Ezekiel 20

Translated from the Hebrew of the Westminster Leningrad Codex. Tap a verse to see why it reads as it does. Tap a small letter to read its footnote.

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Elders come to consult the LORD

¹In the seventh year, in the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month, a group of Israel’s elders came to consult the LORD, and they sat down in front of me.

²The word of the LORD came to me: ³Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel. Say to them, The Lord GOD says this: Have you come to consult me? As surely as I live, I will not let you consult me, declares the Lord GOD. ⁴Will you judge them? Will you judge them, son of man? Then make them see the detestable practices of their ancestors. ⁵Say to them, The Lord GOD says this: On the day I chose Israel, I raised my hand in an oath to the offspring of Jacob’s house and made myself known to them in the land of Egypt. I raised my hand in an oath to them and said, “I am the LORD your God.” ⁶On that day I swore to them that I would bring them out of the land of Egypt into a land I had scouted out for them, flowing with milk and honey, the most beautiful of all lands. ⁷I said to them, “Every one of you must throw away the vile idols you look to, and do not make yourselves unclean with the idols of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.” ⁸But they rebelled against me and refused to listen to me. None of them threw away the vile idols they looked to, and they did not abandon the idols of Egypt. So I said that I would pour out my wrath on them and use up my anger against them there in the land of Egypt. ⁹But I acted for the sake of my name, to keep it from being dishonored in the eyes of the nations they lived among, the nations in whose sight I had made myself known to Israel by bringing them out of the land of Egypt. ¹⁰So I led them out of the land of Egypt and took them into the wilderness. ¹¹I gave them my statutes and taught them my rulings. The one who does them will live by them. ¹²I also gave them my Sabbaths as a sign between me and them, so that they would know that I am the LORD, the one who sets them apart as holy. ¹³But in the wilderness the house of Israel rebelled against me. They did not follow my statutes; they rejected my rulings, though the one who does them will live by them, and they utterly dishonored my Sabbaths. So I said that I would pour out my wrath on them in the wilderness and destroy them completely. ¹⁴But I acted for the sake of my name, to keep it from being dishonored in the eyes of the nations who had watched me bring them out. ¹⁵Also, in the wilderness, I swore an oath to them that I would not lead them into the land I had given them, flowing with milk and honey, the most beautiful of all lands, ¹⁶because they rejected my rulings, did not follow my statutes and dishonored my Sabbaths. Their hearts were set on their idols. ¹⁷Yet I had pity on them and did not destroy them; I did not wipe them out in the wilderness. ¹⁸In the wilderness I said to their children, “Do not follow the statutes of your ancestors or keep their rulings, and do not make yourselves unclean with their idols. ¹⁹I am the LORD your God. Follow my statutes, and be careful to keep my rulings. ²⁰Keep my Sabbaths holy, and they will be a sign between me and you, so that you will know that I am the LORD your God.” ²¹But the children rebelled against me too. They did not follow my statutes and were not careful to keep my rulings, though the one who does them will live by them. They dishonored my Sabbaths. So I said that I would pour out my wrath on them and use up my anger against them in the wilderness. ²²But I held back my hand and acted for the sake of my name, to keep it from being dishonored in the eyes of the nations who had watched me bring them out. ²³In the wilderness I also swore to them that I would scatter them among the nations and spread them through the countries, ²⁴because they had not kept my rulings, had rejected my statutes and dishonored my Sabbaths, and their eyes were set on the idols of their ancestors. ²⁵I also gave them statutes that were not good and rulings by which they could not live. ²⁶I made them unclean through their own gifts, when they gave up every firstborn child as an offering, so that I might bring them to ruin, so that they would know that I am the LORD.

Offerings on every high hill

²⁷Therefore, son of man, speak to the house of Israel and say to them, The Lord GOD says this: In this way too your ancestors insulted me, by breaking faith with me. ²⁸When I brought them into the land I had sworn to give them, wherever they saw a high hill or a leafy tree, they offered their sacrifices there. There they presented offerings that provoked me, there they sent up their soothing aromas, and there they poured out their drink offerings. ²⁹I asked them, “What is this high place you go to?” And it is still called Bamah to this day. ³⁰Therefore say to the house of Israel, The Lord GOD says this: Will you make yourselves unclean as your ancestors did, and prostitute yourselves by running after their vile idols? ³¹When you offer your gifts and make your children pass through the fire, you are making yourselves unclean with all your idols to this very day. House of Israel, should I then let you consult me? As surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, you will get no answer from me. ³²What you have in mind will never happen, when you say, “We will be like the nations, like the peoples of other lands, who worship wood and stone.” ³³As surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and with wrath poured out, I will rule over you as king. ³⁴I will bring you out from among the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you have been scattered, with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and with wrath poured out. ³⁵I will lead you into the wilderness of the peoples, and there I will judge you face to face. ³⁶As I judged your ancestors in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will judge you, declares the Lord GOD. ³⁷I will make you pass under the shepherd’s rod and bring you into the bond of the covenant. ³⁸I will purge from among you those who revolt and rebel against me. I will bring them out of the country where they are living as foreigners, but not one of them will set foot in Israel’s land. Then you will know that I am the LORD. ³⁹As for you, house of Israel, the Lord GOD says this: Go, then, every one of you, and serve your idols, now and later, if you will not listen to me. But you will no longer dishonor my holy name with your gifts and your idols. ⁴⁰For on my holy mountain, Israel’s high mountain, declares the Lord GOD, there in the land the whole house of Israel, every one of them, will serve me. There I will accept them, and there I will require your contributions and your choicest gifts, with all your holy offerings. ⁴¹I will accept you as a soothing aroma when I bring you out from among the peoples and gather you from the countries where you have been scattered, and through you I will show myself holy in the sight of the nations. ⁴²Then you will know that I am the LORD, when I have brought you to the land of Israel, the land I swore to give to your ancestors. ⁴³There you will remember your ways and all the deeds by which you made yourselves unclean, and you will loathe yourselves for all the evil you have done. ⁴⁴Then you will know that I am the LORD, house of Israel, when I deal with you for the sake of my name and not as your evil ways and your corrupt deeds deserve, declares the Lord GOD.