Yet I will leave some of you alive …: Despite the destruction and slaughter described in the previous verses, God promises that he will not kill everyone. He will leave some of the Israelites alive.

When you have among the nations, that is, when the survivors are in the foreign countries where they will be living.

Some will escape the sword means some will not die in the war.

And when you are scattered through the countries, that is, after the survivors are taken into exile in many different countries. The Hebrew word rendered scattered is often used in connection with winnowing grain, where the wind blows the husks away and disperses them all over the place. In the same way it is used of the survivors who are sent away from their homeland into exile.

Many languages may need to reorder this verse as follows:

• “But I will leave some of you alive. When you escape death and they [impersonal] have scattered you into exile in many countries….

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 .