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Ezekiel 16:15

in Ezekiel 16

But because of your fame, you trusted in your beauty and played the harlot. You lavished your favors on everyone who passed by, and your beauty was theirs for the asking.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

But thou didst trust in thy beauty, and playedst the harlot because of thy renown, and pouredst out thy whoredoms on every one that passed by; his it was.

KJV

But thou didst trust in thine own beauty, and playedst the harlot because of thy renown, and pouredst out thy fornications on every one that passed by; his it was.

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This verse in Ezekiel 16

Commentary

9 notes on this verse
The prophet now describes the idolatries of the time of the Kings. The earlier offences in the time of the Judges are not noticed, that being an unsettled time. The conduct of the people after they had “prospered into a kingdom” is to be described. Because of thy renown - The marriages of Solomon with pagan wives, and his consequent idolatries, are a clear instance of such, misuse of glory.

This site's exposition

you trusted in your beauty and played the harlot

on Ezekiel 16:15-19

The turn is abrupt: “you trusted in your beauty and played the harlot,” lavishing favors “on everyone who passed by.” The Lord’s own gifts become idols. Fairbairn notes the high places and foreign shrines built with royal wealth during the divided kingdom.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers1 voice

A commentator

Jerome

Commentary on Ezekiel · Written before 420.

proposed

(Verse 15) And having confidence in your beauty: you have fornicated in your name, and you have exposed your fornication to everyone passing by, so that they might become like you. A great danger, not to trust in the mercy of God, but in one's own beauty. And the higher one is, the more they should fear lest they fall and fornicate in their own name. Indeed, the adversaries despise ordinary food and desire foreign nourishment. Thus it is said of the devil: His food is choice (Habakkuk I, 16). He does not want to deceive anyone.

The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

): " Thou trustedst to thy beauty, and didst expect that that should make thee an interest, and didst play the harlot because of thy renown. " They thought, because they were so complimented and admired by their neighbours, that, further to ingratiate themselves with them and return their compliments, they must join with them in their worship and conform to their usages.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

): Thou pouredst out thy fornications on every one that passed by; his it was. They were ready to close with every temptation of this kind, though ever so absurd.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens

A commentator

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)

proposed

Thy renown - Her renown abroad drew to her idolatrous strangers, who brought their idols with them. Pouredst out - Didst readily prostitute thyself to them; every stranger, who passed thro' thee, might find room for his idol, and idolatry. He it was - Thy person was at the command of every adulterer.
But thou didst trust in thine own beauty,....
2 more voices on this verse

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

English Version is better, "because of thy renown," that is, relying on it; answering to "thou didst trust in thine own beauty." his it was--Thy beauty was yielded up to every passer-by.

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

Thou didst trust in thine own beauty - Riches, strength, alliances, etc.; never considering that all they possessed came from God; therefore it was his comeliness which he had put upon them. Witness their original abject state, and the degree of eminence to which they had arrived afterwards through the protecting power of God.

The words behind it

13 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • וַתִּבְטְחִ֣יand you trusted

    vativtechiH982 →

  • בְיָפְיֵ֔ךְin beauty your

    veyafeyekhH3308 →19 times

  • וַתִּזְנִ֖יand you acted as a prostitute

    vatizniH2181 →94 times

  • עַל־on

    ʾal-H5921 →5755 times

  • שְׁמֵ֑ךְname your

    shemekhH8034 →864 times

  • וַתִּשְׁפְּכִ֧יand you poured out

    vatishpekhiH8210 →114 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • תַּזְנוּתַ֛יִךְprostitution<s> your

    taznutayikhH8457 →20 times

  • עַל־on

    ʾal-H5921 →5755 times

  • כָּל־every

    kol-H3605 →5413 times

  • עוֹבֵ֖ר[one who] passed by

    overH5674 →556 times

  • לוֹ־to him

    lov-

  • יֶֽהִי׃let it belong

    yehiH1961 →3559 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

18 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Proverbs 31:30Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.10 worksDeuteronomy 31:16And the LORD said to Moses, “You will soon rest with your fathers, and these people will rise up and prostitute themselves with the foreign gods of the land they are entering. They will forsake Me and break the covenant I have made with them.7 worksJeremiah 2:20“For long ago you broke your yoke and tore off your chains, saying, ‘I will not serve!’ Indeed, on every high hill and under every green tree you lay down as a prostitute.5 worksEzekiel 16:25At the head of every street you built your lofty shrines and degraded your beauty. With increasing promiscuity, you spread your legs to all who passed by.5 worksIsaiah 57:8Behind the door and doorpost you have set up your memorial. Forsaking Me, you uncovered your bed; you climbed up and opened it wide. And you have made a pact with those whose bed you have loved; you have gazed upon their nakedness.5 worksEzekiel 23:3and they played in Egypt, prostituting themselves from their youth. Their breasts were fondled there, and their virgin bosoms caressed.4 works
The other 12 cross-references, with their words ▾
Jeremiah 7:4Do not trust in deceptive words, chanting: ‘This is the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD.’4 worksEzekiel 23:8She did not give up the prostitution she began in Egypt, when men slept with her in her youth, caressed her virgin bosom, and poured out their lust upon her.3 worksHosea 1:2When the LORD first spoke through Hosea, He told him, “Go, take a prostitute as your wife and have children of adultery, because this land is flagrantly prostituting itself by departing from the LORD.”3 worksIsaiah 1:21See how the faithful city has become a harlot! She once was full of justice; righteousness resided within her, but now only murderers!3 worksEzekiel 16:45You are the daughter of your mother, who despised her husband and children. You are the sister of your sisters, who despised their husbands and children. Your mother was a Hittite and your father an Amorite.3 worksMatthew 19:9Now I tell you that whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman, commits adultery.”3 worksHosea 4:10They will eat but not be satisfied; they will be promiscuous but not multiply. For they have stopped obeying the LORD.2 worksMicah 3:11Her leaders judge for a bribe, her priests teach for a price, and her prophets practice divination for money. Yet they lean upon the LORD, saying, “Is not the LORD among us? No disaster can come upon us.”2 worksPsalms 106:35but they mingled with the nations and adopted their customs.2 worksJeremiah 3:1“If a man divorces his wife and she leaves him to marry another, can he ever return to her? Would not such a land be completely defiled? But you have played the harlot with many lovers—and you would return to Me?” declares the LORD.2 worksNumbers 25:1–2While Israel was staying in Shittim, the men began to indulge in sexual immorality with the daughters of Moab,2 worksExodus 32:6–35So the next day they arose, offered burnt offerings, and presented peace offerings. And the people sat down to eat and drink, and got up to indulge in revelry.2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Jeremiah 2:20

    “For long ago you broke your yoke and tore off your chains, saying, ‘I will not serve!’ Indeed, on every high hill and under every green tree you lay down as a prostitute.

    it leads to

    • Deuteronomy 12:2

      Destroy completely all the places where the nations you are dispossessing have served their gods—atop the high mountains, on the hills, and under every green tree.

    • Leviticus 26:13

      I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt so that you would no longer be slaves to the Egyptians. I broke the bars of your yoke and…

    • Jeremiah 17:2

      Even their children remember their altars and Asherah poles by the green trees and on the high hills.

  • Through

    Jeremiah 7:4

    Do not trust in deceptive words, chanting: ‘This is the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD.’

    it leads to

    • Micah 3:11

      Her leaders judge for a bribe, her priests teach for a price, and her prophets practice divination for money. Yet they lean upon the LORD, saying, “Is not the LORD among us? No disaster…

    • Zephaniah 3:11

      On that day you will not be put to shame for any of the deeds by which you have transgressed against Me. For then I will remove from among you those who rejoice in…

    • Matthew 3:9–10

      And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.

    • Jeremiah 29:31

      “Send a message telling all the exiles what the LORD says concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite. Because Shemaiah has prophesied to you—though I did not send him—and has made you trust in a lie,

  • Through

    Ezekiel 23:3

    and they played in Egypt, prostituting themselves from their youth. Their breasts were fondled there, and their virgin bosoms caressed.

    it leads to

    • Leviticus 17:7

      They must no longer offer their sacrifices to the goat demons to which they have prostituted themselves. This will be a permanent statute for them for the generations to come.’

Where this verse is studied

On this page

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About Ezekiel

Ezekiel’s Vision of the Valley of Dry Bones, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Ezekiel’s Vision of the Valley of Dry Bones, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Ezekiel: the study guide →Read Ezekiel 16 →
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Calvin, Commentaries on the First Twenty Chapters of the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Patrick Fairbairn, An Exposition of Ezekiel.

Read on in Ezekiel 16 →