Ezekiel 20:9

Bible in Basic English (1941)

And I was acting for the honour of my name, so that it might not be made unclean before the eyes of the nations among whom they were, and before whose eyes I gave them knowledge of myself, by taking them out of the land of Egypt.

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

וָאַ֙עַשׂ֙ לְמַ֣עַן שְׁמִ֔י לְבִלְתִּ֥י הֵחֵ֛ל לְעֵינֵ֥י הַגּוֹיִ֖ם אֲשֶׁר־הֵ֣מָּה בְתוֹכָ֑ם אֲשֶׁ֨ר נוֹדַ֤עְתִּי אֲלֵיהֶם֙ לְעֵ֣ינֵיהֶ֔ם לְהוֹצִיאָ֖ם מֵאֶ֥רֶץ מִצְרָֽיִם׃

Transliteration

And-wāʾaʿaś for-sake-of šĕmî lĕbiltî hēḥēl before-eyes-of the-gôyim which-they bĕtôkām, which nôdaʿtî to-them before-ʿênêhem lĕhôṣîʾām from-ʾereṣ miṣrāyim.

Grammar Details

• *wāʾaʿaś*: waw-consecutive with qal imperfect, 1st singular - and I acted
• *šĕmî*: noun, masculine singular with 1st person singular suffix - my name
• *lĕbiltî*: preposition with negative particle - so as not to
• *hēḥēl*: verb, niphal infinitive construct - to be profaned/defiled
• *gôyim*: noun, masculine plural with definite article - nations
• *bĕtôkām*: preposition with noun, masculine singular construct and 3rd masculine plural suffix - in their midst
• *nôdaʿtî*: verb, niphal perfect, 1st singular - I made myself known
• *ʿênêhem*: noun, feminine dual with 3rd masculine plural suffix - their eyes
• *lĕhôṣîʾām*: preposition with hiphil infinitive construct and 3rd masculine plural suffix - to bring them out
• *ʾereṣ*: noun, feminine singular construct - land of
• *miṣrāyim*: proper noun - Egypt

Word Meanings

• *wāʾaʿaś* *lĕmaʿan* *šĕmî*: and I acted for the sake of my name (idiom for protecting reputation)
• *lĕbiltî* *hēḥēl*: so as not to be profaned/so it would not be defiled
• *nôdaʿtî*: I made myself known/I revealed myself

Referenced Verses

• Ezek 20:14 : 14 And I was acting for the honour of my name, so that it might not be made unclean in the eyes of the nations, before whose eyes I had taken them out.
• Ezek 20:22 : 22 And I was acting for the honour of my name, so that it might not be made unclean in the eyes of the nations, before whose eyes I had taken them out.
• Ezek 39:7 : 7 And I will make clear my holy name among my people Israel; I will no longer let my holy name be made unclean: and the nations will be certain that I am the Lord, the Holy One in Israel.
• Ezek 36:21-22 : 21 But I had pity for my holy name which the children of Israel had made unclean wherever they went. 22 For this cause say to the children of Israel, This is what the Lord has said: I am doing this, not because of you, O children of Israel, but because of my holy name, which you have made unclean among the nations wherever you went.
• Exod 32:12 : 12 Why let the Egyptians say, He took them out to an evil fate, to put them to death on the mountains, cutting them off from the earth? Let your wrath be turned away from them, and send not this evil on your people.
• Num 14:13-25 : 13 And Moses said to the Lord, Then it will come to the ears of the Egyptians; for by your power you took this people out from among them; 14 And they will give the news to the people of this land: they have had word that you, Lord, are present with this people, letting yourself be seen face to face, and that your cloud is resting over them, and that you go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night. 15 Now if you put to death all this people as one man, then the nations who have had word of your glory will say, 16 Because the Lord was not able to take this people into the land which he made an oath to give them, he sent destruction on them in the waste land. 17 So now, may my prayer come before you, and let the power of the Lord be great, as you said: 18 The Lord is slow to wrath and great in mercy, overlooking wrongdoing and evil, and will not let wrongdoers go free; sending punishment on children for the sins of their fathers, to the third and fourth generation. 19 May the sin of this people have forgiveness, in the measure of your great mercy, as you have had mercy on them from Egypt up till now. 20 And the Lord said, I have had mercy, as you say: 21 But truly, as I am living, and as all the earth will be full of the glory of the Lord; 22 Because all these men, having seen my glory and the signs which I have done in Egypt and in the waste land, still have put me to the test ten times, and have not given ear to my voice; 23 They will not see the land about which I made an oath to their fathers; not one of these by whom I have not been honoured will see it. 24 But my servant Caleb, because he had a different spirit in him, and has been true to me with all his heart, him I will take into that land into which he went, and his seed will have it for their heritage. 25 Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites are in the valley; tomorrow, turning round, go into the waste land by the way to the Red Sea.
• Deut 9:28 : 28 Or it may be said in the land from which you have taken them, Because the Lord was not able to take them into the land which he said he would give them, and because of his hate for them, he has taken them out to put them to death in the waste land.
• Deut 32:26-27 : 26 I said I would send them wandering far away, I would make all memory of them go from the minds of men: 27 But for the fear that their haters, uplifted in their pride, might say, Our hand is strong, the Lord has not done all this.
• Josh 2:10 : 10 For we have had news of how the Lord made the Red Sea dry before you when you came out of Egypt; and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites, on the other side of Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you gave up to the curse.
• Josh 7:9 : 9 For when the news comes to the Canaanites and all the people of the land, they will come up, shutting us in and cutting off our name from the earth: and what will you do for the honour of your great name?
• Josh 9:9-9 : 9 And they said to him, Your servants have come from a very far country, because of the name of the Lord your God: for the story of his great name, and of all he did in Egypt has come to our ears, 10 And what he did to the two kings of the Amorites east of Jordan, to Sihon, king of Heshbon, and to Og, king of Bashan, at Ashtaroth.
• 1 Sam 4:8 : 8 Trouble is ours! Who will give us salvation from the hands of these great gods? These are the gods who sent all sorts of blows on the Egyptians in the waste land.
• 1 Sam 12:22 : 22 For the Lord will not give his people up, because of the honour of his name; for it was the Lord's pleasure to make of you a people for himself.