They will no longer defile themselves with their idols or detestable images, or with any of their transgressions. I will save them from all their apostasies by which they sinned, and I will cleanse them. Then they will be My people, and I will be their God.
Parallel translations
- WEB neither 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 dwelling places, in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God.
- KJV Neither 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.
- NKJV They shall not defile themselves anymore with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions; but I will deliver them from all their dwelling places in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them. Then they shall be My people, and I will be their God.
- NASB They will no longer defile themselves with their idols, or with their detestable things, or with any of their offenses; but I will rescue them from all their dwelling places in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them. And they will be My people, and I will be their God.
- NLT They will never again pollute themselves with their idols and vile images and rebellion, for I will save them from their sinful apostasy. I will cleanse them. Then they will truly be my people, and I will be their God.
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
God will cleanse His people from idols and transgressions, so they are His people and He their God. Cleansing secures the covenant relationship.
Overview
God promises to purify His people from idolatry and sin and to save them, restoring the covenant bond. Holiness and belonging to God go together. This cleansing is accomplished through Christ, who saves His people from their sins and makes them God's own possession.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 27
- Rev 21:3–4And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying: “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man, and He will dwell with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them as their God.
- Ezek 36:28–29Then you will live in the land that I gave your forefathers; you will be My people, and I will be your God.
- 1 Jn 1:9If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
- Rev 21:7The one who overcomes will inherit all things, and I will be his God, and he will be My son.
- Zech 13:1–2“On that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the people of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity.
- 1 Jn 1:7But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.
- Eph 5:26–27to sanctify her, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word,
- Hos 14:8O Ephraim, what have I to do anymore with idols? It is I who answer and watch over him. I am like a flourishing cypress; your fruit comes from Me.
- Ps 68:20Our God is a God of deliverance; the Lord GOD is our rescuer from death.
- Hos 1:10Yet the number of the Israelites will be like the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or counted. And it will happen that in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not My people,’ they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’
- Jer 32:38–39They will be My people, and I will be their God.
- Isa 2:18and the idols will vanish completely.
- Ezek 43:7–8and He said to me, “Son of man, this is the place of My throne and the place for the soles of My feet, where I will dwell among the Israelites forever. The house of Israel will never again defile My holy name—neither they nor their kings—by their prostitution and by the funeral offerings for their kings at their deaths.
- Lev 20:7–8Consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy, because I am the LORD your God.
- Ezek 37:27My dwelling place will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be My people.
- Jer 31:1“At that time,” declares the LORD, “I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they will be My people.”
- Zech 14:21Indeed, every pot in Jerusalem and Judah will be holy to the LORD of Hosts, and all who sacrifice will come and take some pots and cook in them. And on that day there will no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the LORD of Hosts.
- Jer 31:33“But this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD. I will put My law in their minds and inscribe it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they will be My people.
- Heb 9:13–14For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that their bodies are clean,
- Ezek 20:43There you will remember your ways and all the deeds with which you have defiled yourselves, and you will loathe yourselves for all the evils you have done.
- Ps 68:35O God, You are awesome in Your sanctuary; the God of Israel Himself gives strength and power to His people. Blessed be God!
- Ezek 36:24–25For I will take you from among the nations and gather you out of all the countries, and I will bring you back into your own land.
- Mic 7:14Shepherd with Your staff Your people, the flock of Your inheritance. They live alone in a woodland, surrounded by pastures. Let them graze in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old.
- Gen 17:7–8I will establish My covenant as an everlasting covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.
- Ezek 36:31Then you will remember your evil ways and wicked deeds, and you will loathe yourselves for your iniquities and abominations.
- Ezek 39:22From that day forward the house of Israel will know that I am the LORD their God.
- Zech 13:9This third I will bring through the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on My name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘They are My people,’ and they will say, ‘The LORD is our God.’”
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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 37:23 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.