Ezekiel 23:15
in Ezekiel 23wearing belts on their waists and flowing turbans on their heads; all of them looked like officers of the Babylonians in Chaldea, the land of their birth.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
girded with girdles upon their loins, with flowing turbans upon their heads, all of them princes to look upon, after the likeness of the Babylonians in Chaldea, the land of their nativity.
KJV
Girded with girdles upon their loins, exceeding in dyed attire upon their heads, all of them princes to look to, after the manner of the Babylonians of Chaldea, the land of their nativity:
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This verse in Ezekiel 23
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
she increased her whoredoms
on Ezekiel 23:14-18
Jerusalem's course moves past living armies to painted ones, wall images of Chaldean officers in vermilion drawing her eyes. Fairbairn reads the detail as the chapter's sharpest satire, an infatuation with mere portraits. Barnes notes the outcome the moment the affair is finished, my mind was alienated from her.
This site's exposition
belts on their waists
The dress described is that of Babylonian officers as they appear in carved and painted reliefs. Barnes pointed to the monuments of Nineveh, where such figures stood on the walls. Judah admired the pictures before meeting the men.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Vers. 11 seqq.) When her sister Oholibah saw this, she became more wicked than her, and her desire for sexual immorality surpassed that of her sister. Shamelessly, she displayed her prostitution to the sons of Assyria, to their captains and leaders who came to her. She was dressed in various (or costly) garments, riding on horses with riders, all of them handsome young men. And I saw that both of them had defiled the same path, and they multiplied their sexual immorality.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
), joined in alliance with that kingdom, invited them to come and settle in Jerusalem, that they might refine the genius of the Jewish nation and make it more polite; nay, they sent for patterns of their images, altars, and temples, and made use of them in their worship. Thus was she polluted with her whoredoms (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation
Girded with girdles upon their loins,....
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
And she increased her harlotries to lust for images that she had not seen [in actuality], only their likeness,
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| חֲגוֹרֵ֨י | chagorei | girded of | H2289 → | |
| אֵז֜וֹר | ʾezor | a waistband | H232 → | |
| בְּמָתְנֵיהֶ֗ם | bemateneihem | on hips their | H4975 → | 47 times |
| סְרוּחֵ֤י | seruchei | overhung of | H5628 → | |
| טְבוּלִים֙ | tevulim | turbans | H2871 → | |
| בְּרָ֣אשֵׁיהֶ֔ם | berasheihem | on heads their | H7218 → | 599 times |
| מַרְאֵ֥ה | mareh | [the] appearance of of | H4758 → | 103 times |
| שָׁלִשִׁ֖ים | shalishim | icers | H7991 → | |
| כֻּלָּ֑ם | kulam | all of them | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| דְּמ֤וּת | demut | [the] likeness of | H1823 → | 25 times |
| בְּנֵֽי־ | benei- | [the] sons of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| בָבֶל֙ | vavel | Babylon | H894 → | 262 times |
| כַּשְׂדִּ֔ים | kasdim | Chaldea | H3778 → | 80 times |
| אֶ֖רֶץ | ʾeretz | [was] [the] land of | H776 → | 2504 times |
| מוֹלַדְתָּֽם׃ | moladtam | kindred their | H4138 → | 22 times |
חֲגוֹרֵ֨יgirded of
chagoreiH2289 →
אֵז֜וֹרa waistband
ʾezorH232 →
בְּמָתְנֵיהֶ֗םon hips their
bemateneihemH4975 →47 times
סְרוּחֵ֤יoverhung of
serucheiH5628 →
טְבוּלִים֙turbans
tevulimH2871 →
בְּרָ֣אשֵׁיהֶ֔םon heads their
berasheihemH7218 →599 times
מַרְאֵ֥ה[the] appearance of of
marehH4758 →103 times
שָׁלִשִׁ֖יםicers
shalishimH7991 →
כֻּלָּ֑םall of them
kulamH3605 →5413 times
דְּמ֤וּת[the] likeness of
demutH1823 →25 times
בְּנֵֽי־[the] sons of
benei-H1121 →4930 times
בָבֶל֙Babylon
vavelH894 →262 times
כַּשְׂדִּ֔יםChaldea
kasdimH3778 →80 times
אֶ֖רֶץ[was] [the] land of
ʾeretzH776 →2504 times
מוֹלַדְתָּֽם׃kindred their
moladtamH4138 →22 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
2 Samuel 14:25Now there was not a man in all Israel as handsome and highly praised as Absalom. From the sole of his foot to the top of his head, he did not have a single…
it leads to
- Isaiah 1:6
From the sole of your foot to the top of your head, there is no soundness—only wounds and welts and festering sores neither cleansed nor bandaged nor soothed with oil.
- Job 2:7
So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and infected Job with terrible boils from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head.
- Deuteronomy 28:35
The LORD will afflict you with painful, incurable boils on your knees and thighs, from the soles of your feet to the top of your head.
- Isaiah 1:6
Through
1 Samuel 18:4And Jonathan removed the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic, his sword, his bow, and his belt.
it leads to
- Genesis 41:42
Then Pharaoh removed the signet ring from his finger, put it on Joseph’s finger, clothed him in garments of fine linen, and placed a gold chain around his neck.
- Isaiah 61:10
I will rejoice greatly in the LORD, my soul will exult in my God; for He has clothed me with garments of salvation and wrapped me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom…
- Esther 6:8–9
have them bring a royal robe that the king himself has worn and a horse on which the king himself has ridden—one with a royal crest placed on its head.
- Genesis 41:42
Through
Isaiah 22:21I will clothe him with your robe and tie your sash around him. I will put your authority in his hand, and he will be a father to the dwellers of Jerusalem and to…
it leads to
- Genesis 45:8
Therefore it was not you who sent me here, but God, who has made me a father to Pharaoh—lord of all his household and ruler over all the land of Egypt.
- Genesis 45:8
Through
Judges 8:18Next, Gideon asked Zebah and Zalmunna, “What kind of men did you kill at Tabor?” “Men like you,” they answered, “each one resembling the son of a king.”
it leads to
- Judges 4:6
She summoned Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali and said to him, “Surely the LORD, the God of Israel, is commanding you: ‘Go and march to Mount Tabor, taking with you ten…
- Judges 4:6
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Ezekiel
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Patrick Fairbairn, An Exposition of Ezekiel.