On the west side … This shall be the west side: This verse describes the western border of the land.

The Great Sea shall be the boundary to a point opposite the entrance of Hamath: The western border will run along the shore of the Great Sea, that is, the Mediterranean Sea, northward to a point opposite the entrance of Hamath. God does not mention the name of the place where this border will stop, except to say that it will be across from the entrance of Hamath (see the comments on verse 15). Presumably the northern end of the western border will be almost due “west” (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version) of that place, and it will be the place “where the northern border begins” (New Living Translation).

A model for this verse is:

• “The western boundary will follow the coast of the Mediterranean Sea from the southern border north to a point that is directly west of Hamath Pass. This will be the western boundary of the land.

God has now described in some detail the four borders of the future land of Israel. In his description he uses repetition to define each of the four sides (for example, On the west side … This shall be the west side). Translators for whom such repetition may be awkward and clumsy may omit one of these phrases in each case.

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 .