For on my holy mountain, the mountain height of Israel refers to Mount Zion in Jerusalem, where the Temple stood. The Hebrew particle ki rendered For is probably an emphatic marker in this context, so it is better translated “Indeed” (Bible en français courant, Parole de Vie). Holy here means something that is set aside for God (see verse 39). The mountain height of Israel means “the high mountain of Israel” (Good News Translation). Translators may begin this verse with “Indeed, on the mountain that is set aside for me, the high mountain of Israel.”

Says the Lord GOD: See Ezek 20.3.

There all the house of Israel, all of them, shall serve me in the land: God stresses that the whole nation of Israel will worship him. For the house of Israel, see Ezek 20.5. Here the verb serve means “worship” (Good News Translation). The land refers to the land of Israel.

Translators may reorder the first half of this verse for naturalness as follows:

• “Indeed I, the Lord Yahweh, tell you that all the people of Israel will worship me there in the land, on the mountain that is set aside for me, the high mountain of Israel.

There I will accept them: Three times in this verse there is an emphatic there that stresses that Mount Zion in Jerusalem is the only place to worship God properly, in contrast to the “high places” mentioned in verse 29. It is important for translators to retain this focus on Jerusalem. I will accept them implies both that God will treat the people favorably and accept the sacrifices they offer to him. The pronoun them refers to the Israelites, whom God is addressing, so Good News Translation renders this clause as “I will be pleased with you.”

And there I will require your contributions and the choicest of your gifts, with all your sacred offerings: The verb require may be translated “expect” (Good News Translation, New Century Version, New Jerusalem Bible) or “ask for”; it reflects God’s right to stipulate how he wants his people to worship him. Contributions, gifts, and sacred offerings all refer to the sacrifices and offerings that the people will bring to the Temple to honor God. The Hebrew expression for the choicest of your gifts usually refers to agricultural goods. Good News Translation says “your best offerings.” New American Bible renders this phrase as “the first fruits of your offerings” (similarly King James Version / New King James Version), which is also possible. Sacred offerings is sometimes difficult to render if the normal word for “sacred” means “taboo” or “forbidden.” In such languages translators may say “gifts dedicated to me [or, set aside for me],” “pure gifts,” or “perfect gifts.” A possible model for this clause is “and there I will expect them to offer me gifts, to offer me the best of what they have, and to give me the gifts that they have put aside for my service.”

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 .