Ezekiel 16:20-21
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 that you slaughtered my children and delivered them up as an offering by fire to them?
English Standard Version (ESV)
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This verse lays bare the horrific depth of Jerusalem's betrayal: the children born to her, who were meant to be the Lord's, were actually sacrificed to foreign gods. The question posed isn't just about the act itself, but whether this ultimate act of spiritual infidelity, this giving away of God's own children to destruction, was considered too small a sin to matter in the grand scheme of her "whoredoms."
Ezekiel is exposing Jerusalem's deep corruption, likening its spiritual unfaithfulness to a woman's promiscuity. After detailing how the city adorned itself with riches and prostituted itself to foreign nations, the prophecy now escalates to its most horrific sin: sacrificing its own children to idols like Molech. This act of child sacrifice is presented as the ultimate betrayal, compounding its earlier betrayals and demonstrating the city's utter depravity.
Ezekiel uses stark language, calling the children 'whom you had borne to me.' What does this possessive phrasing reveal about God's claim on our lives and even our children?
The prophet Ezekiel confronts Jerusalem with its horrific idolatry, particularly the sacrifice of children to idols like Molech. He emphasizes that these children, though born to their parents, were ultimately 'born to me' (the Lord).
God's Ownership
This isn't just a poetic flourish; it points to a profound theological truth. In the ancient Near East, as in many cultures, children were seen as a blessing and a possession of the parents. However, Ezekiel highlights that they are also God's creation and belong to Him first.
When parents in Jerusalem sacrificed their children, they weren't just committing an act of extreme cruelty; they were violating God's ultimate ownership and the covenant relationship He had established with them.
The verse asks, 'Were your whorings so small a matter?' This rhetorical question jolts us. What does it mean when an 'unnatural cruelty' is seen as an to existing sin?
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Ezekiel paints a picture of escalating sin. The 'whoredoms' in the verse refer to Jerusalem's spiritual unfaithfulness – its idolatry and turning away from the Lord to other gods and nations.
The Ultimate Betrayal
However, the sacrifice of children is presented not just as another sin, but as the peak of Jerusalem's rebellion. The commentators note that this act, the offering of one's own offspring to be consumed by fire, was considered particularly abhorrent, even by many surrounding pagan cultures.
It wasn't just that they were worshipping other gods; it was that in their worship, they committed an act so horrific, so contrary to natural affection and divine law, that it made their previous idolatry seem almost 'small' by comparison. It was the ultimate act of disrespect and betrayal against God, who had given them these very children.
Understand the original words
zabach · Hebrew Verb
The act of offering something to a deity, often involving the destruction of the item or life, signifying total surrender or, in pagan contexts, a demonic substitute for true worship.
shachat · Hebrew Verb
To kill or slay, often used in the context of ritual sacrifice or violent death. In a biblical context, it frequently denotes the destruction of human life in defiance of God's mandate against murder.
qorban · Hebrew Noun
An act of giving or surrendering something to God (or in idolatry, to false gods) to express devotion, atonement, or petition. It implies a transfer of ownership or life to the deity.
The prophecy against Jerusalem in Ezekiel 16 paints a stark picture of spiritual adultery culminating in the abhorrent practice of child sacrifice. This timeline highlights how such rites, though perhaps initially rare or influenced by surrounding nations, became deeply entrenched in Judah's later history, especially during the reigns of Ahaz and Manasseh, leading up to the nation's judgment and exile.
c. 732 BC
King Ahaz practices child sacrifice
King Ahaz of Judah, influenced by Assyrian practices, is recorded as having passed his son through the fire, setting a precedent for child sacrifice in Jerusalem.
c. 687-642 BC
King Manasseh's idolatry and child sacrifice
King Manasseh of Judah significantly promoted idolatry and child sacrifice, building altars to foreign gods and even sacrificing his own sons in the Valley of Hinnom.
c. 597 BC
First Babylonian deportation
Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon deports King Jehoiachin and thousands of Judean elites to Babylon, marking the beginning of the Judean exile.
c. 586 BC— this verse
Fall of Jerusalem and Second Temple Destruction
Nebuchadnezzar destroys Jerusalem and the First Temple, exiling the remaining population to Babylon. This devastating event serves as a backdrop for Ezekiel's prophetic ministry.
c. 570 BC
Ezekiel delivers his prophecy
Ezekiel, an exile in Babylon, delivers this prophecy denouncing Jerusalem's spiritual adultery and the horrific practice of child sacrifice to idols like Molech.
This passage describes King Ahaz passing his son through the fire, a specific instance of the child sacrifice to idols that Ezekiel condemns.
Jeremiah 7:31Jeremiah echoes Ezekiel's denunciation, highlighting the high places built for child sacrifice to Baal, a practice deeply abhorrent to God.
Psalm 106:37This psalm recounts Israel's history, explicitly stating that they sacrificed their sons and daughters to demons, mirroring the specific accusations leveled against Jerusalem in Ezekiel 16.
Micah 6:7Micah questions whether God desires such horrific acts, asking if he should give his firstborn for his transgression, directly addressing the sin of child sacrifice as a perversion of true worship.
Leviticus 18:21This Mosaic Law explicitly forbids passing children through the fire to Molech, showing that this practice was a clear violation of God's covenant commands from the earliest days.
cambridgeEzekiel 16:20: "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,"
20 seq . The sacrifice of children Jehovah is the husband of the idealized community, and the individual members are his children. Human sacrifices, though rare, were not altogether unknown in early Israel, as the instance of Jephthah proves (Judges 11). They were probably more common among the Canaa…
barnesEzekiel 16:20: "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,"
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…
This verse lays bare the horrific depth of Jerusalem's betrayal: the children born to her, who were meant to be the Lord's, were actually sacrificed to foreign gods. The question posed isn't just about the act itself, but whether this ultimate act of spiritual infidelity, this giving away of God's own children to destruction, was considered too small a sin to matter in the grand scheme of her "whoredoms."
Ezekiel is exposing Jerusalem's deep corruption, likening its spiritual unfaithfulness to a woman's promiscuity. After detailing how the city adorned itself with riches and prostituted itself to foreign nations, the prophecy now escalates to its most horrific sin: sacrificing its own children to idols like Molech. This act of child sacrifice is presented as the ultimate betrayal, compounding its earlier betrayals and demonstrating the city's utter depravity.
Ezekiel is exposing Jerusalem's deep corruption, likening its spiritual unfaithfulness to a woman's promiscuity. After detailing how the city adorned itself with riches and prostituted itself to foreign nations, the prophecy now escalates to its most horrific sin: sacrificing its own children to idols like Molech. This act of child sacrifice is presented as the ultimate betrayal, compounding its earlier betrayals and demonstrating the city's utter depravity.
"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 that you slaughtered my children and delivered them up as an offering by fire to the…" — This verse lays bare the horrific depth of Jerusalem's betrayal: the children born to her, who were meant to be the Lord's, were actually sacrificed to foreign gods. The question posed isn't just abo…
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