Son of man, set your face toward Jerusalem and preach against the sanctuaries; prophesy against the land of Israel: The structure and wording of the introduction to this prophecy is almost identical to that of 20.46. This similarity supports the idea that this subunit is an explanation of the mysterious prophecy concerning the great fire. Here God makes it clear that the prophecy is directed against Jerusalem and the land of Israel; that is, the rest of Israel. For Son of man (International Children’s Bible “Human being”), For set your face toward, see 6.2; for preach and prophesy, see 20.46. Many versions understand the Hebrew word rendered the sanctuaries to refer to the various places where the people worshiped in Jerusalem (so Revised Standard Version/New Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, New Living Translation, King James Version / New King James Version, New American Standard Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, Moffatt, Bible en français courant). Although this word is plural in Hebrew, some interpret it as an intensive, referring to the size of the Temple (so New International Version, New Century Version, New Jerusalem Bible, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). Others follow some Hebrew manuscripts that read “their sanctuary” (Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible) or “her sanctuary” (Revised English Bible). It is best to have a reference to the Temple here, so we recommend saying “the holy place” (New Century Version) or “her place of worship.”

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 .