Ezekiel 23:41
in Ezekiel 23You sat on a couch of luxury with a table spread before it, on which you had set My incense and My oil,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and sit upon a stately bed, with a table prepared before it, whereupon thou didst set mine incense and mine oil.
KJV
And satest upon a stately bed, and a table prepared before it, whereupon thou hast set mine incense and mine oil.
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This verse in Ezekiel 23
Commentary
8 notes on this verseAnd satest upon a stately bed,.... Or honourable (g), a bed of state: either a throne, a royal seat under a canopy, on which the king of Judah sat to receive foreign ambassadors; or a stately bed at a feast, made for the entertainment of them; it being usual in the eastern nations to sit on beds at eating, to which the next clause agrees.
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 Awakening3 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
The oil and incense God calls his, not only because they were the gift of his providence, but because they should have been offered at his altar, which was an aggravation of their sin in serving idols and idolaters with them. (3.) There was great joy at their coming, as if it were such a blessing as never happened to Jerusalem before (
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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,
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
And satest upon a stately bed - Hast raised a stately altar to thy idols; probably alluding to that which Ahaz ordered to be made, after the similitude of that which he saw at Damascus. The bed here is in allusion to the sofas on which the ancients were accustomed to recline at their meals; or to the couches on which they place Asiatic brides, with incense pots and sweetmeats on a table before them.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
While men reclined at table, women sat, as it seemed indelicate for them to lie down (Am 6:4) [GROTIUS]. table--that is, the idolatrous altar. mine incense--which I had given thee, and which thou oughtest to have offered to Me (Eze 16:18, 19;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
The words behind it
11 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְיָשַׁבְתְּ֙ | veyashavt | and you sat | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| מִטָּ֣ה | mitah | a couch | H4296 → | |
| כְבוּדָּ֔ה | khevudah | glorious | H3520 → | |
| וְשֻׁלְחָ֥ן | veshulchan | and a table | H7979 → | 71 times |
| עָר֖וּךְ | ʾarukh | [was] arranged | H6186 → | |
| לְפָנֶ֑יהָ | lefaneiha | <to> before it | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| וּקְטָרְתִּ֥י | uketareti | and incense my | H7004 → | 60 times |
| וְשַׁמְנִ֖י | veshamni | and oil my | H8081 → | 193 times |
| שַׂ֥מְתְּ | samt | you put | H7760 → | 584 times |
| עָלֶֽיהָ׃ | ʾaleiha | on it | H5921 → | 5755 times |
וְיָשַׁבְתְּ֙and you sat
veyashavtH3427 →1079 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
מִטָּ֣הa couch
mitahH4296 →
כְבוּדָּ֔הglorious
khevudahH3520 →
וְשֻׁלְחָ֥ןand a table
veshulchanH7979 →71 times
עָר֖וּךְ[was] arranged
ʾarukhH6186 →
לְפָנֶ֑יהָ<to> before it
lefaneihaH6440 →2123 times
וּקְטָרְתִּ֥יand incense my
uketaretiH7004 →60 times
וְשַׁמְנִ֖יand oil my
veshamniH8081 →193 times
שַׂ֥מְתְּyou put
samtH7760 →584 times
עָלֶֽיהָ׃on it
ʾaleihaH5921 →5755 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
Ezekiel 44:16They alone shall enter My sanctuary and draw near to My table to minister before Me. They will keep My charge.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 41:22
There was an altar of wood three cubits high and two cubits square. Its corners, base, and sides were of wood. And the man told me, “This is the table that is before the…
- Ezekiel 41:22
Through
Esther 1:6Hangings of white and blue linen were fastened with cords of fine white and purple material to silver rings on the marble pillars. Gold and silver couches were arranged on a mosaic pavement of…
it leads to
- Amos 6:4
You lie on beds inlaid with ivory, and lounge upon your couches. You dine on lambs from the flock and calves from the stall.
- Amos 6:4
Through
Jeremiah 44:17Instead, we will do everything we vowed to do: We will burn incense to the Queen of Heaven and offer drink offerings to her, just as we, our fathers, our kings, and our officials…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 7:18
The sons gather wood, the fathers light the fire, and the women knead the dough to make cakes for the Queen of Heaven; they pour out drink offerings to other gods to provoke Me…
- Nehemiah 9:34
Our kings and leaders and priests and fathers did not obey Your law or listen to Your commandments and warnings that You gave them.
- Hosea 2:5–9
For their mother has played the harlot and has conceived them in disgrace. For she thought, ‘I will go after my lovers, who give me bread and water, wool and linen, oil and drink.’
- Jeremiah 44:25
This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: As for you and your wives, you have spoken with your mouths and fulfilled with your hands your words: ‘We will surely…
- Jeremiah 44:21
“As for the incense you burned in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem—you, your fathers, your kings, your officials, and the people of the land—did the LORD not remember and…
- Jeremiah 7:18
Through
Isaiah 65:11But you who forsake the LORD, who forget My holy mountain, who set a table for Fortune and fill bowls of mixed wine for Destiny,
it leads to
- Isaiah 2:2
In the last days the mountain of the house of the LORD will be established as the chief of the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and all nations will stream to…
- Isaiah 2:2
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Ezekiel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; 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 Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Patrick Fairbairn, An Exposition of Ezekiel.