3 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD unto Jerusalem; Thy birth [1] and thy nativity is of the land of Canaan; thy father was an Amorite, and thy mother an Hittite.

Other Translations of Ezekiel 16:3

New International Version

3 and say, 'This is what the Sovereign Lord says to Jerusalem: Your ancestry and birth were in the land of the Canaanites; your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite.

English Standard Version

3 and say, Thus says the Lord GOD to Jerusalem: Your origin and your birth are of the land of the Canaanites; your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite.

The Message

3 Say this: 'The Message of God, the Master, to Jerusalem: You were born and bred among Canaanites. Your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite.

New King James Version

3 and say, 'Thus says the Lord God to Jerusalem: "Your birth and your nativity are from the land of Canaan; your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite.

New Living Translation

3 Give her this message from the Sovereign Lord : You are nothing but a Canaanite! Your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite.

Matthew Henry's Commentary on Ezekiel 16:3

Commentary on Ezekiel 16:1-58

(Read Ezekiel 16:1-58)

In this chapter God's dealings with the Jewish nation, and their conduct towards him, are described, and their punishment through the surrounding nations, even those they most trusted in. This is done under the parable of an exposed infant rescued from death, educated, espoused, and richly provided for, but afterwards guilty of the most abandoned conduct, and punished for it; yet at last received into favour, and ashamed of her base conduct. We are not to judge of these expressions by modern ideas, but by those of the times and places in which they were used, where many of them would not sound as they do to us. The design was to raise hatred to idolatry, and such a parable was well suited for that purpose.