complete verse (Ezekiel 39:12)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Ezekiel 39:12:

  • Kupsabiny: “It will take the people of Israel seven months to bury those people until they have swept away completely those bodies/corpses in that land.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “‘Their burial by the Israelinhon will-take seven months so-that the land will-be-cleaned-up.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “For seven months the people of Israel will be burying those corpses. It will be necessary to bury all of them, in order that the land will not be defiled/considered unacceptable to me because of any unburied corpses.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Ezekiel 39:12

For seven months the house of Israel will be burying them: The process of burying all the corpses of Gog’s army will go on for more than half a year. The people of Israel will bury them. For the house of Israel, that is, the people of Israel, see the comments on 3.1.

In order to cleanse the land: Their work to bury all the dead bodies will be to “make the land clean again” (Good News Translation, New International Reader’s Version, New Century Version). The cleansing refers to the land being ritually clean and an appropriate place for worship (see the comments on 22.24).

A model for this verse is:

• It will take seven months for the people of Israel to bury them all and make the land clean [or, acceptable again for them to worship 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 .