BibleWord.ai› Bible› Ezekiel› Chapter 16› Verse 35

Ezekiel 16:35

Old Testament Major Prophet ASV (1901)

What does Ezekiel 16:35 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “Wherefore, O harlot, hear the word of Jehovah:” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

Wherefore, O harlot, hear the word of Jehovah:
Ezekiel 16:35 — American Standard Version

Context — Ezekiel 16

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
32A wife that committeth adultery! that taketh strangers instead of her husband!
33They give gifts to all harlots; but thou givest thy gifts to all thy lovers, and bribest them, that they may come unto thee on every side for thy whoredoms.
34And thou art different from [other] women in thy whoredoms, in that none followeth thee to play the harlot; and whereas thou givest hire, and no hire is given unto thee, therefore thou art different.
35Wherefore, O harlot, hear the word of Jehovah:
36Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Because thy filthiness was poured out, and thy nakedness uncovered through thy whoredoms with thy lovers; and because of all the idols of thy abominations, and for the blood of thy children, that thou didst give unto them;
37therefore behold, I will gather all thy lovers, with whom thou hast taken pleasure, and all them that thou hast loved, with all them that thou hast hated; I will even gather them against thee on every side, and will uncover thy nakedness unto them, that they may see all thy nakedness.
38And I will judge thee, as women that break wedlock and shed blood are judged; and I will bring upon thee the blood of wrath and jealousy.
← Ezekiel 16:34Ezekiel 16:36 →
← Full Chapter 16 Ezekiel Overview

What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“Wherefore, O harlot, hear the word of the Lord.] The sentence about to be pronounced; adjudging to be slain with the sword, to be stoned and burned; the crime for which is to be read in the name of harlot, justly given to an apostate people; as it often is to the church of Rome in the book of the Revelation. The Targum is, “whose works are as an harlots; O congregation of Israel, receive the words of the Lord;” which follow:”
Read attributed excerpt →
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“Here begins the threat of wrath to be poured out on her.”
Read attributed excerpt →
Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“Judah is now represented as undergoing the punishment adjudged to an adulteress and murderess. Only in her utter destruction shall the wrath of the Lord, the jealous God, cease. Ezekiel 16:36 Filthiness - Or, brass, i. e., money, is lavished. The Hebrews generally speak of money as gold Isaiah 46:6, but brass coins were not unknown in the time of the Maccabees. Compare Matthew 10:9; Mark 12:41. Ezekiel may here have put brass for gold contemptuously. Compare Isaiah 1:22-25; Isaiah 48:10. Ezekiel 16:38 I will give thee blood in fury - Rather, “I will make thee a bloody sacrifice to fury and jealousy.” By the Law of Moses, death was the penalty for murder Exodus 21:12, and for adultery…”
Read attributed excerpt →
Tyndale Open Study Notes
Tyndale House Publishers · Tyndale Open Study Notes · Modern study notes
“16:35-38 Since Jerusalem behaved like an adulteress, it was fitting that she should face an adulteress’s death sentence. God would strip her naked in a symbolic act of divorce, thus reversing the clothing metaphor of marriage (see 16:8; Hos 2:2-3). Then the people would stone her (Lev 20:10; Deut 22:22). Since this would cover her naked body with blood, she would leave the world just as she came into it. This metaphor was fulfilled when the Babylonians destroyed the city in 586 BC.”
Read attributed excerpt →
Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“O harlot: Isa 1:21, Isa 23:15, Isa 23:16; Jer 3:1, Jer 3:6-8; Hos 2:5; Nah 3:4; Joh 4:10, Joh 4:18; Rev 17:5 hear: Eze 13:2, Eze 20:47, Eze 34:7; Kg1 22:19; Isa 1:10, Isa 28:14; Hos 4:1; Amo 7:16 Ezekiel 16:36”
Read attributed excerpt →
Keil & Delitzsch
C. F. Keil & F. Delitzsch · Commentary on the Old Testament · 19th-century historical commentary
“As Israel has been worse than all the heathen, Jehovah will punish it notwithstanding its election, so that its shame shall be uncovered before all the nations ( Eze 16:36-42), and the justice of the judgment to be inflicted upon it shall be made manifest ( Eze 16:43-52). According to these points of view, the threat of punishment divides itself into two parts in the following manner: - In the first ( Eze 16:35-42) we have, first of all (in Eze 16:36), a recapitulation of the guilty conduct described in vv. 16-34; and secondly, an announcement of the punishment corresponding to the guilt, as the punishment of adultery and murder ( Eze 16:37 and Eze 16:48), and a picture of its infliction, as…”
Read attributed excerpt →

Related study paths

Read Ezekiel 16 in contextBrowse Hebrew word studiesOpen this verse in the study reader

Sources and verification