I wrote the following draft almost a year and a half ago, and cannot see getting to clean it up anytime soon. So I thought I would publish it as it is. Enjoy.
Note:The following is a
draft of a study I did examining the perceived prohibition in the
Bible against homosexual relations. It is not in its final form, but
since it has been 1.5 years since I wrote this draft I thought I
should get it out there now or it may never be seen.
Homosexuality in the
Old Testament
Now I believe that most of the problems concerning the plain meaning of scripture is present in the references to Leviticus. So I will deal with those directly by using the arguments put forth by Friedman and Dolansky in their wonderful book, “The Bible Now”.
Here are the passages in Leviticus that most people base their prejudice on.
You must not have sexual intercourse with a male as one has sexual intercourse with a woman; it is a detestable act.
and
If a man has sexual intercourse with a male as one has sexual intercourse with a woman, the two of them have committed an abomination.
Seems pretty clear, right? The thing that most people point to as the real force of the law is when they read the phrases at the end, “a detestable act” and “an abomination”. I have several points that I want to make about this. If this said, “is OK for other by not you”, then even conservatives might think differently about this. Please note that in no way does the OT bible say anything bad about female homosexuality.
Somehow people gloss over this. Now if the OT really thought that girl on girl was bad, don’t you think it would have said so? There is every opportunity to simply say that homosexuality is bad, but the bible goes out of its way to say male homosexuality. So for the rest of this I will just discuss male relationships, recognizing that female likely has a much lower bar.
Next, note that the bible tends to be very specific in the nature of the offense when it is laying down the law in the Old Testament. For example:
Deut 22:5 A
woman must not wear men’s clothing, nor should a man dress up in women’s clothing, for anyone who does this is offensive to the YHWH your God.
Here it is quite clear that the offense is an offense against YHWH. I can see it being set up that way because on the surface it seems that cross dressing is
probably not all that bad of a thing to do. But then again, it is inherently deceptive. So YHWH is the one offended. This certainly comes into play when applying the rule of love, is it loving to god and loving to others.
But that is not how the Leviticus laws about male homosexuality are laid out. There it is simply said that they are “a detestable act” and “an abomination”, but not to YHWH.
So what is it that makes these things bad? Both of these are from the same Hebrew word, tow`ebah. If you look at the other occurrences of tow`ebah you will see that many of the patriarchs of the bible engaged in acts that were seen as tow`ebah. Abraham marries his half sister yet Leviticus again has this act in the section of things that are tow`ebah. So the law changed. So one of the characteristics of tow`ebah that something that is tow`ebah is subject to change.
In Jeremiah, he says:
2:7 I brought you into a fertile land so you could enjoy its fruits and its rich bounty. But when you entered my land, you defiled it; you made the land I call my own tow`ebah to me.
Again, tow`ebah is not something intrinsic of the thing itself, it has more to do with the relationship between the thing and the culture. There are many places where tow`ebah is used. It is used when Joseph tells his brothers to not say they are shepherds because it is tow`ebah to the Egyptians. The Egyptians do not eat with the Israelites because it would be tow`ebah to them.
It seems that the bible treats things as tow`ebah specifically when it is a culturally based thing that is subject to change based on when and where people find themselves.
So, in reality, Leviticus is actually saying that male homosexuality (it says nothing about female) is tow`ebah for cultural reasons. NOT A SIN AGAINST GOD.
I will quote directly from Friedman and Dolansky in their book, “The Bible Now”, page #38.
“So, whatever position one takes on this matter, Left or Right,
conservative or liberal, one should acknowledge that the law really
does forbid homosexual sex, between males but not between females.
And one should recognize that the biblical prohibition is not one
that is eternal and unchanging. The prohibition in the Bible applies
only so long as male homosexual acts are perceived to be offensive.
This will depend on further presentation of evidence and arguments
about whether it is inborn or not, whether is is properly regarded as
psychologically healthy or unhealthy, and whether most people in a
community are or are not in fact offended by it. Those arguments are
for specialists in biology, psychology and culture. They are beyond
our range of expertise as Bible scholars.”
I believe this is a very serious subject. There is no victim, no harm done in same sex relations and it seems that the only reason people give is because it is a sin against god. Well, IT IS NOT A SIN AGAINST GOD. God is not up there being offended every time there is a same sex act. What he did do is prohibit for Israel as a marker for them as a people.
Usage in Leviticus
In Leviticus, tow ‘ehbah is used 6 times. The first and last times are relating to male homosexuality, but the remaining 4 times are all used in the paragraph immediately following the first paragraphs describing all sexual impurity and therefore refer to the general topic of all of the things represented in that paragraph on sexual immorality.
Therefore, each of the things in that preceding paragraph can be said to be tow ‘ehbah in one form or another. Note that one of the prohibitions in that paragraph is 18:19 “‘You must not approach a woman in her menstrual impurity 28 to have sexual intercourse with her. This is clearly a law that we have not enforced and no longer consider it to be tow’ehbah.
I contend that indeed the bible does say that we should not have homosexual relations. But a detailed study of the prohibition creates an environment were it becomes obvious that we are interpreting what it does say incorrectly.
Here are all the occurrences in the Old Testament
Book | Relates to: | Passage |
Genesis | Egyptians say this of Hebrews | Gen 43:32 They set a place for him, a separate place for his brothers, and another for the Egyptians who were eating with him. (The Egyptians are not able to eat with Hebrews, for the Egyptians think it is disgusting to do so.) |
Genesis | Egyptians say this of Hebrews | Gen 46:34 Tell him, ‘Your servants have taken care of cattle from our youth until now, both we and our fathers,’ so that you may live in the land of Goshen, for everyone who takes care of sheep is disgusting to the Egyptians.” |
Exodus | Egyptians say this of Hebrews | Exo 8:26 But Moses said, “That would not be the right thing to do, for the sacrifices we make to the Lord our God would be an abomination to the Egyptians. If we make sacrifices that are an abomination to the Egyptians right before their eyes, will they not stone us? |
Leviticus | Male Homosexuality | Lev 18:22 You must not have sexual intercourse with a male as one has sexual intercourse with a woman; it is a detestable act. |
Leviticus | Male Homosexuality | Lev 20:13 If a man has sexual intercourse with a male as one has sexual intercourse with a woman, the two of them have committed an abomination. They must be put to death; their blood guilt is on themselves. |
Leviticus | Various outlawed practices | Lev 18:26 You yourselves must obey my statutes and my regulations and must not do any of these abominations, both the native citizen and the resident foreigner in your midst, |
Leviticus | Various outlawed practices | Lev 18:27 for the people who were in the land before you have done all these abominations, and the land has become unclean. |
Leviticus | Various outlawed practices | Lev 18:29 For if anyone does any of these abominations, the persons who do them will be cut off from the midst of their people. |
Leviticus | Various outlawed practices | Lev 18:30 You must obey my charge to not practice any of the abominable statutes that have been done before you, so that you do not defile yourselves by them. I am the Lord your God.’” |
Deuteronomy | Animals not eaten by law | Deu 14:3 You must not eat any forbidden thing. |
Deuteronomy | Cross dressing (male/female) | Deu 22:5 A woman must not wear men’s clothing, nor should a man dress up in women’s clothing, for anyone who does this is offensive to the Lord your God. |
Deuteronomy | Dishonest units of measure | Deu 25:16 For anyone who acts dishonestly in these ways is abhorrent to the Lord your God. |
Deuteronomy | Foriegn religious practices | Deu 12:31 You must not worship the Lord your God the way they do! For everything that is abhorrent to him, everything he hates, they have done when worshiping their gods. They even burn up their sons and daughters before their gods! |
Deuteronomy | Foriegn religious practices | Deu 13:14 You must investigate thoroughly and inquire carefully. If it is indeed true that such a disgraceful thing is being done among you, |
Deuteronomy | Foriegn religious practices | Deu 17:4 When it is reported to you and you hear about it, you must investigate carefully. If it is indeed true that such a disgraceful thing is being done in Israel, |
Deuteronomy | Foriegn religious practices | Deu 18:9 When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, you must not learn the abhorrent practices of those nations. |
Deuteronomy | Foriegn religious practices | Deu 18:12 Whoever does these things is abhorrent to the Lord and because of these detestable things the Lord your God is about to drive them out from before you. |
Deuteronomy | Foriegn religious practices | Deu 20:18 so that they cannot teach you all the abhorrent ways they worship their gods, causing you to sin against the Lord your God. |
Deuteronomy | Idols of other gods | Deu 7:25 You must burn the images of their gods, but do not covet the silver and gold that covers them so much that you take it for yourself and thus become ensnared by it; for it is abhorrent to the Lord your God. |
Deuteronomy | Idols of other gods | Deu 7:26 You must not bring any abhorrent thing into your house and thereby become an object of divine wrath along with it. You must absolutely detest and abhor it, for it is an object of divine wrath. |
Deuteronomy | Idols of other gods | Deu 27:15 ‘Cursed is the one who makes a carved or metal image – something abhorrent to the Lord, the work of the craftsman – and sets it up in a secret place.’ Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’ |
Deuteronomy | Idols of other gods | Deu 32:16 They made him jealous with other gods, they enraged him with abhorrent idols. |
Deuteronomy | Imperfect Animals | Deu 17:1 You must not sacrifice to him a bull or sheep that has a blemish or any other defect, because that is considered offensive to the Lord your God. |
Deuteronomy | Money from prostitution | Deu 23:18 You must never bring the pay of a female prostitute or the wage of a male prostitute into the temple of the Lord your God in fulfillment of any vow, for both of these are abhorrent to the Lord your God. |
Deuteronomy | Remarriage (overtly said to be ritually impure) |
Deu 24:4 her first husband who divorced her is not permitted to remarry her after she has become ritually impure, for that is offensive to the Lord. You must not bring guilt on the land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance. |
1 Kings | Foriegn religious practices | 1Ki 14:24 There were also male cultic prostitutes in the land. They committed the same horrible sins as the nations that the Lord had driven out from before the Israelites. |
2 Kings | Foriegn religious practices | 2Ki 16:3 He followed in the footsteps of the kings of Israel. He passed his son through the fire, a horrible sin practiced by the nations whom the Lord drove out from before the Israelites. |
2 Kings | Foriegn religious practices | 2Ki 21:2 He did evil in the sight of the Lord and committed the same horrible sins practiced by the nations whom the Lord drove out from before the Israelites. |
2 Kings | Foriegn religious practices | 2Ki 21:11 “King Manasseh of Judah has committed horrible sins. He has sinned more than the Amorites before him and has encouraged Judah to sin by worshiping his disgusting idols. |
2 Kings | Foriegn religious practices | 2Ki 23:13 The king ruined the high places east of Jerusalem, south of the Mount of Destruction, that King Solomon of Israel had built for the detestable Sidonian goddess Astarte, the detestable Moabite god Chemosh, and the horrible Ammonite god Milcom. |
2 Chronicles | Foriegn religious practices | 2Ch 28:3 He offered sacrifices in the Valley of Ben-Hinnom and passed his sons through the fire, a horrible sin practiced by the nations whom the Lord drove out before the Israelites. |
2 Chronicles | Foriegn religious practices | 2Ch 33:2 He did evil in the sight of the Lord and committed the same horrible sins practiced by the nations whom the Lord drove out ahead of the Israelites. |
2 Chronicles | Foriegn religious practices | 2Ch 36:14 All the leaders of the priests and people became more unfaithful and committed the same horrible sins practiced by the nations. They defiled the Lord’s temple which he had consecrated in Jerusalem. |
2 Chronicles | Generalized Sin | 2Ch 36:8 The rest of the events of Jehoiakim’s reign, including the horrible sins he committed and his shortcomings, are recorded in the Scroll of the Kings of Israel and Judah. His son Jehoiachin replaced him as king. |
2 Chronicles | Idols of other gods | 2Ch 34:33 Josiah removed all the detestable idols from all the areas belonging to the Israelites and encouraged all who were in Israel to worship the Lord their God. Throughout the rest of his reign they did not turn aside from following the Lord God of their ancestors. |
Ezra | Foriegn religious practices | Ezr 9:1 Now when these things had been completed, the leaders approached me and said, “The people of Israel, the priests, and the Levites have not separated themselves from the local residents who practice detestable things similar to those of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites. |
Ezra | Foriegn religious practices | Ezr 9:11 which you commanded us through your servants the prophets with these words: ‘The land that you are entering to possess is a land defiled by the impurities of the local residents! With their abominations they have filled it from one end to the other with their filthiness. |
Ezra | Foriegn religious practices | Ezr 9:14 Shall we once again break your commandments and intermarry with these abominable peoples? Would you not be so angered by us that you would wipe us out, with no survivor or remnant? |
Psalms | Distasteful person (non specific) |
Psa 88:8 You cause those who know me to keep their distance; you make me an appalling sight to them. I am trapped and cannot get free. |
Proverbs | Dishonest units of measure | Pro 11:1 The Lord abhors dishonest scales, but an accurate weight is his delight. |
Proverbs | Dishonest units of measure | Pro 20:10 Diverse weights and diverse measures – the Lord abhors both of them. |
Proverbs | Dishonest units of measure | Pro 20:23 The Lord abhors differing weights, and dishonest scales are wicked. |
Proverbs | Distasteful person (non specific) |
Pro 3:32 for one who goes astray is an abomination to the Lord, but he reveals his intimate counsel to the upright. |
Proverbs | Foriegn religious practices | Pro 15:8 The Lord abhors the sacrifices of the wicked, but the prayer of the upright pleases him. |
Proverbs | Generalized Sin | Pro 6:16 There are six things that the Lord hates, even seven things that are an abomination to him: |
Proverbs | People who are arrogant | Pro 16:5 The Lord abhors every arrogant person; rest assured that they will not go unpunished. |
Proverbs | People who are scornful | Pro 24:9 A foolish scheme is sin, and the scorner is an abomination to people. |
Proverbs | People who are unjust | Pro 29:27 An unjust person is an abomination to the righteous, and the one who lives an upright life is an abomination to the wicked. |
Proverbs | People who judge wrongly | Pro 17:15 The one who acquits the guilty and the one who condemns the innocent – both of them are an abomination to the Lord. |
Proverbs | People who like evil | Pro 13:19 A desire fulfilled is sweet to the soul, but fools abhor turning away from evil. |
Proverbs | People who like evil | Pro 15:9 The Lord abhors the way of the wicked, but he loves those who pursue righteousness. |
Proverbs | People who like evil | Pro 15:26 The Lord abhors the plans of the wicked, but pleasant words are pure. |
Proverbs | People who like evil | Pro 16:12 Doing wickedness is an abomination to kings, because a throne is established in righteousness. |
Proverbs | People who tell lies | Pro 12:22 The Lord abhors a person who lies, but those who deal truthfully are his delight. |
Proverbs | People who will not follow the law |
Pro 28:9 The one who turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination. |
Proverbs | Peoples thoughts who hate others | Pro 26:25 When he speaks graciously, do not believe him, for there are seven abominations within him. |
Proverbs | Ritual acts of worship | Pro 21:27 The wicked person’s sacrifice is an abomination; how much more when he brings it with evil intent! |
Proverbs | Twisted mind | Pro 11:20 The Lord abhors those who are perverse in heart, but those who are blameless in their ways are his delight. |
Proverbs | Untruth | Pro 8:7 For my mouth speaks truth, and my lips hate wickedness. |
Isaiah | Foriegn religious practices | Isa 1:13 Do not bring any more meaningless offerings; I consider your incense detestable! You observe new moon festivals, Sabbaths, and convocations, but I cannot tolerate sin-stained celebrations! |
Isaiah | Idols of other gods | Isa 44:19 No one thinks to himself, nor do they comprehend or understand and say to themselves: ‘I burned half of it in the fire – yes, I baked bread over the coals; I roasted meat and ate it. With the rest of it should I make a disgusting idol? Should I bow down to dry wood?’ |
Isaiah | People worshiping foreign gods | Isa 41:24 Look, you are nothing, and your accomplishments are nonexistent; the one who chooses to worship you is disgusting. |
Jeremiah | Foriegn religious practices | Jer 7:10 Then you come and stand in my presence in this temple I have claimed as my own and say, “We are safe!” You think you are so safe that you go on doing all those hateful sins! |
Jeremiah | Foriegn religious practices | Jer 44:4 I sent my servants the prophets to you people over and over again warning you not to do this disgusting thing I hate. |
Jeremiah | Foriegn religious practices | Jer 44:22 Finally the Lord could no longer endure your wicked deeds and the disgusting things you did. That is why your land has become the desolate, uninhabited ruin that it is today. That is why it has become a proverbial example used in curses. |
Jeremiah | Foriegn religious practices - including child sacrifice |
Jer 32:35 They built places of worship for the god Baal in the Valley of Ben Hinnom so that they could sacrifice their sons and daughters to the god Molech. Such a disgusting practice was not something I commanded them to do! It never even entered my mind to command them to do such a thing! So Judah is certainly liable for punishment.’ |
Jeremiah | Idols of other gods | Jer 2:7 I brought you into a fertile land so you could enjoy its fruits and its rich bounty. But when you entered my land, you defiled it; you made the land I call my own loathsome to me. |
Jeremiah | Idols of other gods | Jer 16:18 Before I restore them I will punish them in full for their sins and the wrongs they have done. For they have polluted my land with the lifeless statues of their disgusting idols. They have filled the land I have claimed as my own with their detestable idols.” |
Jeremiah | People who are greedy | Jer 6:15 Are they ashamed because they have done such shameful things? No, they are not at all ashamed. They do not even know how to blush! So they will die, just like others have died. They will be brought to ruin when I punish them,” says the Lord. |
Jeremiah | People who are greedy | Jer 8:12 Are they ashamed because they have done such disgusting things? No, they are not at all ashamed! They do not even know how to blush! So they will die just like others have died. They will be brought to ruin when I punish them, says the Lord. |
Ezekiel | Adultery | Eze 22:11 One commits an abominable act with his neighbor’s wife; another obscenely defiles his daughter-in-law; another violates his sister – his father’s daughter – within you. |
Ezekiel | Adultery | Eze 33:26 You rely on your swords and commit abominable deeds; each of you defiles his neighbor’s wife. Will you possess the land?’ |
Ezekiel | Foriegn religious practices | Eze 7:3 The end is now upon you, and I will release my anger against you; I will judge you according to your behavior, I will hold you accountable for all your abominable practices. |
Ezekiel | Foriegn religious practices | Eze 7:4 My eye will not pity you; I will not spare you. For I will hold you responsible for your behavior, and you will suffer the consequences of your abominable practices. Then you will know that I am the Lord! |
Ezekiel | Foriegn religious practices | Eze 7:8 Soon now I will pour out my rage on you; I will fully vent my anger against you. I will judge you according to your behavior. I will hold you accountable for all your abominable practices. |
Ezekiel | Foriegn religious practices | Eze 7:9 My eye will not pity you; I will not spare you. For your behavior I will hold you accountable, and you will suffer the consequences of your abominable practices. Then you will know that it is I, the Lord, who is striking you. |
Ezekiel | Foriegn religious practices | Eze 8:6 He said to me, “Son of man, do you see what they are doing – the great abominations that the people of Israel are practicing here, to drive me far from my sanctuary? But you will see greater abominations than these!” |
Ezekiel | Foriegn religious practices | Eze 8:9 He said to me, “Go in and see the evil abominations they are practicing here.” |
Ezekiel | Foriegn religious practices | Eze 8:13 He said to me, “You will see them practicing even greater abominations!” |
Ezekiel | Foriegn religious practices | Eze 8:15 He said to me, “Do you see this, son of man? You will see even greater abominations than these!” |
Ezekiel | Foriegn religious practices | Eze 8:17 He said to me, “Do you see, son of man? Is it a trivial thing that the house of Judah commits these abominations they are practicing here? For they have filled the land with violence and provoked me to anger still further. Look, they are putting the branch to their nose! |
Ezekiel | Foriegn religious practices | Eze 9:4 The Lord said to him, “Go through the city of Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of the people who moan and groan over all the abominations practiced in it.” |
Ezekiel | Foriegn religious practices | Eze 11:18 “When they return to it, they will remove from it all its detestable things and all its abominations. |
Ezekiel | Foriegn religious practices | Eze 11:21 But those whose hearts are devoted to detestable things and abominations, I hereby repay them for what they have done, says the sovereign Lord.” |
Ezekiel | Foriegn religious practices | Eze 12:16 But I will let a small number of them survive the sword, famine, and pestilence, so that they can confess all their abominable practices to the nations where they go. Then they will know that I am the Lord.” |
Ezekiel | Foriegn religious practices | Eze 14:6 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Return! Turn from your idols, and turn your faces away from your abominations. |
Ezekiel | Foriegn religious practices | Eze 44:7 When you bring foreigners, those uncircumcised in heart and in flesh, into my sanctuary, you desecrate it – even my house – when you offer my food, the fat and the blood. You have broken my covenant by all your abominable practices. |
Ezekiel | Foriegn religious practices - including child sacrifice |
Eze 16:2 “Son of man, confront Jerusalem with her abominable practices |
Ezekiel | Foriegn religious practices - including child sacrifice |
Eze 16:22 And with all your abominable practices and prostitution you did not remember the days of your youth when you were naked and bare, kicking around in your blood. |
Ezekiel | Foriegn religious practices - including child sacrifice |
Eze 16:43 “‘Because you did not remember the days of your youth and have enraged me with all these deeds, I hereby repay you for what you have done, declares the sovereign Lord. Have you not engaged in prostitution on top of all your other abominable practices? |
Ezekiel | Foriegn religious practices - including child sacrifice |
Eze 16:47 Have you not copied their behavior and practiced their abominable deeds? In a short time you became even more depraved in all your conduct than they were! |
Ezekiel | Foriegn religious practices - including child sacrifice |
Eze 16:50 They were haughty and practiced abominable deeds before me. Therefore when I saw it I removed them. |
Ezekiel | Foriegn religious practices - including child sacrifice |
Eze 16:51 Samaria has not committed half the sins you have; you have done more abominable deeds than they did. You have made your sisters appear righteous with all the abominable things you have done. |
Ezekiel | Foriegn religious practices - including child sacrifice |
Eze 16:58 You must bear your punishment for your obscene conduct and your abominable practices, declares the Lord. |
Ezekiel | Foriegn religious practices - including child sacrifice |
Eze 18:12 oppresses the poor and the needy, commits robbery, does not give back what was given in pledge, prays to idols, performs abominable acts, |
Ezekiel | Foriegn religious practices - including child sacrifice |
Eze 18:13 engages in usury and charges interest. Will he live? He will not! Because he has done all these abominable deeds he will certainly die. He will bear the responsibility for his own death. |
Ezekiel | Foriegn religious practices - including child sacrifice |
Eze 18:24 “But if a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and practices wrongdoing according to all the abominable practices the wicked carry out, will he live? All his righteous acts will not be remembered; because of the unfaithful acts he has done and the sin he has committed, he will die. |
Ezekiel | Foriegn religious practices - including child sacrifice |
Eze 20:4 “Are you willing to pronounce judgment? Are you willing to pronounce judgment, son of man? Then confront them with the abominable practices of their fathers, |
Ezekiel | Foriegn religious practices - including child sacrifice |
Eze 22:2 “As for you, son of man, are you willing to pronounce judgment, are you willing to pronounce judgment on the bloody city? Then confront her with all her abominable deeds! |
Ezekiel | Foriegn religious practices - including child sacrifice |
Eze 23:36 The Lord said to me: “Son of man, are you willing to pronounce judgment on Oholah and Oholibah? Then declare to them their abominable deeds! |
Ezekiel | Foriegn religious practices - including child sacrifice |
Eze 33:29 Then they will know that I am the Lord when I turn the land into a desolate ruin because of all the abominable deeds they have committed.’ |
Ezekiel | Foriegn religious practices - including child sacrifice |
Eze 36:31 Then you will remember your evil behavior and your deeds which were not good; you will loathe yourselves on account of your sins and your abominable deeds. |
Ezekiel | Foriegn religious practices - including child sacrifice |
Eze 43:8 When they placed their threshold by my threshold and their doorpost by my doorpost, with only the wall between me and them, they profaned my holy name by the abominable deeds they committed. So I consumed them in my anger. |
Ezekiel | Foriegn religious practices - including child sacrifice |
Eze 44:6 Say to the rebellious, to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Enough of all your abominable practices, O house of Israel! |
Ezekiel | Foriegn religious practices - including child sacrifice |
Eze 44:13 They will not come near me to serve me as priest, nor will they come near any of my holy things, the things which are most sacred. They will bear the shame of the abominable deeds they have committed. |
Ezekiel | Idols of other gods | Eze 5:11 “Therefore, as surely as I live, says the sovereign Lord, because you defiled my sanctuary with all your detestable idols and with all your abominable practices, I will withdraw; my eye will not pity you, nor will I spare you. |
Ezekiel | Idols of other gods | Eze 6:9 Then your survivors will remember me among the nations where they are exiled. They will realize how I was crushed by their unfaithful heart which turned from me and by their eyes which lusted after their idols. They will loathe themselves because of the evil they have done and because of all their abominable practices. |
Ezekiel | Idols of other gods | Eze 7:20 They rendered the beauty of his ornaments into pride, and with it they made their abominable images – their detestable idols. Therefore I will render it filthy to them. |
Ezekiel | Idols of other gods | Eze 16:36 This is what the sovereign Lord says: Because your lust was poured out and your nakedness was uncovered in your prostitution with your lovers, and because of all your detestable idols, and because of the blood of your children you have given to them, |
Ezekiel | People not following the Law | Eze 5:9 I will do to you what I have never done before and will never do again because of all your abominable practices. |
Ezekiel | People not following the Law | Eze 6:11 “‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Clap your hands, stamp your feet, and say, “Ah!” because of all the evil, abominable practices of the house of Israel, for they will fall by the sword, famine, and pestilence. |
Malachi | Foriegn religious practices | Mal 2:11 Judah has become disloyal, and unspeakable sins have been committed in Israel and Jerusalem. For Judah has profaned the holy things that the Lord loves and has turned to a foreign god! |
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