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 thought your fame and beauty were your own. So you gave yourself as a prostitute to every man who came along. Your beauty was theirs for the asking. 16You used the lovely things I gave you to make shrines for idols, where you played the prostitute. Unbelievable! How could such a thing ever happen? You took the very jewels and gold and silver ornaments I had given you and made statues of men and worshiped them. This is adultery against me! 18You used the beautifully embroidered clothes I gave you to dress your idols. Then you used my special oil and my incense to worship them. 19Imagine it! You set before them as a sacrifice the choice flour, olive oil, and honey I had given you, says the Sovereign Lord.

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 7:19“They will throw their money in the streets, tossing it out like worthless trash. Their silver and gold won’t save them on that day of the Lord’s anger. It will neither satisfy nor feed them, for their greed can only trip them up.
• Ezekiel 23:14“Then she carried her prostitution even further. She fell in love with pictures that were painted on a wall—pictures of Babylonian military officers, outfitted in striking red uniforms.
• Exodus 32:1When the people saw how long it was taking Moses to come back down the mountain, they gathered around Aaron. “Come on,” they said, “make us some gods who can lead us. We don’t know what happened to this fellow Moses, who brought us here from the land of Egypt.”
• Hosea 2:13I will punish her for all those times when she burned incense to her images of Baal, when she put on her earrings and jewels and went out to look for her lovers but forgot all about me,” says the Lord.
• Hosea 10:1How prosperous Israel is— a luxuriant vine loaded with fruit. But the richer the people get, the more pagan altars they build. The more bountiful their harvests, the more beautiful their sacred pillars.
• Isaiah 44:19The person who made the idol never stops to reflect, “Why, it’s just a block of wood! I burned half of it for heat and used it to bake my bread and roast my meat. How can the rest of it be a god? Should I bow down to worship a piece of wood?”
• Isaiah 57:7You have committed adultery on every high mountain. There you have worshiped idols and have been unfaithful to me.
• Jeremiah 2:27To an image carved from a piece of wood they say, ‘You are my father.’ To an idol chiseled from a block of stone they say, ‘You are my mother.’ They turn their backs on me, but in times of trouble they cry out to me, ‘Come and save us!’
• Jeremiah 3:9Israel treated it all so lightly—she thought nothing of committing adultery by worshiping idols made of wood and stone. So now the land has been polluted.

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