Wilt thou judge them, son of man, wilt thou judge them? cause them to know the abominations of their fathers:

EZEKIEL 20:4KJV
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Ezekiel 20:4 (KJV)

What does Ezekiel 20:4 mean?

In Ezekiel 20:4, God tells Ezekiel to confront the leaders who have come to consult him. Ezekiel is to bring their ancestors’ deeply offensive acts to their attention, setting the leaders’ request against the history of their people.

God addresses Ezekiel as “son of man,” a way of calling him a human being. The repeated question, “wilt thou judge them?”, leads directly into the command to make those earlier acts known.

The Hebrew behind Ezekiel 20:4

  • “judge” — שָׁפַט (shafat): This word can mean to judge or to make a case against someone. Here, the repeated question introduces Ezekiel’s task of laying out the record of the people’s past.
  • “abominations” — תּוֹעֵבוֹת (toʿevot): This word refers to things regarded as deeply offensive or detestable. The passage goes on to identify some of those acts, including the worship of idols.
  • “fathers” — אָבוֹת (avot): This word can refer to ancestors, not just immediate fathers. Ezekiel’s account reaches back through earlier generations of the people.

Why Ezekiel 20:4 matters

  • The leaders’ visit prompts a review of their people’s history. In verse 1, elders of Israel come to ask God for guidance; verse 4 directs Ezekiel to address them about their ancestors.
  • The repeated “wilt thou judge them?” gives weight to Ezekiel’s role in presenting the case. The account that follows begins with the people’s time in Egypt and continues through later generations.

Where else these words appear

“abominations” Hebrew H8441 · used in 112 verses

  • Genesis 43:32 And they set on for him by himself, and for them by themselves, and for the Egyptians, which did eat with him, by themselves: because the Egyptians might not eat bread with the Hebrews; for that is an abomination unto the Egyptians.
  • Ezra 9:14 Should we again break thy commandments, and join in affinity with the people of these abominations? wouldest not thou be angry with us till thou hadst consumed us, so that there should be no remnant nor escaping?
  • Ezekiel 7:3 Now is the end come upon thee, and I will send mine anger upon thee, and will judge thee according to thy ways, and will recompense upon thee all thine abominations.