prostitute oneself / play the prostitute

The Hebrew that is translated as “prostitute oneself” or “play the prostitute” in English is translated in Vidunda as “(practice) sexual immorality.” (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

Translation commentary on Ezekiel 16:15

After all the blessings and gifts that God gave to the girl, she turned away from him and became a prostitute.

But you trusted in your beauty: The Hebrew verb for trusted usually has a good sense of someone relying on God, but here it has the sense of misplaced confidence, that is, when someone relies on something that is not trustworthy. New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh renders this clause as “But confident in your beauty,” and Good News Translation has “But you took advantage of your beauty.” Both of these renderings are good models.

And played the harlot because of your renown: The girl became a prostitute because she was so famous. The Hebrew verb rendered played the harlot refers to sexual intercourse outside marriage, and especially to prostitution, in which men pay women to have sex with them. Most cultures are familiar with this and have a word or phrase that fits here. Some may say “slept with other men for money.” For renown see verse 14. New Century Version renders this whole clause as “You became a prostitute, because you were so famous.”

And lavished your harlotries on any passer-by is a very strong statement. Not only did the girl use her beauty and reputation to become a prostitute, but she had sex with anyone who passed along. The Hebrew noun for harlotries comes from the same root as the verb for played the harlot, referring to improper sexual intercourse and prostitution. The Hebrew verb rendered lavished (literally “poured out” [New King James Version , New American Standard Bible]) implies that she did this a lot. Most translations reduce the force of lavished your harlotries, usually by using euphemisms; for example, “lavished your favors” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh), “offered yourself” (Contemporary English Version), “gave yourself” (New Living Translation), and “enticed with your charms” (Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). Others try to retain the shocking language of the original text; for example, “devoted yourself to debauchery” (Bible en français courant), “lavishing your debauchery” (New Jerusalem Bible), and “lavished your whorings” (New Revised Standard Version). Since God is quite blunt about this, it is best if translators also use blunt and shocking terminology. Good models for this whole clause are “You were more than willing to sleep with [or, have sex with] anyone who came along” and “You constantly gave yourself over to having sex with everyone who came by.”

Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, and most other translations omit the last two words of this verse in the Hebrew. Good News Translation includes a footnote to show that the meaning of these words is unclear. These two Hebrew words are literally “for him it may be” (compare “his it was” [King James Version] and “let it be his” [New Revised Standard Version footnote]). This clause is very obscure, but those who try to include it in their translations usually understand it as referring to the way the girl gave herself, more specifically, her beauty (so New International Version, New Living Translation, New English Bible) or her sexual favors (so New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh), to any man who passed by. Thus it reinforces the picture of the girl giving herself up totally to prostitution. Some translations even change the clause to read “for him you may be” in order to make it flow more easily; for example, New American Bible has “whose own you became,” and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch says “You offered yourself to each.” Others take the words as a relative clause that describes those who pass by; for example, New American Standard Bible says “every passer-by who might be willing,” and New King James Version has “everyone passing by who would have it.” The words in italics in these two translations show how much they have had to strain the Hebrew to get this meaning. Hebrew Old Testament Text Project gives a different interpretation to the two Hebrew words at the end of this verse. It suggests that they are a partial quotation of what the girl says about the men who are passing by. Hebrew Old Testament Text Project renders these words as “that it may be for him!” which is an invitation for the men to take her and have sex with her. She is saying to them, “Come and get me! I’m all yours!” But Hebrew Old Testament Text Project‘s reading also is very obscure. Whether these two words are a quotation, or simply a statement of the way the girl gave herself to the men who passed by, they probably reinforce the total depravity of her sexual activity. This is the effect that translators should try to retain.

A model for this verse is:

• “But you trusted in your beauty and used your fame to become a prostitute. You acted shamefully and had sex with any man who walked past; you did it with anyone and everyone!

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 .