Ezekiel 16:44

44 Look! Everyone quoting a proverb against you, he will quote, {saying}, 'Like her mother [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 satisfy my rage on you, and my jealousy will turn away from you, and I will be calm, and I will not be angry [any] longer.
43 {Because} you did not remember the days of your childhood and you made me angry with all of these. And in turn I, look, I will return your way upon [your] head,' {declares} the Lord Yahweh, 'and did you not [do] wickedness in addition to all of your detestable things?
44 Look! Everyone quoting a proverb against you, he will quote, {saying}, 'Like her mother [is] her daughter!'
45 You [are] a daughter of your mother [who] abhorred her husband and her children, and you [are] a sister of your sisters who abhorred their husbands and their children. Your mother [was] a Hittite, and your father [was] an Amorite.
46 And your elder sister, she [is] Samaria, and her daughters, [who are] dwelling on your north, and your younger sister [is] the one dwelling on your south; [she] [is] Sodom and her daughters.

Footnotes 2

  • [a]. Literally "proverbing a proverb"
  • [b]. Literally "to say"
Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.