Ezekiel 23:9
in Ezekiel 23Therefore I delivered her into the hands of her lovers, the Assyrians for whom she lusted.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Wherefore I delivered her into the hand of her lovers, into the hand of the Assyrians, upon whom she doted.
KJV
Wherefore I have delivered her into the hand of her lovers, into the hand of the Assyrians, upon whom she doted.
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This verse in Ezekiel 23
Commentary
6 notes on this verseWherefore I have delivered her into the hand of her lovers,.... To destruction; their persons, families, riches, and kingdom itself: into the hand of the Assyrians, on whom she doted; first into the hands of Pul, then Tiglathpileser, then Shalmaneser, all kings of Assyria, by whom they were spoiled or carried captive; by the two first in part, by the last wholly; see 2Ki 15:19.
This site's exposition
I have delivered her into the hand of her lovers
on Ezekiel 23:9-10
The judgment matches the sin's own shape, the Lord delivers Samaria into the hand of the very lovers she doted on, and they take her sons and daughters and put her to the sword. Wesley reads the poetic justice as the chapter's recurring method, the ally trusted becomes the executioner, a pattern that repeats for Jerusalem in the verses ahead. Henry notes the closing line, she became famous among women, marks the fall of the northern kingdom as a byword known across the ancient world, a national catastrophe on public record rather than a private shame.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Chapter 23, verses 1 onwards) And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Son of man, there were two women, the daughters of one mother. And they played the harlot in Egypt, in their youth they played the harlot. There their breasts were pressed and their virgin bosoms were broken (or, as it is in the Septuagint, There their breasts fell and there they were deflowered). Their names were Oholah the elder (or, the elder sister), and Oholibah her sister. And I took them (whether they were given to me) and they bore sons and daughters.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
We have the story at large 2 Kings xvii. 6 , &c., where the cause of the ruin of that once flourishing kingdom by the Assyrians is shown to be their forsaking the God of Israel, fearing other gods, and walking in the statutes of the heathen; it was for this that God was very angry with them and removed them out of his sight,
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
God, in righteous retribution, turned their objects of trust into the instruments of their punishment: Pul, Tiglath-pileser, Esar-haddon, and Shalmaneser (2Ki 15:19, 29; "It was their sin to have sought after such lovers, and it was to be their punishment that these lovers should become their destroyers" [FAIRBAIRN].
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
For the cause which at last brought destruction on Israel, see marginal reference.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
and she became a name for the women to take from them a curse for any adulteress to learn a lesson from her: See what happened to so and so because of her lewdness.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| לָכֵ֥ן | lakhen | <to> therefore | H3651 → | 771 times |
| נְתַתִּ֖יהָ | netatiha | I gave her | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| בְּיַד־ | beyad- | in [the] hand of | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| מְאַֽהֲבֶ֑יהָ | meahaveiha | lovers her | H157 → | 211 times |
| בְּיַד֙ | beyad | in [the] hand of | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| בְּנֵ֣י | benei | [the] people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| אַשּׁ֔וּר | ʾashur | Assyria | H804 → | 151 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | whom | H834 → | 5497 times |
| עָגְבָ֖ה | ʾagevah | she had lusted | H5689 → | 7 times |
| עֲלֵיהֶֽם׃ | ʾaleihem | on them | H5921 → | 5755 times |
לָכֵ֥ן<to> therefore
lakhenH3651 →771 times
נְתַתִּ֖יהָI gave her
netatihaH5414 →2011 times
בְּיַד־in [the] hand of
beyad-H3027 →1618 times
מְאַֽהֲבֶ֑יהָlovers her
meahaveihaH157 →211 times
בְּיַד֙in [the] hand of
beyadH3027 →1618 times
בְּנֵ֣י[the] people of
beneiH1121 →4930 times
אַשּׁ֔וּרAssyria
ʾashurH804 →151 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwhom
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
עָגְבָ֖הshe had lusted
ʾagevahH5689 →7 times
עֲלֵיהֶֽם׃on them
ʾaleihemH5921 →5755 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
1 Chronicles 5:26So the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria (that is, Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria) to take the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh into exile. And…
it leads to
- 2 Kings 17:6
In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and carried away the Israelites to Assyria, where he settled them in Halah, in Gozan by the Habor River, and in the…
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- 2 Kings 15:19
Then Pul king of Assyria invaded the land, and Menahem gave Pul a thousand talents of silver in order to gain his support and strengthen his own grip on the kingdom.
- 2 Kings 15:29
In the days of Pekah king of Israel, Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria came and captured Ijon, Abel-beth-maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, and Galilee, including all the land of Naphtali, and he took the people…
- 2 Kings 18:11
The king of Assyria exiled the Israelites to Assyria and settled them in Halah, in Gozan by the Habor River, and in the cities of the Medes.
- 2 Chronicles 33:11
So the LORD brought against them the military commanders of the king of Assyria, who captured Manasseh, put a hook in his nose, bound him with bronze shackles, and took him to Babylon.
- 2 Kings 17:6
Through
2 Kings 15:29In the days of Pekah king of Israel, Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria came and captured Ijon, Abel-beth-maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, and Galilee, including all the land of Naphtali, and he took the people…
it leads to
- 1 Chronicles 5:26
So the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria (that is, Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria) to take the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh into exile. And…
- 1 Chronicles 5:26
Through
Hosea 11:5Will they not return to the land of Egypt and be ruled by Assyria because they refused to repent?
it leads to
- Hosea 7:16
They turn, but not to the Most High; they are like a faulty bow. Their leaders will fall by the sword for the cursing of their tongue; for this they will be ridiculed in…
- Hosea 7:16
Through
2 Kings 17:23Finally, the LORD removed Israel from His presence, as He had declared through all His servants the prophets. So Israel was exiled from their homeland into Assyria, where they are to this day.
it leads to
- 2 Kings 17:13
Yet through all His prophets and seers, the LORD warned Israel and Judah, saying, “Turn from your wicked ways and keep My commandments and statutes, according to the entire Law that I commanded your…
- 2 Kings 17:13
About Ezekiel
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; 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.