Here God describes his judgment of the people of Israel with words that are very similar to those in 21.31 (see the comments there).

Therefore I have poured out my indignation upon them: God will pour out his anger like a hot liquid on the people (compare 7.8). One way to express this clause is “Therefore I will make them feel my anger as if I poured [hot, or boiling] liquid over them.”

I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath: The Hebrew verb rendered consumed means “destroy completely.” New Jerusalem Bible says “put an end to.” For with the fire of my wrath, see 21.31. One way to express this clause is “My anger is like a fire that will destroy them completely.”

Their way have I requited upon their heads is a vivid way of saying that God will punish them in the way they deserve (see the comments on 9.10). Translators may say “I will punish them as they deserve for the way they have behaved.”

The solemn declaration says the Lord GOD closes the prophecy and emphasizes that it is true (see verse 12).

Most translations follow Revised Standard Version and use the past tense in this verse. This gives the idea that the judgment of Jerusalem has already taken place. But it is better to interpret the prophecies in this chapter as being given before the fall of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. Some scholars have explained the past tense in Hebrew here as “prophetic perfect.” This is a technical term for the way the prophets often described God’s future actions in the past tense because they were certain to happen—it was as if they had already happened. Nevertheless, in most languages the future or present tense reflects the meaning more accurately here (so Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, New International Version, New Living Translation, Moffatt).

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 .