Ezekiel 16 · Verse 4

Ezekiel 16:4

And as for thy nativity, in the day thou wast born thy navel was not cut, neither wast thou washed in water to supple thee; thou wast not salted at all, nor swaddled at all.
Ezekiel 16:4, King James Version

Ezekiel 16:4 in other translations

BSBOn 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.
WEBAs for your birth, in the day you were born your navel was not cut. You weren’t washed in water to cleanse you. You weren’t salted at all, nor wrapped in blankets at all.
ASVAnd as for thy nativity, in the day thou wast born thy navel was not cut, neither wast thou washed in water to cleanse thee; thou wast not salted at all, nor swaddled at all.
YLTAs to thy nativity, in the day thou wast born, Thou--thy navel hath not been cut, And in water thou wast not washed for ease, And thou hast not been salted at all, And thou hast not been swaddled at all.
DARBYAnd as for thy nativity, in the day thou wast born thy navel was not cut, neither wast thou washed in water for cleansing; thou wast not rubbed with salt at all, nor swaddled at all.
BBEAs for your birth, on the day of your birth your cord was not cut and you were not washed in water to make you clean; you were not salted or folded in linen bands.
WebsterAnd as for thy nativity, in the day thou wast born thy navel was not cut, neither wast thou washed in water to supple thee; thou wast not salted at all, nor swaddled at all.

What does Ezekiel 16:4 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
4. Israel's helplessness in her first struggling into national existence, under the image of an infant (Ho 2:3) cast forth without receiving the commonest acts of parental regard. Its very life was a miracle (Ex 1:15-22). navel ... not cut--Without proper attention to the navel cord, the infant just born is liable to die. neither ... washed in water to supple thee--that is, to make the skin soft. Rather, "for purification"; from an Arabic root [Maurer]. Gesenius translates as the Margin, "that thou mightest (be presented to thy parents to) be looked upon," as is customary on the birth of a child. salted--Anciently they rubbed infants with salt to make the skin firm.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 4 As for thy nativity, etc. - This verse refers to what is ordinarily done for every infant on its birth. The umbilical cord, by which it received all its nourishment while in the womb, being no longer necessary, is cut at a certain distance from the abdomen: on this part a knot is tied, which firmly uniting the sides of the tubes, they coalesce, and incarnate together. The extra part of the cord on the outside of the ligature, being cut off from the circulation by which it was originally fed, soon drops off, and the part where the ligature was is called the navel. In many places, when this was done, the infant was plunged into cold water; in all cases washed, and sometimes with a mixture of salt and water, in order to give a greater firmness to the skin, and constringe the pores. The last process was swathing the body, to support mechanically the tender muscles till they should acquire sufficient strength to support the body. But among savages this latter process is either wholly neglected, or done very slightly: and the less it is done, the better for the infant; as this kind of unnatural compression greatly impedes the circulation of the blood, the pulsation of the heart, and the due inflation of the lungs; respiration, in many cases, being rendered oppressive by the tightness of these bandages.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Ezekiel 16:1-58

A parable showing the first low estate of the Jewish nation, its prosperity, idolatries, and punishment. Verses 1-58 In this chapter God's dealings with the Jewish nation, and their conduct towards him, are described, and their punishment through the surrounding nations, even those they most trusted in. This is done under the parable of an exposed infant rescued from death, educated, espoused, and richly provided…

Read the full comment on Ezekiel 16:1-58 →

Ezekiel 16:4 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וּמוֹלְדוֹתַ֗יִךְu.mol.do.Ta.yikhand birth<s> yourH4138
בְּי֨וֹםbe.Yomon [the] dayH3117
הוּלֶּ֤דֶתhu.Le.detwere bornH3205
אֹתָךְ֙'o.toKh<obj.> youH853
לֹֽא\־lo'-notH3808
כָרַּ֣תkha.Ratit was cut offH3772
שָׁרֵּ֔ךְsha.Rekhumbilical cord yourH8270
וּבְמַ֥יִםu.ve.Ma.yimand with waterH4325
לֹֽא\־lo'-notH3808
רֻחַ֖צְתְּru.Chatztyou were washedH7364
לְמִשְׁעִ֑יle.mish.'Ifor cleansingH4935
וְהָמְלֵ֙חַ֙ve.ha.me.Le.achand certainly <to be salted>H4414
לֹ֣אlo'notH3808
הֻמְלַ֔חַתְּhum.La.chatyou were rubbed with saltH4414
וְהָחְתֵּ֖לve.ha.che.Teland certainly <to be wrapped>H2853
לֹ֥אlo'notH3808
חֻתָּֽלְתְּ\׃chu.Ta.letyou were wrappedH2853

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Ezekiel 16:4

  • Hosea 2:3

    Lest I strip her naked, and set her as in the day that she was born, and make her as a wilderness, and set her like a dry land, and slay her with thirst.

  • Exodus 5:16-21

    There is no straw given unto thy servants, and they say to us, Make brick: and, behold, thy servants are beaten; but the fault is in thine own people. But he said, Ye are idle, ye are idle: therefore ye say, Let us go and do sacrifice to the Lord. Go therefore now, and work; for there shall no straw be given you, yet shall ye deliver the tale of bricks. And the officers of the children of Israel did see that they were in evil case, after it was said, Ye shall not minish ought from your bricks of your daily task. …

  • Genesis 15:13

    And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;

  • Joshua 24:2

    And Joshua said unto all the people, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood in old time, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nachor: and they served other gods.

  • Deuteronomy 15:15

    And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt, and the Lord thy God redeemed thee: therefore I command thee this thing to day.

  • Acts 7:6-7

    And God spake on this wise, That his seed should sojourn in a strange land; and that they should bring them into bondage, and entreat them evil four hundred years. And the nation to whom they shall be in bondage will I judge, said God: and after that shall they come forth, and serve me in this place.

  • Exodus 2:23-24

    And it came to pass in process of time, that the king of Egypt died: and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.

  • Luke 2:7

    And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

  • Luke 2:12

    And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

  • Deuteronomy 5:6

    I am the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.

  • Lamentations 2:22

    Thou hast called as in a solemn day my terrors round about, so that in the day of the Lord’s anger none escaped nor remained: those that I have swaddled and brought up hath mine enemy consumed.

  • Ezekiel 20:8

    But they rebelled against me, and would not hearken unto me: they did not every man cast away the abominations of their eyes, neither did they forsake the idols of Egypt: then I said, I will pour out my fury upon them, to accomplish my anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
for.
20:8,13; Ge 15:13; Ex 1:11-14; 2:23,24; 5:16-21; De 5:6; 15:15
Jos 24:2; Ne 9:7-9; Ho 2:3; Ac 7:6,7
to supple thee. or, when I looked upon thee. nor.
La 2:20; *marg:
La 2:22; Lu 2:7,12

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Ezekiel 16:3

    And say, Thus saith the Lord God unto Jerusalem; Thy birth and thy nativity is of the land of Canaan; thy father was an Amorite, and thy mother an Hittite.

  • Ezekiel 16:4

    And as for thy nativity, in the day thou wast born thy navel was not cut, neither wast thou washed in water to supple thee; thou wast not salted at all, nor swaddled at all.

  • Ezekiel 16:5

    None eye pitied thee, to do any of these unto thee, to have compassion upon thee; but thou wast cast out in the open field, to the lothing of thy person, in the day that thou wast born.

Read all of Ezekiel 16

Ezekiel 16:4 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y cuanto á tu nacimiento, el día que naciste no fué cortado tu ombligo, ni fuiste lavada con aguas para atemperarte, ni salada con sal, ni fuiste envuelta con fajas.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et, quant à ta naissance, le jour où tu naquis ton nombril ne fut pas coupé; et tu ne fus pas lavée dans l’eau pour être nettoyée; et tu ne fus pas frottée avec du sel, et tu ne fus pas emmaillotée.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und was deine Geburt betrifft-an dem Tage, da du geboren wurdest, wurde dein Nabel nicht abgeschnitten, und du wurdest nicht in Wasser gebadet zur Reinigung, und nicht mit Salz abgerieben, und nicht in Windeln gewickelt.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Et quando nata es, in die ortus tui non est præcisus umbilicus tuus, et aqua non es lota in salutem, nec sale salita, nec involuta pannis.