Thou hast built thy high place at every head of the way, and hast made thy beauty to be abhorred, and hast opened thy feet to every one that passed by, and multiplied thy whoredoms.

EZEKIEL 16:25KJV
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Ezekiel 16:25 (KJV)

What does Ezekiel 16:25 mean?

Ezekiel 16:25 describes Jerusalem as having built places of idol worship at every street corner, making herself despised and openly engaging in unfaithfulness with anyone who passed by. The verse uses strong, graphic language to show how the people have multiplied their spiritual betrayals.

In this verse, God is speaking through Ezekiel to the people of Jerusalem, comparing their worship of other gods to acts of prostitution. The setting is a prophetic rebuke: Jerusalem is pictured as someone who has lost all sense of shame, displaying her unfaithfulness in public. The verse is part of a larger passage where God accuses Jerusalem of breaking faith with Him in the most public and shameless ways.

The Hebrew behind Ezekiel 16:25

  • "Built" (בָּנָה, banah): This word emphasizes that the people actively constructed these "high places" for idol worship, showing deliberate effort.
  • "High place" (מְרוֹמָה, meromah): Often a raised platform or shrine for worshiping other gods, making the betrayal very visible.
  • "Beauty" (יֹפִי, yofi): The word for beauty here refers to Jerusalem’s attractiveness or honor, which is now made to be despised or "abhorred" (נָאַב, na'av) because of her actions.
  • "Opened" (פָּרַשׂ, parash): This word is a graphic metaphor for sexual unfaithfulness, used here to describe spiritual unfaithfulness in a vivid way.

Why Ezekiel 16:25 matters

  • This verse clears up that the problem was not just private sin but very public, repeated acts of unfaithfulness, making Jerusalem’s betrayal unmistakable to everyone.
  • The strong language reveals how seriously God views idolatry, using the metaphor of prostitution to show the depth of the relationship and the pain of betrayal.
  • Understanding this verse helps make sense of the whole chapter, which uses the story of a marriage gone wrong to explain why judgment is coming on Jerusalem.

Where else these words appear

“opened” Hebrew H6589 · used in 2 verses

  • Proverbs 13:3 He that keepeth his mouth keepeth his life: but he that openeth wide his lips shall have destruction.

“place” Hebrew H7413 · used in 4 verses

  • Ezekiel 16:24 That thou hast also built unto thee an eminent place, and hast made thee an high place in every street.
  • Ezekiel 16:31 In that thou buildest thine eminent place in the head of every way, and makest thine high place in every street; and hast not been as an harlot, in that thou scornest hire;
  • Ezekiel 16:39 And I will also give thee into their hand, and they shall throw down thine eminent place, and shall break down thy high places: they shall strip thee also of thy clothes, and shall take thy fair jewels, and leave thee naked and bare.

“beauty” Hebrew H3308 · used in 19 verses

  • Esther 1:11 To bring Vashti the queen before the king with the crown royal, to shew the people and the princes her beauty: for she was fair to look on.
  • Isaiah 33:17 Thine eyes shall see the king in his beauty: they shall behold the land that is very far off.
  • Ezekiel 27:11 The men of Arvad with thine army were upon thy walls round about, and the Gammadims were in thy towers: they hanged their shields upon thy walls round about; they have made thy beauty perfect.

“whoredoms” Hebrew H8457 · used in 19 verses

  • Ezekiel 16:15 But thou didst trust in thine own beauty, and playedst the harlot because of thy renown, and pouredst out thy fornications on every one that passed by; his it was.
  • Ezekiel 16:34 And the contrary is in thee from other women in thy whoredoms, whereas none followeth thee to commit whoredoms: and in that thou givest a reward, and no reward is given unto thee, therefore thou art contrary.
  • Ezekiel 23:17 And the Babylonians came to her into the bed of love, and they defiled her with their whoredom, and she was polluted with them, and her mind was alienated from them.