Ezekiel 16:44

44 Behold, every one that useth proverbs shall speak in a proverb against thee, saying, As the mother, [so is] her daughter!

Ezekiel 16:44 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 16:44

Behold, everyone that useth proverbs
That affects a proverbial way of sneaking that is witty and facetious, and has a talent at satirizing and scoffing, as some have had; such were Lucian and others: shall use [this] proverb against thee;
signifying that the sins of the Jews should be well known and exposed, and they should become the subject of the gibes and jeers of men: saying, as [is] the mother, [so is] her daughter;
an ancient and common proverb, used to express a likeness and agreement between persons their nature and disposition, in their behaviour, conduct, and conversation. So the Targum,

``as are the works of the mother, so those of the daughter;''
the mother is the land of Canaan, and the daughter the congregation of Israel, as Kimchi. The Jews were the successors of the old Canaanites, and they imitated them in their practices; and, because both of their succession and imitation, they are called the daughter of them; a bad daughter of a bad mother.

Ezekiel 16:44 In-Context

42 And I will appease my fury against thee, and my jealousy shall depart from thee; and I will be quiet, and will be no more angry.
43 Because thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, but hast raged against me in all these [things], behold, therefore, I also will recompense thy way upon [thy] head, saith the Lord Jehovah, and thou shalt not commit this lewdness besides all thine abominations.
44 Behold, every one that useth proverbs shall speak in a proverb against thee, saying, As the mother, [so is] her daughter!
45 Thou art the daughter of thy mother that loathed her husband and her children; and thou art the sister of thy sisters, who loathed their husbands and their children. Your mother was a Hittite, and your father an Amorite.
46 And thine elder sister is Samaria that dwelleth at thy left hand, she and her daughters; and thy younger sister, that dwelleth at thy right hand, is Sodom and her daughters.

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. Or 'parable,' as Num. 23.7: see chs. 12.22-23; 14.8; 17.2; 18.2,3; 20.49; 24.3.
The Darby Translation is in the public domain.