A third part you shall burn in the fire in the midst of the city …: God commands Ezekiel to destroy each of the three piles of hair he cut off. Ezekiel must burn one pile in the midst of the city. The city refers to the plan of the city of Jerusalem scratched on the brick (see 4.1). Revised Standard Version wrongly implies that a fire was already burning on it by saying in the fire. Burn in the fire is better rendered “burn … with fire” (New International Version) or simply “Burn [up]” (Good News Translation, New Jerusalem Bible). Thus God tells Ezekiel to burn the first pile of his hair on the brick that represented Jerusalem. This pile of hair represented those who would be killed when the city was destroyed. Contemporary English Version renders this clause as “burn one pile of your hair on the brick [that stands for Jerusalem].”

Ezekiel had to burn his first pile of hair when the days of the siege are completed, that is, at the end of the 390 days (or 430 days) that he lay on his side and pretended to attack Jerusalem (see 4.4-6). Some translations understand these words to mean that Ezekiel had to burn the first pile of hair as the 390 days were drawing to a close before the siege ended; for example, New Jerusalem Bible says “while the days of the siege are working themselves out” (similarly Jerusalem Bible). Although the Hebrew may be taken in this way, there is little justification to do so. It is better to follow the traditional interpretation in Revised Standard Version. However, many languages will need to place this clause before the previous one (so Contemporary English Version, New International Version, Revised English Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, Bible en français courant, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). One model that does this is “When the days of your siege of the city come to an end, burn a third of the hair in it.”

And a third part you shall take and strike with the sword round about the city: Ezekiel had to put the second pile of his hair around the brick that represented Jerusalem, and then he had to chop the hair into small bits with the sword. This pile represented those who would be killed as they tried to escape from Jerusalem. Translators may say “Take another third of your hair [or, the second pile of your hair], place it around the city on the brick, and then chop it up with the sword.”

And a third part you shall scatter to the wind …: God tells Ezekiel to throw the third pile of his hair into the air and let the wind blow it away. This pile represented the surviving inhabitants of Jerusalem who would be taken into exile and scattered throughout the surrounding nations. But for these people God adds another threat: I will unsheathe the sword after them. God himself will pursue them and kill them. Unsheathe the sword means to take a sword out of its sheath (that is, its cover or holder) and hold it ready to use. Translators may render this clause as “I will take my sword out of its sheath [or, cover] and pursue them.” However, despite the importance of the word sword here, some languages in which swords are not familiar objects may prefer to say “I will pursue them and kill them.” Sword is commonly used to represent warfare in the prophetic books of the Old Testament.

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 .