Ezekiel 23:41

41 You sat on ¹a stately couch, with a table spread before it ²on which you had placed my incense and ³my oil.

Ezekiel 23:41 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 23:41

And satest upon a stately bed
Or honourable ^F7, a bed of state: either a throne, a royal seat under a canopy, on which the king of Judah sat to receive foreign ambassadors; or a stately bed at a feast, made for the entertainment of them; it being usual in the eastern nations to sit on beds at eating, to which the next clause agrees. The allusion is to a harlot sitting on a bed decked out by her to allure men to lie with her; see ( Proverbs 7:16 ) : and a table prepared before it;
before the bed, furnished with the richest provisions to treat the ambassadors with; or this may design an altar built for them to offer on it sacrifices to their idols, according to the customs of their countries: whereupon thou hast set mine incense and mine oil;
which were the gifts of God to this people, and which they should have used in his service; but with these they treated the ministers of Heathen princes; scenting the room where they were entertained with incense, and anointing their heads and feet with oil, for their pleasure and refreshment; or they offered these on the altars of the idols to them.

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FOOTNOTES:

F7 (hdwbk) "honorato", Junius and Tremellius, Polanus, Coeccius, Starckius.

Ezekiel 23:41 In-Context

39 For when they had slaughtered their children in sacrifice to their idols, on the same day they came into my sanctuary to profane it. And behold, this is what they did in my house.

40 They even sent for men to come from afar, to whom a messenger was sent; and behold, they came. For them you bathed yourself, painted your eyes, and adorned yourself with ornaments.

41 You sat on a stately couch, with a table spread before it on which you had placed my incense and my oil.

42 The sound of a carefree multitude was with her; and with men of the common sort, drunkards were brought from the wilderness; and they put bracelets on the hands of the women, and beautiful crowns on their heads.

43 "Then I said of her who was worn out by adultery, Now they will continue to use her for a whore, even her!

Cross References

• 1. [Esther 1:6]
• 2. Ezekiel 16:18; [Proverbs 7:17]
• 3. [Hosea 2:8]