Ezek 20
1
And it came to pass in the seventh year, on the Alex. 5th month, 10th day of the month fifteenth day of the month, there came
men of the elders of the house of Israel to
enquire of the Lord, and they sat before me.
2
And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
3
Son of man, speak to the elders of the house of Israel, and you shall say to them,
Thus says the Lord; Are you come to enquire of me? As I live, I will not be enquired
of by you, says the Lord.
4
Shall I utterly take vengeance on them, son of man? testify to them of the iniquities
of their fathers:
5
and you shall say to them, Thus says the Lord; From the day that I chose the house
of Israel, and became known to the seed of the house of Jacob, and was known to them
in the land of Egypt, and helped them with my hand, saying, I am the Lord your God;
6
in that day I helped them with my hand, to bring them out of the land of Egypt into
the land which I Heb. spied; Alex. swore prepared for them, a land flowing with milk and honey, it is Gr. a honeycomb abundant
beyond every land.
7
And I said to them, Let every one cast away the abominations of his eyes, and defile
not yourselves with the devices of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.
8
But they revolted from me, and would not hearken to me: they cast not away the abominations
of their eyes, and forsook not the devices of Egypt: then I said that I would pour
out my anger upon them, to accomplish my anger upon them in the midst of Egypt.
9
But I wrought so that my name should not be at all profaned in the sight of the Gentiles,
in the midst of whom they are, among whom I was made known to them in their sight,
to bring them out of the land of Egypt. Alex. +’and I brought them out of the land of Egypt.’
10
And I brought them into the wilderness.
11
And I gave them my commandments, and made known to them mine ordinances, all which
if a man shall do, he shall even live in them.
12
And I gave them my sabbaths, that they should be for a sign between me and them, that
they should know that I am the Lord that sanctify them.
13
And I said to the house of Israel in the wilderness, Walk you in my commandments:
but they walked not in them, and they rejected mine ordinances, which if a man shall
do, he shall even live in them; and they grievously profaned my sabbaths: and I said
that I would pour out my anger upon them in the wilderness, to consume them.
14
But I wrought so that my name should not be at all profaned before the Gentiles, before
whose eyes I brought them out.
15
But I lifted up my hand against them in the wilderness once for all, that I would
not bring them into the land which I gave them, a land flowing with milk and honey,
it is Gr. a honeycomb sweeter than all lands:
16
because they rejected mine ordinances, and walked not in my commandments, but profaned
my sabbaths, and went after the imaginations of their hearts.
17
Yet mine eyes spared them, so as not to destroy them utterly, and I did not make an
end of them in the wilderness.
18
And I said to their children in the wilderness, Walk not you in the customs of your
fathers, and keep not their ordinances, and have no fellowship with their practices,
nor defile yourselves with them.
19
I am the Lord your God; walk in my commandments, and keep mine ordinances, and do
them;
20
and hallow my sabbaths, and let them be a sign between me and you, that you may know
that I am the Lord your God.
21
But they provoked me, and their children walked not in my commandments, and they took
no heed to mine ordinances to do them, which if a man shall do, he shall even live
in them, and they profaned my sabbaths: then I said that I would pour out my anger
upon them in the wilderness, to accomplish mine anger upon them.
22
But I wrought so that my name might not be at all profaned before the Gentiles; and
I brought them out in their sight.
23
I lifted up my hand against them in the wilderness, that I would scatter them among
the Gentiles, and disperse them in the countries;
24
because they kept not mine ordinances, and rejected my commandments, and profaned
my sabbaths, and their eyes went after the imaginations of their fathers.
25
So I gave them commandments that were not good, and ordinances in which they should
not live.
26
And I will defile them by their own Alex. gifts; so Heb. decrees, when I pass through upon every one that opens the womb,
that I may destroy
them.
27
Therefore, son of man, speak to the house of Israel, and you shall say to them, Thus
says the Lord: Hitherto have your fathers provoke me in their trespasses in which
they transgressed against me.
28
Whereas I brought them into the land concerning which I lifted up mine hand to give
it them; and they looked upon every high hill, and every shady tree, and they sacrificed
there to their gods, and offered there sweet-smelling savour, and there they poured
out their drink-offerings.
29
And I said to them, What is Abama, that you go in there? and they called its mane
Abama, until this day.
30
Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord, Do you pollute yourselves
with the iniquities of your fathers, and do you go a-whoring after their abominations,
31
and do you pollute yourselves with the first-fruits of your gifts, in the offerings
wherewith you pollute yourselves in all your imaginations, until this day; and shall
I answer you, O house of Israel? As I live, says the Lord, I will not answer you,
neither shall this thing come upon your spirit.
32
And it shall not be as you say, We will be as the nations, and as the tribes of the
earth, to worship stocks and stones.
33
Therefore, as I live, says the Lord, I will reign over you with a strong hand, and
with a high arm, and with outpoured anger:
34
I will bring you out from the nations, and will take you out of the lands wherein
you were dispersed, with a strong hand, and with a high arm, and with outpoured anger.
35
And I will bring you into the wilderness of the nations, and will plead with you there
face to face.
36
As I pleaded with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so will I judge
you, says the Lord.
37
And I will cause you to pass under my rod, and I will bring you in by number.
38
And I will Gr. choose out from you separate from among you the ungodly and the revolters; for I will lead them forth
out of their place of sojourning, and they shall not enter into the land of Israel:
and you shall know that I am the Lord, even the Lord.
39
And as to you, O house of Israel, thus says the Lord, even the Lord; Put away each
one his evil practices, and hereafter if you hearken to me, then shall you no more
profane my holy name by your gifts and by devices.
40
For upon my holy mountain, on the high mountain, says the Lord, even the Lord, there
shall all the house of Israel serve me for ever: and there will I accept you, and
there will I have respect to your first-fruits, and the first-fruits of your perhaps, wave-offerings offerings, in all your
holy things.
41
I will accept you with a sweet-smelling savour, when I bring you out from the nations,
and take you out of the countries wherein you have been dispersed; and I will be sanctified
among you in the sight of the nations.
42
And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I have brought you into the land of Israel,
into the land concerning which I lifted up my hand to give it to your fathers.
43
And you shall there remember your ways, and your devices wherewith you defiled yourselves;
and you shall Lit. beat your faces bewail yourselves for all your wickedness.
44
And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I have done thus to you, that my name
may not be profaned in your evil ways, and in your corrupt devices, says the Lord.
45
And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
46
Son of man, set your face against Heb. words Thaeman, and look toward Darom, and prophesy against the chief forest of Nageb,
47
and you shall say to the forest of Nageb, Hear the word of the Lord; thus says the
Lord, even the Lord; Behold, I will kindle a fire in you, and it shall devour in you
every green tree, and every dry tree: the flame that is kindled shall not be quenched,
and every face shall be scorched with it from the south to the north.
48
And all flesh shall know that I the Lord have kindled it: it shall not be quenched.
49
And I said, See Ac 10:14 Not so, O Lord God! they say to me, Is not this that is spoken a parable?