New International Version
Ezekiel 20:16
16because 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 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Because they despised my judgments, and walked not in my statutes, but polluted my sabbaths: for their heart went after their idols.
- English Standard Version (ESV)because they rejected my rules and did not walk in my statutes, and profaned my Sabbaths; for their heart went after their idols.
- New King James Version (NKJV)because they despised My judgments and did not walk in My statutes, but profaned My Sabbaths; for their heart went after their idols.
- New Living Translation (NLT)For they had rejected my regulations, refused to follow my decrees, and violated my Sabbath days. Their hearts were given to their idols.
Context of Ezekiel 20:16
14But for the sake of my name I did what would keep it from being profaned in the eyes of the nations in whose sight I had brought them out. 15Also with uplifted hand I swore to them in the wilderness that I would not bring them into the land I had given them—a land flowing with milk and honey, the most beautiful of all lands— because they rejected my laws and did not follow my decrees and desecrated my Sabbaths. For their hearts were devoted to their idols. 17Yet I looked on them with pity and did not destroy them or put an end to them in the wilderness. 18I 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.
Read all of Ezekiel 20Ezekiel 20:16 word by word
יַ֜עַן בְּמִשְׁפָּטַ֣י מָאָ֗סוּ וְאֶת־חֻקּוֹתַי֙ לֹא־הָלְכ֣וּ בָהֶ֔ם וְאֶת־שַׁבְּתוֹתַ֖י חִלֵּ֑לוּ כִּ֛י אַחֲרֵ֥י גִלּוּלֵיהֶ֖ם לִבָּ֥ם הֹלֵֽךְ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Because they despisedמָאַסmâ'as · to rejectH3988
- my judgmentsמִשְׁפָּטmishpâţ · justice: judgementH4941
- and walkedהָלַךְhâlak · to go: walkH1980
- not in my statutesחֻקָּהchûqqâh · statuteH2708
- but pollutedחָלַלchâlal · to profane/begin: profaneH2490
- my sabbathsשַׁבָּתshabbâth · SabbathH7676
- for their heartלֵבlêb · heartH3820
- wentהָלַךְhâlak · to go: wentH1980
- afterאַחַר'achar · afterH310
- their idolsגִּלּוּלgillûl gillûl · idolH1544
Cross-references for Ezekiel 20:16
- Ezekiel 20:13“ ‘Yet the people of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness. They did not follow my decrees but rejected my laws—by which the person who obeys them will live—and they utterly desecrated my Sabbaths. So I said I would pour out my wrath on them and destroy them in the wilderness.
- Ezekiel 20:8“ ‘But they rebelled against me and would not listen to me; they did not get rid of the vile images they had set their eyes on, nor did they forsake the idols of Egypt. So I said I would pour out my wrath on them and spend my anger against them in Egypt.
- Ezekiel 14:3“Son of man, these men have set up idols in their hearts and put wicked stumbling blocks before their faces. Should I let them inquire of me at all?
- Ezekiel 23:8She did not give up the prostitution she began in Egypt, when during her youth men slept with her, caressed her virgin bosom and poured out their lust on her.
- Exodus 32:1When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, “Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.”
- Numbers 15:39You will have these tassels to look at and so you will remember all the commands of the Lord, that you may obey them and not prostitute yourselves by chasing after the lusts of your own hearts and eyes.
- Numbers 25:2who invited them to the sacrifices to their gods. The people ate the sacrificial meal and bowed down before these gods.
- Amos 5:25“Did you bring me sacrifices and offerings forty years in the wilderness, people of Israel?
- Acts 7:39“But our ancestors refused to obey him. Instead, they rejected him and in their hearts turned back to Egypt.
Commentaries on Ezekiel 20:16
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 10-26Verses 10-26 The probation in the wilderness. The promise was forfeited by those to whom it was first conditionally made, but was renewed to their children. Ezekiel 20:11 The “statutes” were given on Mount Sinai, and repeated by Moses before his death (Exodus 20:1 ff; Deuteronomy 4:8). In them - Or, through them: and in Ezekiel 20:13. Ezekiel 20:12 See Exodus 31:13. The Sabbath was a sign of a special people, commemorative of the work of creation, and…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 10-26Verses 10-26 . The history of Israel in the wilderness is referred to in the new Testament as well as in the Old, for warning. God did great things for them. He gave them the law, and revived the ancient keeping of the sabbath day. Sabbaths are privileges; they are signs of our being his people. If we do the duty of the day, we shall find, to our comfort, it is the Lord that makes us holy, that is, truly happy, here; and prepares us to be happy, that is…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 8-21Each generation of Israelites rebelled against the Lord. They refused to obey the commandments he gave them. Each time, the Lord warned that he would pour out his fury (his strong anger) on them (Ezekiel 20:8, 13, 21). But he held back his judgment. He did this for the honor of his name. If he had destroyed them, the surrounding nations might have thought he was too weak to bring his people into the promised land.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1616. The special reason is stated by Moses (Nu 13:32, 33; 14:4) to be that they, through fear arising from the false report of the spies, wished to return to Egypt; the general reasons are stated here which lay at the root of their rejection of God's grace; namely, contempt of God and His laws, and love of idols. their heart--The fault lay in it (Psa 78:37).Read the comment
Topics related to Ezekiel 20:16
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
New International Version — © NIV® 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 Biblica
Commentaries