On that day the prince shall provide for himself and all the people of the land a young bull for a sin offering: On that day refers to the first day of the Passover Festival. For the prince shall provide … a young bull for a sin offering, compare verse 17. Instead of a young bull, the Hebrew says simply “a bull” (Good News Translation; compare verse 18, which refers to “a young bull”). As a sin offering, that is, a sacrifice asking God to take away their sins and forgive them, the bull is to be killed for himself and all the people of the land, that is, to take away the sins of the king himself and the sins of all the people of Israel. A model that slightly reorders this verse is:

• On the first day of the festival the king will give a bull for the priests to sacrifice to take away his sins and the sins of all the people of the land.

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 .