Ezekiel 16:34
in Ezekiel 16So your prostitution is the opposite of that of other women: No one solicited your favors, and you paid a fee instead of receiving one; so you are the very opposite!
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And thou art different from other women in thy whoredoms, in that none followeth thee to play the harlot; and whereas thou givest hire, and no hire is given unto thee, therefore thou art different.
KJV
And the contrary is in thee from other women in thy whoredoms, whereas none followeth thee to commit whoredoms: and in that thou givest a reward, and no reward is given unto thee, therefore thou art contrary.
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This verse in Ezekiel 16
Commentary
6 notes on this verse(Verse 32 and following) But like an adulterous woman, who brings in strangers over her husband. All prostitutes receive payment: but you have given payment to all your lovers, and you would give them anything to come in to you from every direction to fornicate with you. And it happened in you contrary to the custom of women in your fornications, and there will be no fornication after you. For in that you have given payment, and have not received payment: it has become contrary to you.
This site's exposition
How weak-willed is your heart
on Ezekiel 16:30-34
The figure inverts harlotry: an ordinary harlot is paid, but Jerusalem pays her lovers. Gill calls this the strangest and most damning form of the charge, a nation buying its own subjugation and calling it foreign policy. Clarke reads the inversion as proof the sin was preference and not need.
This site's exposition
you are the very opposite
The verse states the reversal twice. Jerome says no one sought her favors and she paid all comers. Her conduct had no precedent among women of her kind.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
And it is a great aggravation of sin when men are their own tempters, and, instead of proposing to themselves any worldly advantage by their sin, are at great expense with it; such are transgressors without cause ( Ps. xxv.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Contrary - Here we may see, what the nature of men is, when God leaves them to themselves: yea, tho' they have the greatest advantage, to be better, and to do better.
And the contrary is in thee from other women in thy whoredoms,....
The words behind it
17 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיְהִי־ | vayhi- | and it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| בָ֨ךְ | vakh | in you | ||
| הֵ֤פֶךְ | hefekh | contrariness | H2016 → | |
| מִן־ | min- | from | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| הַנָּשִׁים֙ | hanashim | the women | H802 → | 781 times |
| בְּתַזְנוּתַ֔יִךְ | betaznutayikh | in prostitution<s> your | H8457 → | 20 times |
| וְאַחֲרַ֖יִךְ | veacharayikh | and after you | H310 → | 715 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| זוּנָּ֑ה | zunah | it was approached for prostitution | H2181 → | 94 times |
| וּבְתִתֵּ֣ךְ | uvetitekh | and because gave you | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| אֶתְנָ֗ן | ʾetnan | [the] hire of a prostitute | H868 → | 11 times |
| וְאֶתְנַ֛ן | veetnan | and [the] hire of a prostitute | H868 → | 11 times |
| לֹ֥א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| נִתַּן־ | nitan- | it was given | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| לָ֖ךְ | lakh | to you | ||
| וַתְּהִ֥י | vatehi | and you became | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| לְהֶֽפֶךְ׃ | lehefekh | <into> contrariness | H2016 → |
וַיְהִי־and it was
vayhi-H1961 →3559 times
בָ֨ךְin you
vakh
הֵ֤פֶךְcontrariness
hefekhH2016 →
מִן־from
min-H4480 →1188 times
הַנָּשִׁים֙the women
hanashimH802 →781 times
בְּתַזְנוּתַ֔יִךְin prostitution<s> your
betaznutayikhH8457 →20 times
וְאַחֲרַ֖יִךְand after you
veacharayikhH310 →715 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
זוּנָּ֑הit was approached for prostitution
zunahH2181 →94 times
וּבְתִתֵּ֣ךְand because gave you
uvetitekhH5414 →2011 times
אֶתְנָ֗ן[the] hire of a prostitute
ʾetnanH868 →11 times
וְאֶתְנַ֛ןand [the] hire of a prostitute
veetnanH868 →11 times
לֹ֥אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
נִתַּן־it was given
nitan-H5414 →2011 times
לָ֖ךְto you
lakh
וַתְּהִ֥יand you became
vatehiH1961 →3559 times
לְהֶֽפֶךְ׃<into> contrariness
lehefekhH2016 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies2
On this verse
On this chapter
About Ezekiel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.