But I will let a few of them escape from the sword, from famine and pestilence: God promises that he will not kill everyone in Jerusalem. He will let a few of them escape from the sword, that is, some will not be killed in war; from famine, that is, some will not starve to death because they have no food; and from pestilence, that is, some will not get sick and die of a terrible disease (see the comments on 5.12). However, most of them will die in one of these three ways. This clause may be rendered “I will allow a few to survive. They won’t all be killed in war or die of starvation or disease.”

That they may confess all their abominations among the nations where they go: God will let this small number stay alive in order that they may tell foreigners about the disgusting things they did. The Hebrew verb rendered confess does not refer to the confession and repentance of sins. Here it is better translated “recount” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh), “tell [of/about]” (New Revised Standard Version, Contemporary English Version, New Century Version), or “describe” (Revised English Bible). Their abominations are their sins, the evil and disgusting things that they did (see 5.9). God will make these people describe all their sins among the nations where they go, that is, to the foreigners in the countries where God will send them.

And may know that I am the LORD: They will describe their sins not because they enjoyed doing them or because they enjoy telling others about what they did. They will do it so that they may acknowledge God. This recognition formula is repeated from the previous verse (see the comments there). Most translations understand this clause to mean that the few remaining exiles will acknowledge God (so Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, New Century Version, New American Standard Bible, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). However, it may mean that those who hear of these sins, those who live in the foreign countries, are the ones who will acknowledge God (so Jerusalem Bible/New Jerusalem Bible, Bible en français courant). Both interpretations are possible, but the first one is preferable. Contemporary English Version gives another possible interpretation, saying “and [they will be able to tell foreigners] that it was the LORD who punished them in this way.” According to Contemporary English Version, they will tell foreigners about their sins to show the foreigners that they suffered because God punished them, not because God was too weak to protect them. A model for this clause and the previous one is “I will let them live so that they can tell people in the countries where they go about the terrible things they did, and so that they will recognize that I am Yahweh.”

Quoted with permission from Gross, Carl & Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on Ezekiel. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .