Ezekiel 20 13

Ezekiel 20:13 kjv

But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness: they walked not in my statutes, and they despised my judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them; and my sabbaths they greatly polluted: then I said, I would pour out my fury upon them in the wilderness, to consume them.

Ezekiel 20:13 nkjv

Yet the house of Israel rebelled against Me in the wilderness; they did not walk in My statutes; they despised My judgments, 'which, if a man does, he shall live by them'; and they greatly defiled My Sabbaths. Then I said I would pour out My fury on them in the wilderness, to consume them.

Ezekiel 20:13 niv

"?'Yet the people of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness. They did not follow my decrees but rejected my laws?by which the person who obeys them will live?and they utterly desecrated my Sabbaths. So I said I would pour out my wrath on them and destroy them in the wilderness.

Ezekiel 20:13 esv

But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness. They did not walk in my statutes but rejected my rules, by which, if a person does them, he shall live; and my Sabbaths they greatly profaned. "Then I said I would pour out my wrath upon them in the wilderness, to make a full end of them.

Ezekiel 20:13 nlt

"But the people of Israel rebelled against me, and they refused to obey my decrees there in the wilderness. They wouldn't obey my regulations even though obedience would have given them life. They also violated my Sabbath days. So I threatened to pour out my fury on them, and I made plans to utterly consume them in the wilderness.

Ezekiel 20 verses

Ezekiel 20 13 Meaning

Ezekiel 20:13 describes Israel's rebellion against God during their wilderness wanderings. Despite receiving divine laws, they defiantly disregarded God's statutes and judgments—laws intended for their life and well-being. They deeply desecrated God's Sabbaths, a foundational covenant sign. Consequently, God declared His intent to fully unleash His consuming wrath upon them in the wilderness, aiming for their complete destruction due to this persistent disobedience.

Ezekiel 20 13 Context

Ezekiel chapter 20 is a historical summary presented as a divine judgment against the elders of Israel who sought a word from the Lord. God recounts Israel's persistent rebellion, beginning in Egypt, continuing in the wilderness, and persisting even after entering the Promised Land. This particular verse, Ezekiel 20:13, specifically addresses the period of the wilderness wanderings, immediately following God's gift of the Law at Mount Sinai (verses 10-12). It details their quick rejection of His life-giving commands and their desecration of the Sabbaths, which stood as a foundational sign of the covenant. God reiterates His just wrath in response to this covenant breaking, framing it within His broader narrative of patient forbearance and delayed judgment for the sake of His holy name.

Ezekiel 20 13 Word analysis

• But the house of Israel: Indicates a stark contrast to God's faithful acts. "House of Israel" refers to the entire covenant community, emphasizing their collective responsibility.
• rebelled (Hebrew: marah): Signifies being rebellious, disobedient, or contentious, often against a higher authority or parent. It's a defiant act, not just accidental transgression. Here, it is specifically "against Me," directly targeting God's authority.
• against Me: Highlights the personal nature of their offense directly towards the Sovereign Lord who redeemed them.
• in the wilderness: Establishes the specific historical setting, the formative period of Israel's national identity, immediately after their miraculous deliverance from Egypt. This rebellion occurred after direct experience of God's power and provision.
• they did not walk: Implies a refusal to live in accordance with God's directives. "Walk" (halak) in Hebrew often means to conduct one's life or behave.
• in My statutes (Hebrew: chukkot): Refers to divine ordinances or established laws, often those carved or inscribed, pointing to their foundational and fixed nature. They are God's explicit regulations for moral and spiritual conduct.
• and they rejected (Hebrew: ma'as): To despise, scorn, or loathe. It's an active repudiation and disdain for what God offered. Not just failure, but contempt.
• My judgments (Hebrew: mishpatim): God's righteous rulings and judicial decisions. They reflect His justice and are intended to provide guidance for just living in the community.
• which if a man does, he will live by them: A foundational principle of the Law, establishing that obedience to God's commands is intrinsically linked to life, well-being, and flourishing. It is not about earning life, but living within the covenant.
• and they greatly profaned (Hebrew: chillalu from chalal): To defile, desecrate, treat as common or ordinary what is holy. The adverb "greatly" intensifies the offense, indicating a profound disregard for the sacred.
• My Sabbaths (Hebrew: shabbathothay): Plural emphasizes the numerous opportunities they had to observe and honor this sacred day, a weekly reminder of God's creation, covenant, and deliverance. "My" indicates divine ownership and holiness.
• Then I said I would pour out (Hebrew: shafak): To pour out, often used for violent discharge or overwhelming release. Here, of wrath, indicating a full and unreserved outpouring of divine judgment.
• My wrath (Hebrew: chemati): God's holy anger, His righteous indignation against sin. It is not human temper but divine justice against rebellion and unholiness.
• on them: The direct recipients of the declared wrath.
• in the wilderness, to destroy them: The specific place and consequence. God intended their annihilation in the very place of their repeated rebellion. This threat was, in part, deferred (as stated later in chapter 20) due to God's name, but the generation still perished there.

Words-group analysis

• But the house of Israel rebelled against Me in the wilderness: Highlights the historical act of deliberate and widespread insubordination by the entire covenant people against their divine deliverer in the initial stages of their nationhood, post-Exodus.
• they did not walk in My statutes, and they rejected My judgments: Underscores a comprehensive and defiant refusal to embody and value God's fundamental laws. It wasn't just ignorance, but an active decision to turn away from God's perfect directives for life.
• which if a man does, he will live by them;: This parenthetical clause serves as a poignant reminder of the covenant's condition for well-being. It underscores the profound tragic irony that they despised the very laws that would lead to life, opting for death through disobedience.
• and they greatly profaned My Sabbaths: Specifies a particularly grave and widespread sin. The Sabbath, a sign of the covenant between God and Israel, was a crucial symbol of their holy identity. Its defilement represented a deep rejection of God and His covenant relationship.
• Then I said I would pour out My wrath on them in the wilderness, to destroy them: Demonstrates the severe and direct consequence of their cumulative rebellion. This declaration of imminent, comprehensive judgment reveals God's righteous anger and the seriousness of breaking covenant.

Ezekiel 20 13 Bonus section

The concept of "life by the Law" (Lev 18:5) is significant for understanding the role of the Old Covenant. It meant a blessed, full life within the Promised Land, enjoying covenant blessings, not eternal salvation by works in the New Testament sense. Their failure to live by the statutes did not immediately negate God's long-term plan, but it provoked temporal judgments and spiritual separation. The profanation of "My Sabbaths" also acts as a subtle polemic against surrounding nations' practices, as no other culture observed such a unique weekly day of rest dedicated to their deity as a sign of their covenant. Ignoring the Sabbath indicated a drift towards gentile practices and away from their distinct God-given identity.

Ezekiel 20 13 Commentary

Ezekiel 20:13 serves as a stark indictment of Israel's foundational disobedience, focusing on their repeated rebellion in the wilderness despite God's intimate care. It reveals a deep-seated rejection of divine authority, manifest in their disdain for His life-giving statutes and judgments. The specific emphasis on profaning God's Sabbaths highlights a failure to honor the sign of the covenant, symbolizing their abandonment of a holy relationship with God. This verse powerfully underscores God's righteous anger (His "wrath") at such defiant unfaithfulness, revealing His original intent for swift and total judgment. Yet, this wrath was, for a time, withheld, setting up a recurring theme in Ezekiel 20 of God's forbearance for the sake of His name. The inherent irony is that Israel chose death through rebellion rather than life through obedience to commands freely given.