And I will spread my net over him: Here and in the rest of this subsection the pronouns I and my refer to God (compare verse 11). Bible en français courant makes this clear by saying “I, the Lord,” which may be helpful for other languages. Contemporary English Version uses indirect speech for God’s words, referring to him here as “the LORD” for clarity. The Hebrew word for net refers to a net that hunters use to catch animals or birds. They spread the net on the ground so that the feet of the prey become tangled in the net. It is then easy to catch the trapped animal or bird. Ways to make this clear include “I will trap [or, catch] him in my net” and “I will spread a net to catch him.”

And he shall be taken in my snare: This clause is parallel in meaning to the previous one. The Hebrew word for snare also refers to a net that traps animals or birds. God will spread his net and catch the king of Judah in it. Of course, this is figurative language. A possible model for the first two clauses of this verse is “I [the LORD] will catch him, just as if I will spread out a net for him and will catch him in my trap.”

And I will bring him to Babylon in the land of the Chaldeans: The verb bring may be rendered “take” (Good News Translation) or “lead.” The Hebrew word for Babylon can refer to either the city “Babylon” (Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, New Century Version, New American Standard Bible) or to the country “Babylonia” (New International Version). Here it is better to understand it as referring to the country. Chaldeans is another name for the people of Babylonia (see the comments on 1.1). To avoid confusion New Living Translation says “Babylonians.” This clause may be rendered “and I will take him to the land of the Babylonians.”

Yet he shall not see it; and he shall die there: These two clauses reflect what happened to Zedekiah after the Babylonians caught him. They blinded him (see 2 Kgs 25.7), so that he did not physically see the land where they took him, but he died there. Good News Translation restructures these two clauses, saying “where he will die without having seen it.”

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 .