Ezekiel 16:31 kjv
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;
Ezekiel 16:31 nkjv
"You erected your shrine at the head of every road, and built your high place in every street. Yet you were not like a harlot, because you scorned payment.
Ezekiel 16:31 niv
When you built your mounds at every street corner and made your lofty shrines in every public square, you were unlike a prostitute, because you scorned payment.
Ezekiel 16:31 esv
building your vaulted chamber at the head of every street, and making your lofty place in every square. Yet you were not like a prostitute, because you scorned payment.
Ezekiel 16:31 nlt
You build your pagan shrines on every street corner and your altars to idols in every square. In fact, you have been worse than a prostitute, so eager for sin that you have not even demanded payment.
Ezekiel 16 31 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Eze 16:31 | You promiscuous woman, receiving strangers into your bed instead of your lover! | Spiritual adultery, broken covenant |
| Jer 2:20, 23 | You have broken your yoke and burst your bonds... how can you say, 'I am not defiled'? | Idolatry, disobedience |
| Hos 2:5 | 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.' | Forsaking God for worldly gain |
| Rev 17:1, 5 | And one of the seven angels... said to me, 'Come, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot... And on her forehead was written a name of mystery: BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.' | Symbolism of spiritual prostitution |
| Isa 1:21 | How the faithful city has become a harlot! It was once full of justice; righteousness used to dwell in it, but now murderers. | Fall from faithfulness |
| Mic 1:7 | All her [Samaria's] idols shall be destroyed; all that she earned she shall give to the harlots, and to the musicians, all her offerings shall be like wages of a harlot. | Idolatry and its consequences |
| Jer 3:6, 8 | ... I saw, when Israel played the harlot, that I had put her away and given her her writ of divorce... she went and played the harlot with stones and logs. | Israel's unfaithfulness, idolatry |
| Ps 106:39 | They became defiled with their dealings and played the whore in their actions. | Corruption through foreign practices |
| Rom 1:21-25 | ... though they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks... they exchanged the truth about God for a lie... worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator... | Consequences of rejecting God |
| Gal 5:19-21 | Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery... I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. | Warning against sinful practices |
| Nah 3:4-5 | ... because of the many prostitutions of the harlot, the pleasing mistress of many potions, who sells nations with her prostitutions and families with her sorcery; behold, I am against you... | Judgment on spiritual harlotry |
| Deut 31:29 | For I know that after my death you will surely act corruptly and turn from the way that I have commanded you. And in the days to come disaster will befall you, for you will surely do what is evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking him to anger with the work of your hands. | Prophecy of future corruption |
| 1 Cor 6:15-18 | Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit...? Flee from sexual immorality. | Purity of the body |
| Rom 12:1 | I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. | Presenting oneself to God |
| Acts 15:20, 29 | ... but rather to write to them to abstain from the polluting things of idols, and from sexual immorality, and from what has been strangled, and from blood. | Early church's directives |
| 1 Thes 4:3-5 | For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God. | Sexual purity, abstaining from lust |
| Eph 5:3-5 | But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. Let there be no filthiness, nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which youmbekind; but instead let there be thanksgiving. For you may be sure of this, that whoever is sexually immoral or impure, or covetous (who is an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. | Sexual immorality and idolatry |
| Jude 1:7 | just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing aexample of eternal fire. | Judgment on sexual immorality |
| Eze 23:3, 5 | They played the harlot in Egypt, they played the harlot in their youth... Oholibah saw my sister. She bore sons and daughters. As for her names: Samaria is the head, and all Samaria are its villagers. And Oholah played the harlot; she herself belonged to me, and she bore sons to me. | Allegory of Samaria and Jerusalem's sins |
| Jer 13:23 | Can an Ethiopian change his skin or a leopard his spots? Then also you can do good who are accustomed to do evil. | Inability to change deeply ingrained sin |
Ezekiel 16 verses
Ezekiel 16 31 Meaning
Ezekiel 16:31 describes Jerusalem, personified as a harlot, showing no shame for her lustful deeds and instead boasting of her achievements in her whoring. This verse highlights Jerusalem's deep corruption and unrepentant nature in her spiritual adultery with foreign nations.
Ezekiel 16 31 Context
Ezekiel 16 is a biographical allegory of Jerusalem, depicting her from her "birth" as an abandoned infant to her mature state as a sprawling, unfaithful city. The chapter details her spiritual adultery with surrounding nations and idols. Verse 31 falls within this extended condemnation of Jerusalem's persistent sinfulness and rejection of God. Historically, this would resonate with the audience witnessing or suffering from the consequences of Judah's alliance with foreign powers and her adherence to idolatrous practices, leading to their eventual exile. The literary style employs personification, contrasting Jerusalem's divine calling and provision with her shameless pursuit of worldly alliances and worship.
Ezekiel 16 31 Word Analysis
- u (ashur): "adulterous" - Root implies going astray, straying from the right path, deviating. In the context of covenant, it signifies infidelity.
- m (ishshah piryah): "promiscuous woman" or "woman of trade/market" - Combines "woman" with a root suggesting a bustling market or transaction. Here, it underscores Jerusalem's willingness to "sell" herself to any who would offer tribute or alliance, like a common harlot engaging in casual, transactional sex for gain.
- x (lakacht): "you received" or "you took" - Implies active engagement and willing acceptance of enticements.
- q (serem): "lover" or "master" or "lord" - Refers to those she sought for alliances and illicit relationships, the foreign kings and deities she embraced.
- w (bedayikh): "in your beds" or "in your couches" - Refers to the intimate places of sexual relationship and alliance.
- y (tahtayikh): "under you" or "beneath you" - Can also imply submission or being conquered. Here, it highlights the recipients of her illicit favor.
- r (kena'ah): "contrary" or "against" or "instead of" - Points to a reversal of rightful loyalty, choosing a lesser over a greater.
- x (milletekh): "your payment" or "your wages" or "your hire" - What she earned from her adulterous dealings, referring to the tributes and alliances she received from foreign nations in exchange for her spiritual and political allegiance.
- q (zannutayikh): "your whoredoms" or "your prostibutions" - Directly refers to her spiritual unfaithfulness and illicit relationships with other gods and nations, symbolized by sexual promiscuity.
- n (mal'ekheth): "workers" or "mercenaries" or "associates" - Those whom she hired or allied with.
- m (ohtovoth): "gifts" or "presents" or "love-tokens" - The bribes and inducements offered by foreign nations to draw Jerusalem into their alliances, which she eagerly accepted, demonstrating her lustful disposition.
Ezekiel 16 31 Bonus Section
The allegorical language here connects political and spiritual infidelity. Jerusalem's "whoredom" wasn't just religious idolatry but also political alliances with pagan nations that compromised her God-given sovereignty and mission. This reflects a common prophetic theme of using marriage imagery to describe the covenant relationship between God and Israel, with disobedience being a violation of this covenant akin to adultery. The self-acknowledgment in her "works" and "payments" points to a hollow self-glory derived from worldly success achieved through ungodly means, a dangerous illusion that masked her true spiritual poverty.
Ezekiel 16 31 Commentary
Ezekiel 16:31 starkly portrays Jerusalem's brazenness in her spiritual prostitution. The verse asserts that she not only engaged in illicit acts but did so without shame, actively seeking out foreign nations as lovers, even when these relationships were transactional and devoid of true affection or loyalty. Her pride was in her "payments" and "gifts" received from these unions, indicating a deep-seated materialism and a heart set on worldly gain rather than faithfulness to God. This verse highlights the depth of her apostasy, characterized by a proud defiance and an active pursuit of depravity, rather than a passive succumbing to temptation.