And when he spoke to me, that is, at the same time as God (or the angel) spoke the words in verse 1 to Ezekiel, the Spirit entered into me. Revised Standard Version capitalizes Spirit, which implies the Holy Spirit, and Good News Translation is similar with “God’s spirit.” The Hebrew is not so explicit, which is literally “a spirit” (New Revised Standard Version, Revised English Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). This “spirit” probably refers to a divine impulse or the power of God (see the comments on 1.12). A footnote in Traduction œcuménique de la Bible refers to it as “prophetic charisma,” that is, divinely given power to perform a particular task, in this case to be a prophet. It is best not to make this “spirit” appear to be the Holy Spirit, but if translators follow the Hebrew closely, they must be careful not to make it appear as if it were an evil or ancestral spirit that entered Ezekiel at that time. “God’s power” is the rendering some translators have used.

And set me upon my feet means God’s power caused Ezekiel to stand up.

And I heard him speaking to me: As in the previous verse, the speaker is probably God, but it could be an angel. However, it is clear that it is not the “spirit” that has just entered Ezekiel. New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh translates this clause as “and I heard what was being spoken to me.” This rendering indicates that when the spirit raised Ezekiel to his feet, he was in a position to hear what was being said to him. Other possible models are “Then I heard the voice speaking” and “Then I heard the one speaking say to me.”

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 .