Ezekiel 20
Lexham English Bible
God’s Dealings with Israel for His Name’s Sake
20 And then in the seventh year, in the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month, men from the elders of Israel came to consult Yahweh, and they sat before me.[a] 2 And the word of Yahweh came[b] to me, saying,[c] 3 “Son of man,[d] speak with the elders of Israel, and you must say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Are you coming to consult me? As I live,[e] I will surely not allow myself[f] to be consulted by you!”’ declares[g] the Lord Yahweh. 4 Will you judge them? Will you judge them, son of man?[h] Make known to them the detestable things of their ancestors.[i] 5 And you must say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “On the day of my choosing Israel I swore[j] to the offspring of the house of Jacob, and I made myself known to them in the land of Egypt, and I swore[k] to them, saying,[l] ‘I am Yahweh your God.’ 6 On that day I swore[m] to them to bring them out from the land of Egypt to the land that I had searched out for them, flowing with milk and honey—it is the most beautiful of all of the lands. 7 Then I said to them, ‘Let each one throw away the detestable things of his eyes, and you must not make yourselves unclean with the idols of Egypt! I am Yahweh your God.’ 8 But they rebelled against me, and they were not willing to listen to me; each one did not throw away[n] the detestable things of their eyes; and they did not abandon[o] the idols of Egypt, and I decided to pour out my rage on them, to fully vent my anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt.
9 “But[p] I acted for the sake of my name to keep it from being profaned[q] before the eyes of the nations among whom they lived,[r] where I made known to them before their eyes, to bring them out from the land of Egypt. 10 And I brought them out from the land of Egypt, and I brought them to the desert, 11 and I gave my statutes to them, and my regulations I made known to them, which, if a person does them, then he will live by them. 12 And also my Sabbaths I gave to them to be a sign between me and between them so they would know[s] that I, Yahweh, am the one sanctifying them.
13 “But[t] in the desert the house of Israel rebelled against me; they did not walk in my statutes,[u] and they rejected my regulations, which, if a person does them, he will live by them, and they greatly profaned my Sabbaths, and I decided to pour out my rage on them in the desert to destroy them, 14 and I acted for the sake of my name, that it not be profaned before the eyes of the nations before whom I brought them out.[v] 15 And also I myself swore[w] to them in the desert not to bring them into the land that I had given to them, flowing with milk and honey—it is the most beautiful of all of the lands— 16 because they despised my judgments, and they did not walk in my statutes,[x] and my Sabbaths they profaned, for their heart was going after their idols. 17 But my eye took pity on them by not destroying them, and I did not completely destroy them[y] in the desert.
18 “And I said to their children in the desert, ‘You must not go in the statutes of your parents;[z] you must not keep their regulations, and you must not make yourself unclean with their idols. 19 I, Yahweh, am your God, so go in my statutes and keep my regulations and do them. 20 And treat my Sabbaths as holy, and they will be a sign between me and between you that you may know[aa] that I, Yahweh, am your God.’ 21 But the children rebelled against me; they did not walk in my statutes,[ab] and they did not observe my regulations,[ac] which if a person does them, then he will live by them. My Sabbaths they desecrated, and I decided to pour out my rage on them, to finish my anger against them in the desert. 22 But I withheld my hand, and I acted for the sake of my name not to be profaned before the eyes of the nations before whom I had brought them out before their eyes. 23 What is more, I swore[ad] to them in the desert to scatter them among the nations and to disperse them in the lands, 24 because they did not do my regulations, and my statutes they despised, and my Sabbaths they profaned, and their eyes were after the idols of their ancestors.[ae] 25 And in turn I gave to them rules that were not good and regulations by which they will not live.[af] 26 And I defiled them through their gifts in sacrificing all of the first offspring of the womb, in order that[ag] I will cause them to be stunned, so that they will know that I am Yahweh.
27 “Therefore speak to the house of Israel, son of man,[ah] and you must say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Again in this your ancestors blasphemed me at[ai] their display of infidelity toward me.”’[aj] 28 And I brought them to the land that I swore[ak] to give[al] to them, and they saw every high hill and every leafy tree, and they offered their sacrifices, and they presented there the provocation of their offering, and they gave there their fragrant incense offering, and they poured out their libations there. 29 And I said to them, ‘What is the high place[am] to which you are going?’ And it is called[an] Bamah until this day. 30 Therefore thus say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “In the way of your ancestors[ao] will you defile yourself, and after their vile idols will you prostitute yourselves? 31 And when you lift up your gifts, sacrificing your children[ap] through the fire, you are defiling yourself through all of your idols until today,[aq] and will I let myself[ar] be consulted by you, house of Israel?”’ As I live,”[as] declares[at] the Lord Yahweh, “I will not let myself[au] be consulted by you! 32 And what you are planning,[av] surely it will not be—that you are saying, ‘Let us be like the nations, like the clans[aw] of the lands, serving wood and stone!’[ax]
33 “As I live,”[ay] declares[az] the Lord Yahweh, “surely[ba] with a strong hand and with an outstretched arm and with rage pouring forth[bb] I will reign as king over you! 34 And I will bring you from the peoples, and I will gather you from the countries to which you were scattered with a strong hand and with an outstretched arm and with rage poured out. 35 Then I will bring you to the desert of the peoples, and I will execute justice on you there face to face. 36 Just as[bc] I executed justice on your ancestors[bd] in the desert of the land of Egypt, likewise I will execute justice on you!” declares[be] the Lord Yahweh. 37 “And I will make you pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant. 38 And I will purge the rebels from among you and the ones transgressing against me; I will bring them out from the land where they are living as aliens,[bf] but into the land of Israel they will not come, and then you will know that I am Yahweh.
39 And you, house of Israel, thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Let each one go serve his idols now and after, if you are not listening to me, but my holy name[bg] you will not profane any longer with your gifts and with your idols.
40 “For on my holy mountain,[bh] on the mountain of the height of Israel,” declares[bi] the Lord Yahweh, “there all of the house of Israel will serve me, all of them,[bj] in the land. I will take pleasure in them, and there I will accept your contributions and the best of your portions with all of your holy objects. 41 I will accept you as a fragrant incense offering[bk] when I bring you out from the peoples and I gather you from the lands to which you were scattered, and I will show myself holy among you before the eyes of the nations. 42 And you will know that I am Yahweh when I bring you to the land of Israel, to the land that I swore[bl] to give to your ancestors. 43 And you will remember there your ways, and all of your deeds by which you were made unclean,[bm] and you will feel a loathing for yourself[bn] for all of your evils that you have done. 44 And you will know that I am Yahweh when I deal with you[bo] for the sake of my name and not according to your evil ways[bp] or according to[bq] your corrupted deeds, house of Israel,” declares[br] the Lord Yahweh.
45 [bs] And the word of Yahweh came[bt] to me, saying,[bu] 46 “Son of man,[bv] set your face toward the way of the south,[bw] and preach to the south, and prophesy against the forest of the territory of the Negev. 47 And you must say to the forest of the Negev, ‘Hear the word of Yahweh, thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Look! I am kindling against you a fire, and it will devour in you every fresh tree and every dry tree; the blaze of the flame will not be quenched, and all the surfaces from the south to the north will be scorched by it. 48 And all creatures will see that I, Yahweh, I kindled it—it will not be quenched!”’” 49 Then I said, “Ah, Lord Yahweh, they are saying about me, ‘Is he not posing a parable?’”
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 20:1 Literally “to the face of”
- Ezekiel 20:2 Literally “was”
- Ezekiel 20:2 Literally “to say”
- Ezekiel 20:3 Or “mortal,” or “son of humankind”
- Ezekiel 20:3 Literally “live I”
- Ezekiel 20:3 Or “me”
- Ezekiel 20:3 Literally “declaration of”
- Ezekiel 20:4 Or “mortal,” or “son of humankind”
- Ezekiel 20:4 Or “fathers”
- Ezekiel 20:5 Literally “and I raised my hand”
- Ezekiel 20:5 Literally “and I raised my hand”
- Ezekiel 20:5 Literally “to say”
- Ezekiel 20:6 Literally “I raised my hand”
- Ezekiel 20:8 Literally “not they threw away”
- Ezekiel 20:8 Literally “not they abandoned”
- Ezekiel 20:9 Or “And”
- Ezekiel 20:9 Literally “not to be profaned before the eyes of”
- Ezekiel 20:9 Literally “which they were in their midst”
- Ezekiel 20:12 Literally “know”
- Ezekiel 20:13 Or “And”
- Ezekiel 20:13 Literally “in my statutes not they went”
- Ezekiel 20:14 Literally “which I brought out them before their eyes”
- Ezekiel 20:15 Literally “I, I raised my hand”
- Ezekiel 20:16 Literally “and my statutes not they went in them”
- Ezekiel 20:17 Literally “and not I make them complete destruction”
- Ezekiel 20:18 Or “fathers”
- Ezekiel 20:20 Literally “know”
- Ezekiel 20:21 Literally “in statutes my not they went”
- Ezekiel 20:21 Literally “my regulations not they kept to do them”
- Ezekiel 20:23 Literally “I will raise my hand”
- Ezekiel 20:24 Or “fathers”
- Ezekiel 20:25 Literally “regulations not they will live by them”
- Ezekiel 20:26 Or “so that”
- Ezekiel 20:27 Or “mortal,” or “son of humankind”
- Ezekiel 20:27 Or “by”
- Ezekiel 20:27 Literally “at/in acting unfaithfully they against me in/by unfaithfulness”
- Ezekiel 20:28 Literally “I raised my hand”
- Ezekiel 20:28 Hebrew “give it”
- Ezekiel 20:29 Hebrew Bamah, which became its name
- Ezekiel 20:29 Literally “it is called name its”
- Ezekiel 20:30 Or “fathers”
- Ezekiel 20:31 Literally “at to lift up your gifts at causing to pass over your children”
- Ezekiel 20:31 Literally “the day”
- Ezekiel 20:31 Hebrew “me”
- Ezekiel 20:31 Literally “Live I”
- Ezekiel 20:31 Literally “declaration of”
- Ezekiel 20:31 Hebrew “me”
- Ezekiel 20:32 Literally “what is going up on your spirit”
- Ezekiel 20:32 Or “tribes”
- Ezekiel 20:32 Literally “to serve wood and stone”
- Ezekiel 20:33 Literally “live I”
- Ezekiel 20:33 Literally “declaration of”
- Ezekiel 20:33 Literally “if not”
- Ezekiel 20:33 Literally “rage poured out”
- Ezekiel 20:36 Literally “Like what”
- Ezekiel 20:36 Or “fathers”
- Ezekiel 20:36 Literally “declaration of”
- Ezekiel 20:38 Literally “from the land of living as an alien there”
- Ezekiel 20:39 Literally “the name of my holiness”
- Ezekiel 20:40 Literally “the mountain of my holiness”
- Ezekiel 20:40 Literally “declaration of”
- Ezekiel 20:40 Hebrew “it/him”
- Ezekiel 20:41 Literally “a fragrance of an incense offering”
- Ezekiel 20:42 Literally “I raised my hand”
- Ezekiel 20:43 Literally “which you were made unclean by them”
- Ezekiel 20:43 Literally “for your face”
- Ezekiel 20:44 Literally “at/in doing my with you”
- Ezekiel 20:44 Literally “not like your ways the evil”
- Ezekiel 20:44 Literally “like”
- Ezekiel 20:44 Literally “declaration of”
- Ezekiel 20:45 Ezekiel 20:45–21:32 in the English Bible is 21:1–37 in the Hebrew Bible
- Ezekiel 20:45 Literally “was”
- Ezekiel 20:45 Literally “to say”
- Ezekiel 20:46 Or “mortal,” or “son of humankind”
- Ezekiel 20:46 Or “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.
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