Section 47 of 18316:15–34Ezekiel

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King James VersionEzekiel 16:15–34

But thou didst trust in thine own beauty, and playedst the harlot because of thy renown, and pouredst out thy fornications on every one that passed by; his it was.

And of thy garments thou didst take, and deckedst thy high places with divers colours, and playedst the harlot thereupon: the like things shall not come, neither shall it be so.

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,

And tookest thy broidered garments, and coveredst them: and thou hast set mine oil and mine incense before them.

My 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 GOD.

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,

That thou hast slain my children, and delivered them to cause them to pass through the fire for them?

And 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.

And it came to pass after all thy wickedness, (woe, woe unto thee! saith the Lord GOD;)

That thou hast also built unto thee an eminent place, and hast made thee an high place in every street.

Thou hast built thy high place at every head of the way, and hast made thy beauty to be abhorred, and hast opened thy feet to every one that passed by, and multiplied thy whoredoms.

Thou hast also committed fornication with the Egyptians thy neighbours, great of flesh; and hast increased thy whoredoms, to provoke me to anger.

Behold, therefore I have stretched out my hand over thee, and have diminished thine ordinary food, and delivered thee unto the will of them that hate thee, the daughters of the Philistines, which are ashamed of thy lewd way.

Thou hast played the whore also with the Assyrians, because thou wast unsatiable; yea, thou hast played the harlot with them, and yet couldest not be satisfied.

Thou hast moreover multiplied thy fornication in the land of Canaan unto Chaldea; and yet thou wast not satisfied herewith.

How weak is thine heart, saith the Lord GOD, seeing thou doest all these things, the work of an imperious whorish woman;

In that thou buildest thine eminent place in the head of every way, and makest thine high place in every street; and hast not been as an harlot, in that thou scornest hire;

But as a wife that committeth adultery, which taketh strangers instead of her husband!

They give gifts to all whores: but thou givest thy gifts to all thy lovers, and hirest them, that they may come unto thee on every side for thy whoredom.

And the contrary is in thee from other women in thy whoredoms, whereas none followeth thee to commit whoredoms: and in that thou givest a reward, and no reward is given unto thee, therefore thou art contrary.

Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.

Scripture text: King James Version, Standardized 1769 text. Public domain in the United States.About this Bible text

Ezekiel 16:15–34

Jerusalem's Gifts Become the Allegory's Catalogue of Infidelity

Thou didst trust in thine own beauty

But thou didst trust in thine own beauty, and playedst the harlot because of thy renown, and pouredst out thy fornications on every one that passed by; his it was. She takes the garments and makes high places of divers colors; she takes the jewels and makes images of men; she takes fine flour, oil, and honey and sets it before them as a sweet savour.

Moreover she takes her sons and her daughters, whom she has borne unto the LORD, and sacrifices them to be devoured. Is this of thy whoredoms a small matter, that thou hast slain my children, and delivered them to cause them to pass through the fire for them? And 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.

The allegory's catalogue is not a sex script

She builds eminent places and high places in every street. She opens her feet to every one that passed by, and multiplies whoredoms. The oracle names Egyptians, Assyrians, and Chaldeans as partners in the city-woman's betrayal, then says she is contrary from other women in thy whoredoms: none followeth thee to commit whoredoms: and in that thou givest a reward, and no reward is given unto thee, therefore thou art contrary.

The allegory does not make sexual activity, women's desire, clothing, infertility, or surviving exploitation proof of spiritual guilt. Child sacrifice and diplomatic-cultic betrayal are the crimes. Explicit rhetoric is prophetic shock about a city, not pornography, not marriage advice, and not a verdict on abused women.

How this should shape us

Keep the charge on idolatry, child-killing, and bought alliances. Do not reuse the sexed language for arousal, for running a marriage, or for blaming women who have survived exploitation.

Teach it back

Explain Ezekiel 16:15–34 in your own words. Name its place in Ezekiel, one source-controlled observation, one uncertainty, one enduring truth, and one harmful use the passage does not authorize.

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The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.

Where careful interpreters disagreeThe strongest options and their difficulties

Where do responsible readings differ?

Best judgment: The allegory does not make sexual activity, women's desire, clothing, infertility, or surviving exploitation proof of spiritual guilt.

How certain? probable

Research trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section

King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006

Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete thought-unit coverage.

Ezekiel 16:15–34, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus

Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Ezekiel

Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology checked at the exact unit without treating morphology as a critical apparatus or interpretation.

Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Ezek.xml, OSIS 16:15–34

NET Bible Notes: Ezekiel

Supports: Verse-level controls for difficult Hebrew, syntax, older KJV language, dates, place names, textual issues, vision language, and material alternatives.

Official NET Ezekiel PDF, exact translator, study, and textual notes attached to Ezekiel 16:15–34

Ezekiel course: summary, outline, background, introductory issues, themes, and passage studies

Supports: Reader-oriented historical, literary, theological, and pastoral synthesis with visible alternatives and ancient-to-modern limits.

Enter the Bible Ezekiel course, Outline and Theological Themes: responsibility, allegory, history, and Jerusalem judgment; applied to Ezekiel 16:15–34

Jeremiah and Ezekiel: Ezekiel Parts 1-3 Study Guides

Supports: Current university-level literary-historical synthesis and interpretive questions, including ethical attention to gendered rhetoric and the final vision.

Yale Bible Study, Jeremiah and Ezekiel, Ezekiel Part 2 and Part 3 study guides: sign acts, responsibility, allegory, chapters 16 and 23, and Jerusalem's fall; applied to Ezekiel 16:15–34

Uncovering the Nymphomaniac: The Development of the Image of Israel as an Unfaithful Wife in Ezekiel 16 and 23

Supports: Gender-critical analysis of personified cities, sexualized accusation, exposure, and violence without normalizing abuse or victim blame.

Klein, 'Uncovering the Nymphomaniac,' published pp. 167-186, accepted manuscript sections on Ezekiel 16 and 23; applied to Ezekiel 16:15–34

There's no sex in your violence: Patriarchal translation in Ezekiel 16 and 23

Supports: Abstract-level warning that patriarchal translation choices can conceal or naturalize sexualized violence; no inaccessible detail is claimed.

Bibb, 'There's no sex in your violence,' Review & Expositor 111.4 (2014), publisher metadata and abstract only; applied at abstract level to Ezekiel 16:15–34

Sources for This Section

These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.

Biblical text

King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006

eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society

USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.

Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete thought-unit coverage.

Exact location: Ezekiel 16:15–34, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus

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hebrew text and morphology

Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Ezekiel

Open Scriptures

Open Scriptures, release 2.2

Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology checked at the exact unit without treating morphology as a critical apparatus or interpretation.

Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Ezek.xml, OSIS 16:15–34

Open the fixed Hebrew Ezekiel file ↗

translation and translator notes

NET Bible Notes: Ezekiel

Biblical Studies Press

Biblical Studies Press, 2016; current official PDF

Supports: Verse-level controls for difficult Hebrew, syntax, older KJV language, dates, place names, textual issues, vision language, and material alternatives.

Exact location: Official NET Ezekiel PDF, exact translator, study, and textual notes attached to Ezekiel 16:15–34

Open the official NET Ezekiel PDF ↗

modern scholarly book course

Ezekiel course: summary, outline, background, introductory issues, themes, and passage studies

Alan G. Padgett; revised by Tyler Mayfield

Enter the Bible, Luther Seminary, revised June 2023

Supports: Reader-oriented historical, literary, theological, and pastoral synthesis with visible alternatives and ancient-to-modern limits.

Exact location: Enter the Bible Ezekiel course, Outline and Theological Themes: responsibility, allegory, history, and Jerusalem judgment; applied to Ezekiel 16:15–34

Open the Enter the Bible Ezekiel course ↗

open university study guide series

Jeremiah and Ezekiel: Ezekiel Parts 1-3 Study Guides

Joel S. Baden and Jacqueline Vayntrub

Yale Bible Study, 2024

Supports: Current university-level literary-historical synthesis and interpretive questions, including ethical attention to gendered rhetoric and the final vision.

Exact location: Yale Bible Study, Jeremiah and Ezekiel, Ezekiel Part 2 and Part 3 study guides: sign acts, responsibility, allegory, chapters 16 and 23, and Jerusalem's fall; applied to Ezekiel 16:15–34

Open the Yale Jeremiah and Ezekiel course ↗

peer reviewed trauma and gender critical chapter

Uncovering the Nymphomaniac: The Development of the Image of Israel as an Unfaithful Wife in Ezekiel 16 and 23

Anja Klein

The Oxford Handbook of Ezekiel, 2019

Supports: Gender-critical analysis of personified cities, sexualized accusation, exposure, and violence without normalizing abuse or victim blame.

Exact location: Klein, 'Uncovering the Nymphomaniac,' published pp. 167-186, accepted manuscript sections on Ezekiel 16 and 23; applied to Ezekiel 16:15–34

Open Klein's accepted manuscript ↗

peer reviewed translation and ethics article

There's no sex in your violence: Patriarchal translation in Ezekiel 16 and 23

Bryan D. Bibb

Review & Expositor 111.4, 2014

Supports: Abstract-level warning that patriarchal translation choices can conceal or naturalize sexualized violence; no inaccessible detail is claimed.

Exact location: Bibb, 'There's no sex in your violence,' Review & Expositor 111.4 (2014), publisher metadata and abstract only; applied at abstract level to Ezekiel 16:15–34

Open the publisher record and abstract ↗