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Ezekiel 20

Israel’s Continuing Rebellion

1 ^aIn the seventh year, in the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month, certain of ^bthe elders of Israel came to inquire of the Lord ^cand sat before me. 2 And the word of the Lord came to me: 3 ^d“Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God, Is it to inquire of me that you come? ^eAs I live, declares the Lord God ^fI will not be inquired of by you. 4 ^gWill you judge them, son of man, will you judge them? ^hLet them know the abominations of their fathers, 5 and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: ⁱOn the day when I chose Israel, ^jI swore ^{▼

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Hebrew I lifted my hand; twice in this verse; also verses 6, 15, 23, 28, 42} to the offspring of the house of Jacob, ^lmaking myself known to them in the land of Egypt; ^mI swore to them, saying, I am the Lord your God. 6 On that day I swore to them that ⁿI would bring them out of the land of Egypt into a land that I had searched out for them, a land ^oflowing with milk and honey, ^pthe most glorious of all lands. 7 And I said to them, ^qCast away the detestable things ^ryour eyes feast on, every one of you, and do not defile yourselves with ^sthe idols of Egypt; ^tI am the Lord your God. 8 ^uBut they rebelled against me and were not willing to listen to me. ^vNone of them cast away the detestable things their eyes feasted on, nor did they forsake the idols of Egypt.

“Then I said I would pour out my wrath upon them ^wand spend my anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt. 9 ^xBut I acted ^yfor the sake of my name ^zthat it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations among whom they lived, ^aain whose sight I made myself known to them in bringing them out of the land of Egypt. 10 ^abSo I led them out of the land of Egypt and brought them into the wilderness. 11 ^acI gave them my statutes and made known to them my rules ^adby which, if a person does them, he shall live. 12 Moreover, I gave them ^aemy Sabbaths, as a sign between me and them ^afthat they might know that I am the Lord who sanctifies them. 13 ^agBut the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness. ^ahThey did not walk in my statutes but rejected my rules, by which, if a person does them, he shall live; ^aiand my Sabbaths they greatly profaned.

^aj“Then I said I would pour out my wrath upon them in the wilderness, to make a full end of them. 14 But I acted for the sake of my name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, ^akin whose sight I had brought them out. 15 Moreover ^alI swore to them in the wilderness ^amthat I would not bring them into the land that I had given them, a land ^anflowing with milk and honey ^aothe most glorious of all lands, 16 because they rejected my rules and did not walk in my statutes, and profaned my Sabbaths; ^apfor their heart went after their idols. 17 Nevertheless, ^aqmy eye spared them, and I did not destroy them or ^armake a full end of them in the wilderness.

18 “And I said to ^astheir children in the wilderness, Do not walk ^atin the statutes of your fathers, nor keep their rules ^aunor defile yourselves with their idols. 19 ^avI am the Lord your God; ^awwalk in my statutes, and be careful to obey my rules, 20 and ^axkeep my Sabbaths holy that ^aythey may be a sign between me and you, that you may know that I am the Lord your God. 21 ^azBut the children ^barebelled against me. ^bbThey did not walk in my statutes and were not careful to obey my rules, by which, if a person does them, he shall live; they profaned my Sabbaths.

^bc“Then I said I would pour out my wrath upon them and spend my anger against them in the wilderness. 22 ^bdBut I withheld my hand ^beand acted for the sake of my name ^bfthat it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, in whose sight I had brought them out. 23 ^bgMoreover ^bhI swore to them in the wilderness ^bithat I would scatter them among the nations and disperse them through the countries, 24 because they had not obeyed my rules, but had rejected my statutes and profaned my Sabbaths ^bjand their eyes were set on their fathers’ idols. 25 ^bkMoreover, I gave them statutes that were not good and rules by which they could not have life, 26 and I defiled them through ^bltheir very gifts ^bmin their offering up all their firstborn, that I might devastate them. I did it ^bnthat they might know that I am the Lord.

27 “Therefore ^boson of man, speak to the house of Israel and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: In this also your fathers blasphemed me, by ^bpdealing treacherously with me. 28 For when I had brought them into the land that ^bqI swore to give them, then wherever they saw ^brany high hill or any leafy tree, there they offered their sacrifices and there they presented ^bsthe provocation of their offering; there they sent up their pleasing aromas, and there they poured out their drink offerings. 29 (I said to them, ^btWhat is the high place to which you go? So its name is called Bamah ^{▼

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Bamah means high place} to this day.)

30 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: ^bvWill you defile yourselves after the manner of your fathers and go ^bwwhoring after their detestable things? 31 When you present your gifts and ^bxoffer up your children in fire, ^{▼

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Hebrew and make your children pass through the fire} you defile yourselves with all your idols to this day. And ^bzshall I be inquired of by you, O house of Israel? ^caAs I live, declares the Lord God, I will not be inquired of by you.

32 ^cb“What is in your mind shall never happen—the thought ^cc‘Let us be like the nations, like the tribes of the countries ^cdand worship wood and stone.’

The Lord Will Restore Israel

33 ^ce“As I live, declares the Lord God ^cfsurely with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and ^cgwith wrath poured out I will be king over you. 34 ^chI will bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you are scattered, with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, and with wrath poured out. 35 ^ciAnd I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples ^cjand there I will enter into judgment with you ^ckface to face. 36 ^clAs I entered into judgment with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will enter into judgment with you, declares the Lord God. 37 I will make you ^cmpass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant. 38 ^cnI will purge out the rebels from among you, and those who transgress against me. ^coI will bring them out of the land where they sojourn ^cpbut they shall not enter the land of Israel. ^cqThen you will know that I am the Lord.

39 “As for you, O house of Israel, thus says the Lord God: ^crGo serve every one of you his idols, now and hereafter, if you will not listen to me; ^csbut my holy name you shall no more profane with your gifts and your idols.

40 ^ct“For on my holy mountain, the mountain height of Israel, declares the Lord God, there ^cuall the house of Israel, all of them, shall serve me in the land. ^cvThere I will accept them, and there I will require your contributions and the choicest of your gifts, with all your sacred offerings. 41 As a pleasing aroma I will accept you, when ^cwI bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you have been scattered. And ^cxI will manifest my holiness among you in the sight of the nations. 42 ^cyAnd you shall know that I am the Lord, when I bring you into the land of Israel, the country that ^czI swore to give to your fathers. 43 ^daAnd there you shall remember your ways and all your deeds with which you have defiled yourselves, ^dband you shall loathe yourselves for all the evils that you have committed. 44 And you shall know that I am the Lord, ^dcwhen I deal with you for my name’s sake, ^ddnot according to your evil ways, nor according to your corrupt deeds, O house of Israel, declares the Lord God.”

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Ch 21:1 in Hebrew} And the word of the Lord came to me: 46 ^df“Son of man ^dgset your face toward the southland; ^{▼

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Or toward Teman} ^dipreach against the south, and prophesy against the forest land in the Negeb. 47 Say to the forest of the Negeb, Hear the word of the Lord: Thus says the Lord God, Behold ^djI will kindle a fire in you, and it shall devour every ^dkgreen tree in you and every ^dldry tree. The blazing flame shall not be quenched, and ^dmall faces from south to north shall be scorched by it. 48 ^dnAll flesh shall see that I the Lord have kindled it; it shall not be quenched.” 49 Then I said, ^do“Ah, Lord God! They are saying of me, ^dp‘Is he not a maker of parables?’”