Ezekiel 20:8–24

⁸“ ‘But they rebelled against me and were unwilling to listen to me. None of them threw away the abhorrent things that they prized,^A and they did not abandon the idols of Egypt. So I considered pouring out my wrath on them,^h exhausting my anger against them within the land of Egypt. ⁹But I acted for the sake of my name,ⁱ so that it would not be profaned in the eyes of the nations they were living among, in whose sight I had made myself known to Israel by bringing them out of Egypt.

¹⁰“ ‘So I brought them out of the land of Egypt and led them into the wilderness.^{j 11}Then I gave them my statutes and explained my ordinances to them—the person who does them will live by them.^{k 12}I also gave them my Sabbaths to serve as a sign between me and them,^l so that they would know that I am the Lord who consecrates them.

¹³“ ‘But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness.^m They did not follow my statutes and they rejected my ordinances—the person who does them will live by them.ⁿ They also completely profaned my Sabbaths.^o So I considered pouring out my wrath on them in the wilderness to put an end to them.^{p 14}But I acted for the sake of my name, so that it would not be profaned in the eyes of the nations in whose sight I had brought them out. ¹⁵However, I swore to them^q in the wilderness that I would not bring them into the land I had given them—the most beautiful of all lands, flowing with milk and honey—¹⁶because they rejected my ordinances, profaned my Sabbaths, and did not follow my statutes. For their hearts went after their idols.^{r 17}Yet I spared them from destruction and did not bring them to an end in the wilderness.^s

¹⁸“ ‘Then I said to their children in the wilderness, “Don’t follow the statutes of your fathers, defile yourselves with their idols, or keep their ordinances.^{t 19}I am the Lord your God. Follow my statutes, keep my ordinances, and practice them.^{u 20}Keep my Sabbaths holy,^v and they will be a sign between me and you, so you may know that I am the Lord your God.”

²¹“ ‘But the children rebelled against me.^w They did not follow my statutes or carefully keep my ordinances—the person who does them will live by them. They also profaned my Sabbaths. So I considered pouring out my wrath on them and exhausting my anger against them in the wilderness. ²²But I withheld my hand and acted for the sake of my name, so that it would not be profaned in the eyes of the nations in whose sight I brought them out. ²³However, I swore to them in the wilderness that I would disperse them among the nations and scatter them among the countries.^{x 24}For they did not practice my ordinances but rejected my statutes and profaned my Sabbaths, and their eyes were fixed^y on their fathers’ idols.