Bible Strands
Ezekiel 20:30
Therefore tell the house of Israel that this is what the Lord GOD says: Will you defile yourselves the way your fathers did, prostituting yourselves with their abominations?
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Ezekiel delivers a message from the Lord GOD to the house of Israel immediately after confronting them about their visits to high places. The prophet is commanded to directly address their ongoing pattern of spiritual corruption.
The words — The verse opens with לָ/כֵ֞ן (lākēn), meaning "therefore," and אֱמֹ֣ר ('emōr), meaning "say," which function as a direct divine commission to deliver the warning.
The thread — The pattern of Israel repeating the sins of their ancestors runs through Jeremiah 16:12, Judges 2:19, and Jeremiah 7:26, where each generation is noted for following the stubbornness or evil of the previous one.
Why it lands — The text states that the people are actively defiling themselves through idolatry just as their fathers did. It requires the reader to recognize that spiritual rebellion is a conscious, repeated choice that provokes divine refusal rather than a passive mistake.
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
Wherefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God; Are ye polluted after the manner of your fathers? and commit ye whoredom after their abominations?
Cross-references
- Jeremiah 16:12 And you have done more evil than your fathers. See how each of you follows the stubbornness of his evil heart instead of obeying Me.
- Judges 2:19 But when the judge died, the Israelites became even more corrupt than their fathers, going after other gods to serve them and bow down to them. They would not give up their evil practices and stubborn ways.
- Jeremiah 7:26 Yet they would not listen to Me or incline their ear, but they stiffened their necks and did more evil than their fathers.
- Numbers 32:14 Now behold, you, a brood of sinners, have risen up in place of your fathers to further stoke the burning anger of the LORD against Israel.
- Jeremiah 9:14 Instead, they have followed the stubbornness of their hearts and gone after the Baals, as their fathers taught them.”
- Matthew 23:32 Fill up, then, the measure of the sin of your fathers.
- Acts 7:51 You stiff-necked people with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit, just as your fathers did.