Jeremiah 32:34-35
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This verse highlights a profound violation: the people placed their detestable idols within the very house designated for God's name. This wasn't just desecration; it was an audacious claim, turning the place of divine presence into a stage for their shame.
They set up their abominations in the house that is called by my name, to defile it. They built the high places of Baal in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, to offer up their sons and daughters to Molech, though I did not command them, nor did it enter into my mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.
English Standard Version (ESV)
This passage occurs within a larger prophecy where Jeremiah is commanded to buy a field, symbolizing future hope and restoration for Judah, even amidst impending judgment. The people have previously committed the grievous sin of setting up detestable idols and practicing child sacrifice in the very Temple meant for God's worship. This desecration of His holy house is a profound insult that underscores the depth of their rebellion and the reasons for the coming devastation.
Imagine the most sacred place you know being used for something utterly repulsive. That's the picture Jeremiah paints, but with a divine anger behind it.
The prophet uses the word 'abominations' to describe the idols and practices the people brought into the Temple. This isn't just a casual offense; 'abomination' is a strong term, indicating something that is detestable and revolting to God. These weren't just foreign objects; they represented worship directed away from the Lord, a betrayal of the covenant.:
A Royal Betrayal
The idols set up were not minor infractions. They were linked to deities like Baal and Molech, associated with Canaanite worship that often involved child sacrifice and sun-god reverence. Placing these in the Temple, the very place where God's name dwelled, was the ultimate act of defiance and desecration. It was like spitting in God's face in His own home.
What does it truly mean for something to be 'defiled,' especially when it concerns God's dwelling place?
The verse emphasizes that setting up these idols was not merely an inconvenience but a deliberate act 'to defile it' – to make it impure and unacceptable to God. The Temple was meant to be a place of holiness, set apart for God's presence and worship. By introducing objects of false worship, they corrupted its sacred purpose.
More Than Just Messy
This defilement wasn't just about physical dirt or disorder. It was a spiritual contamination. It signified that God's people had turned their hearts and loyalties away from Him. The presence of idols in the Temple represented the people's spiritual adultery, a violation of their exclusive covenant relationship with the Lord.
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Understand the original words
shiqquts · Hebrew Noun
Abominations refer to practices, objects, or idols that are morally repulsive to God and violate His holiness. In the Old Testament, the term is frequently associated with idolatry and pagan practices that corrupt true worship.
tame' · Hebrew Verb
To defile is to make something unclean or common, stripping it of its sacred, set-apart status. When applied to the house of God, it signifies the desecration of His dwelling place through unholy actions.
bamah · Hebrew Noun
High places were elevated sites, often natural or constructed mounds, used for religious worship. While originally meant for God, they became centers for idolatrous worship and syncretism in Israel’s history.
Ba'al · Hebrew Noun
Baal was the primary storm and fertility god of the Canaanite pantheon. Worship of Baal represented a major spiritual snare for Israel, as it involved ritualized immorality and the abandonment of Yahweh.
Molek · Hebrew Noun
Molech was an Ammonite deity associated with child sacrifice. Scripture consistently identifies the sacrifice of children to Molech as one of the most heinous abominations against the God of Israel.
chata' · Hebrew Verb
Sin is the failure to conform to the moral law of God in act, attitude, or nature. It is characterized by rebellion, missing the mark of righteousness, and a turning away from the Creator.
This verse isn't just a general condemnation of idolatry; it points to a specific historical horror: the defilement of God's own Temple with abominable practices, likely occurring during the final, devastating years of Judah's existence before the Babylonian exile.
c. 900-800 BC
Introduction of Canaanite Worship
Canaanite deities like Baal and Molech, often associated with child sacrifice, become integrated into Israelite worship, particularly during periods of weak leadership.
c. 730-701 BC
Hezekiah's Reforms
King Hezekiah attempts to purify Judah's worship, removing high places and idols, though some scholars suggest idolatry persisted or returned.
c. 640-609 BC
Manasseh's Idolatry
King Manasseh reintroduces pagan worship and even performs child sacrifice, setting up idols within the Temple itself, a stark contrast to God's commands.
605 BC
First Deportation to Babylon
Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon conquers Jerusalem, exiling some of the royal family and elite, marking the beginning of the end for the Southern Kingdom.
597 BC
Second Deportation to Babylon
Another wave of exiles, including the prophet Ezekiel, are taken to Babylon following a rebellion against Babylonian rule.
c. 587-586 BC
Destruction of Jerusalem and Temple
Nebuchadnezzar's forces finally destroy Jerusalem and its magnificent Temple, scattering the people and ending the Davidic monarchy.
c. 587-586 BC— this verse
Idols Defile the Temple
During the lead-up to and likely at the time of Jerusalem's destruction, idolatrous practices, including those associated with Molech, are set up within the Temple courts, seen as an ultimate act of desecration.
This passage vividly describes Ezekiel's vision of the abominations defiling the very temple in Jerusalem, mirroring Jeremiah's accusation that God's house was being corrupted by idols and illicit worship.
Jeremiah 7:30-31These verses are a near-verbatim repetition, highlighting the persistent and severe sin of placing detestable idols and practicing child sacrifice in the Lord's temple.
2 Kings 23:11-12This passage records King Josiah's zealous efforts to cleanse the temple by removing the abominations and idols that had been set up, illustrating the historical reality of this defilement.
Romans 12:1Paul urges believers to present their bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God, contrasting with the defiling sacrifices mentioned in Jeremiah and emphasizing that our bodies, like the temple, are meant for God's purposes.
barnesJeremiah 32:34: "But they set their abominations in the house, which is called by my name, to defile it."
These verses are repeated from Jeremiah 7:30-31 , but with two important variations. Baal is put for Tophet, and to Molech instead of in the fire. Molech the king and Baal the lord are different names of the sun-god, but in altered relations. Molech is the sun as the mighty fire, which in passing through the signs of the Zodiac burns up its own children. It is an old Canaanite worship, carr…
pooleJeremiah 32:34: "But they set their abominations in the house, which is called by my name, to defile it."
Their abominations; their idols, which above all things the jealous God abhorreth, and therefore he calleth them abominations, in the abstract, for abominable things, Deu 32:16 1 Kings 11:5 2 Kings 23:13 . In the house which is called by my name; that is, in the temple, which was ordinarily called the house of the Lord, and the temple of the Lord.
This verse highlights a profound violation: the people placed their detestable idols within the very house designated for God's name. This wasn't just desecration; it was an audacious claim, turning the place of divine presence into a stage for their shame.
This passage occurs within a larger prophecy where Jeremiah is commanded to buy a field, symbolizing future hope and restoration for Judah, even amidst impending judgment. The people have previously committed the grievous sin of setting up detestable idols and practicing child sacrifice in the very Temple meant for God's worship. This desecration of His holy house is a profound insult that underscores the depth of their rebellion and the reasons for the coming devastation.
This passage occurs within a larger prophecy where Jeremiah is commanded to buy a field, symbolizing future hope and restoration for Judah, even amidst impending judgment. The people have previously committed the grievous sin of setting up detestable idols and practicing child sacrifice in the very Temple meant for God's worship. This desecration of His holy house is a profound insult that underscores the depth of their rebellion and the reasons for the coming devastation.
"They set up their abominations in the house that is called by my name, to defile it. They built the high places of Baal in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, to offer up their sons and daughters to Molech, though I did not command them, nor…" — This verse highlights a profound violation: the people placed their detestable idols within the very house designated for God's name. This wasn't just desecration; it was an audacious claim, turning…
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Last reviewed October 2026
