וְאַתָּה בֶן־אָדָם קַח־לְךָ חֶרֶב חַדָּה תַּעַר הַגַּלָּבִים תִּקָּחֶנָּה לָּךְ וְהַעֲבַרְתָּ עַל־רֹאשְׁךָ וְעַל־זְקָנֶךָ   5:1             וְלָקַחְתָּ לְךָ מֹאזְנֵי מִשְׁקָל וְחִלַּקְתָּם׃

Ezek. 5:1   “And you, human, take for yourself a sharp knife, a razor of barbers, and you shall take it to yourself and make pass upon your head and upon your beard.  Now you shall get balances of weight for yourself; then you shall apportion them:

This seems to be a continuation of the conversation the God Figure was having with Ezekiel in the last chapter.  So, if it’s a dream or vision, it is continuing still.  Here the God Figure is telling Ezekiel to shave his head and face, and to separate the hair into three equal parts.  Notice, however, that this command violates Levi. 19:27.  So either this must still be a dream, or the God Figure is not God, whoever he is.  For the Lord would not cause anyone to violate one of His commandments.

שְׁלִשִׁית בָּאוּר תַּבְעִיר בְּתֹוךְ הָעִיר כִּמְלֹאת יְמֵי הַמָּצֹור וְלָקַחְתָּ אֶת־הַשְּׁלִשִׁית תַּכֶּה בַחֶרֶב   5:2              סְבִיבֹותֶיהָ וְהַשְּׁלִשִׁית תִּזְרֶה לָרוּחַ וְחֶרֶב אָרִיק אַחֲרֵיהֶם׃

Ezek. 5:2   A third you shall burn in the middle of the city in fire after the days of the siege are complete.  And you shall take the second third, you shall strike with the knife on all her sides.  And the last third you shall scatter to the wind, and I shall bring out a sword after them.”

The siege is complete in 390 days.  I think that this is still to be done to the “model” that Ezekiel had been told to construct at the beginning of Chapter 4, not to the actual city.

וְלָקַחְתָּ מִשָּׁם מְעַט בְּמִסְפָּר וְצַרְתָּ אֹותָם בִּכְנָפֶיךָ׃   5:3

Ezek. 5:3   “And you shall take a few in number from there and tie them in your skirts.”

וּמֵהֶם עֹוד תִּקָּח וְהִשְׁלַכְתָּ אֹותָם אֶל־תֹּוךְ הָאֵשׁ וְשָׂרַפְתָּ אֹתָם בָּאֵשׁ מִמֶּנּוּ תֵצֵא־אֵשׁ אֶל־כָּל־בֵּית   5:4 יִשְׂרָאֵל׃

Ezek. 5:4   “And from these you shall take more and cast them to the middle of the fire, and burn them in the fire.  From it a fire shall come forth to the entire house of Israel.”

כֹּה אָמַר אֲדֹנָי יְהֹוִה זֹאת יְרוּשָׁלִַם בְּתֹוךְ הַגֹּויִם שַׂמְתִּיהָ וּסְבִיבֹותֶיהָ אֲרָצֹות׃   5:5

Ezek. 5:5   “Thus says the Master, the Lord:  ‘Here is Jerusalem. I have set her amidst the nations, and countries surround her.’

וַתֶּמֶר אֶת־מִשְׁפָּטַי לְרִשְׁעָה מִן־הַגֹּויִם וְאֶת־חֻקֹּותַי מִן־הָאֲרָצֹות אֲשֶׁר סְבִיבֹותֶיהָ כִּי בְמִשְׁפָּטַי   5:6            מָאָסוּ וְחֻקֹּותַי לֹא־הָלְכוּ בָהֶם׃

Ezek. 5:6   ‘Yet she disobeys My ordinances and My statutes, doing more wickedness than the nations, more than the countries that surround her, for they despise My ordinances.  And My statutes?  They do not walk in them.’”

 לָכֵן כֹּה־אָמַר אֲדֹנָי יְהוִה יַעַן הֲמָנְכֶם מִן־הַגֹּויִם אֲשֶׁר סְבִיבֹותֵיכֶם בְּחֻקֹּותַי לֹא הֲלַכְתֶּם וְאֶת־מִשְׁפָּטַי  5:7  לֹא עֲשִׂיתֶם וּכְמִשְׁפְּטֵי הַגֹּויִם אֲשֶׁר סְבִיבֹותֵיכֶם לֹא עֲשִׂיתֶם׃

Ezek. 5:7   “Therefore thus says the Master, the Lord:  ‘Because of your confusion, greater than the nations that surround you, you have not walked in My statutes, and you have not kept My ordinances.  You have not even kept after the ordinances of the nations that surround you.’”

לָכֵן כֹּה אָמַר אֲדֹנָי יְהוִה הִנְנִי עָלַיִךְ גַּם־אָנִי וְעָשִׂיתִי בְתֹוךֵךְ מִשְׁפָּטִים לְעֵינֵי הַגֹּויִם׃   5:8

Ezek. 5:8   “Therefore thus says the Master, the Lord:  ‘Behold, I am against you; indeed I am.  So I will execute judgments in your midst for the eyes of the nations.’

וְעָשִׂיתִי בָךְ אֵת אֲשֶׁר לֹא־עָשִׂיתִי וְאֵת אֲשֶׁר־לֹא־אֶעֱשֶׂה כָמֹהוּ עֹוד יַעַן כָּל־תֹּועֲבֹתָיִךְ׃   5:9

Ezek. 5:9   ‘Thus I will do with you what I have never done, and what I will not do like it again, because of all your abominations.’

לָכֵן אָבֹות יֹאכְלוּ בָנִים בְּתֹוךֵךְ וּבָנִים יֹאכְלוּ אֲבֹותָם וְעָשִׂיתִי בָךְ שְׁפָטִים וְזֵרִיתִי אֶת־כָּל־שְׁאֵרִיתֵךְ   5:10 לְכָל־רוּחַ׃

Ezek. 5:10   ‘As a result, fathers shall consume sons in your midst and sons shall consume their fathers, and I will execute judgments because of you and I will scatter your entire remnant to every wind.’

לָכֵן חַי־אָנִי נְאֻם אֲדֹנָי יְהוִה אִם־לֹא יַעַן אֶת־מִקְדָּשִׁי טִמֵּאת בְּכָל־שִׁקּוּצַיִךְ וּבְכָל־תֹּועֲבֹתָיִךְ וְגַם־אֲנִי   5:11 אֶגְרַע וְלֹא־תָחֹוס עֵינִי וְגַם־אֲנִי לֹא אֶחְמֹול׃

Ezek. 5:11   ‘So, as I live, declares the Master, the Lord, surely because you have defiled My sanctuary by all your detestable things and all your abominations, so I also shall ignore, and My ‘eye’ will not look with compassion, and I too shall have no pity.’

שְׁלִשִׁתֵיךְ בַּדֶּבֶר יָמוּתוּ וּבָרָעָב יִכְלוּ בְתֹוךֵךְ וְהַשְּׁלִשִׁית בַּחֶרֶב יִפְּלוּ סְבִיבֹותָיִךְ וְהַשְּׁלִישִׁית   5:12               לְכָל־רוּחַ אֱזָרֶה וְחֶרֶב אָרִיק אַחֲרֵיהֶם׃

Ezek. 5:12   ‘A third of yours shall die by pestilence, and shall be consumed by famine in your midst, and the second third shall fall by the sword on all your sides, and the last third I shall scatter to all the winds, but I shall bring out a sword after them.’

וְכָלָה אַפִּי וַהֲנִחֹותִי חֲמָתִי בָּם וְהִנֶּחָמְתִּי וְיָדְעוּ כִּי־אֲנִי יְהוָה דִּבַּרְתִּי בְּקִנְאָתִי בְּכַלֹּותִי חֲמָתִי בָּם׃   5:13

Ezek. 5:13   ‘When My ‘anger’ is spent, then I will set down My ‘rage’ toward them, and I will be eased; then they may know that I, the Lord, in My passion, have commanded My setting down of My ‘rage’ toward them.’

וְאֶתְּנֵךְ לְחָרְבָּה וּלְחֶרְפָּה בַּגֹּויִם אֲשֶׁר סְבִיבֹותָיִךְ לְעֵינֵי כָּל־עֹובֵר׃   5:14

Ezek. 5:14   ‘But I will make you for a wasteland, and for a reproach among the nations that surround you, to the eyes of every one passing by.’

וְהָיְתָה חֶרְפָּה וּגְדוּפָה מוּסָר וּמְשַׁמָּה לַגֹּויִם אֲשֶׁר סְבִיבֹותָיִךְ בַּעֲשֹׂותִי בָךְ שְׁפָטִים בְּאַף וּבְחֵמָה   5:15 וּבְתֹכְחֹות חֵמָה אֲנִי יְהוָה דִּבַּרְתִּי׃

Ezek. 5:15   ‘Thus she will become a reproach and a taunt, a chastening and a horror for the nations that surround you.  My execution in you of judgments with ‘anger’ and with ‘rage’ and with rebukes shall be a ‘fury.’  I, the Lord, speak

בְּשַׁלְּחִי אֶת־חִצֵּי הָרָעָב הָרָעִים בָּהֶם אֲשֶׁר הָיוּ לְמַשְׁחִית אֲשֶׁר־אֲשַׁלַּח אֹותָם לְשַׁחֶתְכֶם וְרָעָב   5:16       אֹסֵף עֲלֵיכֶם וְשָׁבַרְתִּי לָכֶם מַטֵּה־לָחֶם׃

Ezek. 5:16   with My releasing the evil arrows of famine on them that are for destruction, that I will send for your destruction, and I will increase famine upon you as I break the staff of bread for you.’

The first sentence in v. 5:15 above seems a bit strange and can be considered tentatively to contain an error.  Two pronouns, she and you, both obviously with the same antecedent, are peculiar when they appear in the same sentence.  Both singular feminine, they pertain to Jerusalem.  Could either the she or the you be an error?  As I see it, the correction would be to change the she to you, or the you to her.  Needless to say, other translators have chosen to ignore this strange Hebrew.  I suspect they have probably thought that Ezekiel is so difficult to interpret as it is, why bother.

וְשִׁלַּחְתִּי עֲלֵיכֶם רָעָב וְחַיָּה רָעָה וְשִׁכְּלֻךְ וְדֶבֶר וָדָם יַעֲבָר־בָּךְ וְחֶרֶב אָבִיא עָלַיִךְ אֲנִי יְהוָה דִּבַּרְתִּי׃   5:17

Ezek. 5:17   ‘So I will send famine and evil beast upon you that will bereave you, and pestilence, so blood will pass through you, and I will bring the sword upon you.  I, the Lord, have spoken.’”

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