Yet you were not content to walk in their ways means the people of Jerusalem were not satisfied to live as the people of Samaria and Sodom lived. This clause may be rendered “But you not only followed their ways” (similarly New Revised Standard Version, New Century Version). Or do according to their abominations means they also were not satisfied to do their disgusting things. For abominations see Ezek 16.2. Some translations take these two clauses as a rhetorical question; for example, Revised English Bible has “Did you not behave as they did and commit the same abominations?” (similarly Good News Translation, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). A better way to render the meaning clearly is “It was not enough for you to live like they did or to do the same hateful things they did.” It is acceptable to render this sentence either as a statement or as a question, provided it fits with the thrust of the next sentence.

Within a very little time you were more corrupt than they in all your ways: Jerusalem was worse than Samaria and Sodom who were famous for their wickedness. The Hebrew phrase rendered within a very little time is ambiguous in the Hebrew. It can have the sense of the short time that passed before Jerusalem became worse than the others (so Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation). But it can also be an ironic comment, implying that Jerusalem was not satisfied with just being as wicked as the others—she wanted to be much more wicked. This is reflected in New American Standard Bible, which renders this whole verse as “Yet you have not merely walked in their ways or done according to their abominations; but, as if that were too little, you acted more corruptly in all your conduct than they” (similarly King James Version / New King James Version). Since the meaning of one of the Hebrew words in this phrase is quite unclear, either interpretation is acceptable.

A model for this verse is:

• But you not only followed their ways and did the same disgusting things, but in a very short time [or, but as if that were just a little thing] you became more wicked than they were and everything you did was more wicked.

Quoted with permission from Gross, Carl & Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on Ezekiel. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .