Ezekiel 23:35

Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Because you have forgotten Me and have cast Me behind your back, you must bear the consequences of your indecency and prostitution.’”

Berean Standard Bible

Follow its threads on the canvas →

Study note

Setting — The Lord GOD pronounces this declaration concerning the allegorical figures Oholah and Oholibah, positioned between the judgment cup imagery of verse 34 and the direct command in verse 36 to recount their specific abominations.

The words — The divine formula כֹּה אָמַר אֲדֹנָי יְהוָה (koh amar Adonai Yahweh) functions as the standard prophetic marker "thus says the Lord GOD." The verb שָׁכַחַתְּ (shaKhaKhat) literally means "you have forgotten," denoting a willful disregard rather than simple memory loss.

The thread — The theme of covenantal abandonment resurfaces in Isaiah 17:10 and Jeremiah 3:21, while the warning against forsaking God for other powers aligns with the indictment in 1 Kings 14:9.

Why it lands — The passage requires the reader to accept that deliberate rejection of God triggers the exact consequences described, leaving no room for evasion or minimized accountability.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

לָכֵ֗ןla./Khen<to>/ therefore כֹּ֤הkohthus אָמַר֙'a.Marhe says אֲדֹנָ֣י'a.do.Nai[the] Lord יְהוִ֔הYah.wehYahweh יַ֚עַןYa.'anbecause שָׁכַ֣חַתְּsha.Kha.chatyou have forgotten אוֹתִ֔י'o.T/i<obj.>/ me וַתַּשְׁלִ֥יכִיva./tash.Li.khiand/ you have thrown אוֹתִ֖י'o.T/i<obj.>/ me אַחֲרֵ֣י'a.cha.Reibehind גַוֵּ֑ךְga.Ve/khback/ your וְגַם־ve./gam-and/ also אַ֛תְּ'atyou שְׂאִ֥יse.'Ibear זִמָּתֵ֖ךְzi.ma.Te/khlicentiousness/ your וְאֶת־ve./'Etand/ <obj.>תַּזְנוּתָֽיִךְ׃ סtaz.nu.Ta.yi/khprostitution<s>/ your

King James Version

Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Because thou hast forgotten me, and cast me behind thy back, therefore bear thou also thy lewdness and thy whoredoms.

Cross-references

1 Kings 14:9 You have done more evil than all who came before you. You have proceeded to make for yourself other gods and molten images to provoke Me, and you have flung Me behind your back.
Isaiah 17:10 For you have forgotten the God of your salvation and failed to remember the Rock of your refuge. Therefore, though you cultivate delightful plots and set out cuttings from exotic vines—
Jeremiah 3:21 A voice is heard on the barren heights, the children of Israel weeping and begging for mercy, because they have perverted their ways and forgotten the LORD their God.
Jeremiah 32:33 They have turned their backs to Me and not their faces. Though I taught them again and again, they would not listen or respond to discipline.
Ezekiel 22:12 In you they take bribes to shed blood. You engage in usury, take excess interest, and extort your neighbors. But Me you have forgotten, declares the Lord GOD.
Numbers 14:34 In keeping with the forty days you spied out the land, you shall bear your guilt forty years—a year for each day—and you will experience My alienation.
Jeremiah 2:32 Does a maiden forget her jewelry or a bride her wedding sash? Yet My people have forgotten Me for days without number.
Hosea 8:14 Israel has forgotten his Maker and built palaces; Judah has multiplied its fortified cities. But I will send fire upon their cities, and it will consume their citadels.
Hosea 13:6 When they had pasture, they became satisfied; when they were satisfied, their hearts became proud, and as a result they forgot Me.
Leviticus 24:15 And you are to tell the Israelites, ‘If anyone curses his God, he shall bear the consequences of his sin.