exile

The Hebrew that is translated as “exile” in English is translated in Maan as “war prisoner.” (Source: Don Slager)

complete verse (Ezekiel 1:27)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Ezekiel 12:7:

  • Kupsabiny: “So, I did as God had told me. I removed my belongings during the day to come outside and prepared myself for the journey. Then in the afternoon/evening, I broke through the wall with my hands and brought my belongings out as it was becoming dark. I placed (them) on the shoulder while those people watched and I went away.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Therefore I obeyed what he commanded. During the day, I prepared my belongings/things-to-be-carried, and in the evening I made-a-hole through the wall with my hand. And while/as they were-looking, I carried-on-(my)-shoulder my belongings/things-to-be-carried and went at evening.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “So I did what Yahweh told me to do. During the day I brought things out of my houseas though I was packing to go into exile. Then in the evening I dug through thecity wall. Then while people watched, I put my sack of belongings on my shoulder and left.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Ezekiel 12:7

And I did as I was commanded: Ezekiel did what God told him to do. In many languages it is better to render the passive verb was commanded with an active one by saying “So I did what God commanded me to do.”

I brought out the baggage by day, as baggage for exile: See Ezek 12.4.

And in the evening I dug through the wall with my own hands: See Ezek 12.5.

I went forth in the dark, carrying my outfit upon my shoulder in their sight: See Ezek 12.6. The Hebrew here is literally “in the darkness I brought [it] out, I lifted [it] on [my] shoulder in their eyes.” As in verse 5, Revised Standard Version changes the Hebrew from “brought [it] out” to went forth to simplify the difficulty in following the sequence of events. See the comments on Ezek 12.5 for the best way of handling this difficulty. Revised Standard Version adds the phrase my outfit for naturalness in English. Since my outfit and my baggage refer to the same thing, translators may prefer to use the same expression both times.

Good News Translation abbreviates this verse a little and may be misleading. A better model is:

• So I did what the God commanded me to do. In the daytime I took outside [my house] my basket [or, container] with the things I had packed for leaving as a captive. Then in the evening I dug through the wall [of my house] with my bare hands. At dusk I brought my basket [or, container] outside [through the hole], lifted it on my shoulder, and left, while the people were watching 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 .