Ezekiel 20:18 kjv
But I said unto their children in the wilderness, Walk ye not in the statutes of your fathers, neither observe their judgments, nor defile yourselves with their idols:
Ezekiel 20:18 nkjv
"But I said to their children in the wilderness, 'Do not walk in the statutes of your fathers, nor observe their judgments, nor defile yourselves with their idols.
Ezekiel 20:18 niv
I said to their children in the wilderness, "Do not follow the statutes of your parents or keep their laws or defile yourselves with their idols.
Ezekiel 20:18 esv
"And I said to their children in the wilderness, 'Do not walk in the statutes of your fathers, nor keep their rules, nor defile yourselves with their idols.
Ezekiel 20:18 nlt
"Then I warned their children not to follow in their parents' footsteps, defiling themselves with their idols.
Ezekiel 20 18 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Eze 20:18 | "But I said to them in the wilderness, ‘Do not walk in the statutes of your fathers, nor observe their ordinances, nor defile yourselves with their idols." | Direct command, reiterating previous laws |
| Lev 18:30 | "‘You shall therefore keep My statutes and My ordinances and shall not commit any of these abominations, either any native or any sojourner who sojourns among you" | Prohibition against following foreign customs |
| Lev 19:37 | "‘So you shall observe all My statutes and all My ordinances and perform them; I am the LORD.’" | Exhortation to obey all of God's statutes |
| Deut 6:17 | "You shall diligently keep the commandments of the LORD your God, His testimonies, and His statutes which He has commanded you." | Emphasizes diligent obedience to God's law |
| Deut 11:28 | "and the conditional curse if you do not obey the commandments of the LORD your God, but stray from the way which I command you today by following other gods which you have not known." | Consequence of disobedience |
| Jer 10:2 | "Thus says the LORD: “Do not learn the way of the nations, and do not be terrified by the signs of the heavens, although the nations are terrified by them;" | Warning against adopting pagan practices |
| Ps 119:109 | "My life is continuously in my hands, Yet I do not forget Your law." | Personal commitment to God's law |
| Eze 5:6 | "‘But she has rebelled against My ordinances more than the nations and against My statutes more than the surrounding countries, for they have rejected My ordinances and My statutes; they have not walked in them.’" | Israel's greater sin due to privilege |
| Eze 6:14 | "‘I will stretch out My hand on them and make the land more desolate and destructed than the wilderness of Diblah, in all their dwelling places.’" | Judgment for disobedience |
| Eze 20:7 | "Also I said to them, ‘Cast away the detestable things from your sight, and do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt; I am the LORD your God.’" | Early warning in Egypt |
| Eze 20:8 | "‘But they rebelled against Me and were not willing to listen to Me; they did not cast away the detestable things from their sight, nor did they forsake the idols of Egypt. Then I thought I would pour out My wrath on them and spend My anger on them in the midst of the land of Egypt." | Rebellion even after God's intervention |
| Eze 20:11 | "‘So I gave them My statutes and informed them of My ordinances, by which, if a man practices them, he shall live by them.’" | Life comes through obedience |
| Eze 20:12 | "‘Moreover, I also gave them My Sabbaths to be a sign between Me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD who sanctifies them.’" | Sabbaths as a sign of sanctification |
| Eze 20:13 | "‘But the house of Israel rebelled against Me in the wilderness. They did not walk in My statutes; they despised My ordinances, by which if a man practices them, he shall live; and they greatly profaned My Sabbaths. Then I considered pouring out My wrath on them in the wilderness to annihilate them." | Wilderness rebellion against statutes and Sabbaths |
| Eze 20:19 | "‘I am the LORD your God; walk in My statutes and My ordinances, and keep them.’" | A plea and command for future obedience |
| Rom 12:2 | "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect." | Transformed not conformed |
| 1 Cor 10:11 | "Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written down for instruction to us on whose end of the age has come." | Israel's experiences as lessons for believers |
| 1 Pet 1:14 | "As obedient children, do not be conformed to the desires that you formerly had in ignorance." | Call to shed former sinful ways |
| John 8:31 | "So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, 'If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples," | Abiding in Jesus' word |
| Gal 5:1 | "For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery." | Freedom in Christ, not by works |
| Col 2:8 | "See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ." | Warning against man-made traditions |
| Rev 21:4 | "He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away." | God's promise of a new existence |
| Rom 6:4 | "We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life." | New life in Christ |
Ezekiel 20 verses
Ezekiel 20 18 Meaning
The verse speaks of God's command to His people to not follow the statutes or ordinances of their ancestors. This is because these practices were seen as impure or polluting according to God's law. Therefore, Israel was instructed to walk in God's statutes and keep His ordinances.
Ezekiel 20 18 Context
This verse is part of Ezekiel's prophecy to the elders of Israel. Chapter 20 recounts Israel's history of rebellion and God's enduring faithfulness. God reviews their past, from Egypt to the wilderness, highlighting their consistent pattern of disobedience despite His deliverance and law-giving. This specific verse, Ezekiel 20:18, falls within a section where God is specifically addressing the sin committed in the wilderness. The broader context is God’s exposition of His covenant, His laws given for life, and Israel's repeated failures to adhere to them, leading to consequences of judgment. The surrounding verses emphasize the importance of living by God’s statutes and ordinances, contrasting it with the polluting practices of their ancestors and surrounding nations.
Ezekiel 20 18 Word Analysis
- וָאֹמַר (va'omar): "And I said" or "So I said." This verb connects God's address directly to the people.
- לָהֶם (lahem): "to them." Refers to the Israelites.
- בַּמִּדְבָּר (bammidbar): "in the wilderness." Specifically referring to the period after the exodus from Egypt.
- בְּחֻקּוֹת אֲבוֹתֵיכֶם (bechuqqot avoteichem): "in the statutes of your fathers."
- בְּ (be): "in" or "by."
- חֻקּוֹת (chuqqot): Plural of חֹק (choq), meaning statute, ordinance, decree, custom, carved work. It implies something prescribed or fixed. It can refer to God's statutes or the statutes of other nations/ancestors. Here it refers to inherited practices.
- אֲבוֹתֵיכֶם (avoteichem): "your fathers." Refers to their lineage and ancestors.
- וּבְמִשְׁפָּטֵיהֶם (uvemishpateihem): "and in their ordinances."
- וּבְ (u've): "and in."
- מִשְׁפָּטֵיהֶם (mishpateihem): Plural of מִשְׁפָּט (mishpat), meaning judgment, ordinance, law, custom, justice. It denotes the rulings or judgments established by their ancestors.
- אַל־תֵּלְכוּ (al-telchu): "do not walk."
- אַל (al): A strong prohibition, forbidding something that ought not to be done.
- תֵּלְכוּ (telchu): Imperfect (subjunctive) of הָלַךְ (halach), meaning "to go" or "to walk." The imperfect conveys a prohibition against continuing in a course of action. "Walk" is often used metaphorically for conduct or way of life.
- וּבְטֻמְאֹתֵיהֶם (u'vetum'oteihem): "nor defile yourselves with their detestable things/defilements."
- וּבְ (u've): "and by" or "nor by."
- טֻמְאֹתֵיהֶם (tum'oteihem): Plural of טֻמְאָה (tuma'ah), meaning uncleanness, impurity, ceremonial defilement, pollution. This word strongly points to things considered unclean by divine law, often associated with idolatry or pagan rites.
- אַל־תִּטַּמָּ֔ || אַל־תִּטַּמְּאוּ (al-tittam'u): The Masoretic text actually reads אַל־תִּטַּמָּ֔יוּ which is derived from טמא (tama') meaning "to be defiled, to be unclean." The construction here could be taken as "do not defile yourselves" or "do not become defiled."
Words/Group of Words Analysis:
- "Statutes of your fathers" and "ordinances of their": This phrase contrasts inherited human traditions and laws with God's divine statutes. The "fathers" (ancestors) were practicing things contrary to God’s will, leading Israel astray.
- "Do not walk": The prohibition against walking signifies a rejection of a particular lifestyle, course of conduct, or set of practices. It’s a command to actively turn away from and cease engaging in these ancestral ways.
- "Defile yourselves": This refers to becoming ritually or morally unclean, often through participation in idolatrous worship, forbidden practices, or immoral acts. The implication is that their ancestors’ ways were spiritually polluting.
Ezekiel 20 18 Bonus Section
The historical context for "statutes of your fathers" includes practices common in the Ancient Near East, such as fertility cults, ancestor worship, and divination, which were explicitly forbidden by the Mosaic Law. For instance, child sacrifice and other sensuous rites were common in Canaanite worship. The repeated references in Ezekiel to Israel’s spiritual adultery through idolatry highlight how deeply entrenched these practices were. God’s desire, reiterated in this verse, was for His people to embrace His covenant life, which offered spiritual vitality and true fellowship with Him, distinct from the empty and polluting rituals of paganism. The emphasis on not defiling themselves underscores that sin contaminates not only individuals but also the community and their relationship with a holy God. This is why, in the New Covenant, believers are called to be holy, "being renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness" (Eph 4:23-24).
Ezekiel 20 18 Commentary
God’s message here is a call to purity and covenant faithfulness. It underscores the inherent danger in adopting the customs and practices of ungodly ancestors or surrounding cultures. Israel's relationship with God was to be distinct, marked by obedience to His revealed will, not by perpetuating spiritually corrupt traditions. The command to "not walk" and "not defile yourselves" is not just about ritual; it encompasses their entire lifestyle, separating them from practices associated with idolatry and paganism that their ancestors, and surrounding nations, engaged in. This echoes the broader theme in the Old Testament of Israel's unique calling to be holy as God is holy. In the New Testament, this principle translates into believers being set apart from worldly practices and renewing their minds in Christ to discern and live according to God's perfect will.