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Ezekiel 6-9
New English Translation

Judgment on the Mountains of Israel

6 The Lord’s message came to me: 2 “Son of man, turn toward[a] the mountains of Israel and prophesy against them. 3 Say, ‘Mountains of Israel,[b] hear the word of the Sovereign Lord![c] This is what the Sovereign Lord says to the mountains and the hills, to the ravines and the valleys: I am bringing[d] a sword against you, and I will destroy your high places.[e] 4 Your altars will be ruined and your incense altars will be broken. I will throw down your slain in front of your idols.[f] 5 I will place the corpses of the people of Israel in front of their idols,[g] and I will scatter your bones around your altars. 6 In all your dwellings, the cities will be laid waste and the high places ruined so that your altars will be laid waste and ruined, your idols will be shattered and demolished, your incense altars will be broken down, and your works wiped out.[h] 7 The slain will fall among you and then you will know that I am the Lord.[i]

8 “‘But I will spare some of you. Some will escape the sword when you are scattered in foreign lands.[j] 9 Then your survivors will remember me among the nations where they are exiled. They will realize[k] how I was crushed by their unfaithful[l] heart that turned from me and by their eyes that lusted after their idols. They will loathe themselves[m] because of the evil they have done and because of all their abominable practices. 10 They will know that I am the Lord; my threats to bring this catastrophe on them were not empty.[n]

11 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Clap your hands, stamp your feet, and say, “Ah!” because of all the evil, abominable practices of the house of Israel, for they will fall by the sword, famine, and pestilence.[o] 12 The one far away will die by pestilence, the one close by will fall by the sword, and whoever is left and has escaped these[p] will die by famine. I will fully vent my rage against them. 13 Then you will know that I am the Lord when their dead lie among their idols around their altars, on every high hill and on all the mountaintops, under every green tree and every leafy oak[q]—the places where they have offered fragrant incense to all their idols. 14 I will stretch out my hand against them[r] and make the land a desolate waste from the wilderness to Riblah,[s] in all the places where they live. Then they will know that I am the Lord.’”

The End Arrives

7 The Lord’s message came to me: 2 “You, son of man—this is what the Sovereign Lord says to the land of Israel: An end! The end is coming on the four corners of the land![t] 3 The end is now upon you, and I will release my anger against you. I will judge[u] you according to your behavior;[v] I will hold you accountable for[w] all your abominable practices. 4 My eye will not pity you; I will not spare[x] you.[y] For I will hold you responsible for your behavior,[z] and you will suffer the consequences of your abominable practices.[aa] Then you will know that I am the Lord!

5 “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: A disaster[ab]—a one-of-a-kind[ac] disaster—is coming! 6 An end comes[ad]—the end comes![ae] It has awakened against you![af] Look, it is coming![ag] 7 Doom is coming upon you who live in the land! The time is coming, the day[ah] is near. There are sounds of tumult, not shouts of joy, on the mountains.[ai] 8 Soon now I will pour out my rage[aj] on you; I will fully vent my anger against you. I will judge you according to your behavior. I will hold you accountable for all your abominable practices. 9 My eye will not pity you; I will not spare[ak] you. For your behavior I will hold you accountable,[al] and you will suffer the consequences of your abominable practices. Then you will know that it is I, the Lord, who is striking you.[am]

10 “Look, the day! Look, it is coming! Doom has gone out! The staff has budded, pride has blossomed! 11 Violence[an] has grown into a staff that supports wickedness. Not one of them will be left[ao]—not from their crowd, not from their wealth, not from their prominence.[ap] 12 The time has come; the day has struck! The customer should not rejoice, nor the seller mourn; for divine wrath[aq] comes against their whole crowd. 13 The customer will no longer pay the seller[ar] while both parties are alive, for the vision against their whole crowd[as] will not be revoked. Each person, for his iniquity,[at] will fail to preserve his life.

14 “They have blown the trumpet and everyone is ready, but no one goes to battle, because my anger is against their whole crowd.[au] 15 The sword is outside; pestilence and famine are inside the house. Whoever is in the open field will die by the sword, and famine and pestilence will consume everyone in the city. 16 Their survivors will escape to the mountains and become like doves of the valleys[av] ; all of them will moan—each one for his iniquity. 17 All their hands will hang limp; their knees will be wet with urine.[aw] 18 They will wear sackcloth, terror will cover them; shame will be on all their faces, and all their heads will be shaved bald.[ax] 19 They will discard their silver in the streets, and their gold will be treated like filth.[ay] Their silver and gold will not be able to deliver them on the day of the Lord’s fury.[az] They will not satisfy their hunger or fill their stomachs because their wealth[ba] was the obstacle leading to their iniquity.[bb] 20 They rendered the beauty of his ornaments into pride,[bc] and with it they made their abominable images—their detestable idols. Therefore I will render it filthy to them. 21 I will give it to foreigners as loot, to the world’s wicked ones as plunder, and they will desecrate it. 22 I will turn my face away from them, and they will desecrate my treasured place.[bd] Vandals will enter it and desecrate it.[be] 23 (Make the chain,[bf] because the land is full of murder[bg] and the city is full of violence.) 24 I will bring the most wicked of the nations, and they will take possession of their houses. I will put an end to the arrogance of the strong, and their sanctuaries[bh] will be desecrated. 25 Terror[bi] is coming! They will seek peace, but find none. 26 Disaster after disaster will come, and one rumor after another. They will seek a vision from a prophet; priestly instruction will disappear, along with counsel from the elders. 27 The king will mourn and the prince will be clothed with shuddering; the hands of the people of the land will tremble. Based on their behavior I will deal with them, and by their standard of justice[bj] I will judge them. Then they will know that I am the Lord!”

A Desecrated Temple

8 In the sixth year, in the sixth month, on the fifth of the month,[bk] as I was sitting in my house with the elders of Judah sitting in front of me, the hand[bl] of the Sovereign Lord seized me.[bm] 2 As I watched, I noticed[bn] a form that appeared to be a man.[bo] From his waist downward was something like fire,[bp] and from his waist upward something like a brightness,[bq] like an amber glow.[br] 3 He stretched out the form[bs] of a hand and grabbed me by a lock of hair on my head. Then a wind[bt] lifted me up between the earth and sky and brought me to Jerusalem by divine visions, to the door of the inner gate that faces north where the statue[bu] that provokes to jealousy was located. 4 Then I perceived that the glory of the God of Israel was there, as in the vision I had seen earlier in the valley.

5 He said to me, “Son of man, look up toward[bv] the north.” So I looked up toward the north, and I noticed to the north of the altar gate was this statue of jealousy at the entrance.

6 He said to me, “Son of man, do you see what they are doing—the great abominations that the people[bw] of Israel are practicing here, to drive me far from my sanctuary? But you will see greater abominations than these!”

7 He brought me to the entrance of the court, and as I watched, I noticed a hole in the wall. 8 He said to me, “Son of man, dig into the wall.” So I dug into the wall and discovered a doorway.

9 He said to me, “Go in and see the evil abominations they are practicing here.” 10 So I went in and looked. I noticed every figure[bx] of creeping thing and beast—detestable images[by]—and every idol of the house of Israel, engraved on the wall all around.[bz] 11 Seventy men from the elders of the house of Israel[ca] (with Jaazaniah son of Shaphan standing among them) were standing in front of them, each with a censer in his hand, and fragrant vapors[cb] from a cloud of incense were swirling upward.

12 He said to me, “Do you see, son of man, what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the dark, each in the chamber of his idolatrous images?[cc] For they think, ‘The Lord does not see us! The Lord has abandoned the land!’” 13 He said to me, “You will see them practicing even greater abominations!”

14 Then he brought me to the entrance of the north gate of the Lord’s house. I noticed[cd] women sitting there weeping for Tammuz.[ce] 15 He said to me, “Do you see this, son of man? You will see even greater abominations than these!”

16 Then he brought me to the inner court of the Lord’s house. Right there[cf] at the entrance to the Lord’s temple, between the porch and the altar,[cg] were about twenty-five[ch] men with their backs to the Lord’s temple,[ci] facing east—they were worshiping the sun[cj] toward the east!

17 He said to me, “Do you see, son of man? Is it a trivial thing that the house of Judah commits these abominations they are practicing here? For they have filled the land with violence and provoked me to anger still further. Look, they are putting the branch to their nose![ck] 18 Therefore I will act with fury! My eye will not pity them nor will I spare[cl] them. When they have shouted in my ears, I will not listen to them.”

The Execution of Idolaters

9 Then he shouted in my ears, “Approach,[cm] you who are to visit destruction on the city, each with his destructive weapon in his hand!” 2 Next I noticed[cn] six men[co] coming from the direction of the upper gate[cp] that faces north, each with his war club in his hand. Among them was a man dressed in linen with a writing kit[cq] at his side. They came and stood beside the bronze altar.

3 Then the glory of the God of Israel went up from the cherub where it had rested to the threshold of the temple.[cr] He called to the man dressed in linen who had the writing kit at his side. 4 The Lord said to him, “Go through the city of Jerusalem[cs] and put a mark[ct] on the foreheads of the people who moan and groan over all the abominations practiced in it.”

5 While I listened, he said to the others,[cu] “Go through the city after him and strike people down; do not let your eye pity nor spare[cv] anyone! 6 Old men, young men, young women, little children, and women—wipe them out! But do not touch anyone who has the mark. Begin at my sanctuary!” So they began with the elders who were at the front of the temple.

7 He said to them, “Defile the temple and fill the courtyards with corpses. Go!” So they went out and struck people down throughout the city. 8 While they were striking them down, I was left alone, and I threw myself face down and cried out, “Ah, Sovereign Lord! Will you destroy the entire remnant of Israel when you pour out your fury on Jerusalem?”

9 He said to me, “The sin of the house of Israel and Judah is extremely great; the land is full of murder, and the city is full of corruption,[cw] for they say, ‘The Lord has abandoned the land, and the Lord does not see!’[cx] 10 But as for me, my eye will not pity them nor will I spare[cy] them; I hereby repay them for what they have done.”[cz]

11 Next I noticed the man dressed in linen with the writing kit at his side bringing back word: “I have done just as you commanded me.”

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 6:2 tn Heb “set your face against.” The expression occurs at the beginning of Ezekiel’s prophetic oracles in Ezek 13:17; 20:46; 21:2; 25:2; 28:21; 29:2; 35:2; 38:2.sn Based on comparison to a similar expression in Ugaritic, the phrase may imply that Ezekiel was actually to go to these locations to deliver his message.
  2. Ezekiel 6:3 tn The phrase “mountains of Israel” occurs only in the book of Ezekiel (6:2, 3; 19:9; 33:28; 34:13, 14; 35:12; 36:1, 4, 8; 37:22; 38:8; 39:2, 4, 17). The expression refers to the whole land of Israel.sn The mountainous terrain of Israel would contrast with the exiles’ habitat in the river valley of Babylonia.
  3. Ezekiel 6:3 tn The introductory formula “Hear the word of the Sovereign Lord” parallels a pronouncement delivered by the herald of a king (2 Kgs 18:28).
  4. Ezekiel 6:3 tn Heb “Look I, I am bringing.” The repetition of the pronoun draws attention to the speaker. The construction also indicates that the action is soon to come; the Lord is “about to bring a sword against” them.
  5. Ezekiel 6:3 tn The Hebrew term refers to elevated platforms where pagan sacrifices were performed.
  6. Ezekiel 6:4 tn The word גִּלּוּלִים (gillulim) refers to idols with contempt. Thirty-nine of its forty-eight biblical occurrences are found in Ezekiel. It may be related to either of two roots (גלל; gll). The more common root (1-גלל) is concerned with rolling and round things, producing words like “wheel,” “bowl,” “skull,” “heap of stones,” and “dung.” The other root (2-גלל) means “to be soiled.” A possible cognate in Babylonian (gullultu) refers to a “misdeed, crime, sin” (CAD G, 131; see also gullulu, “to sin”). The pejorative use of the term may come from one of several possibilities. The basic cylindrical shape of many idols lends itself to a term from 1-גלל. As a pejorative it may be emphasizing that idols are simply blocks of wood (cf. Isa 44:19). It has also been suggested that the term plays off of the word for dung, גֵּל (gel), as little round things. Possibly it is related to 2-גלל with overtones of being soiled. Some relation to the Babylonian word would also suit a pejorative and may have been intended by Ezekiel as he prophesied in a Babylonian context. In any case the word carries a negative connotation.sn This verse is probably based on Lev 26:30, in which God forecasts that he will destroy their high places, cut off their incense altars, and set their corpses by the corpses of their idols.
  7. Ezekiel 6:5 tc This first sentence, which explains the meaning of the last sentence of the previous verse, does not appear in the LXX and may be an instance of a marginal explanatory note making its way into the text.
  8. Ezekiel 6:6 tn The Hebrew verb translated “wiped out” is used to describe the judgment of the Flood (Gen 6:7; 7:4, 23).
  9. Ezekiel 6:7 sn The phrase you will know that I am the Lord concludes over sixty oracles in the book of Ezekiel and indicates the ultimate goal of God’s action. The phrase is often used in the book of Exodus as well (Exod 7:5; 14:4, 18). By Ezekiel’s day the people had forgotten that the Lord (Yahweh) was their covenant God and had turned to other gods. They had to be reminded that Yahweh alone deserved to be worshiped because only he possessed the power to meet their needs. Through judgment and eventually deliverance, Israel would be reminded that Yahweh alone held their destiny in his hands.
  10. Ezekiel 6:8 tn Heb “when you have fugitives from the sword among the nations, when you are scattered among the lands.”
  11. Ezekiel 6:9 tn The words “they will realize” are not in the Hebrew text; they are added here for stylistic reasons since this clause assumes the previous verb “to remember” or “to take into account.”
  12. Ezekiel 6:9 tn Heb “how I was broken by their adulterous heart.” The image of God being “broken” is startling but perfectly natural within the metaphorical framework of God as offended husband. The idiom must refer to the intense grief that Israel’s unfaithfulness caused God. For a discussion of the syntax and semantics of the Hebrew text, see M. Greenberg, Ezekiel (AB), 1:134.
  13. Ezekiel 6:9 tn Heb adds “in their faces.”
  14. Ezekiel 6:10 tn Heb “not in vain did I speak to do to them this catastrophe.” The wording of the last half of v. 10 parallels God’s declaration after the sin of the golden calf (Exod 32:14).
  15. Ezekiel 6:11 sn By the sword and by famine and by pestilence. A similar trilogy of punishments is mentioned in Lev 26:25-26. See also Jer 14:12; 21:9; 27:8, 13; 29:18.
  16. Ezekiel 6:12 tn Heb “the one who is left and the one who is spared.”
  17. Ezekiel 6:13 sn By referring to every high hill…all the mountaintops…under every green tree and every leafy oak Ezekiel may be expanding on the phraseology of Deut 12:2 (see 1 Kgs 14:23; 2 Kgs 16:4; 17:10; Jer 2:20; 3:6, 13; 2 Chr 28:4).
  18. Ezekiel 6:14 sn I will stretch out my hand against them is a common expression in the book of Ezekiel (14:9, 13; 16:27; 25:7; 35:3).
  19. Ezekiel 6:14 tc The Vulgate reads the name as “Riblah,” a city north of Damascus. The MT reads Diblah, a city otherwise unknown. The letters resh (ר) and dalet (ד) may have been confused in the Hebrew text. The town of Riblah was in the land of Hamath (2 Kgs 23:33), which represented the northern border of Israel (Ezek 47:14).
  20. Ezekiel 7:2 tn Or “earth.” Elsewhere the expression “four corners of the earth” figuratively refers to the whole earth (Isa 11:12).
  21. Ezekiel 7:3 tn Or “punish” (cf. BDB 1047 s.v. שָׁפַט 3.c).
  22. Ezekiel 7:3 tn Heb “ways.”
  23. Ezekiel 7:3 tn Heb “I will place on you.”
  24. Ezekiel 7:4 tn The meaning of the Hebrew term is primarily emotional: “to pity,” which in context implies an action, as in being moved by pity in order to spare them from the horror of their punishment.
  25. Ezekiel 7:4 tn The pronoun “you” is not in the Hebrew text but is implied.
  26. Ezekiel 7:4 tn “I will set your behavior on your head.”
  27. Ezekiel 7:4 tn Heb “and your abominable practices will be among you.”
  28. Ezekiel 7:5 tn The Hebrew term often refers to moral evil (see Ezek 6:10; 14:22), but in many contexts it refers to calamity or disaster, sometimes as punishment for evil behavior.
  29. Ezekiel 7:5 tc So most Hebrew mss; many Hebrew mss read “disaster after disaster” (cf. NAB, NCV, NRSV, NLT).
  30. Ezekiel 7:6 tn Or “has come.”
  31. Ezekiel 7:6 tn Or “has come.”
  32. Ezekiel 7:6 tc With different vowels the verb rendered “it has awakened” would be the noun “the end,” as in “the end is upon you.” The verb would represent a phonetic wordplay. The noun by virtue of repetition would continue to reinforce the idea of the end. Whether verb or noun, this is the only instance to occur with this preposition.
  33. Ezekiel 7:6 tc For this entire verse, the LXX has only “the end is come.” tn In each of the three cases of the verb translated with forms of “to come,” the form may either be a participle (“comes/is coming”) or a perfect (“has come”). Either form would indicate that the end is soon to arrive. This last form appears also to be feminine, although “end” is masculine. This shift may be looking ahead to the next verse, whose first noun (“Doom”) is feminine.
  34. Ezekiel 7:7 sn The day refers to the day of the Lord, a concept which, beginning in Amos 5:18-20, became a common theme in the OT prophetic books. It refers to a time when the Lord intervenes in human affairs as warrior and judge.
  35. Ezekiel 7:7 tc The LXX reads “neither tumult nor birth pains.” The LXX varies at many points from the MT in this chapter. The context suggests that one or both of these would be present on a day of judgment, thus favoring the MT. Perhaps more significant is the absence of “the mountains” in the LXX. If the ר (resh) in הָרִים (harim, “the mountains” not “on the mountains”) were a ד (dalet), which is a common letter confusion, then it could be from the same root as the previous word, הֵד (hed), meaning “the day is near—with destruction, not joyful shouting.”
  36. Ezekiel 7:8 tn The expression “to pour out rage” also occurs in Ezek 9:8; 14:19; 20:8, 13, 21; 22:31; 30:15; 36:18.
  37. Ezekiel 7:9 tn The meaning of the Hebrew term is primarily emotional: “to pity,” which in context implies an action, as in being moved by pity in order to spare them from the horror of their punishment.
  38. Ezekiel 7:9 tn Heb “According to your behavior I will place on you.”
  39. Ezekiel 7:9 tn The MT lacks “you.” It has been added for clarification.
  40. Ezekiel 7:11 tn Heb “the violence.”
  41. Ezekiel 7:11 tc The LXX reads “he will crush the wicked rod without confusion or haste.”tn The verb has been supplied for the Hebrew text to clarify the sense.
  42. Ezekiel 7:11 tn The Hebrew word occurs only here in the OT.
  43. Ezekiel 7:12 tn Heb “wrath.” Context clarifies that God’s wrath is in view.
  44. Ezekiel 7:13 tc The translation follows the LXX for the first line of the verse, although the LXX has lost the second line due to homoioteleuton (similar endings of the clauses). The MT reads “The seller will not return to the sale.” This Hebrew reading has been construed as a reference to land redemption, the temporary sale of the use of property, with property rights returned to the seller in the year of Jubilee. But the context has no other indicator that land redemption is in view. If correct, the LXX evidence suggests that one of the cases of “the customer” has been replaced by “the seller” in the MT, perhaps due to hoimoioarcton (similar beginnings of the words).
  45. Ezekiel 7:13 tn The Hebrew word refers to the din or noise made by a crowd, and by extension may refer to the crowd itself.
  46. Ezekiel 7:13 tn Or “in their punishment.” The phrase “in/for [a person’s] iniquity” occurs fourteen times in Ezekiel: here and in v. 16; 3:18, 19; 4:17; 18:17, 18, 19, 20; 24:23; 33:6, 8, 9; 39:23. The Hebrew word for “iniquity” may also mean the “punishment for iniquity.”
  47. Ezekiel 7:14 tn The Hebrew word refers to the din or noise made by a crowd, and by extension may refer to the crowd itself.
  48. Ezekiel 7:16 sn The simile compares doves that flee their valley home for the mountains, where they coo in mournful discomfort. For doves moaning or mourning see Isa 38:14; 59:11; Ezek 7:16 and Nah 2:7.
  49. Ezekiel 7:17 tn Heb “their knees will run with water.” The expression probably refers to urination caused by fright, which is how the LXX renders the phrase. More colloquial English would simply be “they will wet their pants,” but as D. I. Block (Ezekiel [NICOT], 1:261, n. 98) notes, the men likely wore skirts which were short enough to expose urine on the knees.
  50. Ezekiel 7:18 tn Heb “baldness will be on their heads.”
  51. Ezekiel 7:19 tn The Hebrew term can refer to menstrual impurity. The term also occurs at the end of v. 20.
  52. Ezekiel 7:19 sn Cf. Zeph 1:18.
  53. Ezekiel 7:19 tn Heb “it.” Apparently the subject is the silver and gold mentioned earlier (see L. C. Allen, Ezekiel [WBC], 1:102).
  54. Ezekiel 7:19 tn The “stumbling block of their iniquity” is a unique phrase of the prophet Ezekiel (Ezek 14:3, 4, 7; 18:30; 44:12).
  55. Ezekiel 7:20 tc The MT reads “he set up the beauty of his ornament as pride.” The verb may be repointed as plural without changing the consonantal text. The Syriac reads “their ornaments” (plural), implying עֶדְיָם (ʿedyam) rather than עֶדְיוֹ (ʿedyo) and meaning “they were proud of their beautiful ornaments.” This understands “ornaments” in the common sense of women’s jewelry, which then was used to make idols. The singular suffix “his ornaments” would refer to using items from the temple treasury to make idols. D. I. Block points out the foreshadowing of Ezek 16:17, which, with Rashi and the Targum, supports the understanding that this is a reference to temple items. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:265.
  56. Ezekiel 7:22 sn My treasured place probably refers to the temple (however, cf. NLT’s “my treasured land”).
  57. Ezekiel 7:22 sn Since the pronouns “it” are both feminine, they do not refer to the masculine “my treasured place”; instead they probably refer to Jerusalem or the land, both of which are feminine in Hebrew.
  58. Ezekiel 7:23 tc The Hebrew word “the chain” occurs only here in the OT. The reading of the LXX (“and they will make carnage”) seems to imply a Hebrew text of הַבַּתּוֹק (habbattoq, “disorder, slaughter”) instead of הָרַתּוֹק (haratoq, “the chain”). The LXX is also translating the verb as a third person plural future and taking this as the end of the preceding verse. As M. Greenberg (Ezekiel [AB], 1:154) notes, this may refer to a chain for a train of exiles, but “the context does not speak of exile but of the city’s fall. The versions guess desperately, and we can do little better.”
  59. Ezekiel 7:23 tn Heb “judgment for blood,” i.e., indictment or accountability for bloodshed. The word for “judgment” does not appear in the similar phrase in 9:9.
  60. Ezekiel 7:24 sn Or “their holy places” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NCV, NRSV).
  61. Ezekiel 7:25 tn The Hebrew word occurs only here in the OT. It is interpreted based on a Syriac cognate meaning “to bristle or stiffen (in terror).”
  62. Ezekiel 7:27 tn Heb “and by their judgments.”
  63. Ezekiel 8:1 tc The LXX reads “In the sixth year, in the fifth month, on the fifth of the month.” sn In the sixth year, in the sixth month, on the fifth of the month would be September 17, 592 b.c., about fourteen months after the initial vision.
  64. Ezekiel 8:1 tn Or “power.” sn Hand in the OT can refer metaphorically to power, authority, or influence. In Ezekiel God’s hand being on the prophet is regularly associated with communication or a vision from God (3:14, 22; 8:1; 37:1; 40:1).
  65. Ezekiel 8:1 tn Heb “fell upon me there,” that is, God’s influence came over him.
  66. Ezekiel 8:2 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb (so also throughout the chapter).
  67. Ezekiel 8:2 tc The MT reads “fire” rather than “man,” the reading of the LXX. The nouns are very similar in Hebrew.
  68. Ezekiel 8:2 tc The MT reads: “what appeared to be his waist and downwards was fire.” The LXX omits “what appeared to be,” reading: “from his waist to below was fire.” Suggesting that “like what appeared to be” belongs before “fire,” D. I. Block (Ezekiel [NICOT], 1:277) points out the resulting poetic symmetry of form with the next line, as followed in the translation here.
  69. Ezekiel 8:2 tc The LXX omits “like a brightness.”
  70. Ezekiel 8:2 tn See Ezek 1:4.
  71. Ezekiel 8:3 tn The Hebrew term is normally used as an architectural term in describing the pattern of the tabernacle or temple or a representation of it (see Exod 25:8; 1 Chr 28:11).
  72. Ezekiel 8:3 tn Or “spirit.” See note on “wind” in 2:2.
  73. Ezekiel 8:3 tn Or “image.”
  74. Ezekiel 8:5 tn Heb “lift your eyes (to) the way of.”
  75. Ezekiel 8:6 tn Heb “house.”
  76. Ezekiel 8:10 tn Or “pattern.”
  77. Ezekiel 8:10 tn Heb “detestable.” The word is often used to describe the figures of foreign gods.
  78. Ezekiel 8:10 sn These engravings were prohibited in the Mosaic law (Deut 4:16-18).
  79. Ezekiel 8:11 sn Note the contrast between these seventy men who represented Israel and the seventy elders who ate the covenant meal before God, inaugurating the covenant relationship (Exod 24:1, 9).
  80. Ezekiel 8:11 tn The Hebrew word occurs only here in the OT.
  81. Ezekiel 8:12 tn Heb “the room of his images.” The adjective “idolatrous” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.sn This type of image is explicitly prohibited in the Mosaic law (Lev 26:1).
  82. Ezekiel 8:14 tn Given the context, this could be understood as a shock, e.g., idiomatically “Good grief! I saw….”
  83. Ezekiel 8:14 sn The worship of Tammuz included the observation of the annual death and descent into the netherworld of the god Dumuzi. The practice was observed by women in the ancient Near East over a period of centuries.
  84. Ezekiel 8:16 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something.
  85. Ezekiel 8:16 sn The priests prayed to God between the porch and the altar on fast days (Joel 2:17). This is the location where Zechariah was murdered (Matt 23:35).
  86. Ezekiel 8:16 tc The LXX reads “twenty” instead of “twenty-five,” perhaps because of the association of the number twenty with the Mesopotamian sun god Shamash. tn Or “exactly twenty-five.”
  87. Ezekiel 8:16 sn The temple faced east.
  88. Ezekiel 8:16 tn Or “the sun god.” sn The worship of astral entities may have begun during the reign of Manasseh (2 Kgs 21:5).
  89. Ezekiel 8:17 tn It is not clear what the practice of “holding a branch to the nose” indicates. A possible parallel is the Syrian relief of a king holding a flower to his nose as he worships the stars (ANEP 281). See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 1:145-46. The LXX glosses the expression as “Behold, they are like mockers.”
  90. Ezekiel 8:18 tn The meaning of the Hebrew term is primarily emotional: “to pity,” which in context implies an action, as in being moved by pity in order to spare them from the horror of their punishment.
  91. Ezekiel 9:1 tc Heb “they approached.” Reading the imperative assumes the same consonantal text but different vowels.
  92. Ezekiel 9:2 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
  93. Ezekiel 9:2 sn The six men plus the scribe would equal seven, which was believed by the Babylonians to be the number of planetary deities.
  94. Ezekiel 9:2 sn The upper gate was built by Jotham (2 Kgs 15:35).
  95. Ezekiel 9:2 tn Or “a scribe’s inkhorn.” The Hebrew term occurs in the OT only in Ezek 9 and is believed to be an Egyptian loanword.
  96. Ezekiel 9:3 tn Heb “house.”
  97. Ezekiel 9:4 tn Heb “through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem.”
  98. Ezekiel 9:4 tn The word translated “mark” is in Hebrew the letter ת (tav). Outside this context the only other occurrence of the word is in Job 31:35. In ancient Hebrew script this letter was written like the letter X.sn For a similar concept in the Bible, see Rev 7:2-4; 13:16; 14:9, 11; 20:4; 22:4.
  99. Ezekiel 9:5 tn Heb “to these he said in my ears.”
  100. Ezekiel 9:5 tn The meaning of the Hebrew term is primarily emotional: “to pity,” which in context implies an action, as in being moved by pity in order to spare them from the horror of their punishment.
  101. Ezekiel 9:9 tn Or “lawlessness” (NAB); “perversity” (NRSV). The Hebrew word occurs only here in the OT, and its meaning is uncertain. The similar phrase in 7:23 has a common word for “violence.”
  102. Ezekiel 9:9 sn The saying is virtually identical to that of the elders in Ezek 8:12.
  103. Ezekiel 9:10 tn The meaning of the Hebrew term is primarily emotional: “to pity,” which in context implies an action, as in being moved by pity in order to spare them from the horror of their punishment.
  104. Ezekiel 9:10 tn Heb “their way on their head I have placed.” The same expression occurs in 1 Kgs 8:32; Ezek 11:21; 16:43; 22:31.
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Hebrews 12
New English Translation

The Lord’s Discipline

12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses,[a] we must get rid of every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and run with endurance the race set out for us, 2 keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. For[b] the joy set out for him he endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.[c] 3 Think of him who endured such opposition against himself by sinners, so that you may not grow weary in your souls and give up. 4 You have not yet resisted to the point of bloodshed[d] in your struggle against sin. 5 And have you forgotten the exhortation addressed to you as sons?

“My son, do not scorn[e] the Lord’s discipline
or give up when he corrects[f] you.
6 “For the Lord disciplines the one he loves and chastises every son he accepts.”[g]

7 Endure your suffering[h] as discipline;[i] God is treating you as sons. For what son is there that a father does not discipline? 8 But if you do not experience discipline,[j] something all sons[k] have shared in, then you are illegitimate and are not sons. 9 Besides, we have experienced discipline from[l] our earthly fathers[m] and we respected them; shall we not submit ourselves all the more to the Father of spirits and receive life?[n] 10 For they disciplined us for a little while as seemed good to them, but he does so for our benefit, that we may share his holiness. 11 Now all discipline seems painful at the time, not joyful.[o] But later it produces the fruit of peace and righteousness[p] for those trained by it. 12 Therefore, strengthen[q] your listless hands and your weak knees,[r] 13 and make straight paths for your feet,[s] so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but be healed.

Do Not Reject God’s Warning

14 Pursue peace with everyone, and holiness,[t] for without it no one will see the Lord. 15 See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God, that no one be like a bitter root springing up[u] and causing trouble, and through it many become defiled. 16 And see to it that no one becomes[v] an immoral or godless person like Esau, who sold his own birthright for a single meal.[w] 17 For you know that[x] later when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no opportunity for repentance, although he sought the blessing[y] with tears. 18 For you have not come to something that can be touched,[z] to a burning fire and darkness and gloom and a whirlwind 19 and the blast of a trumpet and a voice uttering words[aa] such that those who heard begged to hear no more.[ab] 20 For they could not bear what was commanded: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned.”[ac] 21 In fact, the scene[ad] was so terrifying that Moses said, “I shudder with fear.”[ae] 22 But you have come to Mount Zion, the city[af] of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, to the assembly 23 and congregation of the firstborn, who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous, who have been made perfect, 24 and to Jesus, the mediator[ag] of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks of something better than Abel’s does.[ah]

25 Take care not to refuse the one who is speaking! For if they did not escape when they refused the one who warned them on earth, how much less shall we, if we reject the one who warns from heaven? 26 Then his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “I will once more shake not only the earth but heaven too.”[ai] 27 Now this phrase “once more” indicates the removal of what is shaken, that is, of created things, so that what is unshaken may remain. 28 So since we are receiving an unshakable kingdom, let us give thanks, and through this let us offer worship pleasing to God in devotion and awe. 29 For our God is indeed a devouring fire.[aj]

Footnotes

  1. Hebrews 12:1 tn Grk “having such a great cloud of witnesses surrounding us.”
  2. Hebrews 12:2 tn Or “Because of”; or “Instead of.” The Greek prepostion can be understood either way. For discussion and sources see Wallace, ExSyn 367-68; cf. also BDAG 88 s.v. 1, “instead of, in place of” and s.v. 3 “(in exchange) for.”
  3. Hebrews 12:2 sn An allusion to Ps 110:1.
  4. Hebrews 12:4 tn Grk “until blood.”
  5. Hebrews 12:5 tn Or “disregard,” “think little of.”
  6. Hebrews 12:5 tn Or “reproves,” “rebukes.” The Greek verb ἐλέγχω (elenchō) implies exposing someone’s sin in order to bring correction.
  7. Hebrews 12:6 sn A quotation from Prov 3:11-12.
  8. Hebrews 12:7 tn Grk “endure,” with the object (“your suffering”) understood from the context.
  9. Hebrews 12:7 tn Or “in order to become disciplined.”
  10. Hebrews 12:8 tn Grk “you are without discipline.”
  11. Hebrews 12:8 tn Grk “all”; “sons” is implied by the context.
  12. Hebrews 12:9 tn Grk “we had our earthly fathers as discipliners.”
  13. Hebrews 12:9 tn Grk “the fathers of our flesh.” In Hebrews, “flesh” is a characteristic way of speaking about outward, physical, earthly life (cf. Heb 5:7; 9:10, 13), as opposed to the inward or spiritual dimensions of life.
  14. Hebrews 12:9 tn Grk “and live.” sn Submit ourselves…to the Father of spirits and receive life. This idea is drawn from Proverbs, where the Lord’s discipline brings life, while resistance to it leads to death (cf. Prov 4:13; 6:23; 10:17; 16:17).
  15. Hebrews 12:11 tn Grk “all discipline at the time does not seem to be of joy, but of sorrow.”
  16. Hebrews 12:11 tn Grk “the peaceful fruit of righteousness.”
  17. Hebrews 12:12 tn Or “straighten.”
  18. Hebrews 12:12 sn A quotation from Isa 35:3. Strengthen your listless hands and your weak knees refers to the readers’ need for renewed resolve and fresh strength in their struggles (cf. Heb 10:36-39; 12:1-3).
  19. Hebrews 12:13 sn A quotation from Prov 4:26. The phrase make straight paths for your feet is figurative for “stay on God’s paths.”
  20. Hebrews 12:14 sn The references to peace and holiness show the close connection between this paragraph and the previous one. The pathway toward “holiness” and the need for it is cited in Heb 12:10 and 14. More importantly Prov 4:26-27 sets up the transition from one paragraph to the next: It urges people to stay on godly paths (Prov 4:26, quoted here in v. 13) and promises that God will lead them in peace if they do so (Prov 4:27 [LXX], quoted in v. 14).
  21. Hebrews 12:15 tn Grk “that there not be any root of bitterness,” but referring figuratively to a person who causes trouble (as in Deut 29:17 [LXX] from which this is quoted).sn An allusion to Deut 29:18.
  22. Hebrews 12:16 tn Grk “that there not be any,” continuing from v. 15.
  23. Hebrews 12:16 sn An allusion to Gen 27:34-41.
  24. Hebrews 12:17 tn Or a command: “for understand that.”
  25. Hebrews 12:17 tn Grk “it,” referring either to the repentance or the blessing. But the account in Gen 27:34-41 (which the author appeals to here) makes it clear that the blessing is what Esau sought. Thus in the translation the referent (the blessing) is specified for clarity.
  26. Hebrews 12:18 tn This describes the nation of Israel approaching God on Mt. Sinai (Exod 19). There is a clear contrast with the reference to Mount Zion in v. 22, so this could be translated “a mountain that can be touched.” But the word “mountain” does not occur here and the more vague description seems to be deliberate.
  27. Hebrews 12:19 tn Grk “a voice of words.”
  28. Hebrews 12:19 tn Grk “a voice…from which those who heard begged that a word not be added to them.”
  29. Hebrews 12:20 sn A quotation from Exod 19:12-13.
  30. Hebrews 12:21 tn Grk “that which appeared.”
  31. Hebrews 12:21 tn Grk “I am terrified and trembling.”sn A quotation from Deut 9:19.
  32. Hebrews 12:22 tn Grk “and the city”; the conjunction is omitted in translation since it seems to be functioning epexegetically—that is, explaining further what is meant by “Mount Zion.”
  33. Hebrews 12:24 tn The Greek word μεσίτης (mesitēs, “mediator”) in this context does not imply that Jesus was a mediator in the contemporary sense of the word, i.e., he worked for compromise between opposing parties. Here the term describes his function as the one who was used by God to enact a new covenant which established a new relationship between God and his people, but entirely on God’s terms.
  34. Hebrews 12:24 sn Abel’s shed blood cried out to the Lord for justice and judgment, but Jesus’ blood speaks of redemption and forgiveness, something better than Abel’s does (Gen 4:10; Heb 9:11-14; 11:4).
  35. Hebrews 12:26 sn A quotation from Hag 2:6.
  36. Hebrews 12:29 sn A quotation from Deut 4:24; 9:3.
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