complete verse (Ezekiel 3:21)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Ezekiel 32:1:

  • Kupsabiny: “Then when it was the first day of the twelfth month in the twelfth year while we were foreigners in another country, God said to me,” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “On the first day of the twelfth month, of the twelfth year of our (excl.) captivity, the LORD said to me,” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “Almost twelve years after we had been taken to Babylonia, on the first day of the twelfth month of that year, Yahweh gave me another message. He said,” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Ezekiel 32:1

In the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, on the first day of the month: The sixth prophecy against Egypt begins with another date formula (compare 29.1, 17; 30.20; 31.1). Ezekiel received this prophecy from God almost twelve years after the Babylonians had taken him and many other Israelites as prisoners (made explicit by Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, New International Reader’s Version, New Living Translation, New Century Version). In the twelfth year means that it was at least eleven years but not yet twelve. Contemporary English Version says “Twelve years after,” which is incorrect. A good model for the whole date is “Eleven years after the Babylonians took Israel [or, us] into captivity, on the first day of the twelfth month.” When translating the date, translators should follow the most natural order of recording dates in their own language. For those translators who include footnotes in their Bibles, it is appropriate to indicate that this date is probably March 3, 585 B.C.

Instead of In the twelfth year, there are some Hebrew manuscripts and ancient translations that read “In the eleventh year.” Probably a scribe made the change to “eleventh” to avoid this prophecy coming after the report of the fall of Jerusalem in 33.21 (so Block). But the oracles against the nations appear to have been collected by theme, not date, so it is best to stick with the Hebrew text.

This prophecy against Egypt also begins with the traditional formula the word of the LORD came to me, which Good News Translation renders “the LORD 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 .