Ezekiel 20:16 kjv
Because they despised my judgments, and walked not in my statutes, but polluted my sabbaths: for their heart went after their idols.
Ezekiel 20:16 nkjv
because they despised My judgments and did not walk in My statutes, but profaned My Sabbaths; for their heart went after their idols.
Ezekiel 20:16 niv
because they rejected my laws and did not follow my decrees and desecrated my Sabbaths. For their hearts were devoted to their idols.
Ezekiel 20:16 esv
because they rejected my rules and did not walk in my statutes, and profaned my Sabbaths; for their heart went after their idols.
Ezekiel 20:16 nlt
For they had rejected my regulations, refused to follow my decrees, and violated my Sabbath days. Their hearts were given to their idols.
Ezekiel 20 16 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Ezekiel 20:13 | Yet they rebelled against me in the wilderness... | Obedience and Rebellion |
| Ezekiel 20:15 | ...and also because they had profaned me among them... | God's Holiness and Rebellion |
| Ezekiel 20:21 | But the children rebelled against me... | Generational Sin |
| Leviticus 18:30 | You shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgments, and shall not practice any of these abominations... | Prohibition of Detestable Things |
| Leviticus 20:23 | And you shall not walk in the customs of the nation... | Avoiding Foreign Practices |
| Deuteronomy 4:19 | And lest you lift up your eyes to heaven and see the sun, the moon, and the stars, all the host of heaven, and you be drawn away and worship them and serve them, things that the Lord your God has divided among all the peoples under the whole heaven. | Warnings Against Idolatry |
| Deuteronomy 30:17-18 | But if your heart turns away so that you do not hear, but are let astray to bring yourself to worship other gods and serve them, I testify against you today that you shall surely perish. You shall not live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to enter to possess. | Consequences of Disobedience |
| 1 Corinthians 10:5 | Nevertheless with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness. | Warning from Wilderness Experience |
| Hebrews 3:17 | And with whom was he provoked to anger for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? | God's Wrath and Israel's Sin |
| Isaiah 63:17 | O Lord, why have you made us stray from your ways and hardened our heart from fearing you? Return for the sake of your servants, the tribes of your inheritance. | Israel's Plea for Return |
| Jeremiah 7:23 | But this command I gave them: “Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people. And walk in all the ways that I command you, that it may be well with you.” | Covenantal Requirements |
| Romans 2:24 | For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you... | Sinners Blaspheme God's Name |
| 1 Peter 4:4 | To them it is a cause for astonishment that you do not plunge with them into the same flood of debauchery, and they abuse you. | Christians Not Participating in Sin |
| Psalm 106:28 | They also joined themselves to the Baal of Peor and ate sacrifices made to the dead. | Idolatrous Practices |
| Nehemiah 9:17 | They refused to obey and were not mindful of your wonders that you performed among them, but hardened their neck and appointed a leader to return to their slavery in Egypt. | Recalling God's Deeds |
| 1 Sam 12:20 | And Samuel said to the people, “Do not be afraid; you have done all this evil. Yet do not turn aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart. | Repentance and True Service |
| Galatians 5:4 | You are severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace. | Law and Grace |
| Romans 1:23 | and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images and likenesses of mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. | Exchange of God's Glory |
| John 8:44 | You are of your father the devil, and your heart’s desire is to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning... | Children of the Devil |
| Ephesians 2:2 | in which you once walked, according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience— | Course of the World |
| Colossians 3:5-6 | Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. And on account of these the wrath of God is coming. | Put off the Old Self |
Ezekiel 20 verses
Ezekiel 20 16 Meaning
The verse speaks of a repeated act of rebellion and disobedience against God by the Israelites in the wilderness. They refused to follow God's statutes and walked in their own ways and by their own stumbling blocks, which were their detestable things. This disobedience led to them profaning God among the nations where they went.
Ezekiel 20 16 Context
This verse is situated within Ezekiel's prophetic discourse to the elders of Israel, recounting their history of rebellion from the Exodus onward. Chapter 20 particularly highlights their persistent disobedience, even after experiencing God's deliverance and covenant. The context is one of God presenting their ongoing sin and the reasons for His judgment, which included their defilement of His name among the surrounding nations.
Ezekiel 20 16 Word analysis
- And I also (Hebrew: wa gam anokhi): Signifies an additional reason or factor.
- gave (Hebrew: natati): Indicates a direct imparting or allowing.
- them (Hebrew: lahem): Refers to the Israelites.
- statutes (Hebrew: huqqim): Ordinances, statutes, decrees; referring to God's laws.
- not good (Hebrew: lo' tovim): Not right, not pleasing, evil.
- by (Hebrew: b' - preposition): In or through.
- which (Hebrew: asher): Relative pronoun.
- if (Hebrew: im): Conditional particle.
- a man (Hebrew: ish): A person.
- live (Hebrew: yachya): To live, to have life.
- by them (Hebrew: bahem): Through these means.
- they (Hebrew: hem): The Israelites.
- should (Hebrew: chaya - imperfect verb form): Would, can, might.
- live (Hebrew: yachyu): To live, to survive.
- by them (Hebrew: bahem): Through them, by means of them.
Group Analysis:
- "gave them statutes not good": This phrase doesn't mean God provided wicked laws. It’s more accurately understood as they did not live by the statutes God gave, which in turn, not living by God's good statutes resulted in death, or spiritually speaking, life without God. The Hebrew for "not good" (lo' tovim) can mean not fitting or not beneficial for them when contrasted with obeying God’s true commands.
Ezekiel 20 16 Bonus Section
The emphasis on "not good" (Hebrew: lo tov) contrasts sharply with God's assessment of His own laws as good and life-giving. This is seen throughout the Torah, where obedience leads to blessing (Deuteronomy 30:19). Their failure was not a lack of divine provision for a good life, but a deliberate choice to spurn it, embracing their own corrupting practices. This rejection highlights a fundamental spiritual problem of the heart that values its own ways over God's perfect will.
Ezekiel 20 16 Commentary
Ezekiel confronts the people with their ingrained pattern of rejecting God’s rightful rule. They were given clear divine instructions—the statutes that are inherently good because they originate from God. However, instead of internalizing and practicing these, they chose their own destructive path, living contrary to the very laws designed for their life and well-being. This defiance led to a spiritual death and ultimately profaned God’s name. The core issue is their refusal to allow God’s goodness to shape their lives.