New Living Translation
Ezekiel 20:39
39“As for you, O people of Israel, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Go right ahead and worship your idols, but sooner or later you will obey me and will stop bringing shame on my holy name by worshiping idols.
Ezekiel 20:39 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)As for you, O house of Israel, thus saith the Lord God; Go ye, serve ye every one his idols, and hereafter also, if ye will not hearken unto me: but pollute ye my holy name no more with your gifts, and with your idols.
- New International Version (NIV)“ ‘As for you, people of Israel, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Go and serve your idols, every one of you! But afterward you will surely listen to me and no longer profane my holy name with your gifts and idols.
- English Standard Version (ESV)"As for you, O house of Israel, thus says the Lord God: Go serve every one of you his idols, now and hereafter, if you will not listen to me; but my holy name you shall no more profane with your gifts and your idols.
- New King James Version (NKJV)“As for you, O house of Israel,” thus says the Lord God: “Go, serve every one of you his idols—and hereafter—if you will not obey Me; but profane My holy name no more with your gifts and your idols.
Context of Ezekiel 20:39
37I will examine you carefully and hold you to the terms of the covenant. 38I will purge you of all those who rebel and revolt against me. I will bring them out of the countries where they are in exile, but they will never enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord. “As for you, O people of Israel, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Go right ahead and worship your idols, but sooner or later you will obey me and will stop bringing shame on my holy name by worshiping idols. 40For on my holy mountain, the great mountain of Israel, says the Sovereign Lord, the people of Israel will someday worship me, and I will accept them. There I will require that you bring me all your offerings and choice gifts and sacrifices. 41When I bring you home from exile, you will be like a pleasing sacrifice to me. And I will display my holiness through you as all the nations watch.
Read all of Ezekiel 20Ezekiel 20:39 word by word
וְאַתֶּ֨ם בֵּֽית־יִשְׂרָאֵ֜ל כֹּֽה־אָמַ֣ר׀ אֲדֹנָ֣י יְהֹוִ֗ה אִ֤ישׁ גִּלּוּלָיו֙ לְכ֣וּ עֲבֹ֔דוּ וְאַחַ֕ר אִם־אֵינְכֶ֖ם שֹׁמְעִ֣ים אֵלָ֑י וְאֶת־שֵׁ֤ם קָדְשִׁי֙ לֹ֣א תְחַלְּלוּ־ע֔וֹד בְּמַתְּנֽוֹתֵיכֶ֖ם וּבְגִלּוּלֵיכֶֽם׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- As for you, O houseבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: householdH1004
- of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
- thus saithאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- the Lordאֲדֹנָי'ădônây · LordH136
- Godיְהֹוִהyehôvih · YHWH/GodH3069
- Goיָלַךְyâlak · to walkH3212
- ye, serveעָבַד‛âbad · to serveH5647
- ye every oneאִישׁ'îysh · man: anyoneH376
- his idolsגִּלּוּלgillûl gillûl · idolH1544
- and hereafterאַחַר'achar · afterH310
- if ye will not hearkenשָׁמַעshâma‛ · to hear: hearH8085
- unto me: but polluteחָלַלchâlal · to profane/begin: profaneH2490
- ye my holyקֹ֫דֶשׁqôdesh · holinessH6944
- nameשֵׁםshêm · nameH8034
- no more with your giftsמַתָּנָהmattânâh · giftH4979
Cross-references for Ezekiel 20:39
- Ezekiel 20:25I gave them over to worthless decrees and regulations that would not lead to life.
- Judges 10:14Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen! Let them rescue you in your hour of distress!”
- 2 Kings 3:13“Why are you coming to me?” Elisha asked the king of Israel. “Go to the pagan prophets of your father and mother!” But King Joram of Israel said, “No! For it was the Lord who called us three kings here—only to be defeated by the king of Moab!”
- Psalms 81:12So I let them follow their own stubborn desires, living according to their own ideas.
- Hosea 4:17Leave Israel alone, because she is married to idolatry.
- Amos 4:4“Go ahead and offer sacrifices to the idols at Bethel. Keep on disobeying at Gilgal. Offer sacrifices each morning, and bring your tithes every three days.
- Romans 1:24So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other’s bodies.
- 2 Thessalonians 2:11So God will cause them to be greatly deceived, and they will believe these lies.
- Ezekiel 23:37They have committed both adultery and murder—adultery by worshiping idols and murder by burning as sacrifices the children they bore to me.
- Proverbs 21:27The sacrifice of an evil person is detestable, especially when it is offered with wrong motives.
- Isaiah 1:13Stop bringing me your meaningless gifts; the incense of your offerings disgusts me! As for your celebrations of the new moon and the Sabbath and your special days for fasting— they are all sinful and false. I want no more of your pious meetings.
- Isaiah 66:3But those who choose their own ways— delighting in their detestable sins— will not have their offerings accepted. When such people sacrifice a bull, it is no more acceptable than a human sacrifice. When they sacrifice a lamb, it’s as though they had sacrificed a dog! When they bring an offering of grain, they might as well offer the blood of a pig. When they burn frankincense, it’s as if they had blessed an idol.
- Jeremiah 7:9Do you really think you can steal, murder, commit adultery, lie, and burn incense to Baal and all those other new gods of yours,
- Zephaniah 1:4“I will crush Judah and Jerusalem with my fist and destroy every last trace of their Baal worship. I will put an end to all the idolatrous priests, so that even the memory of them will disappear.
- Matthew 6:24“No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money.
- Revelation 3:15“I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other!
Commentaries on Ezekiel 20:39
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 39Go ye, serve ye every one his idols - Thus, God gave them statutes that were not good, and judgments whereby they could not live, by thus permitting them to take their own way, serve their gods, and follow the maxims and rites of that abominable worship.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. 33-44Verses 33-44 The wicked Israelites, notwithstanding they follow the sinful ways of other nations, shall not mingle with them in their prosperity, but shall be separated from them for destruction. There is no shaking off God's dominion; and those who will not yield to the power of his grace, shall sink under the power of his wrath. But not one of God's jewels shall be lost in the lumber of this world. He will bring the jews to the land of Israel again; and…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 39-44The people of Israel might continue to worship idols for a time. However, in the end, they would worship God in spirit and in truth on his holy mountain (see Ezekiel 40–48, where the purified worship of God is restored in the temple). Jesus also spoke about worshiping the Father in spirit and in truth (John 4:21–24). God chose Israel to be a holy nation. His purpose in choosing them would not fail. In the end, his plan would stand. The people would become…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 3939. Equivalent to, "I would rather have you open idolaters than hypocrites, fancying you can worship Me and yet at the same time serve idols" (Am 5:21, 22, 25, 26; compare 1Ki 18:21; 2Ki 17:41; Mt 6:24; Re 3:15, 16). Go ye, serve--This is not a command to serve idols, but a judicial declaration of God's giving up of the half-idol, half-Jehovah worshippers to utter idolatry, if they will not serve Jehovah alone (Psa 81:12; Re 22:11). hereafter also--God…Read the comment
Topics related to Ezekiel 20:39
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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