Ezekiel 36:17

Son of man, when the house of Israel dwelt in their own land, they defiled it by their own way and by their doings: their way was before me as the uncleanness of a removed woman.

Cross-reference

Ezekiel 36:25 promises cleansing from all uncleanness—the direct reversal of the defilement described in verse 17.

Ezekiel 33:29 says the land became desolate because of abominations—the same reason for defilement in 36:17.

Leviticus 18:24 warns against defiling the land like the nations — in Ezekiel 36:17, Israel is guilty of that same defilement.

Numbers 35:33 Historical context

In Numbers 35:33, bloodshed is specified as polluting the land, giving a concrete example of the defilement described here.

Numbers 35:34 Historical context

Numbers 35:34 adds that because God dwells in the land, defiling it is an offense against His presence, deepening the reason for impurity.

Jeremiah 16:18 says Israel polluted God's land with the carcasses of detestable idols, providing another specific example of defilement.

Psalm 106:38 explicitly states that the land was polluted with the blood of sacrificed children, directly echoing the defilement theme.

Jeremiah 3:9 states Israel polluted the land by committing adultery with stone and tree, linking idolatry to land defilement.

Jeremiah 3:2 explicitly says Israel polluted the land with whoredom and wickedness, a close parallel to the defilement by ways and deeds.

Jeremiah 2:7 directly says Israel defiled God's land and made it an abomination, nearly identical to the charge in Ezekiel.

Jeremiah 3:1 uses adultery as a metaphor for polluting the land, reinforcing the idea that covenant unfaithfulness defiles.

Leviticus 18:25 states the land is defiled by sin and vomits out its inhabitants—the same dynamic Ezekiel applies to Israel.

In Zechariah 13:1, a fountain for cleansing from sin and uncleanness is promised, directly opposing the defilement described here.

Leviticus 18:28 warns that defiling the land causes it to vomit out the people—exactly what Ezekiel says happened to Israel.

Isaiah 64:6 Allusion

Isaiah 64:6 compares human righteousness to 'filthy rags' (menstrual cloths), echoing Ezekiel's uncleanliness image for sin.

Psalm 106:37 recounts child sacrifice to demons, a specific heinous deed that illustrates the kind of defiling behavior Israel committed.

Isaiah 24:5 Parallel

Isaiah 24:5 describes the whole earth as defiled by law-breaking, paralleling the idea that sin pollutes the land Israel inhabited.

2 Chronicles 7:22 also attributes disaster to forsaking God—the same underlying cause of Israel's defilement.

1 Kings 9:9 Parallel

1 Kings 9:9 cites forsaking God as the reason for exile—the root cause behind the land's defilement in Ezekiel.

Micah 2:10 Parallel

Micah 2:10 also speaks of uncleanness making the land no place to rest—the same theme of defilement leading to exile.