Ezekiel 16:18
New International Version
And you took your embroidered clothes to put on them, and you offered my oil and incense before them.

New Living Translation
You used the beautifully embroidered clothes I gave you to dress your idols. Then you used my special oil and my incense to worship them.

English Standard Version
And you took your embroidered garments to cover them, and set my oil and my incense before them.

Berean Standard Bible
You took your embroidered garments to cover them, and you set My oil and incense before them.

King James Bible
And tookest thy broidered garments, and coveredst them: and thou hast set mine oil and mine incense before them.

New King James Version
You took your embroidered garments and covered them, and you set My oil and My incense before them.

New American Standard Bible
Then you took your colorfully woven cloth and covered them, and offered My oil and My incense before them.

NASB 1995
“Then you took your embroidered cloth and covered them, and offered My oil and My incense before them.

NASB 1977
“Then you took your embroidered cloth and covered them, and offered My oil and My incense before them.

Legacy Standard Bible
Then you took your embroidered cloth and covered them and gave My oil and My incense before them.

Amplified Bible
and you took your embroidered clothing and covered them, and offered My oil and My incense before them.

Christian Standard Bible
Then you took your embroidered clothing to cover them and set my oil and incense before them.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Then you took your embroidered garments to cover them, and set My oil and incense before them.

American Standard Version
and thou tookest thy broidered garments, and coveredst them, and didst set mine oil and mine incense before them.

Contemporary English Version
You dressed them in the clothes you got from me, and you offered them the olive oil and incense I gave you.

English Revised Version
and thou tookest thy broidered garments, and coveredst them, and didst set mine oil and mine incense before them.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
You took off your embroidered clothes and covered the idols with them. You offered my olive oil and incense in their presence.

Good News Translation
You took the embroidered clothes I gave you and put them on the images, and you offered to the images the olive oil and incense I had given you.

International Standard Version
You took your embroidered gowns and made clothes to cover them. Then you offered my olive oil and incense to them.

Majority Standard Bible
You took your embroidered garments to cover them, and you set My oil and incense before them.

NET Bible
You took your embroidered clothing and used it to cover them; you offered my olive oil and my incense to them.

New Heart English Bible
and you took your embroidered garments, and covered them, and set my oil and my incense before them.

Webster's Bible Translation
And hast taken thy broidered garments, and covered them: and thou hast set my oil and my incense before them.

World English Bible
You took your embroidered garments, covered them, and set my oil and my incense before them.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
And you take the garments of your embroidery, "" And cover them, "" And you have set My oil and My incense before them.

Young's Literal Translation
And dost take the garments of thy embroidery, And thou dost cover them, And My oil and My perfume thou hast set before them.

Smith's Literal Translation
And thou wilt take thy garments of variegations and cover them: and thou gavest mine oil and mine incense before them.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
And thou tookest thy garments of divers colours, and coveredst them : and settest my oil and my sweet incense before them.

Catholic Public Domain Version
And you used your multicolored vestments to cover these things. And you placed my oil and my incense before them.

New American Bible
You took your embroidered garments to cover them; my oil and my incense you set before them;

New Revised Standard Version
and you took your embroidered garments to cover them, and set my oil and my incense before them.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
And you took your embroidered garments and covered them; and you have set my oil and my incense before them.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And you took the garments in which you adorned yourself and you covered them, and my oil and my sweet incense you set before them
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
and thou didst take thy richly woven garments and cover them, and didst set Mine oil and Mine incense before them.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And thou didst take thy variegated apparel and didst clothe them, and thou didst set before them mine oil and mine incense.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Jerusalem's Unfaithfulness
17You also took the fine jewelry of gold and silver I had given you, and you made male idols with which to prostitute yourself. 18You took your embroidered garments to cover them, and you set My oil and incense before them. 19And you set before them as a pleasing aroma the food I had given you—the fine flour, oil, and honey that I had fed you. That is what happened, declares the Lord GOD.…

Cross References
Hosea 2:8
For she does not acknowledge that it was I who gave her grain, new wine, and oil, who lavished on her silver and gold—which they crafted for Baal.

Jeremiah 4:30
And you, O devastated one, what will you do, though you dress yourself in scarlet, though you adorn yourself with gold jewelry, though you enlarge your eyes with paint? You adorn yourself in vain; your lovers despise you; they want to take your life.

Isaiah 57:7-8
On a high and lofty hill you have made your bed, and there you went up to offer sacrifices. / Behind the door and doorpost you have set up your memorial. Forsaking Me, you uncovered your bed; you climbed up and opened it wide. And you have made a pact with those whose bed you have loved; you have gazed upon their nakedness.

Revelation 17:4
The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls. She held in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her sexual immorality.

Revelation 18:16
saying: “Woe, woe to the great city, clothed in fine linen and purple and scarlet, adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls!

Isaiah 1:21
See how the faithful city has become a harlot! She once was full of justice; righteousness resided within her, but now only murderers!

Jeremiah 2:32
Does a maiden forget her jewelry or a bride her wedding sash? Yet My people have forgotten Me for days without number.

Hosea 2:13
I will punish her for the days of the Baals when she burned incense to them, when she adorned herself with rings and jewelry, and went after her lovers. But Me she forgot,” declares the LORD.

Revelation 18:12-13
cargo of gold, silver, precious stones, and pearls; of fine linen, purple, silk, and scarlet; of all kinds of citron wood and every article of ivory, precious wood, bronze, iron, and marble; / of cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, and frankincense; of wine, olive oil, fine flour, and wheat; of cattle, sheep, horses, and carriages; of bodies and souls of slaves.

Isaiah 3:16-24
The LORD also says: “Because the daughters of Zion are haughty—walking with heads held high and wanton eyes, prancing and skipping as they go, jingling the bracelets on their ankles— / the Lord will bring sores on the heads of the daughters of Zion, and the LORD will make their foreheads bare.” / In that day the Lord will take away their finery: their anklets and headbands and crescents; ...

Jeremiah 10:9
Hammered silver is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz—the work of a craftsman from the hands of a goldsmith. Their clothes are blue and purple, all fashioned by skilled workers.

1 Peter 3:3-4
Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair or gold jewelry or fine clothes, / but from the inner disposition of your heart, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in God’s sight.

1 Timothy 2:9
Likewise, I want the women to adorn themselves with respectable apparel, with modesty, and with self-control, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes,

Proverbs 7:10
Then a woman came out to meet him, with the attire of a harlot and cunning of heart.

Isaiah 61:10
I will rejoice greatly in the LORD, my soul will exult in my God; for He has clothed me with garments of salvation and wrapped me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom wears a priestly headdress, as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.


Treasury of Scripture

And took your broidered garments, and covered them: and you have set my oil and my incense before them.

Ezekiel 16:10
I clothed thee also with broidered work, and shod thee with badgers' skin, and I girded thee about with fine linen, and I covered thee with silk.

Jump to Previous
Broidered Cloth Clothes Clothing Cover Covered Coveredst Embroidered Embroidery Garments Incense Needlework Offered Oil Perfume Richly Robes Tookest Woven
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Broidered Cloth Clothes Clothing Cover Covered Coveredst Embroidered Embroidery Garments Incense Needlework Offered Oil Perfume Richly Robes Tookest Woven
Ezekiel 16
1. Under the parable of a wretched infant is shown the natural state of Jerusalem
6. God's extraordinary love toward her,
15. Her grievous judgment
35. Her sin, equal to her mother,
46. and exceeding her sisters, Sodom and Samaria,
59. calls for judgments
60. Mercy is promised her in the end














And you took your embroidered garments
This phrase highlights the Israelites' misuse of the blessings and gifts given to them by God. The "embroidered garments" symbolize the wealth and beauty bestowed upon them, which they were meant to use for God's glory. In the Hebrew context, embroidery was a sign of luxury and divine favor. Historically, such garments were often used in religious ceremonies, indicating a sacred purpose. The Israelites' choice to misuse these garments reflects a deeper spiritual infidelity, as they turned what was holy into something profane.

to cover them
The act of covering with embroidered garments suggests an attempt to hide or disguise something. In this context, it implies covering idols or false practices with what was meant to be holy. This action represents a perversion of purpose, where the sacred is used to legitimize or beautify sin. Theologically, it speaks to the human tendency to mask wrongdoing with superficial righteousness, a theme echoed throughout Scripture.

and you set My oil and incense before them
Oil and incense were integral to worship in ancient Israel, symbolizing the presence and blessing of God. "My oil and incense" emphasizes that these elements belong to God and are meant for His worship alone. The Israelites' offering of these sacred items to idols signifies a profound betrayal and spiritual adultery. In the Hebrew tradition, oil often represents the Holy Spirit, and incense symbolizes prayer and worship. By setting these before idols, the Israelites not only misappropriated God's gifts but also attempted to transfer divine honor to false gods, highlighting the depth of their apostasy.

Verses 18, 19. - Mine oil and mine incense. This, as afterwards in Ezekiel 23:41, was the crowning aggravation of the guilt. The very gifts of God, designed for his worship, were prostituted to that of his rivals. The "oil" is that of Exodus 30:23-25, perfumed and set apart for sacred uses. The act of covering the idol was, as in ver. 8, the symbol of the marriage union. In the sweet savour we have the familiar phrase of Ezekiel 6:13. The scene brought before us is that of a sacrificial feast, in which cakes of flour, honey, and oil were eaten whilst incense was offered. So we have the "adored liba" of Virgil, 'AEneid,' 7:109, or more fully in Tibullus, 'Eleg.,' 1:7, 53, 54, the "thuria honores," the "liba ... dulcia melle." Thus it was, etc. As in ver. 16, the description seems to rouse an instinctive abhorrence in the prophet's mind, which finds utterance in this form: "Yes, it was even so." The words are, however, taken by the LXX., Vulgate, and Luther as opening the following verse: "And it came to pass that."

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
You took
וַתִּקְחִ֛י (wat·tiq·ḥî)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - second person feminine singular
Strong's 3947: To take

your embroidered
רִקְמָתֵ֖ךְ (riq·mā·ṯêḵ)
Noun - feminine singular construct | second person feminine singular
Strong's 7553: Variegation of color, embroidery

garments
בִּגְדֵ֥י (biḡ·ḏê)
Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 899: A covering, clothing, treachery, pillage

to cover them,
וַתְּכַסִּ֑ים (wat·tə·ḵas·sîm)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Piel - Consecutive imperfect - second person feminine singular | third person masculine plural
Strong's 3680: To plump, fill up hollows, to cover

and you set
נָתַ֖תְּ (nā·ṯat)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - second person feminine singular
Strong's 5414: To give, put, set

My oil
וְשַׁמְנִי֙ (wə·šam·nî)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular construct | first person common singular
Strong's 8081: Grease, liquid, richness

and incense
וּקְטָרְתִּ֔י (ū·qə·ṭā·rə·tî)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - feminine singular construct | first person common singular
Strong's 7004: Smoke, odor of (burning) sacrifice, incense

before them.
לִפְנֵיהֶֽם׃ (lip̄·nê·hem)
Preposition-l | Noun - masculine plural construct | third person masculine plural
Strong's 6440: The face


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OT Prophets: Ezekiel 16:18 And you took your embroidered garments (Ezek. Eze Ezk)
Ezekiel 16:17
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