Revised Literal Translation
Ezekiel 16:20
20Moreover 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,1
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
18And tookest thy broidered garments, and coveredst them: and thou hast set mine oil and mine incense before them. 19My meat also which I gave thee, fine flour, and oil, and honey, wherewith I fed thee, thou hast even set it before them for a sweet savour: and thus it was, saith the Lord Yhwh. 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, 21That thou hast slain my children, and delivered them to cause them to pass through the fire for them? 22And in all thine abominations and thy whoredoms thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, when thou wast naked and bare, and wast polluted in thy blood.
Read all of Ezekiel 16Ezekiel 16:20 word by word
וַתִּקְחִ֞י אֶת־בָּנַ֤יִךְ וְאֶת־בְּנוֹתַ֙יִךְ֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר יָלַ֣דְתְּ לִ֔י וַתִּזְבָּחִ֥ים לָהֶ֖ם לֶאֱכ֑וֹל הַמְעַ֖ט מִתַּזְנוּתָֽיִךְ׃Read the interlinear
- Moreover thou hast takenלָקַחlâqach · to take: takeH3947
- thy sonsבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
- and thy daughtersבַּתbath · daughterH1323
- whom thou hast borneיָלַדyâlad · to begetH3205
- unto me, and these hast thou sacrificedזָבַחzâbach · to sacrificeH2076
- unto them to be devouredאָכַל'âkal · to eatH398
- of thy whoredomsתַּזְנוּתtaznûth taznûth · fornicationH8457
- a small matterמְעַטme‛aţ me‛âţ · littleH4592
Cross-references for Ezekiel 16:20
- Ezekiel 16:21That thou hast slain my children, and delivered them to cause them to pass through the fire for them?
- Ezekiel 23:4And the names of them were Aholah the elder, and Aholibah her sister: and they were mine, and they bare sons and daughters. Thus were their names; Samaria is Aholah, and Jerusalem Aholibah.
- Genesis 17:7And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.
- Exodus 13:2Sanctify unto me all the firstborn, whatsoever openeth the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and of beast: it is mine.
- Deuteronomy 29:11Your little ones, your wives, and thy stranger that is in thy camp, from the hewer of thy wood unto the drawer of thy water:
- Ezekiel 20:26And I polluted them in their own gifts, in that they caused to pass through the fire all that openeth the womb, that I might make them desolate, to the end that they might know that I am Yhwh.
- Ezekiel 23:37That they have committed adultery, and blood is in their hands, and with their idols have they committed adultery, and have also caused their sons, whom they bare unto me, to pass for them through the fire, to devour them.
- 2 Kings 16:3But he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, yea, and made his son to pass through the fire, according to the abominations of the heathen, whom Yhwh cast out from before the children of Israel.
- 2 Chronicles 33:6And he caused his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom: also he observed times, and used enchantments, and used witchcraft, and dealt with a familiar spirit, and with wizards: he wrought much evil in the sight of Yhwh, to provoke him to anger.
- Psalms 106:37Yea, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters unto devils,
- Isaiah 57:5Enflaming yourselves with idols under every green tree, slaying the children in the valleys under the clifts of the rocks?
- Jeremiah 7:31And they have built the high places of Tophet, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my heart.
- Jeremiah 32:35And they built the high places of Baal, which are in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire unto Molech; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.
- Micah 6:7Will Yhwh be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
- Ezekiel 8:17Then he said unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? Is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they commit the abominations which they commit here? for they have filled the land with violence, and have returned to provoke me to anger: and, lo, they put the branch to their nose.
- Jeremiah 2:34Also in thy skirts is found the blood of the souls of the poor innocents: I have not found it by secret search, but upon all these.
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
In the dictionaries
Notes
- 1. Ezekiel 16:20 to be…: Heb. to devour. ↩
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
Revised Literal Translation — © 2018 Michael W. Jones, Sr. — GPL
Commentaries