Keraia
Ezekiel 16

Ezekiel 16:20

Jerusalem’s Unfaithfulness · Ezekiel 16:1–34
Read Ezekiel 16

Translations

Modern
You even took the sons and daughters you bore to Me and sacrificed them as food to idols. Was your prostitution not enough?
Traditional
Moreover thou hast taken thy sons and thy daughters, whom thou hast borne unto me, and these hast thou sacrificed unto them to be devoured. Is this of thy whoredoms a small matter,
Literal
And you took your sons and your daughters, those whom you bore to Me, and you sacrificed them to them to be devoured! Was your prostitution too little?
Latin
Et tulisti filios tuos et filias tuas quas generasti mihi, et immolasti eis ad devorandum. Numquid parva est fornicatio tua?

Original

Hebrew
English
You even took the sons and daughters you bore to Me and sacrificed them as food to idols. Was your prostitution not enough?

Notes

Ezekiel 16:20–22

Jerusalem even sacrificed her sons and daughters to false gods. The nations around Israel practiced child sacrifice to show total commitment to a deity. This was common in the worship of the gods Molech and Chemosh (see Deuteronomy 12:31; 2 Kings 3:27). Israel sometimes took part in this terrible sin.

Ezekiel 16:1–63

In Ezekiel 16, Jerusalem is described as an unfaithful wife and a prostitute. This language is very strong. Even in English, the chapter can be difficult to read. In its ancient setting, it would have sounded even more shocking.

Ezekiel used graphic language to show how serious Judah’s sin was. He did not try to make his message softer or more polite. He spoke in a direct and forceful way.

This strong language is the main point of the chapter. Ezekiel wanted the people to feel how terrible their sin was in God’s sight. The shocking description helped them understand that God’s judgment was not unfair.

If Ezekiel had used softer words, the people might not have understood the full seriousness of their sin. The strong picture was necessary to show why God’s judgment was justified (that is, right and fair).

Ezekiel 15:1–24:14

This section includes eight metaphors, each showing from a different angle the certainty of Jerusalem's upcoming judgment. The images are of:

  1. a worthless vine (Ezekiel 15);

  2. a faithless wife (Ezekiel 16);

  3. a vine and two eagles (Ezekiel 17);

  4. Sour grapes (Ezekiel 18);

  5. a lion and her cubs (Ezekiel 19);

  6. a sword (Ezekiel 21);

  7. two corrupt sisters (Ezekiel 23); and

  8. a cooking pot (Ezekiel 24).

Events

Glossary

Adultery Bride of Christ Ezekiel, Book of Hittites Sexual Immorality

Topics

Child Sacrifice Children: Sacrificed Idolatry: Wicked Practices of Human Sacrifices Ingratitude of Man to God Lasciviousness: Figurative Molech: Children Sacrificed To Offerings: Human Sacrifices: Israelites