Ezekiel 20:36
in Ezekiel 20Just as I entered into judgment with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will enter into judgment with you, declares the Lord GOD.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Like as I entered into judgment with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so will I enter into judgment with you, saith the Lord Jehovah.
KJV
Like as I pleaded with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so will I plead with you, saith the Lord God.
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This verse in Ezekiel 20
Commentary
7 notes on this verseTHIS striking utterance was given forth by that renowned Seer, Ezekiel, at the time when the Israelites, scattered in every country, had begun to forget their nationality. They judged it prudent and wise, as much as possible, to disguise their distinctive character and melt their race into the Babylonian or Chaldean—and become like the heathen.
This site's exposition
We will be as the heathen
on Ezekiel 20:32-38
The people's own plan to become like the heathen and serve wood and stone is refused outright. The Lord answers with a mighty hand, a stretched out arm, fury poured out, the same triad Exodus uses for the deliverance from Egypt. Rebels who transgress are purged out before entry.
This site's exposition
in the wilderness of the land of Egypt
The wilderness of the land of Egypt is Sinai and the forty years that followed it. There the LORD judged the fathers and let a generation die before the entry. Henry sees the same sifting leave a repentant remnant.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
He must tell them likewise what mercy God had in store for them, when he would bring a remnant of them to repentance, re-establish them in their own land, and set up his sanctuary among them again,
32 ), that he may mark which is for God. God will take particular notice of each of them, one by one, as sheep are counted, and he will bring them into the bond of the covenant (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-citation-number
Like as I pleaded with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
THIS striking utterance was given forth by that renowned Seer, Ezekiel, at the time when the Israelites, scattered in every country, had begun to forget their nationality. They judged it prudent and wise, as much as possible, to disguise their distinctive character and melt their race into the Babylonian or Chaldean—and become like the heathen. But God, who chose His people of old, would not have it so, and He interposed with this striking passage—"And that which comes into your mind shall not be at all, that you say, we will be as the heathen, as the families of the countries, to serve wood and stone." The Lord tells them that He had them for a people and He meant to hold them for a people. Whether they delighted in it or not, He would not let them go! He pronounced a solemn oath concerning them—"As I live, says the Lord God, surely with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with fury poured out, will I rule over you." They shall no more become Babylonians than of old He would suffer them to become Egyptians. This passage, which I have taken for a text, may very truthfully be regarded as a threat of terrible judgment upon erring Israel—as much as if the Lord had said, "You of the house of Israel, whom I have made to be the type of My spiritual people, you shall be Mine. And if you wander from Me, I will distinguish you by special punishments. Therefore I now threaten you with special judgments. If you will attempt to mix yourselves up with the Gentiles, I will deal with you with a startling severity, such as I have never shown unto the heathen. Your sins are greater, your privileges greater and so shall your chastisements be greater.
The words behind it
13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כַּאֲשֶׁ֤ר | kaasher | just as | H834 → | 5497 times |
| נִשְׁפַּ֙טְתִּי֙ | nishpati | I entered into judgment | H8199 → | 202 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | with | H854 → | 929 times |
| אֲב֣וֹתֵיכֶ֔ם | ʾavoteikhem | ancestors your | H1 → | 1212 times |
| בְּמִדְבַּ֖ר | bemidbar | in [the] wilderness of | H4057 → | 270 times |
| אֶ֣רֶץ | ʾeretz | [the] land of | H776 → | 2504 times |
| מִצְרָ֑יִם | mitzrayim | Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
| כֵּ֚ן | ken | so | H3651 → | 771 times |
| אִשָּׁפֵ֣ט | ʾishafet | I will enter into judgment | H8199 → | 202 times |
| אִתְּכֶ֔ם | ʾitekhem | with you | H854 → | 929 times |
| נְאֻ֖ם | neum | [the] utterance of | H5002 → | 376 times |
| אֲדֹנָ֥י | ʾadonai | [the] Lord | H136 → | 440 times |
| יְהוִֽה׃ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3069 → | 306 times |
כַּאֲשֶׁ֤רjust as
kaasherH834 →5497 times
נִשְׁפַּ֙טְתִּי֙I entered into judgment
nishpatiH8199 →202 times
אֶת־with
ʾet-H854 →929 times
אֲב֣וֹתֵיכֶ֔םancestors your
ʾavoteikhemH1 →1212 times
בְּמִדְבַּ֖רin [the] wilderness of
bemidbarH4057 →270 times
אֶ֣רֶץ[the] land of
ʾeretzH776 →2504 times
מִצְרָ֑יִםEgypt
mitzrayimH4714 →641 times
כֵּ֚ןso
kenH3651 →771 times
אִשָּׁפֵ֣טI will enter into judgment
ʾishafetH8199 →202 times
אִתְּכֶ֔םwith you
ʾitekhemH854 →929 times
נְאֻ֖ם[the] utterance of
neumH5002 →376 times
אֲדֹנָ֥י[the] Lord
ʾadonaiH136 →440 times
יְהוִֽה׃Yahweh
yahwehH3069 →306 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…
- Deuteronomy 9:8
At Horeb you provoked the LORD, and He was angry enough to destroy you.
- Ezekiel 20:24
For they did not practice My ordinances, but they rejected My statutes and profaned My Sabbaths, fixing their eyes on the idols of their fathers.
- Isaiah 56:6
And the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD to minister to Him, to love the name of the LORD, and to be His servants—all who keep the Sabbath without profaning it and who…
- Ezekiel 20:8
Through
Ezekiel 20:21But 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…
it leads to
- Ezekiel 20:13
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…
- Numbers 21:5
and spoke against God and against Moses: “Why have you led us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread or water, and we detest this wretched food!”
- Deuteronomy 31:27
For I know how rebellious and stiff-necked you are. If you are already rebelling against the LORD while I am still alive, how much more will you rebel after my death!
- Ezekiel 20:13
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies2
About Ezekiel
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Ezekiel; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 1840: “The Bond of the Covenant” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Patrick Fairbairn, An Exposition of Ezekiel.