And I came to the exiles at Tel-abib: And marks a continuation of the story. In many languages it can be omitted (so New Revised Standard Version). Came may be rendered “arrived.” The exiles were the community of Jewish people who were taken from Jerusalem to Babylonia by King Nebuchadnezzar (see the comments on 1.1). They lived at Tel-abib, which was a small village by Chebar Canal. This clause may be rendered “And so I arrived among the exiles at Tel-abib.”

Who dwelt by the river Chebar: As the footnote in Revised Standard Version shows, the Hebrew text actually reads “who dwelt by the river Chebar, and to where they dwelt.” This seems very repetitious, so Revised Standard Version and most other versions omit the second clause. Some versions follow the other reading mentioned in the footnote of Revised Standard Version; for example, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh renders the first half of this verse as “And I came to the exile community that dwelt in Tel Abib by the Chebar Canal, and I remained where they dwelt.” This reading depends on a slight change to one Hebrew letter, and for many years Jewish rabbis and scholars have accepted the changed letter as giving the true meaning. But the original Hebrew text can be accepted and the difficult second clause can be included if we understand that it adds some emphasis. It may be translated “to the very place where they were living.”

And I sat there overwhelmed among them for seven days: The vision and the subsequent commission to his difficult task left Ezekiel in a state of shock. The Hebrew word rendered overwhelmed can refer to the devastation and physical destruction of a place, but when it applies to people it means that they are in a state of shock. It is a metaphorical and psychological devastation. It is the sort of reaction that a person suffers after a horrifying experience, like seeing a tragic accident, or almost being killed. There is a numb feeling; a person feels “stunned” (New Revised Standard Version, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh) and can’t think or move properly. In this state it is possible that Ezekiel literally sat … for seven days, unwilling to do or say anything, since he was so overcome by the vision. This sentence may be rendered “I was in such shock I sat there among them for seven days.” But it is not necessary to understand this sentence so literally, because the Hebrew word for sat can also mean “stayed” (Good News Translation) or “lived.” In that case it just means that Ezekiel stayed with the exiles in Tel-abib for seven days, while he recovered from his experience. For example, translators may say “I was in shock, and stayed with them for seven days.”

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 .