Ezekiel 20:18

Ezekiel 20:18 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)But I said unto their children in the wilderness, Walk ye not in the statutes of your fathers, neither observe their judgments, nor defile yourselves with their idols:
• New International Version (NIV)I 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.
• English Standard Version (ESV)"And I said to their children in the wilderness, 'Do not walk in the statutes of your fathers, nor keep their rules, nor defile yourselves with their idols.
• New King James Version (NKJV)“But I said to their children in the wilderness, ‘Do not walk in the statutes of your fathers, nor observe their judgments, nor defile yourselves with their idols.

Context of Ezekiel 20:18

16For they had rejected my regulations, refused to follow my decrees, and violated my Sabbath days. Their hearts were given to their idols. 17Nevertheless, I took pity on them and held back from destroying them in the wilderness. “Then I warned their children not to follow in their parents’ footsteps, defiling themselves with their idols. 19‘I am the Lord your God,’ I told them. ‘Follow my decrees, pay attention to my regulations, 20and keep my Sabbath days holy, for they are a sign to remind you that I am the Lord your God.’

Ezekiel 20:18 word by word

וָאֹמַ֤ר אֶל־בְּנֵיהֶם֙ בַּמִּדְבָּ֔ר בְּחוּקֵּ֤י אֲבֽוֹתֵיכֶם֙ אַל־תֵּלֵ֔כוּ וְאֶת־מִשְׁפְּטֵיהֶ֖ם אַל־תִּשְׁמֹ֑רוּ וּבְגִלּוּלֵיהֶ֖ם אַל־תִּטַּמָּֽאוּ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• But I saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• unto their childrenבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
• in the wildernessמִדְבָּרmidbâr · wildernessH4057
• Walkיָלַךְyâlak · to walkH3212
• ye not in the statutesחֹקchôq · statute: decreeH2706
• of your fathersאָב'âb · fatherH1
• neither observeשָׁמַרshâmar · to keep: obeyH8104
• their judgmentsמִשְׁפָּטmishpâţ · justice: judgementH4941
• nor defileטָמֵאţâmê' · to defileH2930
• yourselves with their idolsגִּלּוּלgillûl gillûl · idolH1544

Cross-references for Ezekiel 20:18

• Numbers 14:32But as for you, you will drop dead in this wilderness.
• Numbers 32:13“The Lord was angry with Israel and made them wander in the wilderness for forty years until the entire generation that sinned in the Lord’s sight had died.
• Deuteronomy 4:3“You saw for yourself what the Lord did to you at Baal-peor. There the Lord your God destroyed everyone who had worshiped Baal, the god of Peor.
• Psalms 78:6so the next generation might know them— even the children not yet born— and they in turn will teach their own children.
• Zechariah 1:2“I, the Lord, was very angry with your ancestors.
• Luke 11:47What sorrow awaits you! For you build monuments for the prophets your own ancestors killed long ago.
• Acts 7:51“You stubborn people! You are heathen at heart and deaf to the truth. Must you forever resist the Holy Spirit? That’s what your ancestors did, and so do you!
• 1 Peter 1:18For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And it was not paid with mere gold or silver, which lose their value.
• Ezekiel 20:7Then I said to them, ‘Each of you, get rid of the vile images you are so obsessed with. Do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt, for I am the Lord your God.’
• Jeremiah 2:7“And when I brought you into a fruitful land to enjoy its bounty and goodness, you defiled my land and corrupted the possession I had promised you.
• Jeremiah 3:9Israel treated it all so lightly—she thought nothing of committing adultery by worshiping idols made of wood and stone. So now the land has been polluted.

Commentaries on Ezekiel 20:18

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 18But I said unto their children - These I chose in their fathers' stead; and to them I purposed to give the inheritance which their fathers by disobedience lost.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. 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. 1818. I said unto their children--being unwilling to speak any more to the fathers as being incorrigible. Walk ye not in ... statutes of ... fathers--The traditions of the fathers are to be carefully weighed, not indiscriminately followed. He forbids the imitation of not only their gross sins, but even their plausible statutes [Calvin].Read the comment

Topics related to Ezekiel 20:18

• Example

In the dictionaries

• Defile
• Purge
• God
• Grace
• Leviticus
• Sabbath
• Salvation
• holy, holiness, unholy, sacred

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