Ezekiel 16:17

17 And thou tookest the vessels of thy fairness, of my gold and of my silver, which I gave to thee; and thou madest to thee images of men, and didest fornication in those. (And thou tookest my beautiful vessels of gold and of silver, which I gave to thee; and thou madest for thyself idols of men, and didest fornication, that is, idolatry, 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 And thou haddest trust in thy fairness, and didest fornication in thy name; and thou settedest forth thy fornication to each that passed forth, that thou shouldest be made his (and thou hast put forth, or hast proffered, thy willingness for fornication to anyone who passed by, so that thou wouldest be made his).
16 And thou tookest of my clothes, and madest to thee high things set about on each side (And thou tookest some of thy clothes, and adornest thy high places with them put about on each side); and thou didest fornication on those, as it was not done, neither shall be done.
17 And thou tookest the vessels of thy fairness, of my gold and of my silver, which I gave to thee; and thou madest to thee images of men, and didest fornication in those. (And thou tookest my beautiful vessels of gold and of silver, which I gave to thee; and thou madest for thyself idols of men, and didest fornication, that is, idolatry, with them.)
18 And thou tookest thy clothes of many colours, and thou were clothed in those; and thou settedest mine oil and mine incense in the sight of those.
19 And thou settedest my bread, which I gave to thee, flour of wheat, and oil, and honey, by which I nourished thee, in the sight of those, into (an) odour of sweetness (for a sweet aroma); and it was done, saith the Lord God.
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.