New English Translation
Ezekiel 20:32
32“‘What you plan will never happen. You say, “We will be like the nations, like the clans of the lands, who serve gods of wood and stone.”
Ezekiel 20:32 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And that which cometh into your mind shall not be at all, that ye say, We will be as the heathen, as the families of the countries, to serve wood and stone.
- New International Version (NIV)“ ‘You say, “We want to be like the nations, like the peoples of the world, who serve wood and stone.” But what you have in mind will never happen.
- English Standard Version (ESV)"What is in your mind shall never happen—the thought, 'Let us be like the nations, like the tribes of the countries, and worship wood and stone.'
- New King James Version (NKJV)What you have in your mind shall never be, when you say, ‘We will be like the Gentiles, like the families in other countries, serving wood and stone.’
Context of Ezekiel 20:32
30“Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Will you defile yourselves like your fathers and engage in prostitution with detestable idols? 31When you present your sacrifices – when you make your sons pass through the fire – you defile yourselves with all your idols to this very day. Will I allow you to seek me, O house of Israel? As surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, I will not allow you to seek me! “‘What you plan will never happen. You say, “We will be like the nations, like the clans of the lands, who serve gods of wood and stone.” 33As surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, with a powerful hand and an outstretched arm, and with an outpouring of rage, I will be king over you. 34I will bring you out from the nations, and will gather you from the lands where you are scattered, with a powerful hand and an outstretched arm and with an outpouring of rage!
Read all of Ezekiel 20Ezekiel 20:32 word by word
וְהָֽעֹלָה֙ עַל־ר֣וּחֲכֶ֔ם הָי֖וֹ לֹ֣א תִֽהְיֶ֑ה אֲשֶׁ֣ר׀ אַתֶּ֣ם אֹמְרִ֗ים נִֽהְיֶ֤ה כַגּוֹיִם֙ כְּמִשְׁפְּח֣וֹת הָאֲרָצ֔וֹת לְשָׁרֵ֖ת עֵ֥ץ וָאָֽבֶן׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And that which comethעָלָה‛âlâh · to ascend: riseH5927
- into your mindרוּחַrûach · spiritH7307
- shall not be at all, that ye sayאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- We will beהָיָהhâyâh · to beH1961
- as the heathenגּוֹיgôy gôy · nationH1471
- as the familiesמִשְׁפָּחָהmishpâchâh · familyH4940
- of the countriesאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
- to serveשָׁרַתshârath · to ministerH8334
- woodעֵץ‛êts · tree: woodH6086
- and stoneאֶ֫בֶן'eben · stoneH68
Cross-references for Ezekiel 20:32
- Ezekiel 11:5Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon me and said to me, “Say: This is what the Lord says: ‘This is what you are thinking, O house of Israel; I know what goes through your minds.
- Ezekiel 38:10“‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: On that day thoughts will come into your mind, and you will devise an evil plan.
- Psalms 139:2You know when I sit down and when I get up; even from far away you understand my motives.
- Proverbs 19:21There are many plans in a person’s mind, but it is the counsel of the Lord which will stand.
- Lamentations 3:37Whose command was ever fulfilled unless the Lord decreed it?
- 1 Samuel 8:5They said to him, “Look, you are old, and your sons don’t follow your ways. So now appoint over us a king to lead us, just like all the other nations have.”
- Jeremiah 44:17Instead we will do everything we vowed we would do. We will sacrifice and pour out drink offerings to the goddess called the Queen of Heaven just as we and our ancestors, our kings, and our leaders previously did in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. For then we had plenty of food, were well-off, and had no troubles.
- Romans 12:2Do not be conformed to this present world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may test and approve what is the will of God – what is good and well-pleasing and perfect.
- Deuteronomy 4:28There you will worship gods made by human hands – wood and stone that can neither see, hear, eat, nor smell.
- Deuteronomy 28:36The Lord will force you and your king whom you will appoint over you to go away to a people whom you and your ancestors have not known, and you will serve other gods of wood and stone there.
- Deuteronomy 29:17You have seen their detestable things and idols of wood, stone, silver, and gold.)
- Isaiah 37:19They have burned the gods of the nations, for they are not really gods, but only the product of human hands manufactured from wood and stone. That is why the Assyrians could destroy them.
- Daniel 5:4As they drank wine, they praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.
- Revelation 9:20The rest of humanity, who had not been killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, so that they did not stop worshiping demons and idols made of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood – idols that cannot see or hear or walk about.
Commentaries on Ezekiel 20:32
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 32And that which cometh into your mind - Ye wish to be naturalized among idolaters, and make a part of such nations. But this shall not be at all; you shall be preserved as a distinct people. Ye shall not be permitted to mingle yourselves with the people of those countries: even they, idolaters as they are, will despise and reject you. Besides, I will change your place, restore your captivity; yet not in mercy, but in fury poured out; and reserve you for…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 32-44Verses 32-44 God‘s future dealings with His people: (1) in judgment Ezekiel 20:32-38; (2) in mercy Ezekiel 20:39-44. Ezekiel 20:32 The inquirers had thought that if Jerusalem were taken, and the whole people became sojourners in a foreign land, they would cease to be a separate nation. In their love for idolatry some may have even desired this. But more probably they thought that this very consequence precluded the possibility of such a catastrophe. God…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 27-32Verses 27-32 The Jews persisted in rebellion after they settled in the land of Canaan. And these elders seem to have thought of uniting with the heathen. We make nothing by our profession if it be but a profession. There is nothing got by sinful compliances; and the carnal projects of hypocrites will stand them in no stead.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 32-38In the past, Israel rebelled against God. Because of this, God judged them in limited ways. As a result, they were scattered among other nations again. However, judgment was not the end of the story. Earlier events in Israel’s history showed that God does not forget his promises. God’s own honor required him to keep his covenant with his people, even when they sinned. Israel could never become like the surrounding nations who worship idols made of wood…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 3232. We will be as the heathen--and so escape the odium to which we are exposed, of having a peculiar God and law of our own. "We shall live on better terms with them by having a similar worship. Besides, we get from God nothing but threats and calamities, whereas the heathen, Chaldeans, &c., get riches and power from their idols." How literally God's words here ("that ... shall not be at all") are fulfilled in the modern Jews! Though the Jews seemed so…Read the comment
Topics related to Ezekiel 20:32
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Ezekiel 20
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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