Ezekiel 16:17

Ezekiel 16:17 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Thou hast also taken thy fair jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given thee, and madest to thyself images of men, and didst commit whoredom with them,
• New International Version (NIV)You also took the fine jewelry I gave you, the jewelry made of my gold and silver, and you made for yourself male idols and engaged in prostitution with them.
• English Standard Version (ESV)You also took your beautiful jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given you, and made for yourself images of men, and with them played the whore.
• New King James Version (NKJV)You have also taken your beautiful jewelry from My gold and My silver, which I had given you, and made for yourself male images and played the harlot with them.

Context of Ezekiel 16:17

15“But you trusted in and relied on your beauty and prostituted yourself [in idolatry and its debauched rituals] because of your fame, and you poured out your immoralities on every [willing] passer-by and your beauty was his [as you worshiped the idols of the Gentile nations]. 16You took some of your clothes and made for yourself [decorated] high places and shrines of various colors and prostituted yourself on them—things which should never have come about and taken place. You also took your beautiful jewels and beautiful vessels made of My gold and My silver, which I had given you, and made for yourself images of men so that you could prostitute yourself with them; 18and you took your embroidered clothing and covered them, and offered My oil and My incense before them. 19Also My bread which I gave you, [made from the] fine flour and oil and honey with which I fed you, you even offered it before idols [no better than cow dung] as a sweet and soothing aroma; so it happened,” says the Lord God.

Ezekiel 16:17 word by word

וַתִּקְחִ֞י כְּלֵ֣י תִפְאַרְתֵּ֗ךְ מִזְּהָבִ֤י וּמִכַּסְפִּי֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר נָתַ֣תִּי לָ֔ךְ וַתַּעֲשִׂי־לָ֖ךְ צַלְמֵ֣י זָכָ֑ר וַתִּזְנִי־בָֽם׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Thou hast also takenלָקַחlâqach · to take: takeH3947
• thy fairתִּפְאָרָהtiph'ârâh tiph'ereth · beautyH8597
• jewelsכְּלִיkelîy · article/utensilH3627
• of my goldזָהָבzâhâb · goldH2091
• and of my silverכֶּ֫סֶףkeseph · silver: moneyH3701
• which I had givenנָתַןnâthan · to give: giveH5414
• thee, and madestעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to makeH6213
• to thyself imagesצֶ֫לֶםtselem · imageH6754
• of menזָכָרzâkâr · maleH2145
• and didst commit whoredomזָנָהzânâh · to fornicateH2181

Cross-references for Ezekiel 16:17

• Ezekiel 7:19They will fling their silver into the streets and their gold will be [discarded] like something unclean; their silver and their gold shall not be able to save them in the day of the wrath of the Lord. These [things] cannot satisfy their soul nor fill their stomachs, for they have become their stumbling block and source of sin.
• Ezekiel 23:14But Oholibah carried her depravity further, for she saw men pictured on the wall, the images of the Chaldeans (Babylonians) sketched and portrayed in vermilion (bright red pigment),
• Exodus 32:1Now when the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, they gathered together before Aaron and said to him, “Come, make us a god who will go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.”
• Hosea 2:13And I will punish her for the [feast] days of the Baals, When she used to offer sacrifices and burn incense to them And adorn herself with her earrings and nose rings and her jewelry, And follow her lovers, so that she forgot Me,” says the Lord.
• Hosea 10:1Israel is a luxuriant and prolific vine; He produces fruit for himself. The more his fruit, The more altars he made [to Baal]; The richer his land, The better he made the [idolatrous] pillars.
• Isaiah 44:19No one remembers, nor has knowledge and understanding [enough] to say [to himself], “I have burned half of this log in the fire, and also baked bread on its coals and have roasted meat and eaten it. Then I make the rest of it into an repulsive thing [to God]; I bow down [to worship] before a block of wood!”
• Isaiah 57:7Upon a high and lofty mountain You have [openly and shamelessly] made your [idolatrous and adulterous] bed; Even there you went up to offer sacrifice [to idols, in spiritual unfaithfulness to Me].
• Jeremiah 2:27Who say to a tree, ‘You are my father,’ And to a stone, ‘You gave me birth.’ For they have turned their backs to Me, And not their faces; But in the time of their trouble they will say, ‘Arise [O Lord] and save us.’
• Jeremiah 3:9Because of the thoughtlessness of Israel’s prostitution [her immorality mattered little to her], she desecrated the land and committed adultery with [idols of] stones and trees.

Commentaries on Ezekiel 16:17

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 17And madest to thyself images of men - זכר צלמי tsalmey zachar, male images. Priapi are here meant, which were carried about in the ceremonies of Osiris, Bacchus, and Adonis; and were something like the lingam among the Hindoos. Herodotus, lib. ii, c. 48, 49, gives us an account of these male images: , , , ͅ ͅ . This was done at the worship of Bacchus in Egypt: and they who wish to see more may consult Herodotus as above. In this phallic worship the women…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 17Possibly an allusion to the custom of bearing about shrines. Compare Amos 5:26; Acts 7:43.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 15-19Jerusalem did not appreciate the good things God gave her. She used her fame and beauty for false gods. She offered clothes, jewels, food, and oil to idols instead of honoring God.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1717. my gold ... my silver--(Hag 2:8). images of men--rather, "of the phallus," the Hindu lingam, or membrum virile [Havernick], deified as the emblem of fecundity; man making his lust his god. English Version, however, is appropriate; Israel being represented as a woman playing the harlot with "male images," that is, images of male gods, as distinguished from female deities.Read the comment

Topics related to Ezekiel 16:17

• Gold
• Idolatry
• Ingratitude
• Lasciviousness

In the dictionaries

• Confound
• Eminent
• Equal
• Fornication
• Gird
• Justify
• Rest
• Solomon, Song of
• Crime; Crimes
• Ezekiel

Commentaries on Ezekiel 16

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings