Eze 20 | NASB1995 | STEP | Now in the seventh year , in the fifth month , on the tenth of the month , certain of the elders of Israel came to inquire of the Lord , and sat before me.

‏ Ezekiel 20

God’s Dealings with Israel Rehearsed

1 Now in the seventh year, in the fifth month, on the tenth of the month, ^{▼▼ Lit men}certain of the ^belders of Israel came to inquire of the Lord, and sat before me. 2 And the word of the Lord came to me saying, 3 “Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord ^{▼▼ Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord , and so throughout the ch}God, “Do you come to inquire of Me? As I live,” declares the Lord God, ^d“I will not be inquired of by you.”’ 4 “Will you judge them, will you judge them, son of man? ^eMake them know the abominations of their fathers; 5 and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “On the day when I ^fchose Israel and ^{▼▼ Lit lifted up My hand, and so throughout the ch}swore to the ^{▼▼ Lit seed}descendants of the house of Jacob and made Myself known to them in the land of Egypt, when I ^{▼▼ Lit lifted up My hand, and so throughout the ch}swore to them, saying, ^jI am the Lord your God, 6 on that day I swore to them, ^kto bring them out from the land of Egypt into a land that I had ^{▼▼ Lit spied out}selected for them, ^mflowing with milk and honey, which is ⁿthe glory of all lands. 7 “I said to them, ‘ ^oCast away, each of you, the detestable things of his eyes, and ^pdo not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt; ^qI am the Lord your God.’ 8 “But they ^rrebelled against Me and were not willing to listen to Me; ^{▼▼ Lit each one}they did not cast away the detestable things of their eyes, nor did they forsake the ^tidols of Egypt.

Then I ^{▼▼ Lit said}resolved to ^vpour out My wrath on them, to accomplish My anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt. 9 “But I acted ^wfor the sake of My name, that it should ^xnot be profaned in the sight of the nations among whom they lived, in whose sight I made Myself known to them by bringing them out of the land of Egypt. 10 “So I took them out of the land of Egypt and brought them into the ^ywilderness. 11 “I gave them My ^zstatutes and informed them of My ordinances, by ^aawhich, if a man ^{▼▼ Lit does}observes them, he will live. 12 “Also I gave them My sabbaths to be a ^acsign between Me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord who sanctifies them. 13 “But the house of Israel ^adrebelled against Me in the wilderness. They did not walk in My statutes and they rejected My ordinances, ^aeby which, if a man ^{▼▼ Lit does}observes them, he will live; and My ^agsabbaths they greatly profaned. Then I ^{▼▼ Lit said}resolved to ^aipour out My wrath on them in the wilderness, to annihilate them. 14 “But I acted for the sake of My name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, before whose sight I had brought them out. 15 “Also ^ajI 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, 16 because they rejected My ordinances, and as for My statutes, they did not walk in them; they even profaned My sabbaths, for their ^akheart continually went after their idols. 17 “Yet My eye spared them rather than destroying them, and I did not cause their ^alannihilation in the wilderness.

18 “I said to their ^{▼▼ Lit sons
,} ^anchildren in the wilderness, ‘ ^aoDo not walk in the statutes of your fathers or keep their ordinances or defile yourselves with their idols. 19 ‘ ^apI am the Lord your God; ^aqwalk in My statutes and keep My ordinances and ^{▼▼ Lit do}observe them. 20 ‘ ^asSanctify My sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between Me and you, that you may know that I am the Lord your God.’ 21 “But the ^atchildren rebelled against Me; they did not walk in My statutes, nor were they careful to observe My ordinances, by which, if a man observes them, he will live; they profaned My sabbaths. So I ^{▼▼ Lit said}resolved to pour out My wrath on them, to accomplish My anger against them in the wilderness. 22 “But I ^avwithdrew My hand and acted ^awfor the sake of My name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations in whose sight I had brought them out. 23 “Also I swore to them in the wilderness that I would ^axscatter them among the nations and disperse them among the lands, 24 because they had not observed My ordinances, but had rejected My statutes and had profaned My sabbaths, and ^aytheir eyes were ^{▼▼ Lit after}on the idols of their fathers. 25 “I also gave them statutes that were ^banot good and ordinances by which they could not live; 26 and I pronounced them ^bbunclean because of their gifts, in that they ^bccaused all ^{▼▼ Lit that which opens the womb}their firstborn to pass through the fire so that I might make them desolate, in order that they might ^beknow that I am the Lord.”’

27 “Therefore, son of man, ^bfspeak to the house of Israel and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Yet in this your fathers have ^bgblasphemed Me by ^bhacting treacherously against Me. 28 “When I had ^bibrought them into the land which I swore to give to them, then they saw every ^bjhigh hill and every leafy tree, and they offered there their sacrifices and there they presented the provocation of their offering. There also they made their soothing aroma and there they poured out their drink offerings. 29 “Then I said to them, ‘What is the high place to which you go?’ So its name is called ^{▼▼ Or High Place}Bamah to this day.”’ 30 “Therefore, say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Will you defile yourselves ^{▼▼ Lit in the way of}after the manner of your ^bmfathers and play the harlot after their detestable things? 31 ^{▼▼ Lit In your lifting up}“When you offer your gifts, when you ^bocause your sons to pass through the fire, you are defiling yourselves with all your idols to this day. And shall I be inquired of by you, O house of Israel? As I live,” declares the Lord God, “I will not be inquired of by you. 32 “What ^bpcomes ^{▼▼ Lit upon your spirit}into your mind will not come about, when you say: ‘We will be like the nations, like the tribes of the lands, ^brserving wood and stone.’

God Will Restore Israel to Her Land

33 “As I live,” declares the Lord God, “surely with a mighty hand and with an ^bsoutstretched arm and with wrath poured out, I shall be ^btking over you. 34 “I will ^bubring 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 ^bvwrath poured out; 35 and I will bring you into the ^bwwilderness of the peoples, and there I will enter into judgment with you face to face. 36 “As I ^bxentered into judgment with your fathers in the ^bywilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will enter into judgment with you,” declares the Lord God. 37 “I will make you ^bzpass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant; 38 and I will ^capurge from you the rebels and those who transgress against Me; I will bring them out of the land where they sojourn, but they will ^cbnot enter the ^{▼▼ Lit ground or soil}land of Israel. Thus you will know that I am the Lord.

39 “As for you, O house of Israel,” thus says the Lord God, ^cd“Go, serve everyone his idols; ^{▼▼ Or and afterwards, if you will not listen to Me, but}but later you will surely listen to Me, and My holy name you will ^cfprofane no longer with your gifts and with your idols. 40 “For on My holy mountain, on the high mountain of Israel,” declares the Lord God, “there the whole house of Israel, ^cgall of them, will serve Me in the land; there I will ^chaccept them and there I will ^{▼▼ Or require}seek your contributions and the choicest of your gifts, with all your holy things. 41 ^{▼▼ Lit With}“As a soothing aroma I will accept you when I ^ckbring you out from the peoples and gather you from the lands where you are scattered; and I will prove Myself ^clholy among you in the sight of the nations. 42 “And ^cmyou will know that I am the Lord, ^cnwhen I bring you into the land of Israel, into the ^coland which I swore to give to your forefathers. 43 “There you will ^cpremember your ways and all your deeds with which you have defiled yourselves; and you will ^cqloathe yourselves in your own ^{▼▼ Lit faces}sight for all the evil things that you have done. 44 “Then ^csyou will know that I am the Lord when I have dealt with you ^ctfor My name’s sake, not according to your evil ways or according to your corrupt deeds, O house of Israel,” declares the Lord God.’”

45 ^{▼▼ Ch 21:1 in Heb}Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 46 “Son of man, set your face toward ^{▼▼ Or the South}Teman, and speak out against the ^cwsouth and ^cxprophesy against the ^cyforest ^{▼▼ Lit of the field}land of the Negev, 47 and say to the forest of the Negev, ‘Hear the word of the Lord: thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am about to ^dakindle a fire in you, and it will consume every ^{▼▼ Lit moist}green tree in you, as well as every dry tree; the blazing flame will not be quenched and ^{▼▼ Or all the faces
,} ^ddthe whole surface from south to north will be burned by it. 48 “All flesh will see that I, the Lord, have kindled it; it shall ^denot be quenched.”’” 49 Then I said, “Ah Lord God! They are saying of me, ‘Is he not just speaking ^dfparables?’”