Ezekiel 22:16
in Ezekiel 22And when you have defiled yourself in the eyes of the nations, then you will know that I am the LORD.’”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And thou shalt be profaned in thyself, in the sight of the nations; and thou shalt know that I am Jehovah.
KJV
And thou shalt take thine inheritance in thyself in the sight of the heathen, and thou shalt know that I am the Lord.
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This verse in Ezekiel 22
Commentary
7 notes on this verseAnd thou shalt take thine inheritance in thyself in the sight of the Heathen,.... No longer be the inheritance of God, but their own; and not have God to be their portion and inheritance, but themselves; and a poor portion and inheritance that must be, being in captivity, poverty, and distress; enjoying neither their civil nor religious liberties, as heretofore; it would be now manifest to the Heathens that they were forsaken of God, and left to themselves.
This site's exposition
I have smitten mine hand at thy dishonest gain
on Ezekiel 22:13-16
The Lord answers the catalogue with a gesture of finished patience, I have smitten mine hand at thy dishonest gain. Henry reads the clenched hand as the sign of a decision made rather than merely threatened. Barnes notes the scattering among the heathen answers the covenant curses of the law.
This site's exposition
defiled yourself in the eyes of the nations
The King James renders the verse that Israel would take its inheritance in itself, and Gill reads it as a people left with themselves. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown follow the reading of defilement, the nations treating Israel as a polluted thing. Both readings end in knowing the LORD.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Chapter 22, Verses 1 onwards) And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: And you, son of man, do you not judge the city of blood, and show her all her abominations? And say: Thus says the Lord God: The city that sheds blood within herself, so that her time may come, and that has made idols against herself to defile herself. In your blood that was shed, you have sinned, and you have defiled yourself with your idols that you have made.
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
FAIRBAIRN and others needlessly take the Hebrew from a different root, "thou shalt be polluted by ('in,' [HENDERSON]) thyself," &c.; the heathen shall regard thee as a polluted thing, who hast brought thine own reproach on thyself.
Thou shalt know that I am the Lord - I shall so deal with and punish thee, that thou shalt be obliged to own the vindictive hand of a sin-avenging God.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Thou shalt take ... - Better as in the margin. Thou shalt by thine own fault forfeit the privileges of a holy nation.
The words behind it
8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְנִחַ֥לְתְּ | venichalt | and you will be profaned | H2490 → | 143 times |
| בָּ֖ךְ | bakh | by yourself | ||
| לְעֵינֵ֣י | leeinei | to [the] eyes of | H5869 → | 887 times |
| גוֹיִ֑ם | goyim | nations | H1471 → | 561 times |
| וְיָדַ֖עַתְּ | veyadaat | and you will know | H3045 → | 945 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| אֲנִ֥י | ʾani | I | H589 → | 874 times |
| יְהוָֽה׃ פ | yahweh | [am] Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
וְנִחַ֥לְתְּand you will be profaned
venichaltH2490 →143 times
בָּ֖ךְby yourself
bakh
לְעֵינֵ֣יto [the] eyes of
leeineiH5869 →887 times
גוֹיִ֑םnations
goyimH1471 →561 times
וְיָדַ֖עַתְּand you will know
veyadaatH3045 →945 times
כִּֽי־that
ki-H3588 →4482 times
אֲנִ֥יI
ʾaniH589 →874 times
יְהוָֽה׃ פ[am] Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 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
Psalms 83:18May they know that You alone, whose name is the LORD, are Most High over all the earth.
it leads to
- Exodus 6:3
I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as God Almighty, but by My name the LORD I did not make Myself known to them.
- Ezekiel 38:23
I will magnify and sanctify Myself, and will reveal Myself in the sight of many nations. Then they will know that I am the LORD.
- Jeremiah 16:21
“Therefore behold, I will inform them, and this time I will make them know My power and My might; then they will know that My name is the LORD.
- Psalms 59:13
Consume them in wrath; consume them till they are no more, so it may be known to the ends of the earth that God rules over Jacob. Selah
- 2 Kings 19:19
And now, O LORD our God, please save us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You alone, O LORD, are God.”
- Exodus 6:3
Through
Isaiah 47:6I was angry with My people; I profaned My heritage, and I placed them under your control. You showed them no mercy; even on the elderly you laid a most heavy yoke.
it leads to
- 2 Chronicles 28:9
But a prophet of the LORD named Oded was there, and he went out to meet the army that returned to Samaria. “Look,” he said to them, “because of His wrath against Judah, the…
- Zechariah 1:15
but I am fiercely angry with the nations that are at ease. For I was a little angry, but they have added to the calamity.’
- Deuteronomy 28:50
a ruthless nation with no respect for the old and no pity for the young.
- 2 Chronicles 28:9
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Ezekiel

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; 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) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
