Ezekiel 20:14
in Ezekiel 20But I acted for the sake of My name, so that it would not be profaned in the eyes of the nations in whose sight I had brought them out.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
But I wrought for my name’s sake, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, in whose sight I brought them out.
KJV
But I wrought for my name’s sake, that it should not be polluted before the heathen, in whose sight I brought them out.
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This verse in Ezekiel 20
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
rebelled against me in the wilderness
on Ezekiel 20:13-14
The wilderness generation rebelled against me in the wilderness in the same three ways just named, statutes unkept, judgments despised, sabbaths greatly polluted. Again the sentence is stayed for his name's sake before the heathen who watched the exodus and might read Israel's destruction as their God's weakness.
This site's exposition
I acted for the sake of My name
The refrain of verse 9 returns in the wilderness. At the calf Moses pleaded that Egypt would say the LORD brought Israel out to kill them, and the LORD relented, Exodus 32:12 to 14. Henry reads the wilderness years as a run of such reprieves.
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
), that the Egyptians might not say that for mischief he brought them thus far, or that he was not able to bring them any further, or that he had no such good land as was talked of to bring them to, Exod. xxxii. Note, God's strongest reasons for his sparing mercy are those which are fetched from his own glory.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
But I wrought for my name's sake, that it should not be polluted before the Heathen,....
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
they walked not in My statutes They tested Me with the calf, and in Rephidim [i.e., showing unwillingness] to receive the Torah, and they left over some of the manna.
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
10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וָאֶעֱשֶׂ֖ה | vaeeseh | and I acted | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| לְמַ֣עַן | lemaan | for [the] sake of | H4616 → | 272 times |
| שְׁמִ֑י | shemi | name my | H8034 → | 864 times |
| לְבִלְתִּ֤י | levilti | to not | H1115 → | 112 times |
| הֵחֵל֙ | hechel | to be profaned | H2490 → | 143 times |
| לְעֵינֵ֣י | leeinei | to [the] eyes of | H5869 → | 887 times |
| הַגּוֹיִ֔ם | hagoyim | the nations | H1471 → | 561 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| הוֹצֵאתִ֖ים | hotzetim | I had brought out them | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| לְעֵינֵיהֶֽם׃ | leeineihem | to eyes their | H5869 → | 887 times |
וָאֶעֱשֶׂ֖הand I acted
vaeesehH6213 →2628 times
לְמַ֣עַןfor [the] sake of
lemaanH4616 →272 times
שְׁמִ֑יname my
shemiH8034 →864 times
לְבִלְתִּ֤יto not
leviltiH1115 →112 times
הֵחֵל֙to be profaned
hechelH2490 →143 times
לְעֵינֵ֣יto [the] eyes of
leeineiH5869 →887 times
הַגּוֹיִ֔םthe nations
hagoyimH1471 →561 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
הוֹצֵאתִ֖יםI had brought out them
hotzetimH3318 →1067 times
לְעֵינֵיהֶֽם׃to eyes their
leeineihemH5869 →887 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
Ephesians 1:6to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given us in the Beloved One.
it leads to
- Romans 3:22–26
And this righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no distinction,
- Colossians 1:13
He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of His beloved Son,
- Ephesians 1:12
in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, would be for the praise of His glory.
- Philippians 4:19
And my God will supply all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus.
- Matthew 3:17
And a voice from heaven said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased!”
- Romans 3:22–26
Through
Ephesians 1:12in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, would be for the praise of His glory.
it leads to
- Ephesians 1:6
to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given us in the Beloved One.
- Jeremiah 17:5–7
This is what the LORD says: “Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind, who makes the flesh his strength and turns his heart from the LORD.
- Ephesians 1:13–14
And in Him, having heard and believed the word of truth—the gospel of your salvation—you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,
- Ephesians 1:6
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies2
About Ezekiel
This page draws on Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.