Ezekiel 14:1

Well-Deserved Judgment

14:1 Then some men from Israel’s elders came to me and sat down in front of me.

Ezekiel 14:4

14:4 Therefore speak to them and say to them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: When any one from the house of Israel erects his idols in his heart and sets the obstacle leading to his iniquity before his face, and then consults a prophet, I the Lord am determined to answer him personally according to the enormity of his idolatry. ¹ 

Ezekiel 20:1

Israel’s Rebellion

20:1 In the seventh year, in the fifth month, on the tenth of the month, ²  some of the elders ³  of Israel came to seek ⁴  the Lord, and they sat down in front of me.

Ezekiel 33:31

33:31 They come to you in crowds, ⁵  and they sit in front of you as ⁶  my people. They hear your words, but do not obey ⁷  them. For they talk lustfully, ⁸  and their heart is set on ⁹  their own advantage. ¹⁰ 

Malachi 2:7

2:7 For the lips of a priest should preserve knowledge of sacred things, and people should seek instruction from him ¹¹  because he is the messenger of the Lord who rules over all.

Acts 20:33

20:33 I have desired ¹²  no one’s silver or gold or clothing.

¹ tn Heb “in accordance with the multitude of his idols.”

² sn The date would be August 14th, 591 b.c. The seventh year is the seventh year of Jehoiachin’s exile.

³ tn Heb “men from the elders.”

⁴ tn See the note at 14:3.

⁵ tn Heb “as people come.” Apparently this is an idiom indicating that they come in crowds. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:264.

⁶ tn The word “as” is supplied in the translation.

⁷ tn Heb “do.”

⁸ tn Heb “They do lust with their mouths.”

⁹ tn Heb “goes after.”

¹⁰ tn The present translation understands the term often used for “unjust gain” in a wider sense, following M. Greenberg, who also notes that the LXX uses a term which can describe either sexual or ritual pollution. See M. Greenberg, Ezekiel (AB), 2:687.

¹¹ tn Heb “from his mouth” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV).

¹² tn Traditionally, “coveted.” BDAG 371 s.v. ἐπιθυμέω 1 has “to have a strong desire to do or secure someth., desire, long for w. gen. of the thing desired…silver, gold, clothing Ac 20:33.” The traditional term “covet” is not in common usage and difficult for many modern English readers to understand. The statement affirms Paul’s integrity. He was not doing this for personal financial gain.