Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ezekiel 16:39
And I will also give thee into their hand, and they shall throw down thine eminent place, and shall break down thy high places: they shall strip thee also of thy clothes, and shall take thy fair jewels, and leave thee naked and bare.
39. On “eminent place” and “high places,” see Eze 16:24.
strip thee of thy clothes ] Reference is probably to a barbarous practice of publicly exposing the adulteress, Eze 16:37. Ch. Eze 23:26; Hos 2:10.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 39. They shall strip thee also of thy clothes – thy fair jewels] Alluding to a lot common enough to prostitutes, their maintainers in the end stripping them of all they had given them.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
This particularly describes the manner in which God will do what he threatens.
I will give thee, as a judge delivers the condemned into the hand of the executioner. Their hand; power and exasperated rage.
Throw down, undermine and utterly ruin,
thine eminent place; thy idol temples, and thy stews: see Eze 16:24,31.
Shall break down; the same in other terms.
They shall strip thee: it is opprobrium to a man to be stripped, more to a woman; this Jewish adulteress shall be stripped, that her nakedness appear. Gods undeserved love covered her nakedness, Eze 16:8, his just displeasure will now discover her nakedness.
Thy fair jewels: see Eze 16:17.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
39. thine eminent placeliterally,”fornication-chamber” (see on Eze16:24), the temple which Israel had converted into a place ofspiritual fornication with idols, to please the Chaldeans (Eze23:14-17).
strip thee of . . . clothes(Eze 23:26; Hos 2:3).They shall dismantle thy city of its walls.
fair jewelsliterally,”vessels of thy fairness” or beauty; the vessels of thetemple [GROTIUS]. All thegifts wherewith God hath adorned thee [CALVIN].
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And I also will give thee into their hand,…. Into the hand of their lovers and enemies that should be gathered against them, the Assyrians and Chaldeans, with others that joined them, as in
Eze 16:37;
and they shall throw down thine eminent place, and shall break down thine high places; the city of Jerusalem, the temple, and altars; and not only these, but even the high places and altars which were set up for idolatrous uses; all should be destroyed by the Chaldean army. The Targum is,
“and they shall destroy thy walls, and thy high places shall be destroyed:”
they shall strip thee also of thy clothes; as persons commonly are when taken captives:
and shall take thy fair jewels; or, “the vessels of thy glory” s; the vessels of the sanctuary of gold and silver, and their own household furniture, with all their riches and substance:
and leave thee naked and bare; as at first when in Egypt; see
Eze 16:7.
s “vasa decoris tui”, V. L. “instrumenta ornatus tui”, Junius Tremellius, Polanus “vasa ornatus tui”, Piscator, Starckius.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Here Ezekiel enlarges upon God’s judgment, when he teaches that the Jews would not only be exposed to every disgrace, as if they were brought forward into a noble and conspicuous theater, but they would suffer spoliation and rapine from those in whom they formerly trusted. I will give thee, says he, into their hands He speaks of lovers and enemies: in truth, he says all shall meet together — your ancient allies and friends as well as your enemies: and we know that they were spoiled at one time or another by the Egyptians, Assyrians, and Chaldaeans. For at the time when Jerusalem was taken and cut off, the Assyrians were reduced under the monarchy of the Chaldees. Babylon had oppressed Nineveh, as is well known, but the strength of both people were joined together. Thus the Jews were spoiled by them when they thought that they had provided for themselves very successfully by an alliance with the Assyrians against the kings of Israel and Syria: and afterwards, when they had formed an alliance with the Chaldaeans, they thought themselves beyond the reach of all danger. But now the Prophet derides there foolish confidence, and says that they should be spoiled by all their friends: so also he says that their altars should be thrown down. Those who translate it “a house of sin” do not sufficiently consider what I yesterday observed, that the Prophet uses the figure so as to mark a thing simply from any part of it. The Prophet’s language is moderate or mixed, because he speaks partially of lofty and profane altars, and at the same time follows out its own simile. There is no doubt, therefore, that by a high place and lofty things he means altars themselves: although he does allude to these sinful houses, because he said in yesterday’s lecture that the Jews stood at the top of the streets so as to entice any casual and unknown strangers to them. As also the Chaldaeans did not spare the temple, so there is no doubt that they destroyed all the altars promiscuously. and yet the Jews had wished to gratify them by destroying a part of them. But God shows how foolishly men imagine they shall succeed while they purposely fight against him: and experience teaches that the same thing happens to all unbelievers. For when any one has embraced his own superstitions, and despises what others think sacred and holy, then the conquerors destroy temples and images, and deform the region which they wish to be ruined and desolate. So also it is now said, they shall destroy your altars and high places. He now adds, and they shall spoil thee of thy garments, and take away the vessels of thy beauty. The Prophet comprehends in these words whatever benefits God had conferred on the Jews; for we know how liberally he had adorned them with his gifts, and especially in rendering the earth wonderfully fruitful by his blessing. He signifies in a word, that the Jews, when deprived of all their ornaments, would be disgraced; as it follows, and they shall send thee away naked and bare; that is, they shall cast thee off, just as a lover when satisfied rejects the companion of his iniquity.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(39) Eminent places.See Note on Eze. 16:24. The destruction of her idolatries as well as the desolation of Israel herself is foretold.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
39. I will also give thee into their hand Her former lovers shall be her executioners. She shall be stoned and thrust through with their swords.
They shall take from her all the beautiful treasures which her husband had given to her (Eze 16:10-12) and leave her once more in nakedness and penury, unable to hire new lovers (Eze 16:41).
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
“I will also give you into their hand , and they will throw down your eminent place, and break down your lofty places, and they will strip you of your clothes, and take your fair jewels, and they will leave you naked and bare. They will also bring up an assembly against you, and they will stone you with stones and thrust you through with their swords. And they will burn your houses with fire, and execute judgments on you in the sight of many women, and I will cause you to cease from playing the prostitute, and you will no more offer yourself for hire.”
Ezekiel quite happily intermixes his illustrations and connects them with the realities of its fulfilment. Firstly Israel as linked with Jerusalem will be handed over by her Husband to her lovers who will dismantle all her prostitute’s equipment, remove her beautiful clothing and her jewellery, and leave her naked in her shame. She would lose everything that God had given her, through the activity of the very lovers that she had chased.
The picture then moves on to her being brought before the gathered assembly of judges (where she may have lost her fine clothing and jewellery but would not strictly be naked, but Ezekiel is piling on the humiliation) where she is sentenced to death by stoning, the penalty for adultery (Deu 22:21-24; Lev 20:10) and for encouraging others to idolatry (Deu 13:10), and also to be thrust through with the sword and burnt with fire, the penalty for a city which turns to idolatry (Deu 13:15-16).
‘And execute judgments on you in the sight of many women.’ One purpose of stoning was a warning to women who saw in it the consequence of adultery and idolatry. Even so will the judgments Yahweh pours out on Israel and Jerusalem be a warning to all who see it, and especially to the exiles.
All these things would be literally fulfilled in the destruction of Jerusalem. The sufferings of the people of a besieged city that did not surrender was always dreadful in the extreme, the men were unmercifully slaughtered, the women raped and then often killed. No pity would be shown.
‘And I will cause you to cease from playing the prostitute, and you will no more offer yourself for hire.’ Israel’s ability to behave in this way will cease because Jerusalem and the land of Israel will be no more.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Eze 16:39 And I will also give thee into their hand, and they shall throw down thine eminent place, and shall break down thy high places: they shall strip thee also of thy clothes, and shall take thy fair jewels, and leave thee naked and bare.
Ver. 39. They shall throw down thine eminent place. ] So did the Turks throw down many both images and churches in Christendom, when people would not be persuaded to cast images out of their churches.
They shall strip thee also of thy clothes.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Eze 16:39-43
Eze 16:39-43
“I will also give thee into their hand, and they shall throw down thy vaulted place, and break down thy lofty place; and they shall strip thee of thy clothes, and take thy fair jewels; and they shall leave thee naked and bare. They shall also bring up a company against thee, and they shall stone thee with stones, and thrust thee through with their swords. And they shall burn thy houses with fire, and shall execute judgments upon thee in the sight of many women; and I will cause thee to cease from playing the harlot, and thou shalt also give no hire any more. So will I cause my wrath toward thee to rest, and my jealousy shall depart from thee, and I will be quiet, and will be no more angry. Because thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, but hast raged against me in all these things; therefore, behold, I also will bring thy way upon thy head, saith the Lord Jehovah: and thou shalt not commit this lewdness with all thine abominations.”
“They shall strip thee of thy clothes …” (Eze 16:39). Biblical examples of the degradation of a harlot by exhibiting her naked are found in Hos 2:12; Nah 3:5, and in Jer 13:22; Jer 13:26.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
And I: For the enormous idolatries and cruelties of Judah and Jerusalem, Jehovah determined to gather together the surrounding nations, both those with whom they had formed alliances, as the Egyptians and Assyrians, and such as had always been inimical to them, as Edom, Ammon, Moab, and Philistia, to inflict, or to witness, his judgments upon them. Having exposed their enormous crimes to view, He would pass sentence upon them: He would give Jerusalem into the hands of the Chaldeans, who would destroy the city and temple which they had polluted; level their cities and high places with the ground; slay, plunder, and enslave the people.
they shall throw: Eze 16:24, Eze 16:25, Eze 16:31, Eze 7:22-24, Isa 27:9
shall strip: Eze 16:10-20, Eze 23:26, Eze 23:29, Isa 3:16-24, Hos 2:3, Hos 2:9-13
thy fair jewels: Heb. instruments of thine ornament
Reciprocal: Jer 17:3 – and thy Eze 6:6 – and the
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Eze 16:39. The first part of this verse was literally fulfilled when the Babylonians took and destroyed Jerusalem. The second part is in the figures that
were used in verse 10 of this chapter. The glorious favors that God had bestowed upon Judah and Jerusalem were taken over by the army of Babylon.