Ezekiel 20 - English Standard Version Anglicised (ESVUK)

Israel's Continuing Rebellion

20 ^(A)In the seventh year, in the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month, certain of ^(B)the elders of Israel came to enquire of the Lord, ^(C)and sat before me. ² And the word of the Lord came to me: ^{3 (D)}“Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God, Is it to enquire of me that you come? ^(E)As I live, declares the Lord God, ^(F)I will not be enquired of by you. ^{4 (G)}Will you judge them, son of man, will you judge them? ^(H)Let them know the abominations of their fathers, ⁵ and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: ^(I)On the day when I chose Israel, ^(J)I swore^[a] to the offspring of the house of Jacob, ^(K)making myself known to them in the land of Egypt; ^(L)I swore to them, saying, I am the Lord your God. ⁶ On that day I swore to them that ^(M)I would bring them out of the land of Egypt into a land that I had searched out for them, a land ^(N)flowing with milk and honey, ^(O)the most glorious of all lands. ⁷ And I said to them, ^(P)Cast away the detestable things ^(Q)your eyes feast on, every one of you, and do not defile yourselves with ^(R)the idols of Egypt; ^(S)I am the Lord your God. ^{8 (T)}But they rebelled against me and were not willing to listen to me. ^(U)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 ^(V)and spend my anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt. ^{9 (W)}But I acted ^(X)for the sake of my name, ^(Y)that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations among whom they lived, ^(Z)in whose sight I made myself known to them in bringing them out of the land of Egypt. ^{10 (AA)}So I led them out of the land of Egypt and brought them into the wilderness. ^{11 (AB)}I gave them my statutes and made known to them my rules, ^(AC)by which, if a person does them, he shall live. ¹² Moreover, I gave them ^(AD)my Sabbaths, as a sign between me and them, ^(AE)that they might know that I am the Lord who sanctifies them. ^{13 (AF)}But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness. ^(AG)They did not walk in my statutes but rejected my rules, by which, if a person does them, he shall live; ^(AH)and my Sabbaths they greatly profaned.

^(AI)“Then I said I would pour out my wrath upon them in the wilderness, to make a full end of them. ¹⁴ But I acted for the sake of my name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, ^(AJ)in whose sight I had brought them out. ¹⁵ Moreover, ^(AK)I swore to them in the wilderness ^(AL)that I would not bring them into the land that I had given them, a land ^(AM)flowing with milk and honey, ^(AN)the most glorious of all lands, ¹⁶ because they rejected my rules and did not walk in my statutes, and profaned my Sabbaths; ^(AO)for their heart went after their idols. ¹⁷ Nevertheless, ^(AP)my eye spared them, and I did not destroy them or ^(AQ)make a full end of them in the wilderness.

¹⁸ “And I said to ^(AR)their children in the wilderness, Do not walk ^(AS)in the statutes of your fathers, nor keep their rules, ^(AT)nor defile yourselves with their idols. ^{19 (AU)}I am the Lord your God; ^(AV)walk in my statutes, and be careful to obey my rules, ²⁰ and ^(AW)keep my Sabbaths holy that ^(AX)they may be a sign between me and you, that you may know that I am the Lord your God. ^{21 (AY)}But the children ^(AZ)rebelled against me. ^(BA)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.

^(BB)“Then I said I would pour out my wrath upon them and spend my anger against them in the wilderness. ^{22 (BC)}But I withheld my hand ^(BD)and acted for the sake of my name, ^(BE)that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, in whose sight I had brought them out. ^{23 (BF)}Moreover, ^(BG)I swore to them in the wilderness ^(BH)that I would scatter them among the nations and disperse them through the countries, ²⁴ because they had not obeyed my rules, but had rejected my statutes and profaned my Sabbaths, ^(BI)and their eyes were set on their fathers' idols. ^{25 (BJ)}Moreover, I gave them statutes that were not good and rules by which they could not have life, ²⁶ and I defiled them through ^(BK)their very gifts ^(BL)in their offering up all their firstborn, that I might devastate them. I did it ^(BM)that they might know that I am the Lord.

²⁷ “Therefore, ^(BN)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 ^(BO)dealing treacherously with me. ²⁸ For when I had brought them into the land that ^(BP)I swore to give them, then wherever they saw ^(BQ)any high hill or any leafy tree, there they offered their sacrifices and there they presented ^(BR)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, ^(BS)What is the high place to which you go? So its name is called Bamah^[b] to this day.)

³⁰ “Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: ^(BT)Will you defile yourselves after the manner of your fathers and go ^(BU)whoring after their detestable things? ³¹ When you present your gifts and ^(BV)offer up your children in fire,^[c] you defile yourselves with all your idols to this day. And ^(BW)shall I be enquired of by you, O house of Israel? ^(BX)As I live, declares the Lord God, I will not be enquired of by you.

^{32 (BY)}“What is in your mind shall never happen—the thought, ^(BZ)‘Let us be like the nations, like the tribes of the countries, ^(CA)and worship wood and stone.’

The Lord Will Restore Israel

^{33 (CB)}“As I live, declares the Lord God, ^(CC)surely with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and ^(CD)with wrath poured out I will be king over you. ^{34 (CE)}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 (CF)}And I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, ^(CG)and there I will enter into judgement with you ^(CH)face to face. ^{36 (CI)}As I entered into judgement with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will enter into judgement with you, declares the Lord God. ³⁷ I will make you ^(CJ)pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant. ^{38 (CK)}I will purge out the rebels from among you, and those who transgress against me. ^(CL)I will bring them out of the land where they sojourn, ^(CM)but they shall not enter the land of Israel. ^(CN)Then you will know that I am the Lord.

³⁹ “As for you, O house of Israel, thus says the Lord God: ^(CO)Go serve every one of you his idols, now and hereafter, if you will not listen to me; ^(CP)but my holy name you shall no more profane with your gifts and your idols.

^{40 (CQ)}“For on my holy mountain, the mountain height of Israel, declares the Lord God, there ^(CR)all the house of Israel, all of them, shall serve me in the land. ^(CS)There I will accept them, and there I will require your contributions and the choicest of your gifts, with all your sacred offerings. ⁴¹ As a pleasing aroma I will accept you, when ^(CT)I bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you have been scattered. And ^(CU)I will manifest my holiness among you in the sight of the nations. ^{42 (CV)}And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I bring you into the land of Israel, the country that ^(CW)I swore to give to your fathers. ^{43 (CX)}And there you shall remember your ways and all your deeds with which you have defiled yourselves, ^(CY)and you shall loathe yourselves for all the evils that you have committed. ⁴⁴ And you shall know that I am the Lord, ^(CZ)when I deal with you for my name's sake, ^(DA)not according to your evil ways, nor according to your corrupt deeds, O house of Israel, declares the Lord God.”

^{45 [d]} And the word of the Lord came to me: ^{46 (DB)}“Son of man, ^(DC)set your face towards the southland;^{[e] (DD)}preach against the south, and prophesy against the forest land in the Negeb. ⁴⁷ Say to the forest of the Negeb, Hear the word of the Lord: Thus says the Lord God, Behold, ^(DE)I will kindle a fire in you, and it shall devour every ^(DF)green tree in you and every ^(DG)dry tree. The blazing flame shall not be quenched, and ^(DH)all faces from south to north shall be scorched by it. ^{48 (DI)}All flesh shall see that I the Lord have kindled it; it shall not be quenched.” ⁴⁹ Then I said, ^(DJ)“Ah, Lord God! They are saying of me, ^(DK)‘Is he not a maker of parables?’”

Footnotes

1. Ezekiel 20:5 Hebrew I lifted my hand; twice in this verse; also verses 6, 15, 23, 28, 42
2. Ezekiel 20:29 Bamah means high place
3. Ezekiel 20:31 Hebrew and make your children pass through the fire
4. Ezekiel 20:45 Ch 21:1 in Hebrew
5. Ezekiel 20:46 Or towards Teman

Cross references

1. Ezekiel 20:1 : [ch. 1:2; 8:1; 24:1; 26:1; 29:1, 17; 30:20; 31:1; 32:1, 17; 33:21; 40:1]
2. Ezekiel 20:1 : See ch. 8:1
3. Ezekiel 20:1 : ch. 14:1
4. Ezekiel 20:3 : See ch. 2:1
5. Ezekiel 20:3 : See ch. 16:48
6. Ezekiel 20:3 : See ch. 14:3
7. Ezekiel 20:4 : ch. 22:2; 23:36
8. Ezekiel 20:4 : ch. 16:2; 22:2
9. Ezekiel 20:5 : See Ex. 6:7
10. Ezekiel 20:5 : ver. 15, 23, 28, 42; ch. 36:7; 47:14; [Gen. 14:22]
11. Ezekiel 20:5 : [Ex. 3:8; 4:31; 6:2]
12. Ezekiel 20:5 : ver. 15, 23, 28, 42; ch. 36:7; 47:14; [Gen. 14:22]
13. Ezekiel 20:6 : ver. 15; See Ex. 3:8
14. Ezekiel 20:6 : ver. 15; See Ex. 3:8
15. Ezekiel 20:6 : ver. 15; [Jer. 3:19; Zech. 7:14]
16. Ezekiel 20:7 : [ver. 8; ch. 18:31]
17. Ezekiel 20:7 : [ver. 24]
18. Ezekiel 20:7 : [ver. 18; Lev. 18:3]
19. Ezekiel 20:7 : ver. 19; See Ex. 20:2
20. Ezekiel 20:8 : ver. 21
21. Ezekiel 20:8 : [ver. 7]
22. Ezekiel 20:8 : See ch. 5:13
23. Ezekiel 20:9 : ver. 22, 44
24. Ezekiel 20:9 : Ps. 106:8
25. Ezekiel 20:9 : [Isa. 48:11]
26. Ezekiel 20:9 : ver. 14
27. Ezekiel 20:10 : Ex. 13:18, 20
28. Ezekiel 20:11 : Deut. 4:8; [Neh. 9:13, 14; Ps. 147:19, 20]
29. Ezekiel 20:11 : Lev. 18:5; Rom. 10:5; Gal. 3:12; See ch. 18:9
30. Ezekiel 20:12 : [ver. 13, 16, 21, 24]; See Ex. 20:8-11; Deut. 5:12-15
31. Ezekiel 20:12 : ch. 37:28; [Lev. 21:23]
32. Ezekiel 20:13 : ver. 21
33. Ezekiel 20:13 : ver. 21, 24
34. Ezekiel 20:13 : ver. 21, 24; ch. 22:8; 23:38
35. Ezekiel 20:13 : ver. 21
36. Ezekiel 20:14 : ver. 9
37. Ezekiel 20:15 : See ver. 5
38. Ezekiel 20:15 : Ps. 95:11; See Num. 14:28-30
39. Ezekiel 20:15 : ver. 6; See Ex. 3:8
40. Ezekiel 20:15 : ver. 6; See Ex. 3:8
41. Ezekiel 20:16 : [ver. 24; Num. 15:39; Ps. 78:37]
42. Ezekiel 20:17 : See ch. 5:11
43. Ezekiel 20:17 : [ch. 11:13]
44. Ezekiel 20:18 : ver. 21; [ch. 2:3]
45. Ezekiel 20:18 : Josh. 24:14; 1 Pet. 1:18
46. Ezekiel 20:18 : [ver. 7]
47. Ezekiel 20:19 : ver. 5; See Ex. 20:2
48. Ezekiel 20:19 : Deut. 5:32, 33
49. Ezekiel 20:20 : Jer. 17:22
50. Ezekiel 20:20 : ver. 12; [Gen. 9:12; 17:11]
51. Ezekiel 20:21 : Deut. 31:27
52. Ezekiel 20:21 : ver. 8, 13
53. Ezekiel 20:21 : ver. 13, 16
54. Ezekiel 20:21 : ver. 8
55. Ezekiel 20:22 : ver. 14
56. Ezekiel 20:22 : ver. 9, 14, 44
57. Ezekiel 20:22 : ver. 9
58. Ezekiel 20:23 : ver. 15
59. Ezekiel 20:23 : See ver. 5
60. Ezekiel 20:23 : Deut. 28:64
61. Ezekiel 20:24 : [ver. 16]
62. Ezekiel 20:25 : Ps. 81:12; Acts 7:42; Rom. 1:24, 28; 2 Thess. 2:11, 12; [ver. 39]
63. Ezekiel 20:26 : [ver. 31; ch. 16:20, 21]
64. Ezekiel 20:26 : [ver. 31; ch. 16:20, 21]
65. Ezekiel 20:26 : See ch. 6:7
66. Ezekiel 20:27 : See ch. 2:1
67. Ezekiel 20:27 : See ch. 14:13
68. Ezekiel 20:28 : See ver. 5
69. Ezekiel 20:28 : [ch. 6:13]
70. Ezekiel 20:28 : [ch. 8:17]
71. Ezekiel 20:29 : [ver. 40]
72. Ezekiel 20:30 : [ver. 7]
73. Ezekiel 20:30 : Ps. 106:39
74. Ezekiel 20:31 : [ver. 26]
75. Ezekiel 20:31 : See ch. 14:3
76. Ezekiel 20:31 : See ch. 16:48
77. Ezekiel 20:32 : See ch. 11:5
78. Ezekiel 20:32 : [Jer. 44:17]
79. Ezekiel 20:32 : Deut. 4:28; 2 Kgs. 19:18; Dan. 5:4, 23; Rev. 9:20
80. Ezekiel 20:33 : [See ver. 31 above]; See ch. 16:48
81. Ezekiel 20:33 : See Jer. 21:5
82. Ezekiel 20:33 : [ver. 8]
83. Ezekiel 20:34 : [Jer. 31:8]
84. Ezekiel 20:35 : [ver. 10; Hos. 2:14]
85. Ezekiel 20:35 : [ch. 17:20]
86. Ezekiel 20:35 : [Deut. 5:4]
87. Ezekiel 20:36 : See Num. 14:20-23, 28-30
88. Ezekiel 20:37 : Lev. 27:32
89. Ezekiel 20:38 : ch. 34:17, 20, 22; [Matt. 25:32, 33]
90. Ezekiel 20:38 : [ver. 35]
91. Ezekiel 20:38 : ch. 13:9
92. Ezekiel 20:38 : See ch. 6:7
93. Ezekiel 20:39 : [ver. 25, 26; Judg. 10:14]
94. Ezekiel 20:39 : ch. 39:7; 43:7; [Jer. 44:25, 26]
95. Ezekiel 20:40 : ch. 17:23; [ch. 28:14; Isa. 56:7]
96. Ezekiel 20:40 : ch. 39:25
97. Ezekiel 20:40 : ch. 43:27; Isa. 60:7; [Mal. 3:4; Rom. 12:1]
98. Ezekiel 20:41 : ver. 34
99. Ezekiel 20:41 : ch. 36:23; 39:27; [ch. 28:22; 38:16, 23; Num. 20:12; Isa. 8:13]
100. Ezekiel 20:42 : See ch. 6:7
101. Ezekiel 20:42 : See ver. 5
102. Ezekiel 20:43 : See ch. 6:9
103. Ezekiel 20:43 : See ch. 6:9
104. Ezekiel 20:44 : ver. 9, 14, 22
105. Ezekiel 20:44 : [Ps. 103:10]
106. Ezekiel 20:46 : See ch. 2:1
107. Ezekiel 20:46 : [ch. 21:2]
108. Ezekiel 20:46 : Amos 7:16; [Isa. 55:10, 11]
109. Ezekiel 20:47 : Jer. 21:14
110. Ezekiel 20:47 : ch. 17:24; [Luke 23:31]
111. Ezekiel 20:47 : ch. 17:24; [Luke 23:31]
112. Ezekiel 20:47 : ch. 21:4
113. Ezekiel 20:48 : Isa. 40:5; [Isa. 30:33]
114. Ezekiel 20:49 : See ch. 4:14
115. Ezekiel 20:49 : [ch. 17:2; 24:3]