Passage Resources Hebrew/Greek Your Content
Previous Next
Add parallel Print Page Options
Close LSB

Ezekiel 20
Legacy Standard Bible

The Abominations of the Fathers of Israel

20 Now it happened in the seventh year, in the fifth month, on the tenth of the month, that [a]some of the (A)elders of Israel came to inquire of Yahweh and sat before me. 2 And the word of Yahweh came to me saying, 3 “Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel and say to them, ‘Thus says Lord Yahweh, “Do you come to inquire of Me? As I live,” declares Lord Yahweh, “(B)I will not be inquired of by you.”’ 4 Will you judge them, will you judge them, son of man? (C)Make them know the abominations of their fathers 5 and say to them, ‘Thus says Lord Yahweh, “On the day when I (D)chose Israel and [b]swore to the seed of the house of Jacob and made Myself known to them in the land of Egypt, when I swore to them, saying, (E)I am Yahweh your God, 6 on that day I swore to them, (F)to bring them out from the land of Egypt into a land that I had [c]selected for them, (G)flowing with milk and honey, which is (H)the glory of all lands. 7 I said to them, ‘(I)Cast away, each of you, the detestable things of his eyes, and (J)do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt; (K)I am Yahweh your God.’ 8 But they (L)rebelled against Me and were not willing to listen to Me; each one did not cast away the detestable things of their eyes, nor did they forsake the (M)idols of Egypt.

Then I said I would (N)pour out My wrath on them, to [d]spend My anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt. 9 But I acted (O)for the sake of My name, that it should (P)not be profaned in the sight of the nations among whom they lived, in whose sight I made Myself known to them by bringing them out of the land of Egypt. 10 So I took them out of the land of Egypt and brought them into the (Q)wilderness. 11 I gave them My (R)statutes and made them know My judgments, (S)which, if a man does them, he will live by them. 12 And I also gave them My sabbaths to be a (T)sign between Me and them, that they might know that I am Yahweh who sanctifies them. 13 But the house of Israel (U)rebelled against Me in the wilderness. They did not walk in My statutes, and they rejected My judgments, (V)which, if a man does them, he will live by them; and My (W)sabbaths they greatly profaned. Then I said I would (X)pour out My wrath on them in the wilderness, to completely destroy them. 14 But I acted for the sake of My name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, before whose sight I had brought them out. 15 Also (Y)I swore to them in the wilderness that I would not bring them into the land which I had given them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands, 16 because they rejected My judgments, and as for My statutes, they did not walk in them; they even profaned My sabbaths, for their (Z)heart continually walked after their idols. 17 Yet My eye had pity on them rather than bringing them to ruin, and I did not make of them a (AA)complete destruction in the wilderness.

18 “I said to their [e](AB)children in the wilderness, ‘(AC)Do not walk in the statutes of your fathers and do not keep their judgments and do not defile yourselves with their idols. 19 (AD)I am Yahweh your God; (AE)walk in My statutes and keep My judgments and do them. 20 (AF)Keep My sabbaths holy; and they shall be a sign between Me and you, that you may know that I am Yahweh your God.’ 21 But the (AG)children rebelled against Me; they did not walk in My statutes, nor were they careful to do My judgments, which, if a man does them, he will live by them; they profaned My sabbaths. So I said I would pour out My wrath on them, to spend My anger against them in the wilderness. 22 But I (AH)turned back My hand and acted (AI)for the sake of My name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations in whose sight I had brought them out. 23 Also I swore to them in the wilderness that I would (AJ)scatter them among the nations and [f]disperse them among the lands 24 because they had not done My judgments, but had rejected My statutes and had profaned My sabbaths, and (AK)their eyes were going after the idols of their fathers. 25 And I also gave them statutes that were (AL)not good and judgments by which they could not live; 26 and I pronounced them (AM)unclean because of their gifts, in that they (AN)caused all [g]their firstborn to pass through the fire so that I might make them desolate, in order that they might (AO)know that I am Yahweh.”’

27 “Therefore, son of man, (AP)speak to the house of Israel and say to them, ‘Thus says Lord Yahweh, “Yet in this your fathers have (AQ)blasphemed Me by (AR)acting unfaithfully against Me. 28 Indeed, I (AS)brought them into the land which I swore to give to them, and they saw every (AT)high hill and every leafy tree, and they offered there their sacrifices, and there they gave the provocation of their offering. There also they made their soothing aroma, and there they poured out their drink offerings. 29 Then I said to them, ‘What is the high place to which you are going?’ So its name is called [h]Bamah to this day.”’ 30 Therefore, say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says Lord Yahweh, “Will you defile yourselves in the way of your (AU)fathers and play the harlot after their detestable things? 31 [i]And when you offer your gifts, when you (AV)cause your sons to pass through the fire, you are defiling yourselves with all your idols to this day. And shall I be inquired of by you, O house of Israel? As I live,” declares Lord Yahweh, “I will not be inquired of by you. 32 And what (AW)comes upon your spirit will not happen, when you say: ‘We will be like the nations, like the families of the lands, (AX)to minister to wood and stone.’

Yahweh Judges His People

33 “As I live,” declares Lord Yahweh, “surely with a strong hand and with an (AY)outstretched arm and with wrath poured out, I shall be (AZ)king over you. 34 And I will (BA)bring you out from the peoples and gather you from the lands where you are scattered, with a strong hand and with an outstretched arm and with (BB)wrath poured out; 35 and I will bring you into the (BC)wilderness of the peoples, and there I will enter into judgment with you face to face. 36 As I (BD)entered into judgment with your fathers in the (BE)wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will enter into judgment with you,” declares Lord Yahweh. 37 “And I will make you (BF)pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant; 38 and I will (BG)purge from you the rebels and those who transgress against Me; I will bring them out of the land where they sojourn, but they will (BH)not enter the [j]land of Israel. Thus you will know that I am Yahweh.

39 “As for you, O house of Israel,” thus says Lord Yahweh, “(BI)Go, serve everyone his idols; [k]but after this you will surely listen to Me, and My holy name you will (BJ)profane no longer with your gifts and with your idols. 40 For on My holy mountain, on the high mountain of Israel,” declares Lord Yahweh, “there the whole house of Israel, (BK)all of them, will serve Me in the land; there I will (BL)accept them, and there I will [l]seek your contributions and the choicest of your gifts, with all your holy things. 41 [m]As a soothing aroma I will accept you when I (BM)bring you out from the peoples and gather you from the lands where you are scattered; and I will prove Myself (BN)holy among you in the sight of the nations. 42 And (BO)you will know that I am Yahweh, (BP)when I bring you onto the ground of Israel, into the (BQ)land which I swore to give to your fathers. 43 And there you will (BR)remember your ways and all your deeds with which you have defiled yourselves; and you will (BS)loathe yourselves to your own faces for all the evil things that you have done. 44 Then (BT)you will know that I am Yahweh when I have dealt with you (BU)for My name’s sake, not according to your evil ways or according to your corrupt deeds, O house of Israel,” declares Lord Yahweh.’”

45 [n]Now the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, 46 “Son of man, set your face toward [o]Teman and speak, dripping out words, against the (BV)south and (BW)prophesy against the (BX)forest [p]land of the Negev 47 and say to the forest of the Negev, ‘Hear the word of Yahweh: thus says Lord Yahweh, “Behold, I am about to (BY)kindle a fire in you, and it will consume every [q]green tree in you, as well as every dry tree; the blazing flame will not be quenched, and [r](BZ)the whole surface from south to north will be scorched by it. 48 And all flesh will see that I, Yahweh, have made it burn; it shall (CA)not be quenched.”’” 49 Then I said, “Ah Lord Yahweh! They are saying of me, ‘Is he not just speaking (CB)parables?’”

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 20:1 Lit men
  2. Ezekiel 20:5 Lit lifted up My hand, so in ch
  3. Ezekiel 20:6 Lit spied out
  4. Ezekiel 20:8 Or make a complete destruction with, so in ch, cf. 20:13, 17
  5. Ezekiel 20:18 Lit sons
  6. Ezekiel 20:23 Or scatter, cf. Ps 44:11; 106:27
  7. Ezekiel 20:26 Lit that which opens the womb
  8. Ezekiel 20:29 Lit high place
  9. Ezekiel 20:31 Lit In your lifting up
  10. Ezekiel 20:38 Lit ground, soil
  11. Ezekiel 20:39 Or and afterwards, if you will not listen to Me, but
  12. Ezekiel 20:40 Or require
  13. Ezekiel 20:41 Lit With
  14. Ezekiel 20:45 Ch 21:1 in Heb
  15. Ezekiel 20:46 Or the South
  16. Ezekiel 20:46 Lit of the field
  17. Ezekiel 20:47 Lit moist
  18. Ezekiel 20:47 Or all the faces
Listen to Ezekiel 20
Close NKJV

Ezekiel 20
New King James Version

The Rebellions of Israel

20 It came to pass in the seventh year, in the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month, that (A)certain of the elders of Israel came to inquire of the Lord, and sat before me. 2 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 3 “Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel, and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Have you come to inquire of Me? As I live,” says the Lord God, (B)“I will not be inquired of by you.” ’ 4 Will you judge them, son of man, will you judge them? Then (C)make known to them the abominations of their fathers.

5 “Say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “On the day when (D)I chose Israel and raised My hand in an oath to the descendants of the house of Jacob, and made Myself (E)known to them in the land of Egypt, I raised My hand in an oath to them, saying, (F)‘I am the Lord your God.’ 6 On that day I raised My hand in an oath to them, (G)to bring them out of the land of Egypt into a land that I had searched out for them, (H)‘flowing with milk and honey,’ (I)the glory of all lands. 7 Then I said to them, ‘Each of you, (J)throw away (K)the abominations which are before his eyes, and do not defile yourselves with (L)the idols of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.’ 8 But they rebelled against Me and would not [a]obey Me. They did not all cast away the abominations which were before their eyes, nor did they forsake the idols of Egypt. Then I said, ‘I will (M)pour out My fury on them and fulfill My anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt.’ 9 (N)But I acted for My name’s sake, that it should not be profaned before the Gentiles among whom they were, in whose sight I had made Myself (O)known to them, to bring them out of the land of Egypt.

10 “Therefore I (P)made them go out of the land of Egypt and brought them into the wilderness. 11 (Q)And I gave them My statutes and [b]showed them My judgments, (R)‘which, if a man does, he shall live by them.’ 12 Moreover I also gave them My (S)Sabbaths, to be a sign between them and Me, that they might know that I am the Lord who sanctifies them. 13 Yet the house of Israel (T)rebelled against Me in the wilderness; they did not walk in My statutes; they (U)despised My judgments, (V)‘which, if a man does, he shall live by them’; and they greatly (W)defiled My Sabbaths. Then I said I would pour out My fury on them in the (X)wilderness, to consume them. 14 (Y)But I acted for My name’s sake, that it should not be profaned before the Gentiles, in whose sight I had brought them out. 15 So (Z)I also raised My hand in an oath to them in the wilderness, that I would not bring them into the land which I had given them, (AA)‘flowing with milk and honey,’ (AB)the glory of all lands, 16 (AC)because they despised My judgments and did not walk in My statutes, but profaned My Sabbaths; for (AD)their heart went after their idols. 17 (AE)Nevertheless My eye spared them from destruction. I did not make an end of them in the wilderness.

18 “But I said to their children in the wilderness, ‘Do not walk in the statutes of your fathers, nor observe their judgments, nor defile yourselves with their idols. 19 I am the Lord your God: (AF)Walk in My statutes, keep My judgments, and do them; 20 (AG)hallow My Sabbaths, and they will be a sign between Me and you, that you may know that I am the Lord your God.’

21 “Notwithstanding, (AH)the children rebelled against Me; they did not walk in My statutes, and were not careful to observe My judgments, (AI)‘which, if a man does, he shall live by them’; but they profaned My Sabbaths. Then I said I would pour out My fury on them and fulfill My anger against them in the wilderness. 22 Nevertheless I [c]withdrew My hand and acted for My name’s sake, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the Gentiles, in whose sight I had brought them out. 23 Also I raised My hand in an oath to those in the wilderness, that (AJ)I would scatter them among the Gentiles and disperse them throughout the countries, 24 (AK)because they had not executed My judgments, but had despised My statutes, profaned My Sabbaths, and (AL)their eyes were fixed on their fathers’ idols.

25 “Therefore (AM)I also gave them up to statutes that were not good, and judgments by which they could not live; 26 and I pronounced them unclean because of their ritual gifts, in that they caused all [d]their firstborn to pass (AN)through the fire, that I might make them desolate and that they (AO)might know that I am the Lord.” ’

27 “Therefore, son of man, speak to the house of Israel, and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “In this too your fathers have (AP)blasphemed Me, by being unfaithful to Me. 28 When I brought them into the land concerning which I had raised My hand in an oath to give them, and (AQ)they saw all the high hills and all the thick trees, there they offered their sacrifices and provoked Me with their offerings. There they also sent up their (AR)sweet aroma and poured out their drink offerings. 29 Then I said to them, ‘What is this [e]high place to which you go?’ So its name is called [f]Bamah to this day.” ’ 30 Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Are you defiling yourselves in the manner of your (AS)fathers, and committing harlotry according to their (AT)abominations? 31 For when you offer (AU)your gifts and make your sons pass through the fire, you defile yourselves with all your idols, even to this day. So shall I be inquired of by you, O house of Israel? As I live,” says the Lord God, “I will (AV)not be inquired of by you. 32 (AW)What you have in your mind shall never be, when you say, ‘We will be like the Gentiles, like the families in other countries, serving wood and stone.’

God Will Restore Israel

33 “As I live,” says the Lord God, “surely with a mighty hand, (AX)with an outstretched arm, and with fury poured out, I will rule over you. 34 I will bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you are scattered, with a mighty hand, with an outstretched arm, and with fury poured out. 35 And I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and there (AY)I will plead My case with you face to face. 36 (AZ)Just as I pleaded My case with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will plead My case with you,” says the Lord God.

37 “I will make you (BA)pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the (BB)covenant; 38 (BC)I will purge the rebels from among you, and those who transgress against Me; I will bring them out of the country where they dwell, but (BD)they shall not enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord.

39 “As for you, O house of Israel,” thus says the Lord God: (BE)“Go, serve every one of you his idols—and hereafter—if you will not obey Me; (BF)but profane My holy name no more with your gifts and your idols. 40 For (BG)on My holy mountain, on the mountain height of Israel,” says the Lord God, “there (BH)all the house of Israel, all of them in the land, shall serve Me; there (BI)I will accept them, and there I will require your offerings and the firstfruits of your [g]sacrifices, together with all your holy things. 41 I will accept you as a (BJ)sweet aroma when I bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you have been scattered; and I will be hallowed in you before the Gentiles. 42 (BK)Then you shall know that I am the Lord, (BL)when I bring you into the land of Israel, into the country for which I raised My hand in an oath to give to your fathers. 43 And (BM)there you shall remember your ways and all your doings with which you were defiled; and (BN)you shall [h]loathe yourselves in your own sight because of all the evils that you have committed. 44 (BO)Then you shall know that I am the Lord, when I have dealt with you (BP)for My name’s sake, not according to your wicked ways nor according to your corrupt doings, O house of Israel,” says the Lord God.’ ”

Fire in the Forest

45 Furthermore the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 46 (BQ)“Son of man, set your face toward the south; [i]preach against the south and prophesy against the forest land, the [j]South, 47 and say to the forest of the South, ‘Hear the word of the Lord! Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, (BR)I will kindle a fire in you, and it shall devour (BS)every green tree and every dry tree in you; the blazing flame shall not be quenched, and all faces (BT)from the south to the north shall be scorched by it. 48 All flesh shall see that I, the Lord, have kindled it; it shall not be quenched.” ’ ”

49 Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! They say of me, ‘Does he not speak (BU)parables?’ ”

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 20:8 Lit. listen to
  2. Ezekiel 20:11 Lit. made known to
  3. Ezekiel 20:22 Refrained from judgment
  4. Ezekiel 20:26 Lit. that open the womb
  5. Ezekiel 20:29 Place for pagan worship
  6. Ezekiel 20:29 Lit. High Place
  7. Ezekiel 20:40 offerings
  8. Ezekiel 20:43 Or despise
  9. Ezekiel 20:46 proclaim, lit. drop
  10. Ezekiel 20:46 Heb. Negev
Next
Ezekiel 19
Ezekiel 21
Next
dropdown
Legacy Standard Bible (LSB)

Legacy Standard Bible Copyright ©2021 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org For Permission to Quote Information visit https://www.LSBible.org.

New King James Version (NKJV)

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Learn the Bible in 30 days