Ezekiel 20:6
in Ezekiel 20On that day I swore to bring them out of the land of Egypt into a land that I had searched out for them, a land flowing with milk and honey, the glory of all lands.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
in that day I sware unto them, to bring them forth out of the land of Egypt into a land that I had searched out for them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands.
KJV
In the day that I lifted up mine hand unto them, to bring them forth of the land of Egypt into a land that I had espied for them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands:
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This verse in Ezekiel 20
Commentary
7 notes on this verseTo bring them forth of the land of Egypt - When they had been long in a very disgraceful and oppressive bondage. A land that I had espied for them - God represents himself as having gone over different countries in order to find a comfortable residence for these people, whom he considered as his children. Flowing with milk and honey - These were the characteristics of a happy and fruitful country, producing without intense labor all the necessaries and comforts of life.
This site's exposition
In the day when I chose Israel
on Ezekiel 20:5-6
The Lord dates his own choice of Israel to the day in Egypt when he lifted up his hand, the gesture of a sworn oath. Keil ties the phrase to the same oath formula repeated at verses fifteen and twenty three, the hinge on which the chapter turns.
This site's exposition
a land that I had searched out for them
Clarke pictures the LORD going over many lands to find one for His people. The same Hebrew verb describes the spies who searched out the land in Numbers 13. The glory of all lands names its rank.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verses 5, 6.) Thus says the Lord God: In the day that I chose Israel, and raised my hand for the offspring of the house of Jacob, and appeared to them in the land of Egypt, and raised my hand for them, saying: I am the Lord your God. In that day I raised my hand for them, to bring them out of the land of Egypt into the land which I provided for them, flowing with milk and honey: which is excellent among all lands.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
) now lifted up his hand against them; he who by an oath confirmed his promise to bring them out of Egypt now by an oath confirmed his threatenings that he would not bring them into Canaan (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation
In the day that I lifted up my hand unto them, to bring them forth of the land of Egypt,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
11:16, 41, "the glorious land"; see Margin, "land of delight," or, ornament"; "the pleasant land," or "land of desire," Zec 7:14, Margin. glory of all lands--that is, Canaan was "the beauty of all lands"; the most lovely and delightful land; "milk and honey" are not the antecedents to "which."
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes
The words behind it
20 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| בַּיּ֣וֹם | baiyom | on the day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| הַה֗וּא | hahu' | <the> that | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| נָשָׂ֤אתִי | nasati | I lifted up | H5375 → | 656 times |
| יָדִי֙ | yadi | hand my | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| לָהֶ֔ם | lahem | to them | ||
| לְהֽוֹצִיאָ֖ם | lehotziam | to bring out them | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| מֵאֶ֣רֶץ | meeretz | from [the] land of | H776 → | 2504 times |
| מִצְרָ֑יִם | mitzrayim | Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אֶ֜רֶץ | ʾeretz | a land | H776 → | 2504 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| תַּ֣רְתִּי | tarti | I had selected | H8446 → | |
| לָהֶ֗ם | lahem | for them | ||
| זָבַ֤ת | zavat | flowing of | H2100 → | |
| חָלָב֙ | chalav | milk | H2461 → | 44 times |
| וּדְבַ֔שׁ | udevash | and honey | H1706 → | 54 times |
| צְבִ֥י | tzevi | [is] beauty | H6643 → | 33 times |
| הִ֖יא | hi' | it | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| לְכָל־ | lekhol | to all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הָאֲרָצֽוֹת׃ | haaratzot | the lands | H776 → | 2504 times |
בַּיּ֣וֹםon the day
baiyomH3117 →2304 times
הַה֗וּא<the> that
hahu'H1931 →1879 times
נָשָׂ֤אתִיI lifted up
nasatiH5375 →656 times
יָדִי֙hand my
yadiH3027 →1618 times
לָהֶ֔םto them
lahem
לְהֽוֹצִיאָ֖םto bring out them
lehotziamH3318 →1067 times
מֵאֶ֣רֶץfrom [the] land of
meeretzH776 →2504 times
מִצְרָ֑יִםEgypt
mitzrayimH4714 →641 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
אֶ֜רֶץa land
ʾeretzH776 →2504 times
אֲשֶׁר־which
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
תַּ֣רְתִּיI had selected
tartiH8446 →
לָהֶ֗םfor them
lahem
זָבַ֤תflowing of
zavatH2100 →
חָלָב֙milk
chalavH2461 →44 times
וּדְבַ֔שׁand honey
udevashH1706 →54 times
צְבִ֥י[is] beauty
tzeviH6643 →33 times
הִ֖יאit
hi'H1931 →1879 times
לְכָל־to all
lekholH3605 →5413 times
הָאֲרָצֽוֹת׃the lands
haaratzotH776 →2504 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
Exodus 3:8I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and…
it leads to
- Exodus 3:17
And I have promised to bring you up out of your affliction in Egypt, into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites—a land flowing with milk and honey.’
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Exodus 13:5
And when the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites, and Jebusites—the land He swore to your fathers that He would give you, a land flowing with milk and…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Genesis 50:24
Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die, but God will surely visit you and bring you up from this land to the land He promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac,…
- Genesis 15:18–21
On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I have given this land—from the river of Egypt to the great River Euphrates—
- Deuteronomy 1:25
They took some of the fruit of the land in their hands, carried it down to us, and brought us word: “It is a good land that the LORD our God is giving us.”
- Exodus 3:17
Through
Psalms 48:2Beautiful in loftiness, the joy of all the earth, like the peaks of Zaphon is Mount Zion, the city of the great King.
it leads to
- Psalms 50:2
From Zion, perfect in beauty, God shines forth.
- Matthew 5:35
or by the earth, for it is His footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.
- Lamentations 2:15
All who pass by clap their hands at you in scorn. They hiss and shake their heads at the Daughter of Jerusalem: “Is this the city that was called the perfection of beauty, the…
- Psalms 50:2
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 Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Ezekiel; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.