New International Version
Ezekiel 16:38
38I will sentence you to the punishment of women who commit adultery and who shed blood; I will bring on you the blood vengeance of my wrath and jealous anger.
Ezekiel 16:38 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And I will judge thee, as women that break wedlock and shed blood are judged; and I will give thee blood in fury and jealousy.
- English Standard Version (ESV)And I will judge you as women who commit adultery and shed blood are judged, and bring upon you the blood of wrath and jealousy.
- New King James Version (NKJV)And I will judge you as women who break wedlock or shed blood are judged; I will bring blood upon you in fury and jealousy.
- New Living Translation (NLT)I will punish you for your murder and adultery. I will cover you with blood in my jealous fury.
Context of Ezekiel 16:38
36This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because you poured out your lust and exposed your naked body in your promiscuity with your lovers, and because of all your detestable idols, and because you gave them your children’s blood, 37therefore I am going to gather all your lovers, with whom you found pleasure, those you loved as well as those you hated. I will gather them against you from all around and will strip you in front of them, and they will see you stark naked. I will sentence you to the punishment of women who commit adultery and who shed blood; I will bring on you the blood vengeance of my wrath and jealous anger. 39Then I will deliver you into the hands of your lovers, and they will tear down your mounds and destroy your lofty shrines. They will strip you of your clothes and take your fine jewelry and leave you stark naked. 40They will bring a mob against you, who will stone you and hack you to pieces with their swords.
Read all of Ezekiel 16Ezekiel 16:38 word by word
וּשְׁפַטְתִּיךְ֙ מִשְׁפְּטֵ֣י נֹאֲפ֔וֹת וְשֹׁפְכֹ֖ת דָּ֑ם וּנְתַתִּ֕יךְ דַּ֥ם חֵמָ֖ה וְקִנְאָֽה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And I will judgeשָׁפַטshâphaţ · to judgeH8199
- thee, as women that break wedlockנָאַףnâ'aph · to commit adulteryH5003
- and shedשָׁפַךְshâphak · to pour: killH8210
- bloodדָּםdâm · bloodH1818
- are judgedמִשְׁפָּטmishpâţ · justice: judgementH4941
- and I will giveנָתַןnâthan · to give: giveH5414
- in furyחֵמָהchêmâh chêmâ' · rageH2534
- and jealousyקִנְאָהqin'âh · jealousyH7068
Cross-references for Ezekiel 16:38
- Ezekiel 16:40They will bring a mob against you, who will stone you and hack you to pieces with their swords.
- Ezekiel 23:45But righteous judges will sentence them to the punishment of women who commit adultery and shed blood, because they are adulterous and blood is on their hands.
- Genesis 38:11Judah then said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, “Live as a widow in your father’s household until my son Shelah grows up.” For he thought, “He may die too, just like his brothers.” So Tamar went to live in her father’s household.
- Leviticus 20:10“ ‘If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife—with the wife of his neighbor—both the adulterer and the adulteress are to be put to death.
- Deuteronomy 22:22If a man is found sleeping with another man’s wife, both the man who slept with her and the woman must die. You must purge the evil from Israel.
- Matthew 1:18This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.
- John 8:3The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group
- Ezekiel 16:20“ ‘And you took your sons and daughters whom you bore to me and sacrificed them as food to the idols. Was your prostitution not enough?
- Genesis 9:6“Whoever sheds human blood, by humans shall their blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made mankind.
- Exodus 21:12“Anyone who strikes a person with a fatal blow is to be put to death.
- Numbers 35:31“ ‘Do not accept a ransom for the life of a murderer, who deserves to die. They are to be put to death.
- Psalms 79:3They have poured out blood like water all around Jerusalem, and there is no one to bury the dead.
- Jeremiah 18:21So give their children over to famine; hand them over to the power of the sword. Let their wives be made childless and widows; let their men be put to death, their young men slain by the sword in battle.
- Zephaniah 1:17“I will bring such distress on all people that they will grope about like those who are blind, because they have sinned against the Lord. Their blood will be poured out like dust and their entrails like dung.
- Nahum 1:2The Lord is a jealous and avenging God; the Lord takes vengeance and is filled with wrath. The Lord takes vengeance on his foes and vents his wrath against his enemies.
- Revelation 16:6for they have shed the blood of your holy people and your prophets, and you have given them blood to drink as they deserve.”
Commentaries on Ezekiel 16:38
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 35-43Verses 35-43 Judah is now represented as undergoing the punishment adjudged to an adulteress and murderess. Only in her utter destruction shall the wrath of the Lord, the jealous God, cease. Ezekiel 16:36 Filthiness - Or, brass, i. e., money, is lavished. The Hebrews generally speak of money as gold Isaiah 46:6, but brass coins were not unknown in the time of the Maccabees. Compare Matthew 10:9; Mark 12:41. Ezekiel may here have put brass for gold…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 35-38Because Jerusalem acted like an unfaithful spouse, it was appropriate for her to face a similar punishment. God would symbolically strip her of her dignity, reversing the marriage metaphor of being clothed (see Ezekiel 16:8; Hosea 2:2–3). Then the people would stone her (Leviticus 20:10; Deuteronomy 22:22). Since this would cover her naked body with blood, she would leave the world just as she came into it. This metaphor was fulfilled when the Babylonians…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 38-4038-40. judge thee, as women that break wedlock--(Le 20:10; compare Eze 16:2). In the case of individual adulteresses, stoning was the penalty (Joh 8:4, 5). In the case of communities, the sword. Also apostasy (De 13:10) and sacrificing children to Molech (Le 20:1-5) incurred stoning. Thus the penalty was doubly due to Israel; so the other which was decreed against an apostate city (De 13:15, 16) is added, "they shall stone thee with stones and thrust thee…Read the comment
Topics related to Ezekiel 16:38
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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