And they shall know that I am the LORD: See Ezek 6.7.

I have not said in vain that I would do this evil to them means God is not making an idle threat to punish the people. He will do what he has said. New Jerusalem Bible says “I was not talking lightly when I said I would inflict these disasters on them,” and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch has “I, the LORD, was not talking empty words, when I threatened them with such a punishment.” This sentence can be made into a positive statement by saying “my warnings must be taken seriously” (Contemporary English Version). But the phrase in vain can also mean “without cause” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh) or “for no reason” (New Century Version), that is, the people deserved the punishment that God was inflicting on them. So this sentence may be rendered “I was not making empty threats when I said I would do these evil things to them” or “I had good reason to say I would do these evil things to them.”

In Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation and some other translations, this verse ends God’s message to the mountains and other areas of Israel. Those languages that follow these translations may need to include a closing expression such as “That is what God said.”

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 .