Ezekiel 16:16

16 And you took from your clothes and you made for yourself colorful shrines, and you prostituted on them; {this had not happened before}, and it {will not continue to happen}.

Ezekiel 16:16 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 16:16

And of thy garments thou didst take
Which were made of fine linen, silk, and broidered work; which God had given them, and they were richly clad with: and deckedst thy high places with divers colours;
that is, with garments of divers colours; either they erected tents on their high places, made with these; or they covered their altars with them, which were on their high places for the ornament of them, as harlots deck their beds to allure their lovers; see ( Proverbs 7:16 Proverbs 7:17 ) ; or "thou hast made for thyself high places spotted" F4; so the word is rendered in ( Genesis 30:32 Genesis 30:33 Genesis 30:35 ) ; alluding to garments spotted with the flesh by adulterers. The Targum is, "thou hast made for thyself high places covered with idols": and so the Septuagint version renders it, "idols sewed together". The word, in the Talmudic language F5, has the signification of sewing. These idols were decked as children's babies are; and so the Syriac version, "thou hast made for thyself babies"; images like babies, richly dressed with their garments above described, such as the papists now have; and playedst the harlot thereon;
committed idolatry on the high places; or "with them" F6; that is, with the images and idols decked with their garments, which were set on those high places: [the like things] shall not come, neither shall it be [so];
the like idolatries shall set be committed any more; and after the Babylonish captivity worshipping of idols was not practised by the Jews; nor is it to this day: or such "things have not come yet", and there "shall not be" the like F7; the sense is, there never were such idolatries committed by this people before; and there hover shall be, or will be, the like afterwards. Kimchi's note is,

``the high places shall not come as these; as if it was said these shall not be in futurity; and there shall not be a man or a people that shall make like these for multitudes;''
so Ben Melech; and (twmb) , "high places", does agree with (twab) , "come". The Targum joins this with the preceding clause,
``"and playedst the harlot" with them, as is not right and fit''

FOOTNOTES:

F4 (twalj twmb Kl yvetw) "et fecisti tibi excelsa maculosa", Montanus; "excelsa conspera maculis", Calvin; "latis maculis interstincta", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Polanus.
F5 T. Bab. Gittin. fol. 45. 2. Misn. Celim, c. 27. sect. 6.
F6 (Mhyle) "iisque", Ar. Interp.
F7 (hyhy alw twab al) "non eventurae sunt [tales scortationes], nec erit [qui sic scortetur]", Piscator.

Ezekiel 16:16 In-Context

14 And a name went out for you among the nations because of your beauty, for it [was] perfect because of my majesty that I bestowed on you,' {declares} the Lord Yahweh.
15 'And you trusted in your beauty, and you prostituted on account of your name, and you poured out your fornication on every [one] passing by, [saying], "Let it be his."
16 And you took from your clothes and you made for yourself colorful shrines, and you prostituted on them; {this had not happened before}, and it {will not continue to happen}.
17 And you took {your beautiful jewelry} [made] from my gold and from my silver that I had given to you, and you made for yourself {male images}, and you prostituted with them.
18 And you took the clothes of your beautiful finished cloth, and you covered them and my oil and my incense you set {before them}.

Footnotes 3

  • [a]. Or "gaudy"
  • [b]. Literally "Not [were] happening"
  • [c]. Literally "and not it will be"; Hebrew text unclear
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