2tn Heb “men from the elders.”

3tn See the note at 14:3.

4tn Or “I will not reveal myself to you.”

5tn Heb “will you judge.” Here the imperfect form of the verb is probably used with a desiderative nuance. Addressed to the prophet, “judge” means to warn of or pronounce God’s impending judgment.

6tn Heb “I lifted up my hand.”

7tn Heb “seed.”

8tn Heb “I lifted up my hand.”

9tn Heb “I lifted up my hand to them.”

10tn Or “searched out.” The Hebrew word is used to describe the activity of the spies in “spying out” the land of Canaan (Num 13-14); cf. KJV “I had espied for them.”

11sn The phrase “a land flowing with milk and honey,” a figure of speech describing the land’s abundant fertility, occurs in v. 15 as well as Exod 3:8, 17; 13:5; 33:3; Lev 20:24; Num 13:27; Deut 6:3; 11:9; 26:9; 27:3; Josh 5:6; Jer 11:5; 32:23 (see also Deut 1:25; 8:7-9).

12tn Heb “each one, the detestable things of his eyes, throw away.” The Pentateuch does not refer to the Israelites worshiping idols in Egypt, but Josh 24:14 appears to suggest that they did so.

13tn Heb “each one, the detestable things of their eyes did not throw away.”

14tn Heb “and I said/thought to pour out.”

15tn Heb “for the sake of my name.”

16tn Heb “before the eyes of the nations in whose midst they were.”

17tn Heb “to whom I made myself known before their eyes to bring them out from the land of Egypt.” The translation understands the infinitive construct (“to bring them out”) as indicating manner. God’s deliverance of his people from Egypt was an act of self-revelation in that it displayed his power and his commitment to his promises.

18sn The laws were given at Mount Sinai.

19tn Heb “the man.”

20tn Heb “does.”

21tn The wording and the concept is contained in Lev 18:5 and Deut 30:15-19.

22sn Ezekiel’s contemporary, Jeremiah, also stressed the importance of obedience to the Sabbath law (Jer 17).

23tn Heb “to become a sign between me and them.”

24tn Or “set them apart.” The last phrase of verse 12 appears to be a citation of Exod 31:13.

25tn Heb “and I said/thought to pour out.”

26tn Heb “to bring them to an end.”

27tn Heb “I lifted up my hand.”

28tn The words “I did this” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied for stylistic reasons. Verses 15-16 are one long sentence in the Hebrew text. The translation divides this sentence into two for stylistic reasons.

29tn Heb “for after their idols their heart was going.” The use of the active participle (“was going”) in the Hebrew text draws attention to the ongoing nature of their idolatrous behavior.

30tn Heb “my eye pitied.”

31tn Heb “sons,” reflecting the patriarchal idiom of the culture.

32tn Or “standard of justice.” See Ezek 7:27.

33tn Or “set apart my Sabbaths.”

34tn Heb “and they will become a sign between me and you.”

35tn Heb “sons.”

36tn Or “carries them out.”

37tn Heb “and I said/thought to pour out.”

38tn Heb “drew my hand back.” This idiom also occurs in Lam 2:8 and Ps 74:11.

39tn Heb “I lifted up my hand.”

40sn Though the Pentateuch does not seem to know of this episode, Ps 106:26-27 may speak of God’s oath to exile the people before they had entered Canaan.

41tn The words “I did this” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied for stylistic reasons. Verses 23-24 are one long sentence in the Hebrew text. The translation divides this sentence into two for stylistic reasons.

42tn Or “they worshiped” (NCV, TEV, CEV); Heb “their eyes were on” or “were after” (cf. v. 16).

43tn Or “permitted.”

sn The content of the verse is shocking: that God would “give” bad decrees. This probably does not refer to the Mosaic law but to the practices of the Canaanites who were left in the land in order to test Israel. See Judg 2:20-23, the note on “decrees” in v. 25, and the note on “pass through the fire” in v. 26.

44tn The Hebrew term חֻקּוֹת (khuqot; translated “statutes” elsewhere in this chapter) is normally feminine. Here Ezekiel changes the form to masculine: חֻקִּים (khuqim). Further, they are not called “my decrees” as vv. 11 and 13 refer to “my statutes.” The change is a signal that Ezekiel is not talking about the same statutes in vv. 11 and 13, which lead to life.

45tn Or “gifts.”

46sn This act is prohibited in Deut 12:29-31 and Jer 7:31; 19:5; 32:35. See also 2 Kgs 21:6; 23:10. This custom indicates that the laws the Israelites were following were the disastrous laws of pagan nations (see Ezek 16:20-21).

47sn God sometimes punishes sin by inciting the sinner to sin even more, as the biblical examples of divine hardening and deceit make clear. See Robert B. Chisholm, Jr., “Divine Hardening in the Old Testament,” BSac 153 (1996): 410-34; idem, “Does God Deceive?” BSac 155 (1998): 11-28. For other instances where the Lord causes individuals to act unwisely or even sinfully as punishment for sin, see 1 Sam 2:25; 2 Sam 17:14; 1 Kgs 12:15; 2 Chr 25:20.

48tn Heb “which I lifted up my hand.”

49tn The Hebrew word (“Bamah”) means “high place.”

50tn Heb “in the way of your fathers.”

51tn Or “gifts.”

52tn Or “Will I reveal myself to you?”

53tn Or “I will not reveal myself to you.”

54tn Heb “what comes upon your mind.”

55tn The Hebrew could also read: “Let us be.”

56tn Heb “serving wood and stone.”

sn This verse echoes the content of 1 Sam 8:20.

57sn This phrase occurs frequently in Deuteronomy (Deut 4:34; 5:15; 7:19; 11:2; 26:8).

58tn This is the same Hebrew verb used to describe the passing of the children through the fire.

59sn The metaphor may be based in Lev 27:32 (see also Jer 33:13; Matt 25:32-33). A shepherd would count his sheep as they passed beneath his staff.

60tn See the note at 2:3.

61sn Compare the irony here to Amos 4:4 and Jer 44:25.

62tn Heb “and after, if you will not listen to me.” The translation leaves out “and after” for smoothness. The text is difficult. M. Greenberg (Ezekiel [AB], 1:374) suggests that it may mean “but afterwards, if you will not listen to me…” with an unspoken threat.

63sn A similar concept may be found in Lev 18:21; 20:3.

64tn Or “gifts.”

65tn Heb “all of it.”

66tn Heb “I lifted up my hand.”

67tn Heb “ways.”

68tn Heb “loathe yourselves in your faces.”

69sn Beginning with 20:45, the verse numbers through 21:32 in the English Bible differ by five from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 20:45 ET = 21:1 HT, 20:46 ET = 21:2 HT, 21:1 ET = 21:6 HT etc., through 21:32 ET = 21:37 HT. Beginning with 22:1 the verse numbers in the English Bible and the Hebrew Bible are again the same.

70tn Heb “set your face toward.” This expression occurs as well in Ezek 6:2; 13:17.

71tn Or “the way toward the south,” or “the way toward Teman.” Teman is in the south and may be a location or the direction.

72tn Or “toward Darom.” Darom may mean the south or a region just north of southern city of Beer Sheba. See M. Greenberg, Ezekiel (AB), 2:417-18.

73tn The Hebrew term can also mean “forest,” but a meaning of uncultivated wasteland fits the Negev region far better. See M. Greenberg, Ezekiel (AB), 2:418.

74tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.

75tn Fire also appears as a form of judgment in Ezek 15:4-7; 19:12, 14.

76tn Heb “all flesh.”