Ezekiel 16:44

44 Behold, every one that makes proverbs shall make this proverb regarding thee, saying: As is 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 So will I make my fury toward thee to rest, and my jealousy shall depart from thee, and I will be quiet and will no longer be angry.
43 Because thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth but hast provoked me to anger in all this; therefore, behold I also have recompensed thy way upon thine head, said the Lord GOD; for thou hast not even thought regarding all thine abominations.
44 Behold, every one that makes proverbs shall make this proverb regarding thee, saying: As is the mother so is her daughter.
45 Thou art thy mother’s daughter that discarded her husband and her children; and thou art the sister of thy sisters who discarded their husbands and their children: your mother was a Hittite, and your father an Amorite.
46 And thine elder sister is Samaria with her daughters that dwell at thy left hand; and thy younger sister that dwells at thy right hand is Sodom with her daughters.
The Jubilee Bible (from the Scriptures of the Reformation), edited by Russell M. Stendal, Copyright © 2000, 2001, 2010