Therefore prophesy concerning the land of Israel, and say to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys: Here God is addressing Ezekiel again, telling him what else to tell the land of Israel. The connector Therefore introduces this additional message as a response to what the land has suffered from its enemies. For prophesy see Ezek 36.1; for mountains, hills, ravines and valleys, see Ezek 36.4.

Thus says the Lord GOD: See Ezek 36.2.

Behold, I speak in my jealous wrath: Behold renders the emphatic Hebrew word hinneh. Here it highlights the following message of God’s judgment on Israel’s enemies. In my jealous wrath is literally “in my zeal and in my anger” (similarly King James Version / New King James Version, New American Standard Bible). For the Hebrew word rendered jealous, see the previous verse. Here God’s wrath, that is, “anger” (Good News Translation), is made explicit. This phrase may be rendered “in my great anger.”

Because you have suffered the reproach of the nations means Israel has endured the “insults” (Jerusalem Bible/New Jerusalem Bible), “taunts” (Revised English Bible) or “scorn” (New International Version, Christian Community Bible) of other nations (see 34.29). In many languages it will be clearer to make the nations the subject of this clause; for example, Contemporary English Version says “Nations have insulted you” (similarly Good News Translation), and New International Reader’s Version has “They [the nations] have laughed at you” (similarly Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). This clause gives the reason for God’s judgment on these nations, which is mentioned in the next verse, so it may be more natural for some languages to say “You, Israel, are the one that other nations have insulted and humiliated. Because of that [or, For that reason]….”

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 .