Ezekiel 16:53 kjv
When I shall bring again their captivity, the captivity of Sodom and her daughters, and the captivity of Samaria and her daughters, then will I bring again the captivity of thy captives in the midst of them:
Ezekiel 16:53 nkjv
"When I bring back their captives, the captives of Sodom and her daughters, and the captives of Samaria and her daughters, then I will also bring back the captives of your captivity among them,
Ezekiel 16:53 niv
"?'However, I will restore the fortunes of Sodom and her daughters and of Samaria and her daughters, and your fortunes along with them,
Ezekiel 16:53 esv
"I will restore their fortunes, both the fortunes of Sodom and her daughters, and the fortunes of Samaria and her daughters, and I will restore your own fortunes in their midst,
Ezekiel 16:53 nlt
"But someday I will restore the fortunes of Sodom and Samaria, and I will restore you, too.
Ezekiel 16 53 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Eze 16:60-61 | "Nevertheless, I will remember my covenant with you... when you receive your older and your younger sisters..." | God's covenant loyalty leading to reconciliation, including these 'sisters.' |
| Eze 16:46-52 | "Your elder sister is Samaria... your younger sister is Sodom... you were more corrupt than they in all your ways." | Direct context: Jerusalem's superior guilt compared to Sodom and Samaria. |
| Gen 19:24-28 | "Then the LORD rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire..." | The iconic destruction of Sodom for its wickedness, setting a precedent. |
| Lam 4:6 | "For the iniquity of the daughter of my people is greater than the sin of Sodom..." | Echoes the direct comparison of Jerusalem's sin exceeding Sodom's. |
| Isa 1:9-10 | "If the LORD of hosts had not left us a few survivors, we should have been like Sodom and Gomorrah." | Comparison of Jerusalem's wickedness to Sodom, but with a promise of remnant. |
| Isa 3:9 | "The look on their faces testifies against them; they parade their sin like Sodom..." | Jerusalem openly displaying its sin like Sodom. |
| Matt 10:15 | "Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah..." | Jesus declaring some cities worse than Sodom in rejecting His message. |
| Luke 17:28-30 | "Just as it was in the days of Lot—they were eating, drinking... But on the day Lot went out... it rained fire..." | Recalling Sodom's sudden judgment as a warning for the end times. |
| Zeph 2:9 | "Moab shall become like Sodom, and the Ammonites like Gomorrah..." | Prophetic judgment of surrounding nations being likened to Sodom. |
| Jer 23:14 | "Among the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen a horrible thing... they have all become like Sodom to me..." | Prophets in Jerusalem described as spiritually equivalent to Sodom. |
| Deut 32:32 | "For their vine is from the vine of Sodom and from the fields of Gomorrah..." | Israel's moral corruption traced back to the wickedness of Sodom. |
| Hos 8:6 | "A calf from Samaria! It shall be broken to pieces." | Samaria's idolatry (calf worship) as a key sin. |
| 1 Kgs 16:33 | "Ahab... did more to provoke the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him." | Highlighting the severe apostasy that characterized the Northern Kingdom (Samaria). |
| Jer 33:7 | "I will restore the fortunes of Judah and the fortunes of Israel, and rebuild them as they were at first." | Promise of restoration for both kingdoms, albeit through separate paths. |
| Job 42:10 | "And the LORD restored the fortunes of Job, when he had prayed for his friends..." | Example of personal fortune restoration by God. |
| Psa 14:7 | "Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion! When the LORD restores the fortunes of his people..." | Anticipation of God restoring Israel's captivity/fortunes. |
| Joel 3:1 | "For behold, in those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem..." | Prophecy of eschatological restoration of Judah and Jerusalem. |
| Amo 9:14 | "I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel, and they shall rebuild the ruined cities and inhabit them..." | Restoration and rebuilding after judgment. |
| Zep 3:20 | "At that time I will bring you in... and restore your fortunes before your eyes..." | Prophecy of gathering and ultimate restoration for Israel. |
| Rom 11:25-27 | "All Israel will be saved, as it is written, 'The Deliverer will come from Zion...' " | Theological foundation for future, ultimate restoration of Israel. |
| Isa 43:5-7 | "Do not fear, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east... I created them for my glory..." | God's universal gathering and restoration of His scattered people. |
| Ezr 9:9 | "For we are slaves... yet our God has not forsaken us... to grant us some reviving in our bondage." | Restoration from captivity as a partial fulfillment. |
| Ps 85:1 | "You restored the fortunes of Jacob." | Historical example of God restoring Jacob/Israel from adversity. |
| Zec 8:7-8 | "I am saving my people... I will bring them back... and they shall be my people and I will be their God..." | Divine initiative in bringing back and restoring Israel to covenant. |
Ezekiel 16 verses
Ezekiel 16 53 Meaning
Ezekiel 16:53 declares a profound and counterintuitive truth: God's restoration of Judah/Jerusalem, depicted as gravely sinful and deserving of severe judgment, will astonishingly occur along with the restoration of the fortunes of Sodom and Samaria and their associated regions. This verse underscores the extreme depth of Jerusalem's spiritual fall, positioning her as even more reprehensible than Sodom, a symbol of ultimate depravity. Despite this dire comparison, it simultaneously unveils the boundless, sovereign, and seemingly impossible grace of God that promises reversal and restoration even for the most condemned. The implication is that Jerusalem's redemption, when it comes, will not be based on her merit but on the same unmerited divine mercy that could hypothetically redeem even Sodom and Samaria.
Ezekiel 16 53 Context
Ezekiel chapter 16 is a sustained and graphic allegory detailing Jerusalem's unfaithfulness to God. God depicts Jerusalem as an abandoned infant found and raised by Him (Eze 16:3-7), whom He then adorned as a beautiful bride (Eze 16:8-14). However, Jerusalem became prideful due to her beauty and prostituted herself with all passing nations and their idols, betraying her divine covenant (Eze 16:15-34). The chapter intensifies this portrayal, revealing Jerusalem's spiritual adultery to be more abominable than that of Sodom (Eze 16:44-50) and Samaria (Eze 16:51-52). Therefore, verse 53 is deeply embedded within a passage that condemns Jerusalem as exceedingly wicked. This verse introduces an astonishing twist to the pronouncements of judgment: a future, improbable restoration not based on Jerusalem's merits but on God's incomprehensible grace, yet coupled with the seemingly impossible idea of restoring Sodom and Samaria, thus emphasizing the profound extent of divine mercy that extends even to the utterly condemned.
Ezekiel 16 53 Word analysis
- When I restore:
- This phrase initiates the conditional yet certain promise. It uses the Hebrew idiom shuv shvut, which literally means "to turn a turning" or "to return a returning." It often signifies a complete reversal of fortune, particularly a restoration from captivity or desolation. This is not about human agency but a direct act of God. It highlights divine sovereignty in reversing seemingly irreversible situations.
- their fortunes,
- Refers to the state or condition of Sodom and Samaria. "Fortunes" (from shvut mentioned above) indicates their current state of ruin and judgment being completely reversed to a former (or even better) state. It implies a restoration of prosperity, favor, and well-being from their current state of desolation.
- the fortunes of Sodom and her daughters:
- Sodom: The city infamously destroyed by God for its grave sins, a universal symbol of extreme wickedness and divine judgment (Gen 19). Mentioning its restoration emphasizes the immense and unexpected scope of God's future redemptive work. It acts as hyperbole to stress the degree of unworthiness that God will nevertheless reach with His grace.
- and her daughters: Refers to the surrounding towns and villages associated with Sodom (e.g., Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim - Deut 29:23) or, metaphorically, those who adopted similar moral corruptions and suffered similar fates.
- and the fortunes of Samaria and her daughters,
- Samaria: The capital of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, which succumbed to idolatry and apostasy, ultimately leading to its destruction and exile by the Assyrians (2 Kgs 17). It symbolizes Israel's spiritual harlotry.
- and her daughters: Analogous to Sodom, referring to the associated towns and areas under Samarian influence or those who followed her path of apostasy.
- then I will restore your fortunes along with theirs:
- your fortunes: Refers directly to Jerusalem/Judah. The "your" indicates God's original audience who were the intended recipients of His conditional blessings. This promise comes after God's harsh judgment on them.
- along with theirs: (Hebrew: ve'otam - "and them") This conjunction is crucial. It signals that Jerusalem's restoration will happen concurrently with or even be intertwined with that of these previously condemned entities. It's not instead of them, but with them, amplifying the shock factor and the radical nature of God's grace. It forces Jerusalem to understand that her eventual restoration will not be due to her own merit but the same radical, sovereign grace that would embrace Sodom and Samaria.
Ezekiel 16 53 Bonus section
The rhetorical strategy of this verse is highly effective. By linking Jerusalem's restoration to that of Sodom, God profoundly shames Jerusalem. It's an indictment meant to break down her pride and self-righteousness. For Judah, identifying with "Sodom" was the ultimate insult, signaling the depth of moral decay. The verse also implicitly suggests that God's plan for Israel's restoration is far more extensive and radical than they could imagine, reaching even to those previously considered beyond hope. It prefigures New Testament themes where salvation extends even to the "least of these" and where grace superabounds where sin increased. This "restoration of fortunes" points beyond a mere physical return from exile to a deeper spiritual regeneration, a turning of hearts from sin to God, enabled solely by divine power and grace, encompassing all people that God chooses to redeem from their "captivity" of sin.
Ezekiel 16 53 Commentary
Ezekiel 16:53 serves as a jarring and profound testament to the unmerited, astounding nature of God's grace. In a chapter dedicated to detailing Jerusalem's abominable unfaithfulness, God drops the bombshell that her eventual restoration from captivity and desolation will not merely happen, but will do so simultaneously with, or perhaps even dependent upon, the restoration of the notorious Sodom and Samaria. This is not to suggest a literal re-establishment of historical Sodom but rather to employ hyperbole to magnify the extent of Jerusalem's depravity—making her worse than even the most condemned—and, consequently, to elevate the immensity of God's future, encompassing mercy. Jerusalem, having been made to realize her own spiritual bankruptcy and guilt far exceeding these infamous cities, is presented with a hope that extends beyond any human expectation. Her future salvation will be a profound demonstration of divine initiative, a shocking act of reconciliation that encompasses all who are utterly undone by sin, revealing a God whose love can reverse even the most hopeless spiritual captivity. It ultimately points to God's sovereign plan of redemption that goes far beyond human desert.