So I will put an end to indecency in the land, and all the women will be admonished not to imitate your behavior.
Parallel translations
- WEB “‘Thus I will cause lewdness to cease out of the land, that all women may be taught not to be lewd like you.
- KJV Thus will I cause lewdness to cease out of the land, that all women may be taught not to do after your lewdness.
- NKJV Thus I will cause lewdness to cease from the land, that all women may be taught not to practice your lewdness.
- NASB So I will eliminate outrageous conduct from the land, so that all women will take warning and not commit outrageous sin as you have done.
- NLT In this way, I will put an end to lewdness and idolatry in the land, and my judgment will be a warning to all women not to follow your wicked example.
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
By this judgment God will end such lewdness in the land and warn all others against imitating it. Judgment serves as a public teaching against sin.
Overview
God's stated aim is to 'cause lewdness to cease' and to instruct 'all women', that is, all peoples and future generations, not to follow Judah's example. Judgment has a pedagogical purpose, displaying the seriousness of sin so that others may fear and turn. The discipline of one becomes a warning to many.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Ezek 23:27So I will put an end to your indecency and prostitution, which began in the land of Egypt, and you will not lift your eyes to them or remember Egypt anymore.’
- Ezek 16:41Then they will burn down your houses and execute judgment against you in the sight of many women. I will put an end to your prostitution, and you will never again pay your lovers.
- 2 Pet 2:6if He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction, reducing them to ashes as an example of what is coming on the ungodly;
- Ezek 6:6Wherever you live, the cities will be laid waste and the high places will be demolished, so that your altars will be laid waste and desecrated, your idols smashed and obliterated, your incense altars cut down, and your works blotted out.
- 1 Cor 10:6–11These things took place as examples to keep us from craving evil things as they did.
- Zeph 1:3“I will sweep away man and beast; I will sweep away the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, and the idols with their wicked worshipers. I will cut off mankind from the face of the earth,” declares the LORD.
- Ezek 22:15I will disperse you among the nations and scatter you throughout the lands; I will purge your uncleanness.
- Isa 26:9My soul longs for You in the night; indeed, my spirit seeks You at dawn. For when Your judgments come upon the earth, the people of the world learn righteousness.
- Mic 5:11–14I will remove the cities of your land and tear down all your strongholds.
- Ezek 36:25I will also sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurities and all your idols.
- Ezek 5:15So you will be a reproach and a taunt, a warning and a horror to the nations around you, when I execute judgments against you in anger, wrath, and raging fury. I, the LORD, have spoken.
- Deut 13:11Then all Israel will hear and be afraid, and will never again do such a wicked thing among you.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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 23:48 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.