Ezekiel 20:11

And I gave them My statutes and made known to them My ordinances—for the man who does these things will live by them.

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — The Lord addresses the exiled Israelites in the wilderness, recounting His deliverance from Egypt and establishing the covenant framework that follows their departure.

The words — The text highlights חֻקּוֹתַי (chuqotai, "My statutes") and מִשְׁפָּטַי (mishpatay, "My judgments"), paired with הוֹדַעְתִּי (hodati, "I made known"), emphasizing divine instruction rather than human discovery.

The thread — This formulation of covenant obedience appears in Leviticus 18:5, is quoted by Paul in Romans 10:5 regarding law-based righteousness, and echoes Deuteronomy 4:8’s emphasis on Israel’s distinct righteousness.

Why it lands — The verse demands immediate compliance with revealed divine standards as the condition for life, framing obedience not as optional devotion but as the structural requirement for covenant existence.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

וָאֶתֵּ֤ןva./'e.Tenand/ I gaveלָהֶם֙la./Hemto/ themאֶת־'et-<obj.>חֻקּוֹתַ֔יchu.ko.Ta/istatutes/ my וְאֶת־ve./'Etand/ <obj.>מִשְׁפָּטַ֖יmish.pa.Ta/ijudgments/ my הוֹדַ֣עְתִּיho.Da'.tiI made known to אוֹתָ֑ם'o.Ta/m<obj.>/ them אֲשֶׁ֨ר'a.Sherwhich יַעֲשֶׂ֥הya.'a.Sehhe will do אוֹתָ֛ם'o.Ta/m<obj.>/ them הָאָדָ֖םha./'a.Damthe/ person וָחַ֥יva./Chaiand/ he will liveבָּהֶֽם׃ba./Hemby/ them

King James Version

And I gave them my statutes, and shewed them my judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them.

Cross-references

Leviticus 18:5 Keep My statutes and My judgments, for the man who does these things will live by them. I am the LORD.
Romans 10:5 For concerning the righteousness that is by the law, Moses writes: “The man who does these things will live by them.”
Deuteronomy 4:8 And what nation is great enough to have righteous statutes and ordinances like this entire law I set before you today?
Luke 10:28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus said. “Do this and you will live.”
Galatians 3:12 The law, however, is not based on faith; on the contrary, “The man who does these things will live by them.”
Nehemiah 9:13 You came down on Mount Sinai and spoke with them from heaven. You gave them just ordinances, true laws, and good statutes and commandments.
Psalms 147:19 He declares His word to Jacob, His statutes and judgments to Israel.
Ezekiel 20:13 Yet the house of Israel rebelled against Me in the wilderness. They did not follow My statutes and they rejected My ordinances—though the man who does these things will live by them—and they utterly profaned My Sabbaths. Then I resolved to pour out My wrath upon them and put an end to them in the wilderness.
Deuteronomy 20:15 This is how you are to treat all the cities that are far away from you and do not belong to the nations nearby.
Ezekiel 20:21 But the children rebelled against Me. They did not walk in My statutes or carefully observe My ordinances—though the man who does these things will live by them—and they profaned My Sabbaths. So I resolved to pour out My wrath upon them and vent My anger against them in the wilderness.