Ezekiel 23:41

41 and you sat on a splendid ¹couch with a ²table arranged before it on which you had set My ³incense and My ⁴oil.

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 for their idols, they entered My sanctuary on the same day to profane it; and lo, thus they did within My house.

40 "Furthermore, they have even sent for men who come from afar, to whom a messenger was sent; and lo, they came -for whom you bathed, painted your eyes and decorated yourselves with ornaments;

41 and you sat on a splendid couch with a table arranged before it on which you had set My incense and My oil.

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

43 "Then I said concerning her who was worn out by adulteries, 'Will they now commit adultery with her when she is thus?'

Cross References

• 1. Esther 1:6; Isaiah 57:7; Amos 6:4
• 2. Isaiah 65:11; Ezekiel 44:16
• 3. Jeremiah 44:17; Hosea 2:8
• 4. Jeremiah 44:17; Hosea 2:8