28 "Moreover, you played the harlot with the Assyrians because you were not satisfied ; you played the harlot with them and still were not satisfied . 29 "You also multiplied your harlotry with the land of merchants , Chaldea , yet even with this you were not satisfied .""' 30 "How languishing is your heart ," declares the Lord GOD , "while you do all these things , the actions of a bold-faced harlot . 31 "When you built your shrine at the beginning of every street and made your high place in every square , in disdaining money , you were not like a harlot . 32 "You adulteress wife , who takes strangers instead of her husband ! 33 "Men give gifts to all harlots , but you give your gifts to all your lovers to bribe them to come to you from every direction for your harlotries . 34 "Thus you are different from those women in your harlotries , in that no one plays the harlot as you do, because you give money and no money is given you; thus you are different ."
35 Therefore , O harlot , hear the word of the Lord .
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Ezekiel 16:28-35
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.