Ezekiel 20:26

Ezekiel 20:26 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And I polluted them in their own gifts, in that they caused to pass through the fire all that openeth the womb, that I might make them desolate, to the end that they might know that I am the Lord.
• English Standard Version (ESV)and I defiled them through their very gifts in their offering up all their firstborn, that I might devastate them. I did it that they might know that I am the Lord.
• New King James Version (NKJV)and I pronounced them unclean because of their ritual gifts, in that they caused all their firstborn to pass through the fire, that I might make them desolate and that they might know that I am the Lord.” ’
• New Living Translation (NLT)I let them pollute themselves with the very gifts I had given them, and I allowed them to give their firstborn children as offerings to their gods—so I might devastate them and remind them that I alone am the Lord.

Context of Ezekiel 20:26

24because they had not obeyed my laws but had rejected my decrees and desecrated my Sabbaths, and their eyes lusted after their parents’ idols. 25So I gave them other statutes that were not good and laws through which they could not live; I defiled them through their gifts—the sacrifice of every firstborn—that I might fill them with horror so they would know that I am the Lord.’ 27“Therefore, son of man, speak to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: In this also your ancestors blasphemed me by being unfaithful to me: 28When I brought them into the land I had sworn to give them and they saw any high hill or any leafy tree, there they offered their sacrifices, made offerings that aroused my anger, presented their fragrant incense and poured out their drink offerings.

Ezekiel 20:26 word by word

וָאֲטַמֵּ֤א אוֹתָם֙ בְּמַתְּנוֹתָ֔ם בְּהַעֲבִ֖יר כָּל־פֶּ֣טֶר רָ֑חַם לְמַ֣עַן אֲשִׁמֵּ֔ם לְמַ֙עַן֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר יֵֽדְע֔וּ אֲשֶׁ֖ר אֲנִ֥י יְהוָֽה׃ סRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And I pollutedטָמֵאţâmê' · to defileH2930
• them in their own giftsמַתָּנָהmattânâh · giftH4979
• in that they caused to pass throughעָבַר‛âbar · to passH5674
• all that openethפֶּ֫טֶרpeţer piţrâh · firstbornH6363
• the wombרַחַםracham · wombH7356
• that I might make them desolateשָׁמֵםshâmêm · be desolate: destroyedH8074
• to the end that they might knowיָדַעyâda‛ · to knowH3045
• the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068

Cross-references for Ezekiel 20:26

• Ezekiel 20:31When you offer your gifts—the sacrifice of your children in the fire—you continue to defile yourselves with all your idols to this day. Am I to let you inquire of me, you Israelites? As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I will not let you inquire of me.
• Isaiah 63:17Why, Lord, do you make us wander from your ways and harden our hearts so we do not revere you? Return for the sake of your servants, the tribes that are your inheritance.
• Romans 11:7What then? What the people of Israel sought so earnestly they did not obtain. The elect among them did, but the others were hardened,
• Ezekiel 16:20“ ‘And you took your sons and daughters whom you bore to me and sacrificed them as food to the idols. Was your prostitution not enough?
• Leviticus 18:21“ ‘Do not give any of your children to be sacrificed to Molek, for you must not profane the name of your God. I am the Lord.
• 2 Kings 17:17They sacrificed their sons and daughters in the fire. They practiced divination and sought omens and sold themselves to do evil in the eyes of the Lord, arousing his anger.
• 2 Kings 21:6He sacrificed his own son in the fire, practiced divination, sought omens, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the eyes of the Lord, arousing his anger.
• 2 Chronicles 28:3He burned sacrifices in the Valley of Ben Hinnom and sacrificed his children in the fire, engaging in the detestable practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before the Israelites.
• 2 Chronicles 33:6He sacrificed his children in the fire in the Valley of Ben Hinnom, practiced divination and witchcraft, sought omens, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the eyes of the Lord, arousing his anger.
• Jeremiah 32:35They built high places for Baal in the Valley of Ben Hinnom to sacrifice their sons and daughters to Molek, though I never commanded—nor did it enter my mind—that they should do such a detestable thing and so make Judah sin.
• Exodus 13:12you are to give over to the Lord the first offspring of every womb. All the firstborn males of your livestock belong to the Lord.
• Luke 2:23(as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”),
• Ezekiel 6:7Your people will fall slain among you, and you will know that I am the Lord.

Commentaries on Ezekiel 20:26

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 26I polluted them in their own gifts - I permitted them to pollute themselves by the offerings which they made to their idols. Causing their children to pass through the fire was one of those pollutions; but, did God ever give them a statute or judgment of this kind? No. He ever inveighs against such things, and they incur his heaviest displeasure and curse. See on Ezekiel 20:31; (note).Read the comment
• 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. 26The Israelites even offered their firstborn children as sacrifices to the god Molech. This was a terrible sin. This action reversed what God had done in the exodus. At that time, the Lord called Israel his “firstborn son” (Exodus 4:22). He rescued them from slavery so they could worship him in purity in the promised land. Instead of honoring the Lord, they gave their children to a false god. Their actions showed how far they had turned away from him.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2626. I polluted them--not directly; "but I judicially gave them up to pollute themselves." A just retribution for their "polluting My sabbaths" (Eze 20:24). This Eze 20:26 is explanatory of Eze 20:25. Their own sin I made their punishment. caused to pass through the fire--Fairbairn translates, "In their presenting (literally, 'the causing to pass over') all their first-born," namely, to the Lord; referring to the command (Ex 13:12, Margin, where the very…Read the comment

Topics related to Ezekiel 20:26

• Firstborn
• Idolatry
• Molech
• Offerings

In the dictionaries

• Defile
• Purge
• Fire
• Gift
• God
• Grace
• Leviticus
• Molech; Moloch
• Primogeniture
• Salvation

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