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They have also done this to Me: On that very same day, they defiled My sanctuary and profaned My Sabbaths.
Ezekiel 23:38 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB Moreover this they have done to me: they have defiled my sanctuary in the same day, and have profaned my Sabbaths.
  • KJV Moreover this they have done unto me: they have defiled my sanctuary in the same day, and have profaned my sabbaths.
  • NKJV Moreover they have done this to Me: They have defiled My sanctuary on the same day and profaned My Sabbaths.
  • NASB Again, they have done this to Me: they have defiled My sanctuary on the same day, and have profaned My Sabbaths.
  • NLT Furthermore, they have defiled my Temple and violated my Sabbath day!

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

On the very day of their idol worship they defiled God's sanctuary and profaned His Sabbaths. It highlights the brazen mixing of false worship with the trappings of true religion.

Overview

The added charge is the defilement of the temple and the desecration of the Sabbath, signs of the covenant. The people did not abandon outward religion; they corrupted it, blending idolatry with sacred things 'in the same day.' Such hypocrisy is especially offensive to God, who desires worship in spirit and truth, not divided allegiance.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 11

  • Ezek 20:13Yet the house of Israel rebelled against Me in the wilderness. They did not follow My statutes and they rejected My ordinances—though the man who does these things will live by them—and they utterly profaned My Sabbaths. Then I resolved to pour out My wrath upon them and put an end to them in the wilderness.
  • 2 Kgs 21:7Manasseh even took the carved Asherah pole he had made and set it up in the temple, of which the LORD had said to David and his son Solomon, “In this temple and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will establish My Name forever.
  • Ezek 7:20His beautiful ornaments they transformed into pride and used them to fashion their vile images and detestable idols. Therefore I will make these into something unclean for them.
  • Ezek 20:24For they did not practice My ordinances, but they rejected My statutes and profaned My Sabbaths, fixing their eyes on the idols of their fathers.
  • 2 Kgs 23:11–12And he removed from the entrance to the house of the LORD the horses that the kings of Judah had dedicated to the sun. They were in the court near the chamber of an official named Nathan-melech. And Josiah burned up the chariots of the sun.
  • Jer 17:27But if you do not listen to Me to keep the Sabbath day holy by not carrying a load while entering the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will kindle an unquenchable fire in its gates to consume the citadels of Jerusalem.’”
  • Neh 13:17–18Then I rebuked the nobles of Judah and asked, “What is this evil you are doing—profaning the Sabbath day?
  • Ezek 22:8You have despised My holy things and profaned My Sabbaths.
  • 2 Kgs 21:4Manasseh also built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD had said, “In Jerusalem I will put My Name.”
  • Ezek 8:5–16“Son of man,” He said to me, “now lift up your eyes to the north.” So I lifted up my eyes to the north, and in the entrance north of the Altar Gate I saw this idol of jealousy.
  • Ezek 5:11Therefore as surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, because you have defiled My sanctuary with all your detestable idols and abominations, I Myself will withdraw My favor; I will not look upon you with pity, nor will I spare you.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Ezekiel videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Ezekiel 23:38YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on EzekielMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

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 23:38 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.