Bible Strands
Ezekiel 20:42
Then you will know that I am the LORD, when I bring you into the land of Israel, the land that I swore to give your fathers.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Yahweh addresses the exiled Israelites, positioning their return to the promised territory as the decisive event that will trigger their recognition of His identity.
The words — וִֽ/ידַעְתֶּם (vi./da'.Tem) carries the literal sense "you will know," marking cognitive recognition as the intended outcome. אַדְמַ֣ת ('ad.Mat) translates to "land of," anchoring the covenant promise to a specific geographic inheritance.
The thread — The pattern of gathering scattered people so that recognition follows appears in Ezekiel 34:13, where the Lord collects the flock and provides pasture. The formula "you will know that I am Yahweh" resurfaces in Ezekiel 38:23 and Ezekiel 36:23 as the stated result of divine action among the nations.
Why it lands — The text demands that readers acknowledge the covenant oath as the foundation for future restoration. It requires accepting that historical return, not moral performance, initiates the recognition of Yahweh's authority.
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
And ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall bring you into the land of Israel, into the country for the which I lifted up mine hand to give it to your fathers.
Cross-references
- Ezekiel 34:13 I will bring them out from the peoples, gather them from the countries, and bring them into their own land. I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines, and in all the settlements of the land.
- Ezekiel 38:23 I will magnify and sanctify Myself, and I will reveal Myself in the sight of many nations. Then they will know that I am the LORD.
- Ezekiel 36:23 I will show the holiness of My great name, which has been profaned among the nations—the name you have profaned among them. Then the nations will know that I am the LORD, declares the Lord GOD, when I show My holiness in you before their eyes.
- Jeremiah 24:7 I will give them a heart to know Me, that I am the LORD. They will be My people, and I will be their God, for they will return to Me with all their heart.
- Jeremiah 31:34 No longer will each man teach his neighbor or his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ because they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquities and will remember their sins no more.”
- Ezekiel 11:17 Therefore declare that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘I will gather you from the peoples and assemble you from the countries to which you have been scattered, and I will give back to you the land of Israel.’
- Ezekiel 20:38 And I will purge you of those who rebel and transgress against Me. I will bring them out of the land in which they dwell, but they will not enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the LORD.
- Ezekiel 20:44 Then you will know, O house of Israel, that I am the LORD, when I have dealt with you for the sake of My name and not according to your wicked ways and corrupt acts, declares the Lord GOD.”
- Ezekiel 24:24 ‘Thus Ezekiel will be a sign for you; you will do everything that he has done. When this happens, you will know that I am the Lord GOD.’
- Ezekiel 26:13 So I will silence the sound of your songs, and the music of your lyres will no longer be heard.