Ezekiel 16:17

17 You also took your beautiful jewelry, made from my gold and silver I had given you, and you made for yourselves male idols so you could be a prostitute with them.

Ezekiel 16:17 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 16:17

Thou hast also taken thy fair jewels of my gold, and of my
silver, which I had given thee
Or "thy glorious vessels of gold and silver" F8; meaning either the vessels of gold and silver in the temple, as Jerom thinks, which they converted to idolatrous uses; or rather their own household vessels of gold and silver which God had given them, as the bounties of his providence, and he had still a right unto, and which they made use of to the dishonour of his name; which argued great ingratitude in them: and madest to thyself images of men;
images in the shape of men; some were in the shape of women, others in the shape of men; here only male images are mentioned, because the idolatrous Jews are represented by an adulterous woman committing adultery, with men; and these were made by themselves, of their jewels of gold and silver; or of their golden and silver vessels, which they had to eat and drink out of; these, they melted down and made idols of them in the form of men, just as the molten calf was made of the earrings of the women, ( Exodus 32:3 Exodus 32:4 ) ; to which some refer this passage: and as it was a piece of egregious folly in themselves to part with their jewels and plate for such purposes, and of great ingratitude to God, their benefactor, so of the grossest stupidity and ignorance to worship images so made; which was equally as stupid, or more so, than if a woman should embrace the image of a man, instead of a man himself, as it follows: and didst commit whoredom with them:
the images: that is, idolatry, which is spiritual adultery.


FOOTNOTES:

F8 (ypokmw ybhzm Ktrapt ylk) "vasa gloriae tuae de auro meo, et de argento meo", Pagninus, Montanus; "vasa tua insigniora et elegantiora, facta ex auro meo?" Vatablus.

Ezekiel 16:17 In-Context

15 "'But you trusted in your beauty. You became a prostitute, because you were so famous. You had sexual relations with anyone who passed by.
16 You took some of your clothes and made your places of worship colorful. There you carried on your prostitution. These things should not happen; they should never occur.
17 You also took your beautiful jewelry, made from my gold and silver I had given you, and you made for yourselves male idols so you could be a prostitute with them.
18 Then you took your clothes with beautiful needlework and covered the idols. You gave my oil and incense as an offering to them.
19 Also, you took the bread I gave you, the fine flour, oil, and honey I gave you to eat, and you offered them before the gods as a pleasing smell. This is what happened, says the Lord God.
Scripture taken from the New Century Version. Copyright © 1987, 1988, 1991 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.