When I blot you out: The Hebrew verb here usually refers to extinguishing a fire or a lamp. Here it pictures the death and destruction of the sea monster (that is, Pharaoh). Some translations keep the imagery here by saying “When I snuff you out” (New International Version, New American Bible), “When I put out your light” (New King James Version ), or “When I extinguish you” (Jerusalem Bible/New Jerusalem Bible, Moffatt). Good News Translation uses nonfigurative language, saying “When I destroy you.” Another possible model is “When I have put an end to your life.”

I will cover the heavens means God will hide the sky so that no one can see it. The Hebrew word for heavens is a plural form, but many translators will find it more natural to use a singular word such as “sky” (Good News Translation). The text does not say what God will use to cover the sky. Contemporary English Version assumes from the second half of the verse that “thick clouds” will cover the sky, but it is more likely that some form of supernatural covering will do it. If some languages need to make the covering explicit with the verb cover, translators should find another way of expressing the idea of this clause, for example, “I will hide the sky,” “I will make the sky invisible,” or “I will make it so that no one can see the sky.” But translators must be careful not to imply that people have become blind and can not see the sky for that reason.

And make their stars dark: Since the sky will be covered with something and will be invisible, the stars also will be invisible, that is, dark. The pronoun their refers back to the heavens, which is plural in Hebrew. For those languages that use a singular word such as “sky,” it is acceptable to render their stars as “its stars” (that is, the sky’s stars), “the stars in the sky,” or simply “the stars” (Good News Translation).

I will cover the sun with a cloud means God will use clouds to hide the sun. Good News Translation says “The sun will hide behind the clouds.” In some languages it may be more natural to say “Clouds will hide [or, come in front of] the sun.”

And the moon shall not give its light: Although this clause may mean that the moon’s light will no longer be visible, perhaps due to the clouds, it is more likely that the moon will actually stop shining. New International Reader’s Version says “The moon will stop shining.” It would not be appropriate to imply that the moon’s light will stop because the sun’s light will be extinguished. This is a modern scientific understanding of the sun and the moon of which people in Old Testament times had no idea.

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 .