Ezekiel 20:11
in Ezekiel 20And I gave them My statutes and made known to them My ordinances—for the man who does these things will live by them.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And I gave them my statutes, and showed them mine ordinances, which if a man do, he shall live in them.
KJV
And I gave them my statutes, and shewed them my judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them.
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This verse in Ezekiel 20
Commentary
7 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
The Israelites, as a nation, had life already freely given to them by God's covenant of promise; the laws of God were designed to be the means of the outward expression of their spiritual life.
This site's exposition
brought them into the wilderness
on Ezekiel 20:10-12
Brought out of Egypt into the wilderness, the nation receives the statutes and judgments. Alongside the law the Lord gives the sabbaths specifically as a sign between me and them. Henry reads the sabbath's placement here as deliberate, singled out because it is the commandment most visibly broken.
This site's exposition
will live by them
The clause comes from Leviticus 18:5. Paul quotes it at Galatians 3:12, and Henry reads the man who does these statutes as offered life on condition of perfect obedience. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown read the ordinances as the outward form of a life Israel had already been given.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 10 and following) Therefore I expelled them from the land of Egypt, and brought them into the desert, and gave them my commandments, and showed them my judgments, which a man should do and live by them. Moreover, 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. But the house of Israel provoked me in the desert.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
The Chaldee says, He shall live an eternal life in them. St. Paul quotes this ( Gal. iii. 12 ) to show that the law is not of faith, but proposes life upon condition of perfect obedience, which we are not capable of rendering, and therefore must have recourse to the grace of the gospel, without which we are all undone.
And I gave them my statutes,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
I gave them my statutes - I showed them what they should do in order to be safe, comfortable, wise, and happy; and what they should avoid in order to be uninjured in body, mind, and possessions. Had they attended to these things, they should have lived by them. They would have been holy, healthy, and happy.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
to be for a sign It is a great sign for them, that I gave the day of My resting to them for a resting. Behold this is a phenomenal manifestation that I hallowed them to Myself.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
14 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וָאֶתֵּ֤ן | vaeten | and I gave | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| לָהֶם֙ | lahem | to them | ||
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| חֻקּוֹתַ֔י | chukotai | statutes my | H2708 → | 104 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| מִשְׁפָּטַ֖י | mishpatai | judgments my | H4941 → | 422 times |
| הוֹדַ֣עְתִּי | hoda'ti | I made known to | H3045 → | 945 times |
| אוֹתָ֑ם | ʾotam | <obj.> them | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֨ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| יַעֲשֶׂ֥ה | yaaseh | he will do | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| אוֹתָ֛ם | ʾotam | <obj.> them | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הָאָדָ֖ם | haadam | the person | H120 → | 551 times |
| וָחַ֥י | vachai | and he will live | H2421 → | 282 times |
| בָּהֶֽם׃ | bahem | by them |
וָאֶתֵּ֤ןand I gave
vaetenH5414 →2011 times
לָהֶם֙to them
lahem
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
חֻקּוֹתַ֔יstatutes my
chukotaiH2708 →104 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
מִשְׁפָּטַ֖יjudgments my
mishpataiH4941 →422 times
הוֹדַ֣עְתִּיI made known to
hoda'tiH3045 →945 times
אוֹתָ֑ם<obj.> them
ʾotamH853 →10935 times
אֲשֶׁ֨רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
יַעֲשֶׂ֥הhe will do
yaasehH6213 →2628 times
אוֹתָ֛ם<obj.> them
ʾotamH853 →10935 times
הָאָדָ֖םthe person
haadamH120 →551 times
וָחַ֥יand he will live
vachaiH2421 →282 times
בָּהֶֽם׃by them
bahem
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Romans 10:5For concerning the righteousness that is by the law, Moses writes: “The man who does these things will live by them.”
it leads to
- Leviticus 18:5
Keep My statutes and My judgments, for the man who does these things will live by them. I am the LORD.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Nehemiah 9:29
You admonished them to turn back to Your law, but they were arrogant and disobeyed Your commandments. They sinned against Your ordinances, by which a man will live if he practices them. They stubbornly…
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Ezekiel 20:21
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…
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Ezekiel 20:13
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…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Leviticus 18:5
Through
Leviticus 18:5Keep My statutes and My judgments, for the man who does these things will live by them. I am the LORD.
it leads to
- Galatians 3:12
The law, however, is not based on faith; on the contrary, “The man who does these things will live by them.”
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Romans 10:5
For concerning the righteousness that is by the law, Moses writes: “The man who does these things will live by them.”
- Luke 10:28
“You have answered correctly,” Jesus said. “Do this and you will live.”
- Galatians 3:12
Through
Galatians 3:12The law, however, is not based on faith; on the contrary, “The man who does these things will live by them.”
it leads to
- Romans 10:5–6
For concerning the righteousness that is by the law, Moses writes: “The man who does these things will live by them.”
- Romans 10:5–6
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies2
On this verse
On this chapter
About Ezekiel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Ezekiel; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.