New International Reader s Version - NIrV - 1996
Ezekiel 16
1
A message came to me from the Lord. He said,
2
"Son of man, tell the people of Jerusalem the evil things they have done. I hate those things.
Reference
3
"Tell them, 'The Lord and King speaks to Jerusalem. He says, "Your history in the land of Canaan goes back a long way. Your father was an Amorite. Your mother was a Hittite.
Reference
Parallel theme
Ezekiel 16:45
John 8:44
Genesis 15:16
Luke 3:7
Ezekiel 21:30
References God
Nehemiah 9:7
Deuteronomy 20:17
Isaiah 1:10
1 John 3:10
References Lord
1 Kings 21:26
4
On the day you were born your cord was not cut. You were not washed with water to clean you up. You were not rubbed with salt. And you were not wrapped in large strips of cloth.
Reference
Parallel theme
Hosea 2:3
5
No one took pity on you. No one was concerned enough to do any of those things for you. Instead, you were thrown out into an open field. You were hated on the day you were born.
Reference
Parallel theme
Deuteronomy 32:10
6
" ' "I was passing by. I saw you kicking around in your blood. As you were lying there, I said to you, 'Live!'
Reference
7
I made you grow like a plant in a field. Soon you had grown up. You became the most beautiful jewel of all. Your breasts had formed. Your hair had grown. But you were naked and bare.
Reference
8
" ' "Later, I was passing by again. I looked at you. I saw that you were old enough for love. So I got married to you and took good care of you. I covered your naked body. I took an oath and made a firm promise to you. I entered into a covenant with you. And you became mine," announces the Lord and King.
Reference
Covenant
Deuteronomy 4:31
Jeremiah 31:32
Love
Isaiah 43:4
Romans 5:8
Hosea 11:1
Jeremiah 31:3
Parallel theme
Ruth 3:9
Ezekiel 16:6
Exodus 32:13
References Lord
1 Samuel 12:22
10
I put a beautiful dress on you. I gave you leather sandals. I dressed you in fine linen. I covered you with expensive clothes.
Reference
11
I decorated you with jewelry. I put bracelets on your arms. I gave you a necklace for your neck.
Reference
13
" ' "So you were decorated with gold and silver. Your clothes were made out of fine linen. They were made of expensive and beautiful cloth. Your food was made out of fine flour, honey and olive oil. You became very beautiful. You became a queen.
Reference
14
You were so beautiful that your fame spread among the nations. The glory I had given you made your beauty perfect," announces the Lord and King.
Reference
15
" ' "But you trusted in your beauty. You used your fame to become a prostitute. You offered your body freely to anyone who passed by. In fact, you gave yourself to anyone who wanted you.
Reference
Faith
Jeremiah 7:4
Isaiah 1:21
Parallel theme
Isaiah 57:8
Jeremiah 2:20
Ezekiel 16:25
Ezekiel 23:3
Ezekiel 23:8
Hosea 1:2
16
You used some of your clothes to make high places colorful. That is where people worshiped other gods. You were a prostitute there. Things like that should never happen. They should never take place.
Reference
Parallel theme
2 Kings 23:7
17
" ' "I had given you fine jewelry. It was made out of gold and silver. You used it to make for yourself statues of male gods. You worshiped those gods. You were not faithful to me.
18
You put your beautiful clothes on them. You offered my oil and incense to them.
19
You also offered them the food that was made out of fine flour, olive oil and honey. I had given it to you to eat. You offered it as sweet-smelling incense to them. That is what you did," announces the Lord and King.
Reference
Parallel theme
Ezekiel 16:13
20
" ' "Then you got your sons and daughters who belonged to me. And you sacrificed them as food to other gods. Wasn't it enough for you to be a prostitute?
Reference
21
You killed my children. You sacrificed them to other gods.
Reference
Parallel theme
2 Kings 17:17
22
" ' "You did not remember the days when you were young. At that time you were naked and bare. You were kicking around in your blood. But now you have done evil things. I hate them. You have worshiped other gods. You have not been faithful to me.
Reference
23
" ' "How terrible it will be for you!" announces the Lord and King. "How terrible for you! You continued to sin against me.
24
Your people built up mounds for themselves in every market place. They put little places of worship on them.
Reference
25
They set them up at every street corner. Jerusalem, you misused your beauty. You offered your body to anyone who passed by. You did it again and again.
Reference
26
" ' "You committed shameful acts with the people of Egypt. They were your neighbors, and they were filled with longing for their lovers. You offered yourself to others again and again. That made me very angry.
27
So I reached out my powerful hand against you. I made your territory smaller. I handed you over to your Philistine enemies. The people in their towns were shocked by your impure conduct.
Reference
28
" ' "You also committed shameful acts with the people of Assyria. Nothing ever seemed to satisfy you. You could never get enough.
Reference
29
Then you offered yourself to the people of Babylonia. But that did not satisfy you either. There are many traders in the land of Babylonia.
30
" ' "You can't control yourself," announces the Lord and King. "Just look at all of the things you are doing! You are acting like a prostitute who has no shame at all.
Reference
31
Your people built up mounds at every street corner. You put little places of worship on them in every market place. But you did not really act like a prostitute. You refused to let your lovers pay you anything.
Reference
Parallel theme
Isaiah 52:3
32
" ' "You unfaithful wife! You would rather be with strangers than with your own husband!
Reference
Parallel theme
Jeremiah 2:28
33
Every prostitute gets paid. But you give gifts to all of your lovers. You offer them money to come to you from everywhere. You want them to make love to you. You are not faithful to me.
Reference
Parallel theme
Isaiah 57:9
34
As a prostitute, you are the opposite of others. No one runs after you to make love to you. You are exactly the opposite. You pay them. They do not pay you." ' "
35
You prostitute, listen to the Lord's message.
36
The Lord and King says, "You poured out your wealth on your lovers. You took your clothes off and made love to them. You did it again and again. You worshiped other gods. I hate them. You even sacrificed your children to them.
Reference
Parallel theme
Ezekiel 23:10
37
"So I am going to gather together all of the lovers you found pleasure with. They include those you loved and those you hated. I will gather them against you from everywhere. I will take your clothes off right in front of them. Then they will see you completely naked.
Reference
Love
Hosea 2:10
Parallel theme
Jeremiah 13:22
Hosea 2:3
Revelation 17:16
Jeremiah 13:26
Hosea 8:10
Lamentations 1:8
38
I will hand down my sentence against you. You will be punished like women who commit adultery and sacrifice their children to other gods. My anger burns against you so much that I will sentence you to death for everything you have done.
Reference
39
"Then I will hand you over to your lovers. They will tear down those mounds you built. They will destroy the little places of worship you put on them. They will take your clothes off. They will remove your fine jewelry. And they will leave you naked and bare.
Reference
40
"They will bring a crowd against you. The crowd will put you to death by throwing stones at you. And they will chop you to pieces with their swords.
Reference
Word
Ezekiel 23:47
41
They will burn your houses down and punish you. Many women will see it. "I will not let you be a prostitute anymore. You will no longer pay your lovers.
Reference
Judgment
Ezekiel 5:8
Ezekiel 23:10
Parallel theme
Ezekiel 23:48
Jeremiah 39:8
Jeremiah 52:13
Ezekiel 23:27
2 Kings 25:9
Deuteronomy 13:16
42
Then my burning anger against you will die down. My jealous anger will turn away from you. I will be calm. I will not be angry anymore.
Reference
43
"You did not remember the days when you were young. The things you did made me very angry. So anything that happens to you will be your own fault," announces the Lord and King. "You added impure conduct to all of the other evil things you did. I hate all of those things.
Reference
Parallel theme
Ezekiel 16:22
Psalm 78:42
Isaiah 63:10
Psalm 106:13
Ezekiel 6:9
References God
Ezekiel 22:31
Ezekiel 11:21
44
"All those who use proverbs will use this one about you. They will say, 'Like mother, like daughter.'
Reference
Parallel theme
1 Samuel 24:13
45
You are a true daughter of your mother. She hated her husband and children. And you are a true sister of your sisters. They hated their husbands and children. "Your mother was a Hittite. Your father was an Amorite.
Reference
46
Your older sister was Samaria. She lived north of you with her daughters. Your younger sister was Sodom. She lived south of you with her daughters.
Reference
47
You lived exactly the way they did. You copied their evil practices. I hate those practices. Everything you did was so sinful that you soon became even worse than they were.
Reference
48
"Your sister Sodom and her daughters never did what you and your daughters have done. And that is just as sure as I am alive," announces the Lord and King.
Reference
Parallel theme
Matthew 10:15
49
"Here is the sin your sister Sodom committed. She and her daughters were proud. They ate too much. They were not concerned about others. They did not help those who were poor and in need.
Reference
50
They were very proud. They did many things that were evil in my sight. I hated those things. So I got rid of Sodom and her daughters, just as you have seen.
Reference
51
"Samaria did not commit half the sins you did. You sinned even more than they did. I hate those sins. Compared to what you did, you made your sisters seem godly.
52
So you will be dishonored. You have given your sisters an excuse for what they did. Your sins were far worse than theirs. In fact, your sisters appear to be more godly than you. So then, be ashamed. You will be dishonored. You have made them appear to be godly.
53
"I will not only give you back what you had before. I will also do the same thing for Sodom and her daughters. And I will do the same for Samaria and her daughters.
Reference
54
That will make you feel dishonored. You will be ashamed of everything you have done. You have made them feel better because you sinned more and were punished more than they were.
Reference
Parallel theme
Jeremiah 2:26
55
Your sisters Sodom and Samaria and their daughters will return to what they were before. And you and your daughters will return to what you were before.
Reference
56
"In the past you would not even mention your sister Sodom. You were proud at that time.
57
That was before your sin was uncovered. Now the daughters of Edom make fun of you. So do all of her neighbors and the daughters of the Philistines. Everyone who lives around you looks down on you.
Reference
Parallel theme
Isaiah 7:1
58
You will be punished for your impure conduct. I will also punish you for the other evil things you have done. I hate all of those things," announces the Lord.
Reference
References Lord
Ezekiel 23:49
59
The Lord and King says, "I will punish you in keeping with what you have done. I sealed with an oath the covenant I made with you. You hated that oath. And you broke my covenant.
Reference
60
"But I will remember my covenant with you. I made it with you when you were young. Now I will make a new covenant with you. It will last forever.
Reference
61
Then you will remember how you have lived. You will be ashamed when I give you Samaria and Sodom. Samaria is your older sister. Sodom is your younger one. I will give them and their daughters to you as daughters. That can't happen based on my old covenant with you.
Reference
Summary of Ezekiel 16
Ezekiel 16 presents Jerusalem as an abandoned child whom God rescues, raises, beautifies, and establishes in a covenant relationship, only for her to become proud of the blessings she received and use those very gifts to pursue idols, foreign powers, and other loyalties, making the chapter one of the strongest biblical pictures of how privilege can become dangerous when people forget the source of everything they possess.
The chapter begins with Jerusalem portrayed as a helpless newborn who has been abandoned and left without care, emphasizing that her greatness was not something she created for herself.
God sees her in this desperate condition, gives her life, allows her to grow, and eventually establishes a covenant relationship with her, symbolized by marriage, clothing, jewelry, food, beauty, and royal honor.
The imagery emphasizes that Jerusalem's later prosperity and importance were fundamentally gifts from God rather than achievements that gave her the right to become proud.
However, after receiving these blessings, Jerusalem becomes captivated by her own beauty and reputation and begins using God's gifts in the pursuit of other gods and foreign relationships.
Her clothing, jewelry, food, oil, incense, and wealth—everything that originally represented God's generosity—are redirected toward idolatry.
The chapter becomes especially severe when it describes child sacrifice, showing that Jerusalem's spiritual rebellion has progressed beyond private religious compromise into practices that destroy human life and violate the most basic responsibilities of the covenant.
Jerusalem also seeks relationships with Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, and other nations, creating a symbolic connection between political dependence and spiritual unfaithfulness.
The central accusation is not simply that Jerusalem has interacted with foreign nations, but that she has repeatedly looked elsewhere for identity, security, power, and worship instead of remaining faithful to God.
God therefore compares Jerusalem to an adulterous wife who does not merely accept attention from others but actively pursues them and even gives away the gifts she received from her husband.
The comparison with Samaria and Sodom makes the accusation even stronger because Jerusalem had considered herself morally superior to them, yet God declares that her corruption has become greater than theirs.
Sodom's sins are described not only in terms of sexual and religious corruption but also through pride, excessive prosperity, complacency, and failure to care for the poor and needy, showing that social injustice is an important part of the chapter's understanding of wickedness.
Despite the extraordinary severity of the judgment announced against Jerusalem, the final section introduces an unexpected element of hope.
God says that He will remember His covenant, establish an everlasting covenant, and eventually restore Jerusalem and her symbolic sisters.
This does not erase Jerusalem's guilt or pretend that the judgment was unnecessary; instead, it demonstrates that God's purposes ultimately extend beyond punishment toward restoration.
The chapter therefore moves through a dramatic progression of abandonment, rescue, blessing, prosperity, pride, unfaithfulness, judgment, shame, remembrance, covenant, and restoration, showing both the seriousness of Jerusalem's rebellion and the extraordinary persistence of God's mercy.
The central message is that Ezekiel 16 portrays Jerusalem as a helpless child whom God rescues and transforms into a beautiful and honored woman, giving her protection, wealth, dignity, prosperity, and covenant relationship, yet after receiving these gifts she forgets the mercy that gave her life, becomes proud of her beauty and status, turns the very blessings she received from God into instruments of idolatry, pursues foreign gods and political powers, participates in horrifying practices including the sacrifice of her children, and ultimately becomes more corrupt than the nations and cities she once considered inferior, so God announces that her false security will collapse and that her former lovers will expose and strip away the honor she had received, yet the chapter does not end with judgment alone because God promises to remember His covenant, restore Jerusalem and her symbolic sisters, and establish an everlasting covenant through which Jerusalem will finally recognize the source of her blessings, remember her past with humility, and understand that restoration is ultimately an expression of divine mercy rather than something she has earned through her own righteousness.
The chapter begins with Jerusalem portrayed as a helpless newborn who has been abandoned and left without care, emphasizing that her greatness was not something she created for herself.
God sees her in this desperate condition, gives her life, allows her to grow, and eventually establishes a covenant relationship with her, symbolized by marriage, clothing, jewelry, food, beauty, and royal honor.
The imagery emphasizes that Jerusalem's later prosperity and importance were fundamentally gifts from God rather than achievements that gave her the right to become proud.
However, after receiving these blessings, Jerusalem becomes captivated by her own beauty and reputation and begins using God's gifts in the pursuit of other gods and foreign relationships.
Her clothing, jewelry, food, oil, incense, and wealth—everything that originally represented God's generosity—are redirected toward idolatry.
The chapter becomes especially severe when it describes child sacrifice, showing that Jerusalem's spiritual rebellion has progressed beyond private religious compromise into practices that destroy human life and violate the most basic responsibilities of the covenant.
Jerusalem also seeks relationships with Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, and other nations, creating a symbolic connection between political dependence and spiritual unfaithfulness.
The central accusation is not simply that Jerusalem has interacted with foreign nations, but that she has repeatedly looked elsewhere for identity, security, power, and worship instead of remaining faithful to God.
God therefore compares Jerusalem to an adulterous wife who does not merely accept attention from others but actively pursues them and even gives away the gifts she received from her husband.
The comparison with Samaria and Sodom makes the accusation even stronger because Jerusalem had considered herself morally superior to them, yet God declares that her corruption has become greater than theirs.
Sodom's sins are described not only in terms of sexual and religious corruption but also through pride, excessive prosperity, complacency, and failure to care for the poor and needy, showing that social injustice is an important part of the chapter's understanding of wickedness.
Despite the extraordinary severity of the judgment announced against Jerusalem, the final section introduces an unexpected element of hope.
God says that He will remember His covenant, establish an everlasting covenant, and eventually restore Jerusalem and her symbolic sisters.
This does not erase Jerusalem's guilt or pretend that the judgment was unnecessary; instead, it demonstrates that God's purposes ultimately extend beyond punishment toward restoration.
The chapter therefore moves through a dramatic progression of abandonment, rescue, blessing, prosperity, pride, unfaithfulness, judgment, shame, remembrance, covenant, and restoration, showing both the seriousness of Jerusalem's rebellion and the extraordinary persistence of God's mercy.
The central message is that Ezekiel 16 portrays Jerusalem as a helpless child whom God rescues and transforms into a beautiful and honored woman, giving her protection, wealth, dignity, prosperity, and covenant relationship, yet after receiving these gifts she forgets the mercy that gave her life, becomes proud of her beauty and status, turns the very blessings she received from God into instruments of idolatry, pursues foreign gods and political powers, participates in horrifying practices including the sacrifice of her children, and ultimately becomes more corrupt than the nations and cities she once considered inferior, so God announces that her false security will collapse and that her former lovers will expose and strip away the honor she had received, yet the chapter does not end with judgment alone because God promises to remember His covenant, restore Jerusalem and her symbolic sisters, and establish an everlasting covenant through which Jerusalem will finally recognize the source of her blessings, remember her past with humility, and understand that restoration is ultimately an expression of divine mercy rather than something she has earned through her own righteousness.