Bible Strands
Ezekiel 20:28
When I brought them into the land that I swore to give them and they saw any high hill or leafy tree, there they offered their sacrifices, presented offerings that provoked Me, sent up their fragrant incense, and poured out their drink offerings.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — God speaks to the house of Israel through Ezekiel, recounting the period immediately after entering the promised land. He describes how the people responded upon arriving in the territory He pledged to them.
The words — The phrase נָשָׂ֙אתִי֙ (na.Sa.ti) literally means "I had lifted up," paired with יָדִ֔/י (ya.D/i) "my hand" to describe God's pledge. This is followed by לָ/תֵ֥ת (la./Tet) "to give," defining the purpose of that sworn commitment.
The thread — The pattern of idolatry on high hills recurs in Ezekiel 6:13, where slain Israelites lie near idols on every high hill. The promise of the land and its subsequent conquest or allocation appears in Joshua 23:14 and Nehemiah 9:22.
Why it lands — The text records that the people immediately corrupted worship by offering sacrifices and incense at high hills and leafy trees upon entering the land. A reader must acknowledge that idolatry began the moment they possessed the promised territory, requiring a clear break from syncretistic practices.
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
King James Version
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 sacrifices, and there they presented the provocation of their offering: there also they made their sweet savour, and poured out there their drink offerings.
Cross-references
- Ezekiel 6:13 Then you will know that I am the LORD, when their slain lie among their idols around their altars, on every high hill, on all the mountaintops, and under every green tree and leafy oak—the places where they offered fragrant incense to all their idols.
- Joshua 23:14 Now behold, today I am going the way of all the earth, and you know with all your heart and soul that not one of the good promises the LORD your God made to you has failed. Everything was fulfilled for you; not one promise has failed.
- Nehemiah 9:22 You gave them kingdoms and peoples and allotted to them every corner of the land. So they took the land of Sihon king of Heshbon and of Og king of Bashan.
- Isaiah 57:5 who burn with lust among the oaks, under every luxuriant tree, who slaughter your children in the valleys, under the clefts of the rocks?
- Jeremiah 2:7 I brought you into a fertile land to eat its fruit and bounty, but you came and defiled My land and made My inheritance detestable.
- Jeremiah 3:6 Now in the days of King Josiah, the LORD said to me, “Have you seen what faithless Israel has done? She has gone up on every high hill and under every green tree to prostitute herself there.
- Genesis 15:18 On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I have given this land—from the river of Egypt to the great River Euphrates—
- Genesis 26:3 Stay in this land as a foreigner, and I will be with you and bless you. For I will give all these lands to you and your offspring, and I will confirm the oath that I swore to your father Abraham.
- Joshua 23:3 “and you have seen everything that the LORD your God has done to all these nations for your sake, because it was the LORD your God who fought for you.
- Psalms 78:55 He drove out nations before them and apportioned their inheritance; He settled the tribes of Israel in their tents.