Ezekiel 20:18

Translations

Modern

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.

Traditional

But 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:

Literal

And I said to their sons in the wilderness, ‘In the statutes of your fathers you shall not walk, and their ordinances you shall not keep, and with their idols you shall not defile yourselves.

Latin

Dixi autem ad filios eorum in solitudine: In præceptis patrum vestrorum nolite incedere, nec judicia eorum custodiatis, nec in idolis eorum polluamini.

Original

Hebrew

English

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.

Notes

Ezekiel 20:8–21

Each generation of Israelites rebelled against the Lord. They refused to obey the commandments he gave them.

Each time, the Lord warned that he would pour out his fury (his strong anger) on them (Ezekiel 20:8, 13, 21). But he held back his judgment. He did this for the honor of his name.

If he had destroyed them, the surrounding nations might have thought he was too weak to bring his people into the promised land.

Ezekiel 20:4–26

The Lord refused to answer their question. But this did not mean he had nothing to say.

Instead, God gave them a different message through Ezekiel. Ezekiel would describe the sinful and detestable actions of their ancestors. He would place these past sins clearly before the people.

Events

Prophecies of Ezekielc. 593 BC

Related verses

Ezekiel 20:7
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.’
1 Peter 1:18
For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life you inherited from your forefathers,
Deuteronomy 4:3–6
Your eyes have seen what the LORD did at Baal-peor, for the LORD your God destroyed from among you all who followed Baal of Peor.
Psalm 78:6–8
…that the coming generation would know them—even children yet to be born—to arise and tell their own children
Zechariah 1:2–4
“The LORD was very angry with your fathers.
Acts 7:51
You stiff-necked people with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit, just as your fathers did.
Numbers 14:32–33
As for you, however, your bodies will fall in this wilderness.
Jeremiah 2:7
I brought you into a fertile land to eat its fruit and bounty, but you came and defiled My land and made My inheritance detestable.
Jeremiah 3:9
Indifferent to her own infidelity, Israel had defiled the land and committed adultery with stones and trees.
Luke 11:47–48
Woe to you! For you build tombs for the prophets, but it was your fathers who killed them.
Numbers 32:13–15
The anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and He made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until the whole generation who had done evil in His sight was gone.

Glossary

Ezekiel, Book of Sabbath Sign

Topics

Children: should not Imitate Bad Parents Defilement: Moral, Caused by Making and Serving Idols Example: Bad, Admonitions Against Parents: when Wicked: Set a Bad Example to Their Children The Jews: National Character of Fondness for Traditionary Customs

Ezekiel 20:18

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Events?

Related verses?

Glossary?

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