Ezekiel 23:38
in Ezekiel 23They have also done this to Me: On that very same day, they defiled My sanctuary and profaned My Sabbaths.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Moreover this they have done unto me: they have defiled my sanctuary in the same day, and have profaned my sabbaths.
KJV
Moreover this they have done unto me: they have defiled my sanctuary in the same day, and have profaned my sabbaths.
⋯
This verse in Ezekiel 23
Commentary
10 notes on this verseEvery contempt put upon that which is holy reflects upon him who is the fountain of holiness, and from a relation to whom whatever is called holy has its denomination.
This site's exposition
wilt thou judge Aholah and Aholibah
on Ezekiel 23:36-39
JFB reads verse 39 as the chapter's most severe count, child sacrifice followed on the same day by entering the Lord's sanctuary to worship there. Keil notes the phrase profaned my sabbaths ties the sexual and political figure back to the plain covenant law the book keeps returning to.
This site's exposition
defiled My sanctuary
Temple and Sabbath marked Israel as God's people. Henry wrote that contempt for any holy thing is contempt for God, from whom it takes its holiness. One day saw both profaned.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 36, 37 onwards) And the Lord said to me, saying: Son of man, do you judge Oholah and Oholibah and announce to them their crimes (or iniquities): for they are adulteresses (or have committed adultery), and there is blood on their hands, and they have committed adultery with their idols (or inventions): moreover, they have offered to devour (or have led) their sons whom they have borne to me through fire. But they have also done this to me, they have defiled my sanctuary on that day: and they have profaned my Sabbaths.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Smite the scorner and the simple will beware. The judgments of God upon some are designed to teach others, and happy are those who receive instruction from them not to tread in the steps of sinners, lest they be taken in their snares; those who would be taught this must know God is the Lord (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Moreover this they have done unto me,.....
Thus God will assert the honour of his broken law and injured government, and let the world know what a just and jealous God he is. (2.) Thus they shall be broken off from their sins: I will cause lewdness to cease out of the land,
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
the same day--On the very day that they had burned their children to Molech in the valley of Gehenna, they shamelessly and hypocritically presented themselves as worshippers in Jehovah's temple (Jer 7:9, 10).
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
They have defiled my sanctuary - By placing idols there.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The same day - The day when they made their offerings. See Eze 23:39.
The words behind it
12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ע֥וֹד | od | again | H5750 → | 490 times |
| זֹ֖את | zot | this | H2063 → | 603 times |
| עָ֣שׂוּ | ʾasu | they have done | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| לִ֑י | li | to me | ||
| טִמְּא֤וּ | timeu | they have made unclean | H2930 → | 162 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| מִקְדָּשִׁי֙ | mikdashi | sanctuary my | H4720 → | 75 times |
| בַּיּ֣וֹם | baiyom | on the day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| הַה֔וּא | hahu' | <the> that | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| שַׁבְּתוֹתַ֖י | shabetotai | sabbaths my | H7676 → | 110 times |
| חִלֵּֽלוּ׃ | chilelu | they have profaned | H2490 → | 143 times |
ע֥וֹדagain
odH5750 →490 times
זֹ֖אתthis
zotH2063 →603 times
עָ֣שׂוּthey have done
ʾasuH6213 →2628 times
לִ֑יto me
li
טִמְּא֤וּthey have made unclean
timeuH2930 →162 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
מִקְדָּשִׁי֙sanctuary my
mikdashiH4720 →75 times
בַּיּ֣וֹםon the day
baiyomH3117 →2304 times
הַה֔וּא<the> that
hahu'H1931 →1879 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
שַׁבְּתוֹתַ֖יsabbaths my
shabetotaiH7676 →110 times
חִלֵּֽלוּ׃they have profaned
chileluH2490 →143 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
Ezekiel 20:13Yet the house of Israel rebelled against Me in the wilderness. They did not follow My statutes and they rejected My ordinances—though the man who does these things will live by them—and they utterly…
it leads to
- Ezekiel 20:21
But the children rebelled against Me. They did not walk in My statutes or carefully observe My ordinances—though the man who does these things will live by them—and they profaned My Sabbaths. So I…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Ezekiel 20:8
But they rebelled against Me and refused to listen. None of them cast away the abominations before their eyes, and they did not forsake the idols of Egypt. So I resolved to pour out…
- Ezekiel 20:21
Through
Ezekiel 22:8You have despised My holy things and profaned My Sabbaths.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 20:13
Yet the house of Israel rebelled against Me in the wilderness. They did not follow My statutes and they rejected My ordinances—though the man who does these things will live by them—and they utterly…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Ezekiel 20:24
For they did not practice My ordinances, but they rejected My statutes and profaned My Sabbaths, fixing their eyes on the idols of their fathers.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Ezekiel 23:38–39
They have also done this to Me: On that very same day, they defiled My sanctuary and profaned My Sabbaths.
- Ezekiel 22:26
Her priests do violence to My law and profane My holy things. They make no distinction between the holy and the common, and they fail to distinguish between the clean and the unclean. They…
- Ezekiel 20:13
Through
2 Kings 21:7Manasseh even took the carved Asherah pole he had made and set it up in the temple, of which the LORD had said to David and his son Solomon, “In this temple and in…
it leads to
- 2 Chronicles 7:16
For I have now chosen and consecrated this temple so that My Name may be there forever. My eyes and My heart will be there for all time.
- 2 Chronicles 7:16
Through
Ezekiel 20:24For they did not practice My ordinances, but they rejected My statutes and profaned My Sabbaths, fixing their eyes on the idols of their fathers.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 20:16
because they kept rejecting My ordinances, refusing to walk in My statutes, and profaning My Sabbaths; for their hearts continually went after their idols.
- Ezekiel 20:16
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Ezekiel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Ezekiel; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.