God’s Word Translation
Ezekiel 16:6
6“ ‘Then I went by you and saw you kicking around in your own blood. I said to you, “Live.”
Ezekiel 16:6 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And when I passed by thee, and saw thee polluted in thine own blood, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live; yea, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live.
- New International Version (NIV)“ ‘Then I passed by and saw you kicking about in your blood, and as you lay there in your blood I said to you, “Live!”
- English Standard Version (ESV)"And when I passed by you and saw you wallowing in your blood, I said to you in your blood, 'Live!' I said to you in your blood, 'Live!'
- New King James Version (NKJV)“And when I passed by you and saw you struggling in your own blood, I said to you in your blood, ‘Live!’ Yes, I said to you in your blood, ‘Live!’
Context of Ezekiel 16:6
4When you were born, your umbilical cord wasn’t cut. You weren’t washed with water to make you clean. You weren’t rubbed with salt or wrapped in cloth. 5No one who saw you felt sorry enough for you to do any of these things. But you were thrown into an open field. You were rejected when you were born. “ ‘Then I went by you and saw you kicking around in your own blood. I said to you, “Live.” 7I made you grow like a plant in the field. You grew up, matured, and became a young woman. Your breasts developed, and your hair grew. Yet, you were naked and bare. 8“ ‘I went by you again and looked at you. You were old enough to make love to. So I spread my robe over you, and covered your naked body. I promised to love you, and I exchanged marriage vows with you. You became mine, declares the Almighty Lord.
Read all of Ezekiel 16Ezekiel 16:6 word by word
וָאֶעֱבֹ֤ר עָלַ֙יִךְ֙ וָֽאֶרְאֵ֔ךְ מִתְבּוֹסֶ֖סֶת בְּדָמָ֑יִךְ וָאֹ֤מַר לָךְ֙ בְּדָמַ֣יִךְ חֲיִ֔י וָאֹ֥מַר לָ֖ךְ בְּדָמַ֥יִךְ חֲיִֽי׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Ezekiel 16:6
- Exodus 2:24God heard their groaning, and he remembered his promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
- Exodus 3:7The Lord said, “I have seen the misery of my people in Egypt, and I have heard them crying out because of the slave drivers. I know how much they’re suffering.
- Acts 7:34I’ve seen how my people are mistreated in Egypt. I’ve heard their groaning and have come to rescue them. So now I’m sending you to Egypt.’
- Isaiah 14:19But you are thrown out of your tomb like a rejected branch. You are covered with those who were killed in battle. You go down to the stones of the pit like a trampled corpse.
- Isaiah 51:23I will put it in the hands of those who made you suffer. They said to you, “Lie down so that we can walk over you.” So you made your back like the ground and like a street for them to cross.
- Micah 7:10Then my enemies will see this, and they will be covered with shame, because they asked me, “Where is the Lord your God?” Now I look at them. They are trampled like mud in the streets.
- Matthew 5:13“You are salt for the earth. But if salt loses its taste, how will it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled on by people.
- Hebrews 10:29What do you think a person who shows no respect for the Son of God deserves? That person looks at the blood of the promise (the blood that made him holy) as no different from other people’s blood, and he insults the Spirit that God gave us out of his kindness. He deserves a much worse punishment.
- Revelation 14:20The grapes were trampled in the winepress outside the city. Blood flowed out of the winepress as high as a horse’s bridle for 1,600 stadia.
- Ezekiel 20:5Tell them, ‘This is what the Almighty Lord says: When I chose Israel, I raised my hand and swore an oath to the descendants of Jacob’s family. I made myself known to them in Egypt. I made a promise to them and said, “I am the Lord your God.”
- Exodus 19:4‘You have seen for yourselves what I did to Egypt and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to my mountain.
- Deuteronomy 9:4When the Lord your God expels these people in front of you, don’t say to yourselves, “Because we’ve been living right, the Lord brought us here to take possession of this land.” No, it’s because these nations are so wicked that the Lord is forcing them out of your way.
- Psalms 105:10He confirmed it as a law for Jacob, as an everlasting promise to Israel,
- John 5:25“I can guarantee this truth: A time is coming (and is now here) when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who respond to it will live.
- Romans 9:15For example, God said to Moses, “I will be kind to anyone I want to. I will be merciful to anyone I want to.”
- Ephesians 2:4But God is rich in mercy because of his great love for us.
Commentaries on Ezekiel 16:6
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 6I said - Live - I received the exposed child from the death that awaited it, while in such a state as rendered it at once an object of horror, and also of compassion. - Modo primos Edere vagitus, et adhuc a matre rubentem.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 6Or, Then I passed by thee and I said. Polluted - wallowing, “treading upon oneself.” In thy blood - may be connected either with “I said” or with “Live.” In the latter case, the state of blood and defilement is made the very cause of life, because it called forth the pity of Him who gave life. Since in the Mosaic Law “blood” was especially defiling, so was it also the special instrument of purification.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 6-7Jerusalem was helpless and close to death. She had no one to protect her. At that moment, the Lord stepped in and spoke a life-giving word. Without his word, she would have died. The Lord did not owe this abandoned child anything. Many other children in the ancient world were left to die. He was not required to rescue her. But because of his grace and mercy (his undeserved kindness and compassion), he chose to save her. The Lord did more than keep her…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 66. when I passed by--as if a traveller. polluted in ... blood--but Piscator, "ready to be trodden on." I said--In contrast to Israel's helplessness stands God's omnipotent word of grace which bids the outcast little one "live." in thy blood--Though thou wast foul with blood, I said, "Live" [Grotius]. "Live in thy blood," that is, Live, but live a life exposed to many deaths, as was the case in the beginnings of Israel's national existence, in order to…Read the comment
Topics related to Ezekiel 16:6
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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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