And I will pour out my indignation upon you; I will blow upon you with the fire of my wrath: Indignation and wrath are other words for “anger” (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version). God uses two different pictures of his anger here. One picture is to pour out anger like a hot liquid (compare 7.8). If translators can retain the image of pouring out anger, they should, but if not, they may say “I will make you feel my hot anger.” The other picture is to blow out anger like the heat that comes from a fire. Translators may be able to keep some of this imagery by saying “You will feel my anger burn you like the heat of a fire.” In the first case people will be scalded by the hot liquid, in the second they will be scorched by the heat of the flames. In both cases they can be severely injured, even killed. These two pictures show how God will punish Nebuchadnezzar.

And I will deliver you into the hands of brutal men, skilful to destroy: God will hand over Nebuchadnezzar to violent men who are expert killers. The Hebrew word for brutal means “stupid, acting like an animal.” This word does not mean that they lack intelligence, but rather that they act in a savage and uncivilized manner. In fact, they are skilful to destroy, that is, “experts in killing” (Contemporary English Version). Translators may render brutal as “violent” or “cruel” (Contemporary English Version, New Century Version).

See the discussion on verse 32 for a model of this whole verse.

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 .