Ezekiel 19-20

New King James Version

Israel Degraded

19 “Moreover ^(A)take up a lamentation for the princes of Israel, ²and say:

‘What is your mother? A lioness:
She lay down among the lions;
Among the young lions she nourished her cubs.
³She brought up one of her cubs,
And ^(B)he became a young lion;
He learned to catch prey,
And he devoured men.
⁴The nations also heard of him;
He was trapped in their pit,
And they brought him with chains to the land of ^(C)Egypt.

⁵‘When she saw that she waited, that her hope was lost,
She took ^(D)another of her cubs and made him a young lion.
⁶^(E)He roved among the lions,
And ^(F)became a young lion;
He learned to catch prey;
He devoured men.
⁷^[a]He knew their desolate places,
And laid waste their cities;
The land with its fullness was desolated
By the noise of his roaring.
⁸^(G)Then the nations set against him from the provinces on every side,
And spread their net over him;
^(H)He was trapped in their pit.
⁹^(I)They put him in a cage with ^[b]chains,
And brought him to the king of Babylon;
They brought him in nets,
That his voice should no longer be heard on ^(J)the mountains of Israel.

¹⁰‘Your mother was ^(K)like a vine in your ^[c]bloodline,
Planted by the waters,
^(L)Fruitful and full of branches
Because of many waters.
¹¹She had strong branches for scepters of rulers.
^(M)She towered in stature above the thick branches,
And was seen in her height amid the ^[d]dense foliage.
¹²But she was ^(N)plucked up in fury,
She was cast down to the ground,
And the ^(O)east wind dried her fruit.
Her strong branches were broken and withered;
The fire consumed them.
¹³And now she is planted in the wilderness,
In a dry and thirsty land.
¹⁴^(P)Fire has come out from a rod of her branches
And devoured her fruit,
So that she has no strong branch—a scepter for ruling.’ ”

^(Q)This is a lamentation, and has become a lamentation.

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 ^(R)certain of the elders of Israel came to inquire of the Lord, and sat before me. ²Then 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, ^(S)“I will not be inquired of by you.” ’ ⁴Will you judge them, son of man, will you judge them? Then ^(T)make known to them the abominations of their fathers.

⁵“Say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “On the day when ^(U)I chose Israel and raised My hand in an oath to the descendants of the house of Jacob, and made Myself ^(V)known to them in the land of Egypt, I raised My hand in an oath to them, saying, ^(W)‘I am the Lord your God.’ ⁶On that day I raised My hand in an oath to them, ^(X)to bring them out of the land of Egypt into a land that I had searched out for them, ^(Y)‘flowing with milk and honey,’ ^(Z)the glory of all lands. ⁷Then I said to them, ‘Each of you, ^(AA)throw away ^(AB)the abominations which are before his eyes, and do not defile yourselves with ^(AC)the idols of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.’ ⁸But they rebelled against Me and would not ^[e]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 ^(AD)pour out My fury on them and fulfill My anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt.’ ⁹^(AE)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 ^(AF)known to them, to bring them out of the land of Egypt.

¹⁰“Therefore I ^(AG)made them go out of the land of Egypt and brought them into the wilderness. ¹¹^(AH)And I gave them My statutes and ^[f]showed them My judgments, ^(AI)‘which, if a man does, he shall live by them.’ ¹²Moreover I also gave them My ^(AJ)Sabbaths, to be a sign between them and Me, that they might know that I am the Lord who sanctifies them. ¹³Yet the house of Israel ^(AK)rebelled against Me in the wilderness; they did not walk in My statutes; they ^(AL)despised My judgments, ^(AM)‘which, if a man does, he shall live by them’; and they greatly ^(AN)defiled My Sabbaths. Then I said I would pour out My fury on them in the ^(AO)wilderness, to consume them. ¹⁴^(AP)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. ¹⁵So ^(AQ)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, ^(AR)‘flowing with milk and honey,’ ^(AS)the glory of all lands, ¹⁶^(AT)because they despised My judgments and did not walk in My statutes, but profaned My Sabbaths; for ^(AU)their heart went after their idols. ¹⁷^(AV)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. ¹⁹I am the Lord your God: ^(AW)Walk in My statutes, keep My judgments, and do them; ²⁰^(AX)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, ^(AY)the children rebelled against Me; they did not walk in My statutes, and were not careful to observe My judgments, ^(AZ)‘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. ²²Nevertheless I ^[g]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. ²³Also I raised My hand in an oath to those in the wilderness, that ^(BA)I would scatter them among the Gentiles and disperse them throughout the countries, ²⁴^(BB)because they had not executed My judgments, but had despised My statutes, profaned My Sabbaths, and ^(BC)their eyes were fixed on their fathers’ idols.

²⁵“Therefore ^(BD)I also gave them up to statutes that were not good, and judgments by which they could not live; ²⁶and I pronounced them unclean because of their ritual gifts, in that they caused all ^[h]their firstborn to pass ^(BE)through the fire, that I might make them desolate and that they ^(BF)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 ^(BG)blasphemed Me, by being unfaithful to Me. ²⁸When I brought them into the land concerning which I had raised My hand in an oath to give them, and ^(BH)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 ^(BI)sweet aroma and poured out their drink offerings. ²⁹Then I said to them, ‘What is this ^[i]high place to which you go?’ So its name is called ^[j]Bamah to this day.” ’ ³⁰Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Are you defiling yourselves in the manner of your ^(BJ)fathers, and committing harlotry according to their ^(BK)abominations? ³¹For when you offer ^(BL)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 ^(BM)not be inquired of by you. ³²^(BN)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, ^(BO)with an outstretched arm, and with fury poured out, I will rule over you. ³⁴I 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. ³⁵And I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and there ^(BP)I will plead My case with you face to face. ³⁶^(BQ)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 ^(BR)pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the ^(BS)covenant; ³⁸^(BT)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 ^(BU)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: ^(BV)“Go, serve every one of you his idols—and hereafter—if you will not obey Me; ^(BW)but profane My holy name no more with your gifts and your idols. ⁴⁰For ^(BX)on My holy mountain, on the mountain height of Israel,” says the Lord God, “there ^(BY)all the house of Israel, all of them in the land, shall serve Me; there ^(BZ)I will accept them, and there I will require your offerings and the firstfruits of your ^[k]sacrifices, together with all your holy things. ⁴¹I will accept you as a ^(CA)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^(CB)Then you shall know that I am the Lord, ^(CC)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. ⁴³And ^(CD)there you shall remember your ways and all your doings with which you were defiled; and ^(CE)you shall ^[l]loathe yourselves in your own sight because of all the evils that you have committed. ⁴⁴^(CF)Then you shall know that I am the Lord, when I have dealt with you ^(CG)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

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

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

Footnotes

Ezekiel 19:7 LXX He stood in insolence; Tg. He destroyed its palaces; Vg. He learned to make widows
Ezekiel 19:9 Or hooks
Ezekiel 19:10 Lit. blood, so with MT, Syr., Vg.; LXX like a flower on a pomegranate tree; Tg. in your likeness
Ezekiel 19:11 Or many branches
Ezekiel 20:8 Lit. listen to
Ezekiel 20:11 Lit. made known to
Ezekiel 20:22 Refrained from judgment
Ezekiel 20:26 Lit. that open the womb
Ezekiel 20:29 Place for pagan worship
Ezekiel 20:29 Lit. High Place
Ezekiel 20:40 offerings
Ezekiel 20:43 Or despise
Ezekiel 20:46 proclaim, lit. drop
Ezekiel 20:46 Heb. Negev