And you, son of man, prophesy, and say: For son of man, see Ezek 21.1; for prophesy, see 20.46.
Thus says the Lord GOD concerning the Ammonites, and concerning their reproach: For Thus says the Lord GOD, the traditional introduction of a prophetic message in this book, see verse 24. The first part of this prophecy is directed at the Ammonites, who were the other possible target of Nebuchadnezzar’s attack (see verse 20). According to 25.3-7, the Ammonites were greatly pleased when Jerusalem was destroyed. This pleasure was probably made more intense by the fact that they had escaped the same fate only by chance, when Nebuchadnezzar cast lots to choose between Jerusalem and Ammon. The prophecy is also about their reproach. Apparently the Ammonites taunted and insulted the people of Jerusalem even while Nebuchadnezzar was marching toward them. Such reproach involved humiliating, shaming and laughing at the people in Jerusalem (compare 5.14). In fact, the words of the prophecy may contain the insults that the Ammonites were saying about the people of Jerusalem. Good News Translation renders their reproach as “who are insulting Israel” (similarly Contemporary English Version, New International Version, New Century Version, Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible). Other possible models are “who are jeering Israel” and “who are making fun of Israel.”
Say introduces the words of the prophecy.
A sword, a sword is drawn for the slaughter, it is polished to glitter and to flash like lightning: This prophecy begins in almost the same way as that in verses 9-10 (see the comments there), but care must be taken with the small differences. Here the sword is drawn, that is, taken out of its sheath (see Ezek 21.3) for the slaughter. As the Revised Standard Version footnote shows, polished to glitter is a conjecture and involves changing the Hebrew text, which reads literally “polished to contain.” Most translations understand the Hebrew to mean “polished to bring something to an end”; for example, Good News Translation says “polished to kill,” New International Version has “polished to consume,” and Revised English Bible translates “burnished for destruction.” Polishing a sword is part of the process of making it really sharp. Another possible interpretation is that the sword is polished as much as it can be; for example, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh says “polished to the utmost,” and Hebrew Old Testament Text Project has “polished as much as possible.” This interpretation fits best with the next clause because a sword that is polished to perfection will indeed flash like lightning. The last two clauses of this verse may be translated “It is polished really shiny so that the light flashes off it brightly.”
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 .