Ezekiel 23:21-23

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Ezekiel 23:21 tn Or “you took note of.” The Hebrew verb פָּקַד (paqad) in the Qal implies evaluating something and then acting in light of that judgment; here the prophet depicts Judah as approving of her youthful unfaithfulness and then magnifying it at the present time. Some translations assume the verb should be repointed as a Niphal, rendering “you missed” or by extension “you longed for,” but such an extension of the Niphal “to be missing” is otherwise unattested.
2. Ezekiel 23:21 tn Heb “when (they) did,” but the verb makes no sense here and is better emended to “when (they) fondled,” a verb used in vv. 3 and 8. See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:43.
3. Ezekiel 23:21 tn Heb “for the sake of,” but the expression is awkward and is better emended to read “to squeeze.” See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:43.
4. Ezekiel 23:22 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
5. Ezekiel 23:23 sn Pekod was the name of an Aramean tribe (known as Puqudu in Mesopotamian texts) that lived in the region of the Tigris River.
6. Ezekiel 23:23 sn Shoa was the name of a nomadic people (the Sutu) that lived in Mesopotamia.
7. Ezekiel 23:23 sn Koa was the name of another Mesopotamian people group (the Qutu).