Ezekiel 16:23

23 "'And then to top off all your evil acts, you built your bold brothels in every town square. Doom! Doom to you, says God, the Master!

Ezekiel 16:23 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 16:23

And it came to pass after all thy wickedness
This refers either to what goes before, so Kimchi; and the sense is, it shall be again as it was at first, after and because of all the above wickedness committed, thou shalt be left naked and bare, and destitute of all that is good: or rather to what follows in the next clause; and the meaning is, to all this wickedness before mentioned, which was so great that it might be thought nothing more could be added to it; and yet the following things were, as building an eminent place, and high places, in all streets and heads of ways: woe, woe unto thee, saith the Lord of hosts;
which is repeated, to show the indignation of the Lord against all this wickedness; to arouse their attention to their sin and punishment, and to show the certainty of it; and it may be it denotes both their misery in this world, and in that to come. The Targum of the whole is,

``what shall be in thine end for all thy wickedness? the prophet said unto her, woe unto thee, because thou hast sinned; woe unto thee, because thou art not converted, saith the Lord God.''

Ezekiel 16:23 In-Context

21 And now you're a murderer, killing my children and sacrificing them to idols.
22 "'Not once during these years of outrageous obscenities and whorings did you remember your infancy, when you were naked and exposed, a blood-smeared newborn.
23 "'And then to top off all your evil acts, you built your bold brothels in every town square. Doom! Doom to you, says God, the Master!
24 At every major intersection you built your bold brothels and exposed your sluttish sex, spreading your legs for everyone who passed by.
25 "'And then you went international with your whoring.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.