“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.”
My Notes
What Does Ezekiel 23:37 Mean?
Ezekiel accuses Samaria (Oholah) and Jerusalem (Oholibah) of the three worst possible crimes: adultery (covenant unfaithfulness through idol worship), bloodshed (violence), and child sacrifice (passing their sons through fire to idols). The three sins form a comprehensive indictment: spiritual betrayal, physical violence, and the sacrifice of the most innocent.
The phrase "whom they bare unto me" is God speaking in first person — the children who were sacrificed were children born to God. In the covenant relationship, Israel's children belonged to God (Exodus 13:2). Sacrificing them to idols wasn't just killing children; it was destroying God's property, defiling what was consecrated to him.
The word "devour" (le'oklah) means the children were consumed — not just symbolically passed through fire but literally destroyed. The language is graphic because the reality was graphic. Ezekiel refuses to soften the description because the act was unsoftened.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What does God's claim on children ('whom they bare unto me') mean for how society should treat its youngest?
- 2.How does the escalation from adultery to bloodshed to child sacrifice reveal the trajectory of unrepented sin?
- 3.Where does modern society 'consume' its children — even if not literally through fire?
- 4.How does knowing children belong to God change how you advocate for their protection?
Devotional
They committed adultery with idols. They had blood on their hands. They burned their own children. And the children — God says — were mine. Born to me. Consecrated to me. And they devoured them.
The three charges create a hierarchy of horror: spiritual unfaithfulness, violence, and the sacrifice of the most innocent. Each one escalates the previous. You betrayed the covenant. You shed blood. And then you took the children — my children — and burned them.
"Whom they bare unto me" is the phrase that transforms child sacrifice from a human rights violation into a personal offense against God. These weren't just children. They were God's children, born into a covenant relationship, consecrated at birth. When Israel passed them through the fire, they were destroying what had been formally given to God. It's not just murder. It's sacrilege.
The word "devour" refuses to let you imagine a sanitized version. The children weren't symbolically passed through flame as some have argued. They were consumed. Eaten by fire. The language is horrific because what it describes is horrific, and Ezekiel won't let you look away.
Every society must answer for how it treats its children. The children belong to God — every one of them, in every culture, in every era. When a society's priorities consume its children — through neglect, exploitation, or direct harm — God's response in Ezekiel makes clear: those were mine. And I will judge.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
That they have committed adultery,.... Either literally, adultery with their neighbours' wives, which was a prevailing…
Blood - One of the chief sins of Manasseh was that he shed innocent blood 2Ki 21:16; 2Ki 24:4.
Jerusalem stands indicted by the name of Aholibah, for that she, as a false traitor to her sovereign Lord the God of…
that they have committed for they have. The blood on their hands is that of their children whom they sacrifice. See Eze…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture