As for you, O house of Israel, thus saith the Lord GOD; Go ye, serve ye every one his idols, and hereafter also, if ye will not hearken unto me: but pollute ye my holy name no more with your gifts, and with your idols.

EZEKIEL 20:39KJV
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Ezekiel 20:39 (KJV)

What does Ezekiel 20:39 mean?

Ezekiel 20:39 shows God telling the people of Israel that if they insist on worshiping idols instead of listening to Him, they might as well go ahead—but they must stop dishonoring His holy name by mixing their idol worship with offerings meant for Him. God is drawing a clear line, refusing to accept worship that is polluted by idolatry.

In this verse, God is speaking through the prophet Ezekiel to the "house of Israel" during their exile. The people had been trying to combine worship of God with idol worship, bringing gifts and sacrifices to God while still serving other gods. God’s message is blunt: He will not tolerate His name being "polluted" by this double-mindedness, and He demands a clear separation between true worship and idolatry.

The Hebrew behind Ezekiel 20:39

  • "Pollute" (חָלַל, ḥālal): This word means to defile or profane. God is saying that their actions make His name common or dishonored, especially when they bring gifts to Him while also serving idols.
  • "Holy" (קֹדֶשׁ, qōdesh): This word means something set apart or sacred. God’s name is not just another name; it is unique and must not be treated as ordinary or mixed with idol worship.
  • "Gifts" (מַתָּנָה, mattānāh): This refers to offerings or presents brought to God. The verse points out the hypocrisy of bringing gifts to God while also worshiping idols.
  • "Idols" (גִּלּוּל, gillul): This word is often used in Ezekiel for false gods or worthless idols, emphasizing their emptiness and the offense of turning to them instead of the true God.

Why Ezekiel 20:39 matters

  • Ezekiel 20:39 clears up the idea that God will accept any form of worship as long as people bring offerings; instead, God insists that worship must be pure and not mixed with idolatry.
  • The verse highlights the seriousness of honoring God’s name and shows that God cares deeply about how He is approached, not just that He is approached.
  • This verse connects to the wider passage, where God is confronting Israel’s long history of unfaithfulness and calling them to genuine devotion, not just outward religious acts.

Where else these words appear

“gifts” Hebrew H4979 · used in 17 verses

  • Genesis 25:6 But unto the sons of the concubines, which Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts, and sent them away from Isaac his son, while he yet lived, eastward, unto the east country.
  • Numbers 18:29 Out of all your gifts ye shall offer every heave offering of the LORD, of all the best thereof, even the hallowed part thereof out of it.
  • Proverbs 15:27 He that is greedy of gain troubleth his own house; but he that hateth gifts shall live.

“idols” Hebrew H1544 · used in 45 verses

  • Leviticus 26:30 And I will destroy your high places, and cut down your images, and cast your carcases upon the carcases of your idols, and my soul shall abhor you.
  • Ezekiel 8:10 So I went in and saw; and behold every form of creeping things, and abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, pourtrayed upon the wall round about.
  • Ezekiel 20:31 For when ye offer your gifts, when ye make your sons to pass through the fire, ye pollute yourselves with all your idols, even unto this day: and shall I be enquired of by you, O house of Israel? As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will not be enquired of by you.

“pollute” Hebrew H2490 · used in 131 verses

  • Genesis 4:26 And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the LORD.
  • Judges 20:31 And the children of Benjamin went out against the people, and were drawn away from the city; and they began to smite of the people, and kill, as at other times, in the highways, of which one goeth up to the house of God, and the other to Gibeah in the field, about thirty men of Israel.
  • Isaiah 56:6 Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the LORD, to serve him, and to love the name of the LORD, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant;