Thus says the Lord GOD: See verse 24. Again this traditional prophetic formula draws attention to an important message of God.

Remove the turban, and take off the crown: As punishment for his sins, Zedekiah will lose his kingly position. A king wore a turban and a crown on his head as symbols of his royal position. A turban was a band of cloth that the wearer wrapped repeatedly around the upper part of his head and tucked in the end. For crown see 16.12. To make some distinction between them, and especially in languages where there is no word for crown, translators may render these two clauses as “Remove the king’s head cloth and hat” or “Take off the cloths the king wears on his head.” In Hebrew the verbs for Remove and take off may be addressed to Zedekiah (so Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, New Living Translation, New English Bible, Bible en français courant), but they may also be impersonal, addressed to nobody in particular, so Jerusalem Bible says “They will take away your turban and remove your crown” (similarly New Jerusalem Bible).

Things shall not remain as they are is literally “this not this.” This clause seems to be an idiom or proverbial saying about the situation of life changing. When Zedekiah loses his authority, everything will be turned upside down. Translators are encouraged to find an indigenous saying with this meaning. New Century Version says “Things will change,” Contemporary English Version has “everything will be different,” Good News Translation uses “Nothing will be the same again,” and Moffatt translates “turn things upside down.” If a general saying is not available, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch provides a model for making the saying specific to Zedekiah, saying “Your rule is at an end!”

Exalt that which is low, and abase that which is high is an example of turning things upside down. Exalt means to lift up or make high, abase means to make low. This is figurative language (compare 17.24), similar to Jesus’ words “the last will be first and the first last” (Matt 20.16). Although it is a general saying here, it applies to Zedekiah since he will lose his kingship and become a prisoner. Therefore it is not appropriate to make this saying apply to the “poor” as Good News Translation does. Better models are “Those who had no power will be put in charge, and those who now rule will become nobodies” (Contemporary English Version) and “Those who are important now will be made unimportant, and those who are unimportant now will be made important” (New Century Version).

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 .