Ezekiel 16:43

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Ezekiel 16:35-43

Adultery was by the law of Moses made a capital crime. This notorious adulteress, the criminal at the bar, being in the foregoing verses found guilty, here has sentence passed upon her. It is ushered in with solemnity, Ezek. 16:35. The prophet, as the judge, in God's name calls to her, O harlot! hear the word of the Lord. Our Saviour preached to harlots, for their conversion, to bring them into the kingdom of God, not as the prophet here, to expel them out of it. Note, An apostate church is a... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ezekiel 16:43

Because thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth ,.... The low estate they were once in, and the great favours bestowed upon them, which laid them under great obligation to serve the Lord, and him only; but these they forgot, which highly provoked him, and caused him to do the things he did; see Ezekiel 16:22 , and hast fretted me in all these things ; irritated, provoked him, moved him to wrath and anger, stirred up in his breast a tumult, speaking after the manner of men;... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Ezekiel 16:43

Thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth - Thy former low beginning, when God made thee a people, who wast no people. He who maintains not a proper recollection of past mercies is not likely to abide steadfast in the faith. Ingratitude to God is the commencement, if not the parent, of many crimes. read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Ezekiel 16:43

Verse 43 He first blames the Jews for not reflecting on the liberality of their treatment. But that ingratitude was too shameful, since God had not omitted any kind of beneficence for their ornament. But since they thought themselves not adorned with sufficient splendor by God, and that he was less munificent than he ought to be, it may here be gathered that they were unworthy of such great and remarkable benefits. Finally, God here shows that how severely soever he punished the Jews, yet they... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ezekiel 16:1-63

The thought that underlies Ezekiel's parable, that Israel was the bride of Jehovah, and that her sin was that of the adulterous wife, was sufficiently familiar. Isaiah ( Isaiah 1:21 ) had spoken of the "faithful city that had become a harlot." Jeremiah ( Jeremiah 2:2 ) had represented Jehovah as remembering "the kindness of her youth, the love of her espousals." What is characteristic of Ezekiel's treatment of that image is that he does not recognize any period in which Israel had been... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ezekiel 16:15-59

Inexcusable infidelity. Universal consent accounts that woman vile who, married to a kind and honourable husband, in order to gratify her own unchastened desires, commits adultery with her neighbours and acquaintances, and expends her husband's substance in rewarding her numerous and profligate admirers. The guilt of Jerusalem must indeed have been great if it could only be adequately set forth under the similitude of guilt so flagrant and abominable as that described in this most... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ezekiel 16:35-43

Judicial verdict. It is a great kindness done by any one if he disclose to us the real nature of our sin. Light from any quarter should be welcomed. To demonstrate to the Hebrews that their idolatry was the worst form of adultery was an act of condescension on the part of God. By their own state law they knew that this sin incurred the penalty of death. With all the circumstance of judicial solemnity, the Supreme Judge summons the attention of the culprit: "O harlot, hear the word of the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ezekiel 16:35-43

A picture of righteous retribution because of apostasy. "Wherefore, O harlot, hear the word of the Lord: Thus saith the Lord God; Because thy filthiness was poured out," etc. The scope and meaning of this paragraph is clearly and forcibly stated in the 'Speaker's Commentary:' "The punishment of Judah is represented by the same figure as her sin. She has been portrayed as an adulteress and a murderess. She is now represented as undergoing the punishment adjudged to an adulteress and... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ezekiel 16:43

Because thou hast not remembered (comp. Jeremiah 2:2 ). There is, so to speak, a certain dawn of tenderness in the new form of reproach, as compared with the sternness of what had gone before, and this in itself implies the pity which is the ground of hope. Fretted . Ezra ( Ezra 5:12 ) uses the same word, there rendered "provoke." Had Ezekiel's use of it stamped it as the right word for confession? Thou shalt not commit, etc. The Vulgate follows a reading which gives, "I have not... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ezekiel 16:43

Remembering the days of youth. I. IT IS NATURAL TO REMEMBER THE DAYS OF YOUTH . The fact that Israel has not done so is remarked on as something strange and unbecoming. Memory is a marvellous possession at which the materialist stumbles, for it involves that mystery, personal identity. We can not merely recall the scenes of bygone years, but, what is more wonderful, we can detect the connecting link of personality that runs through those scenes. Each one of us can say, "I... read more

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