Then shall ye remember your own evil ways, and your doings that were not good, and shall lothe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities and for your abominations.

EZEKIEL 36:31KJV
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Ezekiel 36:31 (KJV)

What does Ezekiel 36:31 mean?

Ezekiel 36:31 says that the people will remember how they acted wrongly in the past and feel deep regret and even disgust with themselves because of their sins and detestable actions. This verse describes a moment of honest self-reflection and sorrow over previous wrongdoing.

In this verse, God is speaking through Ezekiel to the people of Israel, describing what will happen after God restores them to their land and blesses them. The verse shows that real change involves not just outward blessing but also an inward recognition of past failures. The people will not take God’s kindness for granted; instead, they will look back on their “evil ways” and feel genuine remorse for their “iniquities” and “abominations.”

The Hebrew behind Ezekiel 36:31

  • “Remember” (זָכַר, zakhar H2142) means to recall or bring to mind. Here, it emphasizes that the people will actively think about their past actions, not just forget them once things improve.
  • “Lothe” (קוּץ, quts H6962) means to feel a strong sense of disgust or revulsion. The verse says the people will feel this way about themselves, showing how deeply their regret will go.
  • “Iniquities” (עָוֹן, avon H5771) and “abominations” (תּוֹעֵבָה, to'evah H8441) are strong words for serious moral failures and things that are especially offensive. Their use here highlights the seriousness of what the people are remembering and regretting.

Why Ezekiel 36:31 matters

  • This verse clarifies that God’s restoration is meant to lead to humility and honest self-examination, not pride or self-satisfaction.
  • Ezekiel 36:31 helps explain that true repentance involves not just feeling sorry for consequences, but actually being grieved by the wrong itself.
  • In the wider context, this moment of regret comes after God’s promise to give the people a new heart and spirit (see earlier in Ezekiel 36), showing that real inner change is part of God’s plan for restoration.

Where else these words appear

“lothe” Hebrew H6962 · used in 7 verses

  • Psalms 95:10 Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said, It is a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known my ways:
  • Psalms 139:21 Do not I hate them, O LORD, that hate thee? and am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee?
  • Ezekiel 16:47 Yet hast thou not walked after their ways, nor done after their abominations: but, as if that were a very little thing, thou wast corrupted more than they in all thy ways.

“doings” Hebrew H4611 · used in 41 verses

  • Deuteronomy 28:20 The LORD shall send upon thee cursing, vexation, and rebuke, in all that thou settest thine hand unto for to do, until thou be destroyed, and until thou perish quickly; because of the wickedness of thy doings, whereby thou hast forsaken me.
  • Jeremiah 4:4 Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest my fury come forth like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.
  • Jeremiah 26:13 Therefore now amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of the LORD your God; and the LORD will repent him of the evil that he hath pronounced against you.

“abominations” Hebrew H8441 · used in 112 verses

  • Genesis 43:32 And they set on for him by himself, and for them by themselves, and for the Egyptians, which did eat with him, by themselves: because the Egyptians might not eat bread with the Hebrews; for that is an abomination unto the Egyptians.
  • Ezra 9:14 Should we again break thy commandments, and join in affinity with the people of these abominations? wouldest not thou be angry with us till thou hadst consumed us, so that there should be no remnant nor escaping?
  • Ezekiel 7:3 Now is the end come upon thee, and I will send mine anger upon thee, and will judge thee according to thy ways, and will recompense upon thee all thine abominations.