Ezekiel 7 22

Ezekiel 7:22 kjv

My face will I turn also from them, and they shall pollute my secret place: for the robbers shall enter into it, and defile it.

Ezekiel 7:22 nkjv

I will turn My face from them, And they will defile My secret place; For robbers shall enter it and defile it.

Ezekiel 7:22 niv

I will turn my face away from the people, and robbers will desecrate the place I treasure. They will enter it and will defile it.

Ezekiel 7:22 esv

I will turn my face from them, and they shall profane my treasured place. Robbers shall enter and profane it.

Ezekiel 7:22 nlt

I will turn my eyes from them
as these robbers invade and defile my treasured land.

Ezekiel 7 verses

Ezekiel 7 22 meaning

Ezekiel 7:22 declares God's determined judgment against His people through a symbolic withdrawal of His protective presence, leading directly to the desecration of His holiest sanctuary. It prophesies that God will deliberately "hide His face" from them, allowing both His own people (through their idolatry and sin) and foreign adversaries ("robbers") to violate the sanctity of the Temple, His treasured place, resulting in its defilement and ruin.

Ezekiel 7 22 Context

Ezekiel chapter 7 announces the imminent, comprehensive, and irreversible judgment upon the land of Israel, using the prophetic idiom "the end has come!" (vv. 2, 6). The chapter details the nature and effects of this "end," emphasizing its pervasive reach over all aspects of life in Israel: the land, its people, wealth, and spiritual life. There is no escape, no refuge, and no intercession. The people, their possessions, and their leaders will all suffer God's righteous wrath for their manifold sins, particularly idolatry and profanation of what is holy.

Verse 22 specifically addresses the climax of this judgment concerning the most sacred place: the Temple in Jerusalem. Historically, the people held a deeply misguided belief that Jerusalem and its Temple were invulnerable because of God's presence, despite their own pervasive sin (Jeremiah 7). Ezekiel directly confronts this false security. The Temple, intended as the dwelling place of God's glory and a symbol of His covenant, had been defiled by Israel's idolatrous practices right within its precincts (Ezekiel 8). God's announcement to hide His face and allow its profanation is a severe polemic against their complacency and their blasphemous presumption that His holiness would endure alongside their defilement. It underscores that God values His holiness more than any physical structure or inherited privilege. The verse serves as a crucial point where the covenant's protective promises are overtly rescinded due to covenant breach.

Ezekiel 7 22 Word analysis

• I will turn / hide: (wəhasettirtî) - From the Hebrew verb sātar (סָתַר), meaning "to hide, conceal." Here in the Hiphil imperfect, "I will hide." This is an active, intentional decision by God, not passive neglect. It signifies His deliberate withdrawal of favor, protection, and active presence, making His people vulnerable. It indicates a punitive act for unfaithfulness.
• My face: (pānay) - Literally "My face." This is an anthropomorphism referring to God's presence, favor, and direct interaction. To "hide one's face" is a biblical idiom for withdrawing help, approval, or presence, implying rejection, anger, and allowing calamity. It directly counters the concept of God's shining face as a blessing (Num 6:25).
• from them: (mēhem) - Referring to the people of Israel, specifically those living in Jerusalem and Judah, who are the objects of this divine judgment.
• and they will profane: (wəḥilləlû) - From the verb ḥālal (חָלַל), here in the Piel (intransitive or causative), meaning "to profane, defile, pollute, violate." This term implies treating something sacred as common or worthless. The preceding actions of Israel (e.g., idolatry in the Temple as seen in Ezekiel 8) are the primary source of this profanation. God states they will profane it, not just external enemies, pointing to Israel's internal corruption.
• My treasured place: (ṣĕphonî) - From the root ṣāphan (צָפַן), meaning "to hide, store up, treasure." Here, ṣāphon acts as a noun "my hidden, my secret, my treasured place." This unequivocally refers to the Temple, specifically the Holy of Holies, the innermost sanctuary, or the entire Temple complex itself as God's unique possession, revered and set apart. The word emphasizes its sacredness and preciousness to God.
• and robbers: (pōrĕṣîm) - From the verb pāraṣ (פָּרַץ), "to break out, break through, make a breach." The participle pōrĕṣîm means "breakers," often referring to violent attackers, lawless individuals, or those who transgress boundaries, hence "robbers" or "plunderers." This refers to the invading Babylonian army, who would have no respect for the Temple's sanctity.
• will enter it: (ûva'û vâ) - "and they will come into it." This indicates a physical invasion and violation of the sanctuary.
• and profane it: (wəḥilləlûhā) - Another instance of ḥālal, "and they will profane it." This repetition emphasizes the absolute and thorough nature of the desecration, first by Israel's sins (making it possible for God to abandon it) and then physically by the foreign invaders. This "double profanation" highlights the completeness of the judgment and the loss of the Temple's sanctity.

Ezekiel 7 22 Bonus section

The Hebrew word ṣāphonî for "My treasured place" carries a nuanced meaning. While it can mean "hidden" or "secret," in the context of divine ownership and sacred space, it denotes something set apart and inviolable that God keeps to Himself, or values supremely. Its violation, therefore, is an ultimate insult and breach. This echoes the concept in God's covenant that what is set apart for Him must be revered, or His judgment will ensue. The prophesied events directly fulfilled the warnings in Deuteronomy regarding the consequences of covenant disobedience, where God explicitly said He would "hide His face" (Deut 31:17). The subsequent physical destruction by the "robbers" (Babylonians) was merely the outward manifestation of an inner, spiritual profanation and God's resultant withdrawal. This prophecy not only details the fall of the first Temple but also serves as a potent theological principle that God does not dwell in defiled sanctuaries, whether physical or spiritual (referring to the human heart in the New Testament).

Ezekiel 7 22 Commentary

Ezekiel 7:22 is a profound and chilling declaration of divine judgment. God explicitly states His active withdrawal ("I will hide My face"), signifying the severing of His covenantal protection and favor from His chosen people due to their pervasive sin. This withdrawal directly enables the ensuing desecration. The "treasured place" is unequivocally the Temple in Jerusalem, God's sacred dwelling, the very heart of Israelite worship and their perceived security. By using the term ṣāphon, "My treasured place," God underscores its intrinsic value and holiness to Him, intensifying the tragedy of its impending violation.

The verse attributes the profanation to two parties: "they" (Israel itself) and "robbers" (the invading Babylonians). Israel's long history of idolatry, injustice, and moral corruption had already spiritually profaned the Temple (Ezek 8), effectively driving God's glory from it before any physical attack. God's act of hiding His face essentially removes the divine shield, allowing the physical, external profanation by the "robbers" as a consequential outcome of Israel's prior spiritual defilement. This is not passive allowance, but an active orchestration of justice where Israel's unholiness paves the way for the Temple's physical destruction, completing the divine abandonment foreshadowed by the departing glory in Ezekiel 8-11. The profanation is thus both an act of Israel's unfaithfulness and an act of God's righteous judgment. It dismantled the illusion of invincibility surrounding Jerusalem and underscored God's commitment to His holiness above any institution.