Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Because you have forgotten me and cast me behind your back, you yourself must bear the consequences of your lewdness and whoring.”
English Standard Version (ESV)
The phrase "cast me behind your back" isn't just about forgetting God; it vividly paints a picture of active rejection, like deliberately turning your back on something you consider worthless. This isn't a passive neglect, but a conscious choice to ignore God's presence and importance, leading directly to facing the full consequences of those actions.
Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Because you have forgotten me and cast me behind your back, you yourself must bear the consequences of your lewdness and whoring.”
English Standard Version (ESV)
Ezekiel has just delivered a lengthy, graphic allegory comparing Samaria and Jerusalem to two unfaithful sisters, Oholah and Oholibah, who engaged in sexual immorality. This verse serves as the direct consequence for Jerusalem's spiritual adultery with foreign powers, emphasizing that their deliberate turning away from God has brought them to this point of judgment. The prophet then proceeds to detail the severe punishment that will befall Jerusalem for its persistent unfaithfulness.
What does it really mean to 'forget' God? It’s more than just a lapse in memory. In Ezekiel's day, forgetting God was a deliberate, active choice with devastating results.
Ezekiel highlights that forgetting God isn't accidental; it's a wilful act. It means neglecting His word, His worship, and His presence in our lives. When we 'cast God behind our back,' we're showing that we value other things more – our desires, our comfort, our own plans – over His will.
This forgetting is the root of all sin. It’s the foundation upon which disobedience is built. When God is no longer the central focus, it becomes easy to fall into lewdness and 'whoring'—both literal and metaphorical betrayals of His covenant.
Ezekiel's message isn't just about sin; it's about accountability. When we turn from God, we don't escape the impact of our choices.
The phrase 'bear thou also thy lewdness and thy whoredoms' is a direct declaration of consequence. It means facing the full weight of the sins committed. This isn't just about guilt; it's about enduring the punishment and the shame that naturally follow a betrayal of God's love and faithfulness.
For Israel, this meant facing judgment, exile, and the loss of God's presence. For us today, while God’s mercy is vast, rejecting Him still carries profound consequences—a life lived apart from His best, a spiritual barrenness, and the sorrow that comes from straying from our Creator.
Understand the original words
Ask a follow-up
šākaḥ · Hebrew Verb
A deliberate and sinful abandonment of the knowledge and memory of God, leading to spiritual apostasy and moral decay.
šālaḵ ʾaḥărê gēw · Hebrew Verb
To treat God with contempt, effectively rejecting His authority, presence, and word by turning one's back on His covenant commands.
zimmâ · Hebrew Noun
Moral depravity, shamelessness, and wickedness, often used in the prophets to describe idolatry and spiritual infidelity toward God.
taznût · Hebrew Noun
In the prophetic tradition, this is a metaphor for spiritual unfaithfulness, idolatry, and the pursuit of false gods instead of the one true God.
Ezekiel delivers this prophecy during the Babylonian exile, vividly condemning Judah's persistent idolatry and betrayal of God. The 'whoredoms' and 'lewdness' are literal acts of worshiping foreign gods and forming alliances with pagan nations, which God punishes with the destruction of Jerusalem and their exile, a direct consequence of forgetting Him.
c. 786-746 BC
Reign of Jeroboam II in Israel
A period of significant territorial expansion and prosperity for the Northern Kingdom of Israel, but also a time of social injustice and religious syncretism.
733-732 BC
Assyrian Conquest of Northern Israel
The Neo-Assyrian Empire under Tiglath-Pileser III conquers northern Israel, deporting large numbers of its population and subjugating the remaining territory.
722 BC
Fall of Samaria
The capital city of Samaria falls to the Assyrians, marking the end of the Northern Kingdom of Israel and the dispersal of its people (the 'Ten Lost Tribes').
c. 597 BC
First Deportation to Babylon
Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon conquers Jerusalem, exiles King Jehoiachin and a significant portion of the Judean elite, including the prophet Ezekiel, to Babylon.
586 BC— this verse
Destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple
Nebuchadnezzar II destroys Jerusalem and its Temple after a prolonged siege, exiling most of the remaining population to Babylon. This marks the end of the Southern Kingdom of Judah.
This passage powerfully echoes the same idea, asking how anyone can forget their God, highlighting that forgetting God is the root of all sin and betrayal.
Nehemiah 9:26This verse speaks of Israel's rebellion, describing how they cast God's law behind their backs, directly illustrating the physical posture of rejection mentioned in Ezekiel.
Proverbs 1:31This proverb warns that the wicked will 'eat the fruit of their ways' and be 'filled with the consequences of their own conduct,' which directly relates to bearing the results of one's lewdness and whoring.
Romans 1:24-25Paul describes a similar consequence where people exchange the truth about God for a lie, leading God to 'give them up' to impurity, mirroring the self-inflicted consequences of turning away from God.
Hebrews 10:39While not a direct parallel, this verse contrasts those who shrink back from faith with those who have faith and are saved, implying a consequence for turning away from God, similar to the inescapable judgment Ezekiel faces.
gillEzekiel 23:35: "Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou hast forgotten me, and cast me behind thy back, therefore bear thou also thy lewdness and thy whoredoms."
Therefore thus saith the Lord God, because thou hast forgotten me,.... His word, worship, and ordinances, and did not attend unto them, but worshipped strange gods: so the Targum, "because thou hast left my worship:'' and cast me behind thy back; or, as the same paraphrase, "hast cast the fear of me from before thine eyes;'' or…
pooleEzekiel 23:35: "Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou hast forgotten me, and cast me behind thy back, therefore bear thou also thy lewdness and thy whoredoms."
Thou hast forgotten me, Ezekiel 22:12 , which is here explained by what follows; it was a wilful forgetting of God, and voluntary despising his law, ordinances, worship, favour, and presence; so God is cast behind a sinner’s back. Bear thou the guilt, I will impute it; the punishment, I will not pardon it; and the shame, for I…
The phrase "cast me behind your back" isn't just about forgetting God; it vividly paints a picture of active rejection, like deliberately turning your back on something you consider worthless. This isn't a passive neglect, but a conscious choice to ignore God's presence and importance, leading directly to facing the full consequences of those actions.
Ezekiel has just delivered a lengthy, graphic allegory comparing Samaria and Jerusalem to two unfaithful sisters, Oholah and Oholibah, who engaged in sexual immorality. This verse serves as the direct consequence for Jerusalem's spiritual adultery with foreign powers, emphasizing that their deliberate turning away from God has brought them to this point of judgment. The prophet then proceeds to detail the severe punishment that will befall Jerusalem for its persistent unfaithfulness.
Ezekiel has just delivered a lengthy, graphic allegory comparing Samaria and Jerusalem to two unfaithful sisters, Oholah and Oholibah, who engaged in sexual immorality. This verse serves as the direct consequence for Jerusalem's spiritual adultery with foreign powers, emphasizing that their deliberate turning away from God has brought them to this point of judgment. The prophet then proceeds to detail the severe punishment that will befall Jerusalem for its persistent unfaithfulness.
"Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Because you have forgotten me and cast me behind your back, you yourself must bear the consequences of your lewdness and whoring.”" — The phrase "cast me behind your back" isn't just about forgetting God; it vividly paints a picture of active rejection, like deliberately turning your back on something you consider worthless. This i…
Get the original Greek and Hebrew, verse-by-verse context, and related passages inside the app.
Last reviewed October 2026