20:18 “‘But I said to their children 8 in the wilderness, “Do not follow the practices of your fathers; do not observe their regulations, 9 nor defile yourselves with their idols. 20:19 I am the Lord your God; follow my statutes, observe my regulations, and carry them out. 20:20 Treat my Sabbaths as holy 10 and they will be a reminder of our relationship, 11 and then you will know that I am the Lord your God.”
1 sn The laws were given at Mount Sinai.
2 tn Heb “the man.”
3 tn Heb “does.”
4 tn The wording and the concept is contained in Lev 18:5 and Deut 30:15-19.
5 sn Ezekiel’s contemporary, Jeremiah, also stressed the importance of obedience to the Sabbath law (Jer 17).
6 tn Heb “to become a sign between me and them.”
7 tn Or “set them apart.” The last phrase of verse 12 appears to be a citation of Exod 31:13.
8 tn Heb “sons,” reflecting the patriarchal idiom of the culture.
9 tn Or “standard of justice.” See Ezek 7:27.
10 tn Or “set apart my Sabbaths.”
11 tn Heb “and they will become a sign between me and you.”