Ezekiel 23:35
““Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: ‘Because you have forgotten me, and cast me behind your back, therefore you also bear your lewdness and your prostitution.’””
What does Ezekiel 23:35 mean?
God is speaking to Jerusalem through the prophet Ezekiel, using the painful metaphor of unfaithfulness to describe how the people have turned away from him and toward other nations and their gods. When he says they've "cast me behind your back," he's describing a deliberate turning away, as if God isn't even worth looking at anymore. The consequence he names isn't punishment handed down arbitrarily, but rather the natural result of their choices: when you abandon the source of your security and protection, you become vulnerable to exploitation and harm. The language is difficult because Ezekiel's original audience needed to feel the weight of what their spiritual betrayal had cost them, both nationally and personally.