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Thursday, May 22nd, 2025
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the Fifth Week after Easter
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THE MESSAGE
Ezekiel 16:20
"‘And then you took your sons and your daughters, whom you had given birth to as my children, and you killed them, sacrificing them to idols. Wasn't it bad enough that you had become a whore? And now you're a murderer, killing my children and sacrificing them to idols.
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Concordances:
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- InternationalParallel Translations
Christian Standard Bible®
“‘You even took your sons and daughters you bore to me and sacrificed them to these images as food. Wasn’t your prostitution enough?
“‘You even took your sons and daughters you bore to me and sacrificed them to these images as food. Wasn’t your prostitution enough?
Hebrew Names Version
Moreover you have taken your sons and your daughters, whom you have borne to me, and these have you sacrificed to them to be devoured. Were your prostitution a small matter,
Moreover you have taken your sons and your daughters, whom you have borne to me, and these have you sacrificed to them to be devoured. Were your prostitution a small matter,
King James Version
Moreover thou hast taken thy sons and thy daughters, whom thou hast borne unto me, and these hast thou sacrificed unto them to be devoured. Is this of thy whoredoms a small matter,
Moreover thou hast taken thy sons and thy daughters, whom thou hast borne unto me, and these hast thou sacrificed unto them to be devoured. Is this of thy whoredoms a small matter,
English Standard Version
And you took your sons and your daughters, whom you had borne to me, and these you sacrificed to them to be devoured. Were your whorings so small a matter
And you took your sons and your daughters, whom you had borne to me, and these you sacrificed to them to be devoured. Were your whorings so small a matter
New American Standard Bible
"Furthermore, you took your sons and daughters whom you had borne to Me and sacrificed them to idols to be devoured. Were your obscene practices a trivial matter?
"Furthermore, you took your sons and daughters whom you had borne to Me and sacrificed them to idols to be devoured. Were your obscene practices a trivial matter?
New Century Version
"‘But your sexual sins were not enough for you. You also took your sons and daughters who were my children, and you sacrificed them to the idols as food.
"‘But your sexual sins were not enough for you. You also took your sons and daughters who were my children, and you sacrificed them to the idols as food.
Amplified Bible
"Moreover, you took your sons and your daughters whom you had borne to Me, and you destroyed them as sacrifices [to your man-made gods]. Were your gross immoralities so small a matter?
"Moreover, you took your sons and your daughters whom you had borne to Me, and you destroyed them as sacrifices [to your man-made gods]. Were your gross immoralities so small a matter?
World English Bible
Moreover you have taken your sons and your daughters, whom you have borne to me, and these have you sacrificed to them to be devoured. Were your prostitution a small matter,
Moreover you have taken your sons and your daughters, whom you have borne to me, and these have you sacrificed to them to be devoured. Were your prostitution a small matter,
Geneva Bible (1587)
Moreouer thou hast taken thy sonnes and thy daughters, whome thou hast borne vnto me, and these hast thou sacrificed vnto them, to be deuoured: is this thy whoredome a small matter?
Moreouer thou hast taken thy sonnes and thy daughters, whome thou hast borne vnto me, and these hast thou sacrificed vnto them, to be deuoured: is this thy whoredome a small matter?
New American Standard Bible (1995)
"Moreover, you took your sons and daughters whom you had borne to Me and sacrificed them to idols to be devoured. Were your harlotries so small a matter?
"Moreover, you took your sons and daughters whom you had borne to Me and sacrificed them to idols to be devoured. Were your harlotries so small a matter?
Legacy Standard Bible
"Moreover, you took your sons and daughters, whom you had borne to Me, and sacrificed them to idols to be devoured. Were your harlotries so small a matter?
"Moreover, you took your sons and daughters, whom you had borne to Me, and sacrificed them to idols to be devoured. Were your harlotries so small a matter?
Berean Standard Bible
You even took the sons and daughters you bore to Me and sacrificed them as food to idols. Was your prostitution not enough?
You even took the sons and daughters you bore to Me and sacrificed them as food to idols. Was your prostitution not enough?
Contemporary English Version
But you did something even worse than that—you sacrificed your own children to those idols!
But you did something even worse than that—you sacrificed your own children to those idols!
Complete Jewish Bible
"‘Moreover, your sons and daughters, whom you bore me, you took and sacrificed for them to devour. Were these fornications of yours a casual matter? —
"‘Moreover, your sons and daughters, whom you bore me, you took and sacrificed for them to devour. Were these fornications of yours a casual matter? —
Darby Translation
And thou didst take thy sons and thy daughters, whom thou hadst borne unto me, and these didst thou sacrifice unto them, to be devoured. Were thy whoredoms a small matter,
And thou didst take thy sons and thy daughters, whom thou hadst borne unto me, and these didst thou sacrifice unto them, to be devoured. Were thy whoredoms a small matter,
Easy-to-Read Version
"You and I had children together, but you took our children. You killed them and gave them to those false gods! But that is only some of the evil things you did when you were unfaithful to me and went to those false gods.
"You and I had children together, but you took our children. You killed them and gave them to those false gods! But that is only some of the evil things you did when you were unfaithful to me and went to those false gods.
George Lamsa Translation
Moreover you have taken your sons and your daughters, whom you had borne to me, and these you have sacrificed to them for food. These things you did besides your whoredoms,
Moreover you have taken your sons and your daughters, whom you had borne to me, and these you have sacrificed to them for food. These things you did besides your whoredoms,
Good News Translation
"Then you took the sons and the daughters you had borne me and offered them as sacrifices to idols. Wasn't it bad enough to be unfaithful to me,
"Then you took the sons and the daughters you had borne me and offered them as sacrifices to idols. Wasn't it bad enough to be unfaithful to me,
Lexham English Bible
‘And you took your sons and your daughters whom you had borne for me, and you sacrificed them to them to be eaten, as if your whorings were not enough.
‘And you took your sons and your daughters whom you had borne for me, and you sacrificed them to them to be eaten, as if your whorings were not enough.
Literal Translation
And you have taken your sons and your daughters whom you have borne to Me, and you sacrificed these to them for food. Are your fornications small?
And you have taken your sons and your daughters whom you have borne to Me, and you sacrificed these to them for food. Are your fornications small?
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Thou hast take thine owne sonnes & doughters, whom thou haddest begotten vnto me: and these hast thou offred vp vnto them, to be their meate. Is this but a small whordome of thine (thinkest thou)
Thou hast take thine owne sonnes & doughters, whom thou haddest begotten vnto me: and these hast thou offred vp vnto them, to be their meate. Is this but a small whordome of thine (thinkest thou)
American Standard Version
Moreover thou hast taken thy sons and thy daughters, whom thou hast borne unto me, and these hast thou sacrificed unto them to be devoured. Were thy whoredoms a small matter,
Moreover thou hast taken thy sons and thy daughters, whom thou hast borne unto me, and these hast thou sacrificed unto them to be devoured. Were thy whoredoms a small matter,
Bible in Basic English
And you took your sons and your daughters whom I had by you, offering even these to them to be their food. Was your loose behaviour so small a thing,
And you took your sons and your daughters whom I had by you, offering even these to them to be their food. Was your loose behaviour so small a thing,
JPS Old Testament (1917)
Moreover thou hast taken thy sons and thy daughters, whom thou hast borne unto Me, and these hast thou sacrificed unto them to be devoured. Were thy harlotries a small matter,
Moreover thou hast taken thy sons and thy daughters, whom thou hast borne unto Me, and these hast thou sacrificed unto them to be devoured. Were thy harlotries a small matter,
King James Version (1611)
Moreouer thou hast taken thy sonnes and thy daughters, whom thou hast borne vnto me, and these hast thou sacrificed vnto them to be deuoured: is this of thy whoredomes a small matter,
Moreouer thou hast taken thy sonnes and thy daughters, whom thou hast borne vnto me, and these hast thou sacrificed vnto them to be deuoured: is this of thy whoredomes a small matter,
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Thou hast taken thyne owne sonnes and daughters whom thou hast begotten vnto me, and these hast thou offred vp vnto them to be deuoured: is this but a small whordome of thyne?
Thou hast taken thyne owne sonnes and daughters whom thou hast begotten vnto me, and these hast thou offred vp vnto them to be deuoured: is this but a small whordome of thyne?
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And thou tookest thy sons and thy daughters, whom thou borest, land didst sacrifice these to them to be destroyed. Thou didst go a-whoring as if that were little,
And thou tookest thy sons and thy daughters, whom thou borest, land didst sacrifice these to them to be destroyed. Thou didst go a-whoring as if that were little,
English Revised Version
Moreover thou hast taken thy sons and thy daughters, whom thou hast borne unto me, and these hast thou sacrificed unto them to be devoured. Were thy whoredoms a small matter,
Moreover thou hast taken thy sons and thy daughters, whom thou hast borne unto me, and these hast thou sacrificed unto them to be devoured. Were thy whoredoms a small matter,
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And thou tokist thi sones and thi douytris, whiche thou gendridist to me, and offridist to tho, for to be deuourid. Whether thi fornicacioun is litil?
And thou tokist thi sones and thi douytris, whiche thou gendridist to me, and offridist to tho, for to be deuourid. Whether thi fornicacioun is litil?
Update Bible Version
Moreover you have taken your sons and your daughters, whom you have borne to me, and these you have sacrificed to them to be devoured. Were your prostitutions a small matter,
Moreover you have taken your sons and your daughters, whom you have borne to me, and these you have sacrificed to them to be devoured. Were your prostitutions a small matter,
Webster's Bible Translation
Moreover thou hast taken thy sons and thy daughters, whom thou hast borne to me, and these hast thou sacrificed to them to be devoured. [Is this] of thy lewdness a small matter,
Moreover thou hast taken thy sons and thy daughters, whom thou hast borne to me, and these hast thou sacrificed to them to be devoured. [Is this] of thy lewdness a small matter,
New English Translation
"‘You took your sons and your daughters whom you bore to me and you sacrificed them as food for the idols to eat. As if your prostitution not enough,
"‘You took your sons and your daughters whom you bore to me and you sacrificed them as food for the idols to eat. As if your prostitution not enough,
New King James Version
"Moreover you took your sons and your daughters, whom you bore to Me, and these you sacrificed to them to be devoured. Were your acts of harlotry a small matter,
"Moreover you took your sons and your daughters, whom you bore to Me, and these you sacrificed to them to be devoured. Were your acts of harlotry a small matter,
New Living Translation
"Then you took your sons and daughters—the children you had borne to me—and sacrificed them to your gods. Was your prostitution not enough?
"Then you took your sons and daughters—the children you had borne to me—and sacrificed them to your gods. Was your prostitution not enough?
New Life Bible
"You even took your sons and daughters whom you had given birth for Me, and gave them to the false gods to be destroyed. Were your sex sins too little?
"You even took your sons and daughters whom you had given birth for Me, and gave them to the false gods to be destroyed. Were your sex sins too little?
New Revised Standard
You took your sons and your daughters, whom you had borne to me, and these you sacrificed to them to be devoured. As if your whorings were not enough!
You took your sons and your daughters, whom you had borne to me, and these you sacrificed to them to be devoured. As if your whorings were not enough!
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And thou didst take thy sons and thy daughters, Whom thou hadst borne unto me, And didst sacrifice them unto them to be devoured,- Is this of thine unchastity. a light thing?
And thou didst take thy sons and thy daughters, Whom thou hadst borne unto me, And didst sacrifice them unto them to be devoured,- Is this of thine unchastity. a light thing?
Douay-Rheims Bible
And thou hast taken thy sons, and thy daughters, whom thou hast borne to me: and hast sacrificed the same to them to be devoured. Is thy fornication small?
And thou hast taken thy sons, and thy daughters, whom thou hast borne to me: and hast sacrificed the same to them to be devoured. Is thy fornication small?
Revised Standard Version
And you took your sons and your daughters, whom you had borne to me, and these you sacrificed to them to be devoured. Were your harlotries so small a matter
And you took your sons and your daughters, whom you had borne to me, and these you sacrificed to them to be devoured. Were your harlotries so small a matter
Young's Literal Translation
And thou dost take thy sons and thy daughters Whom thou hast born to Me, And dost sacrifice them to them for food. Is it a little thing because of thy whoredoms,
And thou dost take thy sons and thy daughters Whom thou hast born to Me, And dost sacrifice them to them for food. Is it a little thing because of thy whoredoms,
Contextual Overview
15"‘But your beauty went to your head and you became a common whore, grabbing anyone coming down the street and taking him into your bed. You took your fine dresses and made "tents" of them, using them as brothels in which you practiced your trade. This kind of thing should never happen, never. 17"‘And then you took all that fine jewelry I gave you, my gold and my silver, and made pornographic images of them for your brothels. You decorated your beds with fashionable silks and cottons, and perfumed them with my aromatic oils and incense. And then you set out the wonderful foods I provided—the fresh breads and fruits, with fine herbs and spices, which were my gifts to you—and you served them as delicacies in your whorehouses. That's what happened, says God , the Master. 20"‘And then you took your sons and your daughters, whom you had given birth to as my children, and you killed them, sacrificing them to idols. Wasn't it bad enough that you had become a whore? And now you're a murderer, killing my children and sacrificing them to idols. 22 "‘Not once during these years of outrageous obscenities and whorings did you remember your infancy, when you were naked and exposed, a blood-smeared newborn. 23"‘And then to top off all your evil acts, you built your bold brothels in every town square. Doom! Doom to you, says God , the Master! At every major intersection you built your bold brothels and exposed your sluttish sex, spreading your legs for everyone who passed by. 25"‘And then you went international with your whoring. You fornicated with the Egyptians, seeking them out in their sex orgies. The more promiscuous you became, the angrier I got. Finally, I intervened, reduced your borders and turned you over to the rapacity of your enemies. Even the Philistine women—can you believe it?—were shocked at your sluttish life. 28"‘You went on to fornicate with the Assyrians. Your appetite was insatiable. But still you weren't satisfied. You took on the Babylonians, a country of businessmen, and still you weren't satisfied. 30"‘What a sick soul! Doing all this stuff—the champion whore! You built your bold brothels at every major intersection, opened up your whorehouses in every neighborhood, but you were different from regular whores in that you wouldn't accept a fee. 32"‘Wives who are unfaithful to their husbands accept gifts from their lovers. And men commonly pay their whores. But you pay your lovers! You bribe men from all over to come to bed with you! You're just the opposite of the regular whores who get paid for sex. Instead, you pay men for their favors! You even pervert whoredom!
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
thy sons: Ezekiel 16:21, Ezekiel 23:4, Genesis 17:7, Exodus 13:2, Exodus 13:12, Deuteronomy 29:11, Deuteronomy 29:12
and these: Ezekiel 20:26, Ezekiel 20:31, Ezekiel 23:37, Ezekiel 23:39, 2 Kings 16:3, 2 Chronicles 33:6, Psalms 106:37, Psalms 106:38, Isaiah 57:5, Jeremiah 7:31, Jeremiah 32:35, Micah 6:7
be devoured: Heb. devour
Is this: Ezekiel 8:17, Jeremiah 2:34, Jeremiah 2:35
Reciprocal: Leviticus 20:2 - giveth 1 Kings 16:31 - as if it had been a light thing 2 Kings 3:27 - offered him 2 Chronicles 28:3 - burnt Ecclesiastes 7:17 - not Isaiah 7:13 - Is it a small Jeremiah 19:5 - to burn Ezekiel 16:36 - and by Ezekiel 16:38 - shed Ezekiel 16:45 - that loatheth Ezekiel 23:20 - General Ezekiel 34:18 - a small Hosea 2:2 - let John 8:41 - we have
Gill's Notes on the Bible
Moreover thou hast taken thy sons and thy daughters,.... Their own flesh and blood; which were more than to take their clothes, and cover their idols with them, and their food, and set it before them to part with them was much, but to part with these, and that in such a shocking manner as after mentioned, was so irrational and unnatural, as well as impious and wicked, as is not to be paralleled; and what increased their wickedness was, that these were not only their own, but the Lord's:
whom thou hast borne unto me; for, though they were born of them, they were born unto the Lord, the Creator of them, the Father of their spirits, and God of their lives, and who had the sole right to dispose of them; nor was it in the power of their parents to take away their life at pleasure; for the Lord only has the sovereign power of life and death:
and these hast thou sacrificed unto them: the male images before mentioned; one of which was Molech, who is here particularly designed:
to be devoured; in the arms of that image; or to be consumed by fire, in which they were burnt, when sacrificed unto it. The Targum is,
"for oblation and worship;''
[is this] of thy whoredoms a small matter; which was so dreadfully heinous and inhuman, yet by some reckoned a small matter; this was not the least of their idolatries, but, of all, the most shocking, and the most aggravated: or the sense is, is it a small thing that thou shouldest play the harlot, or worship idols? is it not enough for thee to do so, but thou must sacrifice thy children also to them? and which are not only thine, but mine, as follows:
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
Borne unto me - me is emphatic. The children of Yahweh have been devoted to Moloch. The rites of Moloch were twofold;
(1) The actual sacrifice of men and children as expiatory sacrifices to, false gods.
(2) The passing of them through the fire by way of purification and dedication.
Probably the first is alluded to in Ezekiel 16:20; the two rites together in Ezekiel 16:21.
