The Hebrew chaneph means to be polluted, to be profaned, to be godless or hypocritical. The related adjective chaneph describes a godless or hypocritical person — one whose words do not match their heart or actions.
Chaneph conveys the idea of moral and religious pollution — the corruption of what was meant to be holy. It describes the land being defiled by sin (Jeremiah 3:1), a hypocrite whose religion is empty performance (Job 36:13), and the godless who flourish briefly before falling (Job 8:13). The word is a sobering warning against compartmentalized faith — going through religious motions while the heart remains unpurified. Isaiah 9:17 uses it of leaders who lead God's people astray with corrupt mouths. True holiness, by contrast, requires integrity between inner devotion and outward action.