Ezekiel 5:11

5:11 “Therefore, as surely as I live, says the sovereign Lord, because you defiled my sanctuary with all your detestable idols and with all your abominable practices, I will withdraw; my eye will not pity you, nor will I spare ¹  you.

Ezekiel 14:3

14:3 “Son of man, these men have erected their idols in their hearts and placed the obstacle leading to their iniquity ²  right before their faces. Should I really allow them to seek ³  me?

Ezekiel 16:20

16:20 “‘You took your sons and your daughters whom you bore to me and you sacrificed them ⁴  as food for the idols to eat. As if your prostitution not enough,

Ezekiel 18:6

18:6 does not eat pagan sacrifices on the mountains ⁵  or pray to the idols ⁶  of the house of Israel, does not defile his neighbor’s wife, does not have sexual relations with a ⁷  woman during her period,

Ezekiel 21:21

21:21 For the king of Babylon stands at the fork ⁸  in the road at the head of the two routes. He looks for omens: ⁹  He shakes arrows, he consults idols, ¹⁰  he examines ¹¹  animal livers. ¹² 

Ezekiel 22:3

22:3 Then say, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: O city, who spills blood within herself (which brings on her doom), ¹³  and who makes herself idols (which results in impurity),

Ezekiel 23:7

23:7 She bestowed her sexual favors on them; all of them were the choicest young men of Assyria. She defiled herself with all whom she desired ¹⁴  – with all their idols.

Ezekiel 23:39

23:39 On the same day they slaughtered their sons for their idols, they came to my sanctuary to desecrate it. This is what they have done in the middle of my house.

Ezekiel 33:25

33:25 Therefore say to them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: You eat the meat with the blood still in it, ¹⁵  pray to ¹⁶  your idols, and shed blood. Do you really think you will possess ¹⁷  the land?

Ezekiel 44:12

44:12 Because they used to minister to them before their idols, and became a sinful obstacle ¹⁸  to the house of Israel, consequently I have made a vow ¹⁹  concerning them, declares the sovereign Lord, that they will be responsible ²⁰  for their sin.

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¹ tn The meaning of the Hebrew term is primarily emotional: “to pity,” which in context implies an action, as in being moved by pity in order to spare them from the horror of their punishment.

² tn Heb “the stumbling block of their iniquity.” This phrase is unique to the prophet Ezekiel.

³ tn Or “I will not reveal myself to them.” The Hebrew word is used in a technical sense here of seeking an oracle from a prophet (2 Kgs 1:16; 3:11; 8:8).

⁴ sn The sacrifice of children was prohibited in Lev 18:21; 20:2; Deut 12:31; 18:10.

⁵ tn Heb, “on the mountains he does not eat.” The mountains are often mentioned as the place where idolatrous sacrifices were eaten (Ezek 20:28; 22:9; 34:6).

⁶ tn Heb, “does not lift up his eyes.” This refers to looking to idols for help.

⁷ tn Heb, “does not draw near to.” “Draw near” is a euphemism for sexual intercourse (Lev 18:14; Deut 22:14; Isa 8:3).

⁸ tn Heb “mother.”

⁹ sn Mesopotamian kings believed that the gods revealed the future through omens. They employed various divination techniques, some of which are included in the list that follows. A particularly popular technique was the examination and interpretation of the livers of animals. See R. R. Wilson, Prophecy and Society in Ancient Israel, 90-110.

¹⁰ tn This word refers to personal idols that were apparently used for divination purposes (Gen 31:19; 1 Sam 19:13, 16).

¹¹ tn Heb “sees.”

¹² tn Heb “the liver.”

¹³ tn Heb “her time”; this refers to the time of impending judgment (see the note on “doom” in v. 4).

¹⁴ tn Heb “lusted after.”

¹⁵ sn This practice was a violation of Levitical law (see Lev 19:26).

¹⁶ tn Heb “lift up your eyes.”

¹⁷ tn Heb “Will you possess?”

¹⁸ tn Heb “a stumbling block of iniquity.” This is a unique phrase of the prophet Ezekiel (cf. also Ezek 7:19; 14:3, 4, 7; 18:30).

¹⁹ tn Heb “I lifted up my hand.”

²⁰ tn Heb “will bear.”