And the LORD said to me: Yahweh speaks to Ezekiel again.

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

Mark well, see with your eyes, and hear with your ears all that I shall tell you …: In three ways God tells Ezekiel to pay careful attention to what he is about to say. Mark well (literally “set your heart”) may be rendered “pay attention” (Good News Translation, New International Reader’s Version, New Century Version, Jerusalem Bible/New Jerusalem Bible, Christian Community Bible, Complete Jewish Bible) or “take careful notice” (New Living Translation); see with your eyes may be translated “look closely” (New Revised Standard Version, Revised English Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh) or “watch carefully” (similarly New International Reader’s Version, Christian Community Bible); and hear with your ears may be expressed as “listen carefully” (Contemporary English Version) or “listen attentively” (New Revised Standard Version, Revised English Bible). See also the comments on 40.4 for these three expressions. By saying almost the same thing three times, God shows that what he is about to say is very important.

Concerning all the ordinances of the temple of the LORD and all its laws refers to all the rules and regulations that governed what went on in the Temple (see the comments on 43.11). This phrase may be rendered “concerning all the rules and regulations for my Temple” (similarly Good News Translation) or “regarding all the laws and instructions about my Temple” (similarly New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh).

And mark well those who may be admitted to the temple and all those who are to be excluded from the sanctuary: God also tells Ezekiel to pay close attention concerning those who are allowed to go into the Temple and those who are not. The Hebrew here is literally “and set your heart to the entrance/admittance of the Temple with all the exits of the sanctuary” (similarly Hebrew Old Testament Text Project), so New International Reader’s Version says “Pay attention to the entrance of the temple and to all of its exits” (similarly New International Version, New American Standard Bible, English Standard Version, Revised English Bible, Moffatt). However, the Hebrew nouns for “entrance” and “exits” need not refer to the actual doors and gates through which people go in and out. They can refer to the actions of going in and out, so it is best to understand this sentence to refer to the people who go in and out and, by extension, those who are allowed to go in and out. A good model here is “Note well who may enter the Temple and all who must be excluded from it” (similarly New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh).

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 .