But he rebelled against him: Zedekiah broke his promise to Nebuchadnezzar and rebelled against him. It will help readers to make clear who is doing what to whom here, as in “But that royal family member rebelled against the king of Babylonia.”

By sending ambassadors to Egypt, that they might give him horses and a large army: Zedekiah sent representatives to the king of Egypt to ask the Egyptians to send many soldiers and horses to help Judah rebel against the king of Babylonia. This was obviously against the agreement he had made with Nebuchadnezzar. Ambassadors are official messengers that a king sends to another king on government business. They are more than just “messengers” (New Century Version). Ambassadors to Egypt may be translated “representatives to meet on his behalf with the king of Egypt.” Horses are large animals that are similar to donkeys and mules. They can run very fast. People often sit on their backs and ride them, or tie them to carts so that the horses drag the carts behind them as they walk along. In cultures where horses are not known, translators may say “large fast animals,” and it may be helpful to include an illustration.

Will he succeed? Can a man escape who does such things? Can he break the covenant and yet escape?: Succeed renders the same Hebrew verb translated “thrive” twice in the story (verses 9-10). When it applied to the plant, the first question here carried the idea of “Will it stay alive?” But when it applies to Zedekiah, the meaning is “Will he succeed in doing this?” Still it has a trace of the meaning of staying alive, as the word escape in the next two questions shows. Escape can mean “not get caught” or “not be killed”; in the case of Zedekiah, it probably means both. Can a man escape who does such things? is not a general statement about anybody, but refers specifically to Zedekiah. These three questions may be rendered “Will this plan succeed? Can the man who does things like this escape punishment? Can he break the agreement without being punished [or, without the other king punishing him]?” These three questions are rhetorical ones that expect the answer “No.” They function in exactly the same way as the questions at the end of the story in verses 9-10. Although it is best to retain them as questions if possible, it is acceptable to rephrase some or all of them as strong statements (so Good News Translation). One model that does this is “There is no way he can succeed in this. No one who does things like this can escape punishment. He cannot break the agreement [or, treaty] without being punished.”

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 .