Ezekiel 16:7

I made you thrive like a plant of the field. You grew up and matured and became very beautiful. Your breasts were formed and your hair grew, but you were naked and bare.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Yahweh addresses the personified city of Jerusalem, tracing her history from abandoned infancy to mature adulthood. The declaration occurs between two divine visits: first reviving her in her blood, then approaching her when she is physically ready for marriage.

The words — The Hebrew תִּרְבִּי (tir.Bi) and תִּגְדְלִי (tig.de.Li) denote progressive growth, moving from numerical increase to physical stature. The phrase בַּעֲדִי (ba.'a.Di) literally means "into adornment," marking her transition to mature beauty.

The thread — This motif of divinely initiated multiplication appears in Exodus 1:7 and Deuteronomy 1:10, where God’s blessing causes the Israelites to multiply rapidly. The resulting beauty and status parallel Isaiah 62:3, where the people become a crown of glory and royal diadem for God.

Why it lands — The text demands recognition that physical maturity and beauty are granted by God, not self-generated. It requires the reader to acknowledge that divine favor precedes human covenant and that nakedness remains the baseline condition until covered by divine action.

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

רְבָבָ֗הre.va.Vahten thousand כְּצֶ֤מַחke./Tze.machlike/ [the] growth of הַשָּׂדֶה֙ha./sa.Dehthe/ field נְתַתִּ֔יךְne.ta.Ti/khI made/ you וַתִּרְבִּי֙va./tir.Biand/ you grew וַֽתִּגְדְּלִ֔יva./tig.de.Liand/ you grew up וַתָּבֹ֖אִיva./ta.Vo.'iand/ you came בַּעֲדִ֣יba./'a.Diinto/ adornment עֲדָיִ֑ים'a.da.Yimornaments שָׁדַ֤יִםsha.Da.yimbreasts נָכֹ֙נוּ֙na.Kho.nuthey were firm וּשְׂעָרֵ֣ךְu./se.'a.Re/khand/ hair/ your צִמֵּ֔חַtzi.Me.achit had grown וְאַ֖תְּve./'Atand/ you עֵרֹ֥ם'e.Rom[were] nakedness וְעֶרְיָֽה׃ve./'er.Yahand/ bareness

King James Version

I have caused thee to multiply as the bud of the field, and thou hast increased and waxen great, and thou art come to excellent ornaments: thy breasts are fashioned, and thine hair is grown, whereas thou wast naked and bare.

Cross-references

Exodus 1:7 but the Israelites were fruitful and increased rapidly; they multiplied and became exceedingly numerous, so that the land was filled with them.
Deuteronomy 1:10 The LORD your God has multiplied you, so that today you are as numerous as the stars in the sky.
Isaiah 62:3 You will be a crown of glory in the hand of the LORD, a royal diadem in the palm of your God.
Ezekiel 16:10 I clothed you in embroidered cloth and gave you sandals of fine leather. I wrapped you in fine linen and covered you with silk.
Genesis 22:17 I will surely bless you, and I will multiply your descendants like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will possess the gates of their enemies.
Exodus 3:22 Every woman shall ask her neighbor and any woman staying in her house for silver and gold jewelry and clothing, and you will put them on your sons and daughters. So you will plunder the Egyptians.”
Exodus 12:37 The Israelites journeyed from Rameses to Succoth with about 600,000 men on foot, besides women and children.
Deuteronomy 4:8 And what nation is great enough to have righteous statutes and ordinances like this entire law I set before you today?
Deuteronomy 32:10 He found him in a desert land, in a barren, howling wilderness; He surrounded him, He instructed him, He guarded him as the apple of His eye.
Deuteronomy 33:26 “There is none like the God of Jeshurun, who rides the heavens to your aid, and the clouds in His majesty.