Ezekiel 16 31

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 verses

Ezekiel 16 31 Meaning

Ezekiel 16:31 articulates the Lord God's profound anguish, revulsion, and astonishment at Jerusalem's comprehensive and egregious spiritual infidelity. It indicts her moral degeneracy, likening her extensive and brazen unfaithfulness to God to the extreme actions of an insatiable and defiant harlot. The verse emphasizes that her spiritual prostitution was not merely transactional but driven by a perverse zeal from her corrupted internal state—her "sick heart"—leading to an egregious betrayal of the covenant relationship.

Ezekiel 16 31 Context

Ezekiel chapter 16 unfolds as a prolonged, vivid allegory detailing Jerusalem's spiritual history. It portrays the city as a discarded infant, whom God found, raised, brought into covenant marriage, and blessed with unmatched splendor. Despite this divine benevolence, Jerusalem shamelessly abandoned God, pursuing idols and worldly political alliances. These acts of unfaithfulness are graphically described as harlotry (prostitution). The verses immediately preceding (15-30) list her multiple transgressions, notably her unusual "prostitution" where she paid her lovers (nations and their gods) with God's blessings, instead of being paid. Verse 31 serves as a stark culmination, a divine declaration summarizing the absolute depth of Jerusalem's depravity and distinguishing her intense, self-willed idolatry from even the actions of ordinary prostitutes, emphasizing the utter sickness of her heart. This harsh indictment was directed at the Judean exiles, compelling them to recognize the profound sin that led to their captivity.

Ezekiel 16 31 Word analysis

• How sick (מַה־אֲמֵלָה - mah-amelah): This intensive expression translates to "how degenerated," "how languid," or "how diseased." It reflects God's profound emotional response of grief and shock over the complete moral and spiritual decay within Jerusalem. The root conveys a sense of decay and the weakening of what was once vibrant and healthy.
• was your heart (לִבַּתֵּךְ - libbattek): The "heart" in Hebrew understanding signifies the core of one's being, encompassing intellect, will, emotions, and moral conscience. A "sick heart" points to a fundamental, deep-seated spiritual corruption and diseased inner orientation that governed Jerusalem's actions.
• declares the Lord GOD (נְאֻם אֲדֹנָי יְהוִה - n'um Adonai Yahweh): This is a powerful prophetic formula, emphasizing that the pronouncement is not human commentary but an authoritative and indisputable revelation from the sovereign God of the covenant, Yahweh. It highlights the divine gravity of the accusation.
• when you did (בַּעֲשׂוֹתֵךְ - ba'asotakh): This links the internal "sick heart" directly to observable, continuous actions. It indicates that the heart's diseased state found its concrete expression and manifestation in a pattern of ungodly behavior.
• all these things (אֶת־כָּל־אֵלֶּה - et-kol-eleh): This phrase refers to the comprehensive catalogue of Jerusalem's spiritual perversions, including her extensive idolatries, human sacrifices, and treacherous political alliances detailed in the preceding verses (16:15-30). It underscores the breadth and totality of her offense.
• the work of a woman, a prostitute (מַעֲשֵׂה אִשָּׁה זוֹנָה - ma'aseh ishah zonah): "Work/deed" (ma'aseh) denotes her deliberate and sustained actions. "Ishah zonah" ("a harlot woman") is the overarching metaphor for Israel's covenant unfaithfulness. However, this verse goes further by specifying the extreme nature of this "prostitution."
• a presumptuous / insatiate / demanding one (מוֹלָלָה - molalah): This critical term (a Hiphil participle from halal) is far stronger than simply "prostitute." It suggests being frenzied, raving, wild, unrestrained, insatiably desiring, defiant, or boldly wanton. It portrays Jerusalem's spiritual harlotry not as a passive or forced act but as an aggressive, passionate, and perverse devotion to idols, indicating extreme apostasy, and distinguishing her from ordinary harlots who merely act for gain.

Words-group analysis

• "How sick was your heart": This phrase pinpoints the origin of Jerusalem's catastrophic fall: an internal spiritual illness that permeated her core being. It was not a superficial issue but a deep-seated corruption of moral judgment, desire, and will, leading to her ungodly choices.
• "declares the Lord GOD, when you did all these things": This segment connects God's authoritative condemnation directly to Jerusalem's specific, repeated, and numerous acts of spiritual harlotry. It highlights the direct causality between the diseased heart and the widespread manifestation of sin, all seen and judged by the covenant Lord.
• "the work of a presumptuous prostitute": This vivid description climactically characterizes the nature and intensity of Jerusalem's unfaithfulness. By labeling her actions as those of an "insatiate" or "frenzied" harlot, it indicates a level of active, perverse, and zealous dedication to spiritual infidelity that transcends common depravity and shocks divine sensibility.

Ezekiel 16 31 Bonus section

The powerful, shocking imagery of Ezekiel 16, particularly this verse, serves a distinct polemical purpose. Ezekiel intended to dismantle the complacent self-righteousness of the exiles in Babylon. They often viewed themselves as morally superior to their Gentile neighbors or even the Northern Kingdom of Israel (Samaria). By graphically depicting Jerusalem's sin as even worse than that of Sodom and Samaria (Eze 16:48-51), God aimed to shatter any illusions of innocence, force a profound confrontation with their own guilt, and humble them. This necessary step of profound conviction paved the way for the later messages of hope, restoration, and the promise of a "new heart" and "new spirit" in Ezekiel 36:26, highlighting that divine intervention is ultimately required to heal such a deeply "sick heart."

Ezekiel 16 31 Commentary

Ezekiel 16:31 serves as God's heart-wrenching lament and severe indictment against Jerusalem's extreme unfaithfulness. The core issue, identified as her "sick heart," indicates that her depravity stemmed not from external pressure but from deep-seated internal corruption and perverse desires. This inward disease manifested in her outward actions, referred to comprehensively as "all these things," encompassing her rampant idolatry and alliances. The key insight of the verse lies in the distinction made by the term "presumptuous prostitute." Unlike typical harlots who are paid for their services, Jerusalem actively pursued and paid her spiritual "lovers"—the false gods and foreign nations—using the blessings God had bestowed upon her (Eze 16:34). This demonstrates an inverted, aggressive, and audacious form of spiritual harlotry, driven by a frenzied and insatiable passion for what was antithetical to God. Her sin was therefore not merely transactional or opportunistic but a willful, defiant, and profound rejection of the one who loved her, making her spiritual treason unparalleled.