Ezekiel 4

Ezekiel 4:1

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Ezekiel 4:2

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Ezekiel 4:3

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Ezekiel 4:4

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Ezekiel 4:6

1 tn Heb “The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the eleventh year of…” See 7:1; 11:1; 18:1; 21:1; 30:1 for this same formula.

sn The dating formulas indicate that the date was 588/87 b.c. Zedekiah had begun to reign in 598/97 and Nebuchadnezzar had begun to reign in 605/604 b.c. The dating of Nebuchadnezzar’s rule here includes the partial year before he was officially crowned on New Year’s day. See the translator’s note on 25:1 for the method of dating a king’s reign.

Ezekiel 4:7

2 sn Jeremiah 32:2-5 are parenthetical, giving the background for the actual report of what the Lord said in v. 7. The background is significant because it shows that Jeremiah was predicting the fall of the city and the kingdom and was being held prisoner for doing so. Despite this pessimistic outlook, the Lord wanted Jeremiah to demonstrate his assurance of the future restoration (which has been the topic of the two preceding chapters) by buying a field as a symbolic act that the Israelites would again one day regain possession of their houses, fields, and vineyards (vv. 15, 44). (For other symbolic acts with prophetic import see Jeremiah 13, 19.)

3 sn According to Jeremiah 39:1 the siege began in Zedekiah’s ninth year (i.e., in 589/88 b.c.). It had been interrupted while the Babylonian army was occupied with fighting against an Egyptian force that had invaded Judah. During this period of relaxed siege Jeremiah had attempted to go to his home town in Anathoth to settle some property matters, had been accused of treason, and been thrown into a dungeon (37:11-15). After appealing to Zedekiah he had been moved from the dungeon to the courtyard of the guardhouse connected to the palace (37:21) where he remained confined until Jerusalem was captured in 587/86 b.c. (38:28).

map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

4 tn Heb “the courtyard of the guarding” or “place of guarding.” This expression occurs only in the book of Jeremiah (32:2, 8, 12; 33:1; 37:21; 38:6, 12, 28; 39:14, 15) and in Nehemiah 3:25. It is not the same as an enclosed prison which is where Jeremiah was initially confined (37:15-16; literally a “house of imprisoning” [בֵּית הָאֵסוּר, bet ha’esur] or “house of confining” [בֵּית הַכֶּלֶא, bet hakkele’]). It is said to have been in the palace compound (32:2) near the citadel or upper palace (Nehemiah 3:25). Though it was a place of confinement (32:2; 33:1; 39:15) Jeremiah was able to receive visitors, e.g., his cousin Hanamel (32:8) and the scribe Baruch (32:12), and conduct business there (32:12). According to 32:12 other Judeans were also housed there. A cistern of one of the royal princes, Malkijah, was located in this courtyard, so this is probably not a “prison compound” as NJPS interpret but a courtyard adjacent to a guardhouse or guard post (so G.

L. Keown, P. J. Scalise, T. G. Smothers, Jeremiah 26-52 [WBC], 151, and compare Nehemiah 12:39 where reference is made to a Gate of the Guard/Guardhouse) used here for housing political prisoners who did not deserve death or solitary confinement as some of the officials though Jeremiah did.

Ezekiel 4:8

5 tn Heb “Zedekiah king of Judah.”

6 tn The translation represents an attempt to break up a very long Hebrew sentence with several levels of subordination and embedded quotations and also an attempt to capture the rhetorical force of the question “Why…” which is probably an example of what E. W. Bullinger (Figures of Speech, 953-54) calls a rhetorical question of expostulation or remonstrance (cf. the note on 26:9 and compare also the question in 36:29. In all three of these cases NJPS translates “How dare you…” which captures the force nicely). The Hebrew text reads, “For Zedekiah king of Judah had confined him, saying, ‘Why are you prophesying, saying, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Behold I am giving this city into the hands of the king of Babylon and he will capture it.’”’”

Ezekiel 4:9

7 The Bible.org ministry has provided the NET Bible® at no cost for inclusion in this Bible study software. You can learn about bible.org’s Ministry First model where we share the NET Bible and thousands of other copyrighted biblical materials at www.bible.org/ministryfirst . Ministry First means what it implies, that we’ve chosen to put ministry ahead of money. We believe that the Bible teaches the ministry first concept very clearly – and we think everyone in the world should have free access to trustworthy Bibles and study materials. Tell your friends to get their free NET Bible and free access to thousands of trustworthy Bible study materials online at www.bible.org . This free NET Bible® module includes all the translators’ notes for the first chapter of each book plus all the notes on verses 1-3 for the remaining 1,123 chapters in the Bible.

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Ezekiel 4:10

9 The Bible.org ministry has provided the NET Bible® at no cost for inclusion in this Bible study software. You can learn about bible.org’s Ministry First model where we share the NET Bible and thousands of other copyrighted biblical materials at www.bible.org/ministryfirst . Ministry First means what it implies, that we’ve chosen to put ministry ahead of money. We believe that the Bible teaches the ministry first concept very clearly – and we think everyone in the world should have free access to trustworthy Bibles and study materials. Tell your friends to get their free NET Bible and free access to thousands of trustworthy Bible study materials online at www.bible.org . This free NET Bible® module includes all the translators’ notes for the first chapter of each book plus all the notes on verses 1-3 for the remaining 1,123 chapters in the Bible.

We encourage you to upgrade this free version to the premier full NET Bible® version containing all 60,932 notes. This is the most complete set of translators’ notes in any Bible translation and illuminates many important issues of translation and interpretation. You can upgrade by going to www.bible.org/upgrade where you can purchase the full NET Bible or even download basic versions with all 60,932 translators’ notes for free! Your purchases and donations help ensure the ongoing supply of new resources and tools from Bible.org, which is the world’s largest source of trustworthy – and free – Bible study materials.

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Ezekiel 4:11

13 The Bible.org ministry has provided the NET Bible® at no cost for inclusion in this Bible study software. You can learn about bible.org’s Ministry First model where we share the NET Bible and thousands of other copyrighted biblical materials at www.bible.org/ministryfirst . Ministry First means what it implies, that we’ve chosen to put ministry ahead of money. We believe that the Bible teaches the ministry first concept very clearly – and we think everyone in the world should have free access to trustworthy Bibles and study materials. Tell your friends to get their free NET Bible and free access to thousands of trustworthy Bible study materials online at www.bible.org . This free NET Bible® module includes all the translators’ notes for the first chapter of each book plus all the notes on verses 1-3 for the remaining 1,123 chapters in the Bible.

We encourage you to upgrade this free version to the premier full NET Bible® version containing all 60,932 notes. This is the most complete set of translators’ notes in any Bible translation and illuminates many important issues of translation and interpretation. You can upgrade by going to www.bible.org/upgrade where you can purchase the full NET Bible or even download basic versions with all 60,932 translators’ notes for free! Your purchases and donations help ensure the ongoing supply of new resources and tools from Bible.org, which is the world’s largest source of trustworthy – and free – Bible study materials.

Ezekiel 4:12

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Ezekiel 4:13

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Ezekiel 4:14

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Ezekiel 4:15

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Ezekiel 4:16

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Ezekiel 4:17

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