Ezekiel 33:25
in Ezekiel 33Therefore tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘You eat meat with the blood in it, lift up your eyes to your idols, and shed blood. Should you then possess the land?
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Wherefore say unto them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Ye eat with the blood, and lift up your eyes unto your idols, and shed blood: and shall ye possess the land?
KJV
Wherefore say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Ye eat with the blood, and lift up your eyes toward your idols, and shed blood: and shall ye possess the land?
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This verse in Ezekiel 33
Commentary
6 notes on this verseYe eat with the blood - Abraham was righteous, ye are unrighteous. Eating of blood, in any way dressed, or of flesh from which the blood had not been extracted, was and is in the sight of God abominable. All such practices he has absolutely and for ever forbidden. Let the vile blood-eaters hear and tremble. See the note on Act 15:20, and the passages in the margin.
This site's exposition
the word of the LORD came to me
on Ezekiel 33:23-26
Those still living in the ruins argue from Abraham, “Abraham was only one man, yet he possessed the land”, and add, “we are many”. The Lord answers by naming their conduct: they eat meat with the blood, look to idols, shed blood and defile a neighbor's wife.
This site's exposition
You eat meat with the blood in
Eating blood was forbidden from Genesis 9:4, and Leviticus 17:10-14 explains that the life is in the blood. The charges in verses 25 and 26 follow the holiness laws of Leviticus 17 to 20. Those laws warned that the land would expel such people.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
After Jerusalem was captured and the temple destroyed, the poor of the land, of whom Jeremiah writes, were left alone in Jerusalem to cultivate vineyards and fields and to dwell in the ruins of the burned city. And although they should have repented for the reasons for their captivity, they deceived themselves with empty hope, saying: Our father Abraham was one, and yet he possessed this land as an inheritance, not because he himself possessed it, but because his descendants received the land of promise. If, therefore, he alone was multiplied into so many peoples, we who are left behind in the land of Judea, and dwell in desolate and ruined cities, will certainly be multiplied much more, so that we may possess more than he possessed alone.
(Verse 23 onwards) And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Son of man, those who dwell in these ruined places in the land of Israel speak, saying: Abraham was one, and he possessed the land; but we are many, the land has been given to us as a possession. Therefore, you shall say to them: Thus says the Lord God: You who eat with blood and lift up your eyes to your idols, and shed blood, shall you inherit the land?
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Wherefore say unto them, thus saith the Lord God,....
The words behind it
18 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| לָכֵן֩ | lakhen | <to> therefore | H3651 → | 771 times |
| אֱמֹ֨ר | ʾemor | say | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֲלֵיהֶ֜ם | ʾaleihem | to them | H413 → | 5510 times |
| כֹּֽה־ | koh- | thus | H3541 → | 577 times |
| אָמַ֣ר׀ | ʾamar | he says | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֲדֹנָ֣י | ʾadonai | [the] Lord | H136 → | 440 times |
| יְהֹוִ֗ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3069 → | 306 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | with | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הַדָּ֧ם׀ | hadam | the blood | H1818 → | 360 times |
| תֹּאכֵ֛לוּ | tokhelu | you eat | H398 → | 810 times |
| וְעֵינֵכֶ֛ם | veeinekhem | and eyes your | H5869 → | 887 times |
| תִּשְׂא֥וּ | tisu | you lift up | H5375 → | 656 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| גִּלּוּלֵיכֶ֖ם | giluleikhem | idols your | H1544 → | 48 times |
| וְדָ֣ם | vedam | and blood | H1818 → | 360 times |
| תִּשְׁפֹּ֑כוּ | tishpokhu | you shed | H8210 → | 114 times |
| וְהָאָ֖רֶץ | vehaaretz | and ¿ land | H776 → | 2504 times |
| תִּירָֽשׁוּ׃ | tirashu | will you possess? | H3423 → | 231 times |
לָכֵן֩<to> therefore
lakhenH3651 →771 times
אֱמֹ֨רsay
ʾemorH559 →5305 times
אֲלֵיהֶ֜םto them
ʾaleihemH413 →5510 times
כֹּֽה־thus
koh-H3541 →577 times
אָמַ֣ר׀he says
ʾamarH559 →5305 times
אֲדֹנָ֣י[the] Lord
ʾadonaiH136 →440 times
יְהֹוִ֗הYahweh
yahwehH3069 →306 times
עַל־with
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
הַדָּ֧ם׀the blood
hadamH1818 →360 times
תֹּאכֵ֛לוּyou eat
tokheluH398 →810 times
וְעֵינֵכֶ֛םand eyes your
veeinekhemH5869 →887 times
תִּשְׂא֥וּyou lift up
tisuH5375 →656 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
גִּלּוּלֵיכֶ֖םidols your
giluleikhemH1544 →48 times
וְדָ֣םand blood
vedamH1818 →360 times
תִּשְׁפֹּ֑כוּyou shed
tishpokhuH8210 →114 times
וְהָאָ֖רֶץand ¿ land
vehaaretzH776 →2504 times
תִּירָֽשׁוּ׃will you possess?
tirashuH3423 →231 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
Genesis 9:4But you must not eat meat with its lifeblood still in it.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 15:23
But you must not eat the blood; pour it on the ground like water.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Deuteronomy 12:23
Only be sure not to eat the blood, because the blood is the life, and you must not eat the life with the meat.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Deuteronomy 12:16
but you must not eat the blood; pour it on the ground like water.
- Acts 15:20
Instead, we should write and tell them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals, and from blood.
- Leviticus 7:26
You must not eat the blood of any bird or animal in any of your dwellings.
- Deuteronomy 15:23
Through
Leviticus 3:17This is a permanent statute for the generations to come, wherever you live: You must not eat any fat or any blood.”
it leads to
- Genesis 9:4
But you must not eat meat with its lifeblood still in it.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Matthew 26:28
This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.
- Leviticus 7:23
“Speak to the Israelites and say, ‘You are not to eat any of the fat of an ox, a sheep, or a goat.
- Genesis 9:4
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies2
On this verse
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About Ezekiel

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Ezekiel; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).
