Ezekiel 20

¹And it came to pass in the seventh year, in the fifth month, the tenth day of the month, that certain of the elders of Israel came to enquire of the Lord, and sat before me.

²Then came the word of the Lord unto me, saying,

³Son of man, speak unto the elders of Israel, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Are ye come to enquire of me? As I live, saith the Lord God, I will not be enquired of by you.

⁴Wilt thou judge them, son of man, wilt thou judge them? cause them to know the abominations of their fathers:

⁵And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; In the day when I chose Israel, and lifted up mine hand unto the seed of the house of Jacob, and made myself known unto them in the land of Egypt, when I lifted up mine hand unto them, saying, I am the Lord your God;

⁶In the day that I lifted up mine hand unto them, to bring them forth of the land of Egypt into a land that I had espied for them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands:

⁷Then said I unto them, Cast ye away every man the abominations of his eyes, and defile not yourselves with the idols of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.

⁸But they rebelled against me, and would not hearken unto me: they did not every man cast away the abominations of their eyes, neither did they forsake the idols of Egypt: then I said, I will pour out my fury upon them, to accomplish my anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt.

⁹But I wrought for my name’s sake, that it should not be polluted before the heathen, among whom they were, in whose sight I made myself known unto them, in bringing them forth out of the land of Egypt.

¹⁰Wherefore I caused them to go forth out of the land of Egypt, and brought them into the wilderness.

¹¹And I gave them my statutes, and shewed them my judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them.

¹²Moreover also I gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them.

¹³But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness: they walked not in my statutes, and they despised my judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them; and my sabbaths they greatly polluted: then I said, I would pour out my fury upon them in the wilderness, to consume them.

¹⁴But I wrought for my name’s sake, that it should not be polluted before the heathen, in whose sight I brought them out.

¹⁵Yet also I lifted up my hand unto them in the wilderness, that I would not bring them into the land which I had given them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands;

¹⁶Because they despised my judgments, and walked not in my statutes, but polluted my sabbaths: for their heart went after their idols.

¹⁷Nevertheless mine eye spared them from destroying them, neither did I make an end of them in the wilderness.

¹⁸But I said unto their children in the wilderness, Walk ye not in the statutes of your fathers, neither observe their judgments, nor defile yourselves with their idols:

¹⁹I am the Lord your God; walk in my statutes, and keep my judgments, and do them;

²⁰And hallow my sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the Lord your God.

²¹Notwithstanding the children rebelled against me: they walked not in my statutes, neither kept my judgments to do them, which if a man do, he shall even live in them; they polluted my sabbaths: then I said, I would pour out my fury upon them, to accomplish my anger against them in the wilderness.

²²Nevertheless I withdrew mine hand, and wrought for my name’s sake, that it should not be polluted in the sight of the heathen, in whose sight I brought them forth.

²³I lifted up mine hand unto them also in the wilderness, that I would scatter them among the heathen, and disperse them through the countries;

²⁴Because they had not executed my judgments, but had despised my statutes, and had polluted my sabbaths, and their eyes were after their fathers’ idols.

²⁵Wherefore I gave them also statutes that were not good, and judgments whereby they should not live;

²⁶And I polluted them in their own gifts, in that they caused to pass through the fire all that openeth the womb, that I might make them desolate, to the end that they might know that I am the Lord.

²⁷Therefore, son of man, speak unto the house of Israel, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Yet in this your fathers have blasphemed me, in that they have committed a trespass against me.

²⁸For when I had brought them into the land, for the which I lifted up mine hand to give it to them, then they saw every high hill, and all the thick trees, and they offered there their sacrifices, and there they presented the provocation of their offering: there also they made their sweet savour, and poured out there their drink offerings.

²⁹Then I said unto them, What is the high place whereunto ye go? And the name thereof is called Bamah unto this day.

³⁰Wherefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God; Are ye polluted after the manner of your fathers? and commit ye whoredom after their abominations?

³¹For when ye offer your gifts, when ye make your sons to pass through the fire, ye pollute yourselves with all your idols, even unto this day: and shall I be enquired of by you, O house of Israel? As I live, saith the Lord God, I will not be enquired of by you.

³²And that which cometh into your mind shall not be at all, that ye say, We will be as the heathen, as the families of the countries, to serve wood and stone.

³³As I live, saith the Lord God, surely with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out, will I rule over you:

³⁴And I will bring you out from the people, and will gather you out of the countries wherein ye are scattered, with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out.

³⁵And I will bring you into the wilderness of the people, and there will I plead with you face to face.

³⁶Like as I pleaded with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so will I plead with you, saith the Lord God.

³⁷And I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant:

³⁸And I will purge out from among you the rebels, and them that transgress against me: I will bring them forth out of the country where they sojourn, and they shall not enter into the land of Israel: and ye shall know that I am the Lord.

³⁹As for you, O house of Israel, thus saith the Lord God; Go ye, serve ye every one his idols, and hereafter also, if ye will not hearken unto me: but pollute ye my holy name no more with your gifts, and with your idols.

⁴⁰For in mine holy mountain, in the mountain of the height of Israel, saith the Lord God, there shall all the house of Israel, all of them in the land, serve me: there will I accept them, and there will I require your offerings, and the firstfruits of your oblations, with all your holy things.

⁴¹I will accept you with your sweet savour, when I bring you out from the people, and gather you out of the countries wherein ye have been scattered; and I will be sanctified in you before the heathen.

⁴²And ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall bring you into the land of Israel, into the country for the which I lifted up mine hand to give it to your fathers.

⁴³And there shall ye remember your ways, and all your doings, wherein ye have been defiled; and ye shall lothe yourselves in your own sight for all your evils that ye have committed.

⁴⁴And ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I have wrought with you for my name’s sake, not according to your wicked ways, nor according to your corrupt doings, O ye house of Israel, saith the Lord God.

⁴⁵Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,

⁴⁶Son of man, set thy face toward the south, and drop thy word toward the south, and prophesy against the forest of the south field;

⁴⁷And say to the forest of the south, Hear the word of the Lord; Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein.

⁴⁸And all flesh shall see that I the Lord have kindled it: it shall not be quenched.

⁴⁹Then said I, Ah Lord God! they say of me, Doth he not speak parables?

Ezekiel 20

¹And it cometh to pass, in the seventh year, in the fifth month , in the tenth of the month, come in have certain of the elders of Israel to seek Jehovah, and they sit before me;

²and there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying,

³`Son of man, speak with the elders of Israel, and thou hast said unto them, Thus said the Lord Jehovah: To seek Me are ye coming in? I liveI am not sought by youan affirmation of the Lord Jehovah.

⁴Dost thou judge them? Dost thou judge, son of man? The abominations of their fathers cause them to know,

⁵and thou hast said unto them: Thus said the Lord Jehovah: In the day of My fixing on Israel, I lift up My hand, To the seed of the house of Jacob, And am known to them in the land of Egypt, And I lift up My hand to them, Saying, I am Jehovah your God.

⁶In that day I did lift up My hand to them, To bring them forth from the land of Egypt, Unto a land that I spied out for them, Flowing with milk and honey, A beauty it is to all the lands,

⁷And I say unto them, Let each cast away the detestable things of his eyes, And with the idols of Egypt be not defiled, I am Jehovah your God.

⁸Andthey rebel against Me, And have not been willing to hearken to Me, Each, the detestable things of their eyes, They have not cast away, And the idols of Egypt have not forsaken, And I sayto pour out My fury on them, To complete Mine anger against them, In the midst of the land of Egypt.

⁹And I do it for My name's sake, Not to pollute it before the eyes of the nations, In whose midst they are , Before whose eyes I became known to them, To bring them out from the land of Egypt.

¹⁰And I bring them out of the land of Egypt, And I bring them in unto the wilderness,

¹¹And I give to them My statutes, And my judgments I caused them to know, Which the man who dothliveth by them.

¹²And also My sabbaths I have given to them, To be for a sign between Me and them, To know that I am Jehovah their sanctifier.

¹³Andrebel against me do the house of Israel in the wilderness, In My statutes they have not walked, And My judgments they have despised, Which the man who dothliveth by them. And My sabbaths they have greatly polluted, And I say to pour out My fury on them in the wilderness, to consume them.

¹⁴And I do it for My name's sake, Not to pollute it before the eyes of the nations, Before whose eyes I brought them forth.

¹⁵And also, I, I have lifted up My hand to them in the wilderness, Not to bring them in to the land that I had given, Flowing with milk and honey, A beauty it is to all the lands,

¹⁶Because against My judgments they did kick, And in My statutes they have not walked, And My sabbaths they have polluted, For after their idols their heart is going.

¹⁷And Mine eye hath pity on themagainst destroying them, And I have not made of them an end in the wilderness.

¹⁸And I say to their sons in the wilderness: In the statutes of your fathers ye walk not, And their judgments ye do not observe, And with their idols ye are not defiled.

¹⁹I am Jehovah your God, in My statutes walk, And My judgments observe, and do them,

²⁰And My sabbaths sanctify, And they have been for a sign between Me and you, To know that I, Jehovah, am your God.

²¹Andthe sons rebel against Me, In My statutes they have not walked, And My judgments they have not observedto do them, Which the man who dothliveth by them. My sabbaths they have polluted, And I say to pour out My fury upon them, To complete Mine anger against them in the wilderness.

²²And I have turned back My hand, And I do it for My name's sake, Not to pollute it before the eyes of the nations, Before whose eyes I brought them out.

²³I also, I have lifted up My hand to them in the wilderness, To scatter them among nations, And to spread them through lands.

²⁴Because My judgments they have not done, And My statutes they have despised, And My sabbaths they have polluted, And after idols of their fathers have their eyes been.

²⁵And I also, I have given to them statutes not good, And judgments by which they do not live.

²⁶And I defile them by their own gifts, By causing to pass away every opener of a womb, So that I make them desolate, So that they know that I am Jehovah.

²⁷Therefore, speak unto the house of Israel, son of man, and thou hast said unto them, Thus said the Lord Jehovah: Still in this have your fathers reviled Me, In their committing against Me a trespass.

²⁸And I bring them in unto the land, That I did lift up My hand to give to them, And they see every high hill, and every thick tree, And they sacrifice there their sacrifices, And give there the provocation of their offering, And make there their sweet fragrance, And they pour out there their libations.

²⁹And I say unto them: What is the high place whither ye are going in? And its name is called `high place' to this day.

³⁰Therefore, say unto the house of Israel: Thus said the Lord Jehovah: In the way of your fathers are ye defiled? And after their detestable things go a-whoring?

³¹And in the offering of your gifts, In causing your sons to pass through fire, Ye are defiled by all your idols to this day, And I am sought by you, O house of Israel! I livean affirmation of the Lord Jehovah, I am not sought by you.

³²And that which is going up on your mind, It is not at allin that ye are saying: We will be as the nations, as the families of the lands, To serve wood and stone.

³³I livean affirmation of the Lord Jehovah, Do not I, with a strong hand, And with a stretched-out arm, And with fury poured outrule over you?

³⁴And I have brought you forth from the peoples, And assembled you from the lands In which ye have been scattered, With a strong hand and with a stretched-out arm, And with fury poured out.

³⁵And I have brought you in unto the wilderness of the peoples, And have been judged with you there face to face.

³⁶As I was judged with your fathers, In the wilderness of the land of Egypt, So I am judged with you, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah.

³⁷And I have caused you to pass under the rod, And brought you into the bond of the covenant,

³⁸And cleared out from you the rebels, And them transgressing against Me, From the land of their sojournings I bring them out, And unto the land of Israel they come not, And ye have known that I am Jehovah.

³⁹And ye, O house of Israel, thus said the Lord Jehovah: Each his idolsgoserve ye, And, afterwards, if ye are not hearkening to me, And My holy name ye do not pollute any more by your gifts, and by your idols.

⁴⁰For, in My holy mountain, In the mountain of the height of Israel, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah, There serve Me do all the house of Israel, All of it, in the landthere I accept them, And there I do seek your heave-offerings, And with the first-fruit of your gifts, With all your holy things.

⁴¹With sweet fragrance I do accept you, In My bringing you out from the peoples, And I have assembled you from the lands In which ye have been scattered, And I have been sanctified in you Before the eyes of the nations.

⁴²And ye have known that I am Jehovah, In My bringing you to the ground of Israel, Unto the land that I did lift up My hand To give it to your fathers,

⁴³And ye have remembered there your ways, And all your doings, In which ye have been defiled, And ye have been loathsome in your own faces, For all your evils that ye have done.

⁴⁴And ye have known that I am Jehovah, In My dealing with you for My name's sake, Not according to your evil ways, And according to your corrupt doings, O house of Israel, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah.'

⁴⁵And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying,

⁴⁶Son of man, set thy face the way of Teman, and prophesy unto the south, and prophesy unto the forest of the fieldthe south;

⁴⁷and thou hast said to the forest of the south: Hear a word of Jehovah: Thus said the Lord Jehovah: Lo, I am kindling in thee a fire, And it hath devoured in thee every moist tree, and every dry tree, Not quenched is the glowing flames, And burnt by it have been all faces from south to north.

⁴⁸And seen have all flesh, that I, Jehovah, have kindled itit is not quenched.'

⁴⁹And I say, `Ah, Lord Jehovah, They are saying of me, Is he not using similes?