Ezekiel 20:4

Ezekiel 20:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Wilt thou judge them, son of man, wilt thou judge them? cause them to know the abominations of their fathers:
• New International Version (NIV)“Will you judge them? Will you judge them, son of man? Then confront them with the detestable practices of their ancestors
• English Standard Version (ESV)Will you judge them, son of man, will you judge them? Let them know the abominations of their fathers,
• New King James Version (NKJV)Will you judge them, son of man, will you judge them? Then make known to them the abominations of their fathers.

Context of Ezekiel 20:4

2Then this message came to me from the Lord: 3“Son of man, tell the leaders of Israel, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: How dare you come to ask me for a message? As surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, I will tell you nothing!’ “Son of man, bring charges against them and condemn them. Make them realize how detestable the sins of their ancestors really were. 5Give them this message from the Sovereign Lord: When I chose Israel—when I revealed myself to the descendants of Jacob in Egypt—I took a solemn oath that I, the Lord, would be their God. 6I took a solemn oath that day that I would bring them out of Egypt to a land I had discovered and explored for them—a good land, a land flowing with milk and honey, the best of all lands anywhere.

Ezekiel 20:4 word by word

הֲתִשְׁפֹּ֣ט אֹתָ֔ם הֲתִשְׁפּ֖וֹט בֶּן־אָדָ֑ם אֶת־תּוֹעֲבֹ֥ת אֲבוֹתָ֖ם הוֹדִיעֵֽם׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Wilt thou judgeשָׁפַטshâphaţ · to judgeH8199
• them, sonבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
• of manאָדָם'âdâm · manH120
• cause them to knowיָדַעyâda‛ · to knowH3045
• the abominationsתּוֹעֵבַהtô‛êbah tô‛êbah · abominationH8441
• of their fathersאָב'âb · fatherH1

Cross-references for Ezekiel 20:4

• Ezekiel 14:14Even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were there, their righteousness would save no one but themselves, says the Sovereign Lord.
• Ezekiel 22:2“Son of man, are you ready to judge Jerusalem? Are you ready to judge this city of murderers? Publicly denounce her detestable sins,
• Ezekiel 23:36The Lord said to me, “Son of man, you must accuse Oholah and Oholibah of all their detestable sins.
• Isaiah 5:3Now, you people of Jerusalem and Judah, you judge between me and my vineyard.
• Jeremiah 7:16“Pray no more for these people, Jeremiah. Do not weep or pray for them, and don’t beg me to help them, for I will not listen to you.
• Jeremiah 11:14“Pray no more for these people, Jeremiah. Do not weep or pray for them, for I will not listen to them when they cry out to me in distress.
• Jeremiah 14:11Then the Lord said to me, “Do not pray for these people anymore.
• Jeremiah 15:1Then the Lord said to me, “Even if Moses and Samuel stood before me pleading for these people, I wouldn’t help them. Away with them! Get them out of my sight!
• 1 Corinthians 6:2Don’t you realize that someday we believers will judge the world? And since you are going to judge the world, can’t you decide even these little things among yourselves?
• Ezekiel 16:2“Son of man, confront Jerusalem with her detestable sins.
• Matthew 23:29“What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you build tombs for the prophets your ancestors killed, and you decorate the monuments of the godly people your ancestors destroyed.
• Luke 11:47What sorrow awaits you! For you build monuments for the prophets your own ancestors killed long ago.
• Luke 13:33Yes, today, tomorrow, and the next day I must proceed on my way. For it wouldn’t do for a prophet of God to be killed except in Jerusalem!
• 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!

Commentaries on Ezekiel 20:4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4Wilt thou judge them - If thou wilt enter into any discussion with them, show them the abomination of their fathers. The whole chapter is a consecutive history of the unfaithfulness ingratitude, rebellion, and idolatry of the Jews, from the earliest times to that day; and vindicates the sentence which God had pronounced against them, and which he was about to execute more fully in delivering them and the city into the hands of the Chaldeans.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4Wilt thou judge them? - We should rather say, Wilt thou not judge them? i. e., wilt thou not pronounce sentence upon them? Compare Ezekiel 22:2.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4-26The Lord refused to answer their question. But this did not mean he had nothing to say. Instead, God gave them a different message through Ezekiel. Ezekiel would describe the sinful and detestable actions of their ancestors. He would place these past sins clearly before the people.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. Wilt thou judge? ... judge--The emphatical repetition expresses, "Wilt thou not judge? yes, judge them. There is a loud call for immediate judgment." The Hebrew interrogative here is a command, not a prohibition [Maurer]. Instead of spending time in teaching them, tell them of the abomination of their fathers, of which their own are the complement and counterpart, and which call for judgment.Read the comment

In the dictionaries

• Son of man
• Defile
• Purge
• God
• Grace
• Leviticus
• 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