Ezekiel 16:5
in Ezekiel 16No one cared enough for you to do even one of these things out of compassion for you. Instead, you were thrown out into the open field, because you were despised on the day of your birth.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
No eye pitied thee, to do any of these things unto thee, to have compassion upon thee; but thou wast cast out in the open field, for that thy person was abhorred, in the day that thou wast born.
KJV
None eye pitied thee, to do any of these unto thee, to have compassion upon thee; but thou wast cast out in the open field, to the lothing of thy person, in the day that thou wast born.
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This verse in Ezekiel 16
Commentary
12 notes on this verseNone eye pitied thee, to do any of these unto thee, to have compassion upon thee,.... Or, "one of these" (k); not so much as one of them: sad must be the case of an infant, when it meets with no tender heart or kind hand from midwife, nurse, or mother, to do these things for it: this is expressive of the helpless, forlorn, and unpitied state of the Israelites in Egypt; who, when their lives were made bitter with hard bondage, had no mercy shown them by Pharaoh and his taskmasters, Exo 1:
This site's exposition
On the day of your birth your cord was not cut
on Ezekiel 16:4-5
The vision moves to an exposed infant, unwashed, unsalted, unswaddled, and thrown into an open field. Calvin reads the details against birth customs, so the scene lands as total abandonment. Wesley draws the point forward: Jerusalem owed her life to nothing in herself, and every kindness that follows is unearned.
This site's exposition
thrown out into the open field
Clarke notes that some ancient peoples exposed unwanted infants in the fields to die. Gill applies the picture to Israel's bondage in Egypt, when no one showed the nation mercy. Her survival came from God's hand alone.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 4, 5.) And when you were born, on the day of your birth your umbilical cord was not cut, and you were not washed in water for your own health, nor were you sprinkled with salt, nor wrapped in swaddling clothes. No eye had pity on you, to do any of these things out of compassion for you: but you were thrown out into the open field, in the abjection of your soul, on the day you were born. LXX: And on the day you were born, they did not bind your breasts, and your umbilical cord was not cut, and you were not washed in water for your own health, nor were you sprinkled with salt, and you were not wrapped in swaddling clothes; no eye had pity on you, to do any of these things for you, and allow anything to happen to you, and you were thrown out into the open field, in the corruption of your soul, on the day you were born. Let us discuss each point in the order of the reading. When Jerusalem was born from her father Amorite and her mother Hittite, and was poured out from the womb, her umbilicus was not cut, with which fetuses are nourished in the womb like trees and plants, which are nourished by the hidden moisture of the earth through their roots. And just as the seed of men is signified in the loins, so the genitalia of women are called umbilicus in honorable speech according to the custom of the Scriptures, as witnessed by Job, who speaks figuratively of the devil as a dragon: His strength is in his loins, and his power is in the navel of his belly (Job 40:11). For this ancient dragon serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, deceives the world; he has power over men in their loins, and over women in their navels. […]
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Terrible judgments threatened, ver. 35-43. An aggravation of their sin and of their punishment, ver. 44-59. A promise of mercy to a remnant, ver. 60-63 Commentary on Chapter XVI
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This seems to have reference to the exposing of the male children of the Israelites in Egypt. And it is an apt illustration of the Natural State of all the children of men. In the day that we were born, we were shapen in iniquity: our understandings darkened, our minds alienated from the life of God: all polluted with sin, which rendered us loathsome in the eyes of God.
Note, We owe the preservation of our infant lives to the natural pity and compassion which the God of nature has put into the hearts of parents and nurses towards new-born children. This infant is said to be cast out, to the loathing of her person; it was a sign that she was loathed by those that bore her, and she appeared loathsome to all that looked upon her.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Thou wast cast out in the open field - This is an allusion to the custom of some heathen and barbarous nations, who exposed those children in the open fields to be devoured by wild beasts who had any kind of deformity, or whom they could not support.
4 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century4 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
cast . . . in . . . open field--The exposure of infants was common in ancient times. to the loathing of thy person--referring to the unsightly aspect of the exposed infant. FAIRBAIRN translates, "With contempt (or disdainful indifference) of thy life."
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
Doubtless the Lord here describes the Jewish people when they began to multiply in the land of Egypt and were grievously oppressed by Pharaoh. Pharaoh had commanded them to cast out the male children that they might perish. Hence, the figure of an infant deserted, cast out into the open field to perish by wild beasts, by starvation, or exposure, was a very apt portrait of the youthful state of Israel, when God looked upon her in love, and brought her out of Egypt to set her in a goodly land. But all the best Divines and expositors concur in the belief that we have here also a most extraordinarily apt and significant description of the human race by nature, and of the way in which God in Divine mercy passes by the sinner when utterly lost and helpless and by the power of the Spirit, bids him "Live." At any rate, we intend to consider it so this morning. Without any preface, for we need none, we shall, first of all, bid you look at the misery of man's estate as set before us in the present verses. Then, next, we shall search for motives which could urge the Lord to have pity upon this miserable one. And then, thirdly, we shall pause a little while to listen to the Divine mandate by which this unhappy being is delivered from his lost estate. "I said unto you, Live; yes, I said unto you, Live." I. At the outset, I shall direct your contemplations to a survey of THE MISERY OF MAN'S ESTATE. The verse presents to us an infant exposed to die. All the common offices that were necessary for its life and health have been forgotten. Its heartless parents have laid it out in the open field, having no regard whatever for it. There it lies before our eyes, covered with blood, exposed to wild beasts, famishing, ready to perish. Among many heathen nations there existed the barbarous custom of leaving deformed children to perish in the woods or fields.
Doubtless the Lord here describes the Jewish people when they began to multiply in the land of Egypt and were grievously oppressed by Pharaoh. Pharaoh had commanded them to cast out the male children that they might perish. Hence, the figure of an infant deserted, cast out into the open field to perish by wild beasts, by starvation, or exposure, was a very apt portrait of the youthful state of Israel, when God looked upon her in love, and brought her out of Egypt to set her in a goodly land.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
To the lothing of thy person - Or, “so abhorred was thy person.”
The words behind it
19 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| לֹא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| חָ֨סָה | chasah | it looked with compassion | H2347 → | 24 times |
| עָלַ֜יִךְ | ʾalayikh | on you | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| עַ֗יִן | ʾayin | an eye | H5869 → | 887 times |
| לַעֲשׂ֥וֹת | laasot | to do | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| לָ֛ךְ | lakh | for you | ||
| אַחַ֥ת | ʾachat | one | H259 → | 971 times |
| מֵאֵ֖לֶּה | meeleh | of these [things] | H428 → | 746 times |
| לְחֻמְלָ֣ה | lechumlah | for compassion | H2550 → | 41 times |
| עָלָ֑יִךְ | ʾalayikh | on you | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| וַֽתֻּשְׁלְכִ֞י | vatushlekhi | and you were thrown out | H7993 → | 125 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| פְּנֵ֤י | penei | [the] surface of | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| הַשָּׂדֶה֙ | hasadeh | the field | H7704 → | 334 times |
| בְּגֹ֣עַל | begoal | in [the] loathing of | H1604 → | |
| נַפְשֵׁ֔ךְ | nafshekh | life your | H5315 → | 754 times |
| בְּי֖וֹם | beyom | on [the] day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| הֻלֶּ֥דֶת | huledet | were born | H3205 → | 496 times |
| אֹתָֽךְ׃ | ʾotakh | <obj.> you | H853 → | 10935 times |
לֹא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
חָ֨סָהit looked with compassion
chasahH2347 →24 times
עָלַ֜יִךְon you
ʾalayikhH5921 →5755 times
עַ֗יִןan eye
ʾayinH5869 →887 times
לַעֲשׂ֥וֹתto do
laasotH6213 →2628 times
לָ֛ךְfor you
lakh
אַחַ֥תone
ʾachatH259 →971 times
מֵאֵ֖לֶּהof these [things]
meelehH428 →746 times
לְחֻמְלָ֣הfor compassion
lechumlahH2550 →41 times
עָלָ֑יִךְon you
ʾalayikhH5921 →5755 times
וַֽתֻּשְׁלְכִ֞יand you were thrown out
vatushlekhiH7993 →125 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
פְּנֵ֤י[the] surface of
peneiH6440 →2123 times
הַשָּׂדֶה֙the field
hasadehH7704 →334 times
בְּגֹ֣עַלin [the] loathing of
begoalH1604 →
נַפְשֵׁ֔ךְlife your
nafshekhH5315 →754 times
בְּי֖וֹםon [the] day
beyomH3117 →2304 times
הֻלֶּ֥דֶתwere born
huledetH3205 →496 times
אֹתָֽךְ׃<obj.> you
ʾotakhH853 →10935 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
Deuteronomy 32:10He found him in a desert land, in a barren, howling wilderness; He surrounded him, He instructed him, He guarded him as the apple of His eye.
it leads to
- Zechariah 2:8
For this is what the LORD of Hosts says: “After His Glory has sent Me against the nations that have plundered you—for whoever touches you touches the apple of His eye—
- Psalms 17:8
Keep me as the apple of Your eye; hide me in the shadow of Your wings
- Hosea 13:5
I knew you in the wilderness, in the land of drought.
- Deuteronomy 8:15–16
He led you through the vast and terrifying wilderness with its venomous snakes and scorpions, a thirsty and waterless land. He brought you water from the rock of flint.
- Jeremiah 2:6
They did not ask, ‘Where is the LORD who brought us up from the land of Egypt, who led us through the wilderness, through a land of deserts and pits, a land of drought…
- Zechariah 2:8
Through
Genesis 21:10and she said to Abraham, “Expel the slave woman and her son, for the slave woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac!”
it leads to
- John 8:35
A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son belongs to it forever.
- Galatians 4:22–31
For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and the other by the free woman.
- John 8:35
Through
Exodus 1:22Then Pharaoh commanded all his people: “Every son born to the Hebrews you must throw into the Nile, but every daughter you may allow to live.”
it leads to
- Acts 7:19
He exploited our people and oppressed our fathers, forcing them to abandon their infants so they would die.
- Acts 7:19
Where this verse is studied
About Ezekiel
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 468: “Ezekiel'S Deserted Infant” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Calvin, Commentaries on the First Twenty Chapters of the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.