Ezekiel 23 26

Ezekiel 23:26 kjv

They shall also strip thee out of thy clothes, and take away thy fair jewels.

Ezekiel 23:26 nkjv

They shall also strip you of your clothes And take away your beautiful jewelry.

Ezekiel 23:26 niv

They will also strip you of your clothes and take your fine jewelry.

Ezekiel 23:26 esv

They shall also strip you of your clothes and take away your beautiful jewels.

Ezekiel 23:26 nlt

They will strip you of your beautiful clothes and jewels.

Ezekiel 23 verses

Ezekiel 23 26 Meaning

Ezekiel 23:26 declares a divine judgment against Jerusalem (Oholibah), stating that her former lovers, who represent the Babylonian conquerors, will strip her of her clothing and seize her precious ornaments. This act symbolizes a complete and humiliating loss of her honor, status, beauty, and wealth. It is a graphic portrayal of public shame, vulnerability, and total despoilment as a direct consequence of her spiritual adultery and political apostasy. The verse emphasizes the reversal of her previous adorned state and her reduction to utter disgrace.

Ezekiel 23 26 Context

Ezekiel chapter 23 vividly portrays God's judgment on Judah and Israel through the allegory of two promiscuous sisters, Oholah (Samaria/Israel) and Oholibah (Jerusalem/Judah), who are spiritual harlots. These sisters prostituted themselves by engaging in idolatry and forming illicit political alliances with foreign powers like Egypt, Assyria, and Babylon, instead of remaining faithful to Yahweh, their true husband. Verse 26, specifically targeting Oholibah (Jerusalem), describes the harsh consequences of her unfaithfulness. Historically, this prophecy anticipates the final stage of Jerusalem's destruction by the Babylonian army under Nebuchadnezzar (586 BCE). The "lovers" who once enticed Oholibah with their splendor (as depicted in earlier verses of the chapter) are now the instruments of God's severe judgment, stripping her of all she values. This act mirrors ancient Near Eastern practices where conquering armies humiliated and despoiled conquered peoples, and it reflects the ultimate fate of those who betray their covenant with God for fleeting worldly attachments.

Ezekiel 23 26 Word analysis

• They will strip you (Hebrew: wĕpāshaṭû 'ôtāḵ - וּפָשְׁטוּ אֹתָךְ):

  • Strip: The verb pāshaṭ (פָּשַׁט) means to pull off, strip off, take off. It often implies a forceful act, associated with plundering (1 Sam 31:9), military triumph (Judg 9:39), and profound humiliation. This is a violent, public act of divestment.
  • Significance: This is not a gentle removal but a harsh stripping, signifying absolute vulnerability and complete loss of personal dignity and honor, often linked to shame and disgrace.

• of your clothes (Hebrew: bigdêḵ - בִּגְדֵךְ):

  • Clothes: Beged (בֶּגֶד) refers to garments, clothing.
  • Significance: In the ancient world, clothing was deeply tied to identity, status, respectability, and modesty. Being stripped of clothes exposed one to utter public shame and scorn. It symbolized the removal of protection and the destruction of status, transforming Jerusalem from an honored city to a shamed captive.

• and take away (Hebrew: wĕlāqaḥ - וְלָקְחוּ):

  • Take away: The verb lāqaḥ (לָקַח) means to take, seize, acquire, often implying possession or appropriation, especially in a hostile context (Jer 15:3).
  • Significance: This verb emphasizes the confiscation and plundering of material wealth. It reinforces the idea that what Jerusalem once flaunted, or even what God had previously bestowed (as per Ezek 16), will now be taken away by force.

• your fine jewels (Hebrew: kĕlê tip'arteḵ - כְּלֵי תִּפְאַרְתֵּךְ):

  • Jewels: Kĕlî (כְּלִי) means a vessel, article, implement. Combined with tip'ārâ (תִּפְאָרָה), meaning beauty, glory, splendor, or ornament. It denotes beautiful articles, splendid ornaments, or glorious attire.
  • Significance: These represent Jerusalem's accumulated wealth, material glory, national pride, and her self-perception of beauty and grandeur derived from her worldly alliances and possessions. These were likely the very adornments (possibly derived from previous blessings of God as per Ezek 16, but now misused) that she used to enhance her appeal to foreign nations, which God views as spiritual harlotry. Their removal signifies a complete economic, social, and spiritual impoverishment.

Words-group by words-group analysis:

• "They will strip you of your clothes and take away your fine jewels": This phrase together describes a total and comprehensive act of disfigurement and plundering. It signifies not just a physical act of stripping, but a spiritual and existential unmaking. The removal of clothes implies public dishonor and vulnerability, while the seizure of "fine jewels" means the loss of wealth, beauty, status, and any remaining outward semblance of national glory. This composite action encapsulates God's judgment leading to ultimate public humiliation, economic ruin, and the destruction of the city's (Oholibah's) perceived allure and self-worth due to her egregious infidelity.

Ezekiel 23 26 Bonus section

The items listed for confiscation—clothes and fine jewels—are highly significant because they directly contrast with the detailed description of Jerusalem's adornment and prosperity bestowed by God in Ezekiel 16, where she was "beautifully adorned" (Ezek 16:13), given "fine linen, and silk, and embroidered cloth" (Ezek 16:10), and decked with "bracelets... necklace... a ring... a beautiful crown" (Ezek 16:11-12). Now, these very symbols of beauty, wealth, and status, once God's gifts, are stripped away or seized. This emphasizes the covenant curse (Deut 28) and the principle that God often allows the consequences of sin to perfectly match the nature of the transgression, with pride leading to humiliation and misused blessings becoming objects of plunder. The specificity of the items also underscores the meticulous and comprehensive nature of God's judgment, leaving no aspect of her former glory untouched.

Ezekiel 23 26 Commentary

Ezekiel 23:26 powerfully encapsulates the severity of divine judgment upon unfaithful Judah/Jerusalem (Oholibah). The verse's imagery of stripping clothes and confiscating jewels is not merely a description of war plunder but a potent symbol of profound spiritual consequence. The actions, carried out by her "lovers"—the very nations she illicitly pursued for alliances and whose gods she worshipped—underscores a divinely ordained reversal: what she sought from them, power and glory, would be used by them to bring her ultimate shame. This signifies God reclaiming or permitting the destruction of the very elements of splendor and identity that had become sources of idolatry or objects of misguided trust. The public nature of this shaming speaks to the public offense of her spiritual harlotry, exposing her utter degradation before all. It serves as a stark warning against spiritual infidelity, emphasizing that those who seek gratification and security outside of God will ultimately find only desolation and disgrace.