Ezekiel 16:20

Ezekiel 16:20 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)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,
• New International Version (NIV)“ ‘And you took your sons and daughters whom you bore to me and sacrificed them as food to the idols. Was your prostitution not enough?
• English Standard Version (ESV)And you took your sons and your daughters, whom you had borne to me, and these you sacrificed to them to be devoured. Were your whorings so small a matter
• New King James Version (NKJV)“Moreover you took your sons and your daughters, whom you bore to Me, and these you sacrificed to them to be devoured. Were your acts of harlotry a small matter,

Context of Ezekiel 16:20

18You took your embroidered garments to cover them, and you set My oil and incense before them. 19And you set before them as a pleasing aroma the food I had given you—the fine flour, oil, and honey that I had fed you. That is what happened, declares the Lord GOD. You even took the sons and daughters you bore to Me and sacrificed them as food to idols. Was your prostitution not enough? 21You slaughtered My children and delivered them up through the fire to idols. 22And in all your abominations and acts of prostitution, you did not remember the days of your youth when you were naked and bare, wallowing in your own blood.

Ezekiel 16:20 word by word

וַתִּקְחִ֞י אֶת־בָּנַ֤יִךְ וְאֶת־בְּנוֹתַ֙יִךְ֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר יָלַ֣דְתְּ לִ֔י וַתִּזְבָּחִ֥ים לָהֶ֖ם לֶאֱכ֑וֹל הַמְעַ֖ט מִתַּזְנוּתָֽיִךְ׃Read the interlinear

• You even tookלָקַחlâqach · to take: takeH3947
• ·אֵת'êth · [Obj.]H853
• the sonsבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
• and daughtersבַּתbath · daughterH1323
• ·אֲשֶׁר'ăsher · whichH834
• you boreיָלַדyâlad · to begetH3205
• and sacrificedזָבַחzâbach · to sacrificeH2076
• as food to idolsאָכַל'âkal · to eatH398
• Was your prostitutionתַּזְנוּתtaznûth taznûth · fornicationH8457
• not enoughמְעַטme‛aţ me‛âţ · littleH4592

Cross-references for Ezekiel 16:20

• Ezekiel 16:21You slaughtered My children and delivered them up through the fire to idols.
• Ezekiel 23:4The older was named Oholah, and her sister was named Oholibah. They became Mine and gave birth to sons and daughters. As for their identities, Oholah is Samaria, and Oholibah is Jerusalem.
• Genesis 17:7I will establish My covenant as an everlasting covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.
• Exodus 13:2“Consecrate to Me every firstborn male. The firstborn from every womb among the Israelites belongs to Me, both of man and beast.”
• Deuteronomy 29:11your children and wives, and the foreigners in your camps who cut your wood and draw your water—
• Ezekiel 20:26And I pronounced them unclean through their gifts—the sacrifice of every firstborn in the fire—so that I might devastate them, in order that they would know that I am the LORD.
• Ezekiel 23:37For they have committed adultery, and blood is on their hands. They have committed adultery with their idols. They have even sacrificed their children, whom they bore to Me, in the fire as food for their idols.
• 2 Kings 16:3Instead, he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel and even sacrificed his son in the fire, according to the abominations of the nations that the LORD had driven out before the Israelites.
• 2 Chronicles 33:6He sacrificed his sons in the fire in the Valley of Ben-hinnom. He practiced sorcery, divination, and witchcraft, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did great evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking Him to anger.
• Psalms 106:37They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons.
• Isaiah 57:5who burn with lust among the oaks, under every luxuriant tree, who slaughter your children in the valleys, under the clefts of the rocks?
• Jeremiah 7:31They have built the high places of Topheth in the Valley of Ben-hinnom so they could burn their sons and daughters in the fire—something I never commanded, nor did it even enter My mind.
• Jeremiah 32:35They have built the high places of Baal in the Valley of Ben-hinnom to make their sons and daughters pass through the fire to Molech—something I never commanded them, nor had it ever entered My mind, that they should commit such an abomination and cause Judah to sin.
• Micah 6:7Would the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I present my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
• Ezekiel 8:17“Son of man,” He said to me, “do you see this? Is it not enough for the house of Judah to commit the abominations they are practicing here, that they must also fill the land with violence and continually provoke Me to anger? Look, they are even putting the branch to their nose!
• Jeremiah 2:34Moreover, your skirts are stained with the blood of the innocent poor, though you did not find them breaking in. But in spite of all these things

Commentaries on Ezekiel 16:20

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 20Borne unto me - me is emphatic. The children of Yahweh have been devoted to Moloch. The rites of Moloch were twofold; (1) The actual sacrifice of men and children as expiatory sacrifices to, false gods. (2) The passing of them through the fire by way of purification and dedication. Probably the first is alluded to in Ezekiel 16:20; the two rites together in Ezekiel 16:21.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 20-22Jerusalem 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.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 20-2120-21. sons and ... daughters borne unto me--Though "thy children," yet they belong "unto Me," rather than to thee, for they were born under the immutable covenant with Israel, which even Israel's sin could not set aside, and they have received the sign of adoption as Mine, namely, circumcision. This aggravates the guilt of sacrificing them to Molech. to be devoured--not merely to pass through the fire, as sometimes children were made to do (Le 18:21)…Read the comment

Topics related to Ezekiel 16:20

• Children
• Idolatry
• Ingratitude
• Lasciviousness
• Molech
• Offerings

In the dictionaries

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

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