complete verse (Ezekiel 39:16)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Ezekiel 39:16:

  • Kupsabiny: “There will also be a town there which shall be called ‘Soldiers’. So, they shall wipe the whole country to become clean.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “(There is a town near there that will-be-called ‘Many People.) In that way they can-clean the land.’” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “There will be a city there named Hamonah, which means ‘huge army’. And by doing this work of burying the corpses, they will cleanse the land/cause the land to be acceptable to me again.’ ’” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Ezekiel 39:16

(A city Hamonah is there also): The town of Hamonah, which means “multitude” in Hebrew (see verse 12), was near the Valley of Hamon-Gog. Nothing else is known about this town or its significance. Its name is similar to the name of the valley. Translators who transliterated the name of the valley in verses 11 and 15 will find it easy to transliterate the name of this town as well. The similarity of the sounds should be all that is necessary for readers to make the connection between the town and the valley. But those translators who gave the meaning of the name of the valley in verse 11 will also have to give the meaning of the name of the town. So the town’s name may be “Multitude” (Christian Community Bible), “Horde” or “Army,” in line with whatever meaning was chosen in verse 11 for the valley. This may result in a name that sounds very strange for a town. Translators will have to decide what is appropriate in their language and, if the name sounds too strange, it may be better to revert to transliterating the Hebrew. This sentence is in parentheses in Revised Standard Version and many other translations because many scholars think it is not part of the original text of Ezekiel. They think that someone may have written a note in the margin about the town with a similar name being close to the valley, and later another scribe included it in the text by mistake (so Hebrew Old Testament Text Project). This is also why some translations omit this sentence (so Moffatt). But it is not totally out of place and makes good sense, as in Contemporary English Version‘s rendering of verses 15b-16a: “Then the gravediggers will bury it in ‘The Valley of Gog’s Army’ 16 near the town of ‘Gog’s Army.’ ”

Thus shall they cleanse the land: By burying the remaining bones the gravediggers will make the land of Israel ritually clean again. Contemporary English Version says “After that, the land will be pure again.” Another possible model is “This is how they will make the land once again fit for Yahweh.”

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 .