It is not certain whether God or Ezekiel is speaking at this point, but since God is the speaker in the first nine verses of this chapter, and again later in the chapter, it is reasonable to assume that he continues as the speaker here. It may be helpful if translators make this explicit by beginning this verse with “Yahweh continued to speak.”

Behold, the day! Behold, it comes!: These two clauses repeat the same ideas as verses 5-7 (see the comments there). Most of the words are the same but they are used in different combinations. The Hebrew particle rendered Behold (hinneh) is repeated to stress the nearness of God’s coming judgment. Although it looks like it in Revised Standard Version, the day is not actually the subject of the verb comes. In Hebrew the subject for this verb is unstated. These two clauses are incomplete and ambiguous in Hebrew. This makes them even more threatening. Translators may say “Look, it’s time! See, it’s coming.” For those languages that cannot leave the subject unstated, they may say “Look, it’s time for destruction. Judgment is coming.”

Your doom has come: See the comments on Ezek 7.7. The Hebrew does not have a word for your in this clause, and in the rest of the chapter Ezekiel refers to those who are being punished, namely, the people of Israel, in the third person. Some translations change the third person to the second person to make it easier to follow, because God addresses the people of Israel in this subsection. Contemporary English Version makes this change throughout most of the subsection, but Good News Translation does not make it until verse 24. Translators should feel free to do whatever is most appropriate for their language. The Hebrew word for doom is the same as in verse 7, and its meaning here is equally uncertain. Some versions render it “disaster” (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version). This clause may be rendered “Disaster is at hand.”

Injustice has blossomed, pride has budded: Ezekiel uses the picture of growing plants to describe the sins of the Israelites. The Hebrew verbs rendered blossomed and budded have to do with producing buds and flowers, and point to flourishing plants that are growing well. The focus here is on healthy, vigorous growth, but it is not clear exactly what is growing vigorously. Injustice renders the Hebrew word mutteh. This idea fits the context very well, since it is followed by pride in this verse, and “Violence” and “wickedness” in verse 11. Like Revised Standard Version, many translations follow this reading of injustice (so Contemporary English Version, Revised English Bible, New American Bible), so translators who take this option are in good company. But there is no textual evidence to support this reading. The Hebrew text reads matteh, which means “stick” or “rod” (New Revised Standard Version). It is not clear what this “rod” refers to. It could be the rod of discipline, showing that God was about to start punishing the people (compare Isa 30.32). Or it could be a metaphor for King Nebuchadnezzar, who was about to come and destroy Jerusalem as the agent of God’s judgment (compare Isa 10.5). It may also be an image for “brutality” (Bible en français courant, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible), which fits in well in this context, and Hebrew Old Testament Text Project recommends it. Pride (“arrogance” in Contemporary English Version) is boasting about something that you have no right to claim credit for, and refusing to accept the limits set by God. The people of Israel were the ones who were committing the sins of injustice (or, brutality) and pride, so these two clauses may be rendered “The injustice [or, brutality] the people commit has blossomed, and their pride has grown.” If the figurative language of blossomed and budded will not be easily understood, then translators may say “The people commit more and more injustice [or, brutal acts] and continue to become more proud.”

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 .