Ezekiel 16:50 · Bible study
Ezekiel 16:50 Commentary: Pride, Abomination & Immediate Judgment
Hebrew · 8 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Explore Sodom's sin in Ezekiel 16:50: pride, abomination, and God's swift judgment. A study for pastors and serious students.
Research Summary
- Meaning: God judges the pride, public sin, and social neglect of Sodom, using it as a warning for Jerusalem and for all who hear.
- Key words: "haughty/arrogant" (puffed up with prosperity), "abomination" (public, defiant sin), "took away" (divine judgment executed).
- Main debate: Whether the "abomination" refers primarily to sexual sin (Genesis 19) or includes the broader sins of pride and neglect (verse 49).
- Theological theme: God's justice is immediate and certain against sin, yet tempered by mercy in the context of restoration (v.53-55).
- Best use: Preaching or teaching on the nature of sin, the dangers of pride and prosperity, and the seriousness of God's judgment.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
Thus they were haughty and committed abominations before Me. Therefore I removed them, as you have seen.
WEB World English Bible 2000
They were arrogant and committed abomination before me. Therefore I took them away when I saw it.
KJV King James Version 1769
And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
And they are haughty and do abomination before Me, And I turn them aside when I have seen.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me, and I took them away when I saw [it].
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
And they were lifted up, and committed abominations before me: and I took them away as thou hast seen.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Y ensoberbeciéronse, é hicieron abominación delante de mí, y quitélas como vi bueno.
E se tornaram arrogantes, e fizeram abominação diante de mim, por isso eu as tirei quando vi isto .
Elles sont devenues hautaines, et elles ont commis des abominations devant moi. Je les ai fait disparaître, quand j’ ai vu cela.
sondern waren stolz und taten Greuel vor mir; darum ich sie auch weggetan habe, da ich begann dareinzusehen.
En zij verhieven zich, en deden gruwelijkheid voor Mijn aangezicht; daarom deed Ik ze weg, nadat Ik het gezien had.
Erano altezzose, e commettevano abominazioni nel mio cospetto; perciò le feci sparire, quando vidi ciò.
Owszem, wyniósłszy się, czyniły obrzydliwość przed obliczem mojem; przetożem je zniósł, jako mi się zdało.
И возгордились они, и делали мерзости пред лицем Моим, и, увидев это, Я отверг их.
她們狂傲，在我面前 行 可憎的事， 我看見 便將她們 除掉。
They were full of pride and did what was disgusting to me: and so I took them away as you have seen.
Verse in Context
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators agree that Ezekiel 16:50 identifies two aspects of Sodom's guilt: arrogance ("they were haughty") and public defiance ("committed abomination before me"). Gill explains that "abomination" here likely refers to the sin that bears Sodom's name, committed openly. Calvin presses deeper: pride is the root that produces contempt for God and cruelty toward others. The phrase "took them away" points to the judgment of fire and sulfur recorded in Genesis 19:24, as Jamieson-Fausset-Brown notes. On the disputed phrase "as I saw good" (KJV) versus "when I saw it" (WEB), Barnes argues the Hebrew means "as soon as I saw it." God's response was immediate. The broader context (verse 49) shows that Sodom's pride was rooted in prosperity and ease, leading to neglect of the poor. Thus the "abomination" includes both social injustice and open rebellion. This does not remove the sexual dimension, but places it within a larger pattern of rebellion. The point is sobering: sin that is open and defiant meets a God who sees and acts.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Medium
Main views:
- Traditional view (sexual sin): Emphasizes Genesis 19, Leviticus 18:22, and the use of 'abomination' for forbidden sexual acts.
- Broader view (pride, neglect, defiance): Emphasizes verse 49, Calvin's argument that pride is the root, and the social justice dimension of the passage.
What is clear: God judged Sodom for sin committed openly and defiantly, and Jerusalem bears even greater guilt.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Nature of Sodom's sin | Christians agree that God judged Sodom for serious sin that included both pride and immoral acts. | Some traditions, citing Genesis 19 and Leviticus 18:22, emphasize sexual sin; others, noting verse 49 and Calvin's commentary, argue the core sin is pride and neglect of the poor, with sexual sin as one expression. |
| Meaning of 'as I saw good' vs 'when I saw it' | There is agreement that God's judgment is based on his direct observation of sin. | Some older translations (KJV, ASV) render the Hebrew as 'as I saw good,' implying God's sovereign discretion, while modern versions (WEB, YLT) read 'when I saw it,' stressing immediacy. The Hebrew phrase can support either nuance. |
| Comparison with Jerusalem's sin | All traditions recognize that the passage declares Jerusalem's sin greater than Sodom's. | Some read this as rhetorical hyperbole to shock the audience; others take it as a concrete moral assessment based on the greater revelation and covenant privileges Jerusalem had. |
| Restoration of Sodom | Ezekiel 16:53-55 speaks of restoring Sodom's fortunes, which many see as prophetic language of ultimate redemption. | Catholic and some Protestant traditions see this as a literal future restoration; others interpret it as a metaphor for the inclusion of Gentiles into God's people (referencing the New Testament usage of Sodom in Jude 7). |
Historical & Cultural Context
Ezekiel 16 is a courtroom allegory. God prosecutes Jerusalem for unfaithfulness, calling Samaria and Sodom as witnesses, shocking because Sodom was the universal benchmark of depravity. Yet God declares Jerusalem more corrupt (v.47-48). Verse 49 lists Sodom's sins in order: pride, abundance of food, prosperous ease, then failure to strengthen the poor. The "abomination" in verse 50 is the culmination of a lifestyle that first forgets God through self-sufficiency, then despises others, and finally commits open rebellion. Calvin notes that "pride is the mother of all contempt of God and of all cruelty." The phrase "before me" underscores public, brazen acts daring God to respond. The phrase "when I saw it" (or "as I saw good" in older translations) is clarified by Barnes: the Hebrew reads literally "when I saw," reversing the pattern of Genesis 18:21 where God says he will go down to see. Here God sees and acts immediately. The judgment, sulfur and fire from heaven (Genesis 19:24), was total and unforgettable. This background helps readers understand that the passage is not merely a history lesson but a theological template: sin nurtured in pride and prosperity leads to ruin, and those with greater revelation bear greater responsibility.
Textual Notes
No significant textual variants are noted in the supplied commentaries. The Hebrew text of Ezekiel 16:50 is stable. The difference between "as I saw good" (KJV, ASV) and "when I saw it" (WEB, YLT) arises from ambiguous rendering of the Hebrew clause, not from a textual divergence. Barnes and the Cambridge Bible prefer the "when I saw" reading, noting its connection to Genesis 18:21.
Reception History
Ezekiel 16:50 has been read throughout church history as a key text for understanding the sin of Sodom. Early church fathers like Augustine saw in it a warning against pride as the root of all sin. During the Reformation, Calvin used the verse to argue that social sins, pride, fullness of bread, neglect of the poor, are just as serious as sexual sins. In more recent centuries, the verse has become central to debates about the nature of Sodom's sin, with some traditions emphasizing the sexual component (based on Genesis 19 and Leviticus 18:22) and others highlighting the social injustice listed in verse 49. The verse also appears in discussions of divine judgment and mercy, as the wider passage (v.53-55) holds out hope for restoration even for Sodom.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- Pride as the root. Calvin calls pride "the mother of all contempt of God and of all cruelty." Sodom's pride is not self-esteem but a dangerous self-sufficiency that forgets dependence on God and disregards others. This pride grows from prosperity and ease (v.49).
- Abomination as the fruit. The word "abomination" covers both sexual sin (as in Genesis 19) and the broader pattern of neglect and defiance. The phrase "before me" indicates brazen, public sin, committed openly, daring God to respond.
- Immediate judgment as the result. God says "when I saw it", not after deliberation. Barnes connects this to Genesis 18:21, where God goes down to see; here, seeing is enough. Immediate judgment underscores that sin observed is not ignored.
Five-point outline
- Prosperity breeds pride. Fullness of bread and idle ease lead to forgetfulness of God (v.49).
- Pride leads to neglect. The wealthy ignore the poor and needy, even within the city (v.49).
- Neglect hardens into defiance. Open hatred of God and his ways becomes "abomination", sins cried out for judgment.
- Defiance invites judgment. God sees and acts. The destruction of Sodom is a warning for all generations.
- Comparison convicts the complacent. Jerusalem thought themselves righteous compared to Sodom, but they were worse. This outline closes by examining our own self-assessment.
Illustration hooks
- A successful business owner who begins to look down on struggling workers, forgetting the help he once received.
- A community that tolerates open immorality while ignoring homelessness in its midst.
- The tendency to compare ourselves favorably to others who seem worse, missing our own guilt before God.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Is God really quick to judge, or does he wait patiently for repentance?
- What counts as "abomination" today, is it only sexual sin, or also pride and injustice?
- How can we avoid the self-deception of thinking we are better than those God judges?
Leading a Discussion
Ezekiel 16:50 appears in a passage that compares Jerusalem to Sodom, not to excuse Sodom, but to show how far Jerusalem has fallen. This verse invites groups to examine how we measure sin and how we respond to God's judgment.
Discussion questions
- What does the text say about Sodom's sin? List every detail from verses 49-50.
- Why does God mention that the sin was committed "before me"? How does this change how we understand the sin?
- Compare the destruction of Sodom (Genesis 19:24) with God's statement "I took them away." What do these verses teach about divine judgment?
- In what way is Jerusalem's sin worse than Sodom's (see v.51)? What does this mean for those who have received more revelation?
- How does pride function as a "mother sin" according to Calvin? Can you identify pride as a root in your own life?
- How does this passage broaden the definition of "abomination" beyond sexual sin? Why is this important for Christian ethics?
- What hope does the larger passage hold (v.53-55 mentions restoration)? How does judgment lead to restoration for God's people?
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Genesis 13:13 | Now the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinners against Yahweh. |
| Genesis 18:20 | Yahweh said, “Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous, |
| Genesis 19:5 | They called to Lot, and said to him, “Where are the men who came in to you this night? Bring them out to us, that we may have sex with them.” |
| Genesis 19:24 | Then Yahweh rained on Sodom and on Gomorrah sulfur and fire from Yahweh out of the sky. |
| Leviticus 18:22 | “‘You shall not lie with a man as with a woman. That is detestable. |
| Deuteronomy 23:17 | There shall be no prostitute of the daughters of Israel, neither shall there be a sodomite of the sons of Israel. |
| Deuteronomy 29:23 | that all of its land is sulfur, salt, and burning, that it is not sown, doesn’t produce, nor does any grass grow in it, like the overthrow of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, which Yahweh overthrew in his anger, and in his wrath. |
| II Kings 23:7 | He broke down the houses of the male shrine prostitutes that were in Yahweh’s house, where the women wove hangings for the Asherah. |
Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
6 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes interprets "as I saw good" to mean "as soon as I saw it," removing the word "good" as a separate idea. He stresses that God's seeing leads directly to punishment, not to a pause for moral evaluation, and compares this to God's investigative action in Genesis 18:21.
Calvin's Commentaries Reformed 1564
Calvin stresses that God does not excuse Sodom's wickedness but says the Jews were even worse. He identifies pride as the root of all contempt for God and cruelty, describing its two horns: arrogating too much to oneself and being blind to one's own vices. For Calvin, these were Sodom's origin.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The commentator notes that Jerusalem's wickedness surpassed even that of notorious Sodom and Samaria. He also draws attention to the phrase "as I saw good," interpreting it to mean "when I saw it," and connects this to God's personal inspection of Sodom's sin in Genesis.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva Note highlights that God removed these people because of their pride and detestable acts, exercising His sovereign right to judge. The phrase "as pleased me" emphasizes that God's judgment was just and according to His righteous will, not arbitrary or excessive.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill highlights Sodom's haughtiness as the root of their sin: they lifted themselves above God and despised the poor, which led them to commit open, shameless abominations. He also notes that God took them away "as I saw good," stressing God's sovereign choice of both the time and the manner of judgment by fire and brimstone.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry highlights the shameful irony: Jerusalem, which prided itself on being better than Sodom and Samaria, actually surpassed them in wickedness. Her greater privileges and knowledge made her sins more blameworthy. She actually justified those infamous cities by comparison, proving herself more corrupt than her sisters.