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Then Jacob said unto his household, and to all that were with him, Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments:
Genesis 35:2 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB Then Jacob said to his household, and to all who were with him, “Put away the foreign gods that are among you, purify yourselves, change your garments.
  • BSB So Jacob told his household and all who were with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods that are among you. Purify yourselves and change your garments.
  • NKJV And Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “Put away the foreign gods that are among you, purify yourselves, and change your garments.
  • NASB So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “Remove the foreign gods which are among you, and purify yourselves and change your garments;
  • NLT So Jacob told everyone in his household, “Get rid of all your pagan idols, purify yourselves, and put on clean clothing.

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

Jacob calls his household to put away foreign gods, purify themselves, and change their garments.

Overview

Preparing to meet God at Bethel, Jacob demands the removal of idols and outward acts of cleansing, a call to consecration. The presence of foreign gods in his household exposes how compromise had crept in among his people. This summons to put away idols and be pure prefigures the holiness God requires of those who would draw near to Him.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 40

  • Exod 19:10And the LORD said unto Moses, Go unto the people, and sanctify them to day and to morrow, and let them wash their clothes,
  • Exod 19:14And Moses went down from the mount unto the people, and sanctified the people; and they washed their clothes.
  • Ezek 18:31Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel?
  • Jas 4:8Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
  • Gen 18:19For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.
  • Ezek 36:25Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.
  • Josh 24:15And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.
  • Heb 10:22Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.
  • 1 Pet 2:1–2Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings,
  • Josh 24:23Now therefore put away, said he, the strange gods which are among you, and incline your heart unto the LORD God of Israel.
  • Gen 31:19And Laban went to shear his sheep: and Rachel had stolen the images that were her father’s.
  • Deut 32:16They provoked him to jealousy with strange gods, with abominations provoked they him to anger.
  • Gen 31:34Now Rachel had taken the images, and put them in the camel’s furniture, and sat upon them. And Laban searched all the tent, but found them not.
  • 2 Cor 7:1Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
  • 1 Sam 7:3And Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel, saying, If ye do return unto the LORD with all your hearts, then put away the strange gods and Ashtaroth from among you, and prepare your hearts unto the LORD, and serve him only: and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.
  • Lev 15:5And whosoever toucheth his bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.
  • Lev 17:16But if he wash them not, nor bathe his flesh; then he shall bear his iniquity.
  • Deut 11:28And a curse, if ye will not obey the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day, to go after other gods, which ye have not known.
  • Jer 5:7How shall I pardon thee for this? thy children have forsaken me, and sworn by them that are no gods: when I had fed them to the full, they then committed adultery, and assembled themselves by troops in the harlots’ houses.
  • Ezek 20:7Then said I unto them, Cast ye away every man the abominations of his eyes, and defile not yourselves with the idols of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.
  • Deut 6:14Ye shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the people which are round about you;
  • Num 31:24And ye shall wash your clothes on the seventh day, and ye shall be clean, and afterward ye shall come into the camp.
  • Deut 7:25The graven images of their gods shall ye burn with fire: thou shalt not desire the silver or gold that is on them, nor take it unto thee, lest thou be snared therein: for it is an abomination to the LORD thy God.
  • Deut 5:7Thou shalt have none other gods before me.
  • Exod 23:13And in all things that I have said unto you be circumspect: and make no mention of the name of other gods, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth.
  • Exod 20:3–4Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
  • Judg 10:16And they put away the strange gods from among them, and served the LORD: and his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel.
  • Josh 24:20If ye forsake the LORD, and serve strange gods, then he will turn and do you hurt, and consume you, after that he hath done you good.
  • 2 Kgs 5:10And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean.
  • Ps 51:7Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
  • Ps 101:2–7I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way. O when wilt thou come unto me? I will walk within my house with a perfect heart.
  • Ruth 1:15And she said, Behold, thy sister in law is gone back unto her people, and unto her gods: return thou after thy sister in law.
  • 2 Kgs 17:29Howbeit every nation made gods of their own, and put them in the houses of the high places which the Samaritans had made, every nation in their cities wherein they dwelt.
  • Jude 1:23And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.
  • Dan 5:4They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone.
  • Gen 34:24–25And unto Hamor and unto Shechem his son hearkened all that went out of the gate of his city; and every male was circumcised, all that went out of the gate of his city.
  • John 13:10–11Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all.
  • Jer 16:20Shall a man make gods unto himself, and they are no gods?
  • Gen 34:2And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he took her, and lay with her, and defiled her.
  • 2 Sam 7:23And what one nation in the earth is like thy people, even like Israel, whom God went to redeem for a people to himself, and to make him a name, and to do for you great things and terrible, for thy land, before thy people, which thou redeemedst to thee from Egypt, from the nations and their gods?

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (11)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Genesis videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

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

  • VideoWatch teaching on Genesis 35:2YouTube · 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 GenesisMatthew 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

From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.

How Genesis 35:2 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

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