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30 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Will you defile yourselves like your fathers[a] and engage in prostitution with detestable idols? 31 When you present your sacrifices[b]—when you make your sons pass through the fire—you defile yourselves with all your idols to this very day. Will I allow you to seek me,[c] O house of Israel? As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I will not allow you to seek me![d]

32 “‘What you plan[e] will never happen. You say, “We will be[f] like the nations, like the clans of the lands, who serve gods of wood and stone.”[g] 33 As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, with a powerful hand and an outstretched arm[h] and with an outpouring of rage, I will be king over you. 34 I will bring you out from the nations and will gather you from the lands where you are scattered, with a powerful hand and an outstretched arm and with an outpouring of rage! 35 I will bring you into the wilderness of the nations, and there I will enter into judgment with you face to face. 36 Just 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 Sovereign Lord. 37 I will make you pass under[i] the shepherd’s staff,[j] and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant. 38 I will eliminate from among you the rebels and those who revolt[k] against me. I will bring them out from the land where they have been residing, but they will not come to the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord.

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Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 20:30 tn Heb “in the way of your fathers.”
  2. Ezekiel 20:31 tn Or “gifts.”
  3. Ezekiel 20:31 tn Or “Will I reveal myself to you?”
  4. Ezekiel 20:31 tn Or “I will not reveal myself to you.”
  5. Ezekiel 20:32 tn Heb “what comes upon your mind.”
  6. Ezekiel 20:32 tn The Hebrew could also read: “Let us be.”
  7. Ezekiel 20:32 tn Heb “serving wood and stone.” sn This verse echoes the content of 1 Sam 8:20.
  8. Ezekiel 20:33 sn This phrase occurs frequently in Deuteronomy (Deut 4:34; 5:15; 7:19; 11:2; 26:8).
  9. Ezekiel 20:37 tn This is the same Hebrew verb used to describe the passing of the children through the fire.
  10. Ezekiel 20:37 sn The metaphor may be based in Lev 27:32 (see also Jer 33:13 and Matt 25:32-33). A shepherd would count his sheep as they passed beneath his staff.
  11. Ezekiel 20:38 tn See the note at 2:3.

30 Therefore, say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “Will you defile yourselves in the way of your (A)fathers and adulterously pursue their detestable things? 31 And [a]when you offer your gifts, when you (B)make your sons pass through the fire, you are defiling yourselves with all your idols to this day. So shall I be inquired of by you, house of Israel? As I live,” declares the Lord God, “I certainly will not be inquired of by you. 32 And whatever (C)comes [b]into your mind certainly will not come about, when you say: ‘We will be like the nations, like the families of the lands, (D)serving wood and stone.’

God Will Restore Israel to Her Land

33 “As I live,” declares the Lord God, “with a mighty hand and with an (E)outstretched arm and with wrath poured out, I assuredly shall be (F)king over you. 34 I will (G)bring you out from the peoples and gather you from the lands where you are scattered, with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm and with (H)wrath poured out; 35 and I will bring you into the (I)wilderness of the peoples, and there I will enter into judgment with you face to face. 36 Just as I (J)entered into judgment with your fathers in the (K)wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will enter into judgment with you,” declares the Lord God. 37 “I will make you (L)pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant; 38 and I will (M)purge from you the rebels and those who revolt against Me; I will bring them out of the land where they reside, but they will (N)not enter the [c]land of Israel. So you will know that I am the Lord.

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Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 20:31 Lit in your lifting up
  2. Ezekiel 20:32 Lit upon your spirit
  3. Ezekiel 20:38 Lit ground; or soil