The Babylonians and all the Chaldeans, Pekod and Shoa and Koa, and all the Assyrians with them, desirable young men, governors and commanders all of them, officers and warriors, all of them riding on horses: This verse lists Oholibah’s lovers in terms similar to those used earlier in the chapter. For Babylonians and Chaldeans, see verses 14-15; for Assyrians see Ezek 23.5; for desirable young men, governors, commanders, warriors and riding on horses, see Ezek 23.6; and for officers, see verse 15. Pekod, Shoa and Koa were tribes that lived near the Tigris River east of Babylon, about whom very little is known. It is not clear why Ezekiel included these three tribes, but it may be significant that in Hebrew the tribal names mean “Punish! Cry for help! Scream!” The sound of these names would have been threatening to Ezekiel’s audience. Such plays on words are frequent in Ezekiel but of course are very difficult to reflect in translation.

The footnote in Revised Standard Version shows that the Hebrew text has “called” instead of warriors. Because only one letter is different between the Hebrew words for “called” and warriors, Revised Standard Version assumes that “called” is a mistake for warriors used in verse 6. Other translations keep the original Hebrew word here; for example, New International Version has “men of high rank,” New King James Version and New American Standard Bible say “men of renown,” Hebrew Old Testament Text Project uses “dignitaries,” and Good News Translation translates “important officials.” Ezekiel often makes minor changes to lists that are very similar, so translators will do well to follow Good News Translation in preference to Revised Standard Version in this instance.

Good News Translation finds it natural to repeat part of the previous verse by beginning with “I will bring,” which may be helpful in other languages. A model for this verse is:

• I will bring against you men from Babylon and the rest of Babylonia, men from the tribes of Pekod, Shoa and Koa, and all the Assyrians. They all are handsome young men, officials and leaders, officers and men of high rank who are coming on their horses to attack.

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 .