Ezekiel 16

1 Again the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,2 Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations;3 and say, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah unto Jerusalem: Thy birth and thy nativity is of the land of the Canaanite; the Amorite was thy father, and thy mother was a Hittite.4 And as for thy nativity, in the day thou wast born thy navel was not cut, neither wast thou washed in water to cleanse thee; thou wast not salted at all, nor swaddled at all.5 No eye pitied thee, to do any of these things unto thee, to have compassion upon thee; but thou wast cast out in the open field, for that thy person was abhorred, in the day that thou wast born.6 And when I passed by thee, and saw thee weltering in thy blood, I said unto thee, Though thou art in thy blood, live; yea, I said unto thee, Though thou art in thy blood, live.7 I caused thee to multiply as that which groweth in the field, and thou didst increase and wax great, and thou attainedst to excellent ornament; thy breasts were fashioned, and thy hair was grown; yet thou wast naked and bare.8 Now when I passed by thee, and looked upon thee, behold, thy time was the time of love; and I spread my skirt over thee, and covered thy nakedness: yea, I sware unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord Jehovah, and thou becamest mine.9 Then washed I thee with water; yea, I thoroughly washed away thy blood from thee, and I anointed thee with oil.10 I clothed thee also with broidered work, and shod thee with sealskin, and I girded thee about with fine linen, and covered thee with silk.11 And I decked thee with ornaments, and I put bracelets upon thy hands, and a chain on thy neck.12 And I put a ring upon thy nose, and ear-rings in thine ears, and a beautiful crown upon thy head.13 Thus wast thou decked with gold and silver; and thy raiment was of fine linen, and silk, and broidered work; thou didst eat fine flour, and honey, and oil; and thou wast exceeding beautiful, and thou didst prosper unto royal estate.14 And thy renown went forth among the nations for thy beauty; for it was perfect, through my majesty which I had put upon thee, saith the Lord Jehovah.15 But thou didst trust in thy beauty, and playedst the harlot because of thy renown, and pouredst out thy whoredoms on every one that passed by; his it was.16 And thou didst take of thy garments, and madest for thee high places decked with divers colors, and playedst the harlot upon them: the like things shall not come, neither shall it be so.17 Thou didst also take thy fair jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given thee, and madest for thee images of men, and didst play the harlot with them;18 and thou tookest thy broidered garments, and coveredst them, and didst set mine oil and mine incense before them.19 My bread also which I gave thee, fine flour, and oil, and honey, wherewith I fed thee, thou didst even set it before them for a sweet savor; and thus it was, saith the Lord Jehovah.20 Moreover thou hast taken thy sons and thy daughters, whom thou hast borne unto me, and these hast thou sacrificed unto them to be devoured. Were thy whoredoms a small matter,21 that thou hast slain my children, and delivered them up, in causing them to pass through the fire unto them?22 And in all thine abominations and thy whoredoms thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, when thou wast naked and bare, and wast weltering in thy blood.23 And it is come to pass after all thy wickedness, (woe, woe unto thee! saith the Lord Jehovah,)24 that thou hast built unto thee a vaulted place, and hast made thee a lofty place in every street.25 Thou hast built thy lofty place at the head of every way, and hast made thy beauty an abomination, and hast opened thy feet to every one that passed by, and multiplied thy whoredom.26 Thou hast also committed fornication with the Egyptians, thy neighbors, great of flesh; and hast multiplied thy whoredom, to provoke me to anger.27 Behold therefore, I have stretched out my hand over thee, and have diminished thine ordinary food, and delivered thee unto the will of them that hate thee, the daughters of the Philistines, that are ashamed of thy lewd way.28 Thou hast played the harlot also with the Assyrians, because thou wast insatiable; yea, thou hast played the harlot with them, and yet thou wast not satisfied.29 Thou hast moreover multiplied thy whoredom unto the land of traffic, unto Chaldea; and yet thou wast not satisfied herewith.30 How weak is thy heart, saith the Lord Jehovah, seeing thou doest all these things, the work of an impudent harlot;31 in that thou buildest thy vaulted place at the head of every way, and makest thy lofty place in every street, and hast not been as a harlot, in that thou scornest hire.32 A wife that committeth adultery! that taketh strangers instead of her husband!33 They give gifts to all harlots; but thou givest thy gifts to all thy lovers, and bribest them, that they may come unto thee on every side for thy whoredoms.34 And thou art different from other women in thy whoredoms, in that none followeth thee to play the harlot; and whereas thou givest hire, and no hire is given unto thee, therefore thou art different.35 Wherefore, O harlot, hear the word of Jehovah:36 Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Because thy filthiness was poured out, and thy nakedness uncovered through thy whoredoms with thy lovers; and because of all the idols of thy abominations, and for the blood of thy children, that thou didst give unto them;37 therefore behold, I will gather all thy lovers, with whom thou hast taken pleasure, and all them that thou hast loved, with all them that thou hast hated; I will even gather them against thee on every side, and will uncover thy nakedness unto them, that they may see all thy nakedness.38 And I will judge thee, as women that break wedlock and shed blood are judged; and I will bring upon thee the blood of wrath and jealousy.39 I will also give thee into their hand, and they shall throw down thy vaulted place, and break down thy lofty places; and they shall strip thee of thy clothes, and take thy fair jewels; and they shall leave thee naked and bare.40 They shall also bring up a company against thee, and they shall stone thee with stones, and thrust thee through with their swords.41 And they shall burn thy houses with fire, and execute judgments upon thee in the sight of many women; and I will cause thee to cease from playing the harlot, and thou shalt also give no hire any more.42 So will I cause my wrath toward thee to rest, and my jealousy shall depart from thee, and I will be quiet, and will be no more angry.43 Because thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, but hast raged against me in all these things; therefore, behold, I also will bring thy way upon thy head, saith the Lord Jehovah: and thou shalt not commit this lewdness with all thine abominations.44 Behold, every one that useth proverbs shall use this proverb against thee, saying, As is the mother, so is her daughter.45 Thou art the daughter of thy mother, that loatheth her husband and her children; and thou art the sister of thy sisters, who loathed their husbands and their children: your mother was a Hittite, and your father an Amorite.46 And thine elder sister is Samaria, that dwelleth at thy left hand, she and her daughters; and thy younger sister, that dwelleth at thy right hand, is Sodom and her daughters.47 Yet hast thou not walked in their ways, nor done after their abominations; but, as if that were a very little thing, thou wast more corrupt than they in all thy ways.48 As I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, Sodom thy sister hath not done, she nor her daughters, as thou hast done, thou and thy daughters.49 Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom: pride, fulness of bread, and prosperous ease was in her and in her daughters; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.50 And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good.51 Neither hath Samaria committed half of thy sins; but thou hast multiplied thine abominations more than they, and hast justified thy sisters by all thine abominations which thou hast done.52 Thou also, bear thou thine own shame, in that thou hast given judgment for thy sisters; through thy sins that thou hast committed more abominable than they, they are more righteous that thou: yea, be thou also confounded, and bear thy shame, in that thou hast justified thy sisters.53 And I will turn again their captivity, the captivity of Sodom and her daughters, and the captivity of Samaria and her daughters, and the captivity of thy captives in the midst of them;54 that thou mayest bear thine own shame, and mayest be ashamed because of all that thou hast done, in that thou art a comfort unto them.55 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.56 For thy sister Sodom was not mentioned by thy mouth in the day of thy pride,57 before thy wickedness was uncovered, as at the time of the reproach of the daughters of Syria, and of all that are round about her, the daughters of the Philistines, that do despite unto thee round about.58 Thou hast borne thy lewdness and thine abominations, saith Jehovah.59 For thus saith the Lord Jehovah: I will also deal with thee as thou hast done, who hast despised the oath in breaking the covenant.60 Nevertheless I will remember my covenant with thee in the days of thy youth, and I will establish unto thee an everlasting covenant.61 Then shalt thou remember thy ways, and be ashamed, when thou shalt receive thy sisters, thine elder sisters and thy younger; and I will give them unto thee for daughters, but not by thy covenant.62 And I will establish my covenant with thee; and thou shalt know that I am Jehovah;63 that thou mayest remember, and be confounded, and never open thy mouth any more, because of thy shame, when I have forgiven thee all that thou hast done, saith the Lord Jehovah.

Ezekiel 16

Chapter 16

Jerusalem—an Unfaithful Wife

1 Then another message came to me from the LORD:2 “Son of man, confront Jerusalem with her detestable sins.3 Give her this message from the Sovereign LORD: You are nothing but a Canaanite! Your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite.4 On the day you were born, no one cared about you. Your umbilical cord was not cut, and you were never washed, rubbed with salt, and wrapped in cloth.

5 No one had the slightest interest in you; no one pitied you or cared for you. On the day you were born, you were unwanted, dumped in a field and left to die.
6 “But I came by and saw you there, helplessly kicking about in your own blood. As you lay there, I said, ‘Live!’7 And I helped you to thrive like a plant in the field. You grew up and became a beautiful jewel. Your breasts became full, and your body hair grew, but you were still naked.

8 And when I passed by again, I saw that you were old enough for love. So I wrapped my cloak around you to cover your nakedness and declared my marriage vows. I made a covenant with you, says the Sovereign LORD, and you became mine.
9 “Then I bathed you and washed off your blood, and I rubbed fragrant oils into your skin.10 I gave you expensive clothing of fine linen and silk, beautifully embroidered, and sandals made of fine goatskin leather.11 I gave you lovely jewelry, bracelets, beautiful necklaces,12 a ring for your nose, earrings for your ears, and a lovely crown for your head.13 And so you were adorned with gold and silver. Your clothes were made of fine linen and were beautifully embroidered. You ate the finest foods—choice flour, honey, and olive oil—and became more beautiful than ever. You looked like a queen, and so you were!

14 Your fame soon spread throughout the world because of your beauty. I dressed you in my splendor and perfected your beauty, says the Sovereign LORD.
15 “But you thought your fame and beauty were your own. So you gave yourself as a prostitute to every man who came along. Your beauty was theirs for the asking.16 You used the lovely things I gave you to make shrines for idols, where you played the prostitute. Unbelievable! How could such a thing ever happen?17 You took the very jewels and gold and silver ornaments I had given you and made statues of men and worshiped them. This is adultery against me!18 You used the beautifully embroidered clothes I gave you to dress your idols. Then you used my special oil and my incense to worship them.

19 Imagine it! You set before them as a sacrifice the choice flour, olive oil, and honey I had given you, says the Sovereign LORD.
20 “Then you took your sons and daughters—the children you had borne to me—and sacrificed them to your gods. Was your prostitution not enough?21 Must you also slaughter my children by sacrificing them to idols?

22 In all your years of adultery and detestable sin, you have not once remembered the days long ago when you lay naked in a field, kicking about in your own blood.
23 “What sorrow awaits you, says the Sovereign LORD. In addition to all your other wickedness,24 you built a pagan shrine and put altars to idols in every town square.25 On every street corner you defiled your beauty, offering your body to every passerby in an endless stream of prostitution.26 Then you added lustful Egypt to your lovers, provoking my anger with your increasing promiscuity.27 That is why I struck you with my fist and reduced your boundaries. I handed you over to your enemies, the Philistines, and even they were shocked by your lewd conduct.28 You have prostituted yourself with the Assyrians, too. It seems you can never find enough new lovers! And after your prostitution there, you still were not satisfied.

29 You added to your lovers by embracing Babylonia,t the land of merchants, but you still weren’t satisfied.
30 “What a sick heart you have, says the Sovereign LORD, to do such things as these, acting like a shameless prostitute.31 You build your pagan shrines on every street corner and your altars to idols in every square. In fact, you have been worse than a prostitute, so eager for sin that you have not even demanded payment.32 Yes, you are an adulterous wife who takes in strangers instead of her own husband.33 Prostitutes charge for their services—but not you! You give gifts to your lovers, bribing them to come and have sex with you.

34 So you are the opposite of other prostitutes. You pay your lovers instead of their paying you!

Judgment on Jerusalem’s Prostitution

35 “Therefore, you prostitute, listen to this message from the LORD!36 This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Because you have poured out your lust and exposed yourself in prostitution to all your lovers, and because you have worshiped detestable idols,t and because you have slaughtered your children as sacrifices to your gods,37 this is what I am going to do. I will gather together all your allies—the lovers with whom you have sinned, both those you loved and those you hated—and I will strip you naked in front of them so they can stare at you.38 I will punish you for your murder and adultery. I will cover you with blood in my jealous fury.39 Then I will give you to these many nations who are your lovers, and they will destroy you. They will knock down your pagan shrines and the altars to your idols. They will strip you and take your beautiful jewels, leaving you stark naked.40 They will band together in a mob to stone you and cut you up with swords.

41 They will burn your homes and punish you in front of many women. I will stop your prostitution and end your payments to your many lovers.
42 “Then at last my fury against you will be spent, and my jealous anger will subside. I will be calm and will not be angry with you anymore.43 But first, because you have not remembered your youth but have angered me by doing all these evil things, I will fully repay you for all of your sins, says the Sovereign LORD. For you have added lewd acts to all your detestable sins.44 Everyone who makes up proverbs will say of you, ‘Like mother, like daughter.’

45 For your mother loathed her husband and her children, and so do you. And you are exactly like your sisters, for they despised their husbands and their children. Truly your mother was a Hittite and your father an Amorite.
46 “Your older sister was Samaria, who lived with her daughters in the north. Your younger sister was Sodom, who lived with her daughters in the south.47 But you have not merely sinned as they did. You quickly surpassed them in corruption.48 As surely as I live, says the Sovereign LORD, Sodom and her daughters were never as wicked as you and your daughters.49 Sodom’s sins were pride, gluttony, and laziness, while the poor and needy suffered outside her door.

50 She was proud and committed detestable sins, so I wiped her out, as you have seen.t
51 “Even Samaria did not commit half your sins. You have done far more detestable things than your sisters ever did. They seem righteous compared to you.

52 Shame on you! Your sins are so terrible that you make your sisters seem righteous, even virtuous.
53 “But someday I will restore the fortunes of Sodom and Samaria, and I will restore you, too.54 Then you will be truly ashamed of everything you have done, for your sins make them feel good in comparison.55 Yes, your sisters, Sodom and Samaria, and all their people will be restored, and at that time you also will be restored.56 In your proud days you held Sodom in contempt.57 But now your greater wickedness has been exposed to all the world, and you are the one who is scorned—by Edomt and all her neighbors and by Philistia.

58 This is your punishment for all your lewdness and detestable sins, says the LORD.
59 “Now this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will give you what you deserve, for you have taken your solemn vows lightly by breaking your covenant.60 Yet I will remember the covenant I made with you when you were young, and I will establish an everlasting covenant with you.61 Then you will remember with shame all the evil you have done. I will make your sisters, Samaria and Sodom, to be your daughters, even though they are not part of our covenant.62 And I will reaffirm my covenant with you, and you will know that I am the LORD.

63 You will remember your sins and cover your mouth in silent shame when I forgive you of all that you have done. I, the Sovereign LORD, have spoken!”