What Does Ezekiel 16:10 Mean in the King James?
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.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The word translated “girded” also means to bind up a wound, so the fine linen is adornment that wraps and holds you in care.
THE MEANING
You are being clothed in deliberate care: embroidery, sandals, fine linen wrapped around you, and silk over you. The covering does more than conceal exposure; it secures and adorns the body with dignity.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
Being exposed means you are unworthy of beauty or care.
THE ROOT
וָאֶחְבְּשֵׁךְ
va’ekhbeshekh
GROWS FROM
חבש
ḥ-b-š
To bind or wrap; the same root can describe binding a wound.
The word rendered “girded” also names binding up wounds and saddling an animal. Fine linen is not merely laid over you: it is wrapped around and secured, so ornament carries the sense of practical care.
ALSO GROWS
ḥubbāšû: Bound up, referring to wounds.
חֻבָּשׁוּ
Isaiah uses this root for wounds that have not been bound; the shared word reveals the care carried in linen wrapped around the body.
vayyaḥavosh: Saddled his donkey.
וַיַּחֲבֹשׁ
In Genesis 22:3, the same root describes fastening a saddle in place; here it likewise suggests something wrapped and secured around the body.
רִקְמָה
riqmah
GROWS FROM
רקם
r-q-m
To embroider, making patterned work with thread.
“broidered work” in this verse is riqmah. The word for this embroidered work shares its root with the word rendered “curiously wrought” in Psalm 139:15. The garment’s detailed beauty echoes the language used for a body formed with detail, so adornment answers exposure with crafted beauty.
ALSO GROWS
ruqqamti: Curiously wrought or embroidered.
רֻקַּמְתִּי
Psalm 139:15 uses this form for the speaker being formed in secret, linking embroidery with the body’s intricate making.
roqem: An embroiderer or maker of needlework.
רֹקֵם
Exodus 26:36 uses this word for needlework on the tent’s hanging, showing the same root at work in a crafted covering.
THE PATTERN
The exposed body is met with covering that restores dignity rather than leaving exposure as the final word.
Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet:THE THREAD
From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.The Hebrew behind “girded” here and “bound up” in Isaiah is חבש (ḥ-b-š). Ezekiel shows linen fastened around the body; Isaiah names wounds left unbound, making the shared word reveal clothing as care for what is exposed.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us