Bible Strands
Ezekiel 20:4
Will you judge them, will you judge them, son of man? Confront them with the abominations of their fathers
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — God addresses Ezekiel immediately after commanding the prophet not to consult Him in Ezekiel 20:3, shifting the focus from inquiry to confrontation. The words — The repeated interrogative verb הֲתִשְׁפּוֹט (hatishpot) literally asks "will you judge?" and is paired with the object pronoun אֹתָם (otam, "them") and the noun תּוֹעֲבֹת (toevot, "abominations") linked to אֲבוֹתָם (avotam, "their fathers"). The thread — This judicial phrasing parallels Ezekiel 22:2 and Ezekiel 23:36, where the prophet is repeatedly commanded to pass judgment on Israel's corruption, and echoes the covenant lawsuit motif in Isaiah 5:3. Why it lands — The text demands a direct confrontation with inherited sin rather than theological consultation, forcing the reader to face the concrete reality of ancestral rebellion before any divine response.
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
Wilt thou judge them, son of man, wilt thou judge them? cause them to know the abominations of their fathers:
Cross-references
- Ezekiel 22:2 “As for you, son of man, will you judge her? Will you pass judgment on the city of bloodshed? Then confront her with all her abominations
- Ezekiel 23:36 Then the LORD said to me: “Son of man, will you pass judgment against Oholah and Oholibah? Then declare to them their abominations.
- Isaiah 5:3 “And now, O dwellers of Jerusalem and men of Judah, I exhort you to judge between Me and My vineyard.
- Jeremiah 7:16 As for you, do not pray for these people, do not offer a plea or petition on their behalf, and do not beg Me, for I will not listen to you.
- Jeremiah 11:14 As for you, do not pray for these people. Do not raise up a cry or a prayer on their behalf, for I will not be listening when they call out to Me in their time of disaster.
- Jeremiah 14:11 Then the LORD said to me, “Do not pray for the well-being of this people.
- Jeremiah 15:1 Then the LORD said to me: “Even if Moses and Samuel should stand before Me, My heart would not go out to this people. Send them from My presence, and let them go!
- Ezekiel 14:14 then even if these three men—Noah, Daniel, and Job—were in it, their righteousness could deliver only themselves, declares the Lord GOD.
- Ezekiel 14:20 then as surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, they could not deliver their own sons or daughters. Their righteousness could deliver only themselves.
- Ezekiel 16:2 “Son of man, confront Jerusalem with her abominations