Ezekiel 36:25

25 1I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from 2all your uncleannesses, and 3from all your idols 4I will cleanse you.

Ezekiel 36:25 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 36:25

Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you
Not baptismal water, as Jerom; an ordinance indeed of the Gospel, and to which the Jews will submit when converted; and which is performed by water, but not by sprinkling, nor does it cleanse from sin; and is administered by men, and is not an operation of God, as this is: rather the regenerating grace of the Spirit; though this does not purify from all sin, and besides is intended in the next verse: it seems best to understand it of the blood of Christ, the blood of sprinkling, and of justification from sin, and pardon of it by it; so Kimchi and Jarchi interpret of purification by atonement; and the Targum is,

``I will forgive your sins, as one is cleansed by the water of sprinkling, and the ashes of a heifer, which is for a sin offering:''
and ye shall be clean from all your filthiness, and from all your idols
will I cleanse you;
the blood of Christ cleanses from all sin; by it men are justified from all things, and are made perfectly pure and spotless in the sight of God; they are cleansed from original sin, the pollution of their nature; from all actual sins and transgressions, which are very defiling; from sins of heart, lip, and life; even from such as are idols, set up in the heart, and served.

Ezekiel 36:25 In-Context

23 And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am the LORD, declares the Lord GOD, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes.
24 I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land.
25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you.
26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.

Cross References 4

  • 1. [Isaiah 52:15; Hebrews 10:22]
  • 2. Isaiah 4:4; [ver. 17]
  • 3. Ezekiel 37:23
  • 4. Jeremiah 33:8
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.