Ezekiel 23:16

Hebrew (Westminster Leningrad Codex)

English Translation

As soon as she saw them she doted on them, and sent messengers to them into Chaldea.

World English Bible · Public Domain

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Word by word

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ותעגב

ʻăgab

H5689

“and · to lust”

Conjunction + Verb, Qal, Sequential Imperfect, 3rd Person, Feminine, Singular

Appears 8× in the Hebrew Bible
First appears at Jeremiah 4:30

Full BDB Definition

Origin: a primitive root

TWOT: 1559

(Qal) to have inordinate affection or lust - lust (participle) - paramours (participle as subst)

About this verse

These counts appear in no published source. They are computed here, from the morphology-tagged text and Lemma’s own curated glosses. What Lemma adds →

9: words
8: distinct lemmas
Prophets: section

Notable vocabulary

The rarest word here is ותעגב to lust H5689 — appearing just 8 times in the whole Hebrew Bible.

Shared distinctive vocabulary

ותעגב to lust H5689 occurs in 7 verses of the Hebrew Bible. Also found in:

Grammatical profile

3 verbs
4 nouns
2 prepositions

Verb forms

ותעגב Qal · Sequential Imperfect
וַתַּעְגְּבָ֥ה Qal · Sequential Imperfect
וַתִּשְׁלַ֧ח Qal · Sequential Imperfect

Repetition

A word recurs within this verse — often emphatic in Hebrew:

ותעגב to lust H5689 ×2

Hebrew & Septuagint length

In English translation the verse runs 17 words from the Hebrew and 23 from the Septuagint (LXX English) — closely comparable.

A rough comparison of the two English renderings, which tokenize alike — not a word-level alignment.

Word counts can differ between the Hebrew and the Greek without any difference in meaning — e.g. the Hebrew direct-object marker אֵת has no separate Greek word, and Greek often adds the article ὁ.

In the original languages it is 9 Hebrew tokens and 17 Greek tokens — but the two are counted differently (Hebrew bundles its prefixes and suffixes into one token; the Greek is in lemma form), so that isn’t a like-for-like length.

Cross-references

Topical passages linked to Ezekiel 23:16 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — connected by theme and wording, ordered by reader-vote popularity; previews shown in the World English Bible.

Ezekiel 16:29 You have moreover multiplied your prostitution to the land of merchants, to Chaldea; and yet you weren't satisfied with this.
Matthew 5:28 but I tell you that everyone who gazes at a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart.
Genesis 3:6 When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit of it, and ate; and she gave some to her husband with her, and he ate.
Genesis 6:2 that God's sons saw that men's daughters were beautiful, and they took for themselves wives of all that they chose.
Genesis 39:7 It happened after these things, that his master's wife cast her eyes on Joseph; and she said, "Lie with me."
2 Samuel 11:2 It happened at evening, that David arose from off his bed, and walked on the roof of the king's house: and from the roof he saw a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful to look on.
2 Kings 24:1 In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant three years: then he turned and rebelled against him.
Job 31:1 "I made a covenant with my eyes, How then should I look lustfully at a young woman?

Psalms 119:37 Turn my eyes away from looking at worthless things. Revive me in your ways.
Proverbs 6:25 Don't lust after her beauty in your heart, Neither let her captivate you with her eyelids.
Proverbs 23:33 Your eyes will see strange things, And your mind will imagine confusing things.
Ezekiel 16:17 You also took your beautiful jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given you, and made for yourself images of men, and played the prostitute with them;
Ezekiel 23:40–41 Furthermore you have sent for men who come from far, to whom a messenger was sent, and, behold, they came; for whom you did wash yourself, paint your eyes, and deck yourself with ornaments,
2 Peter 2:14 having eyes full of adultery, and who can't cease from sin; enticing unsettled souls; having a heart trained in greed; children of cursing;

Cross-references courtesy of OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0).

Hebrew and Greek witnesses Masoretic Hebrew ↔ Greek Septuagint

The same verse in the two great witnesses to the Old Testament, shown verse-for-verse.

These are two independent witnesses, not word-aligned to each other, and the Septuagint is shown in lemma (dictionary) form.

Hebrew Ezekiel 23:16 Masoretic · Westminster Leningrad Codex

ותעגב וַתַּעְגְּבָ֥ה עֲלֵיהֶ֖ם לְמַרְאֵ֣ה עֵינֶ֑יהָ וַתִּשְׁלַ֧ח מַלְאָכִ֛ים אֲלֵיהֶ֖ם כַּשְׂדִּֽימָה

As soon as she saw them she doted on them, and sent messengers to them into Chaldea.

World English Bible · Public Domain

Greek LXX Ezekiel 23:16 Septuagint · lemma form

καί ἐπιτίθημι ἐπί αὐτός ὁ ὅρασις ὀφθαλμός αὐτός καί ἐκ ἀποστέλλω ἄγγελος πρός αὐτός εἰς γῆ χαλδαῖος

And she doted upon them as soon as she saw them, and sent forth messengers to them into the land of the Chaldeans.

LXX2012 (modern English Septuagint) · Public Domain

Hebrew: Westminster Leningrad Codex (CC BY 4.0). Greek: Septuagint (public domain); English from LXX2012 (modern English Septuagint) (Public Domain). How the Septuagint differs from the Hebrew →

Targum (Aramaic paraphrase)

The Targum is the ancient Jewish Aramaic paraphrase of the Hebrew Scriptures — an interpretive translation, not the Hebrew text itself. Onkelos (literal) and Pseudo-Jonathan (expansive) render the Torah, and Jonathan the Prophets. Coverage is partial: where no permissively-licensed English translation exists for a verse, only the Aramaic is shown. This is verse-level text, not a word-by-word alignment to the Hebrew.

Targum Jonathan Prophets (Joshua–Malachi)

וְאִתְרְעִיאַת לְמִיטְעֵי בַתְרֵיהוֹן בָּתַר חֵיזוּ עֵינָהָא וּשְׁלָחַת אִזְגַדִין לְוַתְהוֹן לִמְדִינַת אֲרַע כַּסְדָאֵי:

(no public-domain English translation for this verse)

Targum Jonathan — Aramaic: “Mikraot Gedolot” (public domain). English: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “London "Chaldee Paraphrase," 1871” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.

Commentary

Notes on Ezekiel 23:16 from classic Christian and Jewish commentators (each source and its license shown beneath its notes). The classic Christian expositions comment on the surrounding passage and are grouped to its opening verse, so a note may address several verses; the Jewish commentaries on the Tanakh (Rashi and others) are per-verse, so they appear only where the commentator wrote on this verse.

Lemma curates 59 commentaries, every one of them public domain or Creative Commons licensed, each selected and text-cleaned for this edition rather than reprinted as found. About our sources →

Trapp's Complete Commentary

John Trapp

Eze 23:16 And as soon as she saw them with her eyes, she doted upon them, and sent messengers unto them into Chaldea.

Ver. 16. And as soon as she saw them with her eyes.] Here began the mischief. Ut vidi ut perii! Conciliatorem peccati oculum Talmudici nominant.

“ Oculi sunt in amore duces. ”

Many have died of the wound in the eye.

And sent messengers unto them.] Being themselves, therefore, not long after, sent into captivity unto them, that they might have enough of them.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown

sent messengers . . . into Chaldea-- (Eze 16:29). It was she that solicited the Chaldeans, not they her. Probably the occasion was when Judah sought to strengthen herself by a Chaldean alliance against a menaced attack by Egypt (compare Kg2 23:29-35; Kg2 24:1-7). God made the object of their sinful desire the instrument of their punishment. Jehoiakim, probably by a stipulation of tribute, enlisted Nebuchadnezzar against Pharaoh, whose tributary he previously had been; failing to keep his stipulation, he brought on himself Nebuchadnezzar's vengeance.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(16) Saw them with her eyes.—This is to be taken in a sense wide enough to include knowledge obtained in any way, as well as by actual sight. The intercourse between Judæa and Babylon was so close that many of the people had seen the Babylonians personally, while others knew of them through their report.

Sent messengers.—Ahaz “sent messengers” to Assyria (2Ki_16:7), and Hezekiah entertained ambassadors from Babylon (2Ki_20:13); but besides these, the whole history of the times implies that there must have been frequent embassies of which no special mention is made. One from Zedekiah is incidentally mentioned by Jeremiah (Jer_29:3), of which there is no record in history.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne

16. Read: and she doted upon them after the sight of her eyes—i.e. with delight and desire (Isa_11:3).

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

John Gill's Exposition

And as soon as she saw them with her eyes, she doted upon them,.... As lustful women, on the sight of the pictures of men, fall in love with them, and are mad after them; such a vehement desire after the idols of the Chaldeans prevailed, upon seeing their images:

and sent messengers unto them in Chaldea; to make alliances with the Chaldeans, and to have their idols, and worship them.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The sending of “messengers” refers to the act of Ahaz 2Ki 16:7.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary

Messengers. Achaz invited the Assyrians, and imitated their altars, &c., 4 Kings xvi. 2., &c. (Calmet) --- The Chaldeans afterwards possessed the country. (Haydock)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Matthew Poole's English Annotations

Saw them; the portraits of them.

She doted upon them; like an unsatiable and most impudent adulteress, she fell into most inordinate affection for their persons on sight of their pictures.

Sent messengers unto them; courted the love of those strangers, and wooed their embraces, sent to make alliances with them, prostituted herself to them.

Into Chaldea: though it was a long journey, troublesome and costly, all this hinders not this extravagant, lewd woman, she sends to these remote parts, and forgets her God.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

unfoldingWord translationNotes

Door43 World Missions Community

General Information:

Yahweh continues his metaphor in which he speaks of the cities of Jerusalem and Samaria as if they were two prostitutes. This metaphor continues through Ezekiel 23:34. (See: Metaphor)

her bed of lust

This refers to her bed where she slept with men and acted lustfully. AT: "her bed where she acted lustfully" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)

they made her unclean with their promiscuousness

This means that they slept with the woman. AT: "they slept with her and made her unclean" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)

unclean

A person who God considers spiritually unacceptable or defiled is spoken of as if the person were physically unclean. See how you translated this in Ezekiel 23:7. (See: Metaphor)

so she turned herself away from them

This is an idiom. AT: "so she rejected them" (See: Idiom)

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

Rashi

Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki (Rashi)

at the sight [that reached] her eyes Because she saw the likeness of their form.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

Lesson kit

Teaching starters — assembled from the data on this page, not authored interpretation. Every prompt links to the verse data it draws on. Edit before teaching.

Ezekiel, in the Prophets, opens this verse with 9 words (8 distinct Hebrew lemmas). Its most distinctive word is ʻăgab (“to lust”). A historical commentator’s framing appears above. Read the whole chapter for the surrounding context.

Discussion questions

How does “to lust” (ʻăgab) shape what this verse is saying?
How does Jeremiah 4:30, which shares the word «to lust», read alongside this verse?
What does the repetition of “to lust” (2× in this one verse) do in this verse?
These translations render this verse differently; the difference is in the English rendering, not the original. What questions does that raise?
«ותעגב» is a Qal Sequential Imperfect verb. How does that grammatical form shape the action described?
Compare how Trapp's Complete Commentary and Jamieson, Fausset & Brown read this verse. Where do they agree or differ?

Things to notice

This verse counts 9 Hebrew ↔ 17 Greek words.
These translations choose different wording for 6 words in this verse.
“to lust” occurs 2× in this single verse.
8 distinct Hebrew lemmas span 9 words in this verse.