Ezekiel 16:61

Then you will remember your ways and be ashamed when you receive your older and younger sisters. I will give them to you as daughters, but not because of My covenant with you.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — God addresses personified Jerusalem, outlining her future restoration after recounting her past unfaithfulness. The declaration occurs within a prophetic oracle detailing a broken marriage covenant and its subsequent divine re-establishment.

The words — זָכַרְתְּ (za.khart) means you will remember, and נִכְלַמְתְּ (nikh.lamT) means you will be ashamed. These verbs describe the psychological and spiritual response required when the covenant partner receives the restored sisters.

The thread — The motif of divine covenant remembrance and establishment runs through Ezekiel 16:60 and Ezekiel 16:62. Theological parallels appear in Galatians 4:26, Hebrews 8:13, and Isaiah 66:7 regarding covenantal renewal and maternal restoration.

Why it lands — The text demands acknowledgment of past conduct and shame before accepting unmerited relational restoration. It establishes that covenant inclusion operates on divine initiative rather than prior merit.

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

וְזָכַ֣רְתְּve./za.Khartand/ you will remember אֶת־'et-<obj.>דְּרָכַיִךְ֮de.ra.kha.yi/Khways/ your וְנִכְלַמְתְּ֒ve./nikh.lamTand/ you will be ashamed בְּקַחְתֵּ֗ךְbe./kach.Te/khwhen/ receive/ you אֶת־'et-<obj.>אֲחוֹתַ֙יִךְ֙'a.cho.Ta.yi/khsisters/ your הַגְּדֹל֣וֹתha./ge.do.Lot<the>/ old מִמֵּ֔ךְmi.Me/khmore than/ you אֶל־'el-to הַקְּטַנּ֖וֹתha./ke.ta.Not<the>/ young מִמֵּ֑ךְmi.Me/khmore than/ you וְנָתַתִּ֨יve./na.ta.Tiand/ I will give אֶתְהֶ֥ן'et./Hen<obj.>/ themלָ֛ךְla/khto <the>/ youלְבָנ֖וֹתle./va.Notto/ daughters וְלֹ֥אve./Lo'and/ not מִבְּרִיתֵֽךְ׃mi./be.ri.Te/khfrom/ covenant/ your

King James Version

Then thou shalt remember thy ways, and be ashamed, when thou shalt receive thy sisters, thine elder and thy younger: and I will give them unto thee for daughters, but not by thy covenant.

Cross-references

Galatians 4:26 But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother.
Hebrews 8:13 By speaking of a new covenant, He has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear.
Isaiah 66:7 “Before she was in labor, she gave birth; before she was in pain, she delivered a boy.
Jeremiah 50:4 “In those days and at that time, declares the LORD, the children of Israel and the children of Judah will come together, weeping as they come, and will seek the LORD their God.
Ezekiel 20:43 There you will remember your ways and all the deeds with which you have defiled yourselves, and you will loathe yourselves for all the evils you have done.
Romans 11:11 I ask then, did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Certainly not! However, because of their trespass, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel jealous.
Romans 15:16 to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
Ephesians 3:6 This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are fellow heirs, fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus.
Job 42:5 My ears had heard of You, but now my eyes have seen You.
Psalms 119:59 I considered my ways and turned my steps to Your testimonies.