Because I will cut off from you both righteous and wicked: See the previous verse. This clause gives the reason for the next clause. God will take out his sword to kill everyone. New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh provides a helpful model here, saying “In order to wipe out from you both the righteous and the wicked.”

Therefore my sword shall go out of its sheath against all flesh from south to north: This clause pictures God’s sword acting alone. New Century Version says “my sword will come out from its holder and attack all people from south to north.” For those languages where such a picture is strange, translators may say “I will use my sword to attack all people from south to north.” All flesh from south to north refers to all the people living in Israel. These same people are described as “all faces from south to north” in 20.47 (see the comments there).

Good News Translation shortens this verse since it repeats the same ideas as in the previous verse (so also Contemporary English Version, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). Other possible models are:

• In order to kill all of you, both those who are good and those who are evil, I will take my sword from its cover and attack people throughout the land from one end to the other [or, from south to north].

• I will take my sword from its cover and attack people throughout the land from one end to the other, so that I can kill all of you, both those who are good and those who are evil.

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 .