Ezekiel 16:1-14

Jerusalem as an Adulterous Wife

1 The word of the LORD came to me:

2 “Son of man, confront Jerusalem with her detestable practices

3 and say, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says to Jerusalem: Your ancestry and birth were in the land of the Canaanites; your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite.

4 On the day you were born your cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water to make you clean, nor were you rubbed with salt or wrapped in cloths.

5 No one looked on you with pity or had compassion enough to do any of these things for you. Rather, you were thrown out into the open field, for on the day you were born you were despised.

6 “ ‘Then I passed by and saw you kicking about in your blood, and as you lay there in your blood I said to you, “Live!”^[a]

7 I made you grow like a plant of the field. You grew and developed and entered puberty. Your breasts had formed and your hair had grown, yet you were stark naked.

8 “ ‘Later I passed by, and when I looked at you and saw that you were old enough for love, I spread the corner of my garment over you and covered your naked body. I gave you my solemn oath and entered into a covenant with you, declares the Sovereign LORD, and you became mine.

9 “ ‘I bathed you with water and washed the blood from you and put ointments on you.

10 I clothed you with an embroidered dress and put sandals of fine leather on you. I dressed you in fine linen and covered you with costly garments.

11 I adorned you with jewelry: I put bracelets on your arms and a necklace around your neck,

12 and I put a ring on your nose, earrings on your ears and a beautiful crown on your head.

13 So you were adorned with gold and silver; your clothes were of fine linen and costly fabric and embroidered cloth. Your food was honey, olive oil and the finest flour. You became very beautiful and rose to be a queen.

14 And your fame spread among the nations on account of your beauty, because the splendor I had given you made your beauty perfect, declares the Sovereign LORD.

Ezekiel 16:1-14 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO EZEKIEL 16

In this chapter the Jewish nation is represented under the simile of a female infant, whose birth, breeding, marriage, grandeur, and conduct, are described, in order to show the wickedness and ingratitude of, his people; who, on account thereof, are threatened with judgments; though mercy is promised to a remnant that should repent. The prophet is directed to make known to Jerusalem her abominable sins, Eze 16:1,2; and, in order to this, is bid to take up the following parable of a female infant; whose descent, birth, and wretched condition, at the time of it, are pointed at, Eze 16:3-5; which are expressive of the low and forlorn estate of the Jews originally; and then follow the benefits and blessings of God bestowed upon them, both in their infant and adult state; the preserving them alive in Egypt, and their multiplication there; and afterwards the covenant made with them, when brought out from thence; and the Lord's espousal of them to himself, as his own people, having a strong affection for them, Eze 16:6-8; the large provision of good things he made for them, both in the wilderness, and especially in the land of Canaan; the riches he bestowed upon them, and the flourishing and prosperous kingdom he raised them to, which made them famous among all the nations round about them, Eze 16:9-14; and yet, after all this, such was the ingratitude of this people, as to commit spiritual whoredom, that is, idolatry, to a very great degree, Eze 16:15; which is aggravated by their converting and applying the good things which the Lord gave them to idolatrous uses, Eze 16:16-19; by sacrificing their sons and daughters to idols, which were the Lord's, Eze 16:20,21; by not calling to mind the former wretched estate out of which they were brought, Eze 16:22; by building high places in every street and way, and there committing idolatries, Eze 16:23-25; by the various nations, whose examples they followed, and with whom they joined, as the Egyptians, Assyrians, and Chaldeans, Eze 16:26-29; and by the great difference between them and all other harlots, whom they exceeded, Eze 16:30-34; wherefore, on account of all this, they are threatened to be dealt with as an adulterous woman; made a spectacle of; condemned to die, to be stripped, stoned, and burned, Eze 16:35-43; and, that the Lord might appear to be just in executing such judgments on them, they are declared to be as bad as the Hittites and Amorites their parents; and worse than their sisters Samaria and Sodom; and therefore could expect to fare no better than they; and should become proverb and a byword, and bear their sins, shame, and punishment, in the sight of their neighbours, and be despised by them, Eze 16:44-59; nevertheless, the covenant of grace made with his chosen people among them should stand firm; which being manifested to them, would be a means of bringing them to a sense of sin, shame for it, and an acknowledgment of the Lord's grace and goodness to them Eze 16:60-63.

Cross References

• 1. S Isaiah 57:12; Ezekiel 23:36
• 2. Ezekiel 8:17; Ezekiel 20:4; Ezekiel 22:2
• 3. Genesis 11:25-29; Ezekiel 21:30
• 4. S Genesis 12:18
• 5. S Genesis 15:16
• 6. ver 45; S Genesis 10:15; S Deuteronomy 7:1; Joshua 24:14-15
• 7. Hosea 2:3
• 8. ver 22; S Exodus 19:4; Ezekiel 18:23,32
• 9. S Deuteronomy 1:10
• 10. S Exodus 1:7
• 11. Ruth 3:9
• 12. ver 59; S Jeremiah 11:10; Malachi 2:14
• 13. Jeremiah 2:2; Hos 2:7,19-20
• 14. S Ruth 3:3
• 15. S Exodus 26:36; S Isaiah 19:9
• 16. Ezekiel 27:16
• 17. ver 18; S Isaiah 3:23
• 18. S Jeremiah 4:30; Ezekiel 23:40
• 19. Isaiah 3:19; Ezekiel 23:42
• 20. S Genesis 41:42; S Psalms 73:6
• 21. Isaiah 3:21
• 22. S Genesis 35:4
• 23. S Isaiah 28:5; S Jeremiah 13:18
• 24. Proverbs 1:9; S Isaiah 3:19
• 25. Esther 5:1
• 26. 1 Samuel 10:1
• 27. Deuteronomy 32:13-14; S 1 Kings 4:21; S Esther 2:9,17
• 28. 1 Kings 10:24
• 29. S Esther 1:11; S Psalms 48:2; S Lamentations 2:15
• 30. S Ezekiel 5:5

Footnotes

• [a] A few Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint and Syriac; most Hebrew manuscripts repeat "and as you lay there in your blood I said to you, “Live!”"