New Living Translation
Ezekiel 20:25
25I gave them over to worthless decrees and regulations that would not lead to life.
Ezekiel 20:25 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Wherefore I gave them also statutes that were not good, and judgments whereby they should not live;
- New International Version (NIV)So I gave them other statutes that were not good and laws through which they could not live;
- English Standard Version (ESV)Moreover, I gave them statutes that were not good and rules by which they could not have life,
- New King James Version (NKJV)“Therefore I also gave them up to statutes that were not good, and judgments by which they could not live;
Context of Ezekiel 20:25
23But I took a solemn oath against them in the wilderness. I swore I would scatter them among all the nations 24because they did not obey my regulations. They scorned my decrees by violating my Sabbath days and longing for the idols of their ancestors. I gave them over to worthless decrees and regulations that would not lead to life. 26I 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. 27“Therefore, son of man, give the people of Israel this message from the Sovereign Lord: Your ancestors continued to blaspheme and betray me,
Read all of Ezekiel 20Ezekiel 20:25 word by word
וְגַם־אֲנִי֙ נָתַ֣תִּי לָהֶ֔ם חֻקִּ֖ים לֹ֣א טוֹבִ֑ים וּמִ֨שְׁפָּטִ֔ים לֹ֥א יִֽחְי֖וּ בָּהֶֽם׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Ezekiel 20:25
- Romans 1:28Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done.
- Ezekiel 20:26I 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.
- Ezekiel 14:9“‘And if a prophet is deceived into giving a message, it is because I, the Lord, have deceived that prophet. I will lift my fist against such prophets and cut them off from the community of Israel.
- Deuteronomy 4:27For the Lord will scatter you among the nations, where only a few of you will survive.
- Deuteronomy 28:36“The Lord will exile you and your king to a nation unknown to you and your ancestors. There in exile you will worship gods of wood and stone!
- Psalms 81:12So I let them follow their own stubborn desires, living according to their own ideas.
- Isaiah 66:4I will send them great trouble— all the things they feared. For when I called, they did not answer. When I spoke, they did not listen. They deliberately sinned before my very eyes and chose to do what they know I despise.”
- Romans 1:21Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused.
- 2 Thessalonians 2:9This man will come to do the work of Satan with counterfeit power and signs and miracles.
Commentaries on Ezekiel 20:25
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 25I gave them also statutes that were not good - What a foolish noise has been made about this verse by critics, believers and infidels! How is it that God can be said "to give a people statutes that were not good, and judgments whereby they could not live?" I answer, in their sense of the words, God never gave any such, at any time, to any people. Let any man produce an example of this kind if he can; or show even the fragment of such a law, sanctioned by…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. 25-26I also gave them over to statutes that were not good and ordinances … I pronounced them unclean: This means that the Lord allowed the people of Israel to follow their own sinful desires. He did not stop them from choosing false worship and harmful practices. They took part in the complex and corrupt rituals of paganism (the worship of false gods). As a result, they suffered the painful consequences of their sins (see Romans 1:18–25).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2525. I gave them ... statutes ... not good--Since they would not follow My statutes that were good, "I gave them" their own (Eze 20:18) and their fathers' "which were not good"; statutes spiritually corrupting, and, finally, as the consequence, destroying them. Righteous retribution (Psa 81:12; Ho 8:11; Ro 1:24; 2Th 2:11). Eze 20:39 proves this view to be correct (compare Is 63:17). Thus on the plains of Moab (Nu 25:1-18), in chastisement for the secret…Read the comment
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 Living Translation — © 1996, 2004, 2015 Tyndale House Foundation
Commentaries