Bible Strands
Ezekiel 23:49
They will repay you for your indecency, and you will bear the consequences of your sins of idolatry. Then you will know that I am the Lord GOD.’”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — God pronounces judgment through Ezekiel to the personified sisters representing Israel and Judah, following the decree to end their indecency in the land (Ezekiel 23:48). The speaker identifies himself as the Lord GOD.
The words — The Hebrew verb נָתְנוּ (na.te.Nu) means "they will repay," paired with זִמַּתְכֶן (zi.mat.khen) for "your indecency." The verb תִשְׂאֵנָה (ti.se.nah) literally translates as "you will bear."
The thread — The motif of unmitigated divine repayment for covenant violation runs through Ezekiel 7:4, Ezekiel 9:10, and Isaiah 59:18. Each text emphasizes that God will execute judgment according to the specific deeds committed.
Why it lands — The passage requires the addressee to acknowledge God’s authority through direct experience of consequences rather than mere intellectual assent. It demands recognition that idolatry and covenant violation inevitably produce ruin under divine justice.
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
And they shall recompense your lewdness upon you, and ye shall bear the sins of your idols: and ye shall know that I am the Lord God.
Cross-references
- Ezekiel 7:4 I will not look on you with pity, nor will I spare you, but I will punish you for your ways and for the abominations among you. Then you will know that I am the LORD.’
- Ezekiel 9:10 But as for Me, I will not look on them with pity, nor will I spare them. I will bring their deeds down upon their own heads.”
- Isaiah 59:18 So He will repay according to their deeds: fury to His enemies, retribution to His foes, and recompense to the islands.
- Ezekiel 6:7 The slain will fall among you, and you will know that I am the LORD.
- Ezekiel 7:9 I will not look on you with pity, nor will I spare you, but I will punish you for your ways and for the abominations among you. Then you will know that it is I, the LORD, who strikes the blow.
- Ezekiel 20:38 And I will purge you of those who rebel and transgress against Me. I will bring them out of the land in which they dwell, but they will not enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the LORD.
- Psalms 9:16 The LORD is known by the justice He brings; the wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands. Higgaion Selah
- Ezekiel 11:21 But as for those whose hearts pursue detestable things and abominations, I will bring their conduct down upon their own heads, declares the Lord GOD.”
- Ezekiel 16:43 Because you did not remember the days of your youth, but enraged Me with all these things, I will surely bring your deeds down upon your own head, declares the Lord GOD. Have you not committed this lewdness on top of all your other abominations?
- Ezekiel 20:42 Then you will know that I am the LORD, when I bring you into the land of Israel, the land that I swore to give your fathers.