Ezekiel 22:10-11
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Ezekiel doesn't just list sexual sins; he highlights the profound violation of sacred boundaries. The phrase "fathers' nakedness" points to incest, a transgression so horrific it was meant to be unthinkable, and "her that was set apart for pollution" signifies violating women during their menstrual impurity, a specific impurity that commanded separation. These weren't just personal failings but public defilements that desecrated the very life and holiness of the community.
In you men uncover their fathers’ nakedness; in you they violate women who are unclean in their menstrual impurity. One commits abomination with his neighbor’s wife; another lewdly defiles his daughter-in-law; another in you violates his sister, his father’s daughter.
English Standard Version (ESV)
Ezekiel is delivering a sweeping judgment against Jerusalem, painting a picture of a city consumed by sin. He's just detailed various offenses like murder and idolatry, and now he's getting into the deeply personal and abhorrent violations of sexual purity. These verses highlight extreme forms of incest and sexual violence, underscoring how far the people have fallen from God's standards and the complete breakdown of moral order within the city.
The prophet calls out sins that strike at the very core of society and family. One of these is so shocking it's described as uncovering a father's nakedness.
This sin, referred to as uncovering a father's nakedness, is a clear reference to incest, specifically lying with a father's wife (like a stepmother or concubine). The Old Testament law strictly prohibited this. It wasn't just a violation of societal norms but a deep defilement that brought shame and dishonor upon the family and the community.
A Double Defilement
This wasn't a hidden, rare sin; Ezekiel declares it was happening in Jerusalem, in the very heart of God's people. It signifies a total breakdown of moral boundaries and a profound disrespect for the sacredness of family relationships. It's a stark picture of how deeply sin can corrupt a community from the inside out.
Beyond incest, Ezekiel points to another grave sin: violating women during their 'set apart' times. What does this reveal about Jerusalem's spiritual condition?
The second sin mentioned is 'humbly her that was set apart for pollution.' This refers to the violation of women who were considered ritually unclean due to their menstrual impurity.
Ignoring God's Boundaries
According to the Law of Moses, sexual relations with a woman during her menstrual period were forbidden. This was not about inherent 'dirtiness' but about respecting the cycles of life and maintaining ritual purity in a covenant community. By violating women in this state, the people of Jerusalem were not only committing acts of sexual violence but were also flagrantly disregarding God's specific commands and boundaries for holy living.
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This demonstrates a deep-seated disregard for God's holiness and a complete abandonment of the moral and ritual standards He had set for them.
Understand the original words
ervah · Hebrew Noun
A Hebrew idiom referring to sexual relations, typically used in prohibitions against incest and forbidden sexual unions.
niddah · Hebrew Noun
Ceremonial or ritual impurity, specifically related to bodily discharges; it does not necessarily imply moral sin in every context, but requires purification to approach the holy.
tōʿēbāh · Hebrew Noun
A term used in Scripture to describe acts, practices, or rituals that are morally detestable, repugnant, or idolatrous to God. It often refers to grave violations of God's covenant law, particularly concerning sexual immorality and idolatry.
zimmāh · Hebrew Noun
Refers to shameful, depraved, or wanton conduct. In a biblical context, it denotes a brazen disregard for moral boundaries, often associated with sexual sin or moral corruption.
ṭāmēʾ · Hebrew Verb
To make ritually or morally impure. It signifies the corruption of something consecrated to God or the violation of sacred moral standards, rendering the person or object unfit for God's presence.
ʿānāh · Hebrew Verb
To act violently, force, or treat with abuse. It signifies the violation of a person's body or boundaries, particularly in a sexual context, demonstrating a complete lack of reverence for the divine image in others.
Ezekiel calls out Jerusalem's deep corruption by referencing specific violations of God's Law, including incest and sexual impurity, which were strictly forbidden in the Levitical codes given centuries earlier.
c. 1400 BC
Levitical Laws Promulgated
God gives Moses detailed laws, including strict prohibitions against various sexual sins, such as incest and sex during menstruation, recorded in Leviticus 18 and 20.
c. 931 BC
Division of the United Kingdom
Following Solomon's death, the united kingdom of Israel splits into two: the northern Kingdom of Israel and the southern Kingdom of Judah. This division leads to further political and spiritual decline.
c. 722 BC
Fall of Samaria and Northern Kingdom
The Assyrian Empire conquers the northern Kingdom of Israel, exiling its people. This serves as a stark warning to the southern Kingdom of Judah about the consequences of disobedience.
597 BC
First Deportation to Babylon
Under King Nebuchadnezzar II, the Babylonian Empire conquers Jerusalem and deports a significant portion of its population, including royalty and skilled workers, to Babylon.
586 BC— this verse
Destruction of Jerusalem and Temple
Nebuchadnezzar's forces utterly destroy Jerusalem and its sacred Temple, exiling the remaining population. This is the catastrophic culmination of Judah's unfaithfulness.
This passage directly forbids the uncovering of the nakedness of one's father, laying the foundation for the severe judgment in Ezekiel's prophecy.
Leviticus 18:19This verse explicitly prohibits approaching a woman during her impurity, directly paralleling the second sin mentioned in Ezekiel 22:10 and highlighting the religious and moral corruption.
1 Corinthians 5:1Paul rebukes the Corinthian church for tolerating sexual immorality, specifically incest, which echoes the gravity and abhorrence of the 'father's nakedness' sin in Ezekiel.
Romans 1:26-27This passage describes people engaging in unnatural lusts and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error, offering a theological parallel to the widespread sexual perversions detailed in Ezekiel.
gillEzekiel 22:10: "In thee have they discovered their fathers' nakedness: in thee have they humbled her that was set apart for pollution."
In thee have they discovered their father's nakedness,.... Or, "he discovered" (b), or "uncovered", it being in the singular number; though the Targum, Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, and all the Oriental versions, read in the plural; this, though committed, was done but by a few; it being a sin not so much as named among men, as for a man to lie with his father's w…
cambridgeEzekiel 22:10: "In thee have they discovered their fathers' nakedness: in thee have they humbled her that was set apart for pollution."
10 . Leviticus 18:7 ; Leviticus 20:11 ,—defiled their father’s wife, i.e. their stepmother, or some of their father’s concubines; cf. 2 Samuel 16:22 . set apart for pollution ] unclean from her impurity , ch. Ezekiel 18:6 ; Leviticus 18:19 ; Leviticus 20:18 .
Ezekiel doesn't just list sexual sins; he highlights the profound violation of sacred boundaries. The phrase "fathers' nakedness" points to incest, a transgression so horrific it was meant to be unthinkable, and "her that was set apart for pollution" signifies violating women during their menstrual impurity, a specific impurity that commanded separation. These weren't just personal failings but public defilements that desecrated the very life and holiness of the community.
Ezekiel is delivering a sweeping judgment against Jerusalem, painting a picture of a city consumed by sin. He's just detailed various offenses like murder and idolatry, and now he's getting into the deeply personal and abhorrent violations of sexual purity. These verses highlight extreme forms of incest and sexual violence, underscoring how far the people have fallen from God's standards and the complete breakdown of moral order within the city.
Ezekiel is delivering a sweeping judgment against Jerusalem, painting a picture of a city consumed by sin. He's just detailed various offenses like murder and idolatry, and now he's getting into the deeply personal and abhorrent violations of sexual purity. These verses highlight extreme forms of incest and sexual violence, underscoring how far the people have fallen from God's standards and the complete breakdown of moral order within the city.
"In you men uncover their fathers’ nakedness; in you they violate women who are unclean in their menstrual impurity. One commits abomination with his neighbor’s wife; another lewdly defiles his daughter-in-law; another in you violates his s…" — Ezekiel doesn't just list sexual sins; he highlights the profound violation of sacred boundaries. The phrase "fathers' nakedness" points to incest, a transgression so horrific it was meant to be unth…
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Last reviewed October 2026
