Ezekiel 7:21-22
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What's striking here is that God isn't just handing over the Temple; He's giving the profaned objects within it—the idols made from precious metals—to foreigners. This means what Israel thought was valuable and sacred, God now calls "prey" and "spoil" for the wicked, to be treated as utterly common and defiled. Their misuse of holy things will result in those things being treated with ultimate disrespect.
And I will give it into the hands of foreigners for prey, and to the wicked of the earth for spoil, and they shall profane it. I will turn my face from them, and they shall profane my treasured place. Robbers shall enter and profane it.
English Standard Version (ESV)
Ezekiel is detailing the utter destruction and desecration that will come upon Jerusalem and its temple as a consequence of Israel's idolatry and wickedness. He has just declared that the people's treasures, particularly their idols made of silver and gold, will be useless against God's wrath. Now, God pronounces that He will hand over His very sanctuary and its sacred furnishings to foreign invaders, who will treat it as mere plunder and defile its holiness.
Imagine the holiest place you know being overrun by those who have no respect for it. That's the stark reality Ezekiel describes.
In Ezekiel 7:21, God declares He will hand over 'it' – referring to the temple and its treasures, especially the idols made from gold and silver – to foreigners. These 'strangers' and 'wicked of the earth' were the Babylonian invaders. They weren't just conquerors; they were instruments of God's judgment. Their invasion meant the sacred was treated as common, the holy defiled. This wasn't a failure on God's part, but a consequence of Israel's spiritual infidelity. The very things Israel had used to defy God would now be tools of their destruction.
Israel had turned their precious metals into gods. God's judgment turned those 'gods' into mere plunder.
The commentary highlights a crucial detail: Israel had used silver and gold not just for temple decoration, but to make idols. These idols were then worshipped. In judgment, God allowed the invaders to seize these very idols. For the Babylonians, these weren't sacred objects of worship; they were just valuable metals to be looted. This underscores the emptiness of idolatry. The 'gods' Israel trusted in offered no protection and, in fact, became the very source of their shame as they were profaned by enemy hands. What Israel thought was their strength became their downfall.
Understand the original words
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zarim · Hebrew Noun
Used throughout Scripture to refer to non-Israelites or those outside the covenant community of God; often, as in Ezekiel, these represent the instruments of divine judgment against unfaithful Israel.
rasha · Hebrew Adjective
A state of being in opposition to God’s moral standards; those who have turned away from His ways and manifest evil, often characterized by rebellion, injustice, and a lack of fear of the Lord.
chalal · Hebrew Verb
To treat something sacred as common or secular; the act of desecrating or defiling that which has been set apart or consecrated specifically for the worship and presence of God.
panim · Hebrew Noun
Often implies a withdrawal of divine favor, protection, or communion; when God turns His face, it signifies judgment and the removal of His blessing due to persistent rebellion.
segullah · Hebrew Noun
An object or location highly valued by God, specifically set apart for His name; in Ezekiel, it refers to the Temple in Jerusalem, which represented His covenant presence among His people.
Ezekiel's prophecy unfolds during the devastating Babylonian invasions and exiles. The verse directly addresses the plundering of Jerusalem and its sacred Temple by foreign invaders, a horrifying reality for those witnessing or experiencing it, and a stark consequence of Israel's unfaithfulness.
c. 722 BC
Fall of Samaria and the Northern Kingdom
The Assyrian Empire conquers the northern Kingdom of Israel, scattering its people and repopulating the land with foreigners. This event marks a significant step in the disintegration of the divided Israelite kingdoms.
605 BC
First Babylonian Deportation
Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon conquers Judah and deports a group of Israelites, including the prophet Daniel, to Babylon. This marks the beginning of the Babylonian exile.
597 BC— this verse
Second Babylonian Deportation
Babylon deports more Judeans, including King Jehoiachin and the prophet Ezekiel, to Babylon. Jerusalem's temple is plundered but not yet destroyed.
587/586 BC
Destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple
Nebuchadnezzar's forces destroy Jerusalem and its magnificent Temple, ending the southern Kingdom of Judah. The remaining population is exiled to Babylon.
539 BC
Persian Conquest of Babylon
Cyrus the Great of Persia conquers Babylon, paving the way for the eventual return of the Jewish exiles to their homeland.
538 BC
Edict of Cyrus
Cyrus issues a decree allowing the Jewish exiles to return to Judah and rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem, marking the end of the Babylonian exile.
This passage directly describes the Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem and the plundering of the Temple, echoing Ezekiel's prophecy of foreigners taking it as spoil.
Hosea 10:6This verse speaks of an idol being carried away to Assyria as a gift, illustrating the desecration and profaning of sacred objects by foreign powers, similar to what is prophesied for the Temple in Ezekiel.
Isaiah 46:1-2Here, the Babylonians themselves carry their idols, Bel and Nebo, as spoil, demonstrating the ultimate futility of idols and their vulnerability to capture and profanation by conquerors.
2 Chronicles 36:17-19This historical account details the destruction of Jerusalem and its Temple by the Babylonians, showing the fulfillment of prophecies like Ezekiel's concerning the foreigners' desecration of God's holy place.
pooleEzekiel 7:21: "And I will give it into the hands of the strangers for a prey, and to the wicked of the earth for a spoil; and they shall pollute it."
I will give it, my temple, into the hands, power and possession, of the strangers, foreigners, who by direction of my law were excluded coming to it, they now shall enter into it, and take the riches of it as lawful prey. To the wicked: this description of these men, strangers by their distance of place, and the worst of men on earth, by their pro…
gillEzekiel 7:21: "And I will give it into the hands of the strangers for a prey, and to the wicked of the earth for a spoil; and they shall pollute it."
And I will give it into the hands of the strangers for a prey,.... The Babylonians, who lived in a foreign country, and were strangers to the commonwealth of Israel; the temple was suffered of the Lord to fall into their hands as a prey; who spoiled it of all its riches and glory, and carried away the vessels of gold, of silver, and of brass, and…
What's striking here is that God isn't just handing over the Temple; He's giving the profaned objects within it—the idols made from precious metals—to foreigners. This means what Israel thought was valuable and sacred, God now calls "prey" and "spoil" for the wicked, to be treated as utterly common and defiled. Their misuse of holy things will result in those things being treated with ultimate disrespect.
Ezekiel is detailing the utter destruction and desecration that will come upon Jerusalem and its temple as a consequence of Israel's idolatry and wickedness. He has just declared that the people's treasures, particularly their idols made of silver and gold, will be useless against God's wrath. Now, God pronounces that He will hand over His very sanctuary and its sacred furnishings to foreign invaders, who will treat it as mere plunder and defile its holiness.
Ezekiel is detailing the utter destruction and desecration that will come upon Jerusalem and its temple as a consequence of Israel's idolatry and wickedness. He has just declared that the people's treasures, particularly their idols made of silver and gold, will be useless against God's wrath. Now, God pronounces that He will hand over His very sanctuary and its sacred furnishings to foreign invaders, who will treat it as mere plunder and defile its holiness.
"And I will give it into the hands of foreigners for prey, and to the wicked of the earth for spoil, and they shall profane it. I will turn my face from them, and they shall profane my treasured place. Robbers shall enter and profane it." — What's striking here is that God isn't just handing over the Temple; He's giving the profaned objects within it—the idols made from precious metals—to foreigners. This means what Israel thought w…
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Last reviewed October 2026
