Even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live, says the Lord GOD, they would deliver neither son nor daughter; they would deliver but their own lives by their righteousness: In this verse the main point of God’s message is stated again for the fourth time. Here the words are a mixture of verses 14 and 16 (see the comments there). The names of the three good men are mentioned again, and God reinforces his solemn declaration with another oath. The only difference is that son and daughter are singular, instead of plural as in verse 16. The meaning of they would deliver neither son nor daughter is probably exactly the same as “they would deliver neither sons nor daughters” (so Good News Translation), but the singular may imply that the three men’s goodness would not save even a single child, let alone a whole family.

A model for verses 19-20 is:

• 19 Or suppose in my anger I cause disease to spread throughout that land and kill all the people and the animals. 20 Just as I the Lord Yahweh am living, I tell you, even if those good men Noah, Danel and Job lived there, I would not even save their own children. I would save those three because of their goodness, but they are the only ones I would save.”

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 .

Good News Translation inserts the following section heading for verses 23-34: “Jerusalem’s Life as a Prostitute.” Another possible title is “What Jerusalem does as a prostitute.”

The details of the next few verses continue to be ambiguous between the girl of the parable and the people of Jerusalem and Judah. The building of many shrines to false gods and the alliances with the Egyptians, Philistines, Assyrians, and Babylonians clearly point to the sinful history of the people of Israel, although it still describes Judah as the girl who is acting like a prostitute. And after all your wickedness does not mean after she had finished all the sins just listed, but rather in addition to those sins. New International Version and New Living Translation say “In addition to all your other wickedness,” and Contemporary English Version has “Not only did you do these evil things.”

(Woe, woe to you! says the Lord GOD): These words interrupt the flow of the sentence in verses 23-24, so Revised Standard Version places them within parentheses. In most languages it will be easier to begin the verse with these words (so Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, New International Version, New Living Translation, New Century Version, Revised English Bible). They are prompted by the reference to wickedness, but it is acceptable to see them as a reaction to the wickedness described in the previous verses. The Hebrew word rendered woe can be a general expression of dismay, but here it announces disaster on Jerusalem. Many languages have an equivalent expression, but for those that do not, woe, woe to you! may be rendered “You are doomed! Doomed!” (Good News Translation), “How terrible! How terrible it will be for you” (New Century Version) or “Bad things are going to happen to you.” For says the Lord GOD, see Ezek 16.8.

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 .

As for your sisters: New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh changes the Hebrew text here to read “Then your sister” (similarly Revised English Bible, Jerusalem Bible). However, this phrase focuses attention on the two wicked sisters again, so translators should not change the Hebrew here.

Sodom and her daughters shall return to their former estate, and Samaria and her daughters shall return to their former estate; and you and your daughters shall return to your former estate: This verse basically repeats the information of verse 53. In fact, the words return to their former estate explain more clearly what the restoration will be like, that is, they will “return to what they were before” (New International Version, New Century Version; similarly New Jerusalem Bible). This restoration will not necessarily involve great wealth, as Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version suggest.

Provided the meaning is clear, translators may reduce some of the repetition in verses 53-55. For many languages it may be desirable to combine these three verses to do so. A model that does this is:

• “Now about your sisters—I will return Sodom and her daughters back to the position they had before, and I will return Samaria and her daughters back to the position they had before. And at the same time I will return you and your daughters back to the position you had before. This is so that you will be humiliated and feel great shame because of the sins that you have done. You have been so bad that your sisters will feel relieved that they weren’t as sinful as you [or, they will feel good in comparison with 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 .

The word of the LORD came to me again: This is a traditional way of introducing a prophecy. The LORD renders “Yahweh” (YHWH in Hebrew), the name of God. This clause may be rendered “On another occasion Yahweh spoke to me.”

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 .

But the vine was plucked up in fury, cast down to the ground: Disaster struck the vine. The Hebrew verb rendered plucked up means to pull a plant up by the roots (so Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, New Century Version). Fury is another word for “anger” (Contemporary English Version, New Century Version, Revised English Bible; see the comments on 5.13). Although many translations fail to do so, it is best to make it explicit that the vine, not just the strong branch, was pulled out by the roots. Then it was cast down to the ground, that is, thrown violently on the ground. For those languages that do not have passive verbs, it will be necessary to use an impersonal construction for these two lines or to make it explicit that God was the one who was angry at the vine, pulled it out of the ground, and threw it down, as in “But God became angry at the vine and pulled it up by its roots and threw it down.” Good News Translation provides an impersonal model, saying “But angry hands pulled it up by the roots and threw it to the ground.”

The east wind dried it up; its fruit was stripped off, its strong stem was withered; the fire consumed it: For the east wind, see 17.10. According to Revised Standard Version, the hot desert wind from the east dried … up the vine and, as a result, its fruit was stripped off (that is, its fruit fell off) and its strong stem was withered (that is, its strong branch also dried up). Finally, fire consumed it, that is, fire burned up the strong branch. Other translations understand the Hebrew of these lines in a different way. For some the east wind dried up the vine’s fruit and its branches were broken off. Then the branches dried out and were burned (so Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, King James Version / New King James Version, New American Standard Bible). This understanding is better than the one in Revised Standard Version, but the best way to understand the Hebrew is as follows: “The hot east wind dried up its fruit. Its fruit broke off and dried up. But as for its strong branch, fire destroyed it.”

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 .

Wherefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD: God uses this strong introduction to address the sins of the Israelites in exile. Wherefore may be rendered “Therefore” (New Revised Standard Version, New International Version). For the house of Israel, see Ezek 20.5; for Thus says the Lord GOD, see Ezek 20.3.

Will you defile yourselves after the manner of your fathers and go astray after their detestable things?: God addresses the Israelite people in exile directly with this rhetorical question that focuses on their guilt, because it implies they sinned in the same way as their ancestors. For defile yourselves and detestable things, see Ezek 20.7. The Hebrew verb rendered go astray is literally “be a prostitute” (compare New Living Translation, which says “prostituting yourselves”) and recalls the terminology of chapter 16 (see the comments on 16.15). This question uses two Hebrew participles that refer either to the immediate future (for example, “Will you continue to…?”) or the present (for example, “Are you now…?”). One way to express this question is “Are you making yourselves unacceptable to me in the same way your ancestors did as you act like a prostitute with those things I hate?” Good News Translation assumes they are doing this by asking “Why must you commit the same sins your ancestors did and go running after their idols?” The question may be expressed as a statement by saying “You are defiling yourselves in the same way as your ancestors did by acting like a prostitute with those things that I hate.” New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh renders this question as conditional clauses, saying “If you defile yourselves as your fathers did and go astray after their detestable things.” This is another acceptable model.

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 .

That their hearts may melt, and many fall: The sword’s activity has two aims. One aim is that their hearts may melt, that is, the people will be afraid (see Ezek 21.7). Translators may say “This [or, This sword] will make the people weak with fear.” The other aim is that many fall, that is, “many people will die” (New Century Version). The second clause can also mean “many people will be afraid” if hearts is implied from the first clause (so Greenberg). If so, the second clause is literally “and those whose hearts falter [that is, those who lose courage] will increase in number.” Either interpretation is acceptable.

At all their gates. I have given the glittering sword: Revised Standard Version is wrong to attach at all their gates to the previous clause. It is better to attach it to the following clause; for example, New International Version has “I have stationed the sword for slaughter at all their gates,” and New Century Version says “I have placed the killing sword at all their city gates.” Good News Translation renders their gates as “their city” because the person who controls the gates of the city controls the whole city. It is not certain what God placed at the city gates, because the Hebrew word for glittering is used only here. Most translations take it to refer to the sword’s role in killing people (see New International Version and New Century Version above). In the context this interpretation is probably the best option, so a possible model for the whole clause is “I have put the sword to kill them at the city gates.” But it also possible that Hebrew word for glittering can mean “unsheathing” (Hebrew Old Testament Text Project) of the sword. A model of the clause that follows this sense is “I have taken the sword from its sheath [or, cover] at the city gates.” New Revised Standard Version is similar with “At all their gates I have set the point of the sword” (so also King James Version / New King James Version), and so are New English Bible and Revised English Bible with “I have set the threat of the sword at all their gates.” Glittering is a guess to try to make the Hebrew word here fit with the following clauses. We do not recommend this rendering.

Ah! it is made like lightning, it is polished for slaughter: God describes the sword again. The Hebrew interjection rendered Ah seems to be an expression of distress or sorrow here (compare 6.11, where it is translated “Alas”). For it is made like lightning, see verse 10. Languages that do not have passive verbs may say “It flashes like lightning” (New Living Translation). It is polished for slaughter is a conjecture, based on verse 10. As the Revised Standard Version footnote shows, the Hebrew seems to say “it is wrapped up for slaughter” (similarly King James Version, New American Standard Bible), which may mean the sword is being kept in its sheath, in reserve for killing (so Hebrew Old Testament Text Project). But the form of the Hebrew word for “wrapped up” may also mean “unwrapped,” that is, unsheathed, so Revised English Bible renders this clause as “[the sword] drawn to kill.” In view of the uncertainty about this word, it is best to be quite general here; for example, Good News Translation says “is ready to kill” (similarly Contemporary English Version).

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 .

This verse describes the coming punishment on the people of Jerusalem.

I will scatter you among the nations and disperse you through the countries: Although the Hebrew pronoun for you is feminine singular and grammatically applies to the city, it is acceptable to translate it in terms of the people in Jerusalem; for example, Good News Translation says “your people.” God will send them to live in many different countries. As noted in 12.15 and 20.23 (see the comments there), the Hebrew verbs rendered scatter and disperse are synonyms, and some translations do not keep both (so Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, New Living Translation, Bible en français courant). Depending on the requirements of the language, this is acceptable.

And I will consume your filthiness out of you means God will remove or destroy anything that is sinful or ritually unclean. Here the pronouns your and you are ambiguous. In Hebrew they are both singular. Some scholars say these pronouns refer to the people of Jerusalem, so this clause means God will purify them through their exile; for example, Contemporary English Version says “and put a stop to your sinful ways.” Others claim these pronouns refer to Jerusalem, so this clause means God will purify the city itself by removing its evil citizens; for example, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch has “and I put an end to your [singular] crimes.” Because the second singular pronouns are used ambiguously throughout the whole prophecy (see the comments on Ezek 22.3), either interpretation is acceptable, although the second interpretation fits the context slightly better. This clause may be rendered “I will put an end to the evil things you people do that make you unclean,” but a better model is “Jerusalem, I will get rid of the evil things that make you unclean.”

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 .