# went far from me ... wandered away from me, going after their idols
The way a person lives is spoken of as walking on a path. AT: "stopped worshiping me ... stopped doing what I wanted them to do. Instead, they worshiped their idols" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor]])
# they will stand before the people and serve them
"these Levites will stand before the people, so that they can serve the people"
# became stumbling blocks for sin for the house of Israel
A person who causes another person to sin is spoken of as if he were something on a path over which people stumble. AT: "became people who caused the house of Israel to sin" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor]])
# the house of Israel
The word "house" is a metonym for the family that lives in the house, in this case the Israelites, the descendants of Jacob over many years. See how you translated this in [Ezekiel 3:1](../03/01.md). AT: "the Israelites" or "the Israelite people group" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy]])
# I will lift up my hand to swear an oath
In those days a person would raise his right hand to show that he realized that God would punish him if he did not do what he swore to do. See how you translated these words in [Ezekiel 20:6](../20/04.md). AT: "I will solemnly swear" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/translate-symaction]])
Yahweh speaks of himself by name to express the certainty of what he is declaring. See how you translated this in [Ezekiel 5:11](../05/11.md). AT: "this is what the Lord Yahweh has declared" or "this is what I, the Lord Yahweh, have declared" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-123person]])
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