Ezekiel 20:24
in Ezekiel 20For they did not practice My ordinances, but they rejected My statutes and profaned My Sabbaths, fixing their eyes on the idols of their fathers.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
because they had not executed mine ordinances, but had rejected my statutes, and had profaned my sabbaths, and their eyes were after their fathers’ idols.
KJV
Because they had not executed my judgments, but had despised my statutes, and had polluted my sabbaths, and their eyes were after their fathers’ idols.
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This verse in Ezekiel 20
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThose who disobey God's statutes despise them, they show that they have a mean opinion of them and of him whose statutes they are. They polluted God's sabbaths, as their fathers. Note, The profanation of the sabbath day is an inlet to all impiety; those who pollute holy time will keep nothing pure.
This site's exposition
scatter them among the heathen
on Ezekiel 20:23-24
A third oath follows, sworn in the wilderness itself, that the Lord would scatter them among the heathen and disperse them through the countries. The stated ground is deliberate: not executed my judgments, despised my statutes, polluted my sabbaths, eyes after their fathers' idols.
This site's exposition
fixing their eyes on the idols
Henry calls the profaning of the Sabbath an inlet to all impiety. The charge ends at the eyes, where verse 7 began with the abominations before the eyes in Egypt. Idolatry passed from fathers to sons by sight.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
) that their eyes went after their fathers' idols; they had grown atheistical, and had no affection for any gods at all, but they worshipped their fathers' idols because they were their fathers' and they had them before their eyes.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
Because they had not executed my judgments,....
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| יַ֜עַן | yaan | because | H3282 → | 99 times |
| מִשְׁפָּטַ֤י | mishpatai | judgments my | H4941 → | 422 times |
| לֹֽא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| עָשׂוּ֙ | ʾasu | they had done | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| וְחֻקּוֹתַ֣י | vechukotai | and statutes my | H2708 → | 104 times |
| מָאָ֔סוּ | maasu | they had rejected | H3988 → | 76 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| שַׁבְּתוֹתַ֖י | shabetotai | sabbaths my | H7676 → | 110 times |
| חִלֵּ֑לוּ | chilelu | they had profaned | H2490 → | 143 times |
| וְאַחֲרֵי֙ | veacharei | and after | H310 → | 715 times |
| גִּלּוּלֵ֣י | gilulei | [the] idols of | H1544 → | 48 times |
| אֲבוֹתָ֔ם | ʾavotam | parents their | H1 → | 1212 times |
| הָי֖וּ | hayu | they had been | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| עֵינֵיהֶֽם׃ | ʾeineihem | eyes their | H5869 → | 887 times |
יַ֜עַןbecause
yaanH3282 →99 times
מִשְׁפָּטַ֤יjudgments my
mishpataiH4941 →422 times
לֹֽא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
עָשׂוּ֙they had done
ʾasuH6213 →2628 times
וְחֻקּוֹתַ֣יand statutes my
vechukotaiH2708 →104 times
מָאָ֔סוּthey had rejected
maasuH3988 →76 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
שַׁבְּתוֹתַ֖יsabbaths my
shabetotaiH7676 →110 times
חִלֵּ֑לוּthey had profaned
chileluH2490 →143 times
וְאַחֲרֵי֙and after
veachareiH310 →715 times
גִּלּוּלֵ֣י[the] idols of
giluleiH1544 →48 times
אֲבוֹתָ֔םparents their
ʾavotamH1 →1212 times
הָי֖וּthey had been
hayuH1961 →3559 times
עֵינֵיהֶֽם׃eyes their
ʾeineihemH5869 →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
Ezekiel 20:13Yet 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…
it leads to
- Ezekiel 20:8
But they rebelled against Me and refused to listen. None of them cast away the abominations before their eyes, and they did not forsake the idols of Egypt. So I resolved to pour out…
Reached by 2 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…
- Ezekiel 20:8
Through
Ezekiel 6:9Then in the nations to which they have been carried captive, your survivors will remember Me—how I have been grieved by their adulterous hearts that turned away from Me, and by their eyes that…
it leads to
- Ezekiel 20:43
There you will remember your ways and all the deeds with which you have defiled yourselves, and you will loathe yourselves for all the evils you have done.
- Isaiah 7:13
Then Isaiah said, “Hear now, O house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of men? Will you try the patience of my God as well?
- Psalms 78:40
How often they disobeyed Him in the wilderness and grieved Him in the desert!
- Job 42:6
Therefore I retract my words, and I repent in dust and ashes.”
- Isaiah 43:24
You have not bought Me sweet cane with your silver, nor satisfied Me with the fat of your sacrifices. But you have burdened Me with your sins; you have wearied Me with your iniquities.
- Ezekiel 20:43
Through
Amos 2:4This is what the LORD says: “For three transgressions of Judah, even four, I will not revoke My judgment, because they reject the Law of the LORD and fail to keep His statutes; they…
it leads to
- Ezekiel 20:16
because they kept rejecting My ordinances, refusing to walk in My statutes, and profaning My Sabbaths; for their hearts continually went after their idols.
- Ezekiel 20:16
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies2
About Ezekiel

This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
