Ezekiel 20:4

4 "Will you pass judgment against them, will you pass judgment, son of man? Explain to them the abominations of their fathers.

Ezekiel 20:4 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 20:4

Wilt thou judge them, son of man?
&c.] Excuse them, patronise them, defend their cause, and plead for them? surely thou wilt not; or rather, wilt thou not reprove and correct them, judge and condemn them, for their sins and wickedness? this thou oughtest to do: wilt thou judge [them]?
this is repeated, to show the vehemency of the speaker, and the duty of the prophet: cause them to know the abominations of their fathers:
the sins they committed, which were abominable in themselves, and rendered them abominable unto God, and what came upon them for them; by which they would be led to see the abominable evils which they also had been guilty of, in which they had imitated their fathers, and what they had reason to expect in consequence of them.

Ezekiel 20:4 In-Context

2 Then the word of the Lord came to me:

3 "Son of man, speak with the elders of Israel and tell them: This is what the Lord God says: Are you coming to consult Me? As I live, I will not be consulted by you." [This is] the declaration of the Lord God .

4 "Will you pass judgment against them, will you pass judgment, son of man? Explain to them the abominations of their fathers.

5 Say to them: This is what the Lord God says: On the day I chose Israel, I swore an oath to the descendants of Jacob's house and made Myself known to them in the land of Egypt. I swore to them, saying: I am the Lord your God.

6 On that day I swore to them that I would bring them out of the land of Egypt into a land I had searched out for them, [a land] flowing with milk and honey, the most beautiful of all lands.