Ezekiel 16:44

44 ecce omnis qui dicit vulgo proverbium in te adsumet illud dicens sicut mater ita et filia eius

Ezekiel 16:44 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 16:44

Behold, everyone that useth proverbs
That affects a proverbial way of sneaking that is witty and facetious, and has a talent at satirizing and scoffing, as some have had; such were Lucian and others: shall use [this] proverb against thee;
signifying that the sins of the Jews should be well known and exposed, and they should become the subject of the gibes and jeers of men: saying, as [is] the mother, [so is] her daughter;
an ancient and common proverb, used to express a likeness and agreement between persons their nature and disposition, in their behaviour, conduct, and conversation. So the Targum,

``as are the works of the mother, so those of the daughter;''
the mother is the land of Canaan, and the daughter the congregation of Israel, as Kimchi. The Jews were the successors of the old Canaanites, and they imitated them in their practices; and, because both of their succession and imitation, they are called the daughter of them; a bad daughter of a bad mother.

Ezekiel 16:44 In-Context

42 et requiescet indignatio mea in te et auferetur zelus meus a te et quiescam nec irascar amplius
43 eo quod non fueris recordata dierum adulescentiae tuae et provocasti me in omnibus his quapropter et ego vias tuas in capite tuo dedi ait Dominus Deus et non feci iuxta scelera tua in omnibus abominationibus tuis
44 ecce omnis qui dicit vulgo proverbium in te adsumet illud dicens sicut mater ita et filia eius
45 filia matris tuae es tu quae proiecit virum suum et filios suos et soror sororum tuarum tu quae proiecerunt viros suos et filios suos mater vestra Cetthea et pater vester Amorreus
46 et soror tua maior Samaria ipsa et filiae eius quae habitat ad sinistram tuam soror autem tua minor te quae habitat a dextris tuis Sodoma et filiae eius
The Latin Vulgate is in the public domain.