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

18Then you took your embroidered cloth and covered them, and offered My oil and My incense before them. 19Also My bread which I gave you, fine flour, oil and honey with which I fed you, you would offer before them for a soothing aroma; so it happened,” declares the Lord God. “Moreover, you took your sons and daughters whom you had borne to Me and sacrificed them to idols to be devoured. Were your harlotries so small a matter? 21You slaughtered My children and offered them up to idols by causing them to pass through the fire. 22Besides all your abominations and harlotries you did not remember the days of your youth, when you were naked and bare and squirming in your blood.

Ezekiel 16:20 word by word

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

• Moreover, you tookלָקַחlâqach · to take: takeH3947
• your sonsבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
• and daughtersבַּתbath · daughterH1323
• whomאֲשֶׁר'ăsher · whichH834
• you had borneיָלַדyâlad · to begetH3205
• sacrificedזָבַחzâbach · to sacrificeH2076
• idols to be devouredאָכַל'âkal · to eatH398
• Were your harlotriesתַּזְנוּתtaznûth taznûth · fornicationH8457
• soמְעַטme‛aţ me‛âţ · littleH4592

Cross-references for Ezekiel 16:20

• Ezekiel 16:21You slaughtered My children and offered them up to idols by causing them to pass through the fire.
• Ezekiel 23:4Their names were Oholah the elder and Oholibah her sister. And they became Mine, and they bore sons and daughters. And as for their names, Samaria is Oholah and Jerusalem is Oholibah.
• Genesis 17:7I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants after you.
• Exodus 13:2“Sanctify to Me every firstborn, the first offspring of every womb among the sons of Israel, both of man and beast; it belongs to Me.”
• Deuteronomy 29:11your little ones, your wives, and the alien who is within your camps, from the one who chops your wood to the one who draws your water,
• Ezekiel 20:26and I pronounced them unclean because of their gifts, in that they caused all their firstborn to pass through the fire so that I might make them desolate, in order that they might know that I am the Lord.”’
• Ezekiel 23:37For they have committed adultery, and blood is on their hands. Thus they have committed adultery with their idols and even caused their sons, whom they bore to Me, to pass through the fire to them as food.
• 2 Kings 16:3But he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, and even made his son pass through the fire, according to the abominations of the nations whom the Lord had driven out from before the sons of Israel.
• 2 Chronicles 33:6He made his sons pass through the fire in the valley of Ben-hinnom; and he practiced witchcraft, used divination, practiced sorcery and dealt with mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking Him to anger.
• Psalms 106:37They even sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons,
• Isaiah 57:5Who inflame yourselves among the oaks, Under every luxuriant tree, Who slaughter the children in the ravines, Under the clefts of the crags?
• Jeremiah 7:31They have built the high places of Topheth, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire, which I did not command, and it did not come into My mind.
• Jeremiah 32:35They built the high places of Baal that are in the valley of Ben-hinnom to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire to Molech, which I had not commanded them nor had it entered My mind that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.
• Micah 6:7Does the Lord take delight in thousands of rams, In ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I present my firstborn for my rebellious acts, The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
• Ezekiel 8:17He said to me, “Do you see this, son of man? Is it too light a thing for the house of Judah to commit the abominations which they have committed here, that they have filled the land with violence and provoked Me repeatedly? For behold, they are putting the twig to their nose.
• Jeremiah 2:34Also on your skirts is found The lifeblood of the innocent poor; 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