Ezekiel 20:31

31 And {when you lift up your gifts, sacrificing your children} through the fire, you are defiling yourself through all of your idols until {today}, and will I let myself be consulted by you, house of Israel?" ' {As I live}," {declares} the Lord Yahweh, "I will not let myself be consulted by you!

Ezekiel 20:31 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 20:31

For when ye offer your gifts
And sacrifices to idols. The Septuagint and Arabic versions render it, the firstfruits of your gifts;
it may design their firstborn; see ( Ezekiel 20:26 ) as the following clause seems to explain it: when ye make your sons to pass through the fire;
or between two fires to Moloch, as their fathers had done before them; ye pollute yourselves with all your idols, even unto this day;
by worshipping idols, or dunghill gods, as the word signifies, as often observed; they defiled themselves with those filthy things, which they continued to do to that very day, and so became more and more polluted; and were as their fathers had been, and therefore must expect to be used in like manner: and shall I be inquired of by you, O house of Israel?
can you think that I will suffer you to come and inquire of me or to make your requests to me? or can you hope to have an answer from me; at least a favourable one, such as you could wish for? as I live, saith the Lord God, I will not be inquired of by you;
so confirming again with an oath what he had before declared, ( Ezekiel 20:3 ) , wherefore they might assure themselves that they would not be acceptable to him, neither their persons nor petitions, or be regarded by him.

Ezekiel 20:31 In-Context

29 And I said to them, 'What [is] the high place to which you are going?' And {it is called} Bamah until this day.
30 Therefore thus say to the house of Israel, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "In the way of your ancestors [will] you defile yourself, and after their vile idols [will] you prostitute [yourselves]?
31 And {when you lift up your gifts, sacrificing your children} through the fire, you are defiling yourself through all of your idols until {today}, and will I let myself be consulted by you, house of Israel?" ' {As I live}," {declares} the Lord Yahweh, "I will not let myself be consulted by you!
32 And {what you are planning}, surely it will not be--that you are saying, 'Let us be like the nations, like the clans of the lands, {serving wood and stone}!'
33 "{As I live}," {declares} the Lord Yahweh, "{surely} with [a] strong hand and with [an] outstretched arm and with {rage pouring forth} I will reign as king over you!

Footnotes 6

  • [a]. Literally "at to lift up your gifts at causing to pass over your children"
  • [b]. Literally "the day"
  • [c]. Hebrew "me"
  • [d]. Literally "Live I"
  • [e]. Literally "declaration of"
  • [f]. Hebrew "me"
Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.