For Son of man (International Children’s Bible “Human being”),

Propound a riddle: The Hebrew verb for propound and the noun for riddle come from the same root. A riddle is a short mysterious saying, often in picture language, whose meaning the hearers must try to guess; it is useful as a way of attracting people’s attention. This clause may be rendered “propose a riddle” (New American Bible) or “give this riddle” (New Living Translation).

And speak an allegory to the house of Israel: The Hebrew verb for speak and the noun for allegory come from the same root. An allegory is a story with a meaning; it is a story that is told to make something clear. Many translators will use the same term here that they used in the New Testament for “parable” (so New International Version, King James Version, New American Standard Bible, Revised English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, Moffatt). The house of Israel is not a building but the people of Israel.

For languages that cannot distinguish between the words riddle and allegory, they may use just one general term (so Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch) by rendering this verse as follows:

• “Mortal man, tell the Israelites this story and ask them to guess its meaning.

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 .