Ezekiel 20:23

23 "'But I did lift my hand in solemn oath there in the desert, and swore that I would scatter them all over the world, disperse them every which way

Ezekiel 20:23 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 20:23

I lifted up mine hand also to them in the wilderness
Swore unto them, as in ( Ezekiel 20:5 Ezekiel 20:6 Ezekiel 20:15 ) ; that I would scatter them among the Heathen, and disperse them through
the countries;
after they came to be settled in the land of Canaan, they sinning against the Lord; which was fulfilled in the times of the Babylonish captivity, and in their destruction by the Romans; but was threatened and foretold while they were in the wilderness, ( Leviticus 26:33 ) ( Deuteronomy 32:26 ) ; with this compare ( Psalms 106:26-30 ) .

Ezekiel 20:23 In-Context

21 "'But the children also rebelled against me. They neither followed my statutes nor kept my laws for living upright and well. And they desecrated my Sabbaths. I seriously considered dumping my anger on them, right there in the desert.

22 But I thought better of it and acted out of who I was, not by what I felt, so that I might be honored and not blasphemed by the nations who had seen me bring them out.

23 "'But I did lift my hand in solemn oath there in the desert, and swore that I would scatter them all over the world, disperse them every which way

24 because they didn't keep my laws nor live by my statutes. They desecrated my Sabbaths and remained addicted to the no-god idols of their parents.

25 Since they were determined to live bad lives, I myself gave them statutes that could not produce goodness and laws that did not produce life.