Ezekiel 20:9

But I acted for the sake of My name, that it should not be profaned in the eyes of the nations among whom they were living, in whose sight I had revealed Myself to Israel by bringing them out of the land of Egypt.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — God addresses Israel through Ezekiel immediately after declaring His intent to pour out wrath for their persistent idolatry in Egypt. He explains that He restrained that judgment and delivered them instead.

The words — The phrase לְמַ֣עַן שְׁמִ֔י (le.ma‘an shə.mî) means "for the sake of My name," placing the motive entirely on divine self-preservation. The verb וָ/אַ֙עַשׂ֙ (va‘aś) translates "and I acted," marking a decisive, executed intervention rather than a passive allowance.

The thread — God’s restraint to protect His reputation before foreign observers recurs in Ezekiel 20:22 and Ezekiel 39:7, while Exodus 32:12 notes the Egyptians' expectation that His deliverance would end in slaughter.

Why it lands — The text requires the reader to see that divine mercy here flows from God’s commitment to His own name, not from Israel’s merit or repentance. It demands acknowledgment that God’s actions are governed by how He is perceived among the nations.

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

וָאַ֙עַשׂ֙va./'A.'asand/ I acted לְמַ֣עַןle.Ma.'anfor [the] sake of שְׁמִ֔יshe.M/iname/ my לְבִלְתִּ֥יle./vil.Tito/ not הֵחֵ֛לhe.Chelto be profaned לְעֵינֵ֥יle./'ei.Neito/ [the] eyes of הַגּוֹיִ֖םha./go.Yimthe/ nations אֲשֶׁר־'a.Sher-which הֵ֣מָּהHe.mahthey בְתוֹכָ֑םve./to.Kha/m[were] in/ midst of/ them אֲשֶׁ֨ר'a.Sherwhich נוֹדַ֤עְתִּיno.Da'.tiI had made myself known אֲלֵיהֶם֙'a.lei./Hemto/ them לְעֵ֣ינֵיהֶ֔םle./'Ei.nei./Hemto/ eyes/ their לְהוֹצִיאָ֖םle./ho.tzi.'A/mby/ bringing out/ them מֵאֶ֥רֶץme./'E.retzfrom/ [the] land of מִצְרָֽיִם׃mitz.Ra.yimEgypt

King James Version

But I wrought for my name’s sake, that it should not be polluted before the heathen, among whom they were, in whose sight I made myself known unto them, in bringing them forth out of the land of Egypt.

Cross-references

Ezekiel 39:7 So I will make My holy name known among My people Israel and will no longer allow it to be profaned. Then the nations will know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.
Ezekiel 20:22 But I withheld My hand and acted for the sake of My name, so that it would not be profaned in the eyes of the nations in whose sight I had brought them out.
Exodus 32:12 Why should the Egyptians declare, ‘He brought them out with evil intent, to kill them in the mountains and wipe them from the face of the earth’? Turn from Your fierce anger and relent from doing harm to Your people.
Ezekiel 20:14 But I acted for the sake of My name, so that it would not be profaned in the eyes of the nations in whose sight I had brought them out.
Ezekiel 36:21 But I had concern for My holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations to which they had gone.
Deuteronomy 9:28 Otherwise, those in the land from which You brought us out will say, ‘Because the LORD was not able to bring them into the land He had promised them, and because He hated them, He has brought them out to kill them in the wilderness.’
Deuteronomy 32:26 I would have said that I would cut them to pieces and blot out their memory from mankind,
Joshua 9:9 “Your servants have come from a very distant land,” they replied, “because of the fame of the LORD your God. For we have heard the reports about Him: all that He did in Egypt,
1 Samuel 4:8 Woe to us! Who will deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues in the wilderness.
1 Samuel 12:22 Indeed, for the sake of His great name, the LORD will not abandon His people, because He was pleased to make you His own.