Ezekiel 36:16 kjv
Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Ezekiel 36:16 nkjv
Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying:
Ezekiel 36:16 niv
Again the word of the LORD came to me:
Ezekiel 36:16 esv
The word of the LORD came to me:
Ezekiel 36:16 nlt
Then this further message came to me from the LORD:
Ezekiel 36 16 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Ezekiel 36:17 | "Son of man, when the house of Israel lived in their own land, they defiled it by their ways and by their doings; their ways to me were like the uncleanness of a menstruous woman." | Original Verse Context |
| Jeremiah 3:2 | "Look up to the bare heights and see! Where have you not gone astray? You have ravished yourself with them like a prostitute in the streets." | Judah's spiritual harlotry |
| Hosea 4:12 | "My people inquire of a wooden idol, and one of its sticks answers them. For a spirit of sexual immorality has led them astray, and they have left their God for sexual immorality." | Idolatry and immorality |
| Romans 1:24-32 | "Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie..." | Consequences of rejecting God |
| 1 Corinthians 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." | Warning against sexual immorality |
| 1 Peter 4:3 | "The time that is behind us has suffice for doing the will of the Gentiles. You have lived in sensuality, lust, drunkenness, orgies,Drinking parties and lawless idolatry." | Warning against past Gentile ways |
| Leviticus 18:19 | "You shall not go near to a woman to uncover her nakedness, as in the time of her menstrual impurity." | Prohibited sexual contact |
| Leviticus 15:19 | "When a woman has a discharge, and her discharge from her body is blood, she shall be in her menstrual impurity. For seven days she shall be in impurity. Every one who touches her shall be unclean until the evening." | Definition of impurity |
| Isaiah 64:6 | "We are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy rag. We all wither like a leaf, and our iniquities carry us away like the wind." | Israel's sinfulness compared to unclean rags |
| Amos 7:17 | "Therefore thus says the LORD, Your wife shall be a harlot in the city, and your sons and your daughters shall fall by the sword..." | Judgment upon Israel |
| Deuteronomy 28:37 | "And you shall become a byword, a motto, and a ring in the hand of the nations among whom the LORD your God drives you." | Consequence of disobedience |
| Psalm 79:1-4 | "O God, the nations have come into your inheritance; they have defiled your holy temple; they have laid Jerusalem in ruins. They have given the bodies of your servants to the birds of the heavens, the flesh of your godly ones to the beasts of the earth." | Gentiles defiling God's sanctuary |
| Lamentations 1:8 | "Jerusalem has truly sinned; therefore she has become a mocking-stock. All who honored her despise her, for they have seen her nakedness; she herself groans and turns away." | Jerusalem's sin leading to shame |
| Revelation 17:1-2 | "Then one of the seven angels who were holding the seven bowls came and spoke with me, saying, 'Come, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters, with whom the kings of the earth have committed acts of immorality, and with the wine of her immorality those who dwell on earth have become drunk.'" | Babylon as a symbol of spiritual impurity |
| Hosea 2:3 | "...lest I strip her naked, and set her forth as on the day that she was born..." | Shame associated with nakedness and sin |
| Proverbs 7:26 | "For she has brought many to fall; even all that were slain by her were mighty." | The destructive nature of immorality |
| Ezekiel 22:8-11 | "My holy places you have despised, and my Sabbaths you have profaned. Men carry about a slanderous tongue to shed innocent blood; in you they eat upon the mountains; in your midst they commit lewd deeds. In you they uncover their father's nakedness; in you they force women who are polluted." | Specific instances of Israel's defilement |
| Nahum 3:5 | "'Behold, I am against you,' declares the LORD of hosts, 'and I will lift up your skirts over your face, and show the nations your nakedness and the kingdoms your shame.'" | Judgment upon Nineveh including public disgrace |
| Matthew 5:28 | "But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart." | Inner aspect of sin |
| Romans 14:14 | "I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is naturally unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it is unclean." | Cleanliness in a different spiritual context |
Ezekiel 36 verses
Ezekiel 36 16 Meaning
The house of Israel defiled God's land through their actions and practices. God, in His wrath, scattered them among the nations. He notes their impure conduct, comparing it to a woman's impurity during menstruation.
Ezekiel 36 16 Context
This verse is found in Ezekiel chapter 36, which speaks of God's judgment on the mountains of Israel and His subsequent restoration and purification of the land and His people. God had allowed the Israelites to be exiled and their land to be defiled by foreign nations due to their persistent sins, particularly idolatry and immoral practices. This chapter expresses God's concern for His own name, which was profaned among the nations because of His people's actions. The prophet is sent to speak to the mountains of Israel, signifying that God's judgment and subsequent blessings extend to the very land itself, which had witnessed and participated in the people's transgressions. The impurity mentioned here is both ritual and moral, encompassing the whole lifestyle of the Israelites that displeased God and led to their downfall.
Ezekiel 36 16 Word Analysis
Son of man: (Hebrew: בֶּן־אָדָם, ben-adam) A title given to Ezekiel by God, emphasizing his humanity in contrast to God's divinity and highlighting his role as a messenger to the people.
when: (Hebrew: בְּעוֹד, bəʿôḏ) Denotes a past period of time.
the house of Israel: (Hebrew: בֵּית־יִשְׂרָאֵל, bêṯ-yiśrāʾēl) Refers to the entire nation of Israel.
lived: (Hebrew: שָׁכַן, shāḵan) To dwell, settle, inhabit. Implies a stable presence.
in their own land: (Hebrew: עַל־אַרְצָם, ʿal-arṣām) Specifically referring to the land God had given them, the land of Israel.
they defiled: (Hebrew: טִמְּאוּ, ṭimʾû) To make ceremonially or morally unclean or impure. A strong verb indicating a deep contamination.
it: Refers to "their own land."
by their ways: (Hebrew: בִּדְרָכָ֔ם, bidrākām) By their paths, conduct, lifestyle, habits, or the courses they pursued.
and by their doings: (Hebrew: וּבְמַעֲלְלִֽיכֶם, ūməʿaləliyḵəm) By their actions, deeds, or accomplishments. This reiterates that their entire life and conduct corrupted the land.
their ways to me: (Hebrew: דַּרְכֵיהֶם־אֵלַי, darkêhāym-ʾēlāy) This phrase emphasizes the personal dimension of their sin; their actions were not just a general offense but an offense directed against God's presence or standard.
were like: (Hebrew: כְּ, kə) A simile, introducing a comparison.
the uncleanness of a menstruous woman: (Hebrew: נִדַּת־הַנִּדָּה, niḏḏaṯ-hanəḏâ) A highly specific and strong metaphor. Menstruation was considered a state of ritual impurity according to Mosaic Law, rendering anything and anyone touched by it unclean. It evokes deep disgust and separation. The repetition of the root "nadah" emphasizes the totality of this uncleanness.
Words-group analysis: "lived in their own land" implies they possessed the promised inheritance but squandered it through their actions. "they defiled it by their ways and by their doings" encapsulates the totality of their moral and spiritual corruption that spread like a stain. "their ways to me were like the uncleanness of a menstruous woman" uses a powerful, visceral image of impurity to convey the profound offense they caused God and the extent to which they rendered themselves and their land ceremonially and morally impure.
Ezekiel 36 16 Bonus Section
The impurity described here extends beyond mere ritual uncleanness to encompass deep moral and spiritual corruption, including idolatry, sexual immorality, and injustice, which were rampant in Israelite society during the periods leading up to and during the exile. This spiritual contagion permeated the land, making it itself seem complicit in their sin. The verse sets the stage for God's subsequent declaration that He will cleanse the land and His people to vindicate His holy name, which had been dishonored among the nations because of Israel's defilement.
Ezekiel 36 16 Commentary
This verse vividly illustrates the depth of Israel's sin and its consequence. Their prolonged disobedience and morally corrupt actions, characterized as equivalent to the uncleanness of a menstruous woman, not only spiritually defiled them but also corrupted the land God had sanctified for them. This impurity rendered them unfit to remain in the land, leading to their scattering among the nations. God’s judgment was not arbitrary; it was a direct response to their pervasive sin, which, in His eyes, was as abhorrent as ritual impurity. The comparison is deliberate and shocking, designed to convey the repulsive nature of their sin before a holy God and to explain why His presence seemed to withdraw, allowing foreign powers to conquer and desecrate the land.