And they shall come thither, and they shall take away all the detestable things thereof and all the abominations thereof from thence.
Parallel translations
- WEB “‘They will come there, and they will take away all its detestable things and all its abominations from there.
- BSB When they return to it, they will remove all its detestable things and all its abominations.
- NKJV And they will go there, and they will take away all its detestable things and all its abominations from there.
- NASB When they come there, they will remove all its detestable things and all its abominations from it.
- NLT “When the people return to their homeland, they will remove every trace of their vile images and detestable idols.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The returning people will remove all the detestable idols from the land. It promises a cleansed worship after restoration.
Overview
Part of the restoration is the purging of the very abominations that had defiled the land and temple. The people God regathers will reject the idolatry that brought judgment. This moral renewal accompanies the physical return, showing restoration is more than geographic. Such cleansing of worship anticipates the heart transformation God will work, fully realized through Christ and His Spirit.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Ezek 5:11Wherefore, as I live, saith the Lord GOD; Surely, because thou hast defiled my sanctuary with all thy detestable things, and with all thine abominations, therefore will I also diminish thee; neither shall mine eye spare, neither will I have any pity.
- Ezek 37:23Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwellingplaces, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God.
- Ezek 42:7–8And the wall that was without over against the chambers, toward the utter court on the forepart of the chambers, the length thereof was fifty cubits.
- Ezek 7:20As for the beauty of his ornament, he set it in majesty: but they made the images of their abominations and of their detestable things therein: therefore have I set it far from them.
- Mic 5:10–14And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD, that I will cut off thy horses out of the midst of thee, and I will destroy thy chariots:
- Isa 30:22Ye shall defile also the covering of thy graven images of silver, and the ornament of thy molten images of gold: thou shalt cast them away as a menstruous cloth; thou shalt say unto it, Get thee hence.
- Titus 2:12Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
- Hos 14:8Ephraim shall say, What have I to do any more with idols? I have heard him, and observed him: I am like a green fir tree. From me is thy fruit found.
- Jer 16:18And first I will recompense their iniquity and their sin double; because they have defiled my land, they have filled mine inheritance with the carcases of their detestable and abominable things.
- Isa 1:25–27And I will turn my hand upon thee, and purely purge away thy dross, and take away all thy tin:
- Ezek 11:21But as for them whose heart walketh after the heart of their detestable things and their abominations, I will recompense their way upon their own heads, saith the Lord GOD.
- Col 3:5–8Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The promise of one Shepherd-King David, a new heart and new Spirit, and the river of life flowing from the temple all stream toward Christ, the good Shepherd who gives the Spirit.
How Ezekiel 11:18 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.