Ezekiel 16:26

26 And thou didest fornication with the sons of Egypt, thy neighbours of great fleshes, and thou multipliedest thy fornications, to stir me to wrath (to stir me to anger).

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 thou buildedest to thee a bordel house, and madest to thee a place of whoredom in all (the) streets.
25 At each head of the way thou buildedest a sign of thine whoredom, and madest thy fairness abominable; and thou partedest thy feet to each man passing forth, and multipliedest thy fornications.
26 And thou didest fornication with the sons of Egypt, thy neighbours of great fleshes, and thou multipliedest thy fornications, to stir me to wrath (to stir me to anger).
27 Lo! I shall stretch forth mine hand on thee, and I shall take away thy justifying; and I shall give thee into the souls of them that hate thee, of the daughters of Palestines, that be ashamed in thy way full of great trespass. (Lo! I shall stretch forth my hand upon thee, and I shall take away thy justifying; and I shall give thee into the hands of those who hate thee, to the daughters of the Philistines, who be ashamed of thy way that is so full of such great trespass.)
28 And thou didest fornication with the sons of Assyrians, for thou were not [ful]filled yet; and after that thou didest fornication, neither so thou were [ful]filled. (And thou didest fornication, that is idolatry, with the Assyrians, for thou were not yet fulfilled; and after that thou didest fornication with them, thou were still not fulfilled.)
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.