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Ezekiel 16

Ezekiel 16:39

Judgment on Jerusalem · Ezekiel 16:35–58
Read Ezekiel 16

Translations

Modern
Then I will deliver you into the hands of your lovers, and they will level your mounds and tear down your lofty shrines. They will strip off your clothes, take your fine jewelry, and leave you naked and bare.
Traditional
And I will also give thee into their hand, and they shall throw down thine eminent place, and shall break down thy high places: they shall strip thee also of thy clothes, and shall take thy fair jewels, and leave thee naked and bare.
Literal
And I will give you into their hands, and they will overthrow your shrines, and they will break down your high places, and they will strip you of your clothes and take away the articles of your beauty, and they will leave you naked and bare.
Latin
Et dabo te in manus eorum, et destruent lupanar tuum, et demolientur prostibulum tuum: et denudabunt te vestimentis tuis, et auferent vasa decoris tui, et derelinquent te nudam, plenamque ignominia:

Original

Hebrew
English
Then I will deliver you into the hands of your lovers, and they will level your mounds and tear down your lofty shrines. They will strip off your clothes, take your fine jewelry, and leave you naked and bare.

Notes

Ezekiel 16:39–43

In a tragic turn, the nations that Jerusalem trusted would later attack her. The very allies she depended on would turn against her and destroy her.

The Lord’s anger would continue until justice was complete. It would not end until Jerusalem had paid the full price for her past sins. Only then would his judgment be finished.

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 High Place Hittites Sexual Immorality

Topics

Garments: Called: Clothes High Places: Licentious Practices At Lasciviousness: Figurative