Ezekiel 20
English Standard Version
Israel's Continuing Rebellion
20 (A)In the seventh year, in the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month, certain of (B)the elders of Israel came to inquire of the Lord, (C)and sat before me. 2 And the word of the Lord came to me: 3 (D)“Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God, Is it to inquire of me that you come? (E)As I live, declares the Lord God, (F)I will not be inquired of by you. 4 (G)Will you judge them, son of man, will you judge them? (H)Let them know the abominations of their fathers, 5 and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: (I)On the day when I chose Israel, (J)I swore[a] to the offspring of the house of Jacob, (K)making myself known to them in the land of Egypt; (L)I swore to them, saying, I am the Lord your God. 6 On that day I swore to them that (M)I would bring them out of the land of Egypt into a land that I had searched out for them, a land (N)flowing with milk and honey, (O)the most glorious of all lands. 7 And I said to them, (P)‘Cast away the detestable things (Q)your eyes feast on, every one of you, and do not defile yourselves with (R)the idols of Egypt; (S)I am the Lord your God.’ 8 (T)But they rebelled against me and were not willing to listen to me. (U)None of them cast away the detestable things their eyes feasted on, nor did they forsake the idols of Egypt.
“Then I said I would pour out my wrath upon them (V)and spend my anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt. 9 (W)But I acted (X)for the sake of my name, (Y)that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations among whom they lived, (Z)in whose sight I made myself known to them in bringing them out of the land of Egypt. 10 (AA)So I led them out of the land of Egypt and brought them into the wilderness. 11 (AB)I gave them my statutes and made known to them my rules, (AC)by which, if a person does them, he shall live. 12 Moreover, I gave them (AD)my Sabbaths, as a sign between me and them, (AE)that they might know that I am the Lord who sanctifies them. 13 (AF)But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness. (AG)They did not walk in my statutes but rejected my rules, by which, if a person does them, he shall live; (AH)and my Sabbaths they greatly profaned.
(AI)“Then I said I would pour out my wrath upon them in the wilderness, to make a full end of them. 14 But I acted for the sake of my name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, (AJ)in whose sight I had brought them out. 15 Moreover, (AK)I swore to them in the wilderness (AL)that I would not bring them into the land that I had given them, a land (AM)flowing with milk and honey, (AN)the most glorious of all lands, 16 because they rejected my rules and did not walk in my statutes, and profaned my Sabbaths; (AO)for their heart went after their idols. 17 Nevertheless, (AP)my eye spared them, and I did not destroy them or (AQ)make a full end of them in the wilderness.
18 “And I said to (AR)their children in the wilderness, ‘Do not walk (AS)in the statutes of your fathers, nor keep their rules, (AT)nor defile yourselves with their idols. 19 (AU)I am the Lord your God; (AV)walk in my statutes, and be careful to obey my rules, 20 and (AW)keep my Sabbaths holy that (AX)they may be a sign between me and you, that you may know that I am the Lord your God.’ 21 (AY)But the children (AZ)rebelled against me. (BA)They did not walk in my statutes and were not careful to obey my rules, by which, if a person does them, he shall live; they profaned my Sabbaths.
(BB)“Then I said I would pour out my wrath upon them and spend my anger against them in the wilderness. 22 (BC)But I withheld my hand (BD)and acted for the sake of my name, (BE)that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, in whose sight I had brought them out. 23 (BF)Moreover, (BG)I swore to them in the wilderness (BH)that I would scatter them among the nations and disperse them through the countries, 24 because they had not obeyed my rules, but had rejected my statutes and profaned my Sabbaths, (BI)and their eyes were set on their fathers' idols. 25 (BJ)Moreover, I gave them statutes that were not good and rules by which they could not have life, 26 and I defiled them through (BK)their very gifts (BL)in their offering up all their firstborn, that I might devastate them. I did it (BM)that they might know that I am the Lord.
27 “Therefore, (BN)son of man, speak to the house of Israel and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: In this also your fathers blasphemed me, by (BO)dealing treacherously with me. 28 For when I had brought them into the land that (BP)I swore to give them, then wherever they saw (BQ)any high hill or any leafy tree, there they offered their sacrifices and there they presented (BR)the provocation of their offering; there they sent up their pleasing aromas, and there they poured out their drink offerings. 29 (I said to them, (BS)‘What is the high place to which you go?’ So its name is called Bamah[b] to this day.)
30 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: (BT)Will you defile yourselves after the manner of your fathers and go (BU)whoring after their detestable things? 31 When you present your gifts and (BV)offer up your children in fire,[c] you defile yourselves with all your idols to this day. And (BW)shall I be inquired of by you, O house of Israel? (BX)As I live, declares the Lord God, I will not be inquired of by you.
32 (BY)“What is in your mind shall never happen—the thought, (BZ)‘Let us be like the nations, like the tribes of the countries, (CA)and worship wood and stone.’
The Lord Will Restore Israel
33 (CB)“As I live, declares the Lord God, (CC)surely with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and (CD)with wrath poured out I will be king over you. 34 (CE)I will bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you are scattered, with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, and with wrath poured out. 35 (CF)And I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, (CG)and there I will enter into judgment with you (CH)face to face. 36 (CI)As I entered into judgment with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will enter into judgment with you, declares the Lord God. 37 I will make you (CJ)pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant. 38 (CK)I will purge out the rebels from among you, and those who transgress against me. (CL)I will bring them out of the land where they sojourn, (CM)but they shall not enter the land of Israel. (CN)Then you will know that I am the Lord.
39 “As for you, O house of Israel, thus says the Lord God: (CO)Go serve every one of you his idols, now and hereafter, if you will not listen to me; (CP)but my holy name you shall no more profane with your gifts and your idols.
40 (CQ)“For on my holy mountain, the mountain height of Israel, declares the Lord God, there (CR)all the house of Israel, all of them, shall serve me in the land. (CS)There I will accept them, and there I will require your contributions and the choicest of your gifts, with all your sacred offerings. 41 As a pleasing aroma I will accept you, when (CT)I bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you have been scattered. And (CU)I will manifest my holiness among you in the sight of the nations. 42 (CV)And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I bring you into the land of Israel, the country that (CW)I swore to give to your fathers. 43 (CX)And there you shall remember your ways and all your deeds with which you have defiled yourselves, (CY)and you shall loathe yourselves for all the evils that you have committed. 44 And you shall know that I am the Lord, (CZ)when I deal with you for my name's sake, (DA)not according to your evil ways, nor according to your corrupt deeds, O house of Israel, declares the Lord God.”
45 [d] And the word of the Lord came to me: 46 (DB)“Son of man, (DC)set your face toward the southland;[e] (DD)preach against the south, and prophesy against the forest land in the Negeb. 47 Say to the forest of the Negeb, Hear the word of the Lord: Thus says the Lord God, Behold, (DE)I will kindle a fire in you, and it shall devour every (DF)green tree in you and every (DG)dry tree. The blazing flame shall not be quenched, and (DH)all faces from south to north shall be scorched by it. 48 (DI)All flesh shall see that I the Lord have kindled it; it shall not be quenched.” 49 Then I said, (DJ)“Ah, Lord God! They are saying of me, (DK)‘Is he not a maker of parables?’”
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 20:5 Hebrew I lifted my hand; twice in this verse; also verses 6, 15, 23, 28, 42
- Ezekiel 20:29 Bamah means high place
- Ezekiel 20:31 Hebrew and make your children pass through the fire
- Ezekiel 20:45 Ch 21:1 in Hebrew
- Ezekiel 20:46 Or toward Teman
Yechezkel 20
Orthodox Jewish Bible
20 And it came to pass in the seventh year, in the fifth month, the tenth day of the month, that certain anashim of the zekenim of Yisroel came to inquire of Hashem, and sat before me.
2 Then came the Devar Hashem unto me, saying,
3 Ben adam, speak unto the zekenim of Yisroel, and say unto them, Thus saith Adonoi Hashem: Are ye come to inquire of Me? As I live, saith Adonoi Hashem, I will not be inquired of by you.
4 Wilt thou judge them, ben adam, wilt thou judge them? Cause them to know the to’avot of their avot.
5 And say unto them, Thus saith Adonoi Hashem: In the day when I chose Yisroel, and lifted up Mine yad [i.e., took a shevua] unto the zera Bais Ya’akov, and made Myself known unto them in Eretz Mitzrayim, when I lifted up Mine yad unto them, saying, I am Hashem Eloheichem;
6 In the day that I lifted up Mine yad unto them, to bring them forth from Eretz Mitzrayim into a land that I had searched out for them, zavat cholov udevash, which is the most beautiful of all lands;
7 Then said I unto them, Cast ye away every ish the shikkutzim before his eynayim, and make not yourselves tameh with the gillulim (idols) of Mitzrayim; I am Hashem Eloheichem.
8 But they rebelled against Me, and would not pay heed unto Me; they did not every ish cast away the shikkutzim from before their eynayim, neither did they forsake the gillulim (idols) of Mitzrayim; then I said, I will pour out My chemah (wrath) upon them, to vent My anger against them in the midst of Eretz Mitzrayim.
9 But I acted for My Name’s sake, that it should not be profaned before the eyes of the Goyim, among whom they were living. In bringing them forth out of Eretz Mitzrayim, in their sight I made Myself [publicly] known unto them.
10 Therefore I caused them to go forth out of Eretz Mitzrayim, and brought them into the midbar.
11 And I gave them My chukkot, and made known to them My mishpatim, which if ha’adam does, he shall even live in them.
12 Moreover also I gave them My Shabbatot, to be an Ot between Me and them, that they might know that I am Hashem that set them apart as kodesh.
13 But Bais Yisroel rebelled against Me in the midbar; they walked not in My chukkot, and they despised My mishpatim, which if ha’adam does, he shall even live in them; and My Shabbatot they greatly defiled; then I said, I would pour out My chemah (wrath) upon them in the midbar, to consume them.
14 But I acted for My Name’s sake, that it should not be profaned before the eyes of the Goyim, in whose sight I brought them out.
15 Yet also I lifted up My Yad unto them in the midbar, that I would not bring them into ha’aretz which I had given them, zavat cholov udevash, the most beautiful of all lands;
16 Because they despised My mishpatim, and walked not in My chukkot, but profaned My Shabbatot; for their lev went after their gillulim (idols).
17 Nevertheless since Mine eye spared them from destroying them, I did not make an end of them in the midbar.
18 But I said unto their banim in the midbar, Walk ye not in the chukkot of avoteichem, neither be shomer over their mishpatim, nor make yourselves tameh with their gillulim (idols).
19 I am Hashem Eloheichem; walk in My chukkot, and be shomer over My mishpatim, and do them;
20 And be shomer shabbos over My Shabbatot, keeping them kodesh; and they shall be an Ot between Me and you, that ye may know that I am Hashem Eloheichem .
21 Notwithstanding, the banim rebelled against Me; they walked not in My chukkot, neither were shomer over My mishpatim to do them, which if ha’adam does, he shall even live in them; they profaned My Shabbatot; then I said, I would pour out My chemah (wrath) upon them, to accomplish My anger against them in the midbar.
22 Nevertheless, I withdrew Mine yad, and acted for My Name’s sake, that it should not be profaned before the eyes of the Goyim, in whose sight I brought them forth.
23 I lifted up Mine yad unto them also in the midbar, that I would scatter them among the Goyim, and disperse them through the countries;
24 Because they had not executed My mishpatim, but had despised My chukkot, and had profaned My Shabbatot, and their eynayim were after the gillulim of their fathers.
25 Therefore I gave them also chukkot that were not tovim, and mishpatim whereby they could not live;
26 And I pronounced them tameh (unclean) because of their own [ritual] gifts, in that they caused to pass through the eish all that openeth the womb, that I might make them desolate, to the end that they might know that I am Hashem.
27 Therefore, ben adam, speak unto Bais Yisroel, and say unto them, Thus saith Adonoi Hashem: Yet in this avoteichem have made gidduf (blasphemy) against Me, in that they have been ma’al (unfaithful) to Me.
28 For when I had brought them into ha’aretz, for the which I lifted up Mine yad to give it to them, then they saw every high hill, and all the thick trees, and they offered there their zevakhim, and there they presented the ka’as (provocation) of their korban; there also they made their re’ach hannichoach, and poured out there their nesakhim.
29 Then I said unto them, What is the bamah whereunto ye go? And the shem whereof is called Bamah (High Place) unto this day.
30 Therefore say unto Bais Yisroel, Thus saith Adonoi Hashem: Are ye ones making yourself tameh after the manner of avoteichem? And do ye commit zenut after their shikkutzim?
31 For when ye offer your gifts, when ye make your banim to pass through the eish, ye make yourselves tameh with all your gillulim (idols), even unto this day; and shall I be inquired of by you, O Bais Yisroel? As I live, saith Adonoi Hashem, I will not be inquired of by you.
32 And that which cometh into your mind shall not be at all—that ye say, We will be as the Goyim, as the mishpekhot of the countries, to serve wood and even (stone).
33 As I live, saith Adonoi Hashem, surely with a yad chazakah, and with an outstretched zero’a, and with chemah (fury) poured out, will I rule over you;
34 And I will bring you out from the peoples, and will gather you out of the countries wherein ye are scattered, with a yad chazakah, and with an outstretched zero’a, and with chemah (wrath) poured out.
35 And I will bring you into the midbar of the peoples, and there will I execute judgment with you face to face.
36 Just as I judged avoteichem in the midbar of the Eretz Mitzrayim, so will I enter into judgment with you, saith Adonoi Hashem.
37 And I will cause you to pass under the shevet (rod), and I will bring you into the bond of the brit (covenant);
38 And I will purge out from among you the rebels and the posh’im against Me; I will bring them forth out of the country where they sojourn as gerim, and they shall not enter into Eretz Yisroel; and ye shall know that I am Hashem.
39 As for you, O Bais Yisroel, thus saith Adonoi Hashem: Go ye, serve ye every one his gillulim, and hereafter since ye will not pay heed unto Me; and do not profane Shem Kodshi anymore with your gifts, and with your gillulim.
40 For in Har Kodshi, in the mountain of the height of Yisroel, saith Adonoi Hashem, there shall all Bais Yisroel, all of them in ha’aretz, serve Me; there will I accept them, there will I require your terumot, the reshit of your offerings, with all your kodeshim.
41 I will accept you as a re’ach hannichoach, when I bring you out from the peoples, and gather you out of the countries wherein ye have been scattered; and I will show Myself Kadosh among you before the eyes of the Goyim.
42 And ye shall know that I am Hashem, when I shall bring you into Admat Yisroel, into the country for which I lifted up Mine yad to give it to avoteichem.
43 And there shall ye remember your drakhim, and all your doings, wherein ye have made yourselves tameh; and ye shall loathe yourselves in your own sight for all your evils that ye have committed.
44 And ye shall know that I am Hashem when I have dealt with you for the sake of Shmi, not according to your wicked drakhim, nor according to your corrupt doings, O ye Bais Yisroel, saith Adonoi Hashem.
45 (21:1) Moreover the Devar Hashem came unto me, saying,
46 (21:2) Ben adam, set thy face toward the south, and preach against the south, and prophesy against the forest land of the Negev;
47 (21:3) And say to the forest of the Negev, Hear the Devar Hashem: Thus saith Adonoi Hashem: Hineni, I will kindle an eish in thee, and it shall devour every green etz (tree) in thee, and every dry etz (tree); the blazing flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the Negev to the north shall be scorched by it.
48 (21:4) And all basar shall see that I Hashem have kindled it; it shall not be quenched.
49 (21:5) Then said I, Ah Adonoi Hashem! They say of me, Doth he not speak meshalim (parables)?
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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