Ezekiel 20:45-49
Lexham English Bible
45 [a] And the word of Yahweh came[b] to me, saying,[c] 46 “Son of man,[d] set your face toward the way of the south,[e] and preach to the south, and prophesy against the forest of the territory of the Negev. 47 And you must say to the forest of the Negev, ‘Hear the word of Yahweh, thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Look! I am kindling against you a fire, and it will devour in you every fresh tree and every dry tree; the blaze of the flame will not be quenched, and all the surfaces from the south to the north will be scorched by it. 48 And all creatures will see that I, Yahweh, I kindled it—it will not be quenched!”’” 49 Then I said, “Ah, Lord Yahweh, they are saying about me, ‘Is he not posing a parable?’”
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- Ezekiel 20:45 Ezekiel 20:45–21:32 in the English Bible is 21:1–37 in the Hebrew Bible
- Ezekiel 20:45 Literally “was”
- Ezekiel 20:45 Literally “to say”
- Ezekiel 20:46 Or “mortal,” or “son of humankind”
- Ezekiel 20:46 Or “Teman”
Ezekiel 20:45-49
New English Translation
Prophecy Against the South
45 (21:1)[a] The Lord’s message came to me: 46 “Son of man, turn toward[b] the south,[c] and speak out against the south.[d] Prophesy against the open scrub[e] land of the Negev, 47 and say to the scrub land of the Negev, ‘Listen to the Lord’s message! This is what the Sovereign Lord has said: Look here,[f] I am about to start a fire in you,[g] and it will devour every green tree and every dry tree in you. The flaming fire will not be extinguished, and the whole surface of the ground from the Negev to the north will be scorched by it. 48 And everyone[h] will see that I, the Lord, have burned it; it will not be extinguished.’”
49 Then I said, “O Sovereign Lord! They are saying of me, ‘Does he not simply speak in eloquent figures of speech?’”
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- Ezekiel 20:45 sn Beginning with 20:45, the verse numbers through 21:32 in the English Bible differ by five from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 20:45 ET = 21:1 HT, 20:46 ET = 21:2 HT, 21:1 ET = 21:6 HT etc., through 21:32 ET = 21:37 HT. Beginning with 22:1 the verse numbers in the English Bible and the Hebrew Bible are again the same.
- Ezekiel 20:46 tn Heb “set your face toward.” This expression occurs as well in Ezek 6:2 and 13:17.
- Ezekiel 20:46 tn Or “the way toward the south,” or “the way toward Teman.” Teman is in the south and may be a location or the direction.
- Ezekiel 20:46 tn Or “toward Darom.” Darom may mean the south or a region just north of the southern city of Beer Sheba. See M. Greenberg, Ezekiel (AB), 2:417-18.
- Ezekiel 20:46 tn The Hebrew term can also mean “forest,” but a meaning of uncultivated wasteland fits the Negev region far better. See M. Greenberg, Ezekiel (AB), 2:418.
- Ezekiel 20:47 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
- Ezekiel 20:47 tn Fire also appears as a form of judgment in Ezek 15:4-7 and 19:12, 14.
- Ezekiel 20:48 tn Heb “all flesh.”
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