Text: Ezekiel 20:11
OT Text Referred to: Leviticus 18:5
Subject: decrees and ordinances to live
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Reference Type: Direct Quotation
Connection Method(s): Longitudinal Theme
Significance: Ezekiel 20:11 directly quotes Leviticus 18:5, reproducing the clause "the man who does them will live by them" (אֲשֶׁר יַעֲשֶׂה אֹתָם הָאָדָם וָחַי בָּהֶם, asher ya'aseh otam ha'adam vachai bahem). In Ezekiel's historical retrospective of Israel in the wilderness, God gave his חֻקּוֹת (chuqqot, "statutes") and מִשְׁפָּטִים (mishpatim, "ordinances") as the pathway to life. By quoting Leviticus 18:5 verbatim, Ezekiel establishes that God's original intention for the law was life-giving, creating the theological foundation for the contrast in the subsequent verses where Israel's repeated rebellion turns the gift of life into the instrument of judgment.
Consolidated 2026-06-09 per the later-text → earlier-text canonical-direction ruling (Full Corpus Audit, Phase 0). The content below is preserved verbatim from the deleted file "Leviticus 18.5 to Ezekiel 20.11"; fold unique material into the Significance during the Phase 3 IP audit, then remove this section.
Text: Leviticus 18:5
OT Text Referred to: Ezekiel 20:11
Subject: life through ordinances
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Reference Type: Direct Quotation
Connection Method(s): Longitudinal Theme
Significance: Ezekiel 20:11 directly quotes Leviticus 18:5 within his historical recital of Israel's wilderness rebellion: "I gave them My statutes and made known to them My ordinances — for the man who does these things will live by them" (אֲשֶׁר יַעֲשֶׂה אֹתָם הָאָדָם וָחַי בָּהֶם). This is a verbatim citation of the Levitical formula. Ezekiel uses the quotation to establish the baseline of God's gracious provision: He gave Israel life-giving statutes at Sinai, making the subsequent rebellion all the more culpable. The "live by them" (וָחַי בָּהֶם, vachai bahem) phrase frames obedience as the pathway to life, which Israel refused.