Ezekiel 20:32

Linguistic Bible Translation from Source Texts

What you have in mind will never happen. You say, 'We will be like the nations, like the peoples of the world, who serve wood and stone.'

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

וְהָֽעֹלָה֙ עַל־ר֣וּחֲכֶ֔ם הָי֖וֹ לֹ֣א תִֽהְיֶ֑ה אֲשֶׁ֣ר ׀ אַתֶּ֣ם אֹמְרִ֗ים נִֽהְיֶ֤ה כַגּוֹיִם֙ כְּמִשְׁפְּח֣וֹת הָאֲרָצ֔וֹת לְשָׁרֵ֖ת עֵ֥ץ וָאָֽבֶן׃

Transliteration

wəhāʿōlâ ʿal-rûḥăḵem hāyô lōʾ ṯihyê ʾăšer ʾattem ʾōmərîm nihyê ḵaggôyim kəmišpəḥôṯ hāʾărāṣôṯ ləšārēṯ ʿēṣ wāʾāḇen

Grammar Details

• *wəhāʿōlâ*: conjunction + definite article + participle, feminine singular - and that which comes up
• *ʿal*: preposition - upon/on
• *rûḥăḵem*: noun, feminine singular construct + 2nd masculine plural suffix - your spirit/mind
• *hāyô*: infinitive absolute - being/happening
• *lōʾ*: negative particle - not
• *ṯihyê*: qal imperfect, 3rd feminine singular - it will be
• *ʾăšer*: relative pronoun - that/which
• *ʾattem*: pronoun, 2nd masculine plural - you
• *ʾōmərîm*: qal participle, masculine plural - saying
• *nihyê*: qal imperfect, 1st common plural - we will be
• *ḵaggôyim*: preposition + definite article + noun, masculine plural - like the nations
• *kəmišpəḥôṯ*: preposition + noun, feminine plural construct - like the families/clans of
• *hāʾărāṣôṯ*: definite article + noun, feminine plural - the lands/countries
• *ləšārēṯ*: preposition + piel infinitive construct - to serve/minister to
• *ʿēṣ*: noun, masculine singular - wood/tree
• *wāʾāḇen*: conjunction + noun, feminine singular - and stone

Word Meanings

• *wəhāʿōlâ*: and what comes up/and what enters/and what arises
• *rûḥăḵem*: your spirit/your mind/your thoughts
• *hāyô* *lōʾ* *ṯihyê*: surely will not happen/definitely will not come to pass/absolutely will not be
• *nihyê*: let us be/we will become/we should be
• *ḵaggôyim*: like the nations/like the gentiles/like the heathen
• *kəmišpəḥôṯ*: like the families/like the clans/like the peoples
• *ləšārēṯ*: to serve/to worship/to minister to
• *ʿēṣ* *wāʾāḇen*: wood and stone [idiomatic for idols]

Other Translations

• King James Version 1769 (Standard Version)

  And that which cometh into your mind shall not be at all, that ye say, We will be as the heathen, as the families of the countries, to serve wood and stone.

• KJV1611 – Modern English

  And what comes into your mind shall not happen, that you say, We will be as the heathen, as the families of the countries, to serve wood and stone.

• King James Version 1611 (Original)

  And that which cometh into your mind shall not be at all, that ye say, We will be as the heathen, as the families of the countries, to serve wood and stone.

• American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

  and that which cometh into your mind shall not be at all, in that ye say, We will be as the nations, as the families of the countries, to serve wood and stone.

• King James Version with Strong's Numbers

  And that which cometh into your mind shall not be at all, that ye say, We will be as the heathen, as the families of the countries, to serve wood and stone.

• Coverdale Bible (1535)

  & as for the thinge that ye go aboute, it shal not come to passe, where as ye saye: we wil be as the Heithen, & do as other people in the londe, wod & stone wil we worshipe.

• Geneva Bible (1560)

  Neither shall that be done that commeth into your minde: for ye say, We wil be as the heathen, and as the families of the countreys, and serue wood, and stone.

• Bishops' Bible (1568)

  And that which commeth into your mynde shall not be at all, which you say, We wyll be as the gentiles, as the kinredes of countreis, to serue wood and stone.

• Authorized King James Version (1611)

  And that which cometh into your mind shall not be at all, that ye say, We will be as the heathen, as the families of the countries, to serve wood and stone.

• Webster's Bible (1833)

  and that which comes into your mind shall not be at all, in that you say, We will be as the nations, as the families of the countries, to serve wood and stone.

• Young's Literal Translation (1862/1898)

  And that which is going up on your mind, It is not at all -- in that ye are saying: We will be as the nations, as the families of the lands, To serve wood and stone.

• American Standard Version (1901)

  and that which cometh into your mind shall not be at all, in that ye say, We will be as the nations, as the families of the countries, to serve wood and stone.

• American Standard Version (1901)

  and that which cometh into your mind shall not be at all, in that ye say, We will be as the nations, as the families of the countries, to serve wood and stone.

• Bible in Basic English (1941)

  And that which comes into your minds will never take place; when you say, We will be like the nations, like the families of the countries, servants of wood and stone;

• World English Bible (2000)

  and that which comes into your mind shall not be at all, in that you say, We will be as the nations, as the families of the countries, to serve wood and stone.

• NET Bible® (New English Translation)

  “‘What you plan will never happen. You say,“We will be like the nations, like the clans of the lands, who serve gods of wood and stone.”

Referenced Verses

• Jer 44:17 : 17 Instead, we will do everything we promised: we will burn incense to the Queen of Heaven and pour out drink offerings to her, just as we, our ancestors, our kings, and our officials did in the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem. At that time, we had plenty of food, prospered, and experienced no disaster.
• Ezek 11:5 : 5 The Spirit of the Lord came upon me, and He said to me, 'Say: This is what the Lord says: This is what you have said, house of Israel, and I know the thoughts that come into your mind.'
• Dan 5:4 : 4 They drank the wine and praised the gods of gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.
• Rev 9:20 : 20 The rest of humanity, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands. They did not stop worshiping demons and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood—idols that cannot see or hear or walk.
• Deut 4:28 : 28 There you will serve gods made by human hands—objects of wood and stone that cannot see, hear, eat, or smell.
• Deut 28:36 : 36 The LORD will drive you and the king you set over yourself to a nation that neither you nor your ancestors have known, and there you will serve other gods made of wood and stone.
• Deut 28:64 : 64 Then the LORD will scatter you among all nations, from one end of the earth to the other, and there you will serve other gods—gods of wood and stone, which neither you nor your ancestors have known.
• Deut 29:17 : 17 Make sure there is no man or woman, family, or tribe among you whose heart turns away today from the LORD our God to go and serve the gods of these nations. Make sure there is no root among you that produces poisonous and bitter fruit.
• 1 Sam 8:5 : 5 They said to him, 'You are old, and your sons do not follow your ways. Now appoint a king to judge us, like all the other nations.'
• Ps 139:2 : 2 You know when I sit and when I rise; You understand my thoughts from afar.
• Prov 19:21 : 21 Many are the plans in a person's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that will prevail.
• Isa 37:19 : 19 They have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods but the work of human hands—wood and stone. So they have destroyed them.
• Rom 12:2 : 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—His good, pleasing, and perfect will.
• Ezek 38:10 : 10 This is what the Lord GOD says: On that day, thoughts will arise in your heart, and you will devise an evil plan.
• Jer 44:29 : 29 This will be the sign to you,’ declares the LORD, ‘that I will punish you in this place so that you may know that my words will surely stand against you for harm:
• Lam 3:37 : 37 Who can speak and have it come to pass, unless the Lord has decreed it?