New International Version
Ezekiel 16:4
4On 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.
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.
- 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.
- New Living Translation (NLT)On the day you were born, no one cared about you. Your umbilical cord was not cut, and you were never washed, rubbed with salt, and wrapped in cloth.
Context of Ezekiel 16:4
2“Son of man, confront Jerusalem with her detestable practices 3and say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says to Jerusalem: Your ancestry and birth were in the land of the Canaanites; your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite. 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. 5No one looked on you with pity or had compassion enough to do any of these things for you. Rather, you were thrown out into the open field, for on the day you were born you were despised. 6“ ‘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!”
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
Words taken from the KJV.
- thy nativityמוֹלֶ֫דֶתmôledeth · relativesH4138
- in the dayיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
- thou wast bornיָלַדyâlad · to begetH3205
- thy navelשֹׁרshôr · umbilical cordH8270
- was not cutכָּרַתkârath · to cut: cutH3772
- neither wast thou washedרָחַץrâchats · to wash: washH7364
- in waterמַיmayim · waterH4325
- to suppleמִשְׁעִיmish‛îy · cleansingH4935
- thou wast not saltedמָלַחmâlach · to saltH4414
- nor swaddledחָתַלchâthal · to entwineH2853
Cross-references for Ezekiel 16:4
- Ezekiel 20:8“ ‘But they rebelled against me and would not listen to me; they did not get rid of the vile images they had set their eyes on, nor did they forsake the idols of Egypt. So I said I would pour out my wrath on them and spend my anger against them in Egypt.
- Genesis 15:13Then the Lord said to him, “Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there.
- Exodus 1:11So they put slave masters over them to oppress them with forced labor, and they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh.
- Exodus 2:23During that long period, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God.
- Exodus 5:16Your servants are given no straw, yet we are told, ‘Make bricks!’ 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 Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
- Deuteronomy 15:15Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you. That is why I give you this command today.
- Joshua 24:2Joshua said to all the people, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Long ago your ancestors, including Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the Euphrates River and worshiped other gods.
- Nehemiah 9:7“You are the Lord God, who chose Abram and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans and named him Abraham.
- Hosea 2:3Otherwise I will strip her naked and make her as bare as on the day she was born; I will make her like a desert, turn her into a parched land, and slay her with thirst.
- Acts 7:6God spoke to him in this way: ‘For four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated.
- Lamentations 2:20“Look, Lord, and consider: Whom have you ever treated like this? Should women eat their offspring, the children they have cared for? Should priest and prophet be killed in the sanctuary of the Lord?
- Luke 2:7and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.
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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