9 Now let them put away their prostitution, and the dead bodies of their kings, far from me; and I will dwell in the midst of them forever.
*Minor differences ignored. Grouped by changes, with first version listed as example.
Now let them put away their whoredom - Their idolatry.
And the carcasses of their kings - It appears that God was displeased with their bringing their kings so near his temple. David was buried in the city of David, which was on Mount Zion, near to the temple; and so were almost all the kings of Judah; but God requires that the place of his temple and its vicinity shall be kept unpolluted; and when they put away all kinds of defilement, then will he dwell among them.
Now let them put away their whoredom,.... Idolatry, superstition, and will worship, with which the corrupt church of Rome abounds; and whatever appearance thereof is in the reformed churches:
and the carcasses of their kings far from me; their idols; See Gill on Ezekiel 43:7,
and I will dwell in the midst of them for ever; now though the Jews were never guilty of idolatry after their return from the Babylonish captivity, nor even to this day; yet the Lord has departed from them, and left them to blindness and stupidity, they having rejected the Messiah he sent unto them; which shows that this passage refers not to those times, but to future times; when the whole Israel of God shall be cleared of all corruptions in doctrine and worship, and the Lord will take up his abode with them, and no more depart from them.
carcasses of their kings--It is supposed that some of their idolatrous kings were buried within the bounds of Solomon's temple [HENDERSON]. Rather, "the carcasses of their idols," here called "kings," as having had lordship over them in past times (Isaiah 26:13); but henceforth Jehovah, alone their rightful lord, shall be their king, and the idols that had been their "king" would appear but as "carcasses." Hence these defunct kings are associated with the "high places" in Ezekiel 43:7 [FAIRBAIRN] Leviticus 26:30 and Jeremiah 16:18, confirm this. Manasseh had built altars in the courts of the temple to the host of heaven (2-Kings 21:5; 2-Kings 23:6).
I will dwell in the midst . . . for ever-- (Revelation 21:3).
Far from me - From my temple.
*More commentary available at chapter level.