Ezekiel 22:24
in Ezekiel 22“Son of man, say to her, ‘In the day of indignation, you are a land that has not been cleansed, upon which no rain has fallen.’
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Son of man, say unto her, Thou art a land that is not cleansed, nor rained upon in the day of indignation.
KJV
Son of man, say unto her, Thou art the land that is not cleansed, nor rained upon in the day of indignation.
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This verse in Ezekiel 22
Commentary
7 notes on this verseSon of man, say unto her, thou land,.... Thou land of Israel, as the Targum: thou art not cleansed; from filthiness, by the fire of divine judgments; or reformed from sins, by the instructions, cautions, and exhortations of the prophets; none of these things had any effect upon her to make her wiser and better.
This site's exposition
the word of the Lord came unto me, saying
on Ezekiel 22:23-29
A second word names the land itself unrained upon in the day of indignation, then indicts every order of leadership in turn, prophets who conspire like a ravening lion and daub lies in the Lord's own name, priests who violate the law and put no difference between the holy and the profane, princes who shed blood like wolves for dishonest gain, and the people who follow with oppression of the poor and the stranger. Henry reads the fourfold list as deliberate, no rank exempted and no excuse left standing, since the very officers meant to guard holiness are named as its worst offenders. Gill notes the priests' failure, no difference between the holy and profane, echoes the one interpreted point of the temple vision's later chambers, the same failure the restored sanctuary is built to prevent.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 23 and following) And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Son of man, say to him: You are unclean land, not cleansed on the day of wrath. The conspiracy of the prophets within it, like a roaring lion seizing its prey: they have devoured souls, taken riches and precious things, multiplied widows within it. Its priests have despised my law and defiled my sanctuaries. They have not kept a distance between the holy and the profane, and they have not understood the difference between the unclean and the clean.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Her - The land of Israel. Not cleansed - Though God's judgments have been as violent floods; and as hottest fires. Nor rained upon - Yet neither thy filth hath been carried away, nor thy dross melted out of thee.
This prophet is authorized to judge the bloody city, the city of bloods. Jerusalem is so called, not only because she had been guilty of the particular sin of blood-shed, but because her crimes in general were bloody crimes ( ch. vii.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Thou art the land that is not cleansed - Thou art like a country where there is no rain, either to cleanse the garments, or fertilize the ground.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
land . . . not cleansed--not cleared or cultivated; all a scene of desolation; a fit emblem of the moral wilderness state of the people. nor rained upon--a mark of divine "indignation"; as the early and latter rain, on which the productiveness of the land depended, was one of the great covenant blessings.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
The words behind it
13 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| בֶּן־ | ben- | O son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| אָדָ֕ם | ʾadam | humankind | H120 → | 551 times |
| אֱמָר־ | ʾemor- | say | H559 → | 5305 times |
| לָ֕הּ | lah | to it | ||
| אַ֣תְּ | ʾat | you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| אֶ֔רֶץ | ʾeretz | [are] a land | H776 → | 2504 times |
| לֹ֥א | lo' | [which] not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| מְטֹהָרָ֖ה | metoharah | [is] cleansed | H2891 → | 94 times |
| הִ֑יא | hi' | it | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| לֹ֥א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| גֻשְׁמָ֖הּ | gushmah | rain its | H1656 → | |
| בְּי֥וֹם | beyom | in a day of | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| זָֽעַם׃ | zaam | indignation | H2195 → | 22 times |
בֶּן־O son of
ben-H1121 →4930 times
אָדָ֕םhumankind
ʾadamH120 →551 times
אֱמָר־say
ʾemor-H559 →5305 times
לָ֕הּto it
lah
אַ֣תְּyou
ʾatH859 →1094 times
אֶ֔רֶץ[are] a land
ʾeretzH776 →2504 times
לֹ֥א[which] not
lo'H3808 →5168 times
מְטֹהָרָ֖ה[is] cleansed
metoharahH2891 →94 times
הִ֑יאit
hi'H1931 →1879 times
לֹ֥אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
גֻשְׁמָ֖הּrain its
gushmahH1656 →
בְּי֥וֹםin a day of
beyomH3117 →2304 times
זָֽעַם׃indignation
zaamH2195 →22 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Isaiah 1:5Why do you want more beatings? Why do you keep rebelling? Your head has a massive wound, and your whole heart is afflicted.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 5:3
O LORD, do not Your eyes look for truth? You struck them, but they felt no pain. You finished them off, but they refused to accept discipline. They have made their faces harder than…
Reached by 4 separate paths from here.
- Daniel 9:8–11
O LORD, we are covered with shame—our kings, our leaders, and our fathers—because we have sinned against You.
- Ezekiel 24:13
Because of the indecency of your uncleanness I tried to cleanse you, but you would not be purified from your filthiness. You will not be pure again until My wrath against you has subsided.
- Jeremiah 5:3
Through
Jeremiah 2:30“I have struck your sons in vain; they accepted no discipline. Your own sword has devoured your prophets like a voracious lion.”
it leads to
- Nehemiah 9:26
But they were disobedient and rebelled against You; they flung Your law behind their backs. They killed Your prophets, who had admonished them to return to You. They committed terrible blasphemies.
- 1 Thessalonians 2:15
who killed both the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and drove us out as well. They are displeasing to God and hostile to all men,
- Acts 7:52
Which of the prophets did your fathers fail to persecute? They even killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One. And now you are His betrayers and murderers—
- Nehemiah 9:26
Through
Isaiah 9:13But the people did not return to Him who struck them; they did not seek the LORD of Hosts.
it leads to
- Isaiah 1:5
Why do you want more beatings? Why do you keep rebelling? Your head has a massive wound, and your whole heart is afflicted.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Hosea 7:10
Israel’s arrogance testifies against them, yet they do not return to the LORD their God; despite all this, they do not seek Him.
- Isaiah 1:5
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Ezekiel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.