Ezekiel 23:40
in Ezekiel 23Furthermore, you sisters sent messengers for men who came from afar; and behold, when they arrived, you bathed for them, painted your eyes, and adorned yourself with jewelry.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And furthermore ye have sent for men that come from far, unto whom a messenger was sent, and, lo, they came; for whom thou didst wash thyself, paint thine eyes, and deck thyself with ornaments,
KJV
And furthermore, that ye have sent for men to come from far, unto whom a messenger was sent; and, lo, they came: for whom thou didst wash thyself, paintedst thy eyes, and deckedst thyself with ornaments,
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This verse in Ezekiel 23
Commentary
9 notes on this verseThou didst wash thyself, paintedst thy eyes, and deckedst thyself with ornaments - This is exactly the way in which a loose female in Bengal adorns herself to receive guests. She first bathes, then rubs black paint around her eyes, and then covers her body with ornaments. - Ward’s Customs.
This site's exposition
ye have sent for men to come from far
on Ezekiel 23:40-42
The figure returns to the adorning of chapter 16. Fairbairn reads the detail of a stately bed and prepared table as royal court imagery, the alliances conducted with the ceremony of state visits. Gill notes the Sabeans from the wilderness named alongside the Babylonians widen the guest list further.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 36, 37 onwards) And the Lord said to me, saying: Son of man, do you judge Oholah and Oholibah and announce to them their crimes (or iniquities): for they are adulteresses (or have committed adultery), and there is blood on their hands, and they have committed adultery with their idols (or inventions): moreover, they have offered to devour (or have led) their sons whom they have borne to me through fire. But they have also done this to me, they have defiled my sanctuary on that day: and they have profaned my Sabbaths.
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
Smite the scorner and the simple will beware. The judgments of God upon some are designed to teach others, and happy are those who receive instruction from them not to tread in the steps of sinners, lest they be taken in their snares; those who would be taught this must know God is the Lord (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
And furthermore, that ye have sent for men to come from far,....
Thus God will assert the honour of his broken law and injured government, and let the world know what a just and jealous God he is. (2.) Thus they shall be broken off from their sins: I will cause lewdness to cease out of the land,
(2.) Great preparation was made for the reception of these foreign ministers, for their public entry and public audience, which is compared to the pains that an adulteress takes to make herself look handsome.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
messenger was sent--namely, by Judah (Eze 23:16; Isa 57:9). paintedst . . . eyes-- (2Ki 9:30, Margin; Black paint was spread on the eyelids of beauties to make the white of the eye more attractive by the contrast, so Judah left no seductive art untried.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase+unbalanced-parens
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The figure is that of a woman decked in all her beauty, sitting on a couch (not bed) at a banquet prepared for those whom she has invited. This further offence is not one of idolatry, but that of courting alliances with other powers which were not less readily made than broken. Eze 23:40 That ye have sent - Better, “they (i. e., Israel and Judah) sent.”
The words behind it
18 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאַ֗ף | veaf | and also | H637 → | 134 times |
| כִּ֤י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| תִשְׁלַ֙חְנָה֙ | tishlachnah | they sent | H7971 → | 845 times |
| לַֽאֲנָשִׁ֔ים | laanashim | for men | H582 → | 566 times |
| בָּאִ֖ים | baim | [who] come | H935 → | 2568 times |
| מִמֶּרְחָ֑ק | mimerchak | from a distance | H4801 → | |
| אֲשֶׁ֨ר | ʾasher | whom | H834 → | 5497 times |
| מַלְאָ֜ךְ | malakh | a messenger | H4397 → | 213 times |
| שָׁל֤וּחַ | shaluach | [was] sent | H7971 → | 845 times |
| אֲלֵיהֶם֙ | ʾaleihem | to them | H413 → | 5510 times |
| וְהִנֵּה־ | vehineh- | and there! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| בָ֔אוּ | vau | they came | H935 → | 2568 times |
| לַאֲשֶׁ֥ר | laasher | for whom | H834 → | 5497 times |
| רָחַ֛צְתְּ | rachatzt | you bathed | H7364 → | 72 times |
| כָּחַ֥לְתְּ | kachalt | you painted | H3583 → | |
| עֵינַ֖יִךְ | ʾeinayikh | eyes your | H5869 → | 887 times |
| וְעָ֥דִית | veadit | and you put on | H5710 → | 10 times |
| עֶֽדִי׃ | ʾedi | ornament[s] | H5716 → | 14 times |
וְאַ֗ףand also
veafH637 →134 times
כִּ֤יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
תִשְׁלַ֙חְנָה֙they sent
tishlachnahH7971 →845 times
לַֽאֲנָשִׁ֔יםfor men
laanashimH582 →566 times
בָּאִ֖ים[who] come
baimH935 →2568 times
מִמֶּרְחָ֑קfrom a distance
mimerchakH4801 →
אֲשֶׁ֨רwhom
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
מַלְאָ֜ךְa messenger
malakhH4397 →213 times
שָׁל֤וּחַ[was] sent
shaluachH7971 →845 times
אֲלֵיהֶם֙to them
ʾaleihemH413 →5510 times
וְהִנֵּה־and there!
vehineh-H2009 →843 times
בָ֔אוּthey came
vauH935 →2568 times
לַאֲשֶׁ֥רfor whom
laasherH834 →5497 times
רָחַ֛צְתְּyou bathed
rachatztH7364 →72 times
כָּחַ֥לְתְּyou painted
kachaltH3583 →
עֵינַ֖יִךְeyes your
ʾeinayikhH5869 →887 times
וְעָ֥דִיתand you put on
veaditH5710 →10 times
עֶֽדִי׃ornament[s]
ʾediH5716 →14 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 Kings 9:30Now when Jehu arrived in Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it. So she painted her eyes, adorned her head, and looked down from a window.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 4:30
And you, O devastated one, what will you do, though you dress yourself in scarlet, though you adorn yourself with gold jewelry, though you enlarge your eyes with paint? You adorn yourself in vain;…
- Ezekiel 24:17
Groan quietly; do not mourn for the dead. Put on your turban and strap your sandals on your feet; do not cover your lips or eat the bread of mourners.”
- Jeremiah 4:30
Through
Jeremiah 4:30And you, O devastated one, what will you do, though you dress yourself in scarlet, though you adorn yourself with gold jewelry, though you enlarge your eyes with paint? You adorn yourself in vain;…
it leads to
- Lamentations 1:2
She weeps aloud in the night, with tears upon her cheeks. Among all her lovers there is no one to comfort her. All her friends have betrayed her; they have become her enemies.
- Lamentations 1:19
I called out to my lovers, but they have betrayed me. My priests and elders perished in the city while they searched for food to keep themselves alive.
- 2 Kings 9:30
Now when Jehu arrived in Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it. So she painted her eyes, adorned her head, and looked down from a window.
- Isaiah 10:3
What will you do on the day of reckoning when devastation comes from afar? To whom will you flee for help? Where will you leave your wealth?
- Ezekiel 16:36–41
This is what the Lord GOD says: Because you poured out your wealth and exposed your nakedness in your promiscuity with your lovers and with all your detestable idols, and because of the blood…
- Lamentations 1:2
Through
Isaiah 57:9You went to Molech with oil and multiplied your perfumes. You have sent your envoys a great distance; you have descended even to Sheol itself.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 23:16
At the sight of them, she lusted for them and sent messengers to them in Chaldea.
- Ezekiel 23:16
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); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Patrick Fairbairn, An Exposition of Ezekiel.