Ezekiel 16:26

26 And you prostituted with the {Egyptians}, your neighbors {who were sexually aroused}, and you increased your fornication to provoke me.

Ezekiel 16:26 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 16:26

Thou hast also committed fornication with the Egyptians
By entering into leagues and alliances with them, and seeking to them for help and assistance against their enemies; from whose bondage they had formerly been delivered, and whose society they were cautioned against; and yet they forsook the Lord, and joined themselves to them by solemn covenant; and not only so, but fell into the worship of their idols, who were a people of all others the most superstitious, and given to idolatry; and many of their idolatrous rites and ceremonies were received and retained by the Jews, as the worshipping of Tammuz, and other idols: thy neighbours, great of flesh:
being their neighbours, and full of power and strength to assist them, they courted their friendship and alliance; and their idolatries being many and monstrous, were the more courted by them: the allusion is to women of shameless impudence and insatiable lust, who covet men, whose flesh is as the flesh of asses, and their issue as horses, ( Ezekiel 23:20 ) ; flesh here signifies the privy parts of men; so Ben Melech; and hast increased thy whoredoms, to provoke my anger;
multiplied their idolatries, which they learned of the Egyptians, a people much given thereunto; and which were abominable and highly provoking to God, ( 1 Peter 4:3 ) . The Targum is,

``thou hast increased thine idols.''

Ezekiel 16:26 In-Context

24 'And [then] you built for yourself a mound, and you made for yourself a high place in every public square.
25 At [the] head of every street you built your high place and you disgraced your beauty and you spread your feet for every passerby, and you increased your whoring.
26 And you prostituted with the {Egyptians}, your neighbors {who were sexually aroused}, and you increased your fornication to provoke me.
27 And look! I stretched out my hand against you, and I reduced your portion, and I gave you into the desire of your haters, the daughters of the Philistines, who were ashamed because of your lewd {conduct}.
28 And you prostituted with the {Assyrians} on account of {your insatiable lust}, and you prostituted [with] them, and still you were not satisfied.

Footnotes 2

  • [a]. Literally "sons/children of Egypt"
  • [b]. Literally "[those] being great of flesh"
Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.