Ezekiel 23:38 kjv
Moreover this they have done unto me: they have defiled my sanctuary in the same day, and have profaned my sabbaths.
Ezekiel 23:38 nkjv
Moreover they have done this to Me: They have defiled My sanctuary on the same day and profaned My Sabbaths.
Ezekiel 23:38 niv
They have also done this to me: At that same time they defiled my sanctuary and desecrated my Sabbaths.
Ezekiel 23:38 esv
Moreover, this they have done to me: they have defiled my sanctuary on the same day and profaned my Sabbaths.
Ezekiel 23:38 nlt
Furthermore, they have defiled my Temple and violated my Sabbath day!
Ezekiel 23 38 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Ezekiel 23:38 | For they have defiled my sanctuary... | Judgment on Samaria and Jerusalem |
| Jeremiah 2:20 | For of old time I have broken thy yoke... you rebel against my way. | Israel's rebellion against God |
| Isaiah 1:21 | How is the faithful city become a harlot! | Jerusalem's apostasy |
| Hosea 2:2-5 | Plead with your mother, plead: for she is not my wife, neither am I her husband... | Israel's spiritual adultery |
| Jeremiah 3:6-8 | Moreover, the LORD said unto me in the days of Josiah the king... | Judah's unfaithfulness |
| Psalm 73:27 | For, lo, they that are far from thee shall perish: thou hast destroyed all them... | God's judgment on the wicked |
| Revelation 18:5 | For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities. | Judgment on Babylon |
| Jeremiah 7:14 | But will do unto this house, which is called by my name, wherein ye trust... | God's judgment on the Temple |
| 2 Kings 21:10-15 | And the LORD spake by his servant the prophets, saying... | Manasseh's sins |
| Romans 1:18-23 | For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness... | Gentile idolatry |
| 1 Corinthians 6:18 | Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that... | Sexual immorality |
| Nahum 3:4 | Because of the multitude of the whoredoms of the well-favoured harlot... | Judgment on Nineveh |
| Amos 3:2 | You only have I chosen of all the families of the earth: therefore I will visit... | God's chosen people's accountability |
| Lamentations 1:8 | Jerusalem hath grievously sinned; therefore she is become a wandering... | Jerusalem's fallen state |
| Ezekiel 16:35-38 | Thus saith the LORD God; Because thy lewdness was poured out, and thy nakedness... | God's judgment on Jerusalem |
| Psalm 106:39 | Thus were they defiled with their own works, and went a whoring with their own... | Israel's departure from God |
| Isaiah 5:8 | Woe unto them that join house to house, that lay field to field, till there be no... | Greed and oppression |
| Micah 1:5 | For the transgression of Jacob is all this, and for the sins of the house of... | Judgment on Samaria and Jerusalem |
| Zephaniah 1:4 | I will also stretch out mine hand upon Judah, and upon all the inhabitants of... | Judgment on Judah |
| Galatians 5:19-21 | Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication... | Works of the flesh |
Ezekiel 23 verses
Ezekiel 23 38 Meaning
This verse describes the consequences of spiritual adultery, likening Jerusalem to a common prostitute whose lovers, the surrounding nations and empires, will come against her with violence and judgment for her defilement.
Ezekiel 23 38 Context
Ezekiel chapter 23 vividly describes the spiritual adultery of the two sister nations, Oholah (Samaria) and Oholibah (Jerusalem), through the metaphor of harlotry. Oholah represents the northern kingdom of Israel, and Oholibah represents the southern kingdom of Judah. The chapter details their idolatry and alliances with foreign powers, likening them to prostitutes who have become enslaved to their lovers. Verse 38 culminates this prophetic indictment by stating that the people have defiled the sanctuary, indicating the pervasive nature of their sin which has corrupted the very place of God's presence. The historical context is the period of Israel and Judah's repeated disobedience, leading to their respective exiles by Assyria and Babylon.
Ezekiel 23 38 Word Analysis
- "For": (Hebrew: כִּי ki) - Indicates a reason or cause for what has been previously stated. It connects the subsequent accusation to the overall theme of judgment.
- "they": Refers to the inhabitants of Jerusalem (Oholibah), the subject of the prophecy.
- "have defiled": (Hebrew: טִמֵּא timme') - To make ceremonially unclean, impure, or desecrate. It speaks of a violation of holiness, both physically and spiritually. This implies they have brought foreign practices and objects into God's dwelling place.
- "my sanctuary": (Hebrew: מִקְדָּשִׁי miqdāšî) - Refers to the Temple in Jerusalem, the focal point of worship and God's dwelling place among His people. Defiling it is an ultimate act of disrespect and rebellion against God Himself.
- "and": (Hebrew: וְ wə) - A conjunction connecting clauses.
- "defiled": (Hebrew: טִמֵּא timme') - The repetition emphasizes the gravity and extent of their sin; they have continuously and thoroughly rendered the sanctuary impure.
- "my sabbaths": (Hebrew: שַׁבֹּתַי šabbōṯay) - The observance of the Sabbath was a sign of the covenant and a holy time set apart for God. Defiling the Sabbaths means treating this holy time as ordinary, disregarding its divine institution and purpose.
- "and": (Hebrew: וְ wə) - Another conjunction.
- "in the midst": (Hebrew: בְּתוֹכִי בָּם bəṯwôḵî bām) - Literally "in the midst of them" or "in their midst," highlighting that the defilement happened from within the nation, within the very fabric of their society and worship.
Ezekiel 23 38 Bonus Section
The metaphor of defiling the sanctuary and Sabbaths in Jerusalem serves as a stark foreshadowing of how spiritual apostasy always leads to a corruption of worship and relationship with God. In the New Testament, Paul speaks of believers as the "temple of God" (1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19), and defiling this inner sanctuary by sin has serious implications for fellowship with Christ. The violation of holy times and places in the Old Testament resonates with the New Testament concept of hallowing God's name in all things and dedicating our lives, including our time, as an act of worship to God. The severity of desecrating the earthly sanctuary parallels the gravity of desecrating the spiritual reality it represented.
Ezekiel 23 38 Commentary
This verse succinctly states the core reason for the impending judgment: the people of Jerusalem, specifically Oholibah, have deeply corrupted God's sanctuary and profaned His Sabbaths. This is not merely a matter of physical desecration but a profound spiritual defilement resulting from their idolatrous practices and sinful lifestyles that seeped into the heart of their religious life. The repetition of "defiled" underscores the ongoing and thorough nature of their transgression. By treating God's holy place and holy time as common, they effectively declared their independence from and disrespect for the God of Israel, paving the way for severe divine retribution. The prophecy points to a loss of discernment between the holy and the common, a critical failure in maintaining the covenant relationship with God.