Your altars shall become desolate: Altars are the tables or platforms on which people offer gifts or burn sacrifices to their gods. If there is no word for altars in a language, translators may say “tables [or, platforms] for sacrifice.” Become desolate means the altars will be deserted, no one will come to worship at them. Many modern versions have “will be destroyed” (New Century Version) or “will be demolished” (New International Version), which is acceptable, but it is equally possible to stay closer to the text by rendering this clause as “No one will worship at your altars” or “Your altars will be deserted.”

And your incense altars shall be broken: The Hebrew word rendered incense altars refers to small “incense burners” (New Jerusalem Bible) or “incense stands” (New Revised Standard Version, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh) that were placed on the main altar. This has been proved by recent archaeological discoveries. Before these discoveries the meaning of the Hebrew word was uncertain, and that is why King James Version has “images,” and Moffatt says “sun-pillars.” Incense is sweet-smelling powder that worshipers burn to honor their god. Your incense altars shall be broken means they will be “smashed” (New International Version, New Jerusalem Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). In many languages the passive verb shall be broken is not natural. If so, this clause may be rendered “and enemies will break your stands [or, containers] where the people worship [gods] by burning sweet powder.”

And I will cast down your slain before your idols is literally “and I will cause your slain to fall before your idols.” This expression means “and I will slay your people in front of your idols” (New International Version; similarly Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, New Century Version). Idols are the statues of gods that people worship. In this context the idols were probably quite large statues of false gods in the shape of human beings or animals. Some languages use the word “gods” to render idols. However, the word used for God may be a name, so it is difficult to pluralize it. If so, translators may render idols as “objects they worship as if they were God.” The Hebrew word for idols is very strong. It may have some connection with excrement, so New Jerusalem Bible says “foul idols.” Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch omits this last clause of the verse because it is so similar to the first clause of verse 5. However, we do not recommend omitting it since its meaning is a little different from that of verse 5.

Throughout this verse Ezekiel continues to speak to the mountains and the other areas of the land of Israel mentioned in verse 3. So your altars are the altars of the land, your slain are the inhabitants of the land who will be killed, and your idols are the idols in the shrines throughout the land.

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 .