Ezekiel 20

Israel’s Continuing Rebellion

1 # [ch. 1:2; 8:1; 24:1; 26:1; 29:1, 17; 30:20; 31:1; 32:1, 17; 33:21; 40:1 ] In the seventh year, in the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month, certain of #See ch. 8:1 the elders of Israel came to inquire of the Lord, #ch. 14:1and sat before me. 2And the word of the Lord came to me: 3#See ch. 2:1 “Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God, Is it to inquire of me that you come? #See ch. 16:48 As I live, declares the Lord God, #See ch. 14:3I will not be inquired of by you. 4#ch. 22:2; 23:36 Will you judge them, son of man, will you judge them? #ch. 16:2; 22:2Let them know the abominations of their fathers, 5and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: #See Ex. 6:7 On the day when I chose Israel, #ver. 15, 23, 28, 42; ch. 36:7; 47:14; [Gen. 14:22] I swore#20:5 Hebrew I lifted my hand; twice in this verse; also verses 6, 15, 23, 28, 42 to the offspring of the house of Jacob, #[Ex. 3:8; 4:31; 6:2]making myself known to them in the land of Egypt; #ver. 15, 23, 28, 42; ch. 36:7; 47:14; [Gen. 14:22] I swore to them, saying, I am the Lord your God. 6On that day I swore to them that #ver. 15; See Ex. 3:8 I would bring them out of the land of Egypt into a land that I had searched out for them, a land #ver. 15; See Ex. 3:8 flowing with milk and honey, #ver. 15; [Jer. 3:19; Zech. 7:14]the most glorious of all lands. 7And I said to them, #[ver. 8; ch. 18:31] ‘Cast away the detestable things #[ver. 24] your eyes feast on, every one of you, and do not defile yourselves with #[ver. 18; Lev. 18:3] the idols of Egypt; #ver. 19; See Ex. 20:2I am the Lord your God.’ 8#ver. 21 But they rebelled against me and were not willing to listen to me. #[ver. 7] None of them cast away the detestable things their eyes feasted on, nor did they forsake the idols of Egypt.

“Then I said I would pour out my wrath upon them #See ch. 5:13and spend my anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt. 9#ver. 22, 44 But I acted #Ps. 106:8 for the sake of my name, #[Isa. 48:11] that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations among whom they lived, #ver. 14in whose sight I made myself known to them in bringing them out of the land of Egypt. 10#Ex. 13:18, 20So I led them out of the land of Egypt and brought them into the wilderness. 11#Deut. 4:8; [Neh. 9:13, 14; Ps. 147:19, 20] I gave them my statutes and made known to them my rules, #Lev. 18:5; Rom. 10:5; Gal. 3:12; See ch. 18:9by which, if a person does them, he shall live. 12Moreover, I gave them #[ver. 13, 16, 21, 24]; See Ex. 20:8-11; Deut. 5:12-15 my Sabbaths, as a sign between me and them, #ch. 37:28; [Lev. 21:23]that they might know that I am the Lord who sanctifies them. 13#ver. 21 But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness. #ver. 21, 24 They did not walk in my statutes but rejected my rules, by which, if a person does them, he shall live; #ver. 21, 24; ch. 22:8; 23:38and my Sabbaths they greatly profaned.

# ver. 21 “Then I said I would pour out my wrath upon them in the wilderness, to make a full end of them. 14But I acted for the sake of my name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, #ver. 9in whose sight I had brought them out. 15Moreover, #See ver. 5 I swore to them in the wilderness #Ps. 95:11; See Num. 14:28-30 that I would not bring them into the land that I had given them, a land #ver. 6; See Ex. 3:8flowing with milk and honey, #ver. 6; See Ex. 3:8the most glorious of all lands, 16because they rejected my rules and did not walk in my statutes, and profaned my Sabbaths; #[ver. 24; Num. 15:39; Ps. 78:37]for their heart went after their idols. 17Nevertheless, #See ch. 5:11 my eye spared them, and I did not destroy them or #[ch. 11:13]make a full end of them in the wilderness.

18“And I said to #ver. 21; [ch. 2:3] their children in the wilderness, ‘Do not walk #Josh. 24:14; 1 Pet. 1:18 in the statutes of your fathers, nor keep their rules, #[ver. 7]nor defile yourselves with their idols. 19#ver. 5; See Ex. 20:2 I am the Lord your God; #Deut. 5:32, 33walk in my statutes, and be careful to obey my rules, 20and #Jer. 17:22 keep my Sabbaths holy that #ver. 12; [Gen. 9:12; 17:11]they may be a sign between me and you, that you may know that I am the Lord your God.’ 21#Deut. 31:27 But the children #ver. 8, 13 rebelled against me. #ver. 13, 16 They did not walk in my statutes and were not careful to obey my rules, by which, if a person does them, he shall live; they profaned my Sabbaths.

# ver. 8 “Then I said I would pour out my wrath upon them and spend my anger against them in the wilderness. 22#ver. 14 But I withheld my hand #ver. 9, 14, 44 and acted for the sake of my name, #ver. 9that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, in whose sight I had brought them out. 23#ver. 15 Moreover, #See ver. 5 I swore to them in the wilderness #Deut. 28:64that I would scatter them among the nations and disperse them through the countries, 24because they had not obeyed my rules, but had rejected my statutes and profaned my Sabbaths, #[ver. 16]and their eyes were set on their fathers’ idols. 25#Ps. 81:12; Acts 7:42; Rom. 1:24, 28; 2 Thess. 2:11, 12; [ver. 39]Moreover, I gave them statutes that were not good and rules by which they could not have life, 26and I defiled them through #[ver. 31; ch. 16:20, 21] their very gifts #[ver. 31; ch. 16:20, 21] in their offering up all their firstborn, that I might devastate them. I did it #See ch. 6:7that they might know that I am the Lord.

27“Therefore, #See ch. 2:1 son of man, speak to the house of Israel and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: In this also your fathers blasphemed me, by #See ch. 14:13dealing treacherously with me. 28For when I had brought them into the land that #See ver. 5 I swore to give them, then wherever they saw #[ch. 6:13] any high hill or any leafy tree, there they offered their sacrifices and there they presented #[ch. 8:17]the provocation of their offering; there they sent up their pleasing aromas, and there they poured out their drink offerings. 29(I said to them, #[ver. 40]‘What is the high place to which you go?’ So its name is called Bamah#20:29 Bamah means high place to this day.)

30“Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: #[ver. 7] Will you defile yourselves after the manner of your fathers and go #Ps. 106:39whoring after their detestable things? 31When you present your gifts and #[ver. 26] offer up your children in fire,#20:31 Hebrew and make your children pass through the fire you defile yourselves with all your idols to this day. And #See ch. 14:3 shall I be inquired of by you, O house of Israel? #See ch. 16:48As I live, declares the Lord God, I will not be inquired of by you.

32 # See ch. 11:5 “What is in your mind shall never happen—the thought, #[Jer. 44:17] ‘Let us be like the nations, like the tribes of the countries, #Deut. 4:28; 2 Kgs. 19:18; Dan. 5:4, 23; Rev. 9:20and worship wood and stone.’

The Lord Will Restore Israel

33 # [See ver. 31 above] “As I live, declares the Lord God, #See Jer. 21:5 surely with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and #[ver. 8]with wrath poured out I will be king over you. 34#[Jer. 31:8]I will bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you are scattered, with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, and with wrath poured out. 35#[ver. 10; Hos. 2:14] And I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, #[ch. 17:20] and there I will enter into judgment with you #[Deut. 5:4]face to face. 36#See Num. 14:20-23, 28-30As 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 Lord God. 37I will make you #Lev. 27:32pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant. 38#ch. 34:17, 20, 22; [Matt. 25:32, 33] I will purge out the rebels from among you, and those who transgress against me. #[ver. 35] I will bring them out of the land where they sojourn, #ch. 13:9 but they shall not enter the land of Israel. #See ch. 6:7Then you will know that I am the Lord.

39“As for you, O house of Israel, thus says the Lord God: #[ver. 25, 26; Judg. 10:14] Go serve every one of you his idols, now and hereafter, if you will not listen to me; #ch. 39:7; 43:7; [Jer. 44:25, 26]but my holy name you shall no more profane with your gifts and your idols.

40 # ch. 17:23; [ch. 28:14; Isa. 56:7 ] “For on my holy mountain, the mountain height of Israel, declares the Lord God, there #ch. 39:25 all the house of Israel, all of them, shall serve me in the land. #ch. 43:27; Isa. 60:7; [Mal. 3:4; Rom. 12:1]There I will accept them, and there I will require your contributions and the choicest of your gifts, with all your sacred offerings. 41As a pleasing aroma I will accept you, when #ver. 34 I bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you have been scattered. And #ch. 36:23; 39:27; [ch. 28:22; 38:16, 23; Num. 20:12; Isa. 8:13]I will manifest my holiness among you in the sight of the nations. 42#See ch. 6:7 And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I bring you into the land of Israel, the country that #See ver. 5I swore to give to your fathers. 43#See ch. 6:9And there you shall remember your ways and all your deeds with which you have defiled yourselves, #See ch. 6:9and you shall loathe yourselves for all the evils that you have committed. 44And you shall know that I am the Lord, #ver. 9, 14, 22 when I deal with you for my name’s sake, #[Ps. 103:10]not according to your evil ways, nor according to your corrupt deeds, O house of Israel, declares the Lord God.”

45 # 20:45 Ch 21:1 in Hebrew And the word of the Lord came to me: 46#See ch. 2:1 “Son of man, #[ch. 21:2] set your face toward the southland;#20:46 Or toward Teman #Amos 7:16; [Isa. 55:10, 11]preach against the south, and prophesy against the forest land in the Negeb. 47Say to the forest of the Negeb, Hear the word of the Lord: Thus says the Lord God, Behold, #Jer. 21:14 I will kindle a fire in you, and it shall devour every #ch. 17:24; [Luke 23:31] green tree in you and every #ch. 17:24; [Luke 23:31] dry tree. The blazing flame shall not be quenched, and #ch. 21:4all faces from south to north shall be scorched by it. 48#Isa. 40:5; [Isa. 30:33]All flesh shall see that I the Lord have kindled it; it shall not be quenched.” 49Then I said, #See ch. 4:14 “Ah, Lord God! They are saying of me, #[ch. 17:2; 24:3]‘Is he not a maker of parables?’”

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Ezekiel 20: ESV

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