Ezekiel 16:24 kjv
That thou hast also built unto thee an eminent place, and hast made thee an high place in every street.
Ezekiel 16:24 nkjv
that you also built for yourself a shrine, and made a high place for yourself in every street.
Ezekiel 16:24 niv
you built a mound for yourself and made a lofty shrine in every public square.
Ezekiel 16:24 esv
you built yourself a vaulted chamber and made yourself a lofty place in every square.
Ezekiel 16:24 nlt
you built a pagan shrine and put altars to idols in every town square.
Ezekiel 16 24 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Ezek 16:24 | "wilt thou not commit thy wickedness? | Primary Verse |
| Ps 106:39 | They became a Stumbling Block. | Allegory of God's judgment |
| Isa 1:21 | The faithful city has become a harlot. | Spiritual Adultery of Jerusalem |
| Jer 2:35 | Because you say, ‘I have not sinned,’ Behold, I will enter into judgment with you. | Jerusalem's Denial of Sin |
| Hos 2:2 | Plead with your mother, plead, for she is not my wife, nor am I her husband! | Figurative Representation |
| Mic 6:12 | For the rich men of the city are filled with violence, and its inhabitants speak lies. | Inhabitants' Deceitful Nature |
| Zech 7:10 | And do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the sojourner or the poor. | Social Injustice |
| Luke 11:47 | Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets, and your fathers killed them. | Hypocrisy of Leaders |
| Rom 1:21 | though they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks. | Suppressing the Truth |
| 1 Cor 10:8 | Nor let us commit sexual immorality, as some of them did, and 23,000 fell in one day. | Israel's Sin and Consequences |
| Gal 5:19 | Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality. | Spiritual Prostitution Manifests |
| Jude 1:7 | just as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities surrounding them, since they in the same way indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example. | Sodom's Parallel Sins |
| Rev 17:5 | and upon her forehead was written a name of mystery: BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. | Symbol of Spiritual Whoredom |
| Gen 20:18 | for Yahweh had surely closed all wombs of the house of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham's wife. | Divine Intervention for Righteousness |
| Ex 20:3 | You shall have no other gods before me. | First Commandment |
| Lev 19:4 | You shall not turn to idols, nor make for yourselves molten gods: I am the LORD your God. | Prohibition of Idolatry |
| Deut 7:4 | for they will turn your sons away from following me to serve other gods. | Danger of Foreign Worship |
| Josh 23:13 | Know for certain that the LORD your God will not continue to drive out these nations before you. Instead, they will be a snare and a trap for you, a scourge on your sides, and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from off this good land that the LORD your God has given you. | Consequences of Mixed Worship |
| Ps 78:58 | For they provoked him to anger with their high places and moved him to jealousy with their graven images. | Provoking God |
| Isa 57:8 | Behind the door and the post you have set your remembrance; indeed, you have uncovered yourself to them and widened your bed, and made a pact with them. | Unfaithfulness Illustrated |
| Jer 3:2 | Look up to the bare heights and see where you have not been lain with. In the roads you sat for them like an Arab in the wilderness; you have defiled the land by your whoredom and by your wickedness. | Depicting Worship Sites |
| Ezek 23:12 | She saw women portrayed on the wall, images of Chaldean prostitutes, with adornments. | Visual Representation of Sin |
Ezekiel 16 verses
Ezekiel 16 24 Meaning
This verse describes Jerusalem as a skilled artisan who built for herself monuments, signifying her independent existence and capabilities before God's eventual judgment.
Ezekiel 16 24 Context
Ezekiel chapter 16 uses a prolonged allegory to describe Jerusalem as an unfaithful wife, detailing her origin, development, and eventual judgment for her sins. Verse 24 falls within a section that explicitly accuses Jerusalem of egregious idolatry and sexual immorality, portraying these acts as direct provocations against God, akin to the practices of neighboring nations she emulated. The chapter highlights Jerusalem's adoption of the detestable practices of the Canaanites and other surrounding peoples, transforming her into a symbol of spiritual whoredom.
Ezekiel 16 24 Word Analysis
- and (וְ) (ve): A common conjunctive waw, linking clauses or ideas. Here it connects the accusation of whoredom to the preceding descriptions.
- wilt (הֲלֹא): (haloh): An interrogative particle used rhetorically, often with a negative sense, implying certainty or expressing a strong statement framed as a question. Similar to "Is it not so?" or "Have you not?" It anticipates an affirmative answer from the listener.
- thou (אַתְּ): (at): Second person feminine singular pronoun. Directly addressing Jerusalem, emphasizing her personhood in the allegory.
- commit (עָשִׂיתְ): (asit): From the root "asah," meaning to do, make, or commit. Here it signifies perpetrating or engaging in.
- thy (אֶת־): (et): A definite direct object marker. It specifies what is being done, which is "wickedness."
- wickedness (זִמָּה): (zimmah): This is a significant word. It can refer to lewdness, villainy, scheme, device, or wantonness. In this context, it carries strong connotations of sexual immorality, illicit sexual conduct, and wicked designs, aligning with the overall theme of spiritual adultery and idolatry.
- wilt thou not commit thy wickedness?: The rhetorical question underscores the undeniable nature of Jerusalem's sins, challenging her (and by extension, her inhabitants) to acknowledge her deep-seated iniquity.
Words-Group Analysis
- "wilt thou not commit thy wickedness?": This phrase functions as a strong accusation, virtually confirming Jerusalem's guilt. The rhetorical nature implies that the evidence is so overwhelming that no denial is possible. It's not seeking information but rather pressing the charge, emphasizing the persistence and brazenness of her transgressions. The combination of "commit" (asah) and "wickedness" (zimmah) points to active participation in depraved acts and cunning, immoral schemes.
Ezekiel 16 24 Bonus Section
The term "zimmah" (זִמָּה) is used in other contexts in Scripture to denote profound lewdness and depraved intent (e.g., Gen 34:13, where Shechem's sin against Dinah is described as zimmah). In Ezekiel 16, its application to Jerusalem's spiritual infidelity amplifies the severity of her betrayal, painting a picture of intentional, systematic corruption. The imagery of "building monuments" (Ezekiel 16:24-25, though only the end of the concept is in the analyzed verse) suggests that Jerusalem actively and elaborately constructed her sins, dedicating various places and practices to her idolatrous pursuits. This shows her rebellion was not passive but actively cultivated.
Ezekiel 16 24 Commentary
This verse confronts Jerusalem, personified as a woman, with the sheer magnitude of her unfaithfulness. The rhetorical question "wilt thou not commit thy wickedness?" isn't a genuine inquiry but an assertion of guilt. Jerusalem, having indulged in extensive idolatry and corrupted her spiritual state, is confronted with her own accumulated transgressions. She has not only sinned but has become a master architect of her own corruption, "building" monuments to her illicit relationships with foreign gods and immoral practices, thereby defiantly continuing in her wickedness.