Ezekiel 5:6
in Ezekiel 5But she has rebelled against My ordinances more wickedly than the nations, and against My statutes worse than the countries around her. For her people have rejected My ordinances and have not walked in My statutes.’
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And she hath rebelled against mine ordinances in doing wickedness more than the nations, and against my statutes more than the countries that are round about her; for they have rejected mine ordinances, and as for my statutes, they have not walked in them.
KJV
And she hath changed my judgments into wickedness more than the nations, and my statutes more than the countries that are round about her: for they have refused my judgments and my statutes, they have not walked in them.
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This verse in Ezekiel 5
Commentary
8 notes on this verseAnd she hath changed my judgments into wickedness more than the nations,.... So they changed their glory for that which did not profit; and the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man; and the truth of God into a lie, Jer 2:11; or, "for wickedness" (q); for judgments and laws that were not good, and which to observe was wickedness.
This site's exposition
This is Jerusalem
on Ezekiel 5:5-7
The Lord explains the sign: “This is Jerusalem, which I have set in the center of the nations.” The charge is by comparison, for she “has rebelled against My ordinances more wickedly than the nations.” Verse 7 presses further: “nor have you even conformed to the ordinances of the nations.”
This site's exposition
more wickedly than the nations
Jerusalem has rebelled against God's ordinances more wickedly than the nations around her. Adam Clarke explains the charge by her height. She fell from the knowledge of the true God, so her fall went lower than that of peoples who never had His statutes.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Version 5 and following) Thus says the Lord God: This is Jerusalem: I have set it in the midst of the nations, with the lands surrounding it; and it has despised my judgments, being more wicked than the nations, and my commandments more than the lands that surround it. For they have rejected my judgments and have not walked in my commandments. The Prophet also attests to Jerusalem being situated in the midst of the world, showing it to be the navel of the earth.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Note, Those that have been well educated, if they live ill, put the highest affront imaginable upon God, as if he were the patron of sin and his judgments were turned into wickedness. She had been worse than the neighbouring nations, to whom she should have set a good example: She has changed my judgments, by idolatries and false worship, more than the nations (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Those statutes and judgments which their neighbours admired they despised, which they should have set before their face they cast behind their back. Note, A contempt of the word and law of God opens a door to all manner of iniquity. God's statutes are the terms on which he deals with men; those that refuse his terms cannot expect his favours.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
She hath changed my judgments - God shows the reason why he deals with Jerusalem in greater severity than with the surrounding nations; because she was more wicked than they. Bad and idolatrous as they were, they had a greater degree of morality among them than the Jews had. Having fallen from the true God, they became more abominable than others in proportion to the height, eminence, and glory from which they had fallen. This is the common case of backsliders; they frequently, in their fall, become tenfold more the children of wrath than they were before.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
changed . . . into--rather, "hath resisted My judgments wickedly"; "hath rebelled against My ordinances for wickedness" [BUXTORF]. But see on Eze 5:7, end.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
The words behind it
19 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַתֶּ֨מֶר | vatemer | and it has rebelled against | H4784 → | 45 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| מִשְׁפָּטַ֤י | mishpatai | judgments my | H4941 → | 422 times |
| לְרִשְׁעָה֙ | lerishah | to wickedness | H7564 → | 15 times |
| מִן־ | min- | more than | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| הַגּוֹיִ֔ם | hagoyim | the nations | H1471 → | 561 times |
| וְאֶ֨ת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| חֻקּוֹתַ֔י | chukotai | statutes my | H2708 → | 104 times |
| מִן־ | min- | more than | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| הָאֲרָצ֖וֹת | haaratzot | the lands | H776 → | 2504 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| סְבִיבוֹתֶ֑יהָ | sevivoteiha | [are] around it | H5439 → | 336 times |
| כִּ֤י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| בְמִשְׁפָּטַי֙ | vemishpatai | <in> judgments my | H4941 → | 422 times |
| מָאָ֔סוּ | maasu | they have rejected | H3988 → | 76 times |
| וְחֻקּוֹתַ֖י | vechukotai | and statutes my | H2708 → | 104 times |
| לֹא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| הָלְכ֥וּ | halekhu | they have walked | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| בָהֶֽם׃ ס | vahem | in them |
וַתֶּ֨מֶרand it has rebelled against
vatemerH4784 →45 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
מִשְׁפָּטַ֤יjudgments my
mishpataiH4941 →422 times
לְרִשְׁעָה֙to wickedness
lerishahH7564 →15 times
מִן־more than
min-H4480 →1188 times
הַגּוֹיִ֔םthe nations
hagoyimH1471 →561 times
וְאֶ֨ת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
חֻקּוֹתַ֔יstatutes my
chukotaiH2708 →104 times
מִן־more than
min-H4480 →1188 times
הָאֲרָצ֖וֹתthe lands
haaratzotH776 →2504 times
אֲשֶׁ֣רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
סְבִיבוֹתֶ֑יהָ[are] around it
sevivoteihaH5439 →336 times
כִּ֤יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
בְמִשְׁפָּטַי֙<in> judgments my
vemishpataiH4941 →422 times
מָאָ֔סוּthey have rejected
maasuH3988 →76 times
וְחֻקּוֹתַ֖יand statutes my
vechukotaiH2708 →104 times
לֹא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
הָלְכ֥וּthey have walked
halekhuH1980 →1546 times
בָהֶֽם׃ סin them
vahem
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
Zechariah 7:11But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder; they stopped up their ears from hearing.
it leads to
- Nehemiah 9:29
You admonished them to turn back to Your law, but they were arrogant and disobeyed Your commandments. They sinned against Your ordinances, by which a man will live if he practices them. They stubbornly…
- Hosea 4:16
For Israel is as obstinate as a stubborn heifer. Can the LORD now shepherd them like lambs in an open meadow?
- Jeremiah 8:5
Why then have these people turned away? Why does Jerusalem always turn away? They cling to deceit; they refuse to return.
- Nehemiah 9:29
Through
Jeremiah 11:10They have returned to the sins of their forefathers who refused to obey My words. They have followed other gods to serve them. The house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken…
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 31:16
And the LORD said to Moses, “You will soon rest with your fathers, and these people will rise up and prostitute themselves with the foreign gods of the land they are entering. They will…
- Ezekiel 16:59
For this is what the Lord GOD says: I will deal with you according to your deeds, since you have despised the oath by breaking the covenant.
- Judges 2:17
Israel, however, did not listen to their judges. Instead, they prostituted themselves with other gods and bowed down to them. They quickly turned from the way of their fathers, who had walked in obedience…
- 1 Samuel 15:11
“I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned away from following Me and has not carried out My instructions.” And Samuel was distressed and cried out to the LORD all…
- Judges 2:19
But when the judge died, the Israelites became even more corrupt than their fathers, going after other gods to serve them and bow down to them. They would not give up their evil practices…
- Deuteronomy 31:16
About Ezekiel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; 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.