Ezekiel 23:10
in Ezekiel 23They exposed her nakedness, seized her sons and daughters, and put her to the sword. Thus she became a byword among women, and they executed judgment against her.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
These uncovered her nakedness; they took her sons and her daughters; and her they slew with the sword: and she became a byword among women; for they executed judgments upon her.
KJV
These discovered her nakedness: they took her sons and her daughters, and slew her with the sword: and she became famous among women; for they had executed judgment upon her.
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This verse in Ezekiel 23
Commentary
8 notes on this verseDiscovered - Stript her naked, and exposed her to shame. Took her sons - Captives. Slew her - The kingdom of Israel, under Hoshea, was by Salmanesar utterly destroyed.
This site's exposition
I have delivered her into the hand of her lovers
on Ezekiel 23:9-10
The Lord delivers Samaria into the hand of the very lovers she doted on. Wesley reads the poetic justice as the chapter's recurring method, the ally trusted becomes the executioner. Henry notes the closing line, she became famous among women, marks the fall of the northern kingdom as a byword.
This site's exposition
a byword among women
Samaria fell to Assyria under its last king, Hoshea. Wesley named Shalmaneser as the conqueror, and Henry pointed to 2 Kings 17, where the fall is told at length. The city's name became a warning spoken among the nations.
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 Awakening2 voices
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,
These discovered her wickedness,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
became famous--literally, "she became a name," that is, as notorious by her punishment as she had been by her sins, so as to be quoted as a warning to others. women--that is, neighboring peoples.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Famous - Or, “infamous among women;” literally as in the margin, i. e., a byword among women.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
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.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
And her sister Oholibah saw all the evil that befell her sister because of her harlotries, but she was unafraid.
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. 3 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
15 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הֵמָּה֮ | hemah | they | H1992 → | 553 times |
| גִּלּ֣וּ | gilu | they uncovered | H1540 → | 186 times |
| עֶרְוָתָהּ֒ | ʾervatah | nakedness her | H6172 → | 54 times |
| בָּנֶ֤יהָ | baneiha | sons her | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| וּבְנוֹתֶ֙יהָ֙ | uvenoteiha | and daughters her | H1323 → | 588 times |
| לָקָ֔חוּ | lakachu | they took | H3947 → | 966 times |
| וְאוֹתָ֖הּ | veotah | and <obj.> her | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בַּחֶ֣רֶב | bacherev | with the sword | H2719 → | 413 times |
| הָרָ֑גוּ | haragu | they killed | H2026 → | 167 times |
| וַתְּהִי־ | vatehi- | and she became | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| שֵׁם֙ | shem | a name | H8034 → | 864 times |
| לַנָּשִׁ֔ים | lanashim | to <the> women | H802 → | 781 times |
| וּשְׁפוּטִ֖ים | ushefutim | and judgments | H8196 → | |
| עָ֥שׂוּ | ʾasu | they brought about | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| בָֽהּ׃ ס | vah | on her |
הֵמָּה֮they
hemahH1992 →553 times
גִּלּ֣וּthey uncovered
giluH1540 →186 times
עֶרְוָתָהּ֒nakedness her
ʾervatahH6172 →54 times
בָּנֶ֤יהָsons her
baneihaH1121 →4930 times
וּבְנוֹתֶ֙יהָ֙and daughters her
uvenoteihaH1323 →588 times
לָקָ֔חוּthey took
lakachuH3947 →966 times
וְאוֹתָ֖הּand <obj.> her
veotahH853 →10935 times
בַּחֶ֣רֶבwith the sword
bacherevH2719 →413 times
הָרָ֑גוּthey killed
haraguH2026 →167 times
וַתְּהִי־and she became
vatehi-H1961 →3559 times
שֵׁם֙a name
shemH8034 →864 times
לַנָּשִׁ֔יםto <the> women
lanashimH802 →781 times
וּשְׁפוּטִ֖יםand judgments
ushefutimH8196 →
עָ֥שׂוּthey brought about
ʾasuH6213 →2628 times
בָֽהּ׃ סon her
vah
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
Ezekiel 23:48So I will put an end to indecency in the land, and all the women will be admonished not to imitate your behavior.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 23:27
So I will put an end to your indecency and prostitution, which began in the land of Egypt, and you will not lift your eyes to them or remember Egypt anymore.’
- 2 Peter 2:6
if He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction, reducing them to ashes as an example of what is coming on the ungodly;
- Ezekiel 16:41
Then they will burn down your houses and execute judgment against you in the sight of many women. I will put an end to your prostitution, and you will never again pay your lovers.
- Ezekiel 6:6
Wherever you live, the cities will be laid waste and the high places will be demolished, so that your altars will be laid waste and desecrated, your idols smashed and obliterated, your incense altars…
- Ezekiel 23:27
Through
Ezekiel 23:29They will treat you with hatred, take all for which you have worked, and leave you naked and bare, so that the shame of your prostitution will be exposed. Your indecency and promiscuity
it leads to
- Ezekiel 23:25–26
And I will set My jealous rage against you, and they will deal with you in fury. They will cut off your noses and ears, and your survivors will fall by the sword. They…
- Ezekiel 16:39
Then I will deliver you into the hands of your lovers, and they will level your mounds and tear down your lofty shrines. They will strip off your clothes, take your fine jewelry, and…
- Ezekiel 23:25–26
Through
Hosea 2:10And then I will expose her lewdness in the sight of her lovers, and no one will deliver her out of My hands.
it leads to
- Luke 12:2–3
There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, and nothing hidden that will not be made known.
- Ezekiel 23:29
They will treat you with hatred, take all for which you have worked, and leave you naked and bare, so that the shame of your prostitution will be exposed. Your indecency and promiscuity
- Luke 12:2–3
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
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.