Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation begin a new section of Ezekiel’s prophecy here with the traditional formula Thus says the Lord GOD (see Ezek 6.3). But other translations do not make a break here and simply include verses 11-14 as part of the previous prophecy (so New International Version, New Living Translation). Since Hebrew does not use quotation marks or any other indication of direct speech in this case, it is not possible to say that one of these alternatives is right and the other wrong. If translators decide to follow New International Version, they will need to make similar adjustments to those in 5.5 and use the first person where God is talking about himself. In any case, it will be best to start a new paragraph here. Translators may render this clause as “This is what the Lord Yahweh [also] said.”
Clap your hands, and stamp your foot: God addresses Ezekiel here since the Hebrew pronoun for your is singular. Most English translations do not make this clear because English does not distinguish between the second person singular and plural, but Contemporary English Version succeeds in making it clear by including the name “Ezekiel.” The commands Clap your hands and stamp your foot are not expressions of applause and happiness; nor are they simply expressions of sorrow and despair, as Good News Translation implies with “Wring your hands! Stamp your feet!” and so does Contemporary English Version with “beat your fists together and stomp your feet in despair!” Rather, they are physical actions to illustrate the anger of God and how he is about to judge the people of Israel. Clap your hands (literally “Hit with your hand”) refers to a violent action such as smashing the right fist into the palm of the left hand, or crashing a hand down onto a table. The clapping of hands and stamping of feet are widespread actions throughout the world, but often they have quite different meanings in different cultures. Therefore translators must be careful to choose actions that are appropriate to their culture. Or they may keep the actions here by making their meaning clear as follows: “Ezekiel, pound your fist and stamp your foot angrily.”
And say, Alas!: The Hebrew word for Alas expresses God’s triumphant shout of judgment on the wickedness of the Israelites. This word is a strong one that may be difficult to reflect in many languages. International Children’s Bible says “Oh!” which is too weak. Traduction œcuménique de la Bible is better with “That’s it!” Good News Translation renders and say, Alas! as “Cry in sorrow” (similarly Contemporary English Version), which is misleading. Bible en français courant (1982) translates “cry out to deplore,” which is slightly better. Another better model is “Shout loudly at.” This command and the first two are another example of God telling Ezekiel to do certain actions to illustrate the words he is saying (compare chapters 4 and 5).
Because of all the evil abominations of the house of Israel: This clause gives the reason why Ezekiel has to do these three actions showing God’s judgment. It was because of the Israelites’ sins in disobeying God and worshiping false gods. For abominations see 5.9; for the house of Israel, see 3.1. This clause may be rendered “because of all the evil things I hate that the people of Israel have done.”
For they shall fall by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence: As in 5.12 (see the comments there), those who have committed these sins will die in one of three ways. They will be killed in war, or they will starve to death, or they will get sick and die. For, which renders the Hebrew relative pronoun meaning “who” (Revised English Bible), introduces a description of the Israelites and is not explicitly rendered in many versions (so Good News Translation, Bible en français courant, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). Rather, these versions start a new sentence here, such as “They will be killed in war….” Or this word may be expressed as “Indeed.”
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 .