25 So I gave them other statutes that were not good and laws through which they could not live;
25 Wherefore I gave them also statutes that were not good, and judgments whereby they should not live;
25 Moreover, I gave them statutes that were not good and rules by which they could not have life,
25 Since they were determined to live bad lives, I myself gave them statutes that could not produce goodness and laws that did not produce life.
25 Therefore I also gave them up to statutes that were not good, and judgments by which they could not live;
25 I gave them over to worthless decrees and regulations that would not lead to life.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Ezekiel 20:25
Commentary on Ezekiel 20:10-26
(Read Ezekiel 20:10-26)
The history of Israel in the wilderness is referred to in the new Testament as well as in the Old, for warning. God did great things for them. He gave them the law, and revived the ancient keeping of the sabbath day. Sabbaths are privileges; they are signs of our being his people. If we do the duty of the day, we shall find, to our comfort, it is the Lord that makes us holy, that is, truly happy, here; and prepares us to be happy, that is, perfectly holy, hereafter. The Israelites rebelled, and were left to the judgments they brought upon themselves. God sometimes makes sin to be its own punishment, yet he is not the Author of sin: there needs no more to make men miserable, than to give them up to their own evil desires and passions.