Ezekiel 20:3

3 "Son of man, speak with the elders of Israel, and you must say to them, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "[Are] you coming to consult me? {As I live}, I will surely not allow myself to be consulted by you!" ' {declares} the Lord Yahweh.

Ezekiel 20:3 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 20:3

Son of man, speak unto the elders of Israel, and say unto them,
&c.] Give them this for an answer from me: thus saith the Lord God, are ye come to inquire of me?
no; not seriously, heartily, and in good earnest, determining to abide by the advice and counsel that might be given; or how can you have the face to inquire of me, when guilty of such abominations? [as] I live, saith the Lord God, I will not be inquired of by you;
knowing their wickedness and hypocrisy, which were detestable to him, and therefore would not hear what they had to say, nor give them any answer, or direct them what they should do. Sad is the case of persons when the Lord will not be inquired of by them! it is plain he has no favours to bestow upon them; for, when he has, he will put them upon inquiring of him for them, to do them unto them, ( Ezekiel 36:37 ) ; this was the case of Saul, whom God, when he inquired of him, would not answer in any of his usual ways, ( 1 Samuel 28:6 ) .

Ezekiel 20:3 In-Context

1 And then in the seventh year, in the fifth [month], on the tenth [day] of the month, men from the elders of Israel came to consult Yahweh, and they sat {before me}.
2 And the word of Yahweh {came} to me, {saying},
3 "Son of man, speak with the elders of Israel, and you must say to them, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "[Are] you coming to consult me? {As I live}, I will surely not allow myself to be consulted by you!" ' {declares} the Lord Yahweh.
4 Will you judge them? Will you judge [them], son of man? Make known to them the detestable things of their ancestors.
5 And you must say to them, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "On the day of my choosing Israel {I swore} to the offspring of the house of Jacob, and I made myself known to them in the land of Egypt, and {I swore} to them, {saying}, 'I [am] Yahweh your God.'

Footnotes 4

Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.