Ezekiel 36:22
in Ezekiel 36Therefore tell the house of Israel that this is what the Lord GOD says: It is not for your sake that I will act, O house of Israel, but for My holy name, which you profaned among the nations to which you went.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: I do not this for your sake, O house of Israel, but for my holy name, which ye have profaned among the nations, whither ye went.
KJV
Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God; I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for mine holy name’s sake, which ye have profaned among the heathen, whither ye went.
⋯
This verse in Ezekiel 36
Commentary
7 notes on this verseBut, one way or other, God will make all his favourites to know and own that it is his grace, and not their goodness, his mercy, and not their merit, that made them so; and that therefore not unto them, not unto them, but unto him, is all the glory due. (2.) They must repent of the sin of their own evil ways.
This site's exposition
not for your sake that I will act
on Ezekiel 36:22-23
The motive clause is the chapter's hinge: “It is not for your sake that I will act”, the Lord says, “but for My holy name”. The phrase grounds everything that follows in God's character. “I will show the holiness of My great name” answers the profaning in the previous unit.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
Nay, He is doing and contriving all things, so that even for little He may crown thee; and He goes about seeking excuses, whereby thou mayest be delivered from hell. For this cause, though thou shouldest work but the eleventh hour of the day, He gives thy wages entire; and though thou afford no ground of salvation, He saith, "I do it for mine own sake, that my name be not profaned:" though thou shouldest sigh only, though thou shouldest only weep, all these things He quickly catches hold of, for an occasion of saving thee. Let us not therefore lift up ourselves, but let us declare ourselves unprofitable, that we may become profitable.
(Verse 16 and following) And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Son of man, the house of Israel have dwelt (or dwells) in their own land, and they have defiled it with their ways and their idols: according to the uncleanness of a woman in her menstrual impurity, their way has become before me.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Therefore say unto the house of Israel,....
That he would sanctify them, by giving them his grace and fitting them for his service; and this for his own name's sake and in answer to their prayers,
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
not . . . for your sakes--that is, not for any merit in you; for, on the contrary, on your part, there is everything to call down continued severity (compare De 9:5, 6). The sole and sure ground of hope was God's regard to "His own name," as the God of covenant grace (Ps 106:45), which He must vindicate from the dishonor brought on it by the Jews, before the heathen.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
The words behind it
24 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| לָכֵ֞ן | lakhen | <to> therefore | H3651 → | 771 times |
| אֱמֹ֣ר | ʾemor | say | H559 → | 5305 times |
| לְבֵֽית־ | leveit- | to [the] house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| כֹּ֤ה | koh | thus | H3541 → | 577 times |
| אָמַר֙ | ʾamar | he says | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֲדֹנָ֣י | ʾadonai | [the] Lord | H136 → | 440 times |
| יְהוִ֔ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3069 → | 306 times |
| לֹ֧א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| לְמַעַנְכֶ֛ם | lemaankhem | for sake your | H4616 → | 272 times |
| אֲנִ֥י | ʾani | I | H589 → | 874 times |
| עֹשֶׂ֖ה | ʾoseh | [am] about to act | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| בֵּ֣ית | beit | O house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| כִּ֤י | ki | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| אִם־ | ʾim- | except | H518 → | 1069 times |
| לְשֵׁם־ | leshem- | for [the] name of | H8034 → | 864 times |
| קָדְשִׁי֙ | kodshi | holiness my | H6944 → | 469 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| חִלַּלְתֶּ֔ם | chilaltem | you have profaned | H2490 → | 143 times |
| בַּגּוֹיִ֖ם | bagoyim | among the nations | H1471 → | 561 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | where | H834 → | 5497 times |
| בָּ֥אתֶם | batem | you have gone | H935 → | 2568 times |
| שָֽׁם׃ | sham | there | H8033 → | 834 times |
לָכֵ֞ן<to> therefore
lakhenH3651 →771 times
אֱמֹ֣רsay
ʾemorH559 →5305 times
לְבֵֽית־to [the] house of
leveit-H1004 →2046 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֗לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
כֹּ֤הthus
kohH3541 →577 times
אָמַר֙he says
ʾamarH559 →5305 times
אֲדֹנָ֣י[the] Lord
ʾadonaiH136 →440 times
יְהוִ֔הYahweh
yahwehH3069 →306 times
לֹ֧אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
לְמַעַנְכֶ֛םfor sake your
lemaankhemH4616 →272 times
אֲנִ֥יI
ʾaniH589 →874 times
עֹשֶׂ֖ה[am] about to act
ʾosehH6213 →2628 times
בֵּ֣יתO house of
beitH1004 →2046 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֑לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
כִּ֤יthat
kiH3588 →4482 times
אִם־except
ʾim-H518 →1069 times
לְשֵׁם־for [the] name of
leshem-H8034 →864 times
קָדְשִׁי֙holiness my
kodshiH6944 →469 times
אֲשֶׁ֣רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
חִלַּלְתֶּ֔םyou have profaned
chilaltemH2490 →143 times
בַּגּוֹיִ֖םamong the nations
bagoyimH1471 →561 times
אֲשֶׁר־where
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
בָּ֥אתֶםyou have gone
batemH935 →2568 times
שָֽׁם׃there
shamH8033 →834 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
Psalms 106:8Yet He saved them for the sake of His name, to make His power known.
it leads to
- Exodus 9:16
But I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display My power to you, and that My name might be proclaimed in all the earth.
- Ezekiel 20:9
But I acted for the sake of My name, that it should not be profaned in the eyes of the nations among whom they were living, in whose sight I had revealed Myself to…
- Ezekiel 20:14
But I acted for the sake of My name, so that it would not be profaned in the eyes of the nations in whose sight I had brought them out.
- Ezekiel 20:22
But I withheld My hand and acted for the sake of My name, so that it would not be profaned in the eyes of the nations in whose sight I had brought them out.
- Ezekiel 20:44
Then you will know, O house of Israel, that I am the LORD, when I have dealt with you for the sake of My name and not according to your wicked ways and corrupt…
- Exodus 9:16
Through
Ezekiel 36:32It is not for your sake that I will act, declares the Lord GOD—let it be known to you. Be ashamed and disgraced for your ways, O house of Israel!
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 9:5
It is not because of your righteousness or uprightness of heart that you are going in to possess their land, but it is because of their wickedness that the LORD your God is driving…
- Titus 3:3–6
For at one time we too were foolish, disobedient, misled, and enslaved to all sorts of desires and pleasures—living in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another.
- 2 Timothy 1:9
He has saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works, but by His own purpose and by the grace He granted us in Christ Jesus before time began.
- Deuteronomy 9:5
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies15
On this chapter
About Ezekiel
This page draws on Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Chrysostom, Homily on the Gospel of Matthew 3; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.