Ezekiel 16:30

30 This is what the Sovereign Lord is saying: "You have done all this like a shameless prostitute.

Ezekiel 16:30 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 16:30

How weak is thine heart, saith the Lord God
Through sin; and being destitute of the grace of God, and so unable to resist any temptation, or oppose any corruption or lust, but carried away with everyone that offers; indulging every lust, and yet not satisfied; weak as water, unstable, fickle, and inconstant, seeking after new gods, and new kinds of worship. The Targum is,

``how strong is the wickedness of thy heart!''

the stronger the wickedness of the heart, the weaker, the heart is: seeing thou doest all these [things];
all the idolatries before mentioned; which was an argument not of her strength, but weakness, and yet of boldness, impudence, and resolution, to have her will: the work of an imperious whorish woman;
a whore, as she is impudent, is imperious, is one that rules and governs. The Targum is, who rules over herself; does what she pleases, will have her will and way, and cannot bear any contradiction; and who rules over others, such as are her gallants, obliging them to do as she commands. Jarchi's note is,

``over whom her imagination (or corruption) rules.''

Ezekiel 16:30 In-Context

28 "Because you were not satisfied by the others, you went running after the Assyrians. You were their prostitute, but they didn't satisfy you either.

29 You were also a prostitute for the Babylonians, that nation of merchants, but they didn't satisfy you either."

30 This is what the Sovereign Lord is saying: "You have done all this like a shameless prostitute.

31 On every street you built places to worship idols and practice prostitution. But you are not out for money like a common prostitute.

32 You are like a woman who commits adultery with strangers instead of loving her husband.

Footnotes

• [a]. [Verse 30 in Hebrew begins with three words, the meaning of which is unclear.]