Ezekiel 20:21-23

International Children’s Bible

²¹ “‘But the people turned against me. If a person obeys my laws, he will live. But they did not live by my rules. They were not careful to obey my laws. They dishonored my Sabbaths. So I decided to pour out my anger against them. I decided to carry out my anger against them in the desert. ²² But I held back my anger. I acted for the sake of my name. Then my name would not be dishonored with the nations watching. As the nations watched, I had brought the Israelites out from Egypt. ²³ Also in the desert I had to make a promise to the Israelites. I had to promise to scatter them among the nations and spread them among the countries.