Ezekiel 16:63
That thou mayest remember, and be confounded, and never open thy mouth any more because of thy shame, when I am pacified toward thee for all that thou hast done, saith the Lord God.
Study Note
Study Note
The conclusion of Ezekiel's extended allegory of Jerusalem as an unfaithful wife (chapter 16) ends not with judgment alone but with divine restoration and covenant renewal, despite Jerusalem's shame. The phrase 'that you may remember and be ashamed, and never open your mouth again because of your humiliation' implies a future in which restored Israel will permanently carry the memory of grace as humility, never again boasting in its own righteousness. Theologically, the verse grounds the new covenant not in Israel's improvement but in divine atonement ('when I make atonement for you') provided entirely by God. The connection between experienced forgiveness, remembered shame, and grateful silence resonates with Paul's theology of boasting only in the cross (Galatians 6:14).
Other Translations
that thou mayest remember, and be confounded, and never open thy mouth any more, because of thy shame, when I have forgiven thee all that thou hast done, saith the Lord Jehovah.
So that thou dost remember, And thou hast been ashamed, And there is not to thee any more an opening of the mouth because of thy shame, In My receiving atonement for thee, For all that thou hast done, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah!'
So that, at the memory of these things, you may be at a loss, never opening your mouth because of your shame; when you have my forgiveness for all you have done, says the Lord.
Cross References
And said, O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee, my God: for …
Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer thee? I will lay mine hand upon my mouth.
Once have I spoken; but I will not answer: yea, twice; but I will proceed no further.
I was dumb, I opened not my mouth; because thou didst it.
Iniquities prevail against me: as for our transgressions, thou shalt purge them away.
Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of thy name: and deliver us, and purge away our …
Wherefore doth a living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins?
Then thou shalt remember thy ways, and be ashamed, when thou shalt receive thy sisters, thine elder and thy younger: …
Then shall ye remember your own evil ways, and your doings that were not good, and shall lothe yourselves in …
Not for your sakes do I this, saith the Lord God, be it known unto you: be ashamed and confounded …