Will you judge them, son of man, will you judge them? Then make known to them the abominations of their fathers.
Parallel translations
- WEB “Will you judge them, son of man, will you judge them? Cause them to know the abominations of their fathers;
- KJV Wilt thou judge them, son of man, wilt thou judge them? cause them to know the abominations of their fathers:
- BSB Will you judge them, will you judge them, son of man? Confront them with the abominations of their fathers
- NASB Will you judge them, will you judge them, son of man? Make known to them the abominations of their fathers;
- NLT “Son of man, bring charges against them and condemn them. Make them realize how detestable the sins of their ancestors really were.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God calls Ezekiel to judge the people by confronting them with the sins of their ancestors. The coming history lesson is meant to expose their inherited and ongoing rebellion.
Overview
The doubled 'will you judge them' is an emphatic charge for the prophet to act as God's prosecutor. By recounting the fathers' abominations, Ezekiel shows that the present generation walks in the same well-worn path of sin. This sets up the chapter's pattern of grace met by repeated rebellion, underscoring the need for a deeper heart change that only God can give.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 16
- Ezek 22:2“You, son of man, will you judge? Will you judge the bloody city? Then cause her to know all her abominations.
- Ezek 23:36Yahweh said moreover to me: “Son of man, will you judge Oholah and Oholibah? Then declare to them their abominations.
- Ezek 23:45Righteous men will judge them with the judgment of adulteresses and with the judgment of women who shed blood; because they are adulteresses, and blood is in their hands.
- Luke 11:47–51Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets, and your fathers killed them.
- Matt 23:29–37“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets, and decorate the tombs of the righteous,
- 1 Cor 6:2Don’t you know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters?
- Isa 5:3“Now, inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, please judge between me and my vineyard.
- Jer 11:14“Therefore don’t pray for this people, neither lift up cry nor prayer for them; for I will not hear them in the time that they cry to me because of their trouble.
- Acts 7:51–52“You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit! As your fathers did, so you do.
- Jer 15:1Then Yahweh said to me, “Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my mind would not be toward this people. Cast them out of my sight, and let them go out!
- Ezek 14:20though Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, as I live,” says the Lord Yahweh, “they would deliver neither son nor daughter; they would deliver only their own souls by their righteousness.”
- Ezek 14:14though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver only their own souls by their righteousness,” says the Lord Yahweh.
- Ezek 16:2–3“Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations;
- Jer 7:16“Therefore don’t pray for this people, neither lift up a cry nor prayer for them, neither make intercession to me; for I will not hear you.
- Jer 14:11–14Yahweh said to me, “Don’t pray for this people for their good.
- Luke 13:33–35Nevertheless I must go on my way today and tomorrow and the next day, for it can’t be that a prophet perish outside of Jerusalem.’
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
The promise of one Shepherd-King David, a new heart and new Spirit, and the river of life flowing from the temple all stream toward Christ, the good Shepherd who gives the Spirit.
How Ezekiel 20:4 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.