Wherefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD: God uses this strong introduction to address the sins of the Israelites in exile. Wherefore may be rendered “Therefore” (New Revised Standard Version, New International Version). For the house of Israel, see Ezek 20.5; for Thus says the Lord GOD, see Ezek 20.3.

Will you defile yourselves after the manner of your fathers and go astray after their detestable things?: God addresses the Israelite people in exile directly with this rhetorical question that focuses on their guilt, because it implies they sinned in the same way as their ancestors. For defile yourselves and detestable things, see Ezek 20.7. The Hebrew verb rendered go astray is literally “be a prostitute” (compare New Living Translation, which says “prostituting yourselves”) and recalls the terminology of chapter 16 (see the comments on 16.15). This question uses two Hebrew participles that refer either to the immediate future (for example, “Will you continue to…?”) or the present (for example, “Are you now…?”). One way to express this question is “Are you making yourselves unacceptable to me in the same way your ancestors did as you act like a prostitute with those things I hate?” Good News Translation assumes they are doing this by asking “Why must you commit the same sins your ancestors did and go running after their idols?” The question may be expressed as a statement by saying “You are defiling yourselves in the same way as your ancestors did by acting like a prostitute with those things that I hate.” New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh renders this question as conditional clauses, saying “If you defile yourselves as your fathers did and go astray after their detestable things.” This is another acceptable model.

Quoted with permission from Gross, Carl & Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on Ezekiel. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .