New Living Translation
Ezekiel 23:16
16When she saw these paintings, she longed to give herself to them, so she sent messengers to Babylonia to invite them to come to her.
Ezekiel 23:16 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And as soon as she saw them with her eyes, she doted upon them, and sent messengers unto them into Chaldea.
- New International Version (NIV)As soon as she saw them, she lusted after them and sent messengers to them in Chaldea.
- English Standard Version (ESV)When she saw them, she lusted after them and sent messengers to them in Chaldea.
- New King James Version (NKJV)As soon as her eyes saw them, She lusted for them And sent messengers to them in Chaldea.
Context of Ezekiel 23:16
14“Then she carried her prostitution even further. She fell in love with pictures that were painted on a wall—pictures of Babylonian military officers, outfitted in striking red uniforms. 15Handsome belts encircled their waists, and flowing turbans crowned their heads. They were dressed like chariot officers from the land of Babylonia. When she saw these paintings, she longed to give herself to them, so she sent messengers to Babylonia to invite them to come to her. 17So they came and committed adultery with her, defiling her in the bed of love. After being defiled, however, she rejected them in disgust. 18“In the same way, I became disgusted with Oholibah and rejected her, just as I had rejected her sister, because she flaunted herself before them and gave herself to satisfy their lusts.
Read all of Ezekiel 23Ezekiel 23:16 word by word
וַתַּעְגְּבָ֥ה עֲלֵיהֶ֖ם לְמַרְאֵ֣ה עֵינֶ֑יהָ וַתִּשְׁלַ֧ח מַלְאָכִ֛ים אֲלֵיהֶ֖ם כַּשְׂדִּֽימָה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Ezekiel 23:16
- Ezekiel 16:29You added to your lovers by embracing Babylonia, the land of merchants, but you still weren’t satisfied.
- Genesis 3:6The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too.
- Genesis 6:2The sons of God saw the beautiful women and took any they wanted as their wives.
- Genesis 39:7and Potiphar’s wife soon began to look at him lustfully. “Come and sleep with me,” she demanded.
- 2 Samuel 11:2Late one afternoon, after his midday rest, David got out of bed and was walking on the roof of the palace. As he looked out over the city, he noticed a woman of unusual beauty taking a bath.
- 2 Kings 24:1During Jehoiakim’s reign, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon invaded the land of Judah. Jehoiakim surrendered and paid him tribute for three years but then rebelled.
- Job 31:1“I made a covenant with my eyes not to look with lust at a young woman.
- Psalms 119:37Turn my eyes from worthless things, and give me life through your word.
- Proverbs 6:25Don’t lust for her beauty. Don’t let her coy glances seduce you.
- Proverbs 23:33You will see hallucinations, and you will say crazy things.
- Matthew 5:28But I say, anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
- Ezekiel 23:40“You sisters sent messengers to distant lands to get men. Then when they arrived, you bathed yourselves, painted your eyelids, and put on your finest jewels for them.
- Ezekiel 16:17You took the very jewels and gold and silver ornaments I had given you and made statues of men and worshiped them. This is adultery against me!
- 2 Peter 2:14They commit adultery with their eyes, and their desire for sin is never satisfied. They lure unstable people into sin, and they are well trained in greed. They live under God’s curse.
Commentaries on Ezekiel 23:16
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 16The sending of “messengers” refers to the act of Ahaz 2 Kings 16:7.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 11-18Samaria’s reputation and punishment were known to everyone in Ezekiel’s time. Her sister, Oholibah (Jerusalem), followed the same pattern of life and was even worse than her sister. The kings of Judah thought it was wise to form alliances with Babylon and Assyria. However, the prophet saw this as a pattern of ongoing spiritual unfaithfulness.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1616. sent messengers ... into Chaldea--(Eze 16:29). It was she that solicited the Chaldeans, not they her. Probably the occasion was when Judah sought to strengthen herself by a Chaldean alliance against a menaced attack by Egypt (compare 2Ki 23:29-35; 24:1-7). God made the object of their sinful desire the instrument of their punishment. Jehoiakim, probably by a stipulation of tribute, enlisted Nebuchadnezzar against Pharaoh, whose tributary he previously…Read the comment
Topics related to Ezekiel 23:16
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Ezekiel 23
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- 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
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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