Ezekiel 16:2

2 "Son of man, make known to Jerusalem its detestable things,

Ezekiel 16:2 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 16:2

Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations.
] That is, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, as the Targum; these are mentioned instead of the whole body of the people, because that Jerusalem was the metropolis of the nation, whose sins were very many and heinous: called "abominations", because abominable to God, and rendered them so to him; particularly their idolatries are meant; which, though committed by them, and so must be known to them, yet were not owned, confessed, and repented of by them, they not being convinced of the evil of them; in order to which the prophet is bid to set them before them, and show them the evil nature of them; and which he might do by writing to them, for he himself was now in Chaldea with the captives there. The Targum is,

``son of man, reprove the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and show them their abominations.''

Ezekiel 16:2 In-Context

1 And the word of Yahweh {came} to me, {saying},

2 "Son of man, make known to Jerusalem its detestable things,

3 and you must say, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh to Jerusalem: Your origin and your birth [were] from the land of the Canaanites, your father [was] an Amorite, and your mother [was] a Hittite.

4 And [as for] your birth, {on the day you were born} your umbilical cord was not cut, and {you were not thoroughly washed clean with water}, and {you were not thoroughly rubbed with salt}, and {you were not carefully wrapped in strips of cloth}.

5 {No eye took pity on you} to do to you one of these [things] to show compassion for you, and you were thrown {into the open field} in [their] despising of you {on the day you were born}.

Footnotes

• [a] Or "mortal," or "son of humankind"