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?’”