb, all killed , all victims of the sword, yet she once spreadterror throughout the land of the living.

'E larn is there, with all her troops round her tomb; al l killed, all victims ofthe sword, they have go ne down uncircumcised to the regions underground,yet she once spread terror throughout the land of the living. They en dure the

25 disgrace of those who go down to the pit. -In the midd le of the slaug hte reda bed has been mad e fo r her, with a ll her t roops round her tom b, a ll o f themuncircumcised , pu t to the sword, yet she once spread terror th rou ghou t the lan dof th e living. T hey endu re th e d isgrace of those who go down to the pit. Theyha ve been pu t am ong the slaug htered.

'Meshech is there, and T uba l, with all her troops rou nd he r tomb, a ll ofthem un circumcised, put to the swo rd for havin g spread terror th roughout the

27 land of the living . •T hey do not lie with the heroes who fell lon g ago, thosewho went fully a rmed down to Shcol, who had the ir swords la id under theirheads and their sh ields' pu t unde r their bones, since the heroes insp ired the land

28 of the living with terror. - Instead, yo u sha ll lie with the uncircumcised , m withth ose who have fallen to the sword.

' Edom is there, her kings and a ll her pr inces who, despite their va lour, havebeen la id with those who have fallen by the sword . T hey lie with theun circu mcised , with those who go dow n to the pit.

'A ll the pr inces of th e Nort h and a ll the Sidonians a re there, hav ing go nedown with th e sla ughtered, in spite of the terro r their po we r insp ired."U ncircumcised they lie with those who were victims of the sword. T hey endurethe disgrace of thos e who go down to the pit.

'Pha raoh will see them and ta ke co mfo rt at the sight of suc h a host pu t tothe sword, Pharaoh and his whole a rmy- it is th e Lord Ya hweh who speaks.

32 He who once sprea d ter ror throughou t the land of the living no w lies > withth e unc ircumcised, with those who were victi ms of the swor d , Pha raoh and hiswhole army. It is the Lord Ya hweh who speaks.'

20

2 1a19

2lb

be hur led with the tr ees of ·Eden down to the reg ions underground ? W ith th eunci rcumc ised there you lie; with the victims of th e sword lie Pha raoh a nd a llhis subjec ts- it is the Lord Ya hweh who spea ks." ,

I am go ing to th row my net over you in a great co nco urse of na tions ;they will d rag you as hore in my net.I mean to leave you on lan d , drop you on the gro und :mak e a ll the birds sett le on you,glut a ll the beasts of the ea rth with you,lay your carcase on the mo untains ide,fill the valle ys with yo ur offa l.I inte nd to water th e co untry with wha t flows fro m yo u,wit h yo ur blood, on the mountains ides,an d the ravi nes will be full of it.W hen I extinguish yo u I will cove r the sk ies,and da rken the sta rs.I will cover the sun with cloudsand the moon will no t give its light.I will dim eve ry lumina ry in heav en for you,and caller yo ur country in darkness-it is th e Lo rd Yahweh who spea ks.

I sha ll grieve the hea rt of many peoples when I lead your ca ptives' among 9

the na tions, into countries unknown to you. • dI sha ll stun many peoples with 10

shock a t your fat e ; the ir k ings will be pa nic-s tricken at yo ur fa te, when I bra nd ishmy sword before their eyes . On th e day of your fall, each will trem bleco ntinuously for his life . •For th e Lo rd Ya hweh says this: T he swo rd of the I I

king of Ba bylon will fo llow you . ·1 sha ll make your th rongs of subjec ts fa ll a t 12

the swo rds of my wa rriors, who are the mo st ba rbarou s of the nati on s. T heywill a nnihilate the pride of Egypt, and her whole populati on will be destroyed .I sha ll mak e a ll her ca tt le perish too on the ba nks of the deep wat ers. T he feet 13

of men will not muddy them aga in, the feet of an imals will not muddy themagai n. -Then I sha ll ca lm her waters; I sha ll make her rivers glide like oi l-it is 14

the Lord Yahweh who spea ks.W hen I red uce Egypt to desert and the country is st rippe d of its co ntents, 15

whe n I strike a ll t hose who live th ere, they will learn that I am Ya hweh .Such is [he dirge tha t the da ughters of the nati on s will raise . T hey will 16

ra ise it over Egypt and her huge po pula tion. T his is the d irge they will ra ise-it is the Lord Ya hwe h who speaks." ,

The crocodile

32 In the twelfth year, on the first day of the twe lfth month ," the word of I

Ya hweh was add ressed to me as fol lows, · 'Son of ma n, ra ise the d irge forPharaoh king of Egypt. Say to him, " Young lion of na tions , you have bee nwiped out.

"You were li ke a crocodile in the wat er ;yo u snorted through yo ur nost rils, b

yo u churne d the wat er with your feet,yo u mu ddied its streams.

"The Lord Yahweh says th is:

Egypt goes down to Sheol

In the twelfth year, on the fifteent h day of the first mont h,' the wo rd of 17

Ya hwe h was add ressed to me as follows, ·'Son of man , raise the d irge over 18

the huge popu lation of Egypt ; send them down, her and the da ug hters of the

lI a b 1: 14

29: 19

31: 16

26:19Jb 3: 14

31:12- 16

A:nX;l) IM 1 24 :2lJ

Is 14:9- 11

29:3-5Jb 40:25-41:

26

,

r

,I

Page 21: 33 Ezekiel

)1'I

33:4 EZEKIE L 14°2 140 J E Z E K I E L 34: 10

--'UJQ

VI

oI

zs

2:5Ilt 18:2 1J r 2t.::9Is 53 :6Jr 23: I~6Z.:, 1 1:4- 17o f MI 18: 12

14--' Lk [5:4-7/ J I1 10: 1-

18 +­S/: 1:7Is 56: 11Mi 2:12 :4:6

7: 14Z...' 9:16: 10:

3: 13:1I P5:?-./.\if 1."" -/ 2Lk 15 :4

M l 7:26Lk 8:2 1

Lv 18:20

. Lk 7:32

N h 27: 18Is 56:'}- 12Zc 10:2Mt 9:36

11 2: 1.1

she pherds. her e [he ki ngs and la y lea der s of th e people ,vv. 1- 10 . Ya hwe h will ta ke fro m th em the flock t heyhave ilt -t rcuted and himself become the she pherd ofh is people (d . Gn 4l'l:15 : 49:24 ; Is 40: II; Ps ~O: I ;Q5:7 and Ps 23) : (hi" is in effec t t he p ro cla mation o fa rhe ocracv. "Y. I I~ 16 : a nd in po in t of Iac t (he monar chywa.. IHH restored after t he re t urn from exile. Bu t th etim e was to .:O Ill C when Yahweh wo uld give his peo plea she p he rd o f his ow n chot ec . V Y. :n-24. a ' pr-ince' (d.45:7- 1'1: 4h :Iol - IO, 1(,- 1,10 , a uorh cr Da vid . T he terms inwhich rlu s m-ince's rciu u is described. vv. 25-3 I. a ndthe name "D a vid ' bv wh ich he is ca lled (sec 2 S 7: 1 !cr. Is 11: 1 I ; J r :23:5). suggl'sl a mess ian ic nee in whic h{ioL! h im se lf', hy m ea ns of his Mcsst ah . rul es his people

i, 't hro ng ' intemrctutio n uncertai n. "Fh cv. in iust tcc an d peace. In thi s text o f I:/,cki el we discer n(ru th ' follo win g Gree k. Ihe ou t line oft hc narublc o f the 1.0 ,,1S hee p. M t 11'\ : 12- 14 ;34 a , The ima ge o f th e k ing-sh epher d is dee ph' rooted L k 15:4-7, hut more espcci ul lv o f th e a llegor~' of thein Easter n litera ry t ra di uon. Jcrc m ln h used u of th e ki n as (;( lOt! Shepherd, In 10: I I - I X, whic h by virt ue o fus o rbn­Ill' Is rael to rebu ke th eir s lac kness in office. J r ~:~: nul CIHllC\I here is seen 10 be a claim 10 mcss la hship10:2 1; 23: 1-3, a nd 10 nr oclu iru tha t God wou ld give his Oil the pari of Je sus. T he Good Shephe rd is la ter topeopl e new s hep he rds wh o wou ld pa stu re them with become on e of the ea r lies t the mes o f Chris tia n Ico nogra­integr-ity. J r 3: 15: 23:.. , an d fr om these s he phe rds would nhv.co me a "Branc h' , Jr 23: 5-6. i.e. the M ess iah . Ezekiel h. 'S hep herds' Sr r. ; To the sh epherds ' Hebr.rakes UP the the me fro m J r 23: 1-6, lat er to be res um ed c . ' milk ' G reek ; 'fat ' Hebr.in Ze 11:.. ~ 17. For thei r wickedness he rebu kes the d . Prob a bly al ludi ng to worship on the ' hig h pla ces' .

b. As in 13: lOf. the itlus rruu o n ha s probably beens ugges ted b y t he d efensi ve prcpurati un s the n bei ngmade.

c . ' Yo u a rc to live' vcrsio ns : ' He is to live' Hebr.d. Hebr. insert s 'wi cked',c . Dece mbe r 5H6-Ja n uao' 585.r. Eze ki el had be e n deprived o f speech h y ' the

han d of Ya hwe h", cr. 3:24-27: 24:2 7.g . The obscrvatlon s ho ws t he PCOfl!c 'S a tlcc t to n f Il l

th ei r co u ntry b ut als o. even afte r th c d isas ter of 5H7.a pre sumpt uou s co nf i de nce in th ei r fu tur e.

h. Transla tio n do ubt ful . Possib ly correc t 10 ' '1'<111ca t on th e m oun tuins ". c f. I ~ : 6 .

26 of the la nd ? •You re ly on your swo rds, you engage in filth y practices, you eachcommit adu lter y with yo ur neighbou r's wife; a re yo u likely to retai n possession

27 of the lan d ?" •Te ll t hem this, "Th e Lo rd Ya hweh says this: As I live, I swear it,th ose in thc ruins will fall to the swo rd, those in the co unt rys ide I will give to wild

28 animals to devo ur , t hose in st ro ngho lds and caves will d ie of plag ue. · 1 intend toredu ce the land to desert a nd desola tio n and it will no long er ta ke prid e in itsstrength . T he mountains of Israe l will be deserted a nd no one will pas s that

29 wa y again . • And so men will lea rn that I a m Ya hwe h, when I redu ce the lan d todesert and desolati on o n account of all their fi lthy prac tices ."

The results of the preaching

.\ 0 'So n of man, thc members of yo ur na tion are tal king ab out you on theram pa rts a nd in doo rways. They keep sayi ng, " Com e a nd hear the word that has

.11 come fro m Ya hweh" .•T hey th ron g to wa rds yo u; my peop le sit do wn in frontof you a nd listen to yo ur words, but thcy do not ac t o n them . T hey ca nno t tell the

32 truth; and their hearts arc set o n d isho nest ga in. -As far as the y a re co ncerned,yo u a rc like a love so ng beautiful ly sung to mu sic . T hey liste n to yo ur wor ds,

.1.1 but no o ne r uts them int o pract ice. • Whe n the thin g takes place-s-and it isbeginn ing now-i- the y will learn tha t there has been a prop het amo ng them,'

The shepherds of Israel"

34 T he word of Yah weh was add ressed to me as fo llows , • 'Son of man,proph esy ag a inst the shep herd s of Israe l ; prop hesy and say to th em ,

"S he pherds," the Lo rd Ya hweh says th is: T ro uble fo r the shepherds of Israel whofeed themselves ! Shep he rds ou ght to feed thei r flock , ·yet yo u have fed onrn il k.r you have dr essed yo urse lves in wool , yo u have sacrificed thc fattest sheer,

4 but fa iled to feed the floc k.• You have faile d to mak e wea k sheer stro ng, or toca re for the sick ones, or bandage the wo unded on es, You ha ve fai led to bringback stra ys or look for the lost. O n the conrrury . yo u ha ve ruled them cruelly andvio lent ly. • For lack of a shepherd they have scat tere d , to become the prey of an y

" wild a nima l ; they have sca ttered fa r.• My flock is stray ing this way andthat ,on mo unta ins and on high hi lls ;'; my fl ock has been scattered allover theco unt ry; no on e bo thers about them and no onc looks for them .

'Well then , shepherds, hea r the word of Ya hwe h. ·As I live, I swear it- it ist he Lo rd Ya hwe h wh o speaks-si nce my flock has been looted and fo r lac k ofa shepherd is now th e prey of any wild a nima l, since my shepherds have sto ppedbothering abo ut my floc k, since my shepherds feed themse lves ra ther t han my

1;~ Iloc k, -in view of a ll thi s, shep herd s, hea r the word of Ya hwe h. -The Lo rd

The taking of the city

In the twelfth yea r of o ur ca pt ivity, o n the fifth day of the tenth month: 21

a fugiti ve a rrived from Jerusa lem a nd sa id to me, 'The city has been tak en ' .No w th e hand of th e Lo rd had been o n me ' the evening before the fugitive 22

a rrived; he had arened my mouth befo re the man came to me the next mo rn ing ;my mouth had been o pened a nd I was dum b no longer. "

The ravaging of the country

The word of Ya hwe h was then addressed to me as follow s, ·'Son of man , Hthe people livin g in th ose ru ins in th e land of Israel say, " Abrah am was a lonewhen he was give n possession o f th is land. Now we are many a nd we holdthe count ry as o ur domain,".

'Ver y we ll, tell th em , "The Lo rd Ya hwe h says this: Yo u ea t blood," you 25

raise you r eyes to your ido ls, yo u shed blood; a re yo u likely to keep possess ion

he sou nds his ho rn to a lert the people." ·11' so meone hears the so und o f the 4

horn , but pays no a tte ntio n, the sword will overtake him and dest roy him ; hewill have been resp o nsible fo r his own death.• He has hear d the sound of the 5

horn and paid no attent ion; his death will be his ow n responsib ility. But thelife of someone who pa ys attention to the wa rn ing will be secure.

"If, however, the sent ry has seen the sword coming bu t has not blown his 6

horn, and so the people are not alerted and the sword overta kes them anddest roys o ne of them, the lat ter shall indeed die for h is sin, but I will hold thesentry responsible fo r h is death."

'Son of man, I have a ppo inted you as sentry to the House of Israel. Whenyou hear a word fro m my mouth, warn th em in my name.• If I say to a wicked 8

ma n: Wicked wretch, yo u arc to die, and yo u do not speak to warn the wickedma n to renounce his ways, then he sha ll die for his sin, but I wi ll hold youresponsible fo r his deat h.• If, however , you do warn a wicked ma n to renouncehis ways a nd repent, a nd he does not repent, then he shall die for his sin, butyo u yo urself will have saved yo ur life.

Conversion and perve rsity

'Son of man, say to the House of Israel, "You a re cont inua lly sayi ng: Our III

sins and cr imes weig h heavily on us; we a re wasting away beca use of the m. Howare we to go o n living?" -Say to them , "As I live-i t is t he Lo rd Ya hwe h II

who spea ks-l tak e pleasure, not in the death of a wicke d man , but in the tu rningback of a wicked man who ch anges his ways to win life. Come back, co me backfro m yo ur evil ways . W hy a rc yo u so anx ious to die , Ho use of Israe l?"

'And yo u, son of man , say to the members of your nation, "The integrity of a n 12

up righ t ma n will not save him o nce hc has chosen to sin ; the wicked ness of awicked man will no lo nger condemn him o nce he ren ounces wickedness, no rwill an upright man live on the strength of his integrity on ce he has chose nto sin. ·11' I say to a n upr ight man : You a re to live," and then, trusting in his 13

own integri ty, he turns to evi l, all his integrity will no lon ger be remem bered ;because he has sinned, he sha ll d ie. ·11', however, I say to a wicked man: You 14

a rc to die , a nd he renounces his sins and does wha t is lawfu l and righ t, ·if he 15

returns " pledge s, resto res wha t he has sto len, keep s the law s th a t give life andstops co mmitt ing sin- he sha ll live, and will not d ie. ·A II his prev io us sins will 16

no longer be rem embered-he has do ne wha t is lawful and right; he sha ll live."The members of you r nati on o bject : W ha t the Lo rd do es is unjust ; bu t 17

it is wha t yo u do th a t is unj ust. •W hen an upright ma n ren ou nces his integrit y 18

a nd co mmits sin, he d ies for it. ·And when a wicked man ren ounces his 19

wicked ness and docs what is lawfu l a nd right , because of this he lives . -You 20

o bject: Wh at the Lo rd doe s is unjust ; but I mean to judge each of you by wha the docs, Ho use of Israel. " ,

3:26 <:!7

~ 18:30

i12: 1-l-

I I : 15

24:2 6-27

~ 3 : 1 7- 1 9

L v 17:10· 14

i. v 1:5 +

14:12-20 !.

! I 18:21-.10 .I ~: I

Ii i IR:23.3 1Ws 1:1 3 ;

11:26Lk 15:7.

10.32

II1n 8: I I

3:20: 18:24In 8:2 1

II

= IX:22

= 18:29

iI

~

Page 22: 33 Ezekiel

34:J J EZEKIEL 14°4 14° 5 EZEKIEL 36:I 2 ~t he mountain of Seir to desert a nd desola tion, and I will elimi nate everyone

8 who tra vels up and do wn the cou ntry. ·1 sha ll fill its mo u ntains with corpses;peo ple wi ll fall , st ruck down by the sword on yo ur hills, in yo ur va lleys, in

9 every one o f your ra vin es.• r am goi ng to reduce you to desolation, for everyou r towns will rem a in uninhabited, a nd so yo u will learn that I amYahweh.

10 Si nce yo u sa id to the two nations, th e two countries: ' You belong to me; weI I are going to take possession here wher e Ya hwe h used to be : -very well, as I live

- it is the Lord Yahweh who speaks-in a nger a nd fury I will do exactly wh atyou did because you hated them . I sha ll mak e it clear that I am punishing you

12 o n thei r behalf; -t hen you will know that I, Ya hw eh, have overheard all theo utrageous th ings you have sa id about the mo untai ns of Israel, suc h as : They have

13 bee n a ba ndo ned, they have bee n left for us to devour. •You ha ve talke d ar rogantly14 about me, too , yo u ha ve repeatedly slandered me ; I have hea rd ! -Th e Lord

Ya hwe h says this : To th e j oy of th e who le co u ntry, I a m go ing to red uce you to15 d eser t. -Si nce yo u rejoiced when t he do ma in o f t he Ho use of Israel beca me a

desert , I will do th e sa me to yo u, mo un tai n o f Se ir; yo u will become a deser t ,a nd so will the wh ole o f Edorn ; a nd so men wi ll lea rn th at I am Yahweh."

O racle on the mounta ins of Israel"

1 36 'Son of man, prophesy thi s to th e mou nt a ins of Israel. Say, " Mountai nsof Israel, hear th e wo rd of Ya hwe h" . -The Lo rd Yahwe h says thi s: Sin ce

the enemy has insulted yo u by say ing, "A ha ! T hese ete rna l heights ha ve now3 become ou r domain " , -you mu st prophesy. Say , "T he Lo rd Ya hweh says thi s:

S ince yo u ha ve been ravaged a nd se ized on by surround ing cou ntr ies, a nd tak enover by th e rest of th e nat io ns, and made the sub ject of peo ple's ta lk and go ssip,

4 now, m oun ta ins of Israel, hear the word o f the Lord Ya hwe h: T he Lo rd Ya hwe hsays th is to mo unta ins and hill s, to rav ines a nd va lleys, to abandoned ruinsa nd the empty pl un dered citi es tha t ha ve bec ome the laug hing-stock of a ll the

5 su rround ing nat ions.•Yes, the Lord Yahweh say s thi s: I swea r it by thefierce ness of my jealousy; I am speaking to the rest of th e nat io ns a nd to thewho le of Edo m who so exulta nt ly and con temptuo us ly took possession of myco unt ry a nd plunder ed it."

'Th is being so, pr oph esy thi s a bo ut the la nd of Israe l. Say to th e mountainsand hills, to th e ra vines a nd va lleys, "The Lo rd Ya hwe h says th is: I amspea king in my jeal o usy a nd rage: beca use yo u are enduring the insults of th e

7 nat ion s, I, -very we ll, th e Lo rd Ya hwe h says th is: I ra ise my han d a nd I swearthat th e nations ro und you sh al l ha ve thei r own insul ts to bear.

Moun tai ns of Israel, you will grow branches a nd bea r frui t fo r my people9 Israel, w ho will so o n return.' • Yes, I am co m ing to yo u, I have turned to you;

10 you will be t illed a nd sown. ·1 sha ll mul ti ply th e men who live o n yo u, the wholeH ouse of Israel, yes , a ll. T he cit ies will be lived in agai n a nd th e rui ns re bui lt.

11 I sha ll mul tipl y the me n an d a nimals th a t live o n yo u; th ere will be man y of thema nd th ey will be fert ile. I sha ll repopulate yo u as you were before; I sha ll make youmore prospe rous than you were be fore , and so you w ill lea rn that I am Yahwe h.

12 T ha nk s to me, men wi ll tread your so il again, my peo ple Israel; they w ill ha veyou for the ir own d omai n, an d never again will yo u rob them" of th ei r ch ild ren .

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Ps 69: 35

c . A fter 5S7 Edo r n made at tempts to overrun notonly the k ingdom of Judah bu t the whole of Palestine.36 a .The reveng e of the m ou n tain s of Israel o n themo uru a!n of Scir. ch . 35.

h . T he orn ctc ma y ha ve bee n ut te red sho rl lr a fte r :"S7when th e ncinh bourtng Peoples were m a k in g Ioruyxin to Pal estine .

c . S UI,..h fait h in a ho me-comi ng in th e ncar fut ure issuikt ng at th is l ime or sho ck and dls co ur uuct uc ut ,c r. ch. 37 and Is 40-55.

d. ' ne ver agai n will you ro b ' co rr.

c. ' I sha ll watc h ove r ' ver sion s ; ' I sha ll destroy'Hebr .

r. Z ion . T he tr an s lation follows the G reek .g . H cbr , add s ' o f men ' .

3 5 a. T h is oracle a gai ns t [he ' mo unt ain of Scir" ( Edo m)wo uld find a mor e nat u ra l p lace a mona the "O rac lesaaai ns t th e na tio ns' , bu t is evidenuv p laced here (0balance th e subseq ue nt o racle add ressed 10 the mo un ­tain s of Isra el.

b. 'you ha ve sin ned' versio ns: ' YOU have ha tedbloo d' He br .

Yahweh says this: J a m go ing to call the shepherds to account. J am goi ng totake my flock back fro m them and I sha ll not allow them to feed my flock. In th isway the shep herds w ill stop feedi ng themselves. I sha ll resc ue my shee p fromtheir mou th s ; t hey will not prey on them a ny mo re.

F o r the Lord Ya hweh says this: I am go ing to look a fte r my flock myse lf I I

and keep a ll of it in view. -As a she pherd keeps all h is flock in view when he 12

stands up in the mid d le o f his scattered sheep, so shall I kee p my sheep in view.I shall rescue the m from wherever they have been sca tte red during the mist a nddarkness . ·1 sha ll brin g t hem o ut of the cou ntr ies where they a rc; I sha ll gat her 13

them togethe r from fore ign coun tries and b ring them back to the ir ow n lan d .I shall pasture the m o n the mo un ta ins of Israel, in the ra vin es a nd in everyinhabited pla ce in th e la nd.• I sha ll feed them in good pa sturag e ; th e high 14

m ountains o f Is rae l will be their gra zing grou nd. T he re th ey will rest in goo dgra zing gro und; th ey will br owse in r ich pas tu res o n th e mounta ins of Isra el.I myself will past ure my sheep, I mys elf will show them where to rest-it is 15

the Lo rd Ya hwe h who speaks.• I sha ll look for the lost o ne, bring back the stray, "ba ndage th e wo und ed a nd ma ke th e wea k st ro ng. I sha ll watch ove r ' th e fat a ndhealthy. I sha ll be a tru e shepherd to th em .

As fo r you, my sheep, the Lord Ya hweh say s th is: I will judge betw een 17

shee p a nd sheep, bet ween ram s and he-g oa ts.• Not co nte nt to graze in good I~

pastures, you trample down th e res t; no t content to dri nk clea r water, yo umuddy th e rest with your feet. -A nd my sheep must graze o n what yo ur feet have 19

t rampled , drink what your feet ha ve m udd ied .• Very well then , th e Lo rd Ya hwe h 20

sa ys this: r myself a m no w a bo ut to ju dg e between fat sheep a nd lean s hee p.Si nce you have butted a ll the weak sheep with your rumps a nd sho ulders a nd 2 1

horns, u nt il yo u ha ve chased them away , ·1 am going to eome a nd rescu e "my sheep fr om bein g cheated; I will j udge bet ween shee p a nd sheep.

I mean to raise up o ne s hepherd , my serva nt David , a nd to put him in charge of 23

th em a nd he will pasture them; he will pastu re them a nd be th eir shephe rd .I, Ya hwe h, will be the ir God, a nd my serva nt David sha ll be th eir ru ler. I, Ya hwe h, !-I

ha ve spoken. • I sha ll mak e a covena nt o f peace with t hem ; I sha ll r id th e co untry 25

of wi ld a nima ls. T hey will be a ble to live sa fely in th e wilde rness a nd go to slee pin the woods . • I sha ll se tt le them round my hill;! I sha ll send rain at t he proper 26

time; it wi ll be a fe rtile ra in. -The tre es of the co untrys ide will yield th eir fruit 27

and the eart h its p roduce; they w ill feel sa fe on t he ir ow n fa rm s. A nd me n willlearn that I am Yahweh when I break their yo kes t ra ps a nd relea se the m fro mt heir ca pto rs.• No more will they be a prey to foreign co untr ies, no more w ill 28

they be ea te n by wild a nima ls in thi s co untry. T hey will live wi tho ut fea r andno on e wi ll d istu rb them agai n . ·1 sha ll make splend id vege ta t io n grow fo r th em ; 19

no m ore wi ll they su tTer fro m fami ne in thi s la nd ; no mo re will they have to beart he ins ults o f o the r nat ion s. -A nd men will learn t hat I, th eir G od , am with them 30

a nd that they, the House of Isr ael, arc my peop le-it is th e Lo rd Ya hwe h whospea ks.• A nd you, my sheep , a rc the flock " [ sha ll pa st ure, and I a m yo u r G od- 3 1

it is th e Lord Ya hwe h w ho spea ks ." ,

Aga inst the mountains of Edom«

35T he word of Ya hweh was a dd ressed to me as fo llows, · 'Son of man, turntowards the mountain of Sc ir and prophesy aga inst it. -Say to it , "Th e

Lord Ya hweh says this: N o w I set mys elf against you, mountain o f Scir ; I a mst re tching o ut my ha nd agains t yo u ; I am go ing to red uce you to des ert a nddesolati on, .( lay your towns in ruin s, a nd make yo u a des o lat io n, a nd so 4

you will learn that I am Ya hwe h. -Sincc, nourishing a lo ng-sta nd ing ha tred , yo u 5

bet rayed th e so ns o f Isr ael to th e sword d uri ng thei r tr ouble, a t th e time of theirla st c rime, -very we ll, a s I live-it is the Lo rd Yahweh who speaks- I mea n to 6

hand yo u over to bloodsh ed , a nd bloodshed w ill pu rsue you . I swea r it ; yo u hav esin ned /, by shedd ing blo od, a nd bloods hed will p ur sue yo u. • I intend to red uce 7

.' Rv 16:6

Ps 67:6

Tb 14:7

Is 11:6-9 +Jr 23:5-6Ho 2:20

Lv 26:4Ps 84:6

37:24Ps 78:7 0J n 10:16

I n 10:9

Is 40: 11L k 15:4-7

;- M t 25:32­34

25: 12-14·LNb 20:23 ·­

Ps 137:7Am 1:11

II

Page 23: 33 Ezekiel

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cf. M l 3:16 + .37 a . The va lley al ready ment ion ed in 3:22 -23 a nd 8:4.

b . In lIebr. , the o ne word wah means ' sp irit ",·brc~lI h ' . 'w ind ' .

c. Li l . ' t he bo nes ca me tnwards one a no the r ' G reek .d. lI e re, :,s in U n 6:2 : 13:14 an d Is 26 :19. God

:lIln OUllces . v\' . 11-1 4 , the messianic reslOratio n o fIsrael " ncr t he su fTerhll::s of t he Exile, cf. R v 20:4 +.Bu t also , by t he im a J.eery chosen , he is a lrea dy p repa rin gmi nd s for th e idca of a n ind ividu a l rcsurreclio n of thebod y, va~ue ly per ceived in Jb 19:25 -j" and expli cit lysta te d in D n 12:2 ; 2 M 7:9~ 14 ,23-36: 12:43-46 ;cr. 2 M 7:9 t· . For t he N .T ., see M t 22: 29-32 a ndcSDcdallv 1 Co 15.

1,.' . T h is re ma rk sug gests that the vis io n ta kes plac ein Ua b ylo n, a mo ng the d isco urall:ed ex iles.

r. He re th e term is n ot used in a nt it hes is toJ udaea ns. b ut mea ns t he who le po pu lat io n of theSo u the rn K inll:d om.

g . I.e . Ihe who le Nor thern K inJZdom which va nis heda fte r t he fa ll o f Samar ia a nd t he depo rt at io n of 720.

b . 't he s tick of J uda h wit h the m ' co rr ,

c , Rcferrlna eit her ( 0 t he poor so il of Pa lest inewhich is to he made wo nderfu lly ric h , v, 30. o r to t hep ractice of in fa nt sac ri fice . Lv 1!'t:2 1+ . Poss ibl y bo tharc in the pr oph et 's min d .

r. T he sp ir it (b rc:ll h ) o ( ('od . wh ic h crea tes andgives life. ( i n 1:2 : 2:7 1- . 1<1 YS ho ld on men to endowthe m wi th supe rhu ma n power. Gn 4 1:3X: Ex 31:3:I S 16: U, n<lrt k u la rl y t he prophe ts . J g 3: 10 1- . T hecharac te ris tic of the messi anic ag e is to be an cx tra ­on.lin m Y ou tpouri ng of Ihe sp iri t. Zc 4:6 b : 6:X, o n a llmen. e ndo wing th em w ith sp cc ia l graces. Nb 11:29 :J I 3: 1-2 ; A c 2: 16·2 1-1- . Bu t, m or e mys teri n usly , fo reach recei ve r th e s p irit w ill be th e pr inci p le o f anin war d re new a l ma kin g possib le a f.tithfu l obse rv a nceo f t he la w o f G o d. Ezk 36:26~27; 37:14: 11:1 9 ; Is 32:1 5 ~ t 9 ; Z..: 12: 10: Ih us the SPiri t will be t he p rincip lei nsp i ri n~ t he ne w cove na nt. J r 3 1:3 1 I · ; like l ife ~ ~ i \' in ~

wa te r it will nnur ish fruit s of in tc J.;: rit y a nd holi ness.Is 44 :3 : In 4: I I , wh ich in tu rn will JZ uara ni cc t hefa vnur anJ p rot ec tion of G od fo r man , Ez k 39 :24 ,29.T his effusion of the l'iPi ri t will be e ffected t hro ugh theMess ia h who will be the first recip ien t of it . to be abl eto acco m p lish his sav ing wo rk. Is 11: 1-3 ; 42: 1; 6 1:1;

.Iudah and Israel in one kingdom

T hc wo rd o f Yahwe h wa s a ddressed to me as fo llo ws, ·'Son o f ma n, take ast ick and write on it , "J uda h an d tho sc Israelites/ loyal to him". Take a not herst ick a nd writ e o n it, "Joseph, thc wood o f Ephra im, a nd a ll the House o f Israelloya l to hi m" . "

'J o in o nc to the ot he r to ma ke a singlc piece of wood, a s ing le st ick in yo urI K hand. -A nd when thc members of yo ur na t io n say, "Te ll us what yo u mea n" ,19 say , "The Lord Ya hweh says thi s: I a m taking the stick of Joseph, now in the

han d of Ep hra im, a nd t hose tribes o f Israc l loya l to hi m, and 1 a m goi ng to putthe st ick o f Juda h with thcrn «. I sha ll make onc st ick ou t o f the two, a nd I sha llho ld t hem as o ne."

' Keep th c pieces of wood you have writ ten o n in your hand whe re they21 ca n sec, -a nd say , "The Lo rd Yahweh says this : I am go ing to take the so ns

of Israel from th e nat ions where they have go ne , I sha ll ga the r the m toget her22 from eve ryw he re a nd br ing them ho me to their ow n so il. ·1 shall ma ke t hem in to

17

20

1516

.\ d r ied up . • He sa id to me , 'So n of ma n, can these bo nes live?' I sa id , 'You know,4 Lord Yahweh' . • He said, ' P ro ph esy over these bones. Say , "Dry bones, hear the5 wo rd o f Yahweh .•T he Lord Yahweh says th is to th ese bones: I a m no w go ing to" ma ke the br ea th :' enter you, and yo u wi ll live . ·1 sh a ll put sinews o n yo u, I sha ll

make flesh grow on yo u. 1 sha ll co ve r yo u with sk in a nd g ive yo u bre ath , and you7 will live: and yo u wi ll lea rn th at I a m Ya hwe h." ·1 prophesied as I had been

o rde red. W hilc I was pr ophesying, th ere wa s a no ise , a so und of clat tering; a nd, the bo ne s joined to gether. " >I looked , a nd saw that they were covered with sinews;

flesh wa s gr owing on them and sk in wa s co verin g them , but there wa s no breath9 in th em . • He sa id to me, ' Pro ph esy to thc breath; prophesy, so n o f man. Sa y to

thc breath , "The Lord Ya hwe h say s th is: C o rn e from the four winds, breath;10 bre a the on these dead ; let th cm live!" . ·1 prop hesied as he had ordered me, and

t he breat h entered the m ; they came to life a ga in a nd stood up o n the ir fee t,a grca t, an imme nse army: '

11 T hcn hc sa id, 'So n o f ma n, t hese bon es a re thc w ho le House of Israel. T heykeep say ing, "Our bo nes a rc d ried up, ou r hope has go nc ; we a rc as good as

12 dead" ..· · So pro phesy.Say to them, "T he Lord Yahwe h says thi s: I am now go ing toopen you r graves : I mca n to ra ise you fro m yo ur graves, my peopl e, a nd lea d you

1.1 back to the so il of Israe l. -And yo u will know tha t I a m Ya hwe h, when loren14 yo u r graves a nd ra ise yo u fro m yo ur g rav es , my people. -A nd I sha ll ru t my

spirit in yo u, a nd yo u will live , and I sha ll resett le yo u o n yo ur ow n soi l; a nd youwill kn o w that I. Yahwe h, ha ve sa id a nd do ne th is - it is the Lo rd Ya hwe h whospea ks." ,

The dr y hones

37T hc hand o f Ya hweh was la id o n me , a nd he carried me away by the spirit I

o f Ya hwc h a nd sc t me down in the middle o f a va lley," a va llcy fu ll o fbo ncs . • He ma de me wa lk up a nd down a mo ng the m . T here were vast qu a n tit ies 2

o f these bo nes o n thc ground the who le lengt h of th e va lley ; and th ey wcre q uite

The Lord Yahweh says this: Since peo ple have sa id o f yo u: Yo u are 13

a man-cater , yo u ha ve robbed yo ur nat ion o f its ch ildren: - ve ry wel l, yo u wi ll 1·\

eat no more men , neve r ro b yo u r nat io n of its ch ildren a ga in-it is th e LordY a hwe h who speaks. · 1 sha ll neve r aga in let you hear the insult s of the na tio ns, 15

yo u will never aga in nave t o bea r t he taun ts o f the foreign ers, yo u wi ll ne veraga in ro b thc nat io n of its ch ildrcn-it is the Lo rd Yahwe h who spea ks ." ,

The wo rd of Yahwe h was add ressed to me as follows: · 'Son o f man, the : ~

member s of the Hou se o f Israe l used to live in the ir own land, but they defi ledit by the ir con duct and acti on s; to me th eir co nd uc t was as unclean as a woman'smen struati on . · 1 then discharged m y fury at them bec ause of the blood thcy sh ed 1M

in thc ir la nd and the idols with wh ich they defiled it. • I sca tt e red th em a mo ng 19

the nat ions a nd dispersed them in fore ign count ries. I sentenced them a s theirco nd uct a nd ac tio ns deserved . -And now they ha ve p rofaned m y ho ly na me 20

a mong the na t io ns whe re the y ha ve gone, so tha t peo ple say of them , "T hese a rethe people of Yahwe h; they ha ve been exiled fr om h is la nd " . · Bu t 1 have bee n 21

concerned a bo ut my ho ly na me, which the House of Israe l has profaned a mongthe na tions where they ha ve gone. -And so, say to the House of Is rae l, "T he 22

Lord Yahweh says th is: 1 am n o t doing th is fo r your sa ke, House of Israe l,but fo r the sake of my holy name, wh ich yo u ha ve profaned a mong the nat io nsw here you have gone. ·1 mean to d isp lay the holi ness of my great na me, w hich ha s 2 .1

been profa ned a mo ng t he nati on s, whic h yo u ha ve pr o fa ned a mong th em . A ndthe na t io ns will lea rn that I a m Yahwe h- it is the Lo rd Ya hwe h who spca ks­whe n I di sp lay my ho lin ess fo r yo ur sa ke before the ir eyes. •T he n I a m go ing to 24

take yo u from a m o ng the nat io ns a nd ga the r yo u toge th e r fro m a ll th e fo re igncou nt rie s, and bri ng yo u ho rne to yo ur ow n la nd . ·1 sha ll pou r c lean water over 25

you a nd yo u will be c lca nsc d ; I sha ll cleanse yo u of a ll yo ur de fi leme n t and a llyo u r ido ls. • , sha ll give you a new hca rt,and r ut a new spirit in yo u ; I sha ll remove 26

thc heart of sto ne fro m yo u r bo dies a nd g ive you a hea rt of Ilcsh instead.• 1sha ll 27

put my spiri t in you, a nd make yo u keep my la ws a nd since re ly respec t m yob scrvunccs . ' • You willl ivc in the land which I ga ve yo ur a ncestors. You shall be 28

m y people a nd I wi ll be your G od . · 1 s ha ll rescue you from a ll yo ur def ilement. 29

I shall sum mon thc corn and make it p lent iful , and no more bring famines o n yo u.I sha ll increase the yie ld of fru it trees and fields so t hat yo u wi ll no lo nger have 30

the igno miny of fa mi ne a mong the nat io ns. -The n yo u will re me m ber your cv il 3 1

co nduct a nd act ions. You will loa th e yourselve s fo r yo ur si ns a nd yo u r filt hypract ices. ·1 ass ure yo u t ha t I am not do ing thi s for yo ur sa ke-it is the Lo rd 32

Ya hweh who speaks. Be as ha me d a nd blus h fo r yo ur conduct, House of Israel.T he Lord Yahwe h sa ys thi s: O n the day I cleanse yo u from all you r si ns, 33

1 wi ll re popula te the c it ies a nd ca use th e ru ins to be re built. •Waste land, o nce 34

deso la te for every passer-by to see, will no w be fa rm ed aga in. • Everyone will say: 35

T h is la nd , so rece nt ly a wa s te , is no w like a ga rde n of Ede n, a nd th e ruined citieso nce abandoned a nd leve lled to the grou nd a re now strongholds wit h peoplelivin g in thcm . · A nd the na t ions left round yo u will kno w that I, Yahwc h, ha ve 36

rebu ilt what was destroycd and rep la n ted wha t was rui ned . I, Ya hweh, havcspoken, a nd I will do it.

T he Lord Yahwe h says th is: To grant them furt he r favour, 1 sha ll 37

enco uragc th e Ho us c o f Isracl to look for me, a nd sha ll incr ca sc thcm likc aIloc k o f mcn, · Iikc a flock o f sacr ificia l a nima ls, like t he Iloek in Jerusa lcm o n hcr 38

so lcm n fca st s. And so you r rui ned ci t ies will be filled with a human floc k. A ndmcn will Ica rn th a t 1 am Yahwe h." ,

16:6 1-63

Jr 36: 31

Ps 107:36I ~ 51:3

Ps 116:2

11:17Tb 14:5

Zc 3:7

Ps 5 1: IH

Lv 15: 19- 27ELf 9: 11

11: 16

16:60-63 ;20:9

Ps 79:9;115:1Is 41'::1 tBa 2:19Aft 6:9

Is 16 :19110 6:2

3: 12 +

20:3 9 I·Ps 106:8

Is 52:5.»Rm 2:24

L v 26: 11-1 2

Ps 5 1:7r: 13: I

Jn 3:5 :4: l t

t 1:19 IJr 4:4 ; :33:1':

In 17:32 Co 3:3

1I :20A c 2:33

Page 24: 33 Ezekiel

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Ps 46:9

Na 3:3

Si 36 :3

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1 Ch 20:23Z c 14 :14Ps J1:6R v 20:9

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o. 'evcrv sort of te rr or " Greek : ' a ll my mouut uinsHc br.39 a . Ch. :\9 is not a doublet o f ch. Jl\ b u t a de velop­me n t of its c los ing verses -e n dctai lcd accOUIlI of thedefea t o f ctoe an d it s conseq ue nces.

h, Or noss iblv (ve rsion s a nd so me Hebr. ~1SS)

'the hoh' on e of ls ruct' .c. ' fa mous ' ve rs io ns . 'A bart mVu te. The Ab arr m

h ill .. consrtunc the p lateau o f M oab. The ' vnflcv isev ide nt ly the d ee p ami nrec ini to us ~;'lr~c of th e ' \ '-'1011 .

d . t .e . 'of t he ho rd e o f ( io~ ·.

EZ E KIEL

i. ' my o wn lan d and ' Gr eek . d . Ya hwe h seizes Go g a nd will enforce obed iencel . 'be t rayals" Svr.: "habi tations ' He br. on hi m.

3 M .:1 . Though no t a pure apoca ly pse, this poem alreudv e. Probably t he Cimmcrtans. a lso from th e N .s hows a num ber of anoculvnuc fea tures . \ Vh ilc [he f. ' u t my service ' G reek : 'a t th eir se rv ice ' Hcbr.ea r lier prophet s wer e in the ma in co nce r ned with g , Hence lone afte r the re turn W Pa les t ine.contemporary mora lity a nd o n ly ucc asro nallr loo ked h. U naware o f be ing the iu suumcnr o f Y..rhwch .ah ead 10 a mo re alonous fut ure . the pu rp ose of a n ( i o).!supposes h im se lf a frcc a nent .anocalvpse. w he ther wr itten o r sp oken . is us ua lly to i . ' reac h o u t m y hand ' Greek .co ns o le by th e vis io ns t hc nronhct has seen, T he se i . Je r usal em . centre o f the: wor ld , cr. 5:5.vis io ns reveal a fu ture tha i w ill cc tlp se p rese nt mise ry. k . 'vou a rc nlan run u to set Q U I' G ree k .Often. lOO. they reveal t hc fo rthcomi n g trium p hs (If I. ' II wa s t lf yo u' vcrs io ns : ' Was it of YOU' Greek .d ivine judgeme nt a nd . oncn lnu cschatoloul..-a l vistas . III . All usio ns 10 a fu tu re invas io n a rc fou nd in theu nveil m ys te ries (I f t hc wor ld to corne . A lth ough t h is ea rlie r p rophet s. sec for cxamnlc J r .' . 6. hut Ezckictfo rm of litera tu re was particu la rl y c ult iva ted in ta ter he re Sl'C l11S \I I be t hin kin g (If prophe ts ea r lie r t hanJudaism. t he Bible co n ta ins severa l exa m p les of it s Jeremiah .ear lier smncs of deve lo n rnc nt . of. In tro d uc tio n to th e II . SO far. ( rOg ha s been the in strU I11CI11 o f YuhwchP rop he ts . Ez k JS-J 9 m a rk s the ea rli est stage . Furthe r who no w . however. turns on him 10 intli ct a terri b leexa m p les OCC UI" in Is 24-2 7: Dn 7- 12: Zc 9-14. Th e defeat.m ost vigo r- nus period of dev elopmen t was the 2n d cen-t ury B.C . uhc Hook of Enoch, etc.). It is repr esen tedin the N. T, by t he apocalypse of St John (R v}.

b. '( iog and t he cou nt ry of Mazo n' Grcck : 'G oa.co un tr y' o f Manon' Hebr.

c. Mes hech and T uba l a re northe rn countries on thebo rders of t he Hlack Sea. cf", 27 : IJ. Magog. nOI kn ownfrom o ther so ur ces, sho uld be as si gned to t he samear ea . It seems useless to try to ident ify (j og. Doubt lessde r iving Iea ru rcs fro m seve r -at co nt empor ary- person ­a li lies. he ligures here as t he tvne o f vic torious ba rb arianwho in a n un spe cified d ista n t fu tu re will infl ict thefin a l o rdeals 011 Is rae l.

' 40 9my fu ry I sa y it: I swea r that on that day there will be a fearfu l qu a king in the

20 land o f Israel. - A t m y presence th e fish in the sea a nd the b ird s o f he a ven, thew ild beasts a nd all th e repti les t ha t crawl a long th e g ro und, a nd all men on earth ,

21 will quake, Mountains will fall , c1ifTs crumble, wall s coll apse, a nd ·1 will co nfronthim w ith eve ry sort of terro r s-s-it is th e Lo rd Ya hwe h wh o sp eak s, H is m en wi ll

22 turn their swords on each other, · 1 wi ll puni sh him w ith plague and bloodsheda nd send torrent ial rain , hai lstones, tire and br im st on e against him and his

23 hordes and aga ins t t he many nations w ith him, · 1 me an to di sp lay my greatnessa nd holiness and to com pel the ma ny nati on s to acknowledge me ; this is ho wthey wi ll learn that [ am Yahweh ,"

I 39 "'Son of m an , pro phesy aga inst G og, Sa y, " T he Lo rd Ya hwe h says this:Now I set myself aga inst yo u, Gog, pri nc e of Ro sh , Meshech and T uba l.

I w ill tu rn yo u rou nd , lead yo u on, and br ing you fro m the farthest nort h toattack the moun tai ns of Israel. -I will b reak the bow in yo ur le ft hand and das ht he arrows o ut of your right, • Yo u w ill be k illed o n the m ou n ta ins o f Israe l, yo uand all yo u r ho rdes, and th e nat io ns wit h yo u, I sha ll make yo u food for carr ionbirds and wil d beast s , • Yo u w ill fa ll in th e open countrys ide , I have spo ken- it isthe Lord Ya hweh who speak s, • I wi ll send fire to Mag og and o n th ose living un­di sturbed o n isla nds , and the y wi ll lea rn tha t' a m Ya hweh, · 1 a m go ing to seetha t my hol y name is known a mong my peop le Israel , a nd 1 will no lo nge r a llowmy ho ly na me to be p ro fa ned ; the nat io ns sha ll lea rn thai I a m Yahweh, holyin Isra el. I,

Al l th is is go ing to happen , a ll th is is going to ta ke pla ce-s-i t is the Lo rdYa hweh w ho speaks , Th is is the day I p red icted,

T he c it izens or t he towns of Israe l w ill go out a nd use these arms forfirewood : shields a nd buck lers, bo ws a nd a rro ws , cl ubs a nd ja velins, For seven

10 years they wi ll feed the lir e with them , • Men w ill sto p loo ki ng for wo o d in th ecountryside o r cutting it in th e forcst ; they w ill be feed ing th e lire w ith a rms ,T hey will plunder tho se wh o plund e red them, a nd tak e spo il fr om th ose whodespoi led them-it is the Lord Ya hwe h who spea ks,

l i On that day, I shall give Gog a famous spot in Israel for h is grave-the va lleyof the Abarun ,r on the east of t he Sea- t he valley that turns back the travel ler -s­and the re Gog an d hi s w ho le a rmy will be bu r ied , and it sha ll be ca lled the Va lley

12 of Ham o n-gog.« -The H o use of Israe l w ill ta ke se ve n m onth s to bury the m a nd

140SEZEKI EL3T 23

one nation in my own la nd an d ' on the mounta ins o f Is rae l, a nd one kin gis to be k ing o f th em all ; th ey w ill no lo nger form two nati ons, nor be twose pa rat e ki ngdoms, • T hey wi ll no lo nge r defi le th emse lves w ith th eir idols a nd 2 )

the ir fllth y pr acti ces an d a ll the ir s ins, I sha ll resc ue t he m from al l the betrayal s;th ey ha ve been g uilty o f; I shal l c lea nse th em ; th ey sha ll be my peo ple a nd I w illbe t he ir GOlL • M y servant David wi ll re ign o ve r them , o ne she phe rd for a ll; 2-l

th ey w ill fo llow my observ a nces, resp ect my la ws a nd pr act ise them , -Thcy w ill 25

live in the la nd th at I ga ve my servant J acob, the land in wh ich yo ur a ncestorslived , T hey w ill live in it, th ey, th e ir ch ild ren, t he ir ch ild ren's ch ild re n, for ever,David my se rva nt is to be th eir pri nce for ever , -I sh a ll make a co ven a nt o f peace 21,

w ith th em, a n et ernal covena n t w ith th em , I shall reset t le them a mi incr ea seth em ; 1 sh a ll set tle my sa netua ry among them fo r ever , ·1 sh a ll ma ke m y ho rne 27

above them ; 1 will be th e ir God, th ey sha ll be my people, ' A nd th e nat ion s w ill 2x

lea rn that I am Ya hwe h t he sa nct ifier or Israel , wh en my sa nc tua ry is with th emfor ever," ,

Again st Gog, ki ng of Magog"

38 T he wo rd of Ya hweh wa s add ressed to me as fo llo ws, ·'So n o f ma n, turntowards G og a nd the co untry of Magog, I, t he pri nce o r R osh, Mc shcch

and T u ba l," a nd pr o ph esy aga inst him, -S ay, " T he Lord Ya hw eh says this:I a m aga in st yo u, Gog, p rince of Rosh, Mcshcc h a nd T uba l. ·1 w ill tu rn yo uro und , fix ing hoo ks in yo u r jaws: ' a nd d rag you and yo ur troops a lo ng, al l thehorses a nd we ll-armoured horsem en, a nd a ll that gre a t a rmy ca r ry ing sh ieldsand bucklers, and w ield ing swords, • Pe rs ia and C ush and Put a re wit h them , allw it h buckler a nd he lmet ; -Go mer and all its t roo ps , no rth e rn m ost Beth- (,togarrnah and a ll its troops," a nd m a ny nat ion s w ith yo u, • Be ready , be wel l 7

prepa red , yo u a nd al l yo u r troops a nd the ot he rs rallying rou nd yo u, and ho ldyo ursel f at my serv ice ."

Ma ny days wi ll pa ss bef ore yo u are give n orders ; in yea rs to co me yo u w ill smarch aga ins t thi s co un t ry , It s inhabitants will ha ve been livin g undisturbed, 'I

re mote from a ll o the r peoples, si nce they escaped the sword a nd were gat he redin Ircrn va rio us na t io ns , her e in the long-deserted mountains o f Is rae l. • Like asto rm you will co me up and o nw a rds, and co ver the land lik e a c lou d, you, yo urarmy and many na t io ns w ith you ,

T he Lord Ya hweh says th is: On t hat day, a th ou gh t is go ing to ente r yo ur m ind 10

and you wil l work out a w ick ed pla n," •Yo u w ill say : I wi ll attack this I I

undefended co un try and marc h against t h is peaceful nati o n living und ist urbed ,They a ll live in towns that ha ve no wal ls or bars or gates, -To pl under them for 12

lo o t, I am go ing to rea ch out my hand ' towards the ru ins they live in , aga instth is nation ga the red out of o the r nations, these stock-breed ers and t radesmen

I K2iU;f : w ho live a t the nave l o r the ea rth ) -She ba and Dedan, the t raders o f Tarshish 13

and a ll its you ng lions w ill ask yo u: Have yo u co me for p lu nd er? A re yo u ma ssi ngyo ur tr oops w ith a view to loot ing? T o make off with go ld and s ilve r, se izeeatt le a nd goods, a nd co m e a way with unlimited spo il?"

'A nd so , so n o f man , say in prophecy to G og, "The Lord Ya hwe h says thi s: I ~

Is it no t tr ue that you a re planning to set out I.' at a t ime wh en my people Israelis livin g und isturbed? -You plan to lea ve yo ur ho me in th e fa r no rth, you and 15

many nat ions wit h you, a g rea t army or co untless troops a ll mo un ted . • You plan 10

to invade Israe l, my pe o ple, Yo u w ill be like a cloud cov ering the eart h, I my selfa m go ing to bring yo u in days to come to attack my co unt ry, so that th enat io ns m ay learn wh at I a m, when I ha ve used yo u, Gog, to di splay my

Ex 14;4 ho lin ess to them,

T he Lord Ya hwe h says thi s: It wa s o f you ' th at I spoke in th e pas t 17

th rough m y se rva nts th e pr ophet s of Israe l, w ho prophesied and foretold yo urin vasi on, m -On the day Gog attacks the la nd o f Israe l-i t is the Lord Ya hweh I~

w ho speaks -I sha ll gr ow a ng ry ," In my anger, -rny jealousy and the heat of 19

~I 'l

I· IJr 3:1 H :JI1 10 : ](,

-,4 ::!3-Jn 10: 16

. ~l,\': :r,

Th 1 ~; 7

II Jr 17 :25.I14::!O

Jr 31:31Ilt:h lJ :20

43:7J{" 2 1:3

I \ 2(1: 11- 1.2

J14:1)R \' 20:7-IO

27; 1.3 : 32:26( in \0 :2

Ilf39: 1

29:4

27; 10 I

27: 14

Page 25: 33 Ezekiel

cleanse the country. ·AII the peop le of the country will dig their graves, and be 13

ho no ured fo r this on the day when I revea l my glory-it is the Lord Yahweh whospeaks.• Men will be selected to go continually up and down the country to 14

bury those left on the gro und and cleans e it. For seven months they will gosearching.' -If one of them sees any human bones as they go up and down the 15

co untry he will put a mar k beside them until the gravediggers have buried themin the valley of Hamon-gog-·the name of the town! is to be Hamonah-and 16

so have cleansed the co untry."'Son of man, the Lord Yahweh says th is. Speak to every kind of bird and 17

to all wild beasts, "Muster, come here, meet from everywhere around for thesacrifice I am making for you , a great sacrifice on the mountains of Isra el ; youwill eat flesh and drink blood . •You will eat the flesh of heroes, you will dr ink th e 18

blood of the pr inces of the world. They are all rams and lamb s, goats and fatbulls of Bashan. •You will reed full on fat , dr ink you rselves dru nk with blood, 19

at this sacrifice I am making for you. - You will glut yourselves at my table on 20

horse s and chargers, on heroes a nd common sold iers-it is the Lord Yahw ehwho spea ks."

Conclusion"

'That is how I sha ll displ ay my glory to the nat ions, a nd all nations will reel 21

my sentence when I judge, and feel my ha nd when I str ike them. -T he House or 22

Israel will know that I am Yahweh their God, from that day forward for ever .And the nations will learn that the Ho use of Israel was exiled for their sin in 23

behaving so treacherously to me that I had to avert my race from them becausethey had rebelled aga inst me, a nd to hand them over to th eir enemies ; an d they allperished by the sword . · 1trea ted them as their filthy sins deserved and hid my race 24

from them. -And so , thus says the Lord Ya hweh: Now I am going to brin g 25

back the ca pt ives or Jaco b, now I a m go ing to take pit y on the whole Ho use orIsrae l a nd show myself jealous for my holy nam e.

'T hey will forge t the di sgrace or having so often bet rayed me when they were 26

living safely in their own land, with no one to d isturb them . -When I bring them 27

home from the peop les, when I brin g them back fro m the countries of theirenemies, when I revea l my holin ess in them for many nations to see, -they will 2H

know that I am Ya hweh thei r God , when I rescue the captives from the pagansand reunite them in thei r own country, not leaving a single one beh ind . - I shall 29

never hide my face from them again , since I shall pour out my spirit on the Hou seof Israel-it is the Lord Ya hweh who speaks.'

He measured the thickness of this construction-one rod; and its height-onero d.

The outer court

17 He took me through to the outer court that had rooms and a paved terrace18 going a ll the way round ; there were thi rty roo ms on this terrace. -T his terrace,

which came right up to the sides of the gates a nd matched their depth , is the19 Lowe r Te rrace . -He measu red across the outer co urt « (rom the lower gate to the

outs ide or the inner co urt: a hu nd red cubits o n the eas tern and northern sides.

I

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-'Ulo...,

N e 3:29

4°:23EZEKIE L1411

2021

The east gate'

He went to the east gate, climbed the steps and measured its threshold : one7 rod deep. •Eac h gua rdroom one rod by one rod; a nd the walls between the

guardrooms five cubits thick; and the thresho ld or the gate inwar ds from the9 po rch of the gate: one rod. " -He measured the porch of the gate : eight cubits ; its

10 jambs: two cubits ; the porch or the gate was at the inner end. •There were threegua rdroo ms on each side of the east gate, all three the same size; the walls

11 between them all the same thic kness each side. •He measu red the width of theentrance: ten cubits; and the width all dow n the gateway: thirteen cubi ts.

12 There was a rail in front of the gua rdroo ms; each rail on either side was one13 cubit. And the gua rd rooms on either side were six cubits squa re. - He measured

the width of the gate from the back wall or o ne gua rdroo m to the back wall of14 the other; ' it was twenty-five cu bits across from windo w to window . •He measured15 the porc h: twenty cubits ; after the porc h or the gate came the outer co urt) •From16 the ent rance end or the gate to the porch opposite: fifty cubits. -O n each side of

the ga te there were splayed openings" both in the gua rdroo ms and in the spacesbetween, a nd there were ope nings all round inside the porch as well, and palmtree s decorating the jambs.'

The north gate

He meas ured the length a nd bread th of the north gate of the outer co urt. -Ithad th ree guardrooms on each side ; the thi ckness or the walls between them, andits porc h too, a ll measured the same as tho se or the first gate: fifty cub its by

22 twenty-five cub its. -I ts window s, its porch a nd its pa lm-tree decoration allmeasured the same as those or the east gate. There were seven steps up to it,

23 and its porch was at the inner end ." -I n the inner cour t there was, opposite the

1410EZEKIEL39:13

Ex 14:4

Tb 14:

Ps I 06:K

Rv 19:21

Nb 19:160 1 2 1:23

R v 19:17-18

11:19: 37: 14

· zc(Q

C. '10 bury th ose .. . ' G reek. O ne co rp se left o n c , ' to o k me, .. Isra el' G reek.the grou nd wo uld ha ve defiled the country : bu t it d . Jerusalem evldenrly, th ou gh a Jerusalem ex-wo uld rak e seven mo nt hs to bur y so many de ad . pa nded a nd idealised .

f. Of the [Own nea res t th e burying place . e. Thi s ' ma n ' is clea r ly an an gel wh o ex plains theJ:. T he con cl us ion to the wh o le sec tio n. not to the pr ophet' s visio n to him , An gelic in terp re ters are a

o racle naa inst G OR. It sums UP th e teac hin g of Ezekiel feature o f lat e pr ophet ic liter ature, cr. Dn 8: 16; 9:21f ;as expressed 5:1'1. 10: 28:26 ; 34:30, et c. 10:5f : Zc I:Sf : 2:2, e tc.40 a . T he final sec tio n of Ezk, ch. 40-48, is a bluepri nt f. T here see m to ha ve been tw o cubits: th e commonfor th e re ligiou s a nd po litical re habili tat ion o f the cubit o f 6 pa lms. o r handbread th s, and the older 'grea tIsr aeli te na tio n in Palestine. The prophet is insp ired cu bi t' of 7 palms. Ezekiel mak es it dea r th at he usesby his p rofound. know ledge of past his to ry, bu t he the la tt er , which mea sures 'on e (co mmo n) cubit anddocs his bes t to adapt the ea rl ier legislat io n to new a pa lm' .condittcns. a nd take a d .... a nm se of recent exp erience toprese rve Israel fro m th e tcrnnra tion s and apos tasies R. T he three gate s of the ou ter co urt a re alike;whic h ha ve led the nat ion 10 ru in. Hencefor th Ezekiel o n ly th e E. sate is des cribed in deta il.ass umes the ro le. o f o rga n izer In ten t o n realisi ng lo ng- h. V. H is not in the ver sions hut . by diuonr aph y.fore see n and lon g-desired re forms. His earlier promises added in Hcbr.: ' He me asu red the porch of th e ga te .of restorat ion and of a covenanr animated by the o n the inside : o ne rod ' .sp ir it nr csupposed a reo rga nisa tio n of the commun ity. i. ' to th e ba ck wall of t hc o ther ' co rr.Living a t a t ime when the whole struc ture of Israel I. 'H e me asur ed ' corr. 't he por ch ' G reek. ' theneeded to be rebuilt enabled Ezekiel to draw up a o u te r co urt ' tran sla t ion doubtful.fo un d ing c ha tt er fo r wha t wa s sho r t ly to emerge as k , Transla tion un cert a in .Ju dai sm. a nd to pro vide a basis for all fut u re effo rts a nd I. T hese elabora te s a tes . th e o n ly o pe n ings in theas pi ra tio n fr om Ezra to the hea ven ly Jeru sal em of th e su rro und ing wa ll, enab le a wa tch to be kep t on thoseap oca lvnse of St John. In all t his . th e C hristia n reader who en ter. Ezek iel ins ists th at the Temple sha ll be kep twill be a wa re of the high idea l of holiness. 44:23 ; 43:7. pure from fore igners a nd sinners.a nd the se nse of th e presence of G od. 48: 35, late r to m. ' across the o uter court ' G reek.be reali sed in th e C hurc h. n . 'a nd its por ch was a t th e inner en d ' G reek ,

b. Sep tember-Oc to ber 573. So a lso v, 26.

IV. TH E T O RA/1 O F E Z E KI EL"

The outer wall

Th e Te mp le was surrounded with a wall, and the man was holdin g a measur­ing rod that was six cub its long, eac h cubit a forea rm and a handbreadth. '

T b 14:6

Ex 27:9-19

Ex 38:9-202 e ll 3:3

,.." Rv 11:1 :2 1:15

The futur e Temple

40 In the twenty-fi fth yea r of our captivity, at the begin ning of the year, on the 1

R:3 tenth day of the month , fourteen years after the destruction of the city, " the. ~l; ~n~ hand of Yahweh eame on me. -In a divin e vision he took me away to the land 2

of Israel' and put me down on a very high mountain , on the south of whiehthere seemed to be built a city.' • He took me to it, a nd there [ saw a man ' whoseemed to be made of bronze. He had a flax cor d and a measuring rod in hishand a nd was stand ing in the gatew ay. •The ma n said to me, 'Son of ma n, look 4

carefully , listen closely a nd pay attentio n to everything I show you , since youhave only been brought here for me to show it to you . Tell the Ho use ofIsrael everyth ing that yo u see.'

Ex 25:9 : 25:40

Page 26: 33 Ezekiel

4°:24 EZ EKIEL 14 [ 2 [413 E Z E KI EL 41:16

-'UJo...,

The Temple.' " The Ulam

48 He too k me to the Ulam of the Temple and measured its door jambsr-e-fivecubits eaeh side ; and the width of the entrance was fourteen cubits with a three­

49 cub it wall each side. -The Ulam was twent y cubits by twelve cubits . There wereten steps- leading up to it, and there were columns by the door jambs, one oneach side.

The Hekal

I 41He took me into the Hekal and measured its door jambs: six cub its deepon the one side, six cub its deep on the other." -T he width of the entrance

was ten cubits . The walls each side of the entrance were five cubits on the oneside and five cubits on the ot her. He measured its length: forty cubits; and itswidth : twenty cubi ts.

The Debir

He went in and measured the door jam bs at the entrance: two cubits ; then4 the entrance: six cubits ; and the walls each side of the entrance: seven cubits.• He

meas ured its lengt h: twenty cub its; and its widt h measured across the end wallof the Heka l: twenty cub its. He then said to me, 'This is the most holy place ' .

The side cells /,

He measured the wall of the Temple: six cubits. T he widt h of the side cells6 was four cubits , all rou nd the Temple. •T he cells were one above the other,

thi rty of them in three sto ries.' The supports for the surro unding cells were fixedinto the Temp le wall, so tha t the cells were not recessed into the wall of the

7 Temple. •The width of the cells increased, story by story, for they surroundedH the Temple in the stories that went right round it, and hence . . ," •Then I saw

that there was a paved terrace all round the Temple. The height of this, which9 formed the base of the side cells, was a full rod of six cubits.' •T he outer wall of

the side cells was five cub its thick and the pavement formed a verandah outside10 the cells of the Temple.• Beyond the rooms came an area twenty cubits wideII right round the Temple.• And for getting from the side cells on to the vera ndah

there was one entrance on the nor th side and one entrance on the south side.The width of the verandah was five cubits righ t round.

The building on the west side!12 T he build ing to the west of this surround ing area was seventy cub its by ninet y13 cubits, and the wall of the building was five cubits thick, all round . • He measured

the length of the Temp le: a hundred cubits. The lengt h of the cour t plus the14 building and its walls: a hundred cubits .•The breadth of the facade of the15 Temple with the quadrangle: a hundred cubits. • He measured the lengt h of the

building plus the surrounding area at the back, plus the side depth of its door:a hundred cubits.

Particulars of the Temple itself

16 T he inside of the Hekal and the porches of the court , • their thresholds, the

II

I

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Lv 1:92 Ch 4:6

Nb 3:27-32

44 :15

north gate, a gate like the one oppos ite the east gate. 0 He measured the dista ncefrom one gate to the oth er: a hund red cubits.

The south gateHe took me to the south side where there was a south gate; he measured its 24

guardroorns.> wall-thicknesses and porch ; they were of the same dimensions asthe oth ers . -All round it and its porch were window s, like the other windows ; it 25

measu red fifty cubits by twen ty-five cub its, -a nd it had seven steps up to it; its 26

porch was at the inne r end and had palm-tree decoration on its jam bs, one oneach side.• The inner court had a south gat e; he measured the distance southwards 27

from one gate to the other: a hundred cub its.

The inner court. The south gateHe then took me into the inner court by the sou th gate; he measured the south 28

gate which was the same size as the ot hers. •Its guardrooms, wall-thicknes ses 29

and porch all measured the same as the others. It and its porch had wind owsall round.It measured fifty cubits by twenty-five cubits . -Its porch , measured, 30

in all, all round, was twenty-five cubits by five cubits . -The porch gave on to 3 1

the outer court. It had pa lm trees on its jambs, each side, and eight stepsleading up to it.

The east gat eHe took me to the east gate Q and measured it. It was the same size as the 32

others. •Its guardroo ms, the th ickness of its walls, its porch all meas ured the 33

same as the ot hers . It and its porch had windows all round. Its a rea was fiftycubits by twenty-five cubits. • Its po rch gave on to the outer court. There were palm .14

trees on its jambs on either side, and eight steps leading up to it.

The north gateHe took me to the north gate and measured it. • Its guardrooms, the thickness ~~

of its walls T and its porch all measured the same as the others. It had window sall round. Its area was fifty cubits by twenty-five cub its.• Its porch - gave on to 37

the outer cou rt. T here were pa lm trees on its jambs on either side, and eightsteps lead ing up to it.

Subsidiary buildings at the gateT here was a room entered from the porch of the gates.' It was here that they 38

washed the holocaust. -And on either side of the po rch of the gate there were 39

two tables for slaughtering the holocaust, the sacrifice for sin and the sac rificeof reparation . -Going nor thwar d up to the gate , there were two tables outside 40

and two more ta bles at the porch end of the gate. •Fo ur tabl es on the inside and 41

four tables on the outside of the porch; in a ll. eight tab les on which the sacr ificeswere offered . •The re were also fou r tab les of dressed sto ne for holocausts, a 42

cubit and a half long, a cubit and a ha lf wide and a cub it high, on which a ll thethings necessary for killing the holocaust and the sacrifices were put. • Rims," 43

a handbreadth broad, went a ll round the top, and on these tables was put thesacrificial flesh.

He took me into the inner cou rt; there were two lodges in the inne r court, 44

one at the side of the nor th gate , facing south , the ot her at the side of the sou thgate. facing north ." · He told me, 'The lodge look ing south is for the priest s in 4S

charge of the Temple, -and the lodge looking north is fo r the priests who serve 46

the a ltar. These a re the sons of Zadok, those of the sons of Levi who approachYahweh to serve him.'

The inner courtHe measured the inner court. It was a quad rangle, a hundred cubits by a 47

hundred cubits, with the altar in front of the Temple.

o. ' like the o ne op pos ite th e eas t Rate ' G reek.p. ' guard roo ms' G reek.q . 't he east gate' Greek.r . In the p lural with Greek.s. ' Its porch' G ree k.to ' fro m th e porch of the ga tes ' G reek, The exac t

pos it ion of these rooms is not clear.u. ' R ims' versions.v, T he t ra ns la tion fo llo ws the G reek .

w. T he Temple proper, wit h its th ree pa rts: U la mo r Vest ibu le, Hekal o r Ha ll (t he ' Ho ly'), De bir orSanctua ry <the ' Ho ly of Holi es ') . It is an a lmos t exac trep lica of the Temple of So lo mo n. 1 K 6, a nd hen cedescr ibed with less detail than the sur round ing co ns-

truc ttons , th e arra nge me n t of which is e ntirely o r ta inal .x . ' doo r iambs ' Gr eek,y. 't en s teps' Gr eek .

41 a. Hebr. a dds ' the wid th or the tabe rna cle'.b. S imilar cells existed in the Temple of Sol o mon:

I K 6:5·6 . l lere, how ever. th eir di sposit ion is nbs ..;U T<:

an d their pur pose uns ta ted . It has been sua gcst cd thaithey we re the ' tre as u ry' o f th e Temple ,

e. ' th irty' Svr .d. End o f verse uni rnclli gtble .c. Hc br. a dds an incomprehensible wo rd .f. A ppa re n tly a grcut roo ness ha ll: its purpose is

not known , T here seems 10 have been no suc h huild im:in th e Te mp le o f Solo mon. Cr. ho wever ::! K :!.l: [1 ;lll .l

I C h 26: IH,

I K 6:32 Ch3:4

I K 7:212 C h 3:1S- 17

1 K 6:32 C h 3:5 -7T b 14:6

1 K 6:202 C h 3:8-9

1 K 6:5- 6

J r 3 1 :.~9

Zc 2:5

1 K (, : 15-1~

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Page 27: 33 Ezekiel

41: 17 EZEK I E L /4/4 / 4 / 5 E ZE K I E L 43:18

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45:2 Measurements of the court

W hen he had finished measuring the inside of the Temple, he took me out to 15

the east gat e a nd measured the whole area of the court. •He measured the east 16

window scree ns, the th ree sets of doors, one at each threshold, were all panelledwith wood, from floor to windows, ' a nd the windows were screened with latt ice­work.• From the doo r to the inner part of the Temple, and righ t round the 17

I K 6:29-30 who le wall of the inner room, ou tside and inside, were carved- -cherubs and 18

palm tre es, pa lm trees and cherubs alternat ing ; each cherub had two faces-· the 19

face of a man turned towards the palm tree on e side an d th e face of a lion towardsthe pa lm tree the other side, all round the Temple.•The cherubs and palm trees 20

were carved from the floo r to ab ove the entrance, as also on the wall of the hall.The pillars of the Temple were squ are. 21

The wooden alt ar

I i X632

06!if In fro nt of the Debir, there appeared to be ' a wooden al tar, th ree cub its high 22

and two cubits square.' Its corners, base an d sides were of wood . He said to me,'This is the tab le in front of Yahweh' .

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Ex 27: 1-81 K 8:642 Ch 4:1 ; 7:7

I K 8: 10-1 1

Rv 21:344:437:26-27 -T­Ex 19; 12 + ;

25:8 +Ps 68:16Lm 2:120:39

Ps 85:9Rv IS: lR I'1:15

10:18- 19 : II:22-23

Is 52:8

f. ' five hundred cubits' vers ions.43 a. The vision of the return of Ya hweh correspon dswith th a t of his departure, 10:18-19 : 11:22-23.

b. Yahweh himself , not the an gel accompanyingEzek iel.

c, Hebr. add s ' their high places' . Greek ' with them ' .d . T he previous Te mple ac tua lly adjoi ned the palace

of Davi d , I K 7:8. Ezek iel relega tes the palace toano ther pa rt of the ci ty, reser ving the entire E. heightof Jerusa lem for the Te mple.

e. ' the heigh t' G reek : 't he edge ' He br.

g. ' three sets of' tra nslation do ubtful. 'from floor 'corr .

h. ' were carved' G reek.1. 't wo cu bits sq ua re' Greek.

42 a, The vario us data assembled in th is chap ter areobscure,

b. ' to the north of ' Gre ek.c. ' the por ches' G reek.d. 'a hundre d cub its long' vers ion s.e. ' on the so uth sid e' Greek; 'on the east side ' Hebr.

45

10

The return of Yahweh"

43 He took me to the gate, the on e facing eas t. ·1 saw the glory of the God ofIsra el ap proach ing fro m the east. A sound ca me with it, like the so und of

3 the ocean, and the earth shone with his glory. •T his vision was like the one I hadseen when I had come for the destr uction of the city, and like the one I had seenon the bank of the river Chebar. T hen I prostrated myself.

The glory of Yahweh arrived at the Temple by the east gate. •The spiritlifted me up a nd brought me into the inner co urt; I saw the glory of Yahweh fill

6 the Temple. <And I heard someone spea king to me from the Temple" while the7 man stood beside me. •T he voice said, 'Son of man, thi s is the dais of my throne,

the step on which I rest my feet. I shall live here among the so ns of Israe l forever; and the House of Israel , they and thei r kings,' will no lon ger defile myholy nam e with their whor ings and the corpses of their kings, -setting theirthreshold beside my thresho ld and the ir pillars beside my pillar s, with a party wa llshared by them and me." The y used to defile my holy name by their filthy

9 practices, and this is why I destroyed them in my anger. • From now on theywill banish their whorin gs and the corpses of their kings from my presence an dI shall live among them for ever.

'Son of ma n, describe this Te mple to the House of Israel , to shame them outII of their filthy pract ices. Let them draw up the plan, -and, if they are as hamed of

their behaviou r, show them the desig n a nd pla n of the Te mp le, its exits andent rances, its shape, how a ll of it is arranged, the entire design and all its prin­ciples. Give them all this in writing so that they can see and take note of its

12 design and the way it is all arranged and carry it out. -This is the charter of theTe mple : all the surrounding area on top of the moun tain is a most ho ly are a .Such is the char ter of the Te mple.'

The altar

13 Here a re the dim ensions of the altar, in cubits each of a cubi t plus ahandbreadth . The base : one cub it high and one cubit wide. T he ledge all ro und

14 it: one span . This is the height' of the altar: •from the ground level of the baseup to the lower plinth, two cubits high and one cubit wide; from the lesser plint h

15 to the greater plinth , four cubits high and one cubit wide.•The alt ar hearth : fourI I> cubits high, with four horns projecting from the hearth, ·the hearth being square:17 twelve cubit s by twelve cubits ; -and the square plint h: fourteen cubi ts by fourteen

cubits ; and the ledge all round: half a cubit; a nd the base: on e cubit all round.T he steps were on the east side.

The consecration of the altar E~ ~:;6~ir

18 He said to me, 'Son of man, the Lord Ya hweh says this : As regards the 1 M 4:52-56

altar, th is is how th ings are to be done when it has been buil t for the offer ing of

side with his meas uring rod: a total of five hun dred cubits! by the meas ur ing rod.17 He then meas ured the north side : a to tal of five hun dred cubits by the measu ring18 rod. - He th en meas ured the sou th side : five hu ndred cubi ts by the meas uri ng19 rod ' was the total. On the west side he measured five hundred cubi ts by the20 measur ing rod. •He measured the entire enclo sing wall on all fou r sides: length

five hundred, breadth five hund red, separating the sacred from the profane.

The doors

There was a double doo r fo r the Hek al, and a double door for thc Debir. 23

Th ese doors had two hinged leaves, two leaves for the one doo r, two leaves for 24

the oth er. -O n them , on the do or s of the Heka l, were carved cher ubs and palm 25

trees like thos e carved on the walls. A wood en screen outside went across thefro nt of the Ulam . -Thc re were screened windows with flanking palm trees on the 26

walls of the Ulam, and of the cells to the side of the Temple a nd on the screens.

Outbuildings of the Temple"

4/ He too k me no rthward into the court a nd led me to the roo ms facing the....., outer co urt, those to the nor th of the building." •They were one hundred

cub its long a long on the north side and fifty cubits wide. -On the sides fac ing the 3

porches"of the inner co urt and the paving of the outer cou rt was a gallery in front ofthe triple ga llery, -a nd in fro nt of the roo ms was a walk , ten cub its broad measured 4

inwa rds and a hundred cubits long;" their doors looked north. •The top floor 5

rooms were narrow beca use the galleries took up part of the width, being narrowerthan those on the grou nd floor or those on the midd le floor of the bui lding,since these were divided into thr ee stor ies and had no co lumns such as the co urt 6

had. He nce they were narrower than the ground floor ones or the midd le floorones below them. •The outer wall parallel to the rooms, facing them a nd giving 7

on to the outer co urt, was fifty cub its long, -the length of the rooms fac ing the 8

outer co urt being fifty cubits , whi le on the side facing the Temple it was a hundredcubits . • Benea th the rooms there was an ent rance from the east, leadin g in from 9

the outer court.In the thick ness of the wall of the court, on the south side ' front ing the cou rt 10

and the bu ilding, were rooms. ·A walk ran in front of them, as with the rooms I I

built on the nort h side; they were of the same length an d breadth, and hadsimilar design and doors in and out. -T hey were like the entrances of the sout hern 12

rooms; one entrance at the end of each wal k, fronting the eastern wall , being theway in. •He said to me, 'Th e northern and southern rooms giving on to the court 13

are the rooms of the Debi r, in which the priests who approach Yahweh will eatthe most ho ly things. In them will be placed the most holy things: the oblat ion, thesacrifice for sin a nd the sac rifice of reparation, since this is a holy place . •Once 14

the pr iests have entered, they will not go out of the holy place into the outercourt without leaving their liturgica l vestments there, since these vestments areholy; they will put on other clothes before going near places assigned to thepeople.'

46 :19

Lv 2:3 +

Lv 17:1 I-

I Ch2 S:12

I K 6:3 1-35

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Page 28: 33 Ezekiel

4P 9 EZEKIEL /4/6 [4[ 7 E ZE K I E L 45=2

Ps 24:7

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II

L11:19 ; 22:26G n 17; 10 +

J,4:4 +Lml :lO

Ac 21;28-29

The division of the country. " The portion for Yahweh

1 45 When you divide the country into portions by lot, you are to all oca tethe sac red por tion of the cou ntry to Ya hwe h: twenty-five thou sand cu bits

2 long and twenty thousand wide. " T he whole of thi s lan d is to be sacr ed, -and

in the sanctuary when the Isra elites strayed far from me, they may still approachme to serve me ; they may stan d in my presence to offer me the fat and blood- it

16 is the Lord Yahweh who spea ks. •The y may enter 'my sanctuary and approach17 my ta ble to serve me; they may perform my liturgy. -On ce they enter the gates

of the inn er co urt, they are to wear linen vestments: they are to wear no wool when18 they serve inside the ga tes of the inner cour t an d in the Temple.• They are to wear

linen cap s on their heads, and line n breeches a bout their loin s : they are not to19 wear belts of . . . " -When they go out to the people in the outer co ur t,' they are

to rem ove the vestments in which they have per for med the liturgy and leavethem in the rooms of the Holy Place, and put on other clothes, so as not to hal low

20 the people with their vestmcnts .: •They arc neither to shave their heads nor to let2 1 their ha ir grow lo ng,' but must cut their hair to a reasonable length . •No22 priest is to dr ink wine on the day he enters the inn er court. . They a re not to

marry widows or d ivorce d women, but only virgins of the race of Israe l; they23 may, however, marry widows, if the widow of a pr iest. •T hey are to teac h my

peop le the difference between what is sac red an d what is profane and ma ke them24 und erstan d the difference between what is clean and wha t is unclean . •They are to

be j udges in disputes ; they must ju dge in the spirit of my sta tutes ; they must fo llow25 my laws and ord inan ces at a ll my feasts and keep my sabbaths holy. •T hey are

not to go near' a dead man, in case they beco me unclean, except in thesepermissible cases, that is, for fath er , mot her, daughte r, son, brot her or un married

~~ sister. -After on e of them has been puri fied, seven days must elapse ; - then,on the day when he enters the Ho ly Place-enters the inner court to ministerin the Ho ly Place - he is to offer his sacri fice for sin-it is the Lord Ya hweh

28 who speak s. •They are to have no inheritance ;" I myself will be their inher i-tance. You are to give them no pat rimo ny in Israe l; I myself will be their

29 pa trimony. -Their food is to be the ob lat ion, the sacr ifice for sin and thesacrifice of reparation. Everything in Israel put under the ban shall be for them.

30 The best of all your first -fru its, of every sort of due and of all that you offer,is to go to the priests ; and the best of your dough you are a lso to give to the

3 1 priests, so that a blessing may rest on yo ur house. •Priests a re no t to eat theflesh of a nything tha t has died a natural death or been savaged, neither of abird nor of any other creat ure."

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Nb 18:20-24Dt 18:1-:2

Lv 7:10 ; 27:28 ·

48:8 -20

42: 15-20

remai ned loya l to the servic e of the sanctuary inJerusalem. Th ey belonged to the clan of Z adok . thepr ies t appo inted by So lo mon afte r the deprivation ofA b iat ha t, I K 2:2 7-35.

h. Hebr. has 'sweat' here. Pr obably the wor d hasa no ther mean ing. or else the text is corrupt.

i . Hchr. repeats 'in the o ute r court ' .j . T he la ity ar e forbidden to touch co nsecrated

objects : t hey ru n th e ri sk of bein g 'hallo wed' or 'sanc ti­fied' . cf. Lv 17:1+.

k . Long. un kempt ha ir sy mbolised eith er a vow .N b 6:5. o r mou rni ng . cf. Ezk 24:17.23.

I. 'T hey ar e not to go ncar ' ve rsions.m. ' T hey a re to ha ve no. • v uta.n. Accord ing to Lv 7:24 this applies to all Isr ae lites.

4S a. Ezek iel d ivides the count ry in to re gula r pa ra llelstrips in co m plete d isregar d of geoe ran hic a l feat ur eso r population d istr ibut ion . Thi s is th e most theoreticaland impr actic ab le p art of Ezek iel' s p lan.

b. T he dom ain of the pr iests . the l.evites an d th eprince oc cupies th e ent ire cent ra l part of the count ry:a s tri p 25.000 cubits wid e (ab out 7 mi les) having theTemple of Jerusa lem as its cent ra l po int an d extendin gfr om th e Jo rdan to the M edi terra nean.

44 a . cr. 46:1-2. Evid en tly an a llus io n to a sa credmea l. presum abl y accompa nying: the com m unio nsacr ifice, Lv 7:15 ; Dl 12:7. 18.

b. T ra nslati o n do ubt ful. Hebr. 'at the entrance tothe Temp le a nd a t all th e exits from t he san ctuary' ,

c. ' a nd break ' ver sio ns.d . Proba b ly a lludi n g to the employ me nt of more or

less assimilated aliens. cf . J os 9:27; D t 29:10. in theservice of th e Te mple of Jeru sal em .

e . In th e Tem ple of Herod in the days of Jes us. thefollo wing notice was st ill to be seen : ' Let no a lien pas sbeyond the balustr ade an d wall surrou nding thesanctua ry. W hoev er is caught do ing so will hav e onl yhimsel f to bl ame for th e deat h whic h will be h is penally. 'Several of these s to ne inscrip tion s have been unearthed .

f . Tex t COH. T he Levi tcs wer e frequen tly em­ployed at th e ' h igh pl aces ' . W hen the se shri nes wereabolished by Dt and the reform under Josiah. theseLev ite s lost thei r official s ta nd ing an d were forced tolive on cha rity. Dt 12:12. 18. e tc .. or else to re affilia tethemselves to th e sa nc tuary in Jerusalem. D t 18:6-8.Ezek iel app ro ves the latter co urse bu t ass igns them asubo rd ina te status ; the y are to take o ver the d uties ofthe aliens expelled from the Te m ple service.

g. Th e levi tical priests. d . D t 18:1-5. are those who

the holocaust and for the pouring of blood. -T o those levitical priests of the race 19

44:15+ of Zadok who approach me to serve me-it is the Lor d Yahweh who speaks-youmust give a young bull as a sacri fice for sin . •You are to take some of its blood 20

and put it on the four horns and the four corners of the plinth and the surroundingledge. In this way you will purify it and make atonement on it. -Then take the 2 1

bull of the sacrifice for sin and burn it in that pa rt of the Temple which is cut offfrom the sanctuary. -On the second day, you must offer an unblemished he-goat 22

as th e sacrifice for sin, and the altar is to be purified again as with the bull. •When 23

you have finished the purification you must offer a young bull without blemishand an unblemish ed ram chosen from the flock . •You are to present them before 24

Ya hweh, and the prie sts will spri nkle salt on them and offer them as a holocaustLv 8:33-35 to Ya hweh. •As a sacrifice for sin, every day for seven days you must offer a 25

he-goat, a bull and an unb lemished ram fro m the flock, •for a week. In this way 26

the altar will be atoned for and will be purified and inaugurated . -At the end of 27

that time , on the eighth da y and afte rwa rds, the pries t is to offer your holocaustsand your communion sacrifices on the altar, and I will look kindly on you -it isthe Lord Yahweh who spea ks.'

The use of the east gate

44He brought me back to the outer east gate of the sanctuary. It was shut. 1

Yahweh said to me, 'This gate will be kep t shut. No one will open it or gothrough it , since Yahweh the God of Israel has been through it. And so it mustbe kept shut. -The prince himself, howev er , may sit there to take his meal in the 3

presence of Yahweh." He is to ent er a nd leave through the porch of the gate .'

Rules of admission to the Temple

He led me through the north gate to the front of the Temple. I loo ked ; I saw 4

the glory of Yahweh filling the Temple of Yahweh, and I prostrated myse lf.Yahweh said to me, 'Son of man, pay attention, look carefully and listen close ly 5

to everything I explain ; these are all the arrangements of the Temple of Yahwehan d all its laws. Be careful about which men are admitted to the Tem ple andwhich are excluded from the sanctuary .'> -And say to the rebels of the House of 6

Isra el, "The Lord Yahweh says this : You have gone beyond all bou nds withall your filthy practi ces, House of Israel, •by ad mitt ing aliens, uncircumcised in 7

heart an d bo dy, to freq uent my san ctua ry and profa ne my Temple, while youoffer my bread, the fat and the blood, an d break ' my covenant with all yourfilthy practices. • Instead of performing your du ties to me in the Holy Place, 8

you have depu ted someone else to perform your du t ies in my sanctuary." -The 9

Lord Yahweh says this: No alien, uncircumcised in heart and body, is to entermy sanctuary, none of those aliens living among the Israel ites.'

The Levites

As regards the Levites who abandoned me when Israel st rayed far from me 10

to follow its idols," they must bear the weight of their own sin . •T hey are to be 11

serva nts in my sanctuary, respons ible for guardi ng the Temple gat es and servingth e Temple. They will kill the holocaust and the sacrifi ce for the people, and holdthemselves at the servi ce of the people. -Sin ce they used to be a t their service in 12

front of their idols and were an occasion of sin to the House of Israe l, very well,I ra ise my hand against them-it is the Lord Yahweh who speaks ; they mus t bearthe weight of their sin .•T hey are never to a pproach me again to perform the 13

Lv 2:3 -1- pr iestly office in my presence, or to to uch my ho ly things and my most holy thi ngs ;they must bear the disg race of their filthy pract ices. • I shall give them the responsi- 14

bility of wo rking in the Temple; I shall make them responsible for serving it an dfor everything to be done in it.

40:46; 48 : I I The priestsNb 1 ~ 5~ i~9 ; As regards the levitical priests, the sons of Zadok, " who did thei r duty to me 15

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Page 29: 33 Ezekiel

of thi s a n area five hundred by five hundred cubits - square is to be fo r thesan ctuary, wit h a boundary fifty cubits wide right ro und. -Out of this a rea yo u 3

are a lso to measure a section twen ty-five thousand by ten tho usa nd cub its,in which there sha ll sta nd the sanctuary, th e Holy of Holies. •T his is to be the 4

sac red po rtion of the co untry; it shall belong to the priests who officiate in thesanctuary a nd approach Ya hwe h to serve him . Th ere th ey are to have their housesand also a district set apart for the sa nctua ry. -An area twenty-five thousand 5

by ten th ousan d cubits is to be kept for the Levites serving the Tem ple to own,with tow ns to live in." •You are to give the city possess ion of an area five thousand 6

by twe nty-five thousand cubits, near the land belonging to the sanct uary ; th isis to be for the who le Ho use of Israel.

Offerings for worship

'This is the offering tha t you a re to levy: the sixt h of an ep ha h for every 13

hom er of wheat , a nd the sixt h of an epha h for every horner of barl ey . •T he dues 14

on oil: one bath of oi l out of every ten ba ths or out of every cor (which is eq ua lto ten bat hs or one hom er, since ten ba th s eq ua l o ne homer).• Yo u are to Icvy 15

one sheep on every flock of two hund red fro m the patr imon y! of Israe l for theob la tion, the holocau st and the communion sacrifice. T his is to form yo uratoncmcnt- it is the Lo rd Ya hweh who spea ks.• Let a ll the people of th e 16

co unt ry be subjec t to thi s du e for the prince of Israel. •T he prince is to ma ke 17

himself respo nsib le for prov id ing the ho locausts, ob lat ion a nd libati on forfeasts, New Mo ons a nd sab ba ths, for a ll the solemn festiva ls of the Ho use ofIsrae l. He is to prov ide the sacr ifice for sin, ob lation, hol ocau st a nd co mm unionsacrifices a ton ing for th e Hou se of Israe l.

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Ex 23:14- 17

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N b 29:12

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must o ffer' Hebe.b. T he da ily sac rifice was indeed zea lo us ly res umed

by post-exilic Juda ism. and on ly ceased in the finaldays of the siege of Jerusalem in 70 A .D.

c. Pres uma bly the jubilee year, occurri ng every50 years. cr. Lv 25:1+ .

46 a. 'he must offer' some MSS and versions : 'yOU d. 'revert to ' Greek.

c. These are the dimens io ns o f the Te mple.d. 'with towns [ 0 live in' G reek.c. T he enhan is a so lid, the ha th a liquid measure.

T he homer a nd cor ( v. 14) arc the sa me .t, ' p at r tmo nv' foll o wing Greek.

The sa bbath and the New Moon

I 46T hus speaks th e Lord Yahweh: T he east gate of the inner court mustbe kept shut for the six workin g days. On the sa bba th day it is to be

2 op ened, as a lso on the da y of th e New Moon ; -and th e prince is to go in thr oughthe porch of the outer gate and ta ke his positi on by th e doorposts of the gat e.T he priests must then offer his hol ocaust a nd his commun ion sac rifice. He mu stprost rat e himself on the threshold of the ga te and go out, and the gat e is

3 not to be shut again until the evening . -T he peo ple of the co untry a re to prostratethemselves in the pres ence of Ya hweh at the entran ce to the gate on sabbaths

4 and da ys of the New Moon. •T he holocau st offered to Ya hweh by th e princeo n the sa bbath day is to consist of six unbl em ished lamb s and one unblemishedram, -and an oblat ion of one epha h for the ram, and suc h oblat ion as he pleasesfor the lambs, and a hin of oil for every ephah. -On the day of the New Moonit is to con sist of a young bull with ou t blemis h, six un blemished lambs and one

7 un blem ished ram, •when he must make an oblation of one cphah for the bulland one epha h for the ra m, and what he pleases for the lambs, and a hin of oi lfo r every cphah,

o ne epha h for each bull an d one ephah for each ram , an d a hin of oil fo r everyeph ah for the oblat ion .

The feast of Ta bernacles

25 Fo r the feast that fa lls on the fifteenth day of the sevent h mo nt h, he mustdo the sa me fo r seven days, offer ing the sacri fice for sin, the holocau st, oblationan d the oi l.

Miscellaneous regula tions

When the prince goes in, he is to ente r by th e porch of the gate, and he mu st9 leave by the same way. •When the people of the country come into the presence

of Ya hweh at the solem n festiva ls, thos e who have come in by the north gate toprostrate them selves are to go out by the south gate, and those who have comein by the so uth gate are to go out by the nort h gate; no one is to turn back toleave thr ou gh th e gate by which he entered bu t is to go out on the opposite side.

I?T he prin ce is to come wit h t hem. corn ing in like th em and go ing out like them . •O nfeast days and solemn fest ivals the oblat ion must be one ep ha h fo r eve ry bull ,on e epha h for every ram, wha t he pleases for the lambs, and a hin of oil for

12 every ep ha h.•Wh en th e prince offers Ya hweh a vo luntary holocau st or avo lunta ry communion sac rifice, the east ga te is to be opened fo r him , and heis to offer his holoca ust a nd his communion sacrifice as he do es on the sa bbath

13 da y; when he has go ne out, the gat e is to be shut afte r him. •Every day he mustoffer " an unblemished lamb one yea r o ld as a holocau st to Ya hweh; he m ust

14 offer this every morn ing.• Every morni ng in ad di tion he is to offe r an obla tionof one sixth of an ephah and one th ird of a hin of oi l, for mixing with the flour.

15 T his is the oblation to Ya hweh, an eterna l law fixed in perpetuity. -The la mb,th e oblation and the oil are to be offered morni ng afte r m orn ing fo r ever. b

16 Th e Lo rd Yahweh says this. If the prin ce prese nts his so ns with par tof his heredita ry portion , th e gift is to pass int o the ow nership of his so ns, a nd

17 become their hered ita ry property . • If, however, he presents par t of his hereditaryportion to one of his servants, it shall only belon g to the man unti l the year oflibera tion- and is then to reve rt to" the prince. O nly hisso ns may reta in his hereditary

/ 4/ 8EZE KI E L45:3

The port ion for the prince

Th e prince is to have a domai n either side of the land belon ging to the 7

Ho ly Place and of the la nd belonging to the city, and adj acent to the lan d belongingto the Holy Place a nd th e lan d belonging to the city, st retc hing wes twards fromthe west and eas twa rds from th e east, its size equa l to one of the port ion sbetween the west and the east front iers -o f the country. T his is to be his xpossession in Israe l. Then my pr inces will no la ngei' op press my peopl e ; theymust leave th e rest of the co untry for the House o f Israel, fo r its tribes .

T he Lor d Ya hweh says this: Let this be eno ugh for yo u, prin ces of Israel! 9

G ive up your violence and plunder ing, pract ise ju st ice an d integ rity, cr us h mypeo ple no more wit h taxa tion-i t is the Lo rd Ya hwe h who spea ks.• Have sca les 10

tha t a re fair, a fai r cphah , a fa ir bath . • Let the ephah a nd ba th be equal , let I I

the bat h ho ld one tenth of a homer and the ep ha h one ten th of a ho mer . Letthe measures be based on the homer. ' -The shekel is to be twenty gera hs, Twenty 12

she kels, twenty-five sheke ls a nd fiftee n shekels a re to make one mina ,

The feast of the Passover

T he Lor d Ya hwe h says this: O n the first da y of th e first month , yo u must 18

take a yo ung bull with out blemish , to purify the sanctuar y. •T he priest is to 19

tak e bloo d fro m th e sac rifice fo r sin and pu t it on the doo rpo sts of the Temple,on th e four co rners of the a lta r plinth and on th e doorposts of the ga tes of theinne r court. •Yo u must do the sa me on the seventh of the month, on behalf of 20

anyo ne who has sinned thro ug h inad verte nce or ignorance. T his is how youa re to ma ke a to nement forthe Te mple. •O n the fourteenth day of the first mon th , 21

yo u must ce lebrate the feast of the Passover. For seven days everyone is to ea tun leave ned loaves. -On tha t day, thc prin ce mu st offer a bu ll as a sacrifice fo r 22

sin, fo r himself and all the people in the co untry .• For the seve n days of the 23

feas t . he mu st offer Ya hweh a ho loca ust of seven bull s and seven ra ms withoutblem ish, daily fo r a week , a nd one he-goat da ily as a sacr ifice for sin, 'offering 24

Ex 12:1+

46: 1Ex23: 14 iLv 23:24 +2Ch3 1:3

Lv 16:16

I Jr 22:3 ~5

i, Lv 19:35-36

I,

IEx 30:13- 16

M1 23:23

'II Lv 1:1 + ; 2:

\'I I; 3:1 +

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44 :15-16

Nb 1:50

45:1-6

h. T he Dead Sea.48 a. Eac h t ribe is assigned a s tr ip of terr itor y run ni ngwit h no excep t ions from the M ed iter ran ean to th eE. fro nti er of th e co unt ry. T here arc seven tribes to theN. of Je rus a lem a nd th e territor y reserved fo r th e sa nc tu ­ary a nd the pri nce . an d five tr ibes to the S.

b. '10 th e wes tern fro n t ier' co rr.

e . T he lo gical p lace for thi s passa ge is foll owing s ince th e da ys of Dav id. O n th e ot he r hand. th e E.42:12 . fro n tie r makes th e co un try very nun- o w . C om pare t he

f. 's m all ' G reek . H ebr . ad ds ' o f th e cor ners ' a t fron tiers named in N b 34: 1- 12. C f. J f.l 20 :1 +.the en d of [he verse. e. ' He re a rc th e fro n tiers ' so me MSS a nd vers ions.47 a . Here the te rm me an s th e deep depression of 'w ith two po rtio ns for J osep h' Ta ra. a nd Vulg .Jordan . T he sea is t he De a d Sea whose bitter waters r. ' Hu marh' tr an sp osed fr o m v. 16.a re to be swee te ned. g . Lit. 'T his is' corr. So a lso in v, 18.

b. T he ima ge of mirac u lou s wat er flow ing from theTemple a nd co nferri ng a mar vell o us fe rt ility. cf. I n 4:I -l-, is la ter resu med in Rv (22 :2).

c . T he Med iterran ean .d. Not a ll the places named ar e easy to ident ify.

lf the N. fron t ier is to be si tuated o n the la t itude o fT ri po li-H o rns. th e ide a l country e nvisaged by Eze kie lex te nds far beyo nd the N. a nd S. lim its ever reached

T he division of the land"

1 48 'This is the list of the t ribes . In the far nort h by way of Hethlon to thePass of Hama th, to Hazer-eno n, with the fro ntier of Damasc us lying

to the nort h, a nd marching with Ha mat h-the lan d from the eastern fro ntier2 to the western fro ntier : I, Dan, one portion.• Borde ring Dan, from the eas tern) fro ntier to the western fron tier: As her , one po rtion .• Borde ring As her, from4 the eastern frontier to the weste rn front ier: Napht a li, one port ion . • Bordering

Naphtali , from the eastern fro nt ier to the wes tern fron tier: Manasseh , one5 port ion . •Bor dering Ma nasseh, from the eastern fronti er to the western frontie r:(> Ephra im, one portion . • Bordering Ephraim, from the eastern frontier to the7 western frontier : Reuben , one port ion .• Bordering Reuben, from th e eastern8 fro ntier to the western front ier: Judah, one port ion .• Bordering Judah , from

the eas tern fron tier to the western fron tier, is th e part yo u are to set as ide,twenty-five th ou san d cubits wide, and as lon g as eac h of the o ther portionsfrom th e eastern frontie r to the western fronti e r. T he sanctua ry will be in thecentre of it.

'T he part yo u mu st set as ide fo r Ya hwe h is to be twenty-five thousand cubits10 long and ten thousand cub its wide.•T his consecrated portion is to belong to

th e priests, being, on the nor th side, twenty-five thousa nd cu bits; on the westside te n th ou san d cu bi ts wide, on the cast side ten tho usa nd cubi ts wide andon the sou th side twenty-five th ousand cubits lon g, a nd the sa nctua ry o f Ya hwe h

I I will be in the cent re of it. -This is to belong to the co nsec ra ted pr iests, to th ose ofthe sons of Zadok who ma int ai ned my liturgy a nd did not go as tray with the

12 straying Israelite s, as the Levit es went as tray. -A nd so the ir portion is to be ta ken13 out of th e most holy portion of the land , nca r the ter rito ry of the Lev ites. -The

territory of the Levites, like the te rritory of th e pr iests, is to be twen ty-fivethou sa nd cubits lon g and ten th ousan d wide-the who le length being twenty-five

14 thousand and the wid th ten th ousan d . - It will be illegal for th em to sell orexchange an y part of it, a nd the dom ain ca n never be a lienated, since it is

15 co nsecrated to Ya hwe h. -As rega rds the rema inder, an area of five th ousandcubits by twenty-five th ou sand, th is is to be fo r the co mmon usc of the city, for

16 ho uses and pastures . The city is to sta nd in the centre. • Here are itsmeasu rements: on the north side, four thousand five hu ndred cubits; on the

and the lan d of Israel, down to the Eas te rn Sea" as far as Tamar; so much for19 th e eas tern frontier. -O n th e so uth, from Ta mar sout hward to the waters of j~~ it:l:l

Me riba h in Ka desh , to the Wad i and the Great Sea; so muc h for the so uthern20 fron tier. -On th e west the G reat Sea will serve as front ier up to the point2 1 opposite the Pass of Harnath ; so much for the weste rn frontier. -You are to22 share out this land among yourselves, between the tr ibes of Israel. •You are to

divide it into inher itances for yourselves and the aliens settled amo ng you who Ex INS\­

have begotten children with you , since yo u are to treat them as citizens of Israel. Lv 19:) 4

T hey are to draw lots with you for their inher itance, with the tribes of Israel.2 3 You must give the a lien his inherita nce in the tribe in which he is living- it is

the Lord Yahwe h who speaks.

portion. -T he prince may not ta ke any part of the peo ple's heredit ar y po rt ion I~

and th us rob them of the ir rightful possessions; he mu st pr ovide the patrimon yof his so ns out of his own property, so tha t no member of my peo ple is robbedof his rightful possession s." ,

'He took me th ro ugh the entrance a t the side of th e north gate that lead s 19

to the room s of the Holy Place set a pa rt for the priests . And th ere befo re us,to the west, was a spa ce a t th e end . • He sa id to me, 'T his is whe re the pr iests 20

are to boi l the slaughtered anima ls for th e sac rifice fo r sin a nd the sac rifice ofreparation, a nd where th ey are to bake the ob lation , with out having to carrythem into the outer co urt and so run the risk of hallowing the people ' . • He too k 21

me into th e outer cou rt and led me to each of its four corners ; in each comerof the outer cour t was a co mpo und; - in other word s, the four co rne rs of the"co urt contained four sma ll compounds , forty cub its by thirty, a ll four bein gth e same size/ •Eac h of the four was enclosed by a wa ll, with hearth s a ll round 23

th e bo ttom of the wa ll. • He said , 'These a rc the ki tchens where the Te m ple 24

serva nts a rc to boil the sac rifices offered by the peop le' .

T he spring in the Te mple

47 He br ought me back to the entrance of the Temple, where a st rea m came I

out from under the Te mple threshold a nd flowed eas twa rds . since theTe mple faced cast. T he water flowed fro m und er the right side of the Te mple,sout h of the a lta r. • He took me out by the north ga te and led me righ t rou ndoutside as far as the outer cast gate where the wa ter flowed out on the right- handside. -The man went to the cast hold ing his measuri ng line a nd meas ure d o fl' a J

th ou sand cubits; he then mad e me wade ac ro ss the strea m; the wa ter reache dIlly an kles.• He measured oil' a nother thou san d a nd ma de me wad e ac ross the 4

stream aga in ; the wate r reac hed my knees. He measured off a no the r th ousan da nd mad e me wade ac ross aga in ; the water reac hed my wa ist. •He measur ed 5

o IT an o ther tho usa nd; it was now a river which I could not cross; the st reamhad swo llen and was now deep wat er, a river impossible to cross.• He then "sa id, 'Do yo u sec, so n of man '?' He took me furt her , then brou ght me bac k tothe bank of the river. •W hen I gOI bac k, th ere were man y tre es on eac h ban k 7

o f the river .• He sa id , 'This wat er flows cast dow n to the A ra bah- a nd to th e ,sea; a nd flowing into the sea it ma kes its waters wholesome.•W hereve r the 9

river flows, all living creat ures teemi ng in it will live. F ish will be veryple ntifu l, fo r whe rever the water goe s it brings health , an d life teems whereverthe river flows. " -Thcre will be fishermen on its bank s. Fishing net s will be 10

spread from En-gedi to En-cgla irn . T he fish will be as va ried a nd asplentiful as the fish of the G rea t Sea .' •T he ma rshes and lagoon s, however, will I I

no t become wholesome, but will rema in sa lt. -Alon g the river, on either bank, 12

will grow every kind of frui t tree with leaves that never wither and frui t th atnever fail s ; the y will bea r new fruit every mont h, because this wa ter comes fromthe san ctuary. And thei r frui t will be good to eat a nd the leaves med icina l.

The frontiers of the land"

'The Lo rd Ya hweh says thi s: Here a re the frontiers of the territ ori es to 13

be a llotted between the twe lve tribes of Israe l, with two portio ns fo r Joseph,"You mu st sha re it out eq ua lly between you, since I swore to yo ur fathers th a t I I.wou ld give them this lan d which no w falls to yo u as yo ur inheritan ce. • Here a rc 15

the fron tiers of the lan d . O n the north, fro m the Great Sea by way of Hcth lon toth e Pass of Hamath/ a nd on to Zedad, • Berothah, Si bra im lying between 16

th e territor ies of Da mascus and Ha ma th- a nd to Hazer-ha t-ticon o n theborders of Haura n. -The frontier will extend from th e sea to Haz cr-e no n, 17

mar chi ng with the frontier of Da mascus to the no rth of it a nd the frontie r ofHa ma th a lso on the north ; so muc h for " the northern frontier.•O n the cast IS

the Jo rda n will serve as frontier between Ha ura n and Da mas cus, bet ween G ilead

Lv 2

Lv 4-5

Zc 14:8

;'~ Rv 12:2

" Rv 22:2

N b 34: 1- 12Jos 1:4 : 13;

I ~6

Jg 20: I 1-

zc 13:1: 14:~. I n 4: I ·l­,~ R v 2 2 : 1

J14:18

II

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Page 31: 33 Ezekiel

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G n 41:12

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:2 K 2-l: If:2Ch 36: 5-7

THE YOU N G HEBREWS

AT T H E CO UR T OF NEBUCHADN EZZAR

DANIEL

l In the third yea r o f the reign of Jeho iak im kin g of J udah, Ne bucha dn ezza rking of Babylo n marched on Je rusa lem and besieged it. -T hc Lo rd delivered

Je ho iak im king of J ud ah into his hands, with so me of th e furn ish ings of the 5:2

Te mp le of G od . He too k the m away to the la nd of Shina r," and stored the sac red G n 10: 10

vesse ls in the treasur y o f his ow n gods.T he king o rde red As hpenaz, his chic!" eunu ch, to select from the Israe lites

4 a ce rta in number of boy s o f either roya l or noble descent ; - thcy ha d to bewit ho ut any phy sica l defect, o f good a ppea ran ce, tra ined in every kind of wisdom,well-info rmed, qu ick a t learni ng, " suitable for se rvice in the pa lace of the king.Ashpcnaz him scl fwn s to teach them the language a nd lite ra tu re of th e C ha ldaeans.

5 T he king assigned them a dai ly a llowa nce of food a nd wine from his ow n royaltab le . T hey were to receive a n ed ucat ion last ing fo r three yea rs, aft er which they

I, we re expected to be fit fo r the king's soc iety. •Among them were Da niel,7 Ha na niah. M ishae l a nd Aza ria h, who were J udae ans . -T hc chief eunuch gave

them other names, ca lling Dan iel Beltes hazza r, Ha na niah Shad rac h, M ishael8 Mcshach, and Azaria h Abcd ncgo .: • Daniel, who was most anxiou s no t to defile

him self with the food a nd wine from Ihe royal tabl e, begged the chief eunuch to<J spa re him this defilement:" -a nd by the grace o f G od Daniel me t goo dwill and

10 sympathy on the pa rt o f the chief eu nu ch. • BUI he wa rned Daniel, 'I am afra idof my lo rd the king: he ha s assigned yo u food and d rink, a nd if he sees yo u lookingthinner in the face than th e other boys of yo ur age, my head will be in danger

I I with the king because of you' . -At thi s Da niel turned to the guard whom thechief eun uch had ass igned to Da niel, Ha na nia h, M ishael a nd Aza riah. He sa id ,

12 ' Please a llow yo ur serva nts a ten days' tri al , during which we a re given onl y13 vegetables to ca t and wa te r to d rink. • Yo u ca n then co mpare o ur look s with

those of the bo ys who ea t th e king's food ; go by what you see, and treat your14 servants accordi ngly.' -The man ag reed to do wh at they asked and put them on15 ten days ' tr ial. •W hen th e ten days were over th ey look ed and were in bett er

hea lth than any of the boys who had ea ten the ir a llow ance from th e royal table ;I I, so the guard withd rew their a llowan ce of foo d and the wine the y were to drink ,17 and gave them vegetables. -And God favoured the se four boy s with knowledge

a nd inte lligence in everyt hing connected with literature, and in wisdom; while18 Daniel had the gift of inter preting every kind o f vision and dr eam . -When the

period stip ulated by the king for the boys' training was over , the chief eunuch

T he gates of Jerusa lem

' Here a rc the wa ys o ut of the cit y. On th e north side, bei ng four tho usand 30

five hu ndred cu bits lo ng, - th rce gat es: the ga te of Re uben, t he ga te of J uda h, 3 1

th e ga te of Levi ; the ga tes o f the city arc to be na med after the tri bes of Isra el.O n thc ca st side, bein g four tho usa nd five hundred cubi ts lon g, th ree ga tes : 32

t he ga te of J oseph, the ga te of Benjamin , the ga te of Da n. •O n the so uth side, 33

being four thou san d live hu ndred cubits lon g, three ga tes: the ga te of Simeon ,the ga te of lssachar, the ga te of Zcbulun. -On the west side, being fou r thou sand 34

five hund red cubits lo ng, three gates: th e ga te of Gad, the ga te of As her, thega te of Na phta li. -To ta l perim ete r: eightee n th ou sand cu bits. 35

'T he name of the city in futur e is to be: Ya hweh-is-there .:«

south side, four thousa nd five hund red cu bits ; on the east side, fo ur th ousan dfive hu nd red cub its ; on the wes t side, four thousand five hundred cubits.• And 17

the city pas tures a re to ex tend two hu ndred a nd fifty cubits to the north, twohundred a nd fifty to the south, two hun dr ed and fifty to the cas t, two hundreda nd fifty to the west. •One strip, co ntiguo us to the con secra ted port ion, must 18

be left over, co nsist ing of ten th o usa nd cu bits to eastward a nd ten thou sand towestwa rd, ma rchi ng with the co nsecrat ed portion; this will br ing in a revenuefo r feed ing the mun icipa l wo rkmen. •T hese mu nicipal work people are to be drawn 19

from a ll the tr ibes of Israe l. •T he portion is to have a tot al area of twenty-five 20

tho usa nd cubits by twenty- five thousand . You are to a llocate a qu arter o f thesacred po rt ion to for m the cit y.• What is left over shall be for the prin ce, o n 2 1

e ither s ide of the sacred portion and of th e common land belo ngin g to the city,marching with the twenty-five th ou sa nd cub its to eas tward ' to the eas ternfro ntier, a nd march ing with the twen ty-five thousa nd cub its to westward toth e weste rn frontier-ru nn ing parallel with th e o ther po rti on s a nd belongi ng tot he prin ce. In the centre will be the con secrated por tion a nd the sa nctua ry ofthe Temple. •T hus, ap art from th e property of the Levi tes a nd the proper ty 22

o f the city which lie inside the pri nce' s portion, eve ryt hing between th e bo rderso f Judah and the bo rders of Benjami n is to belon g to the pri nce .

' Here a rc the rest of the tribes: fro m the eastern frontier to the western 23

fro ntier: Benjamin, o ne po rti on . • Bordering Benjamin, fro m the eastern fron tier 24

to the western front ier: Simeo n, one portion . • Bo rde ring Simeo n, from the 25

eastern fro ntier to the west ern fro ntier: lssachar, o ne portion. • Borde ring 26

lssacha r, from the ea stern fro ntier to the western fro nt ier : Ze bulun, o ne porti on .Border ing Zcbulun, fro m the eastern fro ntier to the wes tern fron tier : G ad , o ne 27

po rt io n. •T he so uthern bo rde r of G ad will be fo rmed by the sou thern front ier 2R

running thro ugh Tama r to the wat er s of Meriba h in Kadcsh, to the Wadi a ndth e G rea t Sea . •T his is how yo u a rc to di vide the lan d into pat rimo nies fo r 29

t he tri bes of Israe l ; a nd these arc to be their po rti on s-it is the Lord Ya hwehwho spea ks.

Lv 26:11- 12I K 8: 16

Is 1:26 +Jr 3: 17

Rv 3:12

/ I{ v 2 1:12­IJ

11-,.\

II I1

48 C. ' 10 eas tw a rd ' corr. ca se summing up the en tire reflaio us and liturgicald . In Hcbr. Yahw en stuun, possibl y intended to act ivity o f Eze kiel .

sugg es t th e so u nd o f th e nam e 'Jerusa lem ' , but in a n y

t a . ' to the lan d of Sh in ar' Hebr. : ' to Babylo n'G reek . Hebr. adds ' to th e tem ple o f his go ds ' ,

b. Not th er efor e 10 be trained merely as pages .In eastern co ur ts th ose des tined fo r th e ca ree r o f' letters' (scr ibes. tra nsla tors, a rc h ivists . scho lars.astr ologers. et c.) were (ra ined from ch ildhood .

c. Probably t he co p yis t ha s de liberate ly c ha nged

t he paRan name Ab ed Nc bu. ' ser vant o f Neb u' «heRod who se name occ urs in Ncbuchad nezza r).

d . T o di so be y t he di et a ry proh ibit io ns of the La wwas equi valen t to apos tasy , an d th e en fo rced be llen­lsurio n un der A nr ioc hus Epip hanes often p u t as trum on th c Je ws . cf. 2 M 6: 18- 7: 42 .

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