Ezekiel 23:39
in Ezekiel 23On the very day they slaughtered their children for their idols, they entered My sanctuary to profane it. Yes, they did this inside My house.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For when they had slain their children to their idols, then they came the same day into my sanctuary to profane it; and, lo, thus have they done in the midst of my house.
KJV
For when they had slain their children to their idols, then they came the same day into my sanctuary to profane it; and, lo, thus have they done in the midst of mine house.
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This verse in Ezekiel 23
Commentary
8 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Yahweh was placed as it were in the list of deities, not acknowledged as the One God. Idols and idol-temples were erected close to the House of God, and yet the temple-service went on Jer 32:34.
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
inside My house
The same people who slaughtered their children for idols came into the sanctuary that very day. Barnes observed that the LORD had been placed in a list of gods, with idols set close to His house while the worship went on. Jeremiah 32:34 records the same.
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 Awakening4 voices
Friend, how camest thou in hither? They have courted foreign alliances, been proud of them, and reposed a confidence in them. This also is represented by the sin of adultery, for it was a departure from God, not only to whom alone they ought to pay their homage and not to idols, but in whom alone they ought to put their trust, and not in creatures.
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
For when they had slain their children to their idols,....
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 words behind it
15 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּֽבְשַׁחֲטָ֤ם | uveshachatam | and when had slaughtered they | H7819 → | 81 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בְּנֵיהֶם֙ | beneihem | children their | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| לְגִלּ֣וּלֵיהֶ֔ם | legiluleihem | to idols their | H1544 → | 48 times |
| וַיָּבֹ֧אוּ | vaiyavou | and they went | H935 → | 2568 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | into | H413 → | 5510 times |
| מִקְדָּשִׁ֛י | mikdashi | sanctuary my | H4720 → | 75 times |
| בַּיּ֥וֹם | baiyom | on the day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| הַה֖וּא | hahu' | <the> that | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| לְחַלְּל֑וֹ | lechalelo | to profane it | H2490 → | 143 times |
| וְהִנֵּה־ | vehineh- | and there! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| כֹ֥ה | khoh | thus | H3541 → | 577 times |
| עָשׂ֖וּ | ʾasu | they did | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| בְּת֥וֹךְ | betokh | in [the] midst of | H8432 → | 418 times |
| בֵּיתִֽי׃ | beiti | house my | H1004 → | 2046 times |
וּֽבְשַׁחֲטָ֤םand when had slaughtered they
uveshachatamH7819 →81 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
בְּנֵיהֶם֙children their
beneihemH1121 →4930 times
לְגִלּ֣וּלֵיהֶ֔םto idols their
legiluleihemH1544 →48 times
וַיָּבֹ֧אוּand they went
vaiyavouH935 →2568 times
אֶל־into
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
מִקְדָּשִׁ֛יsanctuary my
mikdashiH4720 →75 times
בַּיּ֥וֹםon the day
baiyomH3117 →2304 times
הַה֖וּא<the> that
hahu'H1931 →1879 times
לְחַלְּל֑וֹto profane it
lechaleloH2490 →143 times
וְהִנֵּה־and there!
vehineh-H2009 →843 times
כֹ֥הthus
khohH3541 →577 times
עָשׂ֖וּthey did
ʾasuH6213 →2628 times
בְּת֥וֹךְin [the] midst of
betokhH8432 →418 times
בֵּיתִֽי׃house my
beitiH1004 →2046 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
Micah 3:11Her leaders judge for a bribe, her priests teach for a price, and her prophets practice divination for money. Yet they lean upon the LORD, saying, “Is not the LORD among us? No disaster…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 6:13
“For from the least of them to the greatest, all are greedy for gain; from prophet to priest, all practice deceit.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 1:23
Your rulers are rebels, friends of thieves. They all love bribes and chasing after rewards. They do not defend the fatherless, and the plea of the widow never comes before them.
- Micah 3:5
This is what the LORD says: “As for the prophets who lead My people astray, who proclaim peace while they chew with their teeth, but declare war against one who puts nothing in their…
- Jeremiah 7:4
Do not trust in deceptive words, chanting: ‘This is the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD.’
- Acts 8:18–20
When Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money.
- Jeremiah 6:13
Through
Jeremiah 23:11“For both prophet and priest are ungodly; even in My house I have found their wickedness,” declares the LORD.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 32:34
They have placed their abominations in the house that bears My Name, and so have defiled it.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Zephaniah 3:4
Her prophets are reckless, faithless men. Her priests profane the sanctuary; they do violence to the law.
- Jeremiah 32:34
Through
Ezekiel 44:7In addition to all your other abominations, you brought in foreigners uncircumcised in both heart and flesh to occupy My sanctuary; you defiled My temple when you offered My food—the fat and the blood;…
it leads to
- Leviticus 22:25
Neither you nor a foreigner shall present food to your God from any such animal. They will not be accepted on your behalf, because they are deformed and flawed.’”
- Leviticus 22:25
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Ezekiel
This page draws on 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 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.