Ezekiel 22:11 Meaning and Explanation
“And one hath committed abomination with his neighbour’s wife; and another hath lewdly defiled his daughter in law; and another in thee hath humbled his sister, his father’s daughter.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →The verse is painful to read because it speaks of betrayal where trust ought to be especially protected. Ezekiel includes these acts in Jerusalem's indictment to show that idolatry and public injustice had also entered the most intimate parts of communal life.
Ezekiel names grave sexual sins within Jerusalem, including adultery and violations of close family bonds. The verse shows how deeply the city had dishonored covenant faithfulness, households, and the dignity of persons.
The Context of Ezekiel 22:11
Ezekiel 22 records the Lord's charges against Jerusalem, the bloody city. After condemning violence, oppression, contempt for parents, profanation of holy things, and corrupt practices, the chapter turns to sexual sins in verses 10-11. Verse 10 already mentions violations involving a father's wife and a woman set apart for pollution. Verse 11 adds adultery with a neighbor's wife, defilement of a daughter in law, and sexual humiliation of a sister. Verse 12 continues with blood money, usury, extortion, and forgetfulness of God. The list portrays many forms of covenant unfaithfulness within one city.
What Does Ezekiel 22:11 Mean?
The verse speaks in the singular, "one," "another," and "another," yet its repeated wording presents a pattern widespread in Jerusalem. "Abomination" describes conduct the Lord has declared profoundly contrary to his holiness. The neighbor's wife is named because adultery wounds a marriage covenant and violates the trust between neighbors. The daughter in law and sister are named because family relationships carry obligations of protection, honor, and proper boundaries. The KJV phrase "hath humbled" identifies an act that degrades and violates rather than honoring the person involved. Ezekiel does not treat these matters as private concerns beyond God's sight. The Lord judges actions that corrupt marriage, kinship, and the safety of the household.
These accusations stand beside oppression, bribery, violence, and robbery throughout the chapter. Their placement matters. Scripture's vision of faithfulness embraces worship, public justice, economic dealings, and bodily life together. Jerusalem had despised God's holy things, and that contempt bore fruit in relationships where people were meant to live with reverence and restraint. The law given to Israel addressed sexual conduct because bodies, marriages, and families belonged within the life of a people called to be holy before the Lord. Ezekiel's plain language refuses concealment. Naming evil truthfully is part of judgment, and it also preserves God's concern for those who have been betrayed, exploited, or made ashamed by another's sin.
The New Testament continues this concern by calling God's people to honor marriage and to pursue holiness in bodily life. Christ's teaching treats adultery as a matter reaching into the heart, where desire may already be turned toward possession and unfaithfulness. At the same time, his dealings with wounded and sinful people are marked by truth and mercy. Ezekiel 22:11 therefore calls for neither silence nor harsh curiosity. It calls us to receive God's moral seriousness, to honor the relationships he has given, and to seek healing, protection, repentance, and faithful restoration wherever sin has brought harm.
Bible Verses Related to Ezekiel 22:11
“Moreover thou shalt not lie carnally with thy neighbour’s wife, to defile thyself with her.”
- Leviticus 18:20
“Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father’s sister: she is thy father’s near kinswoman.”
- Leviticus 18:12
“Yet ye say, Wherefore? Because the LORD hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt treacherously: yet is she thy companion, and the wife of thy covenant.”
- Malachi 2:14
“But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.”
- Matthew 5:28
Where Ezekiel 22:11 Echoes in Scripture
Jesus' words in Matthew 5:27-28 form an important later echo of this verse's concern with adultery. In the Sermon on the Mount, he carries God's command into the realm of the heart and its desires. His teaching does not lessen Ezekiel's condemnation of outward betrayal; it shows the inward source from which unfaithful acts grow and calls for a deeper purity before God.
How to Apply Ezekiel 22:11 Today
This passage encourages homes and communities where trust can be protected rather than concealed. We can speak and act in ways that honor spouses, family members, and neighbors as persons made for faithful relationships before God. Those carrying the effects of sexual betrayal or abuse deserve patient care, truthful listening, and safety. The verse also calls us to examine habits of speech, entertainment, secrecy, and desire that can train the heart toward using others. Repentance includes bringing hidden wrongdoing into the light, seeking help where needed, making truthful confession, and pursuing conduct that gives dignity and security to others.
Reflection & Prayer
What relationships has God placed near us that call for greater honor, honesty, and protective care? We might pray: "Holy Lord, cleanse our hearts and order our loves. Guard the vulnerable, bring truth into hidden places, and teach us faithfulness in our homes and every relationship."