In 13.5 God used the picture of prophets standing by broken-down city walls. They were to stand in the holes or rebuild the broken walls to guard the city against the enemies. This was a metaphor for the appropriate behavior of prophets, whose tasks were to tell the people of their sin, to warn them of the coming judgment, and to pray to God on behalf of the land (see the comments on 13.5).
And I sought for a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the breach before me for the land … but I found none: Here God says that he looked for a leader to defend the people when they were attacked but he was not able to find anyone to do so. Sought for means “looked for” (Good News Translation). Although the text says God looked for a man, it is acceptable to use a more inclusive expression, such as “someone” (Good News Translation). It is not clear to whom the pronoun them refers. Although it was the task of the prophets to protect the people, grammatically it is unlikely that this pronoun refers back to the prophets in verse 28. It is best to take this pronoun as referring to all the people, that is, God did not restrict himself to the leaders who should have done the job. For who should build up the wall and stand in the breach, see the comments on 13.5. Here translators may say “who could build up the wall and stand in the places where it was broken down in order to defend the city.” Again God uses the metaphorical picture of guarding the city to describe someone who would stand up for justice, condemn sin, warn of the coming judgment, and intercede with God. Before me makes it clear that God himself will be the enemy and will attack the land. That I should not destroy it shows that God loved the land of Israel and its people and did not want to destroy them. Contemporary English Version says “to stop me from destroying it.”
New Century Version provides a good model for this verse, saying “I looked for someone to build up the walls and to stand before me where the walls are broken to defend these people so I would not have to destroy them. But I could not find anyone.”
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 .