Ezekiel 20:4-14

4 Son of man, if thou deemest them, if thou deemest, show thou to them the abominations of their fathers. (Son of man, if thou judgest them, yea, if thou judgest them, show thou to them their forefathers? abominations.)

5 And thou shalt say to them, The Lord God saith these things, In the day in which I chose Israel, and raised mine hand for the generation of the house of Jacob, and I appeared to them in the land of Egypt, and I raised mine hand for them, and I said, I am your Lord God, (And thou shalt say to them, The Lord God saith these things, On the day on which I chose Israel, and raised up my hand for the descendants of the house of Jacob, and I appeared to them in the land of Egypt, and I raised up my hand for them, and I said, I am the Lord your God,)

6 in that day I raised mine hand for them, that I should lead them out of the land of Egypt (on that day that I raised up my hand for them, that I would lead them out of the land of Egypt), into the land which I had purveyed for them, a land flowing with milk and honey, which is noble among all lands.

7 And I said to them, Each man cast away the offences of his eyes, and do not ye be defouled in the idols of Egypt; I am your Lord God. (And I said to them, Each person throw away the abominations before his eyes, and do not ye be defiled with the idols of Egypt; I am the Lord your God.)

8 And they stirred me to wrath, and would not hear me; each man casted not away the abominations of his eyes, neither they forsook the idols of Egypt. And I said, that I would shed out mine indignation on them, and [ful]fill my wrath in them, in the midst of the land of Egypt. (And they stirred me to anger, and would not listen to me; each person did not throw away the abominations before their eyes, nor did they abandon the idols of Egypt. And I said, that I would pour out my indignation upon them, and fulfill my anger against them, in the midst of the land of Egypt.)

9 And I did for my name, that it should not be defouled before heathen men, in the midst of whom they were, and among whom I appeared to them, that I should lead them out of the land of Egypt. (And I did it for the sake of my name, so that it would not be defiled before the heathen, in the midst of whom they were, and among whom I appeared to them, so that I could lead them out of the land of Egypt.)

10 Therefore I casted them out of the land of Egypt, and I led them out into desert; (And so I brought them out of the land of Egypt, and I led them out into the desert, or into the wilderness;)

11 and I gave to them my commandments, and I showed to them my dooms, which a man shall do, and live in those. (and I gave them my commandments, and I showed them, or I taught them, my laws, which a person shall do, and shall live because of them.)

12 Furthermore and I gave to them my sabbaths, that it should be a sign betwixt me and them, and that they should know, that I am the Lord hallowing them. (And furthermore I gave them my sabbaths, so that they would be a sign between me and them, and so that they would know, that I am the Lord who maketh them holy.)

13 And the house of Israel stirred me to wrath in desert; they went not in my commandments, and they casted away my dooms, which a man that doeth, shall live in those; and they defouled greatly my sabbaths. Therefore I said, that I would shed out my strong vengeance on them in desert, and waste them; (And the house of Israel stirred me to anger in the wilderness; they went not in my commandments, and they threw away my laws, which a person who doeth them, shall live in them; and they greatly defiled my sabbaths. And so I said, that I would pour out my strong vengeance upon them in the wilderness, and destroy them;)

14 and I did for my name, lest it were defouled before heathen men, from whom I casted them out in the sight of those. (and I did it for the sake of my name, lest it were defiled before the heathen, from whom I brought them out in their sight.)

Ezekiel 20:4-14 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO EZEKIEL 20

The prophecy in this chapter is occasioned by some of the elders of Israel coming to inquire of the Lord; when the prophet is bid to tell them that he would not be inquired of by them. The reason of which were their abominations he is ordered to make known unto them, Eze 20:1-4; and then proceeds the narration of them; first of what their fathers committed in Egypt; of God's goodness to them, and their ingratitude; how that though he promised and swore that he would bring them from thence, when he charged them to abstain from the idolatry of that people where they were, nevertheless they did not, for which he threatened them with his wrath to consume them; yet such was his goodness as to spare them, and bring them out of that land, Eze 20:5-9; being brought out of Egypt into the wilderness, the Lord gave them statutes and ordinances to observe, particularly sabbaths, as a sign between him and them, but these they despised and broke; wherefore the Lord threatened to consume them in the wilderness, and not bring them into the land of Canaan; yet such was his kindness and mercy to them, that he did not make an utter end of them in the wilderness, Eze 20:10-17; and whereas he exhorted their posterity not to imitate their parents, but to walk in his statutes and judgments, and observe his sabbaths, yet they would not; which drew out his resentment against them, and he threatened to scatter them among the Heathens; but, for his name's sake, that that might not be polluted among the heathen, he spared them, and did not cut them off, only gave them up to do things very pernicious to them, Eze 20:18-26; and even when they were brought into the land of Canaan, they were guilty of blasphemy against God, and of idolatry on every high hill they saw, Eze 20:27-29; but whereas it might be objected, what is all this to the present generation? it is observed, that they imitated their fathers, and were guilty of the same idolatries, and therefore the Lord would not be inquired of by them, Eze 20:30,31; and threatens to rule them with fury, and plead with them, as he had pleaded with their fathers in the wilderness, Eze 20:32-36; nevertheless he suggests that there would be a remnant among them, when he should have purged the rebels and transgressors from them, that he would deal graciously with in a covenant way; who should serve him in his holy mountain, where he would require and accept their sacrifices, in whom he would be sanctified; and who should know him, and loathe themselves, when made sensible of the distinguishing favours bestowed upon them, Eze 20:37-44; and the chapter is closed with a prophecy dropped against Jerusalem, denouncing utter destruction on it, Eze 20:45-49.

reign, and of the captivity of Jeconiah; from whence the dates of Ezekiel's visions and prophecies are taken, Eze 1:2, 8:1; two years, one month, and five days, after Ezekiel began to prophesy, and eleven months and five days after the preceding prophecy:

\\in the fifth [month], the tenth [day] of the month\\; the month Ab, which answers to our July and August; on this day afterwards Jerusalem was twice destroyed, first by the Chaldeans, and then by the Romans:

\\[that] certain of the elders of Israel came to inquire of the Lord\\; by the prophet; these were either some of the elders that were carried captive, who came to inquire how long they should continue in this state; or what methods they should use to free themselves from it; or what they should do while they were in it; whether it would be advisable that they should conform to the customs of the Heathens among whom they were; or what would be the case of those that were left in Judea: or else these were sent by Zedekiah to pay the king of Babylon his tax, or to negotiate some affair with him relating to the captives; and who took this opportunity of consulting the Lord by the prophet what methods should be taken to throw off the yoke, and to know what was the mind of God in it; but these things are uncertain, as are also the persons the inquirers; though the Jews say {e} they were Ananias, Azarias, and Misael; which is not probable, since they were good men, whereas these seem to be hypocritical persons:

\\and sat before me\\; with great seriousness and devotion seemingly, waiting for an answer.

{e} Seder Olam Rabba apud Abarbinel in loc.

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