Sigh, but not aloud: The Hebrew verb for Sigh refers to the moaning of someone who is grief stricken or in pain (see 9.4, where it is rendered “groan”). In Hebrew this sentence is grammatically very difficult, and most translations take it in the way that Revised Standard Version has (compare Contemporary English Version “Mourn in silence”). According to this interpretation, God tells Ezekiel that he may mourn for his wife, but only quietly, not with loud cries and wailing. But there are other ways of understanding this sentence. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, for example, has “Sit rigid and motionless and moan.” According to Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, the Hebrew verb rendered but not aloud has the sense of “be still/motionless” instead of its usual meaning of “be silent.” This interpretation is not very likely. Others take this verb to mean “moan/groan/lament” in this context (compare Isa 23.2 in Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, New Living Translation, Revised English Bible, and New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh), resulting in the following rendering for this sentence: “Mourn and grieve.” This fits the context better than the traditional interpretation, without radically changing the general meaning. Translators may follow either interpretation.

Make no mourning for the dead: In light of the previous sentence, this one means Ezekiel must not follow the usual mourning practices of the people. Contemporary English Version says “and don’t show that you are grieving.”

Some of these usual practices can be seen in the next four commands: Bind on your turban, and put your shoes on your feet; do not cover your lips, nor eat the bread of mourners. Normally mourners would leave their heads uncovered and go barefoot, they would cover the lower part of their face with a veil, and they would not prepare their own food but eat food brought by their friends and neighbors. God tells Ezekiel not to do any of these things. A turban was an ornamental headdress worn by priests and others at times of great joy. To wear it a person would wind it around his head (see 21.26), which is the primary sense of the Hebrew verb rendered Bind on (see the comments on 16.10, where it is translated “swathed”). The Hebrew word for shoes probably refers to “sandals” (Contemporary English Version, New International Version, Revised English Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). Bind on your turban, and put your shoes on your feet means Ezekiel must get dressed normally, as if nothing had happened.

Do not cover your lips is literally “and do not cover [your] moustache [or, upper lip].” A man covered his lower face in times of great distress.

Instead of the bread of mourners, the Hebrew text has “the bread of men” (King James Version, New American Standard Bible), which is difficult to understand. Hebrew Old Testament Text Project explains it as “the ordinary bread eaten by those who are not priests,” but it is not clear whether this phrase refers to the ordinary food that people who were not priests used to eat (see New Jerusalem Bible with “the usual food” and New American Bible with “the customary bread”), or the usual food that was given to mourners (so New International Version with “the customary food of mourners”). Most translations agree with the reading in Revised Standard Version, because it makes good sense, even though it is necessary to change the Hebrew consonants. While the precise meaning of this phrase may be unclear, in this context it probably means the food that people bring to a bereaved family to help them in their time of distress. If so, the best translation is “the food that people give you” (similarly Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch with “the bread that neighbors bring you”). But if a language has a specific term for the food eaten at a wake or given to the bereaved family, it would be acceptable to use it.

A model for this verse:

• Mourn and grieve, but do not follow the usual mourning practices. Instead, wrap a turban around your head and wear your sandals [or, get dressed normally]. Do not cover the lower part of your face, and do not eat the food people bring to someone in mourning.

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 .