Ezekiel 16:2

Eze 16:2 Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations,

Ver. 2. Cause Jerusalem to know her abominations.] Which as yet she taketh no knowledge of. Rebuke her therefore sharply, that she may be sound in the faith, if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Eze 16:2. Cause Jerusalem to know her abominations — Her foul sins and multiplied transgressions, especially her idolatries, or spiritual adulteries, and unexampled folly in her lewdness. “This might probably be done by way of letter, as Jeremiah signified the will of God to the captives at Babylon. God here particularly upbraids Jerusalem for her iniquities, because it was the place he had chosen for his peculiar residence; and yet the inhabitants had defiled that very place, nay, and the temple itself with idolatry; the sin particularly denoted by the word abomination.” “Nothing can give us a greater horror of the crimes of Jerusalem than the manner in which Ezekiel speaks here. This city must certainly have carried her impiety to the greatest height, to merit reproaches so lively and strong.” See Lowth and Calmet.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Verse 2. Cause Jerusalem to know her abominations] And such a revelation of impurity never was seen before or since. Surely the state of the Jews, before the Babylonish captivity, was the most profligate and corrupt of all the nations of the earth. This chapter contains God's manifesto against this most abominable people; and although there are many metaphors here, yet all is not metaphorical. Where there was so much idolatry, there must have been adulteries, fornications, prostitutions, and lewdness of every description. The description of the prophet is sufficiently clear, except where there is a reference to ancient and obsolete customs. What a description of crimes! The sixth satire of Juvenal is its counterpart. General remarks are all that a commentator is justified in bestowing on this very long, very circumstantial, and caustic invective. For its key, see on the thirteenth and sixty-third verses. See Clarke on Eze 16:13; "Eze 16:63".

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

2. cause Jerusalem to know] The object of the chapter is to impress on Israel the necessity of the Divine judgment because of her persistent idolatry through all her history (ch. Eze_20:4, Eze_22:2, Eze_23:36). Jerusalem, which is spoken to throughout, represents the kingdom of Judah, and even the whole family of Israel in its early history.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And say, thus saith the Lord God unto Jerusalem,.... To the inhabitants of Jerusalem, as the Targum:

thy birth and thy nativity is of the land of Canaan; here the Jewish ancestors for a time dwelt and sojourned, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and so the Targum, Jarchi, Kimchi, and Ben Melech, interpret the first word, "thy habitation" or "sojourning" (f): but whereas it follows, "and thy nativity", this does not solve the difficulty; which may be said to be of the land of Canaan, because their ancestors were born here; for though Abraham was a Chaldean he was called out of Chaldea into the land of Canaan, where Isaac was born; and so was Jacob, the father of the twelve tribes; besides, the Israelites were the successors of the Canaanites in their land, and so seemed to descend from them; and it is not unusual for such to be reckoned the children of those whom they succeed; to which may be added, that they were like to the Canaanites in their manners, particularly in their idolatries; and so their children, as such, are said to be the offspring and descendants of those whose examples they follow, or whom they imitate; see the history of Susannah in the Apocrypha:

"So he put him aside, and commanded to bring the other, and said unto him, O thou seed of Chanaan, and not of Juda, beauty hath deceived thee, and lust hath perverted thine heart.'' (Susannah 1:56)

thy father was an Amorite, and thy mother an Hittite; Abraham and Sarah, who were, properly speaking, the one the father, the other the mother, of the Jewish nation, were Chaldeans; and neither Amorites nor Hittites; yet, because they dwelt among them; are so called; and especially since before their conversion they were idolaters, as those were; besides, the Jews who descended from Judah, and from whom they have their name, very probably sprung from ancestors who might be Amorites and Hittites: since Judah married the daughter of a Canaanite, and such an one seems to be Tamar, he took for his son Er, and by whom he himself had two sons, Pharez and Zarah, from the former of which the kings of Judah lineally descended, Gen 37:2; besides, the Jews were the successors of these people, and possessed their land, and imitated them in their wicked practices, Amo 2:10; and these two, the Amorite and Hittite, of all the seven nations, are mentioned, because they were the worst, and the most wicked, Gen 15:16. The Jews (g) say Terah the father of Abraham, and his ancestors, came from Canaan.

(f) "habitationes tuae", Pagninus, Calvin; "mansiones tuae", Montanus; "habitatio tua", Vatablus, Grotius; so R. Sol. Urbin. Ohel Moed, fol. 30. 1. (g) T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 44. 2. & Gloss. in ib.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Declare to them that are with thee, and to them that are at Jerusalem, to these declare by letter, to those by word of mouth, what state theirs was in their infancy what I did for them, for the whole nation of the Jews, for so I take Jerusalem here to signify. Make them know: it was not in his power to give them understandings, and to enlighten their minds, but his declaring to them is here called making them to know, because it was sufficient to have brought it to their knowledge.

Her abominations; her multiplied transgressions, which were increased beyond number, and her great, foul sins, called here abominations, her idolatries spiritual adulteries, and unexemplified folly in her lewdness, changing her God and Husband, Jer 2:10-13.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Leading sinners to a knowledge of their sins.

"Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations.

I THAT SIN IS ESSENTIALLY VILE IN ITS CHARACTER. The sins of the inhabitants of Jerusalem were "abominations" in the sight of God. David says of the wicked, "They are corrupt, they have done abominable works;" "Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity." And Jehovah said to the Jews, "Oh, do not this abominable thing that I hate!" In its own nature sin "is an evil thing and a bitter" It is a polluting thing, defiling the soul; it is a degrading thing, dishonouring the soul. It is an infraction of the order of God"s universe, and is inimical to its true interests. Sin is evil "in every respect hateful to God, hurtful to man, darkening the heavens, burdening the earth.

II THAT SINNERS OFTEN FAIL TO RECOGNIZE THEIR OWN SIN. The inhabitants of Jerusalem at this time were sadly corrupted by sin, but were so oblivious to the fact that the prophet is summoned to bring them to a knowledge of their abominations. David did not recognize as his own the foul crimes which he had committed when they were set before him parabolically. It was not until the Prophet Nathan said unto him, "Thou art the man!" that he saw himself to be the sinner he really was. (2Sa_12:1-14) The Pharisees in the time of our Lord"s ministry were really great sinners, but they regarded themselves as the excellent of the earth. We are quick to behold the mote that is in our brother"s eye, but we take no notice of the beam that is in our own eye. This failure of sinners to recognize their own sin may arise:

1. From the subtlety of sin. Sin approaches the soul in dangerous disguises. "Were the vision of sin seen in a full light, undressed and unpainted, it were impossible, while it so appeared, that any one soul could be in love with it, but all would rather flee from it as hideous and abominable." Wickedness veils itself in the garb of what is harmless, respectable, or excellent. Avarice hides its hard and hungry features under the name of economy. Harsh censoriousness wears the cloak of honest plain spokenness, etc.

2. From the proneness of men to excuse sin in themselves. Until man is brought to see and feel his sins aright, he is ready to palliate or to extenuate them. Men are cruelly indulgent to themselves in this respect. And in some cases pride and self-flattery blind men to their own offences.

III THAT THE MINISTERS OF GOD SHOULD ENDEAVOUR TO BRING SINNERS TO A KNOWLEDGE OF THEIR SINS. To this duty Ezekiel was summoned in our text. And this is incumbent on the ministers of Jesus Christ.

1. For the conversion of the sinners. "Without the knowledge of sin, repentance and conversion are not to be thought of." "As a physician, when he wishes to heal a wound thoroughly, must probe it to the bottom, so a teacher, when he wishes to convert men thoroughly, must first seek to bring them to a knowledge of their sins.

2. For the deliverance of their own souls. (Cf. Eze_3:17-21 Eze_33:7-9)

3. For the vindication of the Law and government of God. Sin is an outrage of his holy Law, and it should be exhibited as such. Persistence in sin calls down Divine punishment, and the sin should be set forth unto men, that they will recognize the righteousness of the punishment. If sin be not properly estimated by men, how shall the Divine dealings in the punishment of it be justified unto them? Therefore the ministers of Jesus Christ should endeavour to cause sinners to know their sins. W.J.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

let...know Heb. הוֹדַע, fais savoir in French, inform.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.