Bible Strands
Ezekiel 16:54
So you will bear your disgrace and be ashamed of all you did to comfort them.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — God speaks through Ezekiel to Jerusalem, personified as an unfaithful wife, immediately after promising the restoration of Sodom and Samaria from captivity. The declaration marks the transition from judgment to the specific consequence Jerusalem will face for her actions.
The words — לְמַ֙עַן (le.ma‘an) means “so that” or “for the sake of,” establishing the causal link between restoration and shame. תִּשְׂאִי (tis‘i) translates literally as “you will bear” or “you will carry,” emphasizing the inescapable weight of the coming disgrace.
The thread — The text explicitly ties this shame to Ezekiel 16:52, where Jerusalem is commanded to bear her disgrace for making her sisters appear more righteous. The motif of public shame for covenant failure parallels Jeremiah 2:26, which compares Israel’s disgrace to a thief caught in the act.
Why it lands — The verse states that Jerusalem will carry the shame of her own actions rather than deflect blame onto restored neighbors. It requires the reader to accept that justifying others’ sin ultimately magnifies one’s own accountability.
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
That thou mayest bear thine own shame, and mayest be confounded in all that thou hast done, in that thou art a comfort unto them.
Cross-references
- Ezekiel 14:22 Yet, behold, some survivors will be left in it—sons and daughters who will be brought out. They will come out to you, and when you see their conduct and actions, you will be comforted regarding the disaster I have brought upon Jerusalem—all that I have brought upon it.
- Jeremiah 2:26 As the thief is ashamed when he is caught, so the house of Israel is disgraced. They, their kings, their officials, their priests, and their prophets
- Ezekiel 16:52 So now you must bear your disgrace, since you have brought justification for your sisters. For they appear more righteous than you, because your sins were more vile than theirs. So you too must bear your shame and disgrace, since you have made your sisters appear righteous.
- Ezekiel 16:63 so that when I make atonement for all you have done, you will remember and be ashamed and never again open your mouth because of your disgrace, declares the Lord GOD.”
- Ezekiel 36:31 Then you will remember your evil ways and wicked deeds, and you will loathe yourselves for your iniquities and abominations.