And the hand of the LORD was there upon me, that is, the power of Yahweh took control of Ezekiel. See the comments on 1.3. Hand is a figurative expression for “power,” and the LORD renders God’s name “Yahweh.” It is not clear where there is. It may refer to the place where Ezekiel was living, that is, Tel-abib. Like Revised Standard Version, many versions keep this adverb (so New International Version, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh), but it is also acceptable to omit it (so Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version). Contemporary English Version renders this clause as “The LORD took control of me,” and Parole de Vie has “The LORD seized me [or, took control of me] with power.” Another possible model is “I felt the powerful presence of the LORD there” (similarly Good News Translation).

And he said to me: Yahweh begins to speak to Ezekiel again.

Arise, go forth into the plain: The imperative verb Arise implies that Ezekiel was sitting or lying down (perhaps in his house) and God told him to “Get up” (Good News Translation) or “Stand up!” (Contemporary English Version). Then he told him to go forth into the plain. The plain refers to the valley through which the Euphrates River flows in present-day Iraq. Good News Translation says “the valley,” but if the word “valley” means a narrow ravine with steep sides in a language, it would be misleading. The Hebrew word for plain refers to a wide, flat valley with mountains in the distance on either side. Translators may use either “plain” or “valley,” depending on what the different words mean in a language.

And there I will speak with you may be rendered “When you get there, I will tell you what to do.”

Quoted with permission from Gross, Carl & Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on Ezekiel. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .