Ezekiel 20:22
in Ezekiel 20But I withheld My hand and 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
Nevertheless I withdrew my hand, and wrought for my name’s sake, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, in whose sight I brought them forth.
KJV
Nevertheless I withdrew mine hand, and wrought for my name’s sake, that it should not be polluted in the sight of the heathen, in whose sight I brought them forth.
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This verse in Ezekiel 20
Commentary
6 notes on this verseNevertheless I withdrew mine hand,.... When it was stretched out against them, as in the above instance, and did not utterly consume them. The Targum is, "and I turned away the stroke of my might:'' and wrought for my name's sake, that it should not be polluted in the sight of the heathen, in whose sight I brought them forth. See Gill on Eze 20:9 and See Gill on Eze 20:14.
This site's exposition
the children rebelled against me
on Ezekiel 20:21-22
The children rebelled against me exactly as their fathers had. I withdrew mine hand repeats the earlier restraint, an oath begun and physically pulled back. Clarke reads the withdrawn hand as the most vivid picture in the chapter of mercy overruling a judgment already set in motion.
This site's exposition
I withheld My hand
Gill cites the Targum, which renders the clause that God turned away the stroke of His might. The hand was already raised. The third reprieve of the chapter rests on the same name as the first two, kept holy before the nations.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 21, 22.) And my children have provoked me, they have not walked in my commandments, and they have not kept my judgments, to do the things that if a man does, he shall live in them, and they have violated my sabbaths. And I threatened to pour out my fury upon them, and to accomplish my anger against them in the wilderness. But I turned away my hand, and I did it for the sake of my name, so that it would not be violated in the sight of the nations, from whom I cast them out.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Note, Those are justly forbidden God's house that profane his house. He will separate them to himself again. (1.) He will gather them in mercy out of the countries whither they were scattered, to be monuments of mercy, as the incorrigible were gathered to be vessels of wrath,
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
I withdrew mine hand - I had just lifted it up to crush them as in a moment; for they also were idolatrous, and walked in the steps of their fathers.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַהֲשִׁבֹ֙תִי֙ | vahashivoti | and I turned back | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| יָדִ֔י | yadi | hand my | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| וָאַ֖עַשׂ | vaaas | 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 |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| הוֹצֵ֥אתִי | hotzeti | I brought out | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| אוֹתָ֖ם | ʾotam | <obj.> them | H853 → | 10935 times |
| לְעֵינֵיהֶֽם׃ | leeineihem | to eyes their | H5869 → | 887 times |
וַהֲשִׁבֹ֙תִי֙and I turned back
vahashivotiH7725 →1056 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
יָדִ֔יhand my
yadiH3027 →1618 times
וָאַ֖עַשׂand I acted
vaaasH6213 →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
אֲשֶׁר־which
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
הוֹצֵ֥אתִיI brought out
hotzetiH3318 →1067 times
אוֹתָ֖ם<obj.> them
ʾotamH853 →10935 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
Jeremiah 14:21For the sake of Your name do not despise us; do not disgrace Your glorious throne. Remember Your covenant with us; do not break it.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 14:7
Although our iniquities testify against us, O LORD, act for the sake of Your name. Indeed, our rebellions are many; we have sinned against You.
- Psalms 106:45
And He remembered His covenant with them, and relented by the abundance of His loving devotion.
- Jeremiah 14:7
Through
Psalms 78:38And yet He was compassionate; He forgave their iniquity and did not destroy them. He often restrained His anger and did not unleash His full wrath.
it leads to
- Isaiah 48:9
For the sake of My name I will delay My wrath; for the sake of My praise I will restrain it, so that you will not be cut off.
- Numbers 14:18–20
‘The LORD is slow to anger and abounding in loving devotion, forgiving iniquity and transgression. Yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished; He will visit the iniquity of the fathers upon…
- Ezekiel 20:17
Yet I looked on them with pity and did not destroy them or bring them to an end in the wilderness.
- Ezekiel 20:13–14
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…
- Exodus 34:6–9
Then the LORD passed in front of Moses and called out: “The LORD, the LORD God, is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion and faithfulness,
- Isaiah 48:9
Through
Ezekiel 20:9But I acted for the sake of My name, that it should not be profaned in the eyes of the nations among whom they were living, in whose sight I had revealed Myself to…
it leads to
- Ezekiel 39:7
So I will make My holy name known among My people Israel and will no longer allow it to be profaned. Then the nations will know that I am the LORD, the Holy One…
- Ezekiel 39:7
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies2
About Ezekiel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Ezekiel; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.