Bible Strands
Ezekiel 16:35
Therefore, O prostitute, hear the word of the LORD!
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Yahweh speaks through Ezekiel to Jerusalem, portrayed as a prostitute, immediately after contrasting her unnatural sexual economics with other women and before detailing the specific sins of idolatry and child sacrifice that trigger the coming judgment.
The words — The Hebrew imperative שִׁמְעִי (shim‘i) commands "hear," paired with לָכֵן (lāḵēn) "therefore" to mark a logical transition from the preceding indictment to the divine verdict.
The thread — This formulaic summons appears in 1 Kings 22:19 and Isaiah 1:10, where prophets similarly command audiences to listen to Yahweh’s impending judgment.
Why it lands — It demands immediate attention to the coming consequences of the stated sins, leaving no room for evasion or dismissal of the prophetic declaration.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Wherefore, O harlot, hear the word of the Lord:
Cross-references
- 1 Kings 22:19 Micaiah continued, “Therefore hear the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing by Him on His right and on His left.
- Isaiah 1:10 Hear the word of the LORD, you rulers of Sodom; listen to the instruction of our God, you people of Gomorrah!
- Isaiah 1:21 See how the faithful city has become a harlot! She once was full of justice; righteousness resided within her, but now only murderers!
- Isaiah 23:15 At that time Tyre will be forgotten for seventy years—the span of a king’s life. But at the end of seventy years, it will happen to Tyre as in the song of the harlot:
- Isaiah 28:14 Therefore hear the word of the LORD, O scoffers who rule this people in Jerusalem.
- Jeremiah 3:1 “If a man divorces his wife and she leaves him to marry another, can he ever return to her? Would not such a land be completely defiled? But you have played the harlot with many lovers—and you would return to Me?” declares the LORD.
- Jeremiah 3:6 Now in the days of King Josiah, the LORD said to me, “Have you seen what faithless Israel has done? She has gone up on every high hill and under every green tree to prostitute herself there.
- Ezekiel 13:2 “Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who are now prophesying. Tell those who prophesy out of their own imagination: Hear the word of the LORD!
- Ezekiel 20:47 Say to the forest of the Negev: Hear the word of the LORD! This is what the Lord GOD says: I am about to ignite in you a fire, and it will devour all your trees, both green and dry. The blazing flame will not be quenched, and by it every face from south to north will be scorched.
- Ezekiel 34:7 Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD: