Ezekiel
Ezekiel 20
1In the seventh year, in the fifth month, the tenth day of the month, some of the elders of Israel came to inquire of Yahweh, and sat before me.
2Yahweh’s word came to me, saying, 3“Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel, and tell them, ‘The Lord Yahweh says: “Is it to inquire of me that you have come? As I live,” says the Lord Yahweh, “I will not be inquired of by you.” ’
4“Will you judge them, son of man? Will you judge them? Cause them to know the abominations of their fathers. 5Tell them, ‘The Lord Yahweh says: “In the day when I chose Israel, and swore to the offspring of the house of Jacob, and made myself known to them in the land of Egypt, when I swore to them, saying, ‘I am Yahweh your God;’ 6in that day I swore to them, to bring them out of the land of Egypt into a land that I had searched out for them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands. 7I said to them, ‘Each of you throw away the abominations of his eyes. Don’t defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt. I am Yahweh your God.’
8“ ‘ “But they rebelled against me, and would not listen to me. They didn’t all throw away the abominations of their eyes. They also didn’t forsake the idols of Egypt. Then I said I would pour out my wrath on them, to accomplish my anger against them in the middle of the land of Egypt. 9But I worked for my name’s sake, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, among which they were, in whose sight I made myself known to them, in bringing them out of the land of Egypt. 10So I caused them to go out of the land of Egypt, and brought them into the wilderness. 11I gave them my statutes, and showed them my ordinances, which if a man does, he will live in them. 12Moreover also I gave them my Sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am Yahweh who sanctifies them.
13“ ‘ “But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness. They didn’t walk in my statutes, and they rejected my ordinances, which if a man keeps, he shall live in them. They greatly profaned my Sabbaths. Then I said I would pour out my wrath on them in the wilderness, to consume them. 14But I worked for my name’s sake, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, in whose sight I brought them out. 15Moreover also 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 lands; 16because they rejected my ordinances, and didn’t walk in my statutes, and profaned my Sabbaths; for their heart went after their idols. 17Nevertheless my eye spared them, and I didn’t destroy them. I didn’t make a full end of them in the wilderness. 18I said to their children in the wilderness, ‘Don’t walk in the statutes of your fathers. Don’t observe their ordinances or defile yourselves with their idols. 19I am Yahweh your God. Walk in my statutes, keep my ordinances, and do them. 20Make my Sabbaths holy. They shall be a sign between me and you, that you may know that I am Yahweh your God.’
21“ ‘ “But the children rebelled against me. They didn’t walk in my statutes, and didn’t keep my ordinances to do them, which if a man does, he shall live in them. They profaned my Sabbaths. Then I said I would pour out my wrath on them, to accomplish my anger against them in the wilderness. 22Nevertheless I withdrew my hand, and worked for my name’s sake, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, in whose sight I brought them out. 23Moreover I swore to them in the wilderness, that I would scatter them among the nations, and disperse them through the countries; 24because they had not executed my ordinances, but had rejected my statutes, and had profaned my Sabbaths, and their eyes were after their fathers’ idols. 25Moreover also I gave them statutes that were not good, and ordinances in which they should not live. 26I polluted them in their own gifts, in that they caused all that opens the womb to pass through the fire, that I might make them desolate, to the end that they might know that I am Yahweh.” ’
27“Therefore, son of man, speak to the house of Israel, and tell them, ‘The Lord Yahweh says: “Moreover, in this your fathers have blasphemed me, in that they have committed a trespass against me. 28For when I had brought them into the land which I swore to give to them, then they saw every high hill, and every thick tree, and they offered there their sacrifices, and there they presented the provocation of their offering. There they also made their pleasant aroma, and there they poured out their drink offerings. 29Then I said to them, ‘What does the high place where you go mean?’ So its name is called Bamah to this day.” ’
30“Therefore tell the house of Israel, ‘The Lord Yahweh says: “Do you pollute yourselves in the way of your fathers? Do you play the prostitute after their abominations? 31When you offer your gifts, when you make your sons pass through the fire, do you pollute yourselves with all your idols to this day? Should I be inquired of by you, house of Israel? As I live, says the Lord Yahweh, I will not be inquired of by you!
32“ ‘ “That which comes into your mind will not be at all, in that you say, ‘We will be as the nations, as the families of the countries, to serve wood and stone.’ 33As I live, says the Lord Yahweh, surely with a mighty hand, with an outstretched arm, and with wrath poured out, I will be king over you. 34I will bring you out from the peoples, and will gather you out of the countries in which you are scattered with a mighty hand, with an outstretched arm, and with wrath poured out. 35I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and there I will enter into judgment with you face to face. 36Just as I entered into judgment with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will enter into judgment with you,” says the Lord Yahweh. 37“I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant. 38I will purge out from among you the rebels and those who disobey me. I will bring them out of the land where they live, but they shall not enter into the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am Yahweh.”
39“ ‘As for you, house of Israel, the Lord Yahweh says: “Go, everyone serve his idols, and hereafter also, if you will not listen to me; but you shall no more profane my holy name with your gifts and with your idols. 40For in my holy mountain, in the mountain of the height of Israel,” says the Lord Yahweh, “there all the house of Israel, all of them, shall serve me in the land. There I will accept them, and there I will require your offerings and the first fruits of your offerings, with all your holy things. 41I will accept you as a pleasant aroma when I bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries in which you have been scattered. I will be sanctified in you in the sight of the nations. 42You will know that I am Yahweh when I bring you into the land of Israel, into the country which I swore to give to your fathers. 43There you will remember your ways, and all your deeds in which you have polluted yourselves. Then you will loathe yourselves in your own sight for all your evils that you have committed. 44You will know that I am Yahweh, when I have dealt with you for my name’s sake, not according to your evil ways, nor according to your corrupt doings, you house of Israel,” says the Lord Yahweh.’ ”
45Yahweh’s word came to me, saying, 46“Son of man, set your face toward the south, and preach toward the south, and prophesy against the forest of the field in the South. 47Tell the forest of the South, ‘Hear Yahweh’s word: The Lord Yahweh says, “Behold, I will kindle a fire in you, and it will devour every green tree in you, and every dry tree. The burning flame will not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north will be burned by it. 48All flesh will see that I, Yahweh, have kindled it. It will not be quenched.” ’ ”
49Then I said, “Ah Lord Yahweh! They say of me, ‘Isn’t he a speaker of parables?’ ”
Commentary
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What others are saying
5 commentators · 134 notes on this chapter
Matthew Henry6
Writes as a pastor rather than a critic. Expect devotional and practical application over historical or linguistic analysis, read through a Reformed covenantal frame — and expect the Old Testament to be read forward toward Christ throughout.
Why this voice is here: The most widely read English commentary for three centuries. Included as a baseline: where Henry and a modern voice diverge, the divergence itself is usually the interesting part.
Here is, 1. The occasion of the message which we have in this chapter. That sermon which we had ch. 18 was occasioned by their presumptuous reflections upon God; this was occasioned by their hypocritical enquiries after him. Each shall have his own. This…
The history of the ingratitude and rebellion of the people of Israel here begins as early as their beginning; so does the history of man's apostasy from his Maker. No sooner have we read the story of our first parents' creation than we immediately meet with…
The history of the struggle between the sins of Israel, by which they endeavoured to ruin themselves, and the mercies of God, by which he endeavoured to save them and make them happy, is here continued: and the instances of that struggle in these verses have…
John Gill49
The most exhaustive and the most doctrinally committed here. Expect high — even supralapsarian — Calvinism applied consistently, and unusually heavy use of rabbinic and Talmudic sources for Jewish context. Where a passage bears on election or the will, Gill will read it in one direction, and knowing that in advance is the point.
Why this voice is here: The strongest Calvinist reading available in the public domain, and the best on Jewish background. Read alongside Clarke, not instead of him — between them you get both sides of the argument.
And it came to pass in the seventh year,.... Of Zedekiah's reign, and of the captivity of Jeconiah; from whence the dates of Ezekiel's visions and prophecies are taken, Ezekiel 1:2; two years, one month, and five days, after Ezekiel began to prophesy, and…
Then came the word of the Lord unto me,.... While the elders were sitting before him, by an impulse upon his mind, dictating things unto him: saying: as follows:
Son of man, speak unto the elders of Israel, and say unto them,.... Give them this for an answer from me: thus saith the Lord God, are ye come to inquire of me? no; not seriously, heartily, and in good earnest, determining to abide by the advice and counsel…
Adam Clarke31
The linguist of this set. Expect Hebrew and Greek word study, oriental custom, and geography — and an Arminian reading of grace and free will where Gill or Henry would read election. Note one real divergence: Clarke denied the eternal sonship of Christ, a position most of the tradition rejects, so read him closely on the person of Christ.
Why this voice is here: Where you want to know what a word actually says, Clarke is the one who will tell you — with the caveat above on Christ’s sonship.
In the seventh year - Of the captivity of Jeconiah, (see Eze 8:1), and the seventh of the reign of Zedekiah. The fifth month, the tenth day - That is, according to Abp. Usher, Monday, August 27, A.M. 3411. Certain of the elders of Israel - What these came to…
I will not be inquired of by you - I will not hear you. I will have nothing to do with you.
Wilt thou judge them - If thou wilt enter into any discussion with them, show them the abomination of their fathers. The whole chapter is a consecutive history of the unfaithfulness ingratitude, rebellion, and idolatry of the Jews, from the earliest times to…
Keil & Delitzsch8
The technical one, and Old Testament only. Expect Hebrew grammar, textual argument, and direct engagement with nineteenth-century critical scholarship — closer to a scholarly apparatus than a devotional read. Where a modern critic claims a text is late or composite, this is where the conservative counter-argument was made.
Why this voice is here: Old Testament only, and heavy going — but the place to look when someone asserts a passage cannot mean what it appears to.
The date given in Eze 20:1 applies not only to Ezekiel 20, but also to Ezekiel 20-23 (compare Eze 24:1); the prophetic utterances in these four chapters being bound together into a group of connected words of God, both by their contents and by the threefold…
Election of Israel in Egypt. Its resistance to the commandments of God. - Eze 20:5. And say to them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, In the day that I chose Israel, and lifted my hand to the seed of Jacob, and made myself known to them in the land of Egypt, and…
Behaviour of Israel in the Desert Eze 20:10. And I led them out of the land of Egypt, and brought them into the desert; Eze 20:11. And gave them my statutes, and my rights I made known to them, which man is to do that he may live through them. Eze 20:12. I…
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown40
The concise option. Three authors split the canon, so the voice shifts between sections. Expect brief, sober, conservative notes that resolve difficulties rather than dwelling on them — useful for orientation, thinner than Gill or Clarke where a passage is genuinely contested.
Why this voice is here: The quickest way to see what the mainstream Reformed reading of a passage is. Start here, then go to Gill or Clarke when it matters.
The chapter falls into two great parts: Eze. 20:1-32, the recital of the people's rebellions during five distinct periods: in Egypt, the wilderness, on the borders of Canaan when a new generation arose, in Canaan, and in the time of the prophet. I will not be…
Wilt thou judge? . . . judge--The emphatical repetition expresses, "Wilt thou not judge? yes, judge them. There is a loud call for immediate judgment." The Hebrew interrogative here is a command, not a prohibition [MAURER]. Instead of spending time in…
The thrice lifting up of God's hand (the sign of His oath, Rev 10:5-6; Exo 6:8, Margin; Num 14:30; to which passages the form of words here alludes) implies the solemn earnestness of God's purpose of grace to them. made myself known unto them--proving Myself…
World English Bible — Public domain