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and say to them: Thus says the Lord God: The day I chose Israel, I swore to the descendants of the house of Jacob; I revealed myself to them in the land of Egypt and swore to them, saying: I am the Lord, your God. That day I swore to bring them out of the land of Egypt to the land I had searched out for them, a land flowing with milk and honey, a jewel among all lands.(A) Then I said to them: Throw away, each of you, the detestable things[a] that held your eyes; do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt: I am the Lord, your God.(B)

But they rebelled and refused to listen to me; none of them threw away the detestable things that held their eyes, nor did they abandon the idols of Egypt. Then I considered pouring out my fury and spending my anger against them there in the land of Egypt.(C)

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Footnotes

  1. 20:7 Detestable things: in the Book of Ezekiel, Israel’s continued worship of idols in Egypt and in the wilderness, despite the Lord’s powerful deeds on their behalf, is the reason God punishes them so severely; they must learn and acknowledge that he is their only Lord. Cf., e.g., Exodus (5:1–6:9; 14:10–30; 16:1–36) and Numbers (11:1–15; 14:1–12; 20:1–9), where the people’s failure to trust Moses and the Lord brings punishment.

and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: On the day I chose(A) Israel, I swore with uplifted hand(B) to the descendants of Jacob and revealed myself to them in Egypt. With uplifted hand I said to them, “I am the Lord your God.(C) On that day I swore(D) to them that I would bring them out of Egypt into a land I had searched out for them, a land flowing with milk and honey,(E) the most beautiful of all lands.(F) And I said to them, “Each of you, get rid of the vile images(G) you have set your eyes on, and do not defile yourselves with the idols(H) of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.(I)

“‘But they rebelled against me and would not listen to me;(J) they did not get rid of the vile images they had set their eyes on, nor did they forsake the idols of Egypt.(K) So I said I would pour out my wrath on them and spend my anger against them in Egypt.(L)

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