Ezekiel 16:55 Commentary: The Restoration of Sodom, Samaria, and Jerusalem

Ezekiel 16 is an extended allegory in which Jerusalem appears as an abandoned infant whom God rescues, adorns, and marries, only for her to commit adultery with foreign nations. The “sisters” introduced at verse 46 are Samaria, the northern kingdom (older sister), and Sodom, the archetype of divine judgment (younger sister). By Ezekiel’s day, both had been destroyed: Samaria fell to Assyria in 722 BC, and Sodom had been obliterated centuries earlier. To speak of their restoration is shocking, not because God lacks power, but because both cities function in Israel’s memory as cautionary tales.

The passage (Ezekiel 16:53, 63) dates from the exilic period, likely between 593 and 571 BC, when Jerusalem itself faced destruction by Babylon. In the ancient Near East, the “restoration of fortunes” was a standard treaty blessing (compare Jeremiah 29:14). Ezekiel follows Jeremiah’s pattern of predicting restoration for Judah’s neighbors (Jeremiah 12:14, 17, 48:47, 49:6). Yet by placing Sodom and Samaria before Jerusalem in the promise, the prophet inverts the expected order. The point is not to gratify curiosity about Sodom’s geography, but to use the extreme case, a city synonymous with irreversible judgment, to show that God’s mercy can reach anyone.

The supplied sources note no significant textual variants for Ezekiel 16:55. The verse is stable across manuscripts, with minor differences in temporal phrasing (whether the restoration is presented as a condition with “when” as in the KJV or as a simple future as in the WEB). These do not affect the sense.

Jewish interpreters historically read the verse as a literal promise for the messianic age. Gill cites a rabbinic tradition, found in Shemot Rabbah, that Sodom would be rebuilt and resettled when the Messiah comes. Christian interpretation largely shifted away from the literal reading after the first century. Calvin, representing the Reformed tradition, treated Sodom’s restoration as a rhetorical impossibility, while Matthew Henry and the Geneva Bible favored a spiritual interpretation, the conversion of the Gentiles and the eventual restoration of Israel. Among the church fathers, the taint of Origen’s universalism may have discouraged an overly literal reading. The verse has been used throughout church history to argue for the breadth of God’s mercy, especially in hymns about the reach of grace (e.g., “There Is a Fountain Filled with Blood” alludes to the idea that the worst sinner may be cleansed).

Three-point outline

1. God restores the worst sinners. Sodom is named not because it has a future as a physical city, but because it represents the bottom of the moral scale. If God can restore Sodom, no one is beyond reach.
2. God humbles the proud. Jerusalem looked down on Sodom and Samaria, yet now they become her equals. Restoration strips away all grounds for boasting.
3. God’s grace creates a new family. In verse 61, God gives Sodom and Samaria to Jerusalem as daughters. The old categories of purity and impurity collapse under the new covenant.

Five-point outline

1. The scandal of grace: Including Sodom in the promise offends moral sensibilities, that is the point.
2. The reversal of shame: Jerusalem must bear her shame precisely as the sisters are restored (v. 54).
3. The priority of covenant: God remembers “the covenant of your youth” (v. 60), not Jerusalem’s merit.
4. The unity of the redeemed: All three sisters return “to their former estate”, a shared restoration.
5. The silence of the saved: Verse 63 says Israel will have no opening of the mouth because God forgives all.

Illustration hooks

• A community remembers a notorious crime from thirty years ago. The offender, after prison and parole, now volunteers at the local food bank. Some welcome her; others mutter. The verse asks: can God restore a Sodom, and will you let her sit at the table?
• Two siblings grow up in the same house. One becomes a successful doctor; the other cycles through addiction and prison. When the younger gets clean and starts over, the older mutters, “I never messed up like that.” The prophet says: your clean record is grace too; do not resent the one who receives mercy later.

Questions your congregation is asking

• Is God really going to rebuild Sodom, or is that symbolic? (Answer from commentaries: both views have weight, but the passage’s force is on God’s grace, not geography.)
• How can I believe God forgives someone who did terrible things if I struggle to forgive them myself?
• Does this mean everyone will eventually be saved? (Answer: the passage is about temporal restoration and covenant community, not universal salvation; verse 63 stresses forgiveness but also accountability.)

Ezekiel 16:55 sits inside a passage that can feel jarring: God promises to restore the notoriously wicked cities of Sodom and Samaria, and only then to restore Jerusalem. The verse confronts how we think about grace, shame, and who deserves a second chance. Use these questions in a group setting to explore the text together.

Discussion questions

1. Observation: Read Ezekiel 16:44, 52 first. What sins does God charge against Jerusalem? How does Jerusalem compare with Sodom and Samaria?
2. Observation: Look at verse 53 and 55. What does the phrase “return to their former estate” suggest about God’s intentions for these cities?
3. Interpretation: Calvin called this promise “impossible” and meant it rhetorically; Keil treated it as a genuine prediction. What difference does each reading make for how we understand God’s character?
4. Interpretation: In verse 54, God says the restoration of the sisters will make Jerusalem bear its shame. Why would someone else’s restoration cause us shame?
5. Application: Who in your life, or in your church’s history, has been treated like a “Sodom” (beyond hope of redemption)? How does this passage challenge that mindset?
6. Application: If we are honest, we sometimes prefer that certain people stay “outside” because it makes us feel safer or more righteous. What would it mean for your faith community to welcome someone whose past is as dark as Sodom’s?
7. Application: The passage ends with silence before forgiveness (v. 63). When has God’s mercy left you with no words? How does that silence differ from shame?