Ezekiel 20:21-24

20:21 “‘But the children ¹  rebelled against me, did not follow my statutes, did not observe my regulations by carrying them out (the one who obeys ²  them will live by them), and desecrated my Sabbaths. I decided to pour out ³  my rage on them and fully vent my anger against them in the wilderness. 20:22 But I refrained from doing so, ⁴  and acted instead for the sake of my reputation, so that I would not be profaned before the nations in whose sight I had brought them out. 20:23 I also swore ⁵  to them in the wilderness that I would scatter them among the nations and disperse them throughout the lands. ⁶  20:24 I did this ⁷  because they did not observe my regulations, they rejected my statutes, they desecrated my Sabbaths, and their eyes were fixed on ⁸  their fathers’ idols.

¹ tn Heb “sons.”

² tn Or “carries them out.”

³ tn Heb “and I said/thought to pour out.”

⁴ tn Heb “drew my hand back.” This idiom also occurs in Lam 2:8 and Ps 74:11.

⁵ tn Heb “I lifted up my hand.”

⁶ sn Though the Pentateuch does not seem to know of this episode, Ps 106:26-27 may speak of God’s oath to exile the people before they had entered Canaan.

⁷ tn The words “I did this” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied for stylistic reasons. Verses 23-24 are one long sentence in the Hebrew text. The translation divides this sentence into two for stylistic reasons.

⁸ tn Or “they worshiped” (NCV, TEV, CEV); Heb “their eyes were on” or “were after” (cf. v. 16).