Ezekiel 16
16
A Parable of Yahweh’s Unfaithful Wife
1 # 16:1 Ezekiel 16 is the most vivid and shocking chapter in all the Bible in its description of the harlotry of Israel (Jerusalem). It is an expressive parable of God’s queen (see v. 13) becoming a prostitute (see v. 15). Idolatry in God’s eyes is like the unfaithfulness of a wife to her husband. The language is so scandalous and jarring that according to the Mishnah (oral Torah), it should never be read in public. Modern readers will find this chapter full of terms and phrases that are sexually expressive and vulgar, so much so that most modern translations soften the text to help lessen its jolt to our senses. For the most part, the translation team has kept the expressive language as it is stated in the Hebrew text. So, why did God speak so vulgarly to Jerusalem? To shock her out of her complacency and deception. Thankfully, the chapter ends with a promise of grace and restoration (see vv. 59–63). Yahweh spoke again to me, saying, 2“Son of man, confront Jerusalem concerning all the despicable things they have done. 3Tell them, ‘Lord Yahweh says to you: Your ancestral origins were in the land where the Canaanites lived. Your father was an Amorite # 16:3 That is, Jebus, the tribal head of the Jubusites, who once occupied the stronghold that David conquered and established as the city of Jerusalem. Jebus was an Amorite. and your mother a Hittite. 4On the day you were born, there was no one there to cut your umbilical cord or wash you clean in water. There was no one there to rub you with salt and oil # 16:4 The addition of oil to the rubbing with salt on a newborn infant is a plausible insertion here, given the citation of Allen in his Ezekiel commentary, where he adduces evidence for such a practice originating in ancient Near Eastern culture (see Leslie C. Allen, Ezekiel 1–19, Word Biblical Commentary, vol. 28 [Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1987], 223). or wrap you in a baby blanket. 5No one did anything to help you. No one felt sorry for you or showed sympathy for you. Instead, you were dumped into an open field and forgotten. From the day you were born you were rejected and unloved.’ ”
Adopted by God
6“ ‘Then I passed by, and I saw you there squirming in your blood. And as you lay there covered with blood, I spoke over you: “Live!” 7And I made you grow and flourish like the grass of the fields. # 16:7 There is a subtle play on the idea of a baby being abandoned in a field and then living and sprouting in that field where she once was abandoned. You grew up # 16:7 Or “I made you into a multitude.” and developed until you produced the most beautiful of features. # 16:7 Or “the most beautiful jewels.” You developed the breasts and hair # 16:7 Or “[pubic] hair,” having reached puberty. of a young woman, but you were still quite naked and exposed. 8Then later, I passed by again and looked upon you. And behold, I saw that your time had come—you were now old enough for love. So, I spread the edge # 16:8 Or “wing.” of my robe over you and covered your nakedness. # 16:8 The act of a suitor spreading his robe or garment over a woman was a symbolic gesture indicating his desire to marry her and provide for her (see Ruth 3:9). I gave you my sacred oath. I, Lord Yahweh, made a divine covenant with you, saying, “You will be mine,” and I took you as my own and promised to care for you. 9Then I washed the blood off you and anointed you with fragrant oil. # 16:9 Believers have also been washed and anointed with oil (the Holy Spirit). See 2 Cor. 1:21–22; Eph. 5:25–27; Titus 3:5. 10I dressed you in beautiful, embroidered gowns, fine leather shoes, a fine linen headband, and wrapped you in rich fabric. 11I adorned you with jewels, beautiful bracelets, and necklaces. # 16:11 See Song. 1:10–11. 12I gave you a nose ring and earrings and placed a sparkling crown on your head. 13You were decked with gold and silver jewelry and dressed in luxurious linen and rich embroidered cloth. # 16:13 Or “silk.” Your meals were feasts, made with the best bread, honey, and oil. You grew more and more beautiful, and you rose to be queen. 14And you became famous throughout the world because the splendor I lavished on you made your beauty perfect, declares Lord Yahweh.’ ”
Unfaithful to God
15“ ‘But you became confident in your own beauty and used your fame to act like a prostitute. You offered your sexual favors to each one who came along—and you became his! 16You took some of your fine clothes to decorate the tents on the high places where you worked as a prostitute. # 16:16 This verse ends with some untranslatable words, which may have been a coarse idiom with sexual meaning, lost in translation. However, some translations suggest what amounts to a divine exhortation inserted into a sordid allegorical discourse, such as, “these things should not happen; they should never occur.” 17You also took your gold and silver jewelry, which I had given you, and made yourself male images and acted like a prostitute with them. 18You took your embroidered clothes and used these to dress them up, and you offered them my sacred oil and my sacred incense. 19I gave you food made with the best flour, olive oil, and honey. But you offered it as a fragrant incense to these idols. I, Lord Yahweh, declare: that is exactly what you did! 20You even took the sons and daughters I had given you and sacrificed them as food for the idols. As if your prostitution was not bad enough, 21you slaughtered my children and burned them as offerings to idols! 22While you were doing the things I hate and behaving like a prostitute, you entirely forgot how you were when you were young. I found you naked and exposed, squirming in your own blood.
23“ ‘Now I, Lord Yahweh, say you are doomed! Not only did you do these evil things, 24in every city square you built an elevated shrine # 16:24 Or “vaulted chamber [to practice your prostitution].” for the worship of idols. 25At the entry to every alley you put up your brothel # 16:25 As translated from the Syriac, Vulgate, and the Septuagint. The Hebrew is “you put up your lofty place.” and dragged your beauty through the mud. You spread your legs to all who passed by in countless acts of prostitution. 26You slept with your well-endowed # 16:26 Literally “big of flesh” (i.e., like an erect penis). neighbors, the Egyptians, provoking my anger with your lifestyle of a prostitute. 27So listen, I have taken action to punish you and remove your portion of my blessing. # 16:27 God’s “blessing” in this context may refer to the reduced size of their land. I have put you at the mercy of your enemies, # 16:27 Literally “I have given you over to the throat of those who hate you.” the Philistine women, who blushed over your lewd behavior. # 16:27 Some scholars suggest that the Philistine women (in the parable of this chapter) were competing with the women of Judah in forming political alliances (also acting like prostitutes with other nations). 28Still unsatisfied, you prostituted yourself to the Assyrians and played the harlot with them. But even then, you were not satisfied. 29You committed further acts of fornication with the Babylonians, that nation of merchants, but that still did not satisfy you.’ ”
Worse Than a Prostitute
30“ ‘I, Lord Yahweh, say: You make me extremely angry # 16:30 This verse begins with three Hebrew words that are extremely difficult to translate. Some translations omit them entirely. The meanings fall into four possibilities: (1) “How weak-willed you are!” (2) “How wild is your lust!” (3) “How sick is your heart!” (4) “How angry you make me!” Option 4 seems to be the best interpretation after comparing other Semitic languages and a revocalization of the text. because of all these things that you have done. You have acted like a brazen prostitute who has no shame. 31You built an elevated shrine on every street to worship idols, put up your pavilion in every public square. But you are not like a common prostitute just out for the money. 32You are an adulterous wife who would rather have sex with strangers # 16:32 That is, foreigners (foreign nations). than her husband. 33Men will pay a prostitute, but you give presents to all your lovers! You bribe them to come from everywhere just to sleep with you. 34You are so different from other prostitutes. No one came to ask you for sex. The men you slept with did not pay you, but you paid them. Therefore, you are worse than a prostitute!’ ”
God Will Punish Jerusalem
35“ ‘Very well, Jerusalem, you whore! Hear the word of Yahweh! 36Lord Yahweh says to you: You poured out your lust # 16:36 Or “Your juice was poured out.” (See Moshe Greenberg, Ezekiel 1–20, Anchor Yale Bible Commentaries, vol. 22 [New Haven & London: Yale University Press, 1983], 286.) The meaning of the Hebrew nehushtek is disputed here. It carries the literal meaning of “wealth” or “money,” but some have seen it as an expression of sexual anticipation. and are ready for sex. As a prostitute, you uncovered your genitals for your lovers and for all those disgusting idols. You killed your children # 16:36 Or literally “You gave the blood of your children.” to honor those false gods. # 16:36 Or “idols.”
37“ ‘Behold, I will bring together all your lovers to whom you gave pleasure—all those you loved and all those you hated. Yes, I will bring them from everywhere, and I will strip you naked in front of them and let them see your genitals.
38“ ‘I will judge you with the same death sentence of an adulterer or murderer and bring upon you the fury of my burning rage. # 16:38 Or “I will bring on you the blood of my rage and zeal.” 39I will hand you over to your “lovers,” and they will destroy your elevated chamber and pull down your sacred shrines. They will strip you of your clothes, take away your lovely jewels, and leave you stark naked. 40Then they will gather an angry mob against you who will stone you to death and hack you to pieces with their swords. 41They will burn down your homes and execute justice on you while many other women look on. I will once and for all put an end to your wicked harlotry—no more paid lovers for you!
42“ ‘Once my fury is exhausted with you, I will calm down and let my anger die away. Then I will not be angry anymore. 43You have entirely forgotten how I treated you when you were young. And you have done nothing but provoke me, so now I, in turn, will cause you to suffer the consequences for your own behavior. # 16:43 Or “I will bring your conduct down on your own head!” And haven’t you committed such gross lewdness in addition to all your other shocking sins? I, Lord Yahweh, have spoken.’ ”
Compared with Samaria and Sodom
44Yahweh says, “Behold, all who quote proverbs will surely apply this proverb to you, Jerusalem: Like mother, like daughter. # 16:44 That is, a mother passes on her nature and characteristics to her children. A comparable proverb in English is “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” 45Yes; you are a daughter exactly like your pagan mother, # 16:45 That is, the Hittites (see v. 3). God is telling the people of Jerusalem that they are as pagan as the Canaanites were when they came into the land. who hated her husband and her children. And you have become exactly like your sisters, # 16:45 Although singular in this verse, elsewhere in the chapter it is plural (see vv. 51, 52, 55). The “sisters” are Samaria and Sodom. Jerusalem is as compromised and corrupt as the two cities of Samaria and Sodom (see v. 46). who hated their husbands and their children. You and your sister cities had a Hittite mother and an Amorite father. 46Your big sister is Samaria with her daughter-villages to the north of you. Your little sister is Sodom with her daughter-villages to the south of you. # 16:46 The Hebrew is literally “at your left hand [north]” and “your right hand [south].” The temple faced east with Samaria on the left hand and Sodom on the right. 47Yet you were not satisfied to live as the people of Samaria and Sodom lived, copying all their wicked ways and imitating their loathsome practices. In very little time, you became more wicked than they were in all your ways. 48As surely as I, Lord Yahweh, live, your sister Sodom and her daughters never did the evil that you and your daughters have done. 49Behold, the guilt of your sister Sodom! She and her daughters were arrogant, gluttonous, and lived in carefree complacency. They never thought to help the poor and needy. 50They were proud, stubborn, and defiantly evil before me, and so I swept them away as you have seen. # 16:50 Or “when I saw it” (see Gen. 18:21). 51And yet Samaria never committed half the sins that you have. You have done more detestable things than they. When compared to all your gross practices, you have made your sisters seem innocent! 52So now you will bear the shame of your deeds, which provides a measure of justification for your sisters, since your sins are viler than theirs. They now appear more upright than you are. So, suffer the utter disgrace and humiliation of having made your sisters appear more righteous than you!
53“I will restore their fortunes; I will restore Sodom and her daughters. I will restore Samaria and her daughters, and then I will also restore your fortunes along with them. 54You will be totally ashamed of yourself and bear disgrace for all you have done in giving them comfort. 55When your sisters, Sodom and her daughter-villages and Samaria and her daughter-villages, are restored to what they were, then you, too, and your surrounding villages will be restored to what you were. 56Jerusalem, did you not gloat in your pride over your sister Sodom 57before your wickedness was uncovered? # 16:57 The Hebrew also allows for this sentence to be a statement rather than a rhetorical question: “You did not even talk about your sister Sodom.” Now you are just like her! You have become the laughingstock of the Philistines, the Syrians, # 16:57 Or “Aram.” Many translations and a few Hebrew manuscripts read “Edom [the Edomites].” and all your neighbors who hate you and heap scorn on you. 58You have brought this on yourself with your lewdness and your disgusting deeds. I, Lord Yahweh, have spoken.”
An Everlasting Covenant
59“For I, Lord Yahweh say to you: I will treat you as you deserve, for you have broken your marriage covenant # 16:59 This marriage covenant was made between Yahweh and Israel on Mount Sinai. and despised your promises to me. # 16:59 See Ezek. 36:31; compare Jer. 31:3, 31–34. 60But I # 16:60 The pronoun “I” is emphatic in the Hebrew text: “I, yes, I!” will remember my covenant that I made with you in the days of your youth. # 16:60 “The days of your youth” include the time from the Exodus through the wilderness wanderings. God entered into a marriage covenant with Israel knowing that she would wander and be unfaithful. Yet he still loved her deeply, and he promised to renew his covenant with her. Our “wanderings” will not separate us from God’s love. See Rom. 8:31–39. I will renew that covenant with you, and it will last forever. # 16:60 The Hebrew prophets never left God’s people in despair without hope. Today, God’s true prophets likewise must expose sin and bring God’s people to repentance, but they must also leave them with the gracious promise of restoration and hope. Part of the prophetic calling is to bring hope, comfort, and encouragement to God’s people. See 1 Cor. 14:1–5. 61When you get back your older and younger sisters, then you will remember your ways and feel ashamed. I will make them like daughters to you, but not on the basis of my new covenant with you. 62Yes, I will graciously renew my covenant with you, # 16:62 This renewal of a broken covenant was not bestowed upon Jerusalem as a reward for her repentance. It was freely given because of God’s grace. In a sense, this is a shadow of the new covenant that we have entered into today based entirely on God’s endless grace and mercy toward us who believe. See Luke 22:20; Eph. 2:8–12; Heb. 8:8, 13; 9:15; 12:24; 1 John 4:10. and then you will know me as Yahweh-God. 63You may remember your wretched past and feel deep remorse, yet you will be reduced to silence when you realize that I have forgiven you # 16:63 Or “made atonement.” for everything you have done. I, Lord Yahweh, have spoken.”
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Ezekiel 16: TPT
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