King James Version · Babylon and the exile
Ezekiel 20
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And it came to pass in the seventh year, in the fifth month, the tenth day of the month, that certain of the came to enquire of , and sat before me. 2Then came the word of unto me, saying, , speak unto the , and say unto them, Thus saith ; Are ye come to enquire of me? As I live, saith , I will not be enquired of by you. Wilt thou judge them, , wilt thou judge them? cause them to know the of their fathers: And say unto them, Thus saith ; In the day when I chose Israel, and lifted up mine hand unto the of the house of , and made myself known unto them in the land of , when I lifted up mine hand unto them, saying, I am your ; In the day that I lifted up mine hand unto them, to bring them forth of the land of into a land that I had espied for them, , which is the of all lands: Then said I unto them, Cast ye away every man the of his eyes, and defile not yourselves with the idols of : I am your . But they rebelled against me, and would not unto me: they did not every man cast away the of their eyes, neither did they forsake the idols of : then I said, I will pour out my fury upon them, to accomplish my against them in the midst of the land of . But I wrought for my name’s sake, that it should not be polluted before the heathen, among whom they were, in whose sight I made myself known unto them, in bringing them forth out of the land of . Wherefore I caused them to go forth out of the land of , and brought them into . And I gave them , and shewed them my judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them. Moreover also I gave them my , to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am that them. But the rebelled against me in : they walked not in , and they despised my judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them; and my they greatly polluted: then I said, I would pour out my fury upon them in , to consume them. But I wrought for my name’s sake, that it should not be polluted before the heathen, in whose sight I brought them out. Yet also I lifted up my hand unto them in , that I would not bring them into the land which I had given them, , which is the of all lands; Because they despised my judgments, and walked not in , but polluted my : for their went after their idols. Nevertheless mine eye spared them from destroying them, neither did I make an end of them in . But I said unto their children in , Walk ye not in the of your fathers, neither observe their judgments, nor defile yourselves with their idols: I am your ; walk in , and keep my judgments, and do them; And hallow my ; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am your . Notwithstanding the children rebelled against me: they walked not in , neither kept my judgments to do them, which if a man do, he shall even live in them; they polluted my : then I said, I would pour out my fury upon them, to accomplish my against them in . Nevertheless I withdrew mine hand, and wrought for my name’s sake, that it should not be polluted in the sight of the heathen, in whose sight I brought them forth. I lifted up mine hand unto them also in , that I would scatter them among the heathen, and disperse them through the countries; Because they had not executed my judgments, but had despised , and had polluted my , and their eyes were after their fathers’ idols. Wherefore I gave them also that were not good, and judgments whereby they should not live; And I polluted them in their own gifts, in that they caused to pass through the all that openeth the , that I might make them desolate, to the end that they might know that I am . Therefore, , speak unto the , and say unto them, Thus saith ; Yet in this your fathers have blasphemed me, in that they have committed a trespass against me. For when I had brought them into the land, for the which I lifted up mine hand to give it to them, then they saw every high hill, and all the thick trees, and they offered there their , and there they presented the provocation of their : there also they made their sweet savour, and poured out there their drink . Then I said unto them, What is the whereunto ye go? And the name thereof is called unto this day. Wherefore say unto the , Thus saith ; Are ye polluted after the manner of your fathers? and commit ye whoredom after their ? For when ye offer your gifts, when ye make your sons to pass through the , ye pollute yourselves with all your idols, even unto this day: and shall I be enquired of by you, O ? As I live, saith , I will not be enquired of by you. And that which cometh into shall not be at all, that ye say, We will be as the heathen, as the families of the countries, to wood and stone. As I live, saith , surely with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out, will I you: And I will bring you out from the people, and will gather you out of the countries wherein ye are scattered, with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out. And I will bring you into of the people, and there will I plead with you to . Like as I pleaded with your fathers in of the land of , so will I plead with you, saith . And I will cause you to pass under the , and I will bring you into the bond of : And I will purge out from among you the rebels, and them that transgress against me: I will bring them forth out of the country where they sojourn, and they shall not enter into the land of Israel: and ye shall know that I am . As for you, O , thus saith ; Go ye, ye every one his idols, and hereafter also, if ye will not unto me: but pollute ye my name no more with your gifts, and with your idols. For in mine mountain, in the mountain of the height of Israel, saith , there shall all the , all of them in the land, me: there will I accept them, and there will I require your , and the of your oblations, with all your things. I will accept you with your sweet savour, when I bring you out from the people, and gather you out of the countries wherein ye have been scattered; and I will be in you before the heathen. And ye shall know that I am , when I shall bring you into the land of Israel, into the country for the which I lifted up mine hand to give it to your fathers. And there shall ye remember your ways, and all your doings, wherein ye have been defiled; and ye shall lothe yourselves in your own sight for all your evils that ye have committed. And ye shall know that I am , when I have wrought with you for my name’s sake, not according to your ways, nor according to your corrupt doings, O ye , saith . 45Moreover unto me, saying, , set thy toward the south, and drop thy word toward the south, and against the forest of the south field; And say to the forest of the south, Hear the word of ; Thus saith ; Behold, I will kindle a in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein. And shall see that I have kindled it: it shall not be quenched. Then said I, Ah ! they say of me, Doth he not speak ?
The 1611 translation, public domain. Its original printing included the Apocrypha, which is why the deuterocanonical books can be read here. Notes and cards are EKLI’s own.
The world at this moment · Babylon and the exile, 612 BC to 539 BC ›
Babylon replaces Assyria, Jerusalem and its temple are destroyed in 586 BC, and the leadership of Judah lives in Mesopotamia without a king, a temple, or a country.
- Babylon
- Nebuchadnezzar II rebuilds the city on a scale meant to be seen from a distance: the Ishtar Gate in glazed blue brick, the processional way, the ziggurat, and gardens later counted among the wonders of the world. Babylonian tablets record rations issued to the captive king Jehoiachin of Judah by name, which is one of the tidier points of contact between the Bible and the archives.
- Egypt
- Briefly resurgent. Pharaoh Neco marches north, kills King Josiah at Megiddo, and installs and deposes kings in Jerusalem, until Babylon beats him decisively at Carchemish in 605 BC. Jeremiah spends his career saying that betting on Egypt is suicide, and is proved right.
- Judah
- Deported in stages, then destroyed. The temple is burned, the walls broken, and the leadership marched to Mesopotamia. What happens next is one of the strangest survivals in history: a people keeps its identity without land, king, or sanctuary, and comes out of it with its scriptures more central than before.
- Further afield
- An extraordinary century for ideas everywhere at once. Thales and the first Greek philosophers, Solon's reforms at Athens, the Buddha in India, Confucius and Lao Tzu in China, and Zoroaster in Persia all fall within a few generations of the exile.
All of Ezekiel