Ezekiel 20

1 In the seventh year, on the tenth day of the fifth month, some of the elders of Israel came to inquire of the LORD, and they sat down before me.

And it comes to pass, in the seventh year, in the fifth [month], on the tenth of the month, men from [the] elderly of Israel have come in to seek YHWH, and they sit before me;

2 Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

and there is a word of YHWH to me, saying,

3 “Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel and tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: Have you come to inquire of Me? As surely as I live, I will not be consulted by you, declares the Lord GOD.

“Son of man, speak to the elderly of Israel, and you have said to them, Thus said Lord YHWH: Are you coming in to seek Me? [As] I live—I am not sought by you—a declaration of Lord YHWH.

4 Will you judge them, will you judge them, son of man? Confront them with the abominations of their fathers

Do you judge them? Do you judge, son of man? Cause them to know the abominations of their fathers,

5 and tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: On the day I chose Israel, I swore an oath to the descendants of the house of Jacob and made Myself known to them in the land of Egypt. With an uplifted hand I said to them, ‘I am the LORD your God.’

and you have said to them, Thus said Lord YHWH: 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] your God YHWH.

6 On that day I swore to bring them out of the land of Egypt into a land that I had searched out for them, a land flowing with milk and honey, the glory of all lands.

In that day I lifted up My hand to them, To bring them forth from the land of Egypt, To a land that I spied out for them, Flowing with milk and honey, It [is] a beauty to all the lands,

7 And I said to them: ‘Each of you must throw away the abominations before his eyes, and you must not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.’

And I say to them, Let each cast away the detestable things of his eyes, And do not be defiled with the idols of Egypt, I [am] your God YHWH.

8 But they rebelled against Me and refused to listen. None of them cast away the abominations before their eyes, and they did not forsake the idols of Egypt. So I resolved to pour out My wrath upon them and vent My anger against them in the land of Egypt.

And they rebel against Me, And have not been willing to listen to Me, Each has not cast away the detestable things of their eyes, And have not forsaken the idols of Egypt, And I speak—to pour out My fury on them, To complete My anger against them, In the midst of the land of Egypt.

9 But I acted for the sake of My name, that it should not be profaned in the eyes of the nations among whom they were living, in whose sight I had revealed Myself to Israel by bringing them out of the land of Egypt.

And I do [it] for My Name’s sake, Not to defile [it] before the eyes of the nations, In whose midst they [are in], Before whose eyes I became known to them, To bring them out from the land of Egypt.

10 So I brought them out of the land of Egypt and led them into the wilderness.

And I bring them out of the land of Egypt, And I bring them into the wilderness,

11 And I gave them My statutes and made known to them My ordinances—for the man who does these things will live by them.

And I give My statutes to them, And I caused them to know My judgments, Which the man who does—lives by them.

12 I also gave them My Sabbaths as a sign between us, so that they would know that I am the LORD who sanctifies them.

And I have also given My Sabbaths to them, To be for a sign between Me and them, To know that I [am] YHWH who is sanctifying them.

13 Yet the house of Israel rebelled against Me in the wilderness. They did not follow My statutes and they rejected My ordinances—though the man who does these things will live by them—and they utterly profaned My Sabbaths. Then I resolved to pour out My wrath upon them and put an end to them in the wilderness.

And the house of Israel rebels against Me in the wilderness, They have not walked in My statutes, And they have despised My judgments, Which the man who does—lives by them. And they have greatly defiled My Sabbaths, And I speak—to pour out My fury on them in the wilderness, to consume them.

14 But I acted for the sake of My name, so that it would not be profaned in the eyes of the nations in whose sight I had brought them out.

And I do [it] for My Name’s sake, Not to defile [it] before the eyes of the nations, Before whose eyes I brought them forth.

15 Moreover, with an uplifted hand I swore to them in the wilderness that I would not bring them into the land that I had given them—a land flowing with milk and honey, the glory of all lands—

And also, I have lifted up My hand to them in the wilderness, Not to bring them into the land that I had given, Flowing with milk and honey, It [is] a beauty to all the lands,

16 because they kept rejecting My ordinances, refusing to walk in My statutes, and profaning My Sabbaths; for their hearts continually went after their idols.

Because they kicked against My judgments, And they have not walked in My statutes, And they have defiled My Sabbaths, For their heart is going after their idols.

17 Yet I looked on them with pity and did not destroy them or bring them to an end in the wilderness.

And My eye has pity on them—against destroying them, And I have not made an end of them in the wilderness.

18 In the wilderness I said to their children: ‘Do not walk in the statutes of your fathers or keep their ordinances or defile yourselves with their idols.

And I say to their sons in the wilderness: Do not walk in the statutes of your fathers, And do not observe their judgments, And do not defile yourselves with their idols.

19 I am the LORD your God; walk in My statutes, keep My ordinances, and practice them.

I [am] your God YHWH, walk in My statutes, And observe My judgments, and do them,

20 Keep My Sabbaths holy, that they may be a sign between us, so that you may know that I am the LORD your God.’

And sanctify My Sabbaths, And they have been for a sign between Me and you, To know that I [am] your God YHWH.

21 But the children rebelled against Me. They did not walk in My statutes or carefully observe My ordinances—though the man who does these things will live by them—and they profaned My Sabbaths. So I resolved to pour out My wrath upon them and vent My anger against them in the wilderness.

And the sons rebel against Me, They have not walked in My statutes, And they have not observed My judgments—to do them, Which the man who does—lives by them. They have defiled My Sabbaths, And I speak—to pour out My fury on them, To complete My anger against them in the wilderness.

22 But I withheld My hand and acted for the sake of My name, so that it would not be profaned in the eyes of the nations in whose sight I had brought them out.

And I have turned back My hand, And I do [it] for My Name’s sake, Not to defile [it] before the eyes of the nations, Before whose eyes I brought them out.

23 However, with an uplifted hand I swore to them in the wilderness that I would scatter them among the nations and disperse them throughout the lands.

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

24 For they did not practice My ordinances, but they rejected My statutes and profaned My Sabbaths, fixing their eyes on the idols of their fathers.

Because they have not done My judgments, And they have despised My statutes, And they have defiled My Sabbaths, And their eyes have been after [the] idols of their fathers.

25 I also gave them over to statutes that were not good and ordinances by which they could not live.

And I also, I have given statutes to them [that are] not good, And judgments by which they do not live.

26 And I pronounced them unclean through their gifts—the sacrifice of every firstborn in the fire—so that I might devastate them, in order that they would know that I am the LORD.

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

27 Therefore, son of man, speak to the house of Israel, and tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: In this way also your fathers blasphemed Me by their unfaithfulness against Me.

Therefore, speak to the house of Israel, son of man, and you have said to them, Thus said Lord YHWH: Still in this your fathers have reviled Me, In their committing a trespass against Me.

28 When I brought them into the land that I swore to give them and they saw any high hill or leafy tree, there they offered their sacrifices, presented offerings that provoked Me, sent up their fragrant incense, and poured out their drink offerings.

And I bring them into the land, That I lifted up My hand to give to them, And they see every high hill, and every thick tree, And they sacrifice their sacrifices there, And give the provocation of their offering there, And make their refreshing fragrance there, And they pour out their drink-offerings there.

29 So I asked them: ‘What is this high place to which you go?’ (And to this day it is called Bamah.)

And I say to them: What [is] the high place to where you are going in?” And its name is called “High Place” to this day.

30 Therefore tell the house of Israel that this is what the Lord GOD says: Will you defile yourselves the way your fathers did, prostituting yourselves with their abominations?

“Therefore, say to the house of Israel, Thus said Lord YHWH: Are you defiling yourselves in the way of your fathers? And do you go whoring after their detestable things?

31 When you offer your gifts, sacrificing your sons in the fire, you continue to defile yourselves with all your idols to this day. So should I be consulted by you, O house of Israel? As surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, I will not be consulted by you!

And in the offering of your gifts, In causing your sons to pass through fire, You are defiled by all your idols to this day, And I am sought by you, O house of Israel? [As] I live—a declaration of Lord YHWH, I am not sought by you.

32 When you say, ‘Let us be like the nations, like the peoples of the lands, serving wood and stone,’ what you have in mind will never come to pass.

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

33 As surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, with a strong hand, an outstretched arm, and outpoured wrath I will rule over you.

[As] I live—a declaration of Lord YHWH, Do I not, with a strong hand, And with an outstretched arm, And with poured out fury—rule over you?

34 With a strong hand, an outstretched arm, and outpoured wrath I will bring you out from the peoples and gather you from the lands to which you have been scattered.

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

35 And I will bring you into the wilderness of the nations, where I will enter into judgment with you face to face.

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

36 Just as 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.

As I was judged with your fathers, In the wilderness of the land of Egypt, So I am judged with you, A declaration of Lord YHWH.

37 I will make you pass under the rod and will bring you into the bond of the covenant.

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

38 And I will purge you of those who rebel and transgress against Me. I will bring them out of the land in which they dwell, but they will not enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the LORD.

And cleared out the rebels from you, And those transgressing against Me, I bring them out from the land of their sojournings, And they do not come to the land of Israel, And you have known that I [am] YHWH.

39 And as for you, O house of Israel, this is what the Lord GOD says: Go and serve your idols, every one of you. But afterward, you will surely listen to Me, and you will no longer defile My holy name with your gifts and idols.

And you, O house of Israel, thus said Lord YHWH: Each go, serve his idols, And afterward, if you are not listening to Me [anyway], But you do not defile My holy Name anymore by your gifts, and by your idols.

40 For on My holy mountain, the high mountain of Israel, declares the Lord GOD, there the whole house of Israel, all of them, will serve Me in the land. There I will accept them and will require your offerings and choice gifts, along with all your holy sacrifices.

For on My holy mountain, On the mountain of the height of Israel, A declaration of Lord YHWH, All the house of Israel serves Me there, All of it, in the land—I accept them there, And I seek your raised-offerings there, And with the first-fruit of your gifts, With all your holy things.

41 When I bring you from the peoples and gather you from the lands to which you have been scattered, I will accept you as a pleasing aroma. And I will show My holiness through you in the sight of the nations.

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

42 Then you will know that I am the LORD, when I bring you into the land of Israel, the land that I swore to give your fathers.

And you have known that I [am] YHWH, In My bringing you to the ground of Israel, To the land that I lifted up My hand To give it to your fathers,

43 There you will remember your ways and all the deeds with which you have defiled yourselves, and you will loathe yourselves for all the evils you have done.

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

44 Then you will know, O house of Israel, that I am the LORD, when I have dealt with you for the sake of My name and not according to your wicked ways and corrupt acts, declares the Lord GOD.”

And you have known that I [am] YHWH, 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, A declaration of Lord YHWH.”

45 Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

And there is a word of YHWH to me, saying,

46 “Son of man, set your face toward the south, preach against it, and prophesy against the forest of the Negev.

“Son of man, set your face the way of Teman, and prophesy to the south, and prophesy to the forest of the field—the south;

47 Say to the forest of the Negev: Hear the word of the LORD! This is what the Lord GOD says: I am about to ignite in you a fire, and it will devour all your trees, both green and dry. The blazing flame will not be quenched, and by it every face from south to north will be scorched.

and you have said to the forest of the south, Hear a word of YHWH! Thus said Lord YHWH: Behold, I am kindling a fire in you, And it has devoured every moist tree in you, and every dry tree, The glowing flames are not quenched, And all faces from south to north have been burned by it.

48 Then all people will see that I, the LORD, have kindled it; it will not be quenched.”

And all flesh has seen, that I, YHWH, have kindled it—it is not quenched.”

49 Then I said, “Ah, Lord GOD, they are saying of me, ‘Is he not just telling parables?’”

And I say, “Aah! Lord YHWH, They are saying of me, Is he not using allegories?”