Ezekiel 23:25
in Ezekiel 23And 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 will seize your sons and daughters, and your remnant will be consumed by fire.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And I will set my jealousy against thee, and they shall deal with thee in fury; they shall take away thy nose and thine ears; and thy residue shall fall by the sword: they shall take thy sons and thy daughters; and thy residue shall be devoured by the fire.
KJV
And I will set my jealousy against thee, and they shall deal furiously with thee: they shall take away thy nose and thine ears; and thy remnant shall fall by the sword: they shall take thy sons and thy daughters; and thy residue shall be devoured by the fire.
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This verse in Ezekiel 23
Commentary
10 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Take away thy nose and thine ears - Alluding to the barbarous custom of mutilating prisoners in the east Dan 2:5. An Egyptian law prescribed this punishment for an adulteress. Fire - A mode of capital punishment Jer 29:22; Dan. 3.
This site's exposition
I will raise up thy lovers against thee
on Ezekiel 23:22-27
The Lord raises up Jerusalem's own former lovers, the Babylonians and their allies. Keil reads the mutilation named at verse 25 against known penalties for adultery in the surrounding cultures. Fairbairn notes the stripping of clothes and jewels at verse 26 answers the ornaments the Lord gave in chapter 16.
This site's exposition
cut off your noses and ears
Cutting off noses and ears was done to captives in the ancient east. Barnes added that an Egyptian law set this punishment for an adulteress. The jealous rage is God's own, a husband's anger.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(v. 22ff.) Therefore, Oholibah, thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will stir up against you your lovers from whom you turned in disgust, and I will bring them against you from every side: the Babylonians and all the Chaldeans, Pekod and Shoa and Koa, and all the Assyrians with them, desirable young men, governors and commanders all of them, officers and men of renown, all of them riding on horses. And they shall come against you from the north with chariots and wagons and with a host of peoples.
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
If men deal ever so hatefully, ever so furiously, with us, yet, if we have God on our side, we need not fear them; they can do us no real hurt. But if men deal furiously with us, and God set his jealousy against us too, what will become of us? The particulars of the sentence here passed upon this notorious adulteress are, (1.) That all she has shall be seized on.
); for they are children of whoredoms, unworthy the dignities and privileges of Israelites," Hos. ii. (3.) That she shall be stigmatized and deformed: "They shall take away thy nose and thy ears, shall mark thee for a harlot, and render thee for ever odious,"
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens+odd-straight-quotes
And this shall be the end of Jerusalem. Because she has trod in the steps of Samaria's sins, she must expect no other than Samaria's fate. It is common, in giving judgment, to have an eye to precedents; so has God in passing this sentence on Jerusalem (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
I will set my jealousy - As a jealous provoked husband, I will be as much against thee as they are. Thy residue - Either the people, who hid themselves in vaults and cellars, or what the Chaldeans cannot carry away, all this shall be devoured by fire.
2 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And I will set my jealousy against thee, and they shall deal furiously with thee,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Shall take away thy nose - A punishment frequent among the Persians and Chaldeans, as ancient authors tell. Adulteries were punished in this way; and to this Martial refers: - Quis tibi persuasit nares abscindere moecho? “Who has counselled thee to cut off the adulterer’s nose?” Women were thus treated in Egypt. See Calmet.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְנָתַתִּ֨י | venatati | and I will set | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| קִנְאָתִ֜י | kinati | jealousy my | H7068 → | 43 times |
| בָּ֗ךְ | bakh | on you | ||
| וְעָשׂ֤וּ | veasu | and they will deal with | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| אוֹתָךְ֙ | ʾotokh | with you | H854 → | 929 times |
| בְּחֵמָ֔ה | bechemah | in rage | H2534 → | 125 times |
| אַפֵּ֤ךְ | ʾapekh | nose your | H639 → | 276 times |
| וְאָזְנַ֙יִךְ֙ | veazenayikh | and ears your | H241 → | 187 times |
| יָסִ֔ירוּ | yasiru | they will remove | H5493 → | 299 times |
| וְאַחֲרִיתֵ֖ךְ | veacharitekh | and remainder your | H319 → | 61 times |
| בַּחֶ֣רֶב | bacherev | by the sword | H2719 → | 413 times |
| תִּפּ֑וֹל | tipol | it will fall | H5307 → | 435 times |
| הֵ֗מָּה | hemah | they | H1992 → | 553 times |
| בָּנַ֤יִךְ | banayikh | sons your | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| וּבְנוֹתַ֙יִךְ֙ | uvenotayikh | and daughters your | H1323 → | 588 times |
| יִקָּ֔חוּ | yikachu | they will take | H3947 → | 966 times |
| וְאַחֲרִיתֵ֖ךְ | veacharitekh | and remainder your | H319 → | 61 times |
| תֵּאָכֵ֥ל | teakhel | it will be consumed | H398 → | 810 times |
| בָּאֵֽשׁ׃ | baesh | by <the> fire | H784 → | 378 times |
וְנָתַתִּ֨יand I will set
venatatiH5414 →2011 times
קִנְאָתִ֜יjealousy my
kinatiH7068 →43 times
בָּ֗ךְon you
bakh
וְעָשׂ֤וּand they will deal with
veasuH6213 →2628 times
אוֹתָךְ֙with you
ʾotokhH854 →929 times
בְּחֵמָ֔הin rage
bechemahH2534 →125 times
אַפֵּ֤ךְnose your
ʾapekhH639 →276 times
וְאָזְנַ֙יִךְ֙and ears your
veazenayikhH241 →187 times
יָסִ֔ירוּthey will remove
yasiruH5493 →299 times
וְאַחֲרִיתֵ֖ךְand remainder your
veacharitekhH319 →61 times
בַּחֶ֣רֶבby the sword
bacherevH2719 →413 times
תִּפּ֑וֹלit will fall
tipolH5307 →435 times
הֵ֗מָּהthey
hemahH1992 →553 times
בָּנַ֤יִךְsons your
banayikhH1121 →4930 times
וּבְנוֹתַ֙יִךְ֙and daughters your
uvenotayikhH1323 →588 times
יִקָּ֔חוּthey will take
yikachuH3947 →966 times
וְאַחֲרִיתֵ֖ךְand remainder your
veacharitekhH319 →61 times
תֵּאָכֵ֥לit will be consumed
teakhelH398 →810 times
בָּאֵֽשׁ׃by <the> fire
baeshH784 →378 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 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 23:47The mob will stone them and cut them down with their swords. They will kill their sons and daughters and burn down their houses.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 16:40–41
They will bring a mob against you, who will stone you and cut you to pieces with their swords.
- Ezekiel 24:21
Tell the house of Israel that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘I am about to desecrate My sanctuary, the pride of your power, the desire of your eyes, and the delight of…
- Jeremiah 39:8
The Chaldeans set fire to the palace of the king and to the houses of the people, and they broke down the walls of Jerusalem.
- Ezekiel 9:6
Slaughter the old men, the young men and maidens, the women and children; but do not go near anyone who has the mark. Now begin at My sanctuary.” So they began with the elders…
- 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
- Ezekiel 16:40–41
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
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); Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Ezekiel; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Patrick Fairbairn, An Exposition of Ezekiel.