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Israel’s Rebellion

20 In the seventh year, in the fifth month, on the tenth of the month,[a] some of the elders[b] of Israel came to seek[c] the Lord, and they sat down in front of me. The Lord’s message came to me: “Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel, and tell them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Are you coming to seek me? As surely as I live, I will not allow you to seek me,[d] declares the Sovereign Lord.’ Are you willing to pronounce judgment on them?[e] Are you willing to pronounce judgment, son of man? Then confront them with the abominable practices of their fathers, and say to them:

“‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: On the day I chose Israel I swore[f] to the descendants[g] of the house of Jacob and made myself known to them in the land of Egypt. I swore[h] to them, “I am the Lord your God.” On that day I swore[i] to bring them out of the land of Egypt to a land that I had picked out[j] for them, a land flowing with milk and honey,[k] the most beautiful of all lands. I said to them, “Each of you must get rid of the detestable idols you keep before you,[l] and do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt; I am the Lord your God.” But they rebelled against me and refused to listen to me; no one got rid of their detestable idols,[m] nor did they abandon the idols of Egypt. Then I decided to pour out[n] my rage on them and fully vent my anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt. I acted for the sake of my reputation,[o] so that I would not be profaned before the nations among whom they lived,[p] before whom I revealed myself by bringing them out of the land of Egypt.[q]

10 “‘So I brought them out of the land of Egypt and led them to the wilderness. 11 I gave them my statutes[r] and revealed my regulations to them. The one[s] who carries[t] them out will live by them![u] 12 I also gave them my Sabbaths[v] as a reminder of our relationship,[w] so that they would know that I, the Lord, sanctify them.[x] 13 But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness; they did not follow my statutes and they rejected my regulations (the one who obeys them will live by them), and they utterly desecrated my Sabbaths. So I decided to pour out[y] my rage on them in the wilderness and destroy them.[z] 14 I acted for the sake of my reputation, so that I would not be profaned before the nations in whose sight I had brought them out. 15 I also swore[aa] to them in the wilderness that I would not bring them to the land I had given them—a land flowing with milk and honey, the most beautiful of all lands. 16 I did this[ab] because they rejected my regulations, did not follow my statutes, and desecrated my Sabbaths; for their hearts followed their idols.[ac] 17 Yet I had pity on[ad] them and did not destroy them, so I did not make an end of them in the wilderness.

18 “‘But I said to their children[ae] in the wilderness, “Do not follow the practices of your fathers; do not observe their regulations,[af] nor defile yourselves with their idols. 19 I am the Lord your God; follow my statutes, observe my regulations, and carry them out. 20 Treat my Sabbaths as holy[ag] and they will be a reminder of our relationship,[ah] and then you will know that I am the Lord your God.” 21 But the children[ai] rebelled against me, did not follow my statutes, did not observe my regulations by carrying them out (the one who obeys[aj] them will live by them), and desecrated my Sabbaths. I decided to pour out[ak] my rage on them and fully vent my anger against them in the wilderness. 22 But I refrained from doing so[al] and acted instead for the sake of my reputation, so that I would not be profaned before the nations in whose sight I had brought them out. 23 I also swore[am] to them in the wilderness that I would scatter them among the nations and disperse them throughout the lands.[an] 24 I did this[ao] because they did not observe my regulations, they rejected my statutes, they desecrated my Sabbaths, and their eyes were fixed on[ap] their fathers’ idols. 25 I also gave[aq] them decrees[ar] that were not good and regulations by which they could not live. 26 I declared them to be defiled because of their sacrifices[as]—they caused all their firstborn to pass through the fire[at]—so that I might devastate them, so that they would know that I am the Lord.’[au]

27 “Therefore, speak to the house of Israel, son of man, and tell them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: In this way too your fathers blasphemed me when they were unfaithful to me. 28 I brought them to the land that I swore[av] to give them, but whenever they saw any high hill or leafy tree, they offered their sacrifices there and presented the offerings that provoked me to anger. They offered their soothing aroma there and poured out their drink offerings. 29 So I said to them, “What is this high place you go to?”’ (So it is called “High Place”[aw] to this day.)

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Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 20:1 sn The date would be August 14th, 591 b.c. The seventh year is the seventh year of Jehoiachin’s exile.
  2. Ezekiel 20:1 tn Heb “men from the elders.”
  3. Ezekiel 20:1 tn See the note at 14:3.
  4. Ezekiel 20:3 tn Or “I will not reveal myself to you.”
  5. Ezekiel 20:4 tn Heb “will you judge.” Here the imperfect form of the verb is probably used with a desiderative nuance. Addressed to the prophet, “judge” means to warn of or pronounce God’s impending judgment.
  6. Ezekiel 20:5 tn Heb “I lifted up my hand.”
  7. Ezekiel 20:5 tn Heb “seed.”
  8. Ezekiel 20:5 tn Heb “I lifted up my hand.”
  9. Ezekiel 20:6 tn Heb “I lifted up my hand to them.”
  10. Ezekiel 20:6 tn Or “searched out.” The Hebrew word is used to describe the activity of the spies in “spying out” the land of Canaan (Num 13-14); cf. KJV “I had espied for them.”
  11. Ezekiel 20:6 sn The phrase “a land flowing with milk and honey,” a figure of speech describing the land’s abundant fertility, occurs in v. 15 as well as Exod 3:8, 17; 13:5; 33:3; Lev 20:24; Num 13:27; Deut 6:3; 11:9; 26:9; 27:3; Josh 5:6; Jer 11:5; 32:23 (see also Deut 1:25; 8:7-9).
  12. Ezekiel 20:7 tn Heb “each one, the detestable things of his eyes, throw away.” The Pentateuch does not refer to the Israelites worshiping idols in Egypt, but Josh 24:14 appears to suggest that they did so.
  13. Ezekiel 20:8 tn Heb “each one, the detestable things of their eyes did not throw away.”
  14. Ezekiel 20:8 tn Heb “and I said/thought to pour out.”
  15. Ezekiel 20:9 tn Heb “for the sake of my name.”
  16. Ezekiel 20:9 tn Heb “before the eyes of the nations in whose midst they were.”
  17. Ezekiel 20:9 tn Heb “to whom I made myself known before their eyes to bring them out from the land of Egypt.” The translation understands the infinitive construct (“to bring them out”) as indicating manner. God’s deliverance of his people from Egypt was an act of self-revelation in that it displayed his power and his commitment to his promises.
  18. Ezekiel 20:11 sn The laws were given at Mount Sinai.
  19. Ezekiel 20:11 tn Heb “the man.”
  20. Ezekiel 20:11 tn Heb “does.”
  21. Ezekiel 20:11 tn The wording and the concept are contained in Lev 18:5 and Deut 30:15-19.
  22. Ezekiel 20:12 sn Ezekiel’s contemporary, Jeremiah, also stressed the importance of obedience to the Sabbath law (Jer 17).
  23. Ezekiel 20:12 tn Heb “to become a sign between me and them.”
  24. Ezekiel 20:12 tn Or “set them apart.” The last phrase of verse 12 appears to be a citation of Exod 31:13.
  25. Ezekiel 20:13 tn Heb “and I said/thought to pour out.”
  26. Ezekiel 20:13 tn Heb “to bring them to an end.”
  27. Ezekiel 20:15 tn Heb “I lifted up my hand.”
  28. Ezekiel 20:16 tn The words “I did this” are not in the Hebrew text but are supplied for stylistic reasons. Verses 15-16 are one long sentence in the Hebrew text. The translation divides this sentence into two for stylistic reasons.
  29. Ezekiel 20:16 tn Heb “for after their idols their heart was going.” The use of the active participle (“was going”) in the Hebrew text draws attention to the ongoing nature of their idolatrous behavior.
  30. Ezekiel 20:17 tn Heb “my eye pitied.”
  31. Ezekiel 20:18 tn Heb “sons,” reflecting the patriarchal idiom of the culture.
  32. Ezekiel 20:18 tn Or “standard of justice.” See Ezek 7:27.
  33. Ezekiel 20:20 tn Or “set apart my Sabbaths.”
  34. Ezekiel 20:20 tn Heb “and they will become a sign between me and you.”
  35. Ezekiel 20:21 tn Heb “sons.”
  36. Ezekiel 20:21 tn Or “carries them out.”
  37. Ezekiel 20:21 tn Heb “and I said/thought to pour out.”
  38. Ezekiel 20:22 tn Heb “drew my hand back.” This idiom also occurs in Lam 2:8 and Ps 74:11.
  39. Ezekiel 20:23 tn Heb “I lifted up my hand.”
  40. Ezekiel 20:23 sn Though the Pentateuch does not seem to know of this episode, Ps 106:26-27 may speak of God’s oath to exile the people before they had entered Canaan.
  41. Ezekiel 20:24 tn The words “I did this” are not in the Hebrew text but are supplied for stylistic reasons. Verses 23-24 are one long sentence in the Hebrew text. The translation divides this sentence into two for stylistic reasons.
  42. Ezekiel 20:24 tn Or “they worshiped” (NCV, TEV, CEV); Heb “their eyes were on” or “were after” (cf. v. 16).
  43. Ezekiel 20:25 tn Or “permitted.” sn The content of the verse is shocking: that God would “give” bad decrees. This probably does not refer to the Mosaic law but to the practices of the Canaanites who were left in the land in order to test Israel. See Judg 2:20-23, the note on “decrees” here in Ezek 20:25, and the note on “pass through the fire” in v. 26.
  44. Ezekiel 20:25 tn The Hebrew term חֻקּוֹת (khuqqot; translated “statutes” elsewhere in this chapter) is normally feminine. Here Ezekiel changes the form to masculine: חֻקִּים (khuqqim). Further, they are not called “my decrees” as vv. 11 and 13 refer to “my statutes.” The change is a signal that Ezekiel is not talking about the same statutes in vv. 11 and 13, which lead to life.
  45. Ezekiel 20:26 tn Or “gifts.”
  46. Ezekiel 20:26 sn This act is prohibited in Deut 12:29-31 and Jer 7:31; 19:5; 32:35. See also 2 Kgs 21:6; 23:10. This custom indicates that the laws the Israelites were following were the disastrous laws of pagan nations (see Ezek 16:20-21).
  47. Ezekiel 20:26 sn God sometimes punishes sin by inciting the sinner to sin even more, as the biblical examples of divine hardening and deceit make clear. See Robert B. Chisholm, Jr., “Divine Hardening in the Old Testament,” BSac 153 (1996): 410-34; idem, “Does God Deceive?” BSac 155 (1998): 11-28. For other instances where the Lord causes individuals to act unwisely or even sinfully as punishment for sin, see 1 Sam 2:25; 2 Sam 17:14; 1 Kgs 12:15; 2 Chr 25:20.
  48. Ezekiel 20:28 tn Heb “that I lifted up my hand.”
  49. Ezekiel 20:29 tn The Hebrew word בָּמָה (bamah) means “high place.”

God’s Dealings with Israel Rehearsed

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

“Then I [f]resolved to (N)pour out My wrath on them, to [g]use up My anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt. But I acted (O)for the sake of My name, that it would (P)not be defiled 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 informed them of My ordinances, (S)which, if [h]a person [i]follows them, then he will live by them. 12 Also I gave them My Sabbaths to be a (T)sign between Me and them, so that they might know that I am the Lord 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 ordinances, (V)which, if [j]a person [k]follows them, then he will live by them; and they greatly profaned My (W)Sabbaths. Then I [l]resolved to (X)pour out My wrath on them in the wilderness, to annihilate them. 14 But I acted for the sake of My name, so that it would not be defiled before the eyes of the nations, before whose eyes 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 the lands, 16 because they rejected My ordinances, and as for My statutes, they did not walk in them; they also profaned My Sabbaths, because their (Z)heart continually followed their idols. 17 Yet My eye spared them rather than destroying them, and I did not bring about their (AA)annihilation in the wilderness.

18 “Instead, I said to their [m](AB)children in the wilderness, ‘(AC)Do not walk in the statutes of your fathers or keep their ordinances or defile yourselves with their idols. 19 (AD)I am the Lord your God; (AE)walk in My statutes and keep My ordinances and [n]follow them. 20 (AF)Sanctify My Sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between Me and you, so that you may know that I am the Lord your God.’ 21 But the (AG)children rebelled against Me; they did not walk in My statutes, nor were they careful to [o]follow My ordinances which, if [p]a person [q]follows them, then he will live by them; they profaned My Sabbaths. So I [r]resolved to pour out My wrath on them, to [s]use up My anger against them in the wilderness. 22 But I (AH)withdrew My hand and acted (AI)for the sake of My name, so that it would not be defiled 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 disperse them among the lands, 24 because they had not [t]complied with My ordinances, but had rejected My statutes and had profaned My Sabbaths, and (AK)their eyes were [u]on the idols of their fathers. 25 I also gave them statutes that were (AL)not good, and ordinances by which they could not live; 26 and I pronounced them (AM)unclean because of their gifts, in that they (AN)made all [v]their firstborn pass through the fire so that I might make them desolate, in order that they might (AO)know that I am the Lord.”’

27 “Therefore (AP)speak to the house of Israel, son of man, and say to them, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “Again, in this your fathers have (AQ)blasphemed Me by (AR)being disloyal to Me. 28 When I had (AS)brought them into the land which I swore to give to them, then they saw every (AT)high hill and every tree thick with branches, and there they offered their sacrifices and there they presented 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 go?’ So its name is called [w]Bamah to this day.”’

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Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 20:3 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord, and so throughout the ch
  2. Ezekiel 20:5 Lit lifted up My hand, and so throughout the ch
  3. Ezekiel 20:5 Lit seed
  4. Ezekiel 20:5 Lit lifted up My hand, and so throughout the ch
  5. Ezekiel 20:6 Lit spied out
  6. Ezekiel 20:8 Lit said
  7. Ezekiel 20:8 Or finish
  8. Ezekiel 20:11 Lit the person
  9. Ezekiel 20:11 Lit does them
  10. Ezekiel 20:13 Lit the person
  11. Ezekiel 20:13 Lit does them
  12. Ezekiel 20:13 Lit said
  13. Ezekiel 20:18 Lit sons
  14. Ezekiel 20:19 Lit do
  15. Ezekiel 20:21 Lit do My
  16. Ezekiel 20:21 Lit the person
  17. Ezekiel 20:21 Lit does them
  18. Ezekiel 20:21 Lit said
  19. Ezekiel 20:21 Or finish
  20. Ezekiel 20:24 Lit done My
  21. Ezekiel 20:24 Lit after
  22. Ezekiel 20:26 Lit that which opens the womb
  23. Ezekiel 20:29 Or High Place