Ezekiel 16:27
in Ezekiel 16Therefore I stretched out My hand against you and reduced your portion. I gave you over to the desire of those who hate you, the daughters of the Philistines, who were ashamed of your lewd conduct.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Behold therefore, I have stretched out my hand over thee, and have diminished thine ordinary food, and delivered thee unto the will of them that hate thee, the daughters of the Philistines, that are ashamed of thy lewd way.
KJV
Behold, therefore I have stretched out my hand over thee, and have diminished thine ordinary food, and delivered thee unto the will of them that hate thee, the daughters of the Philistines, which are ashamed of thy lewd way.
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This verse in Ezekiel 16
Commentary
7 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Have diminished thine ordinary food - As a husband lessens the things which minister to the luxury of an unfaithful wife, so did the Lord cut Israel short in consequence of her unfaithfulness. Daughters - The small cities. The Philistines have left a permanent record of their supremacy in the name of the holy land - Palestine. It was a special shame to be subjected to so small a power as that of Philistia (see Isa 14:29); but the very Philistines were ashamed of Judah’s unfaithfulness, and were themselves truer to their false gods than Judah was to Yahweh.
This site's exposition
in addition to all your other wickedness
on Ezekiel 16:23-29
The chapter lists Jerusalem’s foreign alliances as adultery, with “the Egyptians,” “the Assyrians,” and “Chaldea, the land of merchants.” Each is a paid affair that leaves her reaching for the next, and the refrain is “you were not satisfied.” The political history of the late kings runs through the figure.
This site's exposition
reduced your portion
Barnes reads the reduced portion as a husband cutting back an unfaithful wife's allowance. Henry points to the Philistine raids on Judah's lowland towns under Ahaz, recorded at 2 Chronicles 28:18. Even the Philistines were ashamed of her conduct.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 27.) Behold, I will stretch forth my hand over you and will take away your righteousness, and I will give you over to the souls of those who hate you, the daughters of the Philistines, who are ashamed of your wicked way. LXX: But if I stretch out my hand against you and take away your lawful possession and give you over to the souls of those who hate you, the daughters of foreigners who led you astray from your path.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
For this they were justly chastised by the Philistines. Or it may refer to the inroads which the Philistines made upon the south of Judah in the reign of Ahaz, by which it was weakened and impoverished, and which was the beginning of sorrows to them ( 2 Chron. xxviii. 18 ); but they did not take warning by those judgments, and therefore were justly abandoned to ruin at last.
Behold, therefore I have stretched out my hand over thee,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Have diminished thine ordinary - חקך chukkech means here the household provision made for a wife - food, clothing, and money.
The words behind it
14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהִנֵּ֨ה | vehineh | and there! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| נָטִ֤יתִי | natiti | I stretched out | H5186 → | 214 times |
| יָדִי֙ | yadi | hand my | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| עָלַ֔יִךְ | ʾalayikh | on you | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| וָאֶגְרַ֖ע | vaegra' | and I diminished | H1639 → | |
| חֻקֵּ֑ךְ | chukekh | allotment your | H2706 → | 127 times |
| וָאֶתְּנֵ֞ךְ | vaetenekh | and I gave you | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| בְּנֶ֤פֶשׁ | benefesh | in [the] will of | H5315 → | 754 times |
| שֹׂנְאוֹתַ֙יִךְ֙ | soneotayikh | [those who] hate you | H8130 → | 146 times |
| בְּנ֣וֹת | benot | [the] daughters of | H1323 → | 588 times |
| פְּלִשְׁתִּ֔ים | pelishtim | [the] Philistines | H6430 → | 287 times |
| הַנִּכְלָמ֖וֹת | hanikhlamot | who were ashamed | H3637 → | 38 times |
| מִדַּרְכֵּ֥ךְ | midarkekh | from conduct your | H1870 → | 707 times |
| זִמָּֽה׃ | zimah | licentiousness | H2154 → | 29 times |
וְהִנֵּ֨הand there!
vehinehH2009 →843 times
נָטִ֤יתִיI stretched out
natitiH5186 →214 times
יָדִי֙hand my
yadiH3027 →1618 times
עָלַ֔יִךְon you
ʾalayikhH5921 →5755 times
וָאֶגְרַ֖עand I diminished
vaegra'H1639 →
חֻקֵּ֑ךְallotment your
chukekhH2706 →127 times
וָאֶתְּנֵ֞ךְand I gave you
vaetenekhH5414 →2011 times
בְּנֶ֤פֶשׁin [the] will of
benefeshH5315 →754 times
שֹׂנְאוֹתַ֙יִךְ֙[those who] hate you
soneotayikhH8130 →146 times
בְּנ֣וֹת[the] daughters of
benotH1323 →588 times
פְּלִשְׁתִּ֔ים[the] Philistines
pelishtimH6430 →287 times
הַנִּכְלָמ֖וֹתwho were ashamed
hanikhlamotH3637 →38 times
מִדַּרְכֵּ֥ךְfrom conduct your
midarkekhH1870 →707 times
זִמָּֽה׃licentiousness
zimahH2154 →29 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
Isaiah 9:12Aram from the east and Philistia from the west have devoured Israel with open mouths. Despite all this, His anger is not turned away; His hand is still upraised.
it leads to
- Isaiah 5:25
Therefore the anger of the LORD burns against His people; His hand is raised against them to strike them down. The mountains quake, and the corpses lay like refuse in the streets. Despite all…
- 2 Chronicles 28:18
The Philistines had also raided the cities of the foothills and the Negev of Judah, capturing and occupying Beth-shemesh, Aijalon, and Gederoth, as well as Soco, Timnah, and Gimzo with their villages.
- Psalms 79:7
for they have devoured Jacob and devastated his homeland.
- 2 Kings 16:6
At that time Rezin king of Aram recovered Elath for Aram, drove out the men of Judah, and sent the Edomites into Elath, where they live to this day.
- Isaiah 5:25
Through
Ezekiel 16:37therefore I will surely gather all the lovers with whom you found pleasure, all those you loved and all those you hated. I will gather them against you from all around and expose you…
it leads to
- Hosea 2:10
And then I will expose her lewdness in the sight of her lovers, and no one will deliver her out of My hands.
- Jeremiah 13:22
And if you ask yourself, “Why has this happened to me?” It is because of the magnitude of your iniquity that your skirts have been stripped off and your body has been exposed.
- Hosea 2:10
Through
Jeremiah 34:21And I will deliver Zedekiah king of Judah and his officials into the hands of their enemies who seek their lives, to the army of the king of Babylon that had withdrawn from you.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 39:6
There at Riblah the king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and he also killed all the nobles of Judah.
- Jeremiah 52:24–27
The captain of the guard also took away Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the priest of second rank, and the three doorkeepers.
- Jeremiah 39:6
Where this verse is studied
About Ezekiel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments; Jamieson, Fausset and 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.