39For when they had slaughtered their children for their idols, on the same day they came into my sanctuary to profane it. This is what they did in my house.
The Hebrew, Greek, Ge’ez, and Latin that is translated as “idol(s)” in English is translated in Central Subanen as ledawan or “images” (source: Robert Brichoux in OPTAT 1988/2, p. 80ff. ) and in Cherokee “imaginary gods” (source: Bender / Belt 2025, p. 16).
In German, typically the term Götze is used. Originally this was used as a term of endearment for Gott (“God” — see here ), later for “icon” and “image, likeness.” Luther started to use it in the 16th century in the meaning of “false god, idol.” Other terms that are used in German include Götzenbild(er) (“image[s] of idols”) or Bildnis (“image” — Protestant) / Kultbild (“cultish image” — Catholic) (used for instance in Exodus 20:4 and Deuteronomy 5:8). The latest revision of the Catholic Einheitsübersetzung (publ. 2016) also uses the neologism Nichtse (“nothings”) in 1 Chron. 16:26 and Psalm 96:5. (Source: Zetzsche)
The Hebrew, Greek, Ge’ez, and Latin that is translated as “sanctuary” in English is translated in the Contemporary Chichewa translation (2002/2016) with opatulika or “separated place.” This is understood in a religious setup as a place designated for worship. (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Ezekiel 23:39:
Kupsabiny: “On that same day when they killed their children to make them sacrifices to those idols, they came to enter that house of mine to defile it!” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “Aside from that, they still defiled my temple and the Day For-Resting which I caused- them -to-be-followed. On the day they offered their children to their little-gods, they entered my temple, and that even on the Day For-Resting.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “On the same day that they sacrificed their children to their idols, they entered my temple, which caused it to be an unacceptable place for worshiping me.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
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Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between.
One way Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the choice of a first person singular and plural pronoun (“I” and “we” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The most commonly used watashi/watakushi (私) is typically used when the speaker is humble and asking for help. In these verses, where God / Jesus is referring to himself, watashi is also used but instead of the kanji writing system (私) the syllabary hiragana (わたし) is used to distinguish God from others.
Moreover this they have done to me means the sisters had done more sins than those mentioned in the previous verse. Good News Translation says “And that is not all they did,” and New Jerusalem Bible has “And here is something else they have done to me.”
They have defiled my sanctuary on the same day and profaned my sabbaths: They have defiled my sanctuary means they made the Temple ritually unclean (see 5.11). Translators may say “They made my Temple unfit for worship.” Profaned my sabbaths means they destroyed the holiness of the Sabbath days, which God had set aside as sacred days of rest (see 20.13). They did this by breaking the laws of the Sabbath that God had given. Good News Translation says “broke the Sabbath, which I had established,” and Contemporary English Version has “stopped respecting the Sabbath.” On the same day connects the pollution of the Temple and the Sabbath with the adultery and murder of verse 37.
For when they had slaughtered their children in sacrifice to their idols, on the same day they came into my sanctuary to profane it: This sentence shows that the sisters were entering the Temple while they were ritually unclean from their false worship and child sacrifices. That made the Temple unclean. The repetition of on the same day shows that there was a close connection between these sins. Translators need not to repeat this phrase as long as this close connection is kept in some way. They may follow the requirements of their own languages.
And lo, this is what they did in my house: Lo renders the Hebrew particle hinneh. Here it emphasizes the seriousness and horror of the sisters’ sins. This is what they did in my house repeats the idea occurring at the beginning of verse 38. By repeating it God emphasizes that the sins of the sisters were terrible. Translators should look for ways to heighten the sense of God’s disgust and horror at the actions of the two sisters. My house refers to the Temple in Jerusalem.
The similarity of content between these two verses means that it is acceptable to abbreviate the text. Contemporary English Version provides a good model by combining them as follows: “They came into my temple that same day, and that made it unfit as a place to worship me. They have even stopped respecting the Sabbath.” Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch (1982) is similar with “And even on the same day that they had killed their children, they came into my Temple. Thus they polluted my house. And they have dishonored the Sabbath, my rest-day.” Here is another model for combining these two verses:
• And here is something else that they did to me: on the very day that they killed their children as sacrifices to their idols, they entered my Temple and thus made it unfit for my worship. And they also stopped respecting the day of rest that I had given them to honor me. Yes, it is true, this is what they did in my Temple.
Quoted with permission from Gross, Carl & Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on Ezekiel. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
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