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
Ezekiel 20
New Living Translation
The Rebellion of Israel
20 On August 14,[a] during the seventh year of King Jehoiachin’s captivity, some of the leaders of Israel came to request a message from the Lord. They sat down in front of me to wait for his reply. 2 Then this message came to me from the Lord: 3 “Son of man, tell the leaders of Israel, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: How dare you come to ask me for a message? As surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, I will tell you nothing!’
4 “Son of man, bring charges against them and condemn them. Make them realize how detestable the sins of their ancestors really were. 5 Give them this message from the Sovereign Lord: When I chose Israel—when I revealed myself to the descendants of Jacob in Egypt—I took a solemn oath that I, the Lord, would be their God. 6 I took a solemn oath that day that I would bring them out of Egypt to a land I had discovered and explored for them—a good land, a land flowing with milk and honey, the best of all lands anywhere. 7 Then I said to them, ‘Each of you, get rid of the vile images you are so obsessed with. Do not defile yourselves with the idols[b] of Egypt, for I am the Lord your God.’
8 “But they rebelled against me and would not listen. They did not get rid of the vile images they were obsessed with, or forsake the idols of Egypt. Then I threatened to pour out my fury on them to satisfy my anger while they were still in Egypt. 9 But I didn’t do it, for I acted to protect the honor of my name. I would not allow shame to be brought on my name among the surrounding nations who saw me reveal myself by bringing the Israelites out of Egypt. 10 So I brought them out of Egypt and led them into the wilderness. 11 There I gave them my decrees and regulations so they could find life by keeping them. 12 And I gave them my Sabbath days of rest as a sign between them and me. It was to remind them that I am the Lord, who had set them apart to be holy.
13 “But the people of Israel rebelled against me, and they refused to obey my decrees there in the wilderness. They wouldn’t obey my regulations even though obedience would have given them life. They also violated my Sabbath days. So I threatened to pour out my fury on them, and I made plans to utterly consume them in the wilderness. 14 But again I held back in order to protect the honor of my name before the nations who had seen my power in bringing Israel out of Egypt. 15 But I took a solemn oath against them in the wilderness. I swore I would not bring them into the land I had given them, a land flowing with milk and honey, the most beautiful place on earth. 16 For they had rejected my regulations, refused to follow my decrees, and violated my Sabbath days. Their hearts were given to their idols. 17 Nevertheless, I took pity on them and held back from destroying them in the wilderness.
18 “Then I warned their children not to follow in their parents’ footsteps, defiling themselves with their idols. 19 ‘I am the Lord your God,’ I told them. ‘Follow my decrees, pay attention to my regulations, 20 and keep my Sabbath days holy, for they are a sign to remind you that I am the Lord your God.’
21 “But their children, too, rebelled against me. They refused to keep my decrees and follow my regulations, even though obedience would have given them life. And they also violated my Sabbath days. So again I threatened to pour out my fury on them in the wilderness. 22 Nevertheless, I withdrew my judgment against them to protect the honor of my name before the nations that had seen my power in bringing them out of Egypt. 23 But I took a solemn oath against them in the wilderness. I swore I would scatter them among all the nations 24 because they did not obey my regulations. They scorned my decrees by violating my Sabbath days and longing for the idols of their ancestors. 25 I gave them over to worthless decrees and regulations that would not lead to life. 26 I let them pollute themselves[c] with the very gifts I had given them, and I allowed them to give their firstborn children as offerings to their gods—so I might devastate them and remind them that I alone am the Lord.
Judgment and Restoration
27 “Therefore, son of man, give the people of Israel this message from the Sovereign Lord: Your ancestors continued to blaspheme and betray me, 28 for when I brought them into the land I had promised them, they offered sacrifices on every high hill and under every green tree they saw! They roused my fury as they offered up sacrifices to their gods. They brought their perfumes and incense and poured out their liquid offerings to them. 29 I said to them, ‘What is this high place where you are going?’ (This kind of pagan shrine has been called Bamah—‘high place’—ever since.)
30 “Therefore, give the people of Israel this message from the Sovereign Lord: Do you plan to pollute yourselves just as your ancestors did? Do you intend to keep prostituting yourselves by worshiping vile images? 31 For when you offer gifts to them and give your little children to be burned as sacrifices,[d] you continue to pollute yourselves with idols to this day. Should I allow you to ask for a message from me, O people of Israel? As surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, I will tell you nothing.
32 “You say, ‘We want to be like the nations all around us, who serve idols of wood and stone.’ But what you have in mind will never happen. 33 As surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, I will rule over you with an iron fist in great anger and with awesome power. 34 And in anger I will reach out with my strong hand and powerful arm, and I will bring you back[e] from the lands where you are scattered. 35 I will bring you into the wilderness of the nations, and there I will judge you face to face. 36 I will judge you there just as I did your ancestors in the wilderness after bringing them out of Egypt, says the Sovereign Lord. 37 I will examine you carefully and hold you to the terms of the covenant. 38 I will purge you of all those who rebel and revolt against me. I will bring them out of the countries where they are in exile, but they will never enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord.
39 “As for you, O people of Israel, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Go right ahead and worship your idols, but sooner or later you will obey me and will stop bringing shame on my holy name by worshiping idols. 40 For on my holy mountain, the great mountain of Israel, says the Sovereign Lord, the people of Israel will someday worship me, and I will accept them. There I will require that you bring me all your offerings and choice gifts and sacrifices. 41 When I bring you home from exile, you will be like a pleasing sacrifice to me. And I will display my holiness through you as all the nations watch. 42 Then when I have brought you home to the land I promised with a solemn oath to give to your ancestors, you will know that I am the Lord. 43 You will look back on all the ways you defiled yourselves and will hate yourselves because of the evil you have done. 44 You will know that I am the Lord, O people of Israel, when I have honored my name by treating you mercifully in spite of your wickedness. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!”
Judgment against the Negev
45 [f]Then this message came to me from the Lord: 46 “Son of man, turn and face the south[g] and speak out against it; prophesy against the brushlands of the Negev. 47 Tell the southern wilderness, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Hear the word of the Lord! I will set you on fire, and every tree, both green and dry, will be burned. The terrible flames will not be quenched and will scorch everything from south to north. 48 And everyone in the world will see that I, the Lord, have set this fire. It will not be put out.’”
49 Then I said, “O Sovereign Lord, they are saying of me, ‘He only talks in riddles!’”
Footnotes
- 20:1 Hebrew In the fifth month, on the tenth day, of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar. This day was August 14, 591 B.c.; also see note on 1:1.
- 20:7 The Hebrew term (literally round things) probably alludes to dung; also in 20:8, 16, 18, 24, 31, 39.
- 20:25-26 Or I gave them worthless decrees and regulations. . . . I polluted them.
- 20:31 Or and make your little children pass through the fire.
- 20:34 Greek version reads I will welcome you. Compare 2 Cor 6:17.
- 20:45 Verses 20:45-49 are numbered 21:1-5 in Hebrew text.
- 20:46 Hebrew toward Teman.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
