And put siegeworks against it, and build a siege wall against it …: Good News Translation makes it clear at the beginning of this verse that the things God commands Ezekiel to do here are “to represent a siege,” that is, pretend to attack the brick as if it were a city. Contemporary English Version makes this clear by beginning with “Then prepare to attack the brick as if it were a real city….” Parole de Vie is also very clear with “Then show that it [the city] is surrounded by enemies. Dig ditches against it, build attack walls….” Bible en français courant (1982) is similar with “Then show that it [the city] is under siege by arranging ditches, towers….” In Bible times when nations were at war, an army often wanted to capture a strong city or fortress from their enemies. To do this they surrounded the city so that the people inside could not go out to get food or water. The army outside also tried to break into the city, either by making a dirt ramp against the wall of the city so that they could climb over it, or by using big machines to knock down the wall. This process was called a siege.

It is not clear exactly what the Hebrew words for siegeworks and siege wall refer to. They may be wooden towers or scaffolding built by the attacking soldiers so that they could shoot arrows over the city wall and down into the center of the city. But they may also include ditches the soldiers could take cover in as they got close to the city. Translators may begin this verse with “Then put walls and ditches in front of it as soldiers do when they attack a city.”

And cast up a mound against it refers to piling up dirt against the wall as a ramp so that the soldiers could get over the wall without climbing vertically up it. This clause may be rendered “and put a mound of dirt against it for an attack.”

Set camps also against it refers to placing soldiers right around the city so that no one inside could get out. Translators may say “and place soldiers around it” or “and put camps for soldiers all around it.”

And plant battering rams against it round about: Battering rams were large wooden logs, usually heavy tree trunks. Soldiers carried them and smashed the ends of the logs into the wall or gates of the city to knock them down. Sometimes these heavy logs were mounted on wheels so that soldiers did not need to carry them. If battering rams are unknown to readers, translators may say “logs [or, poles] for knocking down the walls and gates.” Ezekiel was to place them against it round about, that is, around the whole city. A model for this clause is “and put heavy poles around it ready to be used to knock down the walls and gates.”

Ezekiel either drew these details on the ground around the brick, or perhaps he used little models to depict them. For many cultures all these details of ancient warfare may not be very meaningful or helpful to include in translation. Two models are offered for translating this verse. The first is more specific and detailed, the second more general:

• Think about that brick as if it were the city of Jerusalem. Pretend to attack the brick as if it were a real city. Build wooden towers [to shoot arrows from them]. Pile up dirt as a ramp against the wall. Position groups of soldiers around the city [to prevent people from escaping]. All around the city place heavy wooden poles for knocking down the walls.

• Think about that brick as if it were the city of Jerusalem. Pretend to attack the brick as if it were a real city. Fight against it from all sides. Make sure no one escapes. Try to knock the walls down.

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 .