The One Year Bible TLB (290 page)

4:7
were lean and tanned,
literally, “were purer than snow, whiter than milk, more ruddy than rubies, polished like sapphires.”

4:17
allies,
probably the reference is to Egypt.

5:15
to death,
literally, “to mourning.”

1:1-3
when I was thirty years old,
literally, “in the thirtieth year.”

1:10
in front,
implied.
of his head,
implied.

1:12
their spirit,
literally, “the spirit.”

1:16
a second wheel crosswise inside,
literally, “a wheel within a wheel,” perhaps as in a gyroscope.

1:25
from the crystal sky above them,
literally, “from above the firmament, over their heads.”

2:1
son of dust,
or “son of man,” appears eighty-seven times throughout the book of Ezekiel. The connotation is “mortal man.” In Daniel 7:13, the corresponding Aramaic expression is used for the Messiah as representative of the human race of which he is the head.

2:7
but they won’t,
implied.

3:12
accompanied by the sound of a great earthquake,
literally, “I heard behind me the sound of a great earthquake.”

3:14-15
I went in bitterness and anger,
literally, “I went in the heat of my spirit”—not necessarily anger, but indicated here by this reaction.

3:13
glamor,
literally, “deceitfulness.”

104:4
angels,
literally, “spirits.”

3:25
paralyze you,
literally, “lay bands upon you.”

4:4-5
390 days.
Some versions read, “190 days.”

4:7
to signify great strength and power in the attack against her,
implied.

4:8
paralyze you,
literally, “lay bands upon you.”

4:14
the kinds of animals our law forbids,
see Leviticus 11 for the dietary laws Ezekiel refers to here.

6:11
Raise your hands in horror and shake your head,
literally, “Clap your hands and stamp your feet.”

104:30
born,
literally, “created.”

8:1
of the sixth year of King Jehoiachin’s captivity,
implied.

8:14
there sat women weeping for Tammuz.
The women wept for Tammuz, the god of fertility, because, according to Mesopotamian myths, he had been killed, and fertility had vanished with him.

9:3
above the entrance to,
literally, “above the threshold of.”

5:5
honored you,
literally, “begotten you.” Probably the reference is to the day of Christ’s resurrection.

5:7
premature,
implied. Christ’s longing was to live until he could die on the cross for all mankind. There is a strong case to be made that Satan’s great desire was that Christ should die prematurely, before the mighty work at the cross could be performed. Christ’s body, being human, was frail and weak like ours (except that his was sinless). He had said just a few moments before, “My soul is exceeding sorrowful
unto death.”
And can a human body live long under such pressure of spirit as he underwent in the Garden, that caused sweating of great drops of blood? But God graciously heard and answered his anguished cry in Gethsemane (“Let this cup pass from me”) and preserved him from seemingly imminent and premature death: for an angel was sent to strengthen him so that he could live to accomplish God’s perfect will at the cross. But some readers may prefer the explanation that Christ’s plea was that he be saved
out from death
at the resurrection.

105:7
His goodness,
literally, “His judgments.”

105:14
he would not let one thing be done to them apart from his decision,
literally, “he suffered no man to do them wrong.”

10:1
blue sapphire,
literally, “lapis lazuli.”
Guardian Angels,
literally, “cherubim.”

10:9-13
Because of the construction of these wheels,
implied.

10:14
an ox,
literally, “a cherub’s face”; see 1:10.

10:17
for the spirit of the Guardian Angels was in the wheels.
That is, the wheel was a living part of the bodies of the cherubim. Hence it could not be separated from the cherubim.

11:3
for our city is an iron shield and will protect us from all harm,
literally, “this city the caldron and we the flesh.”

11:7
Your slain will lie within it, but you will be dragged out and slaughtered,
literally, “Your slain are the flesh and this is the caldron, but you will be brought out from it.”

11:21
But as for those now in Jerusalem,
implied.

6:2
spiritual gifts,
literally, “the laying on of hands.”

6:20
from his position as our High Priest,
literally, “having become our High Priest.”

105:28
They,
implied.

12:10
to King Zedekiah,
literally, “to the prince in Jerusalem.”

12:12
for he won’t be able to see,
literally, “that he may not see the land with his eyes.” Apparently a reference to the fact that his eyes were put out before he was taken to Babylon; see Jeremiah 52:11. Also in v. 13.

13:18
They refuse to even offer help unless they get a profit from it,
literally, “Will you hunt the souls of my people and save your own souls alive?”

7:3
Melchizedek had no father or mother.
No one can be sure whether this means that Melchizedek was Christ appearing to Abraham in human form or simply that there is no
record
of who Melchizedek’s father and mother were, no
record
of his birth or death.

16:3
your father must have been an Amorite and your mother a Hittite!
The Amorites and Hittites were nations who turned their backs to all knowledge of God.

16:28
by making them your allies and worshiping their gods,
implied.

17:5
planted it,
literally, “planted the seed of the land.”

17:12-13
(the first of the two eagles) . . . (her topmost buds and shoots) . . . (Zedekiah),
implied. So also in v. 16.

106:14
demanded better food,
literally, “lusted exceedingly.”

106:15
but sent them leanness in their souls,
or “but sent a plague to punish them.”

106:16
the man anointed,
literally, “the holy one of Jehovah.”

106:28
to the dead,
or “to lifeless idols.”

18:2
The children are punished for their fathers’ sins,
literally, “The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.”

18:8
without interest,
or “without any usury.”

18:13
at interest,
or “at usurious interest.”

19:3
King Jehoahaz,
implied.

19:5
King Jehoiachin,
implied.

19:14
It is decaying from within,
literally, “A fire is gone out of its branches and devoured its fruit.”

20:1
six years after King Jeconiah was captured,
literally, “in the seventh year of Jeconiah’s captivity.”

20:25
let them adopt,
literally, “gave them.”
Through the keeping of them they could not attain life,
literally, “Ordinances by which they could not have life.” Doubtless, the reference is to the pagan customs of vv. 18 and 26. In contrast, see v. 11.

20:29
place of sacrifice,
literally, “bamah”—a hilltop area where sacrifices were made to the gods.

20:35-36
my desert judgment hall,
literally, “the wilderness of the people,” meaning the Syro-Arabian deserts, peopled by nomadic tribes. This desert would be traversed in returning to Israel from Babylon.

9:18
as proof of Christ’s death,
implied.

21:2
against my Temple,
literally, “against the sanctuaries.”

21:19-20
Rabbah in Transjordan,
literally, “Rabbah of the Ammonites.”

21:21
inspect the liver.
A very common type of divination by which ancients thought they could obtain information from the gods.

21:25
O King Zedekiah,
implied.

22:10
There are men who commit adultery with their father’s wives and lie with menstruous women,
or “You degrade yourselves through homosexual practices and through lying with women in their time of menstruation.”

10:4
The blood of bulls and goats merely covered over the sins, taking them out of sight for hundreds of years until Jesus Christ came to die on the cross. There he gave his own blood which forever took those sins away.

108:9
But Moab and Edom are despised,
literally, “Moab is my washbasin; upon Edom I cast my shoe.”

23:12
She fawned over her Assyrian neighbors,
i.e., when Ahaz paid “protection money” to Tiglath-pileser II (2 Kings 16:7-8).

23:16
so she sent messengers to Chaldea.
This occurred when Hezekiah entertained the embassy from Babylon (Isaiah 38–39), also during the reign of Manasseh.

23:17
and broke off all relations with them.
The anti-Babylonian party in Judah looked to Egypt for help during the reigns of the last two Judean kings, Jehoiakim and Zedekiah.

23:19-20
when she was a prostitute in Egypt,
i.e., during the reign of Josiah.

109:6
Show him how it feels,
implied.

24:6
for none is better than any other,
literally, “for no lot has fallen upon it.”

26:2
the course of the Jordan River,
literally, “the gate of the peoples.”

26:14
I will make your island a bare rock.
Certain aspects of vv. 12 and 14 exceed the actual damage done to Tyre by Nebuchadnezzar and foreshadow what happened to the island settlement later as a result of the conquest by Alexander the Great.

11:3
things that can’t be seen.
Perhaps the reference is to atoms, electrons, etc.

11:5
God had said,
implied.

110:1
the Messiah,
implied. In Matthew 22:41-45, Jesus applies these words to himself.

110:2
Jehovah has established your throne,
literally, “The Lord will send forth the rod of your strength out of Zion.”
in Jerusalem,
literally, “from Zion.”

110:3
holy altar robes,
literally, “in holy array.”

110:4
like,
literally, “after the manner of.”

27:10
Paras, Lud, and Put.
These were three cities of ancient North Africa.

27:11
Helech,
a region in ancient Cilicia known from Assyrian records as Hilakku.

27:13, 14
Javan, Tubal, and Meshech . . . from Togarmah.
Regions of Asia Minor, now in Turkey.

27:17
with wheat from Minnith and Pannag,
or “with wheat, minnith, and pannag.” If these were commodities, their identification is uncertain.

27:19
Vedan and Javan bring Arabian yarn,
or probably better, “They exchanged wine from Uzal for your wares.” The text here is uncertain.