Ezekiel 14:11 kjv
That the house of Israel may go no more astray from me, neither be polluted any more with all their transgressions; but that they may be my people, and I may be their God, saith the Lord GOD.
Ezekiel 14:11 nkjv
that the house of Israel may no longer stray from Me, nor be profaned anymore with all their transgressions, but that they may be My people and I may be their God," says the Lord GOD.' "
Ezekiel 14:11 niv
Then the people of Israel will no longer stray from me, nor will they defile themselves anymore with all their sins. They will be my people, and I will be their God, declares the Sovereign LORD.'?"
Ezekiel 14:11 esv
that the house of Israel may no more go astray from me, nor defile themselves anymore with all their transgressions, but that they may be my people and I may be their God, declares the Lord GOD."
Ezekiel 14:11 nlt
In this way, the people of Israel will learn not to stray from me, polluting themselves with sin. They will be my people, and I will be their God. I, the Sovereign LORD, have spoken!'"
Ezekiel 14 11 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Covenant Formula | ||
| Exod 6:7 | "I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God..." | God's initial promise of covenant relation |
| Lev 26:12 | "And I will walk among you and will be your God, and you shall be my people." | God's presence as part of the covenant |
| Jer 24:7 | "I will give them a heart to know that I am the LORD, and they shall be my people..." | Internal transformation leading to covenant |
| Jer 30:22 | "And you shall be my people, and I will be your God." | Reaffirmation of covenant in restoration |
| Jer 31:33 | "I will be their God, and they shall be my people." | New Covenant promise |
| Ezek 37:27 | "My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people." | Post-exilic and ultimate restoration |
| Zech 8:8 | "I will bring them and they shall dwell in Jerusalem, and they shall be my people and I will be their God, in faithfulness and in righteousness." | Prophecy of Jerusalem's future and God's dwelling |
| 2 Cor 6:16 | "...For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, 'I will dwell in them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.'" | New Testament application of the covenant |
| Heb 8:10 | "For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel... I will be their God, and they shall be my people." | Citation of Jeremiah in the New Covenant context |
| Rev 21:3 | "...He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God." | Final fulfillment of the covenant |
| Spiritual Harlotry / Idolatry | ||
| Lev 17:7 | "So they shall no longer make sacrifices to goat demons, after whom they prostitute themselves." | Explicit condemnation of idolatry as harlotry |
| Psa 73:27 | "For behold, those who are far from you shall perish; you destroy all who are unfaithful to you." | "Unfaithful" (zanah) referring to spiritual infidelity |
| Jer 3:6-9 | "...she committed harlotry... committed adultery with stone and tree." | Extended metaphor of Israel's spiritual unfaithfulness |
| Hos 1:2 | "Go, take to yourself a wife of harlotry and have children of harlotry..." | Hosea's marriage as a picture of Israel's unfaithfulness |
| Hos 4:12 | "My people inquire of a piece of wood, and their walking staff gives them oracles. For a spirit of harlotry has led them astray..." | Connection between divination and spiritual harlotry |
| Hos 9:1 | "Do not rejoice, O Israel... for you have played the whore, forsaking your God." | Israel's spiritual infidelity is widespread |
| Rev 17:1-5 | "...The great prostitute who is seated on many waters... with whom the kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality." | Future spiritual idolatry symbolized as harlotry |
| Defilement / Transgressions | ||
| Lev 18:24 | "Do not defile yourselves by any of these things, for by all these the nations whom I am driving out before you have defiled themselves." | God warns against defilement through wicked practices |
| Jer 2:23 | "How can you say, 'I am not defiled, I have not run after the Baals'?" | Israel's denial of their spiritual defilement |
| Rom 1:24 | "Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves." | Consequence of rejecting God leading to impurity |
| 1 Cor 6:18 | "Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body." | Call to flee sin that defiles |
| Purpose of Judgment / Restoration | ||
| Deut 4:29-31 | "...you will return to the LORD your God and obey his voice. For the LORD your God is a merciful God." | Promise of return and mercy after judgment |
| Neh 9:30 | "Many years you bore with them and warned them by your Spirit through your prophets, yet they would not give ear." | God's patience and warning preceding judgment |
| Isa 27:9 | "Therefore by this the guilt of Jacob will be atoned for, and this will be the full fruit of the removal of his sin: when he makes all the stones of the altars like powdered chalk..." | Judgment purifies from idolatry |
| Jer 29:10-14 | "For I know the plans I have for you... plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope." | God's long-term plan of restoration after exile |
| Ezek 36:25-29 | "I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you." | Promise of spiritual cleansing and new heart |
| Heb 12:5-11 | "For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives... to share his holiness." | Discipline as a means to holiness |
| Mal 3:2-3 | "...He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver... He will purify the sons of Levi..." | God's refining judgment for cleansing |
Ezekiel 14 verses
Ezekiel 14 11 Meaning
Ezekiel 14:11 conveys God's ultimate purpose behind the severe judgments He is enacting upon the house of Israel. The aim is not mere punishment, but purification and restoration. God's desire is for His people to cease their spiritual harlotry (idolatry) and defilement by transgressions, enabling them to genuinely enter into the covenant relationship where they are truly His people and He is truly their God. This verse declares God's steadfast resolve to cleanse and renew His covenant people.
Ezekiel 14 11 Context
Ezekiel 14:11 is embedded within a powerful declaration of God's unyielding judgment against the persistent idolatry and hypocrisy of Israel. The preceding verses (14:1-5) describe elders of Israel coming to Ezekiel, ostensibly seeking counsel from God, yet harboring idols in their hearts. God declares that He will answer them according to their own idolatry, exposing their sin rather than granting them a comforting oracle (14:6-8). Furthermore, God vows to inflict four severe judgments (famine, wild beasts, sword, and pestilence) upon the land and its inhabitants (14:12-23), indicating the certainty and widespread nature of the coming calamity on Jerusalem. Amidst these declarations of impending wrath, verse 11 offers the divine rationale: God's ultimate purpose in allowing such hardship is redemptive. He aims to purify His people, to turn them back from their sin, and restore them to a true, exclusive covenant relationship with Himself, realizing the ancient promise that they would be His people and He their God. Historically, Ezekiel is ministering during the Babylonian exile (around 593-571 BC), addressing a people who have already experienced one wave of deportation, struggling with false hope for quick restoration while remaining largely unrepentant of the idolatry that led to their captivity.
Ezekiel 14 11 Word analysis
- that (לְמַעַן, lema'an): A preposition indicating purpose or goal. It highlights God's intent and specific objective behind His actions, rather than just an unintended consequence.
- the house of Israel (בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל, beit Yisrael): Represents the entire community of God's people, transcending geographical divisions of northern or southern kingdoms. In Ezekiel, it often refers to the ideal or future purified Israel, rather than just the immediate, unfaithful generation.
- may no longer (לֹא... עוֹד, lo... od): 'No' combined with 'anymore' signifies the termination of a previous pattern of behavior. God's intervention is aimed at ending the destructive cycle of sin.
- go astray (יִזְנוּ, yiznu): From the root זנה (zanah), meaning "to play the harlot," "to commit fornication." This is a powerful, pervasive metaphor in the prophets for spiritual infidelity and idolatry. It vividly portrays Israel's covenant with Yahweh as a marriage, and their worship of other gods as spiritual adultery, a deep betrayal of loyalty.
- from me (מֵאַחֲרַי, me'acharay): Literally "from behind me" or "from after me." It signifies turning away from following God's commands and presence, abandoning their commitment to Him.
- nor defile themselves (וְלֹא יִטַּמְּאוּ, v'lo yittamma'u): 'And not... defile themselves.' From the root טָמֵא (tame'), referring to cultic, ceremonial, and moral impurity. Idolatry was a primary source of such defilement, rendering them unfit for God's holy presence and blessings.
- anymore (עוֹד, od): Again reinforcing the cessation of a previous sinful state, emphasizing a decisive break with past behavior.
- with all their transgressions (בְּכָל־פִּשְׁעֵיהֶם, b'chol-pish'eichem): "With all their rebellions" or "offenses." פֶּשַׁע (pesha') denotes a deliberate breach of relationship, a rebellion against authority, rather than just an unintentional error. It implies an intentional turning away and crossing established boundaries.
- Words-group Analysis:
- "that the house of Israel may no longer go astray from me, nor defile themselves anymore with all their transgressions": This first part outlines the negative behaviors God intends to eliminate through His judgments. It focuses on Israel's actions – their unfaithfulness (spiritual harlotry) and their willful rebellion (transgressions) – that have estranged them from God. This describes the state of broken covenant which God's action is designed to correct.
- "but that they may be my people and I may be their God": This section presents the positive, redemptive outcome and ultimate divine goal. The phrase represents the ancient, foundational covenant formula, central to the identity of Israel. It speaks to a restoration of true, intimate, and exclusive relationship, a return to the ideal state where Israel fully acknowledges God and lives in accordance with His will, and God faithfully provides for them as their divine ruler.
- "declares the Lord GOD" (נְאֻם אֲדֹנָי יְהוִה, ne'um Adonai YHVH): This authoritative formula, a divine oracle, authenticates the statement. It assures that this is not merely a human hope but God's sovereign and certain declaration of His immutable purpose.
Ezekiel 14 11 Bonus section
This verse encapsulates a core theological truth in prophetic literature: God's wrath and judgment are not an end in themselves. They serve a higher redemptive purpose tied to His covenant faithfulness. While the immediate context involves judgment, this statement implicitly points forward to the great promises of restoration found later in Ezekiel, such as the giving of a new heart and a new spirit (Ezek 36:26-28) and the covenant of peace. Furthermore, the purification of Israel also serves to uphold God's own holiness and vindicate His name, which had been profaned by their apostasy among the nations. The divine purpose here is about transforming Israel's character from one marked by rebellion and defilement to one defined by wholehearted allegiance to God, ensuring that their worship is exclusive and their conduct reflects their covenant relationship.
Ezekiel 14 11 Commentary
Ezekiel 14:11 acts as a crucial hinge within a chapter dominated by God's severe pronouncements of judgment. It clarifies that these divine actions are not solely punitive, but possess a profound redemptive purpose. The language of "spiritual harlotry" and "defilement by transgressions" vividly portrays Israel's deep spiritual sickness—a willful betrayal of their covenant with Yahweh through idolatry and rebellion. God's declared intent is to surgically remove this spiritual cancer. The judgments, therefore, serve as a purifying fire, meant to bring about true repentance and lead the "house of Israel" back to their rightful place. The goal is the re-establishment of the fundamental covenant formula: "they may be my people and I may be their God." This is God's unwavering desire, reflecting His commitment to His chosen people despite their unfaithfulness. The passage teaches that divine discipline, though painful, is ultimately an act of love designed to restore a broken relationship and lead to holiness.
For practical usage, this means:
- God's discipline in our lives is often for purification, not just punishment.
- Sin (especially spiritual infidelity to God) creates defilement that hinders our relationship with Him.
- God's ultimate desire is always for intimate covenant relationship with His people, calling them to exclusive devotion.