And join them together into one stick, that they may become one in your hand: This verse does not mean that Ezekiel was to glue or nail the two sticks together, but rather that he was to “hold the two sticks end to end” (Good News Translation) in the palm of his hand, so that when he closed his fist around the joint, they would “look like one stick” (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version). For Ezekiel to be able to do that, the sticks must have been fairly small, or he would not have been able to hide the joint in his hand.

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 .