2tnHeb “a day of clouds.” The expression occurs also in Joel 2:2 and Zeph 1:15; it recalls the appearance of God at Mount Sinai (Exod 19:9, 16, 18).
3tnHeb “a time.” The words “of judgment” have been added in the translation for clarification (see the following verses).
4tn The same expression appears in Exod 12:38; Jer 25:20; 50:37; Neh 13:3. It may refer to foreign mercenaries serving in the armies of the nations listed here.
5tnHeb “sons.”
6tn The expression “sons of the covenant land” possibly refers to Jews living in Egypt (Jer 44).
7tnHeb “come down.”
8snSyene is known as Aswan today.
9tnHeb “all who aid her are broken.”
10tnHeb “in the day of Egypt.” The word “doom” has been added in the translation to clarify the nature of this day.
11tnHeb “Nebuchadrezzar” is a variant and more correct spelling of Nebuchadnezzar, as the Babylonian name Nabu-kudurri-usur has an “r” rather than an “n.”
12tn The Babylonians were known for their cruelty (2 Kgs 25:7).
13tnHeb “and I will sell the land into the hand of.”
14tnHeb “I will put fear in the land of Egypt.”
15tnHeb “Sin” (so KJV, NASB), a city commonly identified with Pelusium, a fortress on Egypt’s northeastern frontier.
16tn Or “kill.”
17tc The LXX reads “Syene,” which is Aswan in the south. The MT reads Sin, which has already been mentioned in v. 15.
18snOn and Pi-beseth are generally identified with the Egyptian cities of Heliopolis and Bubastis.
19tnHeb “they will go.” The pronoun and verb are feminine plural, indicating that the cities just mentioned are the antecedent of the pronoun and the subject of the verb. The translation makes this clear by stating the subject as “the cities.”
20sn In Zeph 1:15 darkness is associated with the day of the Lord.
21tn April 29, 587 b.c.
22sn The expression “breaking the arm” indicates the removal of power (Ps 10:15; 37:17; Job 38:15; Jer 48:25).
23sn This may refer to the event recorded in Jer 37:5.
24tn The word h!nn@h indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
25tn Or “I challenge you.” The phrase “I am against you” may be a formula for challenging someone to combat or a duel. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:201-2, and P. Humbert, “Die Herausforderungsformel ‘h!nn#n' ?l?K>,’” ZAW 45 (1933): 101-8.
26tnHeb “him”; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.