Ezekiel 20:4
in Ezekiel 20Will you judge them, will you judge them, son of man? Confront them with the abominations of their fathers
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Wilt thou judge them, son of man, wilt thou judge them? Cause them to know the abominations of their fathers;
KJV
Wilt thou judge them, son of man, wilt thou judge them? cause them to know the abominations of their fathers:
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This verse in Ezekiel 20
Commentary
3 notes on this verse(Verse 4) If you judge them: if you judge, O son of man. LXX: if I avenge them with vengeance, O son of man: They have indeed come to interrogate me, desiring to know about those things about which they are in doubt, and the future; but you, O son of man, judge them, so that the prophet's response may not be, but rather the sentence of the judge for the injustices they have committed, and for following the crimes of their fathers.
This site's exposition
certain of the elders of Israel came to enquire of the Lord
on Ezekiel 20:1-4
The date is precise, the seventh year of the exile, and the elders come to sit before the prophet and enquire of the Lord exactly as elders had done before Jeremiah in the homeland. The answer refuses the request outright, as I live, saith the Lord God, I will not be enquired of by you, because the abominations of their fathers still stand unconfessed behind the question. Gill notes that the refusal is not silence but a summons to a longer accounting, the historical rehearsal that fills the rest of the chapter.
The record, by era
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Wilt thou judge them - If thou wilt enter into any discussion with them, show them the abomination of their fathers. The whole chapter is a consecutive history of the unfaithfulness ingratitude, rebellion, and idolatry of the Jews, from the earliest times to that day; and vindicates the sentence which God had pronounced against them, and which he was about to execute more fully in delivering them and the city into the hands of the Chaldeans.
The words behind it
9 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הֲתִשְׁפֹּ֣ט | hatishpot | ¿ will you judge | H8199 → | 202 times |
| אֹתָ֔ם | ʾotam | <obj.> them | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הֲתִשְׁפּ֖וֹט | hatishpot | ¿ will you judge | H8199 → | 202 times |
| בֶּן־ | ben- | O son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| אָדָ֑ם | ʾadam | humankind | H120 → | 551 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| תּוֹעֲבֹ֥ת | toavot | [the] abominations of | H8441 → | 117 times |
| אֲבוֹתָ֖ם | ʾavotam | ancestors their | H1 → | 1212 times |
| הוֹדִיעֵֽם׃ | hodiem | make known to them | H3045 → | 945 times |
הֲתִשְׁפֹּ֣ט¿ will you judge
hatishpotH8199 →202 times
אֹתָ֔ם<obj.> them
ʾotamH853 →10935 times
הֲתִשְׁפּ֖וֹט¿ will you judge
hatishpotH8199 →202 times
בֶּן־O son of
ben-H1121 →4930 times
אָדָ֑םhumankind
ʾadamH120 →551 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
תּוֹעֲבֹ֥ת[the] abominations of
toavotH8441 →117 times
אֲבוֹתָ֖םancestors their
ʾavotamH1 →1212 times
הוֹדִיעֵֽם׃make known to them
hodiemH3045 →945 times
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
Jeremiah 7:16As for you, do not pray for these people, do not offer a plea or petition on their behalf, and do not beg Me, for I will not listen to you.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 11:14
As for you, do not pray for these people. Do not raise up a cry or a prayer on their behalf, for I will not be listening when they call out to Me in…
- Jeremiah 14:11–12
Then the LORD said to me, “Do not pray for the well-being of this people.
- Jeremiah 15:1
Then the LORD said to me: “Even if Moses and Samuel should stand before Me, My heart would not go out to this people. Send them from My presence, and let them go.
- Isaiah 1:15
When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you; even though you multiply your prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are covered with blood.
- Ezekiel 14:14–20
then even if these three men—Noah, Daniel, and Job—were in it, their righteousness could deliver only themselves, declares the Lord GOD.
- Jeremiah 11:14
Through
Ezekiel 22:2“As for you, son of man, will you judge her? Will you pass judgment on the city of bloodshed? Then confront her with all her abominations
it leads to
- Isaiah 58:1
“Cry aloud, do not hold back! Raise your voice like a ram’s horn. Declare to My people their transgression and to the house of Jacob their sins.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 58:1
Through
Ezekiel 14:20then as surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, they could not deliver their own sons or daughters. Their righteousness could deliver only themselves.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 14:14
then even if these three men—Noah, Daniel, and Job—were in it, their righteousness could deliver only themselves, declares the Lord GOD.
- Ezekiel 14:14
Through
Ezekiel 23:36Then the LORD said to me: “Son of man, will you pass judgment against Oholah and Oholibah? Then declare to them their abominations.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 22:2
“As for you, son of man, will you judge her? Will you pass judgment on the city of bloodshed? Then confront her with all her abominations
- Ezekiel 22:2
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Ezekiel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.