Ezekiel 16:25 kjv
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.
Ezekiel 16:25 nkjv
You built your high places at the head of every road, and made your beauty to be abhorred. You offered yourself to everyone who passed by, and multiplied your acts of harlotry.
Ezekiel 16:25 niv
At every street corner you built your lofty shrines and degraded your beauty, spreading your legs with increasing promiscuity to anyone who passed by.
Ezekiel 16:25 esv
At the head of every street you built your lofty place and made your beauty an abomination, offering yourself to any passerby and multiplying your whoring.
Ezekiel 16:25 nlt
On every street corner you defiled your beauty, offering your body to every passerby in an endless stream of prostitution.
Ezekiel 16 25 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Ezekiel 16:15 | "But you relied on your beauty and used your fame to become a prostitute, lavishing your prostitution on anyone who passed by." | Betrayal of covenant |
| Jeremiah 3:1 | "He says, ‘If a man divorces his wife and she goes to become another man’s wife, can he return to her again? Would not the land be defiled?’" | Spiritual adultery analogy |
| Hosea 2:5 | "For their mother has been promiscuous; she who conceived them has acted shamelessly. For she said, ‘I will go after my lovers, who give me my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, my oil and my drink.’" | Mother's infidelity |
| Revelation 17:5 | "And on her forehead was written a name of mystery: BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES AND THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH." | Babylon as harlot |
| Psalm 73:27 | "For behold, those who are far from you will perish; you destroy all who are unfaithful to you." | Divine judgment on unfaithfulness |
| Isaiah 1:21 | "How the faithful city has become a harlot! She was once full of justice, righteousness lodged in her, but now murderers." | City's decline |
| Micah 3:11 | "Its heads give judgment for a bribe; its priests teach for a price; its prophets practice divination for money. Yet they lean on the LORD and say, ‘Is not the LORD in our midst? Calamity shall not fall upon us.’" | Corruption |
| 2 Chronicles 36:14 | "Furthermore, all the officials of the priests and the people were exceedingly unfaithful, following all the abominations of the nations. And they defiled the house of the LORD that he had consecrated in Jerusalem." | Defiling the Temple |
| Nahum 3:4 | "Because of the great promiscuity of the harlot, the mistress of all witchcraft, who sells nations with her promiscuity and families with her witchcraft," | Harlotry and witchcraft |
| Proverbs 2:16-17 | "She delivers you from the strange woman, from the adulteress with her smooth words, who forsakes the companion of her youth and ignores the covenant of her God." | Avoiding treacherous women |
| Romans 1:21-25 | "For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man, birds, animals, and creeping things. Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the created things rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen." | Turning from God |
| Jeremiah 7:9-11 | "Will you steal and murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, make offerings to Baal, and go after other gods that you have not known, and then come and stand before me in this house that is called by my name, and say, ‘We are delivered!’—only to go on doing these abominations?" | Idolatry in God's house |
| Deuteronomy 31:20 | "When I have brought them into the land that I swore to their fathers, to a land flowing with milk and honey, and they eat their fill and grow fat, they will turn to other gods and serve them, and spurn me and break my covenant." | Warning of future apostasy |
| 1 Corinthians 6:18-20 | "Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God? You are not your own, for you have been bought with a price. So glorify God in your body." | Body as temple |
| Revelation 18:3 | "For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her sexual immorality, and the kings of the earth have committed immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich through the extravagance of her luxury.”" | Nations engaging in sin |
| Matthew 5:27-28 | "You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart." | Adultery of the heart |
| Judges 2:11-12 | "Then the people of Israel worshiped the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great work that the LORD had done for Israel. And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died at the age of 110 years. And they buried him within the boundaries of his inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of the mountain of Gaash. And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them who did not know the LORD or the works that he had done for Israel." | Generation turning away |
| Exodus 34:15-16 | "lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of this land, and when they play the whore after their gods and sacrifice to their gods, they invite you and you eat of their sacrifice, and you take of their daughters for your sons, and their daughters play the whore after their gods and make your sons play the whore after their gods." | Warning against mingling with idolaters |
| Galatians 5:19-21 | "Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these, of which I warn you, just as I warned you, that those who do them will not inherit the kingdom of God." | Works of the flesh |
| Deuteronomy 6:5 | "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might." | Love God completely |
| John 8:44 | "You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies." | Father of lies |
Ezekiel 16 verses
Ezekiel 16 25 Meaning
Ezekiel 16:25 describes Jerusalem, personified as an unfaithful woman, engaging in widespread sexual promiscuity. This promiscuity is depicted as going to great lengths, to the point of offering oneself to every passerby. The verse signifies the city's profound spiritual adultery and idolatry, betraying its covenant with God.
Ezekiel 16 25 Context
Ezekiel 16 presents an extended allegory of Jerusalem as a foundling, adopted by God, but who becomes a faithless and promiscuous wife. The chapter details her spiritual unfaithfulness through acts of idolatry and unholy alliances, likening them to sexual immorality. This verse specifically highlights the extent of her corrupt behavior. Historically, Jerusalem, like the rest of Israel, engaged in practices that were deeply offensive to God, including participation in Canaanite fertility cults and seeking alliances with foreign powers that mirrored spiritual adultery. The prophetic message served as a severe indictment, foreshadowing the imminent destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple.
Ezekiel 16 25 Word Analysis
- "You have built..." (Hebrew: בָּנִית bāniṯ) - signifies creating, establishing, and fortifying, implying a deliberate and active participation in constructing these places of sin.
- "...for yourself..." (Hebrew: לָךְ lāk) - emphasizes personal agency and willful choice in these actions.
- "...a place..." (Hebrew: מָקוֹם māqōm) - refers to a specific site or location, here highlighting designated sanctuaries or high places for illicit worship and sexual acts.
- "...at every..." (Hebrew: כָּל־ kol-) - indicates totality, pervasiveness, and ubiquity of these illicit activities throughout the city.
- "...crossroads..." (Hebrew: פִּנָּה pinnāh) - literally "corner" or "out-of-the-way place." It suggests clandestine or public, yet easily accessible, locations for illicit encounters, perhaps at intersections of major streets.
- "...and made..." (Hebrew: וַתַּעַשׂ watyyaʻas) - another verb denoting making or doing, reinforcing the active participation.
- "...your high place..." (Hebrew: בָּמָתֵךְ bāmātēḵ) - refers to elevated places of worship, often associated with pagan cults and sacrifices, particularly those involving illicit sexual rites.
- "...you made..." (Hebrew: תַּעֲשִׂי taʻăśî) - continuing the theme of deliberate action.
- "...splendid..." (Hebrew: מְכֻרְסֵם məkūrśēm or possibly mĕquhôrâ) - the precise meaning of the Hebrew word here is debated. Some scholars suggest it could relate to being ornamented, or possibly implies a "carved" or "embellished" high place, suggesting deliberate and attractive construction for idolatrous purposes. It underscores the attractiveness and deliberate design of these illicit worship sites.
- "...and played..." (Hebrew: וַתְּזָנִ֥י wat-təzānî) - a key verb from zānâ (to play the harlot, to commit fornication), central to the allegory of spiritual infidelity.
- "...the harlot..." (Hebrew: אֶת־מְזִמָּתֵךְ ʼet-məzimmātēḵ) - the "harlotry" or "deceitfulness/schemes" of Jerusalem. This refers to the deliberate acts of spiritual unfaithfulness.
- "...at the door..." (Hebrew: פֶּתַח petaḥ) - suggesting brazenness or a public display, even if the acts were in secluded places.
- "...of every..." (Hebrew: כָּל־ kol-) - reinforcing the pervasive nature of her sin.
- "...passerby..." (Hebrew: עוֹבֵר ʻōḇēr) - anyone who happened to be passing by, highlighting the indiscriminate nature of her betrayal and availability.
Word Groups/Phrases:
- "place at every crossroads": This imagery depicts Jerusalem setting up numerous unauthorized worship sites or centers for illicit activity in accessible and public spaces, symbolizing her open adoption of pagan practices.
- "your high place you made splendid": This emphasizes the attractiveness and deliberate cultic nature of these sites, designed to allure people away from true worship and towards idolatry.
- "played the harlot...at the door of every passerby": This vividly portrays Jerusalem's pervasive spiritual promiscuity, indicating a willingness to engage with any influence or nation (represented as male "lovers") that presented itself, moving far beyond covenant fidelity.
Ezekiel 16 25 Bonus Section
The analogy of Jerusalem as a harlot is a recurring theme in Ezekiel and other prophetic books. This graphic depiction highlights the intensity of God's anger at Israel's persistent unfaithfulness. The language of sexual impurity was used to convey the violation of the covenant, which was seen as a marriage bond between God and His people. The detailed description serves not only as an accusation but also as a profound lesson about the consequences of turning away from divine faithfulness. This type of language also mirrors the concept of "whoring after other gods" found throughout the Old Testament, reflecting the infiltration of Canaanite religious practices.
Ezekiel 16 25 Commentary
This verse reveals the extreme perversion of Jerusalem's covenant relationship with God. Her spiritual infidelity was not hidden but actively constructed and displayed in public spaces and designated idolatrous sites. The imagery of "playing the harlot at the door of every passerby" underscores a complete disregard for faithfulness and purity. This level of defilement represented a profound betrayal of the covenant, making her accountable for the severe judgment that followed. It illustrates how national identity and religious devotion had become corrupted by pagan practices and alliances.