Then those of you who escape will remember me among the nations where they are carried captive: After some of the Israelites avoid being killed and go into exile, only then will they think of God again. Those of you who escape refers to those who escape being killed, not to those who escape captivity. Remember me may be rendered “think of me” (Contemporary English Version, Bible en français courant). They will think of God among the nations where they are carried captive, that is, where they will live in exile. The Hebrew expression rendered where they are carried captive does not imply that they are picked up and carried, as if they were children. It refers to taking them prisoner. Many languages will use an active verb here, saying “where your enemies will take you as captives.” Contemporary English Version says simply “where they will be prisoners.”

When I have broken their wanton heart which has departed from me …: Instead of I have broken, the Hebrew text reads “I have been broken.” Grammatically the Hebrew is a little difficult, so a number of translations follow some early Greek versions and change the text to read I have broken, that is, I have punished, the people (so Revised Standard Version, Revised English Bible, Jerusalem Bible/New Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible, Bible en français courant, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). Although no Hebrew manuscripts support this change, Hebrew Old Testament Text Project recommends it. The Hebrew is the text behind the footnotes in Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation, and many translations accept it as the correct text by saying “I have been grieved” (New International Version; similarly New English Bible), “I was hurt” (New Century Version; similarly New American Standard Bible), “I was brokenhearted” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh), “I was crushed” (New Revised Standard Version, New King James Version ; similarly King James Version), or “they disgraced me” (Contemporary English Version). Since good sense can be made from the Hebrew text, translators would be wise to follow this reading. The meaning of this clause is that the exiles who have survived will at last remember God and realize that he was very upset at them because of their sin.

Their wanton heart which has departed from me refers to their sinfulness and rebellion. Wanton renders a Hebrew word related to sexual immorality and describes the actions of a prostitute. Some of the Biblical prophets used the idea of prostitution and the unfaithfulness of a spouse to describe the way Israel sinned against God. It may be misleading for translators to go as far as New International Version by rendering this word as “adulterous,” but it would be good if they could find an ambiguous word such as “faithless” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh) or “unfaithful” (New Century Version). Which has departed from me explains how the people were unfaithful: they “deserted” (Good News Translation) or “turned away” (New International Version, New Century Version, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh) from God. The same idea is repeated in the clause which turn wantonly after their idols. The people turned away from God and followed false gods. The Hebrew word rendered turn wantonly is the same one translated wanton. For idols (“foul idols” in New Jerusalem Bible), see Ezek 6.4.

And blinded their eyes: The verb blinded is not in the Hebrew text. Both their eyes and their heart are objects of the verb broken, and Revised Standard Version has just rendered it idiomatically in both instances. In the light of the previous discussion about I have broken, God was very upset at the unfaithful heart and eyes of the people. In Hebrew culture the heart refers to a person’s inner being, how one thinks and makes decisions, and the eyes are the means by which the temptations of the external world enter a person’s inner being. Here the heart and eyes are figurative and represent the totality of a person. Translators do not need to retain the Hebrew figures of speech and will do better if they choose terms that reflect the person as a whole. Good News Translation retains some of the imagery by saying “their faithless hearts deserted me and they preferred idols to me.” Contemporary English Version removes it completely, saying “by rebelling and by worshiping idols.”

The pronouns they and their refer to the people of Israel, whom the LORD is addressing. Translators may use either third person or second person pronouns here, depending on which is more natural in their languages. The first half of this verse may be expressed more naturally in some languages as follows:

• … then those of you who survive and are living in the foreign countries where they carried you as captives will think of me again and remember how grieved I was by your unfaithful hearts as you turned away and chose to worship idols instead of being faithful to me.

And they will be loathsome in their own sight for the evils which they have committed, for all their abominations: The Hebrew verb rendered be loathsome contains the idea of deep dislike, revulsion, or disgust. They will be loathsome in their own sight may be rendered “they will be disgusted with themselves” (Good News Translation) or “They will hate themselves” (Contemporary English Version, New Century Version). They will become distressed in this way when they remember what God has done for them and recognize the evils which they have committed, that is, their sins. Their abominations explains what their sins were, namely, the things that God hated, especially the worship of idols (see the comments on 5.9). This sentence may be rendered “Then you will hate yourselves for the sins and terrible things you have done.”

A model for this verse is:

• … then those of you who have survived will think of me [God] in those countries where you are like prisoners. You will realize that I was very upset when you decided to be unfaithful to me and turn away from me to worship false gods. Then you will be disgusted with yourselves at the sins that you have done and the idols you have worshiped.

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 .