Ezekiel 20:1-9 ▼

1 And it came to pass in the seventh year, in the fifth, on the tenth of the month, that came men from the elders of Israel to inquire of YHWH, and they sat before me.

2 And the word of YHWH came to me, saying:

3 “Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel, and say to them, thus says the Lord YHWH: Have you⁺ come to inquire of Me? As I live, I will not be inquired of by you⁺, a declaration of the Lord YHWH.

4 Will you judge them? Will you judge them, son of man? Make known to them the abominations of their fathers,

5 and say to them, thus says the Lord YHWH: On the day of my choosing Israel, I lifted My hand to the seed of the house of Jacob, and I made Myself known to them in the land of Egypt. And I lifted My hand to them, saying, ‘I am YHWH your⁺ God.’

6 On that day I lifted My hand to them to bring them out from the land of Egypt into a land that I had searched out for them, flowing with milk and honey—the glory it is of all the lands!

7 And I said to them, ‘Each man must throw away the abominations before his eyes, and with the idols of Egypt you⁺ shall not defile yourselves! I am YHWH your⁺ God.’

8 And they rebelled against Me, and they were not willing to listen to Me. Each man, the abominations of their eyes, they did not cast away, and the idols of Egypt they did not forsake. And I said, I will pour out My fury upon them, to complete My anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt!

9 And I acted for the sake of My name, for it not to be profaned before the eyes of the nations, in the midst of whom they were, who before their eyes I had made Myself known to them, to bring them out from the land of Egypt.