And grow up like a plant of the field: In Revised Standard Version this clause continues God’s command to the abandoned child, telling her to thrive and grow to maturity (so also New Revised Standard Version, Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible). Most other translations stop the quote at the end of verse 6 and interpret this clause as a statement of what God did for the abandoned child; for example, Good News Translation says “I made you grow like a healthy plant.” The Hebrew text for this clause reads “I made you a great number [or, size] like the sprouting of the field.” King James Version follows the Hebrew by saying “I have caused thee to multiply as the bud of the field,” and so does New American Standard Bible with “I made you numerous like plants of the field.” However, the renderings of King James Version and New American Standard Bible disturb the flow of the story of the abandoned child. Their interpretation appears to refer to the nation, not to the girl in the story, and so is out of place. The Hebrew word meaning “a great number [or, size]” is the problem here, so Revised Standard Version changes two letters of the word to produce a related verb that means “grow.” Some scholars have suggested that the Hebrew word is a technical term for raising children, and others claim that it is an adjective meaning “grown.” The clause then says “I have raised you…” or “I have made you grown [up]…,” which is the meaning that most of the translations prefer. This is the best interpretation to follow because it fits the story and does not involve changing the Hebrew text. It is best not to follow Revised Standard Version here. The Hebrew expression for a plant of the field does not refer directly to any tree, bush, or grass; rather, it refers to anything that buds and sprouts. There is clearly a play on the idea of the baby who was abandoned “on the open field” (verse 5) now sprouting, coming to life, and growing in the field where she was lying. Translators are encouraged to find some way of reflecting this play on words in their languages. Possible ways to translate this clause include “I raised you as plants grow in a field” and “I took care of you like someone taking care of plants in a field.”

And you grew up and became tall means the girl “grew up and developed” (New International Version) into a mature young woman. There is nothing to suggest that she developed abnormally, or that she grew especially tall. These two clauses may be rendered “and you grew up into an adult.”

And arrived at full maidenhood: Revised Standard Version changes the Hebrew text here, which reads “and you came with the ornament of ornaments.” Translators have struggled with the meaning of this clause in Hebrew. King James Version has “and thou art come to excellent ornaments,” and New American Standard Bible says “and reached the age for fine ornaments.” These two renderings suggest a picture of a woman who was old enough to wear precious jewels, but this strains the Hebrew and does not fit the context, where the girl was still naked and dirty. Other translations take the clause to refer to the beauty of the girl herself; for example, New Century Version says “and became like a beautiful jewel” (similarly New International Version, New Living Translation), which retains some of the Hebrew idiom. New King James Version also refers to the beauty of the girl, but removes the idiom by saying “and became very beautiful” (similarly Contemporary English Version, Bible en français courant). The renderings of New Century Version and New King James Version are satisfactory in the context, but the Hebrew does not actually mean that she became the most beautiful ornament. Rather, it means that she brought or produced the most beautiful of ornaments. In the context the beautiful ornaments refer to the signs of her sexual maturity, namely, her breasts and pubic hair that are mentioned next. This clause points in an erotic way to the fact that the girl was now sexually mature and ready for marriage. It fits the sexual nature of the parable very well but is difficult to translate. As a result, many other translations have used slightly different Hebrew words that look very similar to the original text. The changed text reads literally “and you came to the time of menstruation.” This is the text behind Revised Standard Version. Other versions that follow it are New American Bible (“you came to the age of puberty”), New Jerusalem Bible (“you reached marriageable age” [similarly Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch (1982)]), and Revised English Bible (“You came to full womanhood” [similarly New Revised Standard Version, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, Moffatt]). The message of this clause is the same as the previous two clauses, namely, the girl was now sexually mature and ready for marriage. Most languages should be able to express this meaning in a culturally acceptable way. Two possible models are “and became a young woman” (Good News Translation) and “Your body developed as a woman’s should [or, does].”

Your breasts were formed, and your hair had grown: These two clauses give in more detail the signs of the girl’s sexual maturity—her breasts had developed and her pubic hair had grown. In many cultures it will not be possible for the translation to be as explicit as this. If the breasts cannot be mentioned, it may be possible to speak of the girl having “the body of a young woman,” or to use some other euphemism to show that she was now sexually mature. In translating your hair, care must be taken to avoid giving the impression that it refers to the hair on her head (so Contemporary English Version with “long hair”). Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch (1982) omits these details altogether, but that should be a last resort. Even in cultures where there would be is a strong taboo against being too explicit here, translators may be able to say “You developed the breasts and hair of a grown woman.”

Yet you were naked and bare: Contemporary English Version says “but you were still naked.” The Hebrew words rendered naked and bare emphasize the continuing nakedness of the girl. In fact, the Hebrew is almost crude here because one of the words usually means “genitals.” To reflect this coarse language, translators need to choose a very strong expression, for example, “stark naked” (New Jerusalem Bible). A good model for the whole clause is “but you were still quite naked and exposed” (Revised English Bible).

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 .