Haran, Canneh, Eden, Asshur, and Chilmad traded with you: Haran was an Assyrian city about 500 kilometers (310 miles) from Tyre. Canneh was an Assyrian trade center, but we do not know precisely where it was. Eden (not the garden of Eden of Genesis, but a Syrian city-state called Beth-eden) lay to the west of Haran. Asshur was the capital city of Assyria, which stood on the Tigris River about 800 kilometers (500 miles) from Tyre. The city of Chilmad (“Kilmad” in New International Version, New International Reader’s Version, New Living Translation, New Century Version, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch) is not known, but some translations have changed the Hebrew text here slightly to read “all Media” (Revised English Bible, Targum; similarly Moffatt). Although this is an attractive solution, Hebrew Old Testament Text Project recommends that translators retain the Hebrew text by saying “Chilmad” or “Kilmad.” All of these places were northeast of Tyre. Comparison with Good News Translation indicates that Revised Standard Version lacks the phrase “the merchants of Sheba” (most other translations also include it). Revised Standard Version, Moffatt, and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch omit this phrase, presumably because it is repeated from verse 22, and Sheba is from quite a different direction than the other places in this verse. However, there is no textual reason to delete the phrase, and Hebrew Old Testament Text Project recommends that it be retained.

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 .