Ezekiel 16:43-53

43 for thou haddest not mind on the days of thy young waxing age, and thou stirredest me to ire in all these things. Wherefore and I gave thy ways in thine head, saith the Lord God, and I did not after thy great trespasses, in all these thine abominations. (for thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, and thou stirredest me to anger in all these things. And so I gave thy ways back upon thy own head, saith the Lord God, for thou should not do after thy great trespasses, and all these thy abominations.)

44 Lo! each man that saith a proverb commonly, shall take it in thee, and shall say, As the mother, so and the daughter of her. (Lo! each person who commonly saith a proverb, shall take it against thee, and shall say, As the mother, and so her daughter.)

45 Thou art the daughter of thy mother, that casted away her husband and her sons; and thou art the sister of thy sisters, that casted away their husbands and their sons. Thy mother is (an) Hittite, and thy father is (an) Amorite;

46 and thy greater sister is Samaria, she and her daughters, that dwell at thy left side; but thy sister less than thou, that dwelleth at thy right side, is Sodom, and her daughters. (and thy elder sister is Samaria, she and her daughters, that live at thy left side, or to the north; and thy younger sister, that liveth at thy right side, or to the south, is Sodom, and her daughters.)

47 But thou wentest not in the ways of them, neither thou didest after the great trespasses of them; hast thou done almost a little less curseder deeds than they, in all thy ways? (But wentest thou not in their ways, and didest thou not after their great trespasses? hast thou done any less cursed deeds than they, in all thy ways?)

48 (Yea, as) I live, saith the Lord God, for Sodom, thy sister, did not, she and her daughters (neither she nor her daughters), as thou didest, and thy daughters.

49 Lo! this was the wickedness of Sodom, thy sister, pride, fullness of bread, and abundance, and (the) idleness of her, and of her daughters; and they putted not hand to a needy man and poor (and they gave not their hand, or their help, to the poor and the needy).

50 And they were enhanced, and did other abominations before me; and I took them away, as thou hast seen. (And they were lifted up, that is, they were proud and haughty, and did other abominations before me; and so I took them away, as thou hast seen.)

51 And Samaria sinned not the half of thy sins, but thou hast overcome them in thy great trespasses; and thou hast justified thy sisters in all thine abominations, which thou wroughtest. (And Samaria sinned not the half of thy sins, yea, thou hast gone over, or hast surpassed, them with thy great trespasses; and thou hast justified, or hast absolved, thy sisters with all thy abominations which thou hast done.)

52 Therefore and thou bear thy shame, that hast overcome thy sisters with thy sins, and didest more cursedly than they; for they be justified of thee. Therefore and be thou shamed, and bear thy shame, which hast justified thy sisters. (And so bear thou thy shame, thou who hast gone over, or hast surpassed, thy sisters with thy sins, and didest more cursedly than they; for they be more justified, or appear more innocent, than thou. And so be thou shamed, and bear thy shame, thou whom hast absolved thy sisters.)

53 And I shall convert and restore them by the conversion of Sodom with her daughters, and by the conversion of Samaria and of her daughters; and I shall convert thy turning again in the midst of them, (But I shall restore the prosperity of Sodom and her daughters, and the prosperity of Samaria and her daughters; and I shall restore thy prosperity in their midst,)

Ezekiel 16:43-53 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO EZEKIEL 16

In this chapter the Jewish nation is represented under the simile of a female infant, whose birth, breeding, marriage, grandeur, and conduct, are described, in order to show the wickedness and ingratitude of, his people; who, on account thereof, are threatened with judgments; though mercy is promised to a remnant that should repent. The prophet is directed to make known to Jerusalem her abominable sins, Eze 16:1,2; and, in order to this, is bid to take up the following parable of a female infant; whose descent, birth, and wretched condition, at the time of it, are pointed at, Eze 16:3-5; which are expressive of the low and forlorn estate of the Jews originally; and then follow the benefits and blessings of God bestowed upon them, both in their infant and adult state; the preserving them alive in Egypt, and their multiplication there; and afterwards the covenant made with them, when brought out from thence; and the Lord's espousal of them to himself, as his own people, having a strong affection for them, Eze 16:6-8; the large provision of good things he made for them, both in the wilderness, and especially in the land of Canaan; the riches he bestowed upon them, and the flourishing and prosperous kingdom he raised them to, which made them famous among all the nations round about them, Eze 16:9-14; and yet, after all this, such was the ingratitude of this people, as to commit spiritual whoredom, that is, idolatry, to a very great degree, Eze 16:15; which is aggravated by their converting and applying the good things which the Lord gave them to idolatrous uses, Eze 16:16-19; by sacrificing their sons and daughters to idols, which were the Lord's, Eze 16:20,21; by not calling to mind the former wretched estate out of which they were brought, Eze 16:22; by building high places in every street and way, and there committing idolatries, Eze 16:23-25; by the various nations, whose examples they followed, and with whom they joined, as the Egyptians, Assyrians, and Chaldeans, Eze 16:26-29; and by the great difference between them and all other harlots, whom they exceeded, Eze 16:30-34; wherefore, on account of all this, they are threatened to be dealt with as an adulterous woman; made a spectacle of; condemned to die, to be stripped, stoned, and burned, Eze 16:35-43; and, that the Lord might appear to be just in executing such judgments on them, they are declared to be as bad as the Hittites and Amorites their parents; and worse than their sisters Samaria and Sodom; and therefore could expect to fare no better than they; and should become proverb and a byword, and bear their sins, shame, and punishment, in the sight of their neighbours, and be despised by them, Eze 16:44-59; nevertheless, the covenant of grace made with his chosen people among them should stand firm; which being manifested to them, would be a means of bringing them to a sense of sin, shame for it, and an acknowledgment of the Lord's grace and goodness to them Eze 16:60-63.