^20:33As surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, with a powerful hand and an outstretched arm,⁵⁷ and with an outpouring of rage, I will be king over you. ^20:34I 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! ^20:35I will bring you into the wilderness of the nations, and there I will enter into judgment with you face to face. ^20:36Just 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. ^20:37I will make you pass under⁵⁸ the shepherd’s staff,⁵⁹ and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant. ^20:38I will eliminate from among you the rebels and those who revolt⁶⁰ 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,⁶¹ if you will not listen to me.⁶² But my holy name will not be profaned⁶³ again by your sacrifices⁶⁴ and your idols. ^20:40For there on my holy mountain, the high mountain of Israel, declares the sovereign Lord, all the house of Israel will serve me, all of them⁶⁵ in the land. I will accept them there, and there I will seek your contributions and your choice gifts, with all your holy things. ^20:41When 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. ^20:42Then you will know that I am the Lord when I bring you to the land of Israel, to the land I swore⁶⁶ to give to your fathers. ^20:43And there you will remember your conduct⁶⁷ and all your deeds by which you defiled yourselves. You will despise yourselves⁶⁸ because of all the evil deeds you have done. ^20:44Then 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.’ ”

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Ezekiel 20:44: And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I deal with you for my name’s sake, not according to your evil ways, nor according to your corrupt deeds, O house of Israel, declares the Lord God…

Footnotes

57 This phrase occurs frequently in Deuteronomy (Deut 4:34; 5:15; 7:19; 11:2; 26:8).
58 This is the same Hebrew verb used to describe the passing of the children through the fire.
59 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.
60 See the note at .
61 Compare the irony here to Amos 4:4 and Jer 44:25.
62 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 [], 1:) suggests that it may mean “but afterwards, if you will not listen to me …” with an unspoken threat.
63 A similar concept may be found in Lev 18:21; 20:3.
64 Or “gifts.”
65 Heb “all of it.”
66 Heb “I lifted up my hand.”
67 Heb “ways.”
68 Heb “loathe yourselves in your faces.”