Although many translations begin a new paragraph at this point, this verse is best taken as the conclusion to the previous verses (so New Century Version). In the previous verses God says he is angry with his people and will destroy Jerusalem. This verse looks forward to the end of God’s anger. It also points past the fall of Jerusalem to the time when the people will recognize that God has spoken through Ezekiel.
Thus shall my anger spend itself means God will stop being angry. New Century Version says “Then my anger will come to an end,” and New International Version has “Then my anger will cease.” Other possible models are “After I have done that, I will stop being angry,” “That is how I will satisfy [or, use up completely] my anger,” and “By doing all this, I will get rid of my anger.” And I will vent my fury upon them means God will let his anger against the people go quiet. New International Version captures the meaning here well with “and my wrath against them will subside.” The Hebrew words for anger and fury have basically the same meaning, so translators do not need to distinguish between them, unless there are appropriate synonyms in their language. And satisfy myself means God will be calm and content. He will no longer be angry. A similar statement of how God stops being angry with his people after their punishment is complete is made in 16.42. Many translations miss this focus on the end of God’s anger, and make these three clauses seem more threatening than they are; for example, New Jerusalem Bible says “I shall sate my anger and bring my fury to rest on them until I am avenged,” Good News Translation has “You will feel all the force of my anger and rage until I am satisfied,” and Contemporary English Version translates “You will feel my fierce anger until I have finished taking revenge.” These three renderings give an impression that is much stronger than is in the Hebrew. Translators must give careful consideration to the versions they are using as a base for translation to make sure that the right impression is expressed. New Century Version provides a helpful model here, saying “Then my anger will come to an end. I will use it up against them, and then I will be satisfied.” New International Version is similar with “Then my anger will cease and my wrath against them will subside, and I will be avenged.”
And they shall know that I, the LORD, have spoken in my jealousy: Here again is the theme of unbelievers being forced at last to recognize that God was speaking through Ezekiel. The unbelievers here are the people of Jerusalem and Judah. The LORD renders God’s name “Yahweh” (see the comments on 1.3). In modern English the word jealousy almost always has bad overtones. It means to be envious of someone who has something that I want, or to be suspicious about the actions of my spouse. In most languages the most obvious meaning is where a man is jealous of his wife. But this is not the meaning of the Biblical word here. Therefore translators have looked for different words to render it, such as “zeal” (New International Version, King James Version / New King James Version, New American Standard Bible) and “passion” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). It comes from the same Hebrew root as the word used in Exo 20.5; Deut 4.24; 5.9; and 6.15, where Good News Translation expresses it as God “tolerate[s] no rivals.” This could be the meaning here—God is angry with the people of Jerusalem because they have sinned and worshiped idols (so Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version). But the Hebrew word for jealousy is more general than that. It reflects the intense feelings that God has for his people. They are both positive and negative feelings. He feels strong love for them, but he also feels hurt and disappointed by their sin, angry at their disobedience, and agitated as he must punish them. All of these ideas are in the Hebrew word, but the main emphasis is on the quality of the feelings. They are intense and very strong. Whatever expression is chosen to translate this word must first and foremost reflect this intensity of emotion. A possible model for this whole clause is “And then they will know that I, Yahweh, I am the one who spoke to them out of my strong feelings for them.”
When I spend my fury upon them: The people will recognize God when he stops being angry with them after he has punished them and allowed Jerusalem to be destroyed. Spend renders a different form of the Hebrew verb translated spend at the beginning of the verse.
In this verse the third person pronouns they and them refer to the people of Jerusalem and Judah. Since God is addressing them, some languages may prefer to use second person pronouns (so Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version). A model that does this is:
• Then my anger will come to an end and my wrath against you will subside, and I will be satisfied. When I am no longer angry with you, you will know that it is I, Yahweh, who spoke to you out of my strong feelings for you.
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 .