Ezekiel 16:38

Translations

Modern

And I will sentence you to the punishment of women who commit adultery and those who shed blood; so I will bring upon you the wrath of your bloodshed and jealousy.

Traditional

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.

Literal

And I will judge you with the judgments of those committing adultery and shedding blood, and I will bring upon you the blood of rage and jealousy.

Latin

Et judicabo te judiciis adulterarum, et effundentium sanguinem: et dabo te in sanguinem furoris et zeli.

Original

Hebrew

English

And I will sentence you to the punishment of women who commit adultery and those who shed blood; so I will bring upon you the wrath of your bloodshed and jealousy.

Notes

Ezekiel 16:35–38

Because 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 destroyed the city in 586 BC.

Ezekiel 16:1–63

In Ezekiel 16, Jerusalem is described as an unfaithful wife and a prostitute. This language is very strong. Even in English, the chapter can be difficult to read. In its ancient setting, it would have sounded even more shocking.

Ezekiel used graphic language to show how serious Judah’s sin was. He did not try to make his message softer or more polite. He spoke in a direct and forceful way.

This strong language is the main point of the chapter. Ezekiel wanted the people to feel how terrible their sin was in God’s sight. The shocking description helped them understand that God’s judgment was not unfair.

If Ezekiel had used softer words, the people might not have understood the full seriousness of their sin. The strong picture was necessary to show why God’s judgment was justified (that is, right and fair).

Ezekiel 15:1–24:14

This section includes eight metaphors, each showing from a different angle the certainty of Jerusalem's upcoming judgment. The images are of:

a worthless vine (Ezekiel 15);
a faithless wife (Ezekiel 16);
a vine and two eagles (Ezekiel 17);
Sour grapes (Ezekiel 18);
a lion and her cubs (Ezekiel 19);
a sword (Ezekiel 21);
two corrupt sisters (Ezekiel 23); and
a cooking pot (Ezekiel 24).

Theme notes and profiles

Apostasy and Renewal Biblical Marriage God’s Covenants The Broken Covenant

Events

Prophecies of Ezekielc. 593 BC

Related verses

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 must surely be put to death.
Genesis 9:6
Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man his blood will be shed; for in His own image God has made mankind.
Zephaniah 1:17
I will bring such distress on mankind that they will walk like the blind, because they have sinned against the LORD. Their blood will be poured out like dust and their flesh like dung.
Jeremiah 18:21
Therefore, hand their children over to famine; pour out the power of the sword upon them. Let their wives become childless and widowed; let their husbands be slain by disease, their young men struck down by the sword in battle.
Nahum 1:2
The LORD is a jealous and avenging God; the LORD is avenging and full of wrath. The LORD takes vengeance on His foes and reserves wrath for His enemies.
Genesis 38:24
About three months later, Judah was told, “Your daughter-in-law Tamar has prostituted herself, and now she is pregnant.” “Bring her out!” Judah replied. “Let her be burned to death!”
Deuteronomy 22:22–24
If a man is found lying with another man’s wife, both the man who slept with her and the woman must die. You must purge the evil from Israel.
Numbers 35:31
You are not to accept a ransom for the life of a murderer who deserves to die; he must surely be put to death.
Ezekiel 16:20–21
You even took the sons and daughters you bore to Me and sacrificed them as food to idols. Was your prostitution not enough?
Exodus 21:12
Whoever strikes and kills a man must surely be put to death.
Ezekiel 23:45–47
But righteous men will sentence them to the punishment of those who commit adultery and bloodshed, because they are adulteresses with blood on their hands.
John 8:3–5
The scribes and Pharisees, however, brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before them

Glossary

Adultery Bride of Christ Ezekiel, Book of High Place Hittites Sexual Immorality

Topics

Adultery: Penalties For Blood of Judgments Blood: (Given to Drink) of Severe Judgments High Places: Licentious Practices At Lasciviousness: Figurative

Ezekiel 16:38

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