Ezekiel 20:24 kjv
Because they had not executed my judgments, but had despised my statutes, and had polluted my sabbaths, and their eyes were after their fathers' idols.
Ezekiel 20:24 nkjv
because they had not executed My judgments, but had despised My statutes, profaned My Sabbaths, and their eyes were fixed on their fathers' idols.
Ezekiel 20:24 niv
because they had not obeyed my laws but had rejected my decrees and desecrated my Sabbaths, and their eyes lusted after their parents' idols.
Ezekiel 20:24 esv
because they had not obeyed my rules, but had rejected my statutes and profaned my Sabbaths, and their eyes were set on their fathers' idols.
Ezekiel 20:24 nlt
because they did not obey my regulations. They scorned my decrees by violating my Sabbath days and longing for the idols of their ancestors.
Ezekiel 20 24 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Ezekiel 20:24 | ...I gave them also statutes that were not good and ordinances by which they could not live. | God giving conditional judgments |
| Leviticus 18:5 | You shall therefore keep My statutes and My judgments, which if a person does, he shall live by them... | Life through obedience |
| Deuteronomy 28:15 | But it shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of the LORD your God, to be careful to do... | Consequences of disobedience |
| Jeremiah 7:23 | But this is what I commanded them, saying, ‘Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be... | God's desire for obedience |
| Jeremiah 17:13 | O LORD, the hope of Israel, all who forsake You shall be put to shame... | Shame for forsaking God |
| Hosea 2:14 | "Therefore, behold, I will allure her, Will bring her into the wilderness, And speak kindly to her. | God's gracious dealings even in judgment |
| Amos 5:10 | They hate the one who reproves in the gate, And they abhor the one who speaks sincerely. | Rejection of truth and righteousness |
| Romans 1:28 | And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind... | God giving over to corrupt minds |
| Romans 7:4 | Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ... | Freedom from the Law for believers |
| 1 Corinthians 6:11 | And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified... | Transformation through Christ |
| Galatians 5:1 | Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again... | Liberty in Christ, not legalism |
| 1 Peter 1:14 | As obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance, | Call to obedience and holiness |
| Exodus 34:12 | Take heed to yourself, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land into which you are going,... | Warning against foreign religious practices |
| Deuteronomy 7:25 | You shall burn their carved images with fire; you shall not covet the silver or gold that is on them... | Destruction of idolatrous artifacts |
| Isaiah 63:17 | O LORD, why have You made us stray from Your ways, And hardened our heart from Your fear? | Questioning God's ways during discipline |
| Psalm 81:11-12 | But My people would not heed My voice, And Israel would not be willing. So I gave them over to their own... | God giving them up to their own hearts |
| Deuteronomy 4:19 | And lest you look up to heaven, and when you see the sun, the moon, and the stars, all the host of heaven... | Warning against worshipping celestial bodies |
| Jeremiah 8:8 | "How can you say, ‘We are wise, And the law of the LORD is with us’? But behold, the counterfeit... | Rejection of God's true Law |
| Revelation 18:4 | And I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her... | Call to separation from sin |
| Matthew 19:17 | So He said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but one, that is, God. But if you want to enter life, keep the commandments.” | Obedience to God for life |
| John 5:39-40 | You search the Scriptures, because in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. But you are not willing to come to Me, that you may have life. | Seeking life elsewhere than in Christ |
| 1 John 5:11-12 | And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has... | Eternal life is in Jesus Christ |
Ezekiel 20 verses
Ezekiel 20 24 Meaning
Ezekiel 20:24 reveals that God gave Israel statutes that were not good and ordinances by which they could not live. This is because Israel continued in their transgressions, defiling themselves with their idols. God’s judgment upon them was to give them statutes that did not bring life, but rather served as a testament to their rebellion and its consequences.
Ezekiel 20 24 Context
Ezekiel chapter 20 recounts God's recounting of Israel's history of rebellion, from Egypt to the wilderness, and through their time in the land. God highlights their repeated disobedience, idolatry, and profaning of His Sabbaths. This verse, Ezekiel 20:24, comes after God has meticulously detailed Israel’s unfaithfulness. He had previously given them His statutes and commandments for life (Leviticus 18:5), but their persistent refusal to obey and their engagement with foreign religious practices led to His judgment. This particular judgment involves God allowing them to experience the consequences of their own misguided pursuits by giving them "statutes that were not good." The historical context is the period of the Babylonian exile, where the people of Israel were facing the direct fallout of their forefathers' sins and their own present defilement in foreign lands.
Ezekiel 20 24 Word Analysis
- וְגַם (və·ḡam) - "and also," "and moreover." This conjunction emphasizes an additional point God is making regarding His dealings with Israel.
- נָתַתִּי (nā·ṯat·tî) - "I gave," "I granted," "I delivered." The perfect tense indicates a completed action by God, referring to the pronouncements or experiences He allowed for His people.
- לָהֶם (lā·hem) - "to them," "for them." Refers to the people of Israel.
- חֻקִּים (ḥuq·qîm) - "statutes," "ordinances," "decrees," "customs." Plural of chuq, meaning something prescribed or decreed. Here, they are described as "not good."
- אֲשֶׁר (’ă·šer) - "that," "which," "who." A relative pronoun.
- לֹא־טֹובִים (lō-·ṭō·ḇîm) - "not good." This is a crucial descriptor. The statutes were not inherently evil in origin, but in their effect. They were not conducive to life or well-being, but led to spiritual death and ruin because they were contrary to God's true will and intended purpose for His people.
- וּמִשְׁפָּטִים (ū·mi·špā·ṭîm) - "and judgments," "and ordinances," "and decrees." Plural of mishpat. This refers to the system of justice and specific legal pronouncements.
- אֲשֶׁר־בָּם (’ă·šer-·bām) - "by which," "wherein."
- לֹא־יִחְיוּ־בָם (lō-·yi·ḥə·yū-·ḇām) - "they shall not live by them." This signifies that these ordinances would not lead to flourishing or spiritual vitality. They were not life-giving but rather statutes that highlighted their disobedience and contributed to their judgment and demise.
Words-Group Analysis:
- "statutes that were not good and ordinances by which they could not live": This phrase encapsulates God’s disciplinary judgment. Instead of providing ways to live, these ordinances were inherently destructive to life because they stemmed from or represented Israel’s persistent straying from God’s perfect path. It implies statutes that would lead them into further sin, or laws that, when followed by a disobedient people, would result in judgment and death. This is in contrast to the life-giving commandments God initially gave.
Ezekiel 20 24 Bonus Section
The concept of God giving "statutes that were not good" is a difficult theological point. It is not that God Himself would ever institute or command what is inherently evil. Rather, it signifies God’s judgment by judicial abandonment (or relinquinishment). He withdraws His sanctifying grace, allowing His people to pursue paths that they themselves have chosen, paths that, by their very nature, lead away from God and thus away from true life and flourishing. These "not good" statutes represent the outcome of lives lived apart from divine guidance, marked by persistent rebellion and unfaithfulness. They serve as a severe warning and a confirmation of the devastating consequences of rejecting the LORD’s good and life-giving covenant. This judicial hardening or abandonment is also seen in passages like Psalm 81:12, where God states, "So I gave them over to the stubbornness of their own hearts."
Ezekiel 20 24 Commentary
This verse is a solemn declaration of God's justice when His people refuse to honor His good statutes. God gave Israel laws that were designed for their life and blessing (Deuteronomy 28:1-14). However, because Israel persistently chose to violate these, turning to idolatry and other forbidden practices, God did not simply annul His laws. Instead, in His judgment, He gave them over to follow laws and practices that were ruinous – "statutes not good." This implies allowing them to reap the bitter fruit of their wrong choices, either through their own corrupt legislations mirroring their corrupted hearts, or by His own permissive judgments that led to destruction. The core truth is that God’s true laws are life-giving, but when a people rejects them, the resulting statutes and practices they embrace, or those allowed upon them, lead away from life and into judgment. The Apostle Paul speaks of a similar concept when God gives people over to their own sinful desires because they refused His truth (Romans 1:24-32). True life comes only through obedience to God and through His Son, Jesus Christ, who fulfills the law and offers eternal life (John 14:6; Romans 10:4).