Ezekiel 20:35-37
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Instead of a literal geographic place, this "wilderness of the peoples" describes a state of being—scattered and isolated among other nations. God isn't just punishing them; He's bringing them to a place where, stripped of all other comforts and distractions, they will be utterly alone with Him, forced to confront Him "face to face." This emphasizes that His judgment and discipline are deeply personal, meant to bring them to a place of direct encounter and reckoning.
And I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and there I will enter into judgment with you face to face. As I entered into judgment with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will enter into judgment with you, declares the Lord GOD. I will make you pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant.
English Standard Version (ESV)
After describing their stubborn rebellion and the nations they've followed, God declares He will single them out from those nations. He will take them to a desolate place, much like the wilderness journey of their ancestors, but this time it’s a wilderness surrounded by peoples, where He will confront them directly to deal with their sin. This direct confrontation is a continuation of His judgment, mirroring how He led Israel through the desert in the past, but now to purify them for a future restoration.
When God says 'wilderness,' we often picture sand and isolation. But Ezekiel’s 'wilderness' is something entirely different, packed with people!
God declares He will bring His people into the 'wilderness of the peoples.' This isn't a literal desert location, but rather a spiritual and existential state.
A New Kind of Wilderness
God is not abandoning them to this state, but intentionally placing them there to deal with them.
When God says 'face to face,' it sounds intensely personal. What does this intimate judgment look like when it involves millions scattered across the globe?
The phrase 'face to face' used in Ezekiel 20:35 echoes the direct encounter at Mount Sinai. However, here it describes God’s sovereign judgment and personal dealings with His people, even in their dispersed state.
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Direct and Undisguised Dealing
This is not arbitrary punishment, but a righteous, personal plea and sentence, aimed at purification and ultimate restoration.
Understand the original words
midbar · Hebrew Noun
A desolate or uncultivated place, often used in Scripture as a place of testing, refinement, and intimate meeting between God and His people.
mishpat · Hebrew Noun
A legal or theological process of adjudicating sin; God’s active intervention to settle accounts with His people according to His righteous standards.
panim el panim · Hebrew Phrase
A metaphor for direct, personal, and unavoidable encounter with God; it signifies a stripping away of all pretenses before the Divine Judge.
shaphat · Hebrew Verb
A formal legal process where God evaluates the deeds, hearts, and fidelity of His people, often resulting in discipline, vindication, or sentencing based on His covenant standards.
shebet · Hebrew Noun
Refers to the act of a shepherd counting his flock by passing them under a staff; symbolically represents God's discipline, inspection, and claim of ownership over His people.
berit · Hebrew Noun
A solemn, binding agreement or treaty between God and His people, characterized by God’s promises of faithfulness and the expectation of exclusive devotion and obedience from the people.
This prophecy speaks to the judgment of exile, comparing the scattered people among the nations to a wilderness experience. God promises to judge them 'face to face,' signifying a direct, unmediated encounter with His justice and, ultimately, His restorative power.
c. 722 BC
Fall of the Northern Kingdom
The Assyrian Empire conquers the Northern Kingdom of Israel, scattering its people and population into exile.
605 BC
First Babylonian Deportation
Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon begins deporting Jews to Babylon, including members of the royal family and skilled workers.
597 BC
Second Babylonian Deportation
Jerusalem falls, and King Jehoiachin along with many other prominent citizens are deported to Babylon, including the prophet Ezekiel.
c. 586 BC— this verse
Destruction of Jerusalem and Temple
Nebuchadnezzar destroys Jerusalem and its Temple, ending the Southern Kingdom of Judah and deporting most of the remaining population to Babylon.
539 BC
Persian Conquest of Babylon
Cyrus the Great conquers Babylon, allowing exiled peoples, including the Jews, to eventually return to their homelands.
c. 516 BC
Rebuilding of the Temple
The Second Temple in Jerusalem is completed by the returning exiles, marking a significant step in their restoration.
This passage speaks of God leading Israel into a 'wilderness' again, mirroring Ezekiel's prophecy, to speak tenderly to them and restore their vineyards, highlighting God's persistent discipline and redemptive intent even in desolate circumstances.
Deuteronomy 5:4Ezekiel uses the phrase 'face to face,' which is directly quoted from God's pronouncement at Sinai when He gave the Law. This emphasizes the intimate, direct, and unmediated nature of God's judgment and engagement with His people, just as He revealed Himself to Israel at the mountain.
Jeremiah 2:9This verse describes God's 'pleading' with Israel for their unfaithfulness, showing a pattern of God directly confronting His people in judgment. Ezekiel's 'pleading face to face' echoes this direct confrontation for their sin.
Ezekiel 20:10-14Earlier in the same chapter, Ezekiel recounts how God delivered Israel from Egypt, bringing them into the wilderness where they defiled Him. This verse in Ezekiel 20:35 directly references that foundational wilderness experience, indicating a cyclical pattern of God's judgment and purification for His people.
Revelation 17:15This New Testament passage speaks of 'waters' representing 'peoples and multitudes and nations and languages.' This provides a conceptual parallel to Ezekiel's 'wilderness of the peoples,' suggesting that this 'wilderness' is not a physical desert but a state of being scattered among and judged by the nations.
gillEzekiel 20:35: "And I will bring you into the wilderness of the people, and there will I plead with you face to face."
And I will bring you into the wilderness of the people,.... Into Babylon, and into captivity there, which they thought to avoid by fleeing to other countries. Some think that those inhospitable nations are meant, Syro-media, Caspia, Hyrcania, Iberia, and others, into which many of the Jews were brought, who sought to live elsewhere than at Babylon; and others are of opinion tha…
ellicottEzekiel 20:35: "And I will bring you into the wilderness of the people, and there will I plead with you face to face."
(35) Into the wilderness of the people. —As in the past there was a period of probation and discipline in the wilderness, so shall there be in the future. The similarity is insisted upon in Ezekiel 20:36 , and the phrase “face to face” is taken from Deuteronomy 5:4 , not to show that the Lord will interpose again with the same sensible manifestations, but will plead with them i…
Instead of a literal geographic place, this "wilderness of the peoples" describes a state of being—scattered and isolated among other nations. God isn't just punishing them; He's bringing them to a place where, stripped of all other comforts and distractions, they will be utterly alone with Him, forced to confront Him "face to face." This emphasizes that His judgment and discipline are deeply personal, meant to bring them to a place of direct encounter and reckoning.
After describing their stubborn rebellion and the nations they've followed, God declares He will single them out from those nations. He will take them to a desolate place, much like the wilderness journey of their ancestors, but this time it’s a wilderness surrounded by peoples, where He will confront them directly to deal with their sin. This direct confrontation is a continuation of His judgment, mirroring how He led Israel through the desert in the past, but now to purify them for a future restoration.
After describing their stubborn rebellion and the nations they've followed, God declares He will single them out from those nations. He will take them to a desolate place, much like the wilderness journey of their ancestors, but this time it’s a wilderness surrounded by peoples, where He will confront them directly to deal with their sin. This direct confrontation is a continuation of His judgment, mirroring how He led Israel through the desert in the past, but now to purify them for a future restoration.
"And I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and there I will enter into judgment with you face to face. As I entered into judgment with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will enter into judgment with yo…" — Instead of a literal geographic place, this "wilderness of the peoples" describes a state of being—scattered and isolated among other nations. God isn't just punishing them; He's bringing them to a p…
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Last reviewed October 2026
