And tookest thy broidered garments, and coveredst them: and thou hast set mine oil and mine incense before them.

EZEKIEL 16:18KJV
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Ezekiel 16:18 (KJV)

What does Ezekiel 16:18 mean?

Ezekiel 16:18 describes how Jerusalem took beautiful, decorated garments and used them to cover idols, and offered God’s oil and incense to these idols instead of to Him. The verse highlights the misuse of gifts and blessings that were meant for God, showing unfaithfulness by giving them to false gods.

In this verse, God is speaking through the prophet Ezekiel to the people of Jerusalem, using the image of a woman who misuses precious gifts from her husband. The historical setting is a rebuke for idolatry: Jerusalem has taken what God provided—fine clothing, oil, and incense—and dedicated them to idols. This is part of a larger passage where God compares Jerusalem’s unfaithfulness to adultery, emphasizing the seriousness of turning away from Him.

The Hebrew behind Ezekiel 16:18

  • "Broidered" (רִקְמָה, riqmah) refers to richly embroidered or decorated garments, not just ordinary clothing. This highlights the extravagance of what was given to the idols.
  • "Coveredst" (כָּסָה, kasah) means to cover or clothe, showing a deliberate act of honoring the idols with these garments.
  • "Oil" (שֶׁמֶן, shemen) and "incense" (קְטֹרֶת, qetoreth) were both used in worship to God. Their use here for idols underscores the depth of the betrayal.

Why Ezekiel 16:18 matters

  • This verse clarifies that the issue was not just idol worship, but the misuse of things specifically dedicated to God, deepening the sense of betrayal.
  • The vivid imagery connects to the larger theme in Ezekiel 16, where Jerusalem’s relationship with God is described in personal, even marital, terms, making the unfaithfulness more striking.
  • Understanding the specific items mentioned—embroidered garments, oil, incense—shows how the people used the very best of what God gave them for purposes He never intended, highlighting the gravity of their actions.

Where else these words appear

“broidered” Hebrew H7553 · used in 11 verses

  • Judges 5:30 Have they not sped? have they not divided the prey; to every man a damsel or two; to Sisera a prey of divers colours, a prey of divers colours of needlework, of divers colours of needlework on both sides, meet for the necks of them that take the spoil?
  • Ezekiel 16:10 I clothed thee also with broidered work, and shod thee with badgers' skin, and I girded thee about with fine linen, and I covered thee with silk.
  • Ezekiel 26:16 Then all the princes of the sea shall come down from their thrones, and lay away their robes, and put off their broidered garments: they shall clothe themselves with trembling; they shall sit upon the ground, and shall tremble at every moment, and be astonished at thee.

“incense” Hebrew H7004 · used in 58 verses

  • Exodus 25:6 Oil for the light, spices for anointing oil, and for sweet incense,
  • Leviticus 10:1 And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the LORD, which he commanded them not.
  • Numbers 16:18 And they took every man his censer, and put fire in them, and laid incense thereon, and stood in the door of the tabernacle of the congregation with Moses and Aaron.

“coveredst” Hebrew H3680 · used in 149 verses

  • Genesis 7:19 And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the high hills, that were under the whole heaven, were covered.
  • Judges 4:19 And he said unto her, Give me, I pray thee, a little water to drink; for I am thirsty. And she opened a bottle of milk, and gave him drink, and covered him.
  • Proverbs 17:9 He that covereth a transgression seeketh love; but he that repeateth a matter separateth very friends.