Ezekiel 16:32
Adulterous wife, who receives strangers instead of her husband!
English Standard Version (ESV)
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Ezekiel 16:32
Adulterous wife, who receives strangers instead of her husband!
English Standard Version (ESV)
This page isn't yet indexed by search engines.
This verse highlights a specific kind of adultery: one not driven by need or seeking payment, but purely by lust, taking "strangers" even while having a devoted "husband" who provides everything. It's not about poverty forcing someone into sin, but a deliberate choice to seek illicit pleasures while still being fully provided for.
Ezekiel has been describing Jerusalem's origins as an abandoned infant, whom God rescued, married, and lavished with riches and favor. This verse marks a stark shift, directly addressing Jerusalem's unfaithfulness by comparing her to an adulterous wife. Instead of remaining devoted to her husband (God), she has sought out and embraced foreign lovers (idols and nations).
Why would someone betray a loving relationship for fleeting encounters? Ezekiel uses a powerful image to expose Israel's spiritual unfaithfulness.
The verse paints a stark picture of spiritual adultery. Unlike a prostitute who might seek reward for survival, an adulterous wife in this context sins not out of need, but out of illicit desire. She has a husband who provides for her, yet she actively seeks out forbidden relationships.
This highlights the deep depravity of Israel's sin. They weren't driven to idolatry out of desperation or ignorance; they were married to God, who was faithful and provided for them. Yet, they pursued other gods purely for the sake of satisfying their own corrupted desires, abandoning the true covenant love they had received.
Was Israel's sin just a simple slip-up, or something far more profound? This verse reveals the depth of their betrayal.
The imagery of a wife taking "strangers instead of her husband" emphasizes the direct rejection of the covenant relationship. It’s not simply that she strayed, but that she actively chose other gods in place of the one true God who was her husband.
This was a deliberate turning away from the source of her provision and protection. The violation was not just of a law, but of the intimate bond established by God. This makes their sin all the more grievous in God's eyes.
Understand the original words
mena'ephet · Hebrew Noun
A spouse who breaks the marriage covenant through infidelity; used metaphorically in Scripture to describe God’s people who depart from their exclusive devotion to Him to serve other gods.
zarim · Hebrew Noun
Individuals outside the marriage covenant; in this context, it refers to those with whom the faithless person engages in prohibited and covenant-breaking relationships.
Ezekiel delivers this scathing indictment of Jerusalem's spiritual infidelity while the city and its people are suffering the devastating consequences of the Babylonian exile, highlighting the deep spiritual roots of their national catastrophe.
c. 8th Century BC
Northern Kingdom of Israel Conquered
The Assyrian Empire conquers the Northern Kingdom of Israel, exiling many of its inhabitants. This event marks a significant disruption and displacement for many Israelites, prefiguring future exiles.
605 BC
First Deportation to Babylon
Under King Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian Empire begins its conquest of Judah, deporting many elite Judeans, including Daniel, to Babylon. This marks the start of the Babylonian exile.
597 BC— this verse
Second Deportation to Babylon
Babylon deports more Judeans, including the prophet Ezekiel and the priest Jehoiachin, after a revolt by King Jehoiachin. This exile deeply impacted the religious and national identity of the people.
586 BC
Fall of Jerusalem and Temple Destruction
Nebuchadnezzar destroys Jerusalem and its Temple, exiling the remaining population to Babylon. This cataclysmic event serves as the backdrop for Ezekiel's prophecies of judgment and restoration.
This passage also uses the metaphor of adultery to describe unfaithfulness to God, highlighting Israel's deep-seated rebellion and hypocrisy despite God's desire for reconciliation.
Hosea 2:2-5This prophecy directly parallels Ezekiel's imagery, portraying God as the wronged husband and Israel as the adulterous wife who abandons Him for other lovers (idols).
Numbers 5:19-20This Old Testament law describes a ritual for a wife suspected of adultery, providing the legal and cultural backdrop for the accusation leveled against Israel in Ezekiel's prophecy.
Ezekiel 23:5This verse, describing Samaria (the northern kingdom), uses the same language of infidelity and taking lovers, reinforcing the theme of national unfaithfulness to God within Ezekiel's prophecy.
cambridgeEzekiel 16:32: "But as a wife that committeth adultery, which taketh strangers instead of her husband!"
32 . Seems to break the connexion and has been regarded as a gloss. The words “instead of her husband” should be “under her husband,” though her husband’s (cf. Ezekiel 23:5 , when she was mine; Numbers 5:19 ). The clauses are probably exclamatory: A wife that committeth adultery! though her husband’s (though married) she taketh strangers! It is also possible to take the language as an apostro…
pooleEzekiel 16:32: "But as a wife that committeth adultery, which taketh strangers instead of her husband!"
Here begins the antithesis. A wife, adulteress, such as the prophet compareth this nation to, which hath a most rich, bountiful, and kind husband, she differs from common harlots in this point, she hunts not rewards, but forbidden pleasures.
This verse highlights a specific kind of adultery: one not driven by need or seeking payment, but purely by lust, taking "strangers" even while having a devoted "husband" who provides everything. It's not about poverty forcing someone into sin, but a deliberate choice to seek illicit pleasures while still being fully provided for.
Ezekiel has been describing Jerusalem's origins as an abandoned infant, whom God rescued, married, and lavished with riches and favor. This verse marks a stark shift, directly addressing Jerusalem's unfaithfulness by comparing her to an adulterous wife. Instead of remaining devoted to her husband (God), she has sought out and embraced foreign lovers (idols and nations).
Ezekiel has been describing Jerusalem's origins as an abandoned infant, whom God rescued, married, and lavished with riches and favor. This verse marks a stark shift, directly addressing Jerusalem's unfaithfulness by comparing her to an adulterous wife. Instead of remaining devoted to her husband (God), she has sought out and embraced foreign lovers (idols and nations).
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c. 570 BC
Ezekiel's Prophetic Ministry in Babylon
While in exile, Ezekiel delivers his prophecies, including the allegorical depiction of Jerusalem as an unfaithful wife, during the height of the Babylonian captivity.
"Adulterous wife, who receives strangers instead of her husband!" — This verse highlights a specific kind of adultery: one not driven by need or seeking payment, but purely by lust, taking "strangers" even while having a devoted "husband" who provides everything. It'…