Ezekiel's recounting reveals that Israel's idolatry began not in Canaan but already in Egypt, fundamentally reframing the timeline of covenant unfaithfulness.
Ezekiel 20
Israel's Rebellion in Egypt and the Wilderness
1In the seventh year, in the fifth month, the tenth day of the month, some of the elders of Israel came to inquire of the LORD, and sat before me.
2The LORD’s word came to me, saying,
3“Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel, and tell them, ‘The Lord GOD says: “Is it to inquire of me that you have come? As I live,” says the Lord GOD, “I will not be inquired of by you.”’
4“Will you judge them, son of man? Will you judge them? Cause them to know the abominations of their fathers.
5Tell them, ‘The Lord GOD says: “In the day when I chose Israel, and swore to the offspring of the house of Jacob, and made myself known to them in the land of Egypt, when I swore to them, saying, ‘I am the LORD your God;’
6in that day I swore to them to bring them out of the land of Egypt into a land that I had searched out for them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands.
7I said to them, ‘Each of you throw away the abominations of his eyes. Don’t defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.’
8“‘“But they rebelled against me and wouldn’t listen to me. They didn’t all throw away the abominations of their eyes. They also didn’t forsake the idols of Egypt. Then I said I would pour out my wrath on them, to accomplish my anger against them in the middle of the land of Egypt.
9But I worked for my name’s sake, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations among which they were, in whose sight I made myself known to them in bringing them out of the land of Egypt.
10So I caused them to go out of the land of Egypt and brought them into the wilderness.
11I gave them my statutes and showed them my ordinances, which if a man does, he will 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 who sanctifies them.
13“‘“But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness. They didn’t walk in my statutes and they rejected my ordinances, which if a man keeps, he shall live in them. They greatly profaned my Sabbaths. Then I said I would pour out my wrath on them in the wilderness, to consume them.
14But I worked for my name’s sake, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, in whose sight I brought them out.
15Moreover also I swore to 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 rejected my ordinances, and didn’t walk in my statutes, and profaned my Sabbaths; for their heart went after their idols.
17Nevertheless my eye spared them, and I didn’t destroy them. I didn’t make a full end of them in the wilderness.
18I said to their children in the wilderness, ‘Don’t walk in the statutes of your fathers. Don’t observe their ordinances or defile yourselves with their idols.
19I am the LORD your God. Walk in my statutes, keep my ordinances, and do them.
20Make my Sabbaths holy. They shall be a sign between me and you, that you may know that I am the LORD your God.’
21“‘“But the children rebelled against me. They didn’t walk in my statutes, and didn’t keep my ordinances to do them, which if a man does, he shall live in them. They profaned my Sabbaths. Then I said I would pour out my wrath on them, to accomplish my anger against them in the wilderness.
22Nevertheless I withdrew my hand and worked for my name’s sake, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, in whose sight I brought them out.
23Moreover I swore to them in the wilderness, that I would scatter them among the nations and disperse them through the countries,
24because they had not executed my ordinances, but had rejected my statutes, and had profaned my Sabbaths, and their eyes were after their fathers’ idols.
25Moreover also I gave them statutes that were not good, and ordinances in which they couldn’t live.
26I polluted them in their own gifts, in that they caused all that opens the womb to pass through the fire, that I might make them desolate, to the end that they might know that I am the LORD.”’
Israel's Continued Rebellion
27“Therefore, son of man, speak to the house of Israel, and tell them, ‘The Lord GOD says: “Moreover, 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 which I swore to give to them, then they saw every high hill and every thick tree, and they offered there their sacrifices, and there they presented the provocation of their offering. There they also made their pleasant aroma, and there they poured out their drink offerings.
29Then I said to them, ‘What does the high place where you go mean?’ So its name is called Bamah to this day.”’
30“Therefore tell the house of Israel, ‘The Lord GOD says: “Do you pollute yourselves in the way of your fathers? Do you play the prostitute after their abominations?
31When you offer your gifts, when you make your sons pass through the fire, do you pollute yourselves with all your idols to this day? Should I be inquired of by you, house of Israel? As I live, says the Lord GOD, I will not be inquired of by you!
32“‘“That which comes into your mind will not be at all, in that you say, ‘We will be as the nations, as the families of the countries, to serve wood and stone.’
Future Restoration and Purification
33As I live,” says the Lord GOD, “surely with a mighty hand, with an outstretched arm, and with wrath poured out, I will be king over you.
34I will bring you out from the peoples, and will gather you out of the countries in which you are scattered with a mighty hand, with an outstretched arm, and with wrath poured out.
35I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and there I will enter into judgment with you face to face.
36Just as I entered into judgment with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will enter into judgment with you,” says the Lord GOD.
37“I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant.
38I will purge out from among you the rebels and those who disobey me. I will bring them out of the land where they live, but they shall not enter into the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the LORD.”
39“‘As for you, house of Israel, the Lord GOD says: “Go, everyone serve his idols, and hereafter also, if you will not listen to me; but you shall no more profane my holy name with your gifts and with your idols.
40For in my holy mountain, in the mountain of the height of Israel,” says the Lord GOD, “there all the house of Israel, all of them, shall serve me in the land. There I will accept them, and there I will require your offerings and the first fruits of your offerings, with all your holy things.
41I will accept you as a pleasant aroma when I bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries in which you have been scattered. I will be sanctified in you in the sight of the nations.
42You will know that I am the LORD when I bring you into the land of Israel, into the country which I swore to give to your fathers.
43There you will remember your ways, and all your deeds in which you have polluted yourselves. Then you will loathe yourselves in your own sight for all your evils that you have committed.
44You will know that I am the LORD, when I have dealt with you for my name’s sake, not according to your evil ways, nor according to your corrupt doings, you house of Israel,” says the Lord GOD.’”
The Forest Fire of the South
45The LORD’s word came to me, saying,
46“Son of man, set your face toward the south, and preach toward the south, and prophesy against the forest of the field in the south.
47Tell the forest of the south, ‘Hear the LORD’s word: The Lord GOD says, “Behold, I will kindle a fire in you, and it will devour every green tree in you, and every dry tree. The burning flame will not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north will be burned by it.
48All flesh will see that I, the LORD, have kindled it. It will not be quenched.”’”
49Then I said, “Ah Lord GOD! They say of me, ‘Isn’t he a speaker of parables?’”
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Theme
When Israelite elders come to inquire of the Lord, God refuses to answer them and instead commands Ezekiel to recount Israel's long history of rebellion and idolatry. Through a detailed historical review spanning from Egypt through the wilderness to the present exile, God demonstrates how each generation has consistently rejected His laws and pursued idols, yet He has repeatedly shown mercy for the sake of His name. The chapter concludes with both a promise of future restoration when God will purify His people and bring them back to their land, and a warning of coming judgment symbolized by an unstoppable forest fire.
Context
This chapter continues Ezekiel's prophetic ministry during the Babylonian exile, following his previous symbolic acts and visions of Jerusalem's coming destruction.
Key Themes
Outline
- 1-4 God Refuses to Answer the Elders The Lord rejects the elders' inquiry and commands Ezekiel to confront them with their ancestors' sins.
- 5-9 Rebellion in Egypt God recounts how Israel refused to abandon Egyptian idols despite His covenant promises and deliverance.
- 10-17 Rebellion in the Wilderness The wilderness generation rejected God's statutes and profaned His Sabbaths, earning judgment but receiving mercy.
- 18-26 The Next Generation's Failure Even their children continued the pattern of disobedience and idol worship in the wilderness.
- 27-32 Ongoing Rebellion in the Land Israel's unfaithfulness continued in the promised land through high place worship and child sacrifice.
- 33-44 Promise of Future Restoration God promises to gather, purify, and restore His people to proper worship in their land.
- 45-49 The Forest Fire Vision A symbolic prophecy of unstoppable judgment coming upon the southern kingdom.
Israel's Rebellion in Egypt and the Wilderness
20:1–20:26 prophecy speech wrathful
God recounts Israel's history of rebellion, beginning with their disobedience in Egypt and continuing through the wilderness period. Despite God's covenant faithfulness and gift of the law including the Sabbath, Israel repeatedly turned to idolatry and rejected divine authority.
person_contrast
Ezekiel's recounting reveals that Israel's idolatry began not in Canaan but already in Egypt, fundamentally reframing the timeline of covenant unfaithfulness.
Israel's Continued Rebellion
20:27–20:32 prophecy rebuke wrathful
God condemns Israel's continued rebellion through idolatrous worship practices, including child sacrifice and serving false gods. The passage emphasizes God's refusal to be consulted by a people who persist in abominable practices and seek to be like other nations.
structural
Ezekiel uniquely links Israel's desire to "be like the nations" (v.32) with their practice of child sacrifice, creating the Bible's starkest condemnation of assimilation through abomination.
Future Restoration and Purification
20:33–20:44 prophecy speech hopeful
God promises future restoration after judgment, declaring He will gather the scattered people and purge out the rebels. The faithful remnant will be brought back to the holy mountain where they will serve God acceptably and remember their past sins with repentance.
theme_rarity
God's promise to "purge out the rebels" while sanctifying the remnant creates one of only three biblical passages where divine judgment and sanctification operate simultaneously as complementary purification processes.
The Forest Fire of the South
20:45–20:49 prophecy vision warning
God commands Ezekiel to prophesy against the southern forest, declaring divine judgment through an unquenchable fire that will consume all vegetation. Ezekiel responds that people dismiss him as merely a speaker of parables.
person_contrast
Ezekiel's complaint that people dismiss him as a "speaker of parables" ironically precedes his most literal prophecy—the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem's "southern forest.
Insights
Ezekiel uniquely links Israel's desire to "be like the nations" (v.32) with their practice of child sacrifice, creating the Bible's starkest condemnation of assimilation through abomination.
God's promise to "purge out the rebels" while sanctifying the remnant creates one of only three biblical passages where divine judgment and sanctification operate simultaneously as complementary purification processes.
Ezekiel's complaint that people dismiss him as a "speaker of parables" ironically precedes his most literal prophecy—the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem's "southern forest.
Cross-References
Connected passages across Scripture
Ezekiel 20:1 5 references
Lexicals 5
Jeremiah 52:12 Lexical
Now in the fifth month, in the tenth day of the month, which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Bab…
Leviticus 25:9 Lexical
Then you shall sound the loud trumpet on the tenth day of the seventh month. On the Day of Atonement you shall sound the…
Leviticus 16:29 Lexical
“It shall be a statute to you forever: in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict your souls…
Leviticus 23:27 Lexical
“However on the tenth day of this seventh month is the day of atonement. It shall be a holy convocation to you. You shal…
Numbers 29:7 Lexical
“‘On the tenth day of this seventh month you shall have a holy convocation. You shall afflict your souls. You shall do n…
Ezekiel 20:3 1 reference
Ezekiel 20:6 5 references
Lexicals 5
Exodus 33:3 Lexical
Go to a land flowing with milk and honey; but I will not go up among you, for you are a stiff-necked people, lest I cons…
Numbers 14:8 Lexical
If the LORD delights in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it to us: a land which flows with milk and ho…
Exodus 3:17 Lexical
I have said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite,…
Numbers 16:13 Lexical
Is it a small thing that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness,…
Exodus 13:5 Lexical
It shall be, when the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Amorite, and the Hivite,…
Ezekiel 20:7 1 reference
Ezekiel 20:8 5 references
Lexicals 5
Lamentations 4:11 Lexical
The LORD has accomplished his wrath. He has poured out his fierce anger. He has kindled a fire in Zion, which has devour…
Ezekiel 7:8 Lexical
Now I will shortly pour out my wrath on you, and accomplish my anger against you, and will judge you according to your w…
Ezekiel 36:18 Lexical
Therefore I poured out my wrath on them for the blood which they had poured out on the land, and because they had defile…
Ezekiel 22:3 Lexical
You shall say, ‘The Lord GOD says: “A city that sheds blood within herself, that her time may come, and that makes idols…
Jeremiah 10:25 Lexical
Pour out your wrath on the nations that don’t know you, and on the families that don’t call on your name; for they have…
Ezekiel 20:12 1 reference
Ezekiel 20:13 5 references
Lexicals 5
Ezekiel 5:6 Lexical
She has rebelled against my ordinances in doing wickedness more than the nations, and against my statutes more than the…
Leviticus 26:43 Lexical
The land also will be left by them, and will enjoy its Sabbaths while it lies desolate without them; and they will accep…
Lamentations 4:11 Lexical
The LORD has accomplished his wrath. He has poured out his fierce anger. He has kindled a fire in Zion, which has devour…
Jeremiah 10:25 Lexical
Pour out your wrath on the nations that don’t know you, and on the families that don’t call on your name; for they have…
Ezekiel 7:8 Lexical
Now I will shortly pour out my wrath on you, and accomplish my anger against you, and will judge you according to your w…
Ezekiel 20:15 5 references
Lexicals 5
Joshua 5:6 Lexical
For the children of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness until all the nation, even the men of war who came out o…
Numbers 16:13 Lexical
Is it a small thing that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness,…
Exodus 33:3 Lexical
Go to a land flowing with milk and honey; but I will not go up among you, for you are a stiff-necked people, lest I cons…
Numbers 14:8 Lexical
If the LORD delights in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it to us: a land which flows with milk and ho…
Exodus 3:17 Lexical
I have said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite,…
Ezekiel 20:16 5 references
Lexicals 5
Leviticus 26:43 Lexical
The land also will be left by them, and will enjoy its Sabbaths while it lies desolate without them; and they will accep…
Ezekiel 5:6 Lexical
She has rebelled against my ordinances in doing wickedness more than the nations, and against my statutes more than the…
Leviticus 26:15 Lexical
and if you shall reject my statutes, and if your soul abhors my ordinances, so that you will not do all my commandments,…
Ezekiel 44:24 Lexical
“‘“In a controversy they shall stand to judge. They shall judge it according to my ordinances. They shall keep my laws a…
1 Kings 11:33 Lexical
because they have forsaken me, and have worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of Moab, and M…
Ezekiel 20:20 1 reference
Ezekiel 20:21 5 references
Lexicals 5
Lamentations 4:11 Lexical
The LORD has accomplished his wrath. He has poured out his fierce anger. He has kindled a fire in Zion, which has devour…
Ezekiel 7:8 Lexical
Now I will shortly pour out my wrath on you, and accomplish my anger against you, and will judge you according to your w…
Ezekiel 5:6 Lexical
She has rebelled against my ordinances in doing wickedness more than the nations, and against my statutes more than the…
Jeremiah 10:25 Lexical
Pour out your wrath on the nations that don’t know you, and on the families that don’t call on your name; for they have…
Isaiah 42:25 Lexical
Therefore he poured the fierceness of his anger on him, and the strength of battle. It set him on fire all around, but h…
Ezekiel 20:24 5 references
Lexicals 5
Leviticus 26:43 Lexical
The land also will be left by them, and will enjoy its Sabbaths while it lies desolate without them; and they will accep…
Ezekiel 5:6 Lexical
She has rebelled against my ordinances in doing wickedness more than the nations, and against my statutes more than the…
Leviticus 26:15 Lexical
and if you shall reject my statutes, and if your soul abhors my ordinances, so that you will not do all my commandments,…
Ezekiel 44:24 Lexical
“‘“In a controversy they shall stand to judge. They shall judge it according to my ordinances. They shall keep my laws a…
Ezekiel 5:7 Lexical
“Therefore the Lord GOD says: ‘Because you are more turbulent than the nations that are around you, and have not walked…
Ezekiel 20:27 2 references
Ezekiel 20:28 5 references
Lexicals 5
Ezekiel 6:13 Lexical
You will know that I am the LORD when their slain men are among their idols around their altars, on every high hill, on…
Numbers 15:7 Lexical
and for the drink offering you shall offer the third part of a hin of wine, of a pleasant aroma to the LORD.
Numbers 28:8 Lexical
The other lamb you shall offer at evening. As the meal offering of the morning, and as its drink offering, you shall off…
Leviticus 23:18 Lexical
You shall present with the bread seven lambs without defect a year old, one young bull, and two rams. They shall be a bu…
Exodus 29:41 Lexical
The other lamb you shall offer at evening, and shall do to it according to the meal offering of the morning and accordin…
Ezekiel 20:30 2 references
Ezekiel 20:31 5 references
Lexicals 5
Ezekiel 22:3 Lexical
You shall say, ‘The Lord GOD says: “A city that sheds blood within herself, that her time may come, and that makes idols…
Ezekiel 44:12 Lexical
Because they ministered to them before their idols, and became a stumbling block of iniquity to the house of Israel, the…
Ezekiel 34:8 Lexical
“As I live,” says the Lord GOD, “surely because my sheep became a prey, and my sheep became food to all the animals of t…
Ezekiel 5:11 Lexical
Therefore as I live,’ says the Lord GOD, ‘surely, because you have defiled my sanctuary with all your detestable things,…
Ezekiel 14:11 Lexical
that the house of Israel may no more go astray from me, neither defile themselves any more with all their transgressions…
Ezekiel 20:33 5 references
Lexicals 5
Jeremiah 21:5 Lexical
I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and with a strong arm, even in anger, in wrath, and in great i…
Ezekiel 30:22 Lexical
Therefore the Lord GOD says: ‘Behold, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and will break his arms, the strong arm, and t…
Isaiah 40:10 Lexical
Behold, the Lord GOD will come as a mighty one, and his arm will rule for him. Behold, his reward is with him, and his r…
Ezekiel 9:8 Lexical
While they were killing, and I was left, I fell on my face, and cried, and said, “Ah Lord GOD! Will you destroy all the…
Jeremiah 32:17 Lexical
“Ah Lord GOD! Behold, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm. There is…
Ezekiel 20:34 5 references
Lexicals 5
Jeremiah 21:5 Lexical
I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and with a strong arm, even in anger, in wrath, and in great i…
Deuteronomy 5:15 Lexical
You shall remember that you were a servant in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out of there by a mig…
Deuteronomy 4:34 Lexical
Or has God tried to go and take a nation for himself from among another nation, by trials, by signs, by wonders, by war,…
Psalms 136:12 Lexical
with a strong hand, and with an outstretched arm, for his loving kindness endures forever;
2 Chronicles 6:32 Lexical
“Moreover, concerning the foreigner, who is not of your people Israel, when he comes from a far country for your great n…
Ezekiel 20:36 3 references
Lexicals 3
Ezekiel 24:14 Lexical
“‘“I, the LORD, have spoken it. It will happen, and I will do it. I won’t go back. I won’t spare. I won’t repent. Accord…
Ezekiel 35:11 Lexical
therefore, as I live,” says the Lord GOD, “I will do according to your anger, and according to your envy which you have…
Ezekiel 18:30 Lexical
“Therefore I will judge you, house of Israel, everyone according to his ways,” says the Lord GOD. “Return, and turn your…
Ezekiel 20:39 5 references
Lexicals 5
Ezekiel 36:22 Lexical
“Therefore tell the house of Israel, ‘The Lord GOD says: “I don’t do this for your sake, house of Israel, but for my hol…
Ezekiel 46:16 Lexical
“‘The Lord GOD says: “If the prince gives a gift to any of his sons, it is his inheritance. It shall belong to his sons.…
Ezekiel 14:4 Lexical
Therefore speak to them and tell them, ‘The Lord GOD says: “Every man of the house of Israel who takes his idols into hi…
Ezekiel 23:49 Lexical
They will recompense your lewdness on you, and you will bear the sins of your idols. Then you will know that I am the Lo…
Ezekiel 33:25 Lexical
Therefore tell them, ‘The Lord GOD says: “You eat with the blood, and lift up your eyes to your idols, and shed blood. S…
Ezekiel 20:40 5 references
Lexicals 5
Ezekiel 43:27 Lexical
When they have accomplished the days, it shall be that on the eighth day and onward, the priests shall make your burnt o…
Ezekiel 34:8 Lexical
“As I live,” says the Lord GOD, “surely because my sheep became a prey, and my sheep became food to all the animals of t…
Ezekiel 29:20 Lexical
I have given him the land of Egypt as his payment for which he served, because they worked for me,’ says the Lord GOD.
Ezekiel 44:27 Lexical
In the day that he goes into the sanctuary, into the inner court, to minister in the sanctuary, he shall offer his sin o…
Ezekiel 48:18 Lexical
The remainder of the length, alongside the holy offering, shall be ten thousand eastward and ten thousand westward; and…
Ezekiel 20:41 1 reference
Ezekiel 20:44 5 references
Lexicals 5
Ezekiel 14:23 Lexical
They will comfort you, when you see their way and their doings; then you will know that I have not done all that I have…
Ezekiel 24:14 Lexical
“‘“I, the LORD, have spoken it. It will happen, and I will do it. I won’t go back. I won’t spare. I won’t repent. Accord…
Ezekiel 14:11 Lexical
that the house of Israel may no more go astray from me, neither defile themselves any more with all their transgressions…
Ezekiel 16:63 Lexical
that you may remember, and be confounded, and never open your mouth any more because of your shame, when I have forgiven…
Ezekiel 36:32 Lexical
I don’t do this for your sake,” says the Lord GOD. “Let it be known to you. Be ashamed and confounded for your ways, hou…
Interlinear
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Lemma
Morphology
Semantic Range
Theological Significance
Translation Notes
Key Passages
Historical Context
Places and events in this chapter
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Timeline
Exodus
c. 1446 BCIsrael's miraculous deliverance from Egyptian slavery under Moses' leadership, including the ten plagues and Red Sea crossing. This foundational event established Israel as God's chosen nation.
God recounts Israel's rebellion beginning in Egypt during the exodus period as historical precedent.
Israel's Rebellion in Egypt and the Wilderness