Ezekiel 20:39

20:39 “‘As for you, O house of Israel, this is what the sovereign Lord says: Each of you go and serve your idols, ¹  if you will not listen to me. ²  But my holy name will not be profaned ³  again by your sacrifices ⁴  and your idols.

Ezekiel 23:38-39

23:38 Moreover, they have done this to me: In the very same day ⁵  they desecrated my sanctuary and profaned my Sabbaths. 23:39 On the same day they slaughtered their sons for their idols, they came to my sanctuary to desecrate it. This is what they have done in the middle of my house.

Ezekiel 39:7

39:7 “‘I will make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; I will not let my holy name be profaned anymore. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord, the Holy One of Israel. ⁶ 

Hosea 14:8

14:8 O Ephraim, I do not want to have anything to do ⁷  with idols anymore!

I will answer him and care for him.

I am like ⁸  a luxuriant cypress tree; ⁹ 

your fruitfulness comes from me! ¹⁰ 

Zechariah 13:2

13:2 And also on that day,” says the Lord who rules over all, “I will remove ¹¹  the names of the idols from the land and they will never again be remembered. Moreover, I will remove the prophets and the unclean spirit from the land.

Zechariah 14:20-21

14:20 On that day the bells of the horses will bear the inscription “Holy to the Lord.” The cooking pots in the Lord’s temple ¹²  will be as holy as the bowls in front of the altar. ¹³  14:21 Every cooking pot in Jerusalem and Judah will become holy in the sight of the Lord who rules over all, so that all who offer sacrifices may come and use some of them to boil their sacrifices in them. On that day there will no longer be a Canaanite ¹⁴  in the house of the Lord who rules over all.

¹ sn Compare the irony here to Amos 4:4 and Jer 44:25.

² tn Heb “and after, if you will not listen to me.” The translation leaves out “and after” for smoothness. The text is difficult. M. Greenberg (Ezekiel [AB], 1:374) suggests that it may mean “but afterwards, if you will not listen to me…” with an unspoken threat.

³ sn A similar concept may be found in Lev 18:21; 20:3.

⁴ tn Or “gifts.”

⁵ tn Heb “in that day.”

⁶ sn The basic sense of the word “holy” is “set apart from that which is commonplace, special, unique.” The Lord’s holiness is first and foremost his transcendent sovereignty as the ruler of the world. He is “set apart” from the world over which he rules. At the same time his holiness encompasses his moral authority, which derives from his royal position. As king he has the right to dictate to his subjects how they are to live; indeed his very own character sets the standard for proper behavior. This expression is a common title for the Lord in the book of Isaiah.

⁷ tn The Hebrew expression מַה־לִּי עוֹד (mah-li ’od) is a formula of repudiation/emphatic denial that God has anything in common with idols: “I want to have nothing to do with […] any more!” Cf., e.g., Judg 11:12; 2 Sam 16:10; 19:23; 1 Kgs 17:18; 2 Kgs 3:13; 2 Chr 35:21; Jer 2:18; Ps 50:16; BDB 553 s.v. מָה 1.d.(c).

⁸ tn The term “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity, as in the majority of English versions (including KJV).

⁹ tn Cf. KJV “a green fir tree”; NIV, NCV “a green pine tree”; NRSV “an evergreen cypress.”

¹⁰ tn Heb “your fruit is found in me”; NRSV “your faithfulness comes from me.”

¹¹ tn Heb “cut off” (so NRSV); NAB “destroy”; NIV “banish.”

¹² tn Heb “house” (also in the following verse).

¹³ sn In the glory of the messianic age there will be no differences between the sacred (the bowls before the altar) and the profane (the cooking pots in the Lord’s temple) – all will be dedicated to his use.

¹⁴ tn Or “merchant”; “trader” (because Canaanites, especially Phoenicians, were merchants and traders; cf. BDB 489 s.v. I and II כְּנַעֲנִי). English versions have rendered the term as “Canaanite” (KJV, NKJV, NASB, NIV), “trader” (RSV, NEB), “traders” (NRSV, NLT), or “merchant” (NAB), although frequently a note is given explaining the other option. Cf. also John 2:16.