New King James Version
Ezekiel 16:38
38And I will judge you as women who break wedlock or shed blood are judged; I will bring blood upon you in fury and jealousy.
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.
- New International Version (NIV)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.
- 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 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
36Thus says the Lord God: “Because your filthiness was poured out and your nakedness uncovered in your harlotry with your lovers, and with all your abominable idols, and because of the blood of your children which you gave to them, 37surely, therefore, I will gather all your lovers with whom you took pleasure, all those you loved, and all those you hated; I will gather them from all around against you and will uncover your nakedness to them, that they may see all your nakedness. 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. 39I will also give you into their hand, and they shall throw down your shrines and break down your high places. They shall also strip you of your clothes, take your beautiful jewelry, and leave you naked and bare. 40“They shall also bring up an assembly against you, and they shall stone you with stones and thrust you through 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 16:40“They shall also bring up an assembly against you, and they shall stone you with stones and thrust you through with their swords.
- Ezekiel 23:45But righteous men will judge them after the manner of adulteresses, and after the manner of women who shed blood, because they are adulteresses, and blood is on their hands.
- Genesis 38:11Then Judah said to Tamar his daughter-in-law, “Remain a widow in your father’s house till my son Shelah is grown.” For he said, “Lest he also die like his brothers.” And Tamar went and dwelt in her father’s house.
- Leviticus 20:10‘The man who commits adultery with another man’s wife, he who commits adultery with his neighbor’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress, shall surely be put to death.
- Deuteronomy 22:22“If a man is found lying with a woman married to a husband, then both of them shall die—the man that lay with the woman, and the woman; so you shall put away the evil from Israel.
- Matthew 1:18Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit.
- John 8:3Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst,
- Ezekiel 16:20“Moreover you took your sons and your daughters, whom you bore to Me, and these you sacrificed to them to be devoured. Were your acts of harlotry a small matter,
- Genesis 9:6“Whoever sheds man’s blood, By man his blood shall be shed; For in the image of God He made man.
- Exodus 21:12“He who strikes a man so that he dies shall surely be put to death.
- Numbers 35:31Moreover you shall take no ransom for the life of a murderer who is guilty of death, but he shall surely be put to death.
- Psalms 79:3Their blood they have shed like water all around Jerusalem, And there was no one to bury them.
- Jeremiah 18:21Therefore deliver up their children to the famine, And pour out their blood By the force of the sword; Let their wives become widows And bereaved of their children. Let their men be put to death, Their young men be slain By the sword in battle.
- Zephaniah 1:17“I will bring distress upon men, And they shall walk like blind men, Because they have sinned against the Lord; Their blood shall be poured out like dust, And their flesh like refuse.”
- Nahum 1:2God is jealous, and the Lord avenges; The Lord avenges and is furious. The Lord will take vengeance on His adversaries, And He reserves wrath for His enemies;
- Revelation 16:6For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, And You have given them blood to drink. For it is their just due.”
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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries