Ezekiel 16:55

KJV

When thy sisters, Sodom and her daughters, shall return to their former estate, and Samaria and her daughters shall return to their former estate, then thou and thy daughters shall return to your former estate.

KJV (with Strong's)

When thy sisters {H269}, Sodom {H5467} and her daughters {H1323}, shall return {H7725} to their former estate {H6927}, and Samaria {H8111} and her daughters {H1323} shall return {H7725} to their former estate {H6927}, then thou and thy daughters {H1323} shall return {H7725} to your former estate {H6927}.

Complete Jewish Bible

Your sisters, S'dom with her daughters and Shomron with her daughters, will return to their previous condition; and you with your daughters will return to your previous condition.

Berean Standard Bible

And your sisters, Sodom with her daughters and Samaria with her daughters, will return to their former state. You and your daughters will also return to your former state.

American Standard Version

And thy sisters, Sodom and her daughters, shall return to their former estate; and Samaria and her daughters shall return to their former estate; and thou and thy daughters shall return to your former estate.

Commentary

### SUMMARY
Ezekiel 16:55 presents a rhetorically powerful and deeply humbling declaration, asserting that Jerusalem's restoration to its former glory is contingent upon the prior restoration of its "sisters," Sodom and Samaria, to their own previous estates. This seemingly impossible condition dramatically underscores the profound depth of Jerusalem's spiritual infidelity and moral degradation, portraying her sin as even more egregious than that of these notoriously wicked cities. Far from offering immediate comfort, the verse functions as a stark pronouncement of judgment, designed to shatter Jerusalem's self-righteousness and emphasize the absolute necessity of divine, unmerited grace for any future hope of recovery.

### CONTEXT
* **Literary Context:** Ezekiel 16 is an extended, vivid allegory that meticulously traces Jerusalem's history from its humble origins as an abandoned foundling, rescued, raised, and adorned by Yahweh, only to become a spiritual harlot. The chapter details God's lavish covenant love and provision, juxtaposed with Jerusalem's shocking betrayal through idolatry and alliances with pagan nations. Leading up to verse 55, the prophet explicitly condemns Jerusalem as having surpassed even Sodom and Samaria in wickedness. [Ezekiel 16:47](/ezekiel/16-47 "Ezekiel 16:47 - Jerusalem's Greater Sin") declares that Jerusalem "did not merely walk in their ways and do according to their abominations; but, as if that were too little, you acted more corruptly than they in all your ways." The preceding verses, [Ezekiel 16:48-52](/ezekiel/16-48-52 "Ezekiel 16:48-52 - Jerusalem's Greater Guilt Compared to Sodom and Samaria"), elaborate on Jerusalem's greater guilt, setting the stage for the seemingly unattainable condition presented in verse 55. This verse serves as a climactic rhetorical device, designed to fully expose Jerusalem's utter depravity and humble her before God.
* **Historical & Cultural Context:** The cities referenced in this verse, Sodom and Samaria, carried immense historical and cultural weight for Ezekiel's audience. Sodom, famously obliterated by divine fire and brimstone in [Genesis 19](/genesis/19 "Genesis 19 - The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah"), represented the ultimate example of irreversible depravity and comprehensive divine judgment. Samaria, as the capital of the northern kingdom of Israel, was notorious for its syncretistic worship and persistent idolatry, ultimately falling to Assyria in [2 Kings 17:6](/2_kings/17-6 "2 Kings 17:6 - Samaria's Fall to Assyria") due to its chronic rebellion against God. By comparing Jerusalem to these two, Ezekiel evokes the deepest sense of shame, moral degradation, and impending doom. The phrase "her daughters" refers to the dependent towns or surrounding villages associated with the main city, signifying the pervasive nature of their respective corruptions and judgments. Jerusalem, as the chosen city, the very center of Yahweh's worship and covenant presence, was held to an incomparably higher standard, making her fall into greater sin particularly heinous and inexcusable.
* **Key Themes:** This verse powerfully contributes to several overarching themes evident throughout Ezekiel and broader biblical theology. It profoundly highlights **Divine Judgment and Justice**, demonstrating God's unwavering impartiality in holding even His chosen people accountable for covenant infidelity, regardless of their privileged status. The central use of **Rhetorical Hyperbole** is crucial, as the notion of Sodom's restoration is humanly impossible, emphasizing the profound depth of Jerusalem's fall and the seemingly insurmountable obstacle to her recovery from a human perspective. This hyperbole is designed to induce **Humiliation and Conviction**, forcing Jerusalem to confront the severity of her sin and the extent of her spiritual bankruptcy. Paradoxically, within Ezekiel's broader prophetic message, such severe pronouncements often precede or pave the way for **Future Restoration based on God's Grace**, as powerfully seen in later chapters like [Ezekiel 36:26-27](/ezekiel/36-26-27 "Ezekiel 36:26-27 - God's Promise of a New Heart and Spirit") and the transformative vision of the [valley of dry bones in Ezekiel 37](/ezekiel/37 "Ezekiel 37 - The Valley of Dry Bones"), where God's faithfulness, not human merit, becomes the sole basis for renewal.

### EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
#### Key Word Analysis
* **daughters (Hebrew, _bath'_):** From H1323, this term primarily refers to a female offspring but is used in a remarkably wide sense in Hebrew to denote various relationships, including dependent towns or villages associated with a major city. In this verse, the recurring phrase "Sodom and her daughters," "Samaria and her daughters," and "thou and thy daughters" signifies the capital cities along with their surrounding settlements, indicating the widespread and pervasive nature of their respective corruptions and judgments.
* **return (Hebrew, _shûwb'_):** From H7725, this primitive root means "to turn back," "to retreat," or "to return." While it can imply a literal physical return, it frequently carries the figurative sense of a reversal of fortune, a restoration to a former state, or even repentance. Its application here to Sodom, a city utterly destroyed and scorched, is deeply ironic and serves to underscore the utter impossibility of a natural "return" or reversal of judgment for such an entity.
* **former estate (Hebrew, _qadmâh'_):** From H6927, this word denotes "priority (in time)," "antiquity," or "old estate." When combined with the verb "to return," it suggests a restoration to a previous condition of prosperity, status, or existence. The phrase "return to their former estate" (often _shûwb shᵉbuwth_ in other contexts, meaning "return from captivity" or "restore fortunes") is here applied to entities that have suffered irreversible destruction or profound degradation, highlighting the extraordinary and seemingly unattainable nature of the conditional statement.

#### Verse Breakdown
* **"When thy sisters, Sodom and her daughters, shall return to their former estate":** This clause establishes an utterly impossible and rhetorical condition. Sodom was annihilated by an act of direct divine judgment, serving as a perpetual example of irreversible destruction. The very notion of its "return to its former estate" is a deliberate rhetorical device, emphasizing that Jerusalem's restoration is contingent upon an event that cannot naturally occur. This highlights the profound depth of Jerusalem's sin, making her recovery seem humanly unattainable and underscoring her moral bankruptcy.
* **"and Samaria and her daughters shall return to their former estate":** This second impossible condition powerfully reinforces the first. Samaria, though not destroyed by fire like Sodom, was conquered and its people exiled due to profound idolatry and covenant infidelity. Its "return to former estate" implies a reversal of its divinely ordained judgment, which, like Sodom's, is beyond human power or expectation. The repetition of this seemingly absurd condition underscores the severity of the comparison and the extent of Jerusalem's fall.
* **"then thou and thy daughters shall return to your former estate":** This is the dependent clause, stating the consequence for Jerusalem. By linking Jerusalem's potential restoration directly to the impossible return of Sodom and Samaria, the prophet dramatically conveys the extent of Jerusalem's degradation. It implies that Jerusalem's sin is so great that her own restoration is as improbable and miraculous as that of these utterly judged cities, suggesting that only an act of unprecedented, sovereign divine intervention could possibly bring it about.

#### Literary Devices
Ezekiel 16:55 is profoundly rich in **Hyperbole**, which stands as its most prominent literary device. The notion that Sodom, a city utterly annihilated by divine judgment, could "return to its former estate" is a deliberate and shocking exaggeration designed to emphasize the extreme unlikelihood of Jerusalem's restoration by any human means. This hyperbole serves to stun the audience and underscore the gravity of Jerusalem's sin, which is portrayed as even worse than that of Sodom and Samaria. The verse also employs **Personification**, referring to Sodom, Samaria, and Jerusalem as "sisters" with "daughters," giving these cities human-like relationships and extending their moral corruption and subsequent judgment to their dependent towns. There is a strong element of **Irony** in the use of the phrase "return to their former estate," which often carries connotations of restoration and blessing in other prophetic contexts, but here is applied to entities that have experienced irreversible judgment, thus highlighting the depth of their desolation and the seemingly hopeless state of Jerusalem. Finally, the verse is structured as a **Conditional Statement** ("When... then..."), which rhetorically presents an impossible premise leading to a seemingly impossible conclusion, thereby driving home the message of Jerusalem's profound spiritual bankruptcy and the necessity of divine intervention.

### THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Ezekiel 16:55 serves as a profound theological statement on the nature of sin, the impartiality of divine judgment, and the ultimate source of true restoration. It underscores God's absolute righteousness and unwavering justice, demonstrating that even His chosen people are not exempt from severe judgment when they persistently rebel against His covenant. The verse's hyperbolic nature powerfully conveys that human effort, merit, or religious privilege is utterly insufficient to reverse the catastrophic consequences of such deep-seated spiritual infidelity. Instead, it implicitly points to the necessity of a sovereign, unmerited act of divine grace for any genuine hope of renewal. This seemingly impossible condition for restoration is designed to humble the proud and self-righteous, paving the way for a deeper understanding of God's redemptive power, which operates not on human deserving but on His own covenant faithfulness, boundless mercy, and sovereign will.

* [Romans 6:23](/romans/6-23 "The Wages of Sin Is Death")
* [Ezekiel 36:26-27](/ezekiel/36-26-27 "A New Heart and Spirit")
* [Lamentations 3:22-23](/lamentations/3-22-23 "God's Steadfast Love and Faithfulness")

### REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Ezekiel 16:55 stands as a sobering mirror for individuals and communities today, challenging any sense of spiritual complacency or presumption based on past privilege, religious heritage, or outward piety. Just as Jerusalem, despite her unique covenant relationship with God and abundant blessings, was judged more severely due to her greater light and knowledge, so too are we called to examine if our actions and attitudes truly reflect our professed faith. This verse reminds us that persistent sin, spiritual apathy, and a disregard for God's holiness can lead to a state of moral and spiritual degradation from which human effort alone cannot recover. The seemingly impossible condition for restoration should drive us to profound humility, recognizing our utter dependence on God's grace for true transformation. It teaches us that genuine spiritual renewal is not earned through our own striving but is a sovereign act of God, who alone possesses the power to bring life from spiritual death and restore what seems irrevocably lost. Our hope lies not in our ability to "return to a former estate" of innocence or self-sufficiency, but in God's power to create something entirely new within us, a work of grace that transcends all human limitations.

#### Questions for Reflection
* **In what ways might I, or my community, be guilty of spiritual complacency, assuming God's favor despite unaddressed sin, much like ancient Jerusalem?**
* **How does the comparison of Jerusalem's sin to that of Sodom and Samaria challenge my own perceptions of "acceptable" or "unacceptable" sin within myself or my community?**
* **If our restoration is as impossible as Sodom's return to its former estate, what does this imply about the source of true spiritual renewal and transformation in our lives?**
* **What specific areas of my life or my church's life desperately need God's "impossible" intervention and sovereign restoration?**

### FAQ
**Is God literally saying that Sodom will be restored to its former estate?**

Answer: No, God is not literally stating that the historical city of Sodom, famously destroyed by fire and brimstone in [Genesis 19](/genesis/19 "Genesis 19 - The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah"), will be physically rebuilt and return to its previous state. The statement in Ezekiel 16:55 is a prime example of **rhetorical hyperbole**. It sets an utterly impossible condition to emphasize the extreme depth of Jerusalem's spiritual degradation and the seemingly insurmountable obstacle to her own restoration by human means. The profound point is that Jerusalem's sin was so grievous that her return to God's favor would be as miraculous and humanly impossible as Sodom's resurrection from ashes. While some later verses in Ezekiel (like [Ezekiel 16:53](/ezekiel/16-53 "Ezekiel 16:53 - Restoration of Sodom and Samaria")) speak of the "return" of Sodom and Samaria alongside Jerusalem, this is understood not as a literal physical restoration, but as a metaphorical or theological point about the magnitude of God's grace that could extend even to the most despised, and to humble Jerusalem by showing that God's grace could encompass even those she deemed beneath her.

**Why is Jerusalem considered worse than Sodom and Samaria?**

Answer: Jerusalem is deemed worse than Sodom and Samaria primarily because of her greater spiritual privilege, profound knowledge of God, and unique covenant relationship. As the chosen city, the recipient of God's covenant love, miraculous deliverance, and direct revelation through the Law, the prophets, and the Temple, Jerusalem had an unparalleled intimacy with Yahweh. Despite this profound light and intimate relationship, Jerusalem engaged in even more egregious acts of idolatry, spiritual harlotry, and social injustice, as meticulously detailed throughout [Ezekiel 16](/ezekiel/16 "Ezekiel 16 - Jerusalem's Unfaithfulness and Judgment"). [Ezekiel 16:47](/ezekiel/16-47 "Ezekiel 16:47 - Jerusalem's Greater Sin") explicitly states that Jerusalem "did not merely walk in their ways and do according to their abominations; but, as if that were too little, you acted more corruptly than they in all your ways." This principle is echoed elsewhere in Scripture, where greater knowledge brings greater accountability (e.g., [Luke 12:48](/luke/12-48 "Luke 12:48 - To Whom Much Is Given")).

### CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
Ezekiel 16:55, with its stark declaration of an "impossible" restoration, finds its ultimate fulfillment and profound answer in the person and redemptive work of Jesus Christ. Humanity, like Jerusalem, had fallen from its "former estate" of perfect fellowship with God due to sin, a state from which it was utterly incapable of returning or restoring itself by its own efforts. The "return" of Sodom and Samaria to their former estate serves as a powerful metaphor for the humanly impossible task of self-redemption and self-restoration. Yet, what is impossible with man is gloriously possible with God. Christ's incarnation, sinless life, atoning death on the cross, and glorious resurrection constitute God's sovereign and gracious act of bringing about the truly impossible restoration. He is the [Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world](/john/1-29 "John 1:29 - Jesus, the Lamb of God"), making a way for those who were spiritually dead and condemned to be [made alive together with Him](/ephesians/2-4-5 "Ephesians 2:4-5 - Made Alive in Christ by Grace"). Through faith in Christ, believers are not merely returned to a former, imperfect state, but are made [new creations](/2_corinthians/5-17 "2 Corinthians 5:17 - New Creation in Christ"), receiving a new heart and spirit, thereby fulfilling the very promises of radical spiritual restoration found later in Ezekiel ([Ezekiel 36:26-27](/ezekiel/36-26-27 "Ezekiel 36:26-27 - God's Promise of a New Heart and Spirit")). Thus, the seemingly hopeless pronouncement of Ezekiel 16:55 ultimately magnifies the boundless grace of God, who, in Christ, accomplishes what we could never achieve, demonstrating His love for us [while we were still sinners](/romans/5-8 "Romans 5:8 - God Demonstrates His Love").

Note: Commentary is generated by AI with a directive for Biblical fidelity. Always rely on the Holy Spirit for discernment. The Scripture text and cross-references are from verified, non-AI sources.

Cross-References

Malachi 3:4

Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the LORD, as in the days of old, and as in former years.

Ezekiel 16:53

When I shall bring again their captivity, the captivity of Sodom and her daughters, and the captivity of Samaria and her daughters, then [will I bring again] the captivity of thy captives in the midst of them:

Ezekiel 36:11

And I will multiply upon you man and beast; and they shall increase and bring fruit: and I will settle you after your old estates, and will do better [unto you] than at your beginnings: and ye shall know that I [am] the LORD.