Ezekiel 20:26

20:26 I declared them to be defiled because of their sacrifices ¹  – they caused all their first born to pass through the fire ²  – so that I would devastate them, so that they will know that I am the Lord.’ ³ 

Ezekiel 46:16-17

46:16 “‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: If the prince should give a gift to one of his sons as ⁴  his inheritance, it will belong to his sons, it is their property by inheritance. 46:17 But if he gives a gift from his inheritance to one of his servants, it will be his until the year of liberty; ⁵  then it will revert to the prince. His inheritance will only remain with his sons.

Ezekiel 20:31

20:31 When you present your sacrifices ⁶  – when you make your sons pass through the fire – you defile yourselves with all your idols to this very day. Will I allow you to seek me, ⁷  O house of Israel? As surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, I will not allow you to seek me! ⁸ 

Ezekiel 20:39

20:39 “‘As for you, O house of Israel, this is what the sovereign Lord says: Each of you go and serve your idols, ⁹  if you will not listen to me. ¹⁰  But my holy name will not be profaned ¹¹  again by your sacrifices ¹²  and your idols.

[20:26]  ¹ tn Or “gifts.”

[20:26]  ² sn This act is prohibited in Deut 12:29-31 and Jer 7:31; 19:5; 32:35. See also 2 Kgs 21:6; 23:10. This custom indicates that the laws the Israelites were following were the disastrous laws of pagan nations (see Ezek 16:20-21).

[20:26]  ³ sn God sometimes punishes sin by inciting the sinner to sin even more, as the biblical examples of divine hardening and deceit make clear. See Robert B. Chisholm, Jr., “Divine Hardening in the Old Testament,” BSac 153 (1996): 410-34; idem, “Does God Deceive?” BSac 155 (1998): 11-28. For other instances where the Lord causes individuals to act unwisely or even sinfully as punishment for sin, see 1 Sam 2:25; 2 Sam 17:14; 1 Kgs 12:15; 2 Chr 25:20.

[46:16]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew text has no preposition; the LXX reads “from” (see v. 17).

[46:17]  ⁷ sn That is, the year of Jubilee (Lev 25:8-15).

[20:31]  ¹⁰ tn Or “gifts.”

[20:31]  ¹¹ tn Or “Will I reveal myself to you?”

[20:31]  ¹² tn Or “I will not reveal myself to you.”

[20:39]  ¹³ sn Compare the irony here to Amos 4:4 and Jer 44:25.

[20:39]  ¹⁴ 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.

[20:39]  ¹⁵ sn A similar concept may be found in Lev 18:21; 20:3.

[20:39]  ¹⁶ tn Or “gifts.”