Ezekiel 23:37

Linguistic Bible Translation from Source Texts

For they have committed adultery and blood is on their hands. They committed adultery with their idols; they even sacrificed their children, whom they bore to me, passing them through the fire as food for their idols.

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

כִּ֣י נִאֵ֗פוּ וְדָם֙ בִּֽידֵיהֶ֔ן וְאֶת־גִּלּֽוּלֵיהֶ֖ן נִאֵ֑פוּ וְגַ֤ם אֶת־בְּנֵיהֶן֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר יָֽלְדוּ־לִ֔י הֶעֱבִ֥ירוּ לָהֶ֖ם לְאָכְלָֽה׃

Transliteration

For niʾēpû and-dām in-bîdêhen and-ʾet-gillûlêhen niʾēpû wəgam ʾet-bənêhen ʾăšer yāldû-to-me heʿĕbîrû to-them ləʾoklāh

Grammar Details

• *niʾēpû*: perfect, 3rd plural - they committed adultery
• *dām*: noun, masculine singular - blood
• *bîdêhen*: preposition with noun, feminine dual with 3rd feminine plural suffix - in their hands
• *gillûlêhen*: noun, masculine plural with 3rd feminine plural suffix - their idols
• *wəgam*: conjunction with emphatic particle - and also
• *bənêhen*: noun, masculine plural with 3rd feminine plural suffix - their sons
• *ʾăšer*: relative pronoun - which/whom/that
• *yāldû*: perfect, 3rd plural - they bore/gave birth to
• *heʿĕbîrû*: hiphil perfect, 3rd plural - they caused to pass over/through
• *ləʾoklāh*: preposition with noun, feminine singular - for food/consumption

Word Meanings

• *niʾēpû*: they committed adultery/they were unfaithful
• *dām*: blood/bloodshed/bloodguilt
• *gillûlêhen*: their idols/their dung-idols/their abominable images
• *heʿĕbîrû*: they caused to pass over/they offered/they sacrificed
• *ləʾoklāh*: for food/for consumption/to be devoured

Other Translations

• King James Version 1769 (Standard Version)

  That they have committed adultery, and blood is in their hands, and with their idols have they committed adultery, and have also caused their sons, whom they bare unto me, to pass for them through the fire, to devour them.

• KJV1611 – Modern English

  That they have committed adultery, and blood is on their hands, and with their idols have they committed adultery, and have also caused their sons, whom they bore to me, to pass through the fire, to devour them.

• King James Version 1611 (Original)

  That they have committed adultery, and blood is in their hands, and with their idols have they committed adultery, and have also caused their sons, whom they bare unto me, to pass for them through the fire, to devour them.

• American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

  For they have committed adultery,{H5003} and blood{H1818} is in their hands;{H3027} and with their idols{H1544} have they committed adultery;{H5003} and they have also caused their sons,{H1121} whom they bare{H3205} unto me, to pass through{H5674} [the fire] unto them to be devoured.{H402}

• King James Version with Strong's Numbers

  That they have committed adultery{H5003}{(H8765)}, and blood{H1818} is in their hands{H3027}, and with their idols{H1544} have they committed adultery{H5003}{(H8765)}, and have also caused their sons{H1121}, whom they bare{H3205}{(H8804)} unto me, to pass for them through{H5674}{(H8689)} the fire, to devour{H402} them.

• Coverdale Bible (1535)

  namely, yt they haue broke their wedlocke, & stayned their hodes wt bloude: yee euen wt their Idols haue they committed aduoutry, & offred them their owne children (to be deuoured) who they had borne vnto me.

• Geneva Bible (1560)

  For they haue played the whores, and blood is in their hands, and with their idoles haue they committed adulterie, and haue also caused their sonnes, whome they bare vnto me, to passe by the fire to be their meate.

• Bishops' Bible (1568)

  namely that they haue broken their wedlocke, and blood is in their handes: and with their idols haue they comitted adulterie, and haue also caused their sonnes whom they bare vnto me, to passe by the fire to be their meate.

• Authorized King James Version (1611)

  That they have committed adultery, and blood [is] in their hands, and with their idols have they committed adultery, and have also caused their sons, whom they bare unto me, to pass for them through [the fire], to devour [them].

• Webster's Bible (1833)

  For they have committed adultery, and blood is in their hands; and with their idols have they committed adultery; and they have also caused their sons, whom they bore to me, to pass through [the fire] to them to be devoured.

• Young's Literal Translation (1862/1898)

  For they have committed adultery, And blood `is' in their hands, With their idols they committed adultery, And also their sons whom they bore to Me, They caused to pass over to them for food.

• American Standard Version (1901)

  For they have committed adultery, and blood is in their hands; and with their idols have they committed adultery; and they have also caused their sons, whom they bare unto me, to pass through `the fire' unto them to be devoured.

• American Standard Version (1901)

  For they have committed adultery, and blood is in their hands; and with their idols have they committed adultery; and they have also caused their sons, whom they bare unto me, to pass through [the fire] unto them to be devoured.

• Bible in Basic English (1941)

  For she has been false to me, and blood is on her hands, and with her images she has been untrue; and more than this, she made her sons, whom she had by me, go through the fire to them to be burned up.

• World English Bible (2000)

  For they have committed adultery, and blood is in their hands; and with their idols have they committed adultery; and they have also caused their sons, whom they bore to me, to pass through [the fire] to them to be devoured.

• NET Bible® (New English Translation)

  For they have committed adultery and blood is on their hands. They have committed adultery with their idols, and their sons, whom they bore to me, they have passed through the fire as food to their idols.

Referenced Verses

• Ezek 16:36 : 36 This is what the Lord GOD says: Because you poured out your lust and exposed your nakedness in your promiscuity with your lovers and because of all your detestable idols and the blood of your children you gave to them,
• Ezek 16:38 : 38 I will sentence you to the punishment of women who commit adultery and shed blood. I will bring upon you the wrath and jealousy of my judgment.
• Ezek 16:20-21 : 20 You even took the sons and daughters you bore to me and sacrificed them to the idols as food. Was your prostitution not enough? 21 You slaughtered my children and offered them up by making them pass through fire to these idols.
• Ezek 20:26 : 26 I defiled them through their own gifts, by making them cause all their firstborn to pass through the fire, in order to devastate them and make them know that I am the LORD.
• Ezek 20:31 : 31 When you offer your gifts and make your children pass through the fire, you defile yourselves with all your idols to this day. Shall I let you inquire of me, house of Israel? As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, I will not let you inquire of me.
• Ezek 22:2-4 : 2 Son of man, will you judge? Will you judge the city of bloodshed and confront her with all her abominations? 3 Then say, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: You city that sheds blood in her midst to bring her time closer, and makes idols to defile herself, 4 You have become guilty because of the blood you have shed, and you are defiled by the idols you made. You have brought your days near and have come to the end of your years. Therefore, I have made you a disgrace to the nations and a mockery to all the lands.
• Ezek 23:4-5 : 4 Their names were Oholah, the elder, and Oholibah, her sister. They became mine and gave birth to sons and daughters. Their names represent Samaria as Oholah, and Jerusalem as Oholibah. 5 Oholah was unfaithful to me and lusted after her lovers—the Assyrians, who were near.
• Ezek 23:39 : 39 When they slaughtered their children as sacrifices to their idols, they came to my sanctuary on the same day to desecrate it. See, this is what they have done in my house.
• Ezek 23:45 : 45 But righteous men will judge them for committing adultery and shedding blood, because they are adulteresses, and blood is on their hands.
• Ezek 24:6-9 : 6 Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: Woe to the city of bloodshed, to the pot whose corrosion is in it and whose rust will not come off! Take its pieces out one by one; no lot will be cast for them. 7 For the blood she has shed is inside her; she placed it on the bare rock. She did not pour it on the ground to cover it with dust. 8 To stir up wrath and bring vengeance, I have placed her blood on the bare rock, so it would not be covered. 9 Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: Woe to the city of bloodshed! I myself will make the fire great.
• Hos 1:2 : 2 When the LORD first began speaking through Hosea, the LORD said to Hosea, "Go, take for yourself a wife of promiscuity and children of promiscuity, for the land is utterly unfaithful to the LORD."
• Hos 3:1 : 1 Then the Lord said to me, "Go again and love a woman who is loved by another man and is an adulteress, just as the Lord loves the children of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love raisin cakes."
• Hos 4:2 : 2 There is swearing, lying, murder, stealing, and adultery; they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed.
• Mic 3:10 : 10 You build Zion with bloodshed and Jerusalem with iniquity.
• Luke 13:34 : 34 'Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing.
• Lev 18:21 : 21 Do not give any of your children to be sacrificed to Molech, for you must not profane the name of your God. I am the LORD.
• Lev 20:2-5 : 2 Say to the Israelites, 'Any man from the Israelites or from the foreigners residing in Israel who gives any of his children to Molech shall surely be put to death. The people of the land shall stone him with stones. 3 I will set my face against that man and cut him off from among his people because he has given his children to Molech, defiling my sanctuary and profaning my holy name. 4 But if the people of the land deliberately close their eyes to that man when he gives his children to Molech, and they fail to put him to death, 5 then I will set my face against that man and his family, and I will cut off from their people both him and all who follow him in prostituting themselves to Molech.
• Deut 12:31 : 31 You must not worship the Lord your God in their way, because they practice for their gods every abomination that the Lord hates. They even burn their sons and daughters in the fire as sacrifices to their gods.
• 2 Kgs 17:17 : 17 They sacrificed their sons and daughters in the fire, practiced divination and sorcery, and sold themselves to do what was evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking Him to anger.
• 2 Kgs 21:6 : 6 He sacrificed his own son by fire, practiced divination and omen reading, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking Him to anger.
• 2 Kgs 24:4 : 4 And also because of the innocent blood that he had shed, for he had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the LORD was unwilling to pardon.
• Ps 106:37-38 : 37 They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons. 38 They shed innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan, and the land was polluted with blood.
• Isa 1:15 : 15 When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you. Even though you multiply your prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are full of blood.
• Jer 7:6 : 6 if you do not oppress the foreigner, the fatherless, or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place, or follow other gods, bringing harm upon yourselves,
• Jer 7:9 : 9 Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, burn incense to Baal, and follow other gods that you have not known,
• Jer 7:31 : 31 They have built the high places of Topheth in the Valley of Ben Hinnom to burn their sons and daughters in the fire—something I did not command, nor did it enter my mind.
• Jer 32:35 : 35 They built high places for Baal in the Valley of Hinnom’s Son to sacrifice their sons and daughters to Molech, something I never commanded nor even considered in My heart. They committed this detestable act to make Judah sin.
• Ezek 16:32 : 32 You adulterous wife, who prefers strangers instead of her own husband!
• Ezek 16:45 : 45 You are a true daughter of your mother, who loathed her husband and her children. And you are a sister of your sisters, who loathed their husbands and their children. Your mother was a Hittite, and your father an Amorite.