Then I bathed you with water, rinsed off your blood, and anointed you with oil.
Parallel translations
- WEB “‘“Then washed I you with water. Yes, I thoroughly washed away your blood from you, and I anointed you with oil.
- KJV Then washed I thee with water; yea, I throughly washed away thy blood from thee, and I anointed thee with oil.
- NKJV “Then I washed you in water; yes, I thoroughly washed off your blood, and I anointed you with oil.
- NASB “Then I bathed you with water, washed off your blood from you, and anointed you with oil.
- NLT “Then I bathed you and washed off your blood, and I rubbed fragrant oils into your skin.
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
God washed away her blood and anointed her with oil. He cleansed and consecrated the one He had claimed.
Overview
Continuing the bridal imagery, God tenderly cleanses His bride and anoints her, signs of purification and honor. What she could never do for herself, He does freely. This points to the cleansing and sanctifying work God performs for His people, ultimately accomplished through Christ who washes the church to present her holy (Ephesians 5:26).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- Ruth 3:3Therefore wash yourself, put on perfume, and wear your best clothes. Go down to the threshing floor, but do not let the man know you are there until he has finished eating and drinking.
- Ps 23:5You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
- 1 Jn 2:27And as for you, the anointing you received from Him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But just as His true and genuine anointing teaches you about all things, so remain in Him as you have been taught.
- 1 Jn 5:8the Spirit, the water, and the blood—and these three are in agreement.
- 1 Cor 6:11And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
- 1 Jn 2:20You, however, have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth.
- Ezek 16:4On the day of your birth your cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water for cleansing. You were not rubbed with salt or wrapped in cloths.
- Isa 4:4when the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and cleansed the bloodstains from the heart of Jerusalem by a spirit of judgment and a spirit of fire.
- Ezek 36:25I will also sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurities and all your idols.
- 1 Cor 10:2They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea.
- 2 Cor 1:21Now it is God who establishes both us and you in Christ. He anointed us,
- Heb 9:10–14They consist only in food and drink and special washings—external regulations imposed until the time of reform.
- Ps 51:7Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
- Rev 1:5–6and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and has released us from our sins by His blood,
- John 13:8–10“Never shall You wash my feet!” Peter told Him. Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with Me.”
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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 16:9 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.