Ezekiel 20:33-44

20:33 As surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, with a powerful hand and an outstretched arm, ¹  and with an outpouring of rage, I will be king over you. 20:34 I will bring you out from the nations, and will gather you from the lands where you are scattered, with a powerful hand and an outstretched arm and with an outpouring of rage! 20:35 I will bring you into the wilderness of the nations, and there I will enter into judgment with you face to face. 20:36 Just as I entered into judgment with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will enter into judgment with you, declares the sovereign Lord. 20:37 I will make you pass under ²  the shepherd’s staff, ³  and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant. 20:38 I will eliminate from among you the rebels and those who revolt ⁴  against me. I will bring them out from the land where they have been residing, but they will not come to the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord.

20:39 “‘As for you, O house of Israel, this is what the sovereign Lord says: Each of you go and serve your idols, ⁵  if you will not listen to me. ⁶  But my holy name will not be profaned ⁷  again by your sacrifices ⁸  and your idols. 20:40 For there on my holy mountain, the high mountain of Israel, declares the sovereign Lord, all the house of Israel will serve me, all of them ⁹  in the land. I will accept them there, and there I will seek your contributions and your choice gifts, with all your holy things. 20:41 When I bring you out from the nations and gather you from the lands where you are scattered, I will accept you along with your soothing aroma. I will display my holiness among you in the sight of the nations. 20:42 Then you will know that I am the Lord when I bring you to the land of Israel, to the land I swore ¹⁰  to give to your fathers. 20:43 And there you will remember your conduct ¹¹  and all your deeds by which you defiled yourselves. You will despise yourselves ¹²  because of all the evil deeds you have done. 20:44 Then you will know that I am the Lord, when I deal with you for the sake of my reputation and not according to your wicked conduct and corrupt deeds, O house of Israel, declares the sovereign Lord.’”

¹ sn This phrase occurs frequently in Deuteronomy (Deut 4:34; 5:15; 7:19; 11:2; 26:8).

² tn This is the same Hebrew verb used to describe the passing of the children through the fire.

³ sn The metaphor may be based in Lev 27:32 (see also Jer 33:13; Matt 25:32-33). A shepherd would count his sheep as they passed beneath his staff.

⁴ tn See the note at 2:3.

⁵ sn Compare the irony here to Amos 4:4 and Jer 44:25.

⁶ tn Heb “and after, if you will not listen to me.” The translation leaves out “and after” for smoothness. The text is difficult. M. Greenberg (Ezekiel [AB], 1:374) suggests that it may mean “but afterwards, if you will not listen to me…” with an unspoken threat.

⁷ sn A similar concept may be found in Lev 18:21; 20:3.

⁸ tn Or “gifts.”

⁹ tn Heb “all of it.”

¹⁰ tn Heb “I lifted up my hand.”

¹¹ tn Heb “ways.”

¹² tn Heb “loathe yourselves in your faces.”