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Then you took your colorfully woven cloth and covered them, and offered My oil and My incense before them.
Ezekiel 16:18 · New American Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB You took your embroidered garments, covered them, and set my oil and my incense before them.
  • KJV And tookest thy broidered garments, and coveredst them: and thou hast set mine oil and mine incense before them.
  • BSB You took your embroidered garments to cover them, and you set My oil and incense before them.
  • NKJV You took your embroidered garments and covered them, and you set My oil and My incense before them.
  • NLT 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.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

She clothed the idols with her embroidered garments and offered God's oil and incense to them. Worship owed to God was redirected to idols.

Overview

Israel dressed her idols in God's gifts and set before them the oil and incense meant for true worship. The detail underscores how thoroughly the elements of covenant devotion were diverted to false gods. Every act of misplaced worship robbed the LORD of the honor due Him alone.

Cross-references & the web

No cross-references recorded for this verse.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (4)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Ezekiel videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Ezekiel 16:18YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on EzekielMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

The promise of one Shepherd-King David, a new heart and new Spirit, and the river of life flowing from the temple all stream toward Christ, the good Shepherd who gives the Spirit.

How Ezekiel 16:18 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.