Berean Standard Bible
Ezekiel 16:4
4On the day of your birth your cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water for cleansing. You were not rubbed with salt or wrapped in cloths.
Ezekiel 16:4 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And as for thy nativity, in the day thou wast born thy navel was not cut, neither wast thou washed in water to supple thee; thou wast not salted at all, nor swaddled at all.
- New International Version (NIV)On the day you were born your cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water to make you clean, nor were you rubbed with salt or wrapped in cloths.
- English Standard Version (ESV)And as for your birth, on the day you were born your cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water to cleanse you, nor rubbed with salt, nor wrapped in swaddling cloths.
- New King James Version (NKJV)As for your nativity, on the day you were born your navel cord was not cut, nor were you washed in water to cleanse you; you were not rubbed with salt nor wrapped in swaddling cloths.
Context of Ezekiel 16:4
2“Son of man, confront Jerusalem with her abominations 3and tell her that this is what the Lord GOD says to Jerusalem: Your origin and your birth were in the land of the Canaanites. Your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite. On the day of your birth your cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water for cleansing. You were not rubbed with salt or wrapped in cloths. 5No one cared enough for you to do even one of these things out of compassion for you. Instead, you were thrown out into the open field, because you were despised on the day of your birth. 6Then I passed by and saw you wallowing in your blood, and as you lay there in your blood I said to you, ‘Live!’ There I said to you, ‘Live!’
Read all of Ezekiel 16Ezekiel 16:4 word by word
וּמוֹלְדוֹתַ֗יִךְ בְּי֨וֹם הוּלֶּ֤דֶת אֹתָךְ֙ לֹֽא־כָרַּ֣ת שָׁרֵּ֔ךְ וּבְמַ֥יִם לֹֽא־רֻחַ֖צְתְּ לְמִשְׁעִ֑י וְהָמְלֵ֙חַ֙ לֹ֣א הֻמְלַ֔חַתְּ וְהָחְתֵּ֖ל לֹ֥א חֻתָּֽלְתְּ׃Read the interlinear
- On the dayיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
- of your birthמוֹלֶ֫דֶתmôledeth · relativesH4138
- ·יָלַדyâlad · to begetH3205
- your cordשֹׁרshôr · umbilical cordH8270
- was notלֹאlô' lô' lôh · notH3808
- cutכָּרַתkârath · to cut: cutH3772
- ·אֵת'êth · [Obj.]H853
- were you washedרָחַץrâchats · to wash: washH7364
- with waterמַיmayim · waterH4325
- for cleansingמִשְׁעִיmish‛îy · cleansingH4935
- rubbed with saltמָלַחmâlach · to dissipateH4414
- or wrapped in clothsחָתַלchâthal · to entwineH2853
Cross-references for Ezekiel 16:4
- Ezekiel 20:8But they rebelled against Me and refused to listen. None of them cast away the abominations before their eyes, and they did not forsake the idols of Egypt. So I resolved to pour out My wrath upon them and vent My anger against them in the land of Egypt.
- Genesis 15:13Then the LORD said to Abram, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years.
- Exodus 1:11So the Egyptians appointed taskmasters over the Israelites to oppress them with forced labor. As a result, they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh.
- Exodus 2:23After a long time, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned and cried out under their burden of slavery, and their cry for deliverance from bondage ascended to God.
- Exodus 5:16No straw has been given to your servants, yet we are told, ‘Make bricks!’ Look, your servants are being beaten, but the fault is with your own people.”
- Deuteronomy 5:6“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
- Deuteronomy 15:15Remember that you were slaves in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God redeemed you; that is why I am giving you this command today.
- Joshua 24:2And Joshua said to all the people, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Long ago your fathers, including Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the Euphrates and worshiped other gods.
- Nehemiah 9:7You are the LORD, the God who chose Abram, who brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans and gave him the name Abraham.
- Hosea 2:3Otherwise, I will strip her naked and expose her like the day of her birth. I will make her like a desert and turn her into a parched land, and I will let her die of thirst.
- Acts 7:6God told him that his descendants would be foreigners in a strange land, and that they would be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years.
- Lamentations 2:20Look, O LORD, and consider: Whom have You ever treated like this? Should women eat their offspring, the infants they have nurtured? Should priests and prophets be killed in the sanctuary of the Lord?
- Luke 2:7And she gave birth to her firstborn, a Son. She wrapped Him in swaddling cloths and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
Commentaries on Ezekiel 16:4
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4As for thy nativity, etc. - This verse refers to what is ordinarily done for every infant on its birth. The umbilical cord, by which it received all its nourishment while in the womb, being no longer necessary, is cut at a certain distance from the abdomen: on this part a knot is tied, which firmly uniting the sides of the tubes, they coalesce, and incarnate together. The extra part of the cord on the outside of the ligature, being cut off from the…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4To supple thee - i. e., to cleanse thee.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4-5Jerusalem’s parents are described as cruel and uncaring. They did not care for her when she was born. They did not do the normal things people did to help a newborn baby. Usually, someone cut the umbilical cord. They washed the baby. They rubbed salt and oil on the child’s skin to clean and protect her. Then they wrapped the baby tightly in cloth to keep her warm and safe. But none of this happened to Jerusalem. Instead, she was thrown into an open field…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. Israel's helplessness in her first struggling into national existence, under the image of an infant (Ho 2:3) cast forth without receiving the commonest acts of parental regard. Its very life was a miracle (Ex 1:15-22). navel ... not cut--Without proper attention to the navel cord, the infant just born is liable to die. neither ... washed in water to supple thee--that is, to make the skin soft. Rather, "for purification"; from an Arabic root [Maurer]…Read the comment
Topics related to Ezekiel 16:4
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Ezekiel 16
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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