Ezekiel 23:10

They exposed her nakedness, seized her sons and daughters, and put her to the sword. Thus she became a byword among women, and they executed judgment against her.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The prophet Ezekiel delivers Yahweh’s judgment to the exiled community, personifying the northern and southern kingdoms as two sisters. This declaration follows Yahweh’s act of handing Samaria over to her Assyrian lovers for punishment.

The words — The Hebrew verb גִּלּוּ (gi.lu) literally means “they uncovered,” denoting the forced stripping of her nakedness. The verb לָקְחוּ (la.kha.chu) translates as “they took,” indicating the seizure of her children and her surrender to execution.

The thread — The motif of stripped shame and foreign seizure recurs in Ezekiel 23:29 and Hosea 2:10. Jeremiah 22:8 records the same pattern as nations witness Yahweh’s destruction of a once-great city.

Why it lands — The text reports that idolatrous pursuit results in total loss of protection, family, and dignity. It requires the reader to acknowledge that covenant abandonment produces concrete historical ruin, not merely spiritual warning.

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

הֵמָּה֮he.Mahthey גִּלּ֣וּgi.Luthey uncovered עֶרְוָתָהּ֒'er.va.Ta/hnakedness/ her בָּנֶ֤יהָba.Nei./hasons/ her וּבְנוֹתֶ֙יהָ֙u./ve.no.Tei./haand/ daughters/ her לָקָ֔חוּla.Ka.chuthey took וְאוֹתָ֖הּve./'o.Ta/hand/ <obj.>/ her בַּחֶ֣רֶבba./Che.revwith the/ sword הָרָ֑גוּha.Ra.guthey killed וַתְּהִי־va./te.hi-and/ she became שֵׁם֙shema name לַנָּשִׁ֔יםla./na.Shimto <the>/ women וּשְׁפוּטִ֖יםu./she.fu.Timand/ judgments עָ֥שׂוּ'A.suthey brought aboutבָֽהּ׃ סVa/hon/ her

King James Version

These discovered her nakedness: they took her sons and her daughters, and slew her with the sword: and she became famous among women; for they had executed judgment upon her.

Cross-references

Ezekiel 23:29 They will treat you with hatred, take all for which you have worked, and leave you naked and bare, so that the shame of your prostitution will be exposed. Your indecency and promiscuity
Hosea 2:10 And then I will expose her lewdness in the sight of her lovers, and no one will deliver her out of My hands.
Jeremiah 22:8 And many nations will pass by this city and ask one another, ‘Why has the LORD done such a thing to this great city?’
Ezekiel 16:37 therefore I will surely gather all the lovers with whom you found pleasure, all those you loved and all those you hated. I will gather them against you from all around and expose you before them, and they will see you completely naked.
Ezekiel 23:48 So I will put an end to indecency in the land, and all the women will be admonished not to imitate your behavior.
Hosea 2:3 Otherwise, I will strip her naked and expose her like the day of her birth. I will make her like a desert and turn her into a parched land, and I will let her die of thirst.