This verse seems to be out of place. It describes God doing the things that should have been done for the abandoned newborn baby girl, that is, washing and anointing her with oil. He did this, not at her birth, but when she was already a sexually mature young woman. Thus the story says that the baby remained naked, dirty and squirming in her birth-blood until she had grown up and was ready for marriage, that is, at least 12 years old. Although it is hard to imagine this happening, the story must be translated as it stands.

Then I bathed you with water and washed off your blood from you: Then renders the Hebrew waw conjunction, which is often translated “and.” Here it introduces the next step in the story. Translators are encouraged to use whatever connector is most appropriate in their own language. The Hebrew verb rendered bathed has the idea of immersing something in water to clean it, and the verb for washed off suggests running water over something to rinse it, but their meanings are so similar that it is acceptable to combine them, which Contemporary English Version does by saying “I washed the blood off you.” Your blood again carries the idea of ritual uncleanness (see Ezek 16.6). Some scholars claim that here it refers to the young woman’s menstrual blood, indicating that she was sexually mature. Others suggest that it refers to virginal bleeding after the first time she had intercourse. However, despite the difficulties described in the previous paragraph, it is better in the context of the story to understand it still as the birth-blood. In any case, your blood is all that needs to be said in the translation.

And anointed you with oil: It is tempting to take this clause to refer to putting perfume on the beautiful young woman (so New Living Translation), but in the context it is better to understand it as rubbing on the girl the olive oil that she did not receive when she was born (see the comments on Ezek 16.4). The Hebrew word for anointed is usually used in the context of putting on perfume (see Ruth 3.3). Oil refers to “olive oil” (Good News Translation). This clause may be rendered “and rubbed your skin with olive oil” (Contemporary English Version) or “and put olive oil on you” (similarly New Century Version).

Quoted with permission from Gross, Carl & Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on Ezekiel. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .