Ezekiel 16
1 Another message from the Lord came to me, saying,
Again, the worde of the Lord came vnto me, saying,
2 “Son of man, challenge Jerusalem over her disgusting practices.
Sonne of man, cause Ierusalem to knowe her abominations,
3 Tell Jerusalem that this is what the Lord God says to her: You really are a Canaanite, both by your birth and parentage. Your father was an Amorite, and your mother was a Hittite.
And say, Thus saith the Lord God vnto Ierusalem, Thine habitation and thy kindred is of the land of Canaan: thy father was an Amorite, and thy mother an Hittite.
4 On the day you were born your cord was not cut, and you weren't washed to clean you up, you weren't rubbed with salt, and you weren't wrapped in cloths.
And in thy natiuitie whe thou wast borne, thy nauell was not cut: thou wast not washed in water to soften thee: thou wast not salted with salt, nor swadled in cloutes.
5 No one looked on you with love to do anything like this for you; no one showed any kind of care for you. No, you were thrown away in a field, abandoned and despised from the day you were born.
None eye pitied thee to do any of these vnto thee, for to haue compassion vpon thee, but thou wast cast out in the open fielde to the contempt of thy person in ye day that thou wast borne.
6 But I passed by and saw you kicking, covered in your own blood. As you were lying there in your blood I told you, ‘I want you to live!’ I said to you right there, ‘I want you to live!’
And when I passed by thee, I saw thee polluted in thine owne blood, and I said vnto thee, whe thou wast in thy blood, Thou shalt liue: euen when thou wast in thy blood, I saide vnto thee, Thou shalt liue.
7 I help you to grow like a plant in the field. You grew up into a beautiful young woman. Your breasts developed and your body hair grew, and you were completely naked.
I haue caused thee to multiplie as the bud of the fielde, and thou hast increased and waxen great, and thou hast gotten excellent ornaments: thy breastes are facioned, thine heare is growen, where as thou wast naked and bare.
8 When I passed by again, I looked at you and saw that you were old enough for lovemaking. So I spread my robe over you and covered up your naked body. I committed myself to you and made a solemn agreement with you, and made you mine, declares the Lord God.
Nowe when I passed by thee, and looked vpon thee, beholde, thy time was as the time of loue, and I spred my skirtes ouer thee, and couered thy filthines: yea, I sware vnto thee, and entred into a couenant with thee, saith the Lord God, and thou becamest mine.
9 Then I washed you with water, cleaned off your blood, and anointed you with oil.
Then washed I thee with water: yea, I washed away thy blood from thee, and I anointed thee with oyle.
10 I put a beautifully embroidered dress on you and gave you fine leather sandals. I clothed you in fine linen and covered you with silk.
I clothed thee also with broydred worke, and shod thee with badgers skin: and I girded thee about with fine linen, and I couered thee with silke.
11 I gave you jewelry—I put bracelets on your wrists and a necklace around your neck.
I decked thee also with ornaments, and I put bracelets vpon thine handes, and a chaine on thy necke.
12 I put a ring in your nose and earrings on your ears, and placed a beautiful crown on your head.
And I put a frontlet vpon thy face, and earings in thine eares, and a beautifull crowne vpon thine head.
13 You wore gold and silver jewelry, and your clothes were made of the finest linen, expensive fabric, and embroidered cloth. You ate bread made with the best flour, and honey and olive oil. You grew even more beautiful and became a queen.
Thus wast thou deckt with gold and siluer, and thy rayment was of fine linen, and silke, and broydred worke: thou didest eate fine floure, and honie and oyle, and thou wast very beautifull, and thou didest grow vp into a kingdome.
14 You were famous around the world because of your beauty, for I used my majestic power to make you so wonderful, declares the Lord God.
And thy name was spred among the heathen for thy beautie: for it was perfite through my beautie which I had set vpon thee, saith the Lord God.
15 You were so proud of your beauty that you were unfaithful to me. You thought that because you were so famous you could prostitute yourself and sleep with anyone who passed by. They took your beautiful body for themselves.
Nowe thou didest trust in thine owne beautie, and playedst the harlot, because of thy renowne, and hast powred out thy fornications on euery one that passed by, thy desire was to him.
16 You made yourself colorful pagan shrines out of the clothes I'd given you, and there you acted as a prostitute. Things like this have never happened before, and they should never happen in the future!
And thou didest take thy garments, and deckedst thine hie places with diuers colours, and playedst the harlot thereupon: the like thinges shall not come, neither hath any done so.
17 You also used the beautiful gold and silver jewelry I gave you to make male idols and you prostituted yourself with them.
Thou hast also taken thy faire iewels made of my golde and of my siluer, which I had giuen thee, and madest to thy selfe images of men, and didest commit whoredome with them,
18 You used your embroidered clothes to dress them, and you placed before them my olive oil and incense.
And tookest thy broydred garments, and coueredst them: and thou hast set mine oyle and my perfume before them.
19 You presented the food I had given you as an offering for them to accept —bread made from the best flour, olive oil, and honey that I had provided for you to eat. That's exactly what you did, declares the Lord God.
My meate also, which I gaue thee, as fine floure, oyle, and honie, wherewith I fedde thee, thou hast euen set it before them for a sweete sauour: thus it was, saith the Lord God.
20 You sacrificed your sons and daughters—the children you had for me—offering them as food for idols to eat. Wasn't your prostitution evil enough?
Moreouer thou hast taken thy sonnes and thy daughters, whome thou hast borne vnto me, and these hast thou sacrificed vnto them, to be deuoured: is this thy whoredome a small matter?
21 You slaughtered my children, sacrificing them to idols.
That thou hast slaine my children, and deliuered them to cause them to passe through fire for them?
22 While you were busy with all your disgusting practices and your prostitution, you forgot about the time when you were young, completely naked and lying there kicking in your own blood.
And in all thine abominations and whoredomes thou hast not remembred the dayes of thy youth, when thou wast naked and bare, and wast polluted in thy blood.
23 Disaster is coming! Disaster is coming on you, declares the Lord God. As well as all the other evil things you did,
And beside all thy wickednes (wo, wo vnto thee, saith the Lord God)
24 you built yourself a pagan shrine, a high place of idol worship on every public square in the city.
Thou hast also built vnto thee an hie place, and hast made thee an hie place in euery streete.
25 You made yourselves high places of idol worship at the top of every street; you degraded yourself, offering your beautiful body to anyone who passed by, opening your legs for them, becoming more and more promiscuous.
Thou hast built thine hie place at euery corner of the way, and hast made thy beautie to be abhorred: thou hast opened thy feete to euery one that passed by, and multiplied thy whoredome.
26 You gave yourself as a prostitute to your Egyptian neighbors with their large sexual organs, making me angry as you became even more promiscuous.
Thou hast also committed fornication with the Egyptians thy neighbours, which haue great members, and hast encreased thy whoredome, to prouoke me.
27 So I acted to reduce my blessings to you. I let your enemies the Philistines do what they wanted to you. Even they were embarrassed at your immorality.
Beholde, therefore I did stretche out mine hand ouer thee, and will diminish thine ordinarie, and deliuer thee vnto the will of them that hate thee, euen to the daughters of the Philistims, which are ashamed of thy wicked way.
28 Because you weren't satisfied you prostituted yourself with the Assyrians. But even then you weren't satisfied.
Thou hast played the whore also with the Assyrians, because thou wast insaciable: yea, thou hast played the harlot with them, and yet couldest not be satisfied.
29 So you took your promiscuous behavior to Babylonia, the country of merchants, but even then you weren't satisfied!
Thou hast moreouer multiplied thy fornication from the land of Canaan vnto Caldea, and yet thou wast not satisfied herewith.
30 You're really sick-minded to do all this, acting like a prostitute with no shame, declares the Lord God.
Howe weake is thine heart, saith the Lord God, seeing thou doest all these thinges, euen the worke of a presumptuous whorish woman?
31 Actually you weren't even a normal prostitute when you built yourselves pagan shrines at the top of every street and high places of idol worship on every public square—because you refused to be paid for your services!
In that thou buildest thine hie place in the corner of euery way, and makest thine hie place in euery streete, and hast not bene as an harlot that despiseth a reward,
32 You're a wife that loves adultery! You sleep with strangers instead of your husband!
But as a wife that playeth the harlot, and taketh others for her husband:
33 Normally all prostitutes are paid, but you were the one giving gifts to all your lovers. You even bribed them to come from all around and have sex with you.
They giue giftes to all other whores, but thou giuest giftes vnto all thy louers, and rewardest them, that they may come vnto thee on euery side for thy fornication.
34 So you're the opposite of other prostitutes. No one comes to you asking for sex, and you pay the prostitute's fee instead of receiving it. You're the exact opposite!
And the contrary is in thee from other women in thy fornications, neither the like fornication shall be after thee: for in that thou giuest a rewarde, and no reward is giuen vnto thee, therefore thou art contrary.
35 So, you prostitute, listen to the message from the Lord!
Wherefore, O harlot, heare the worde of the Lord.
36 This is what the Lord God says: Because you were so crazy with desire you stripped yourself naked and committed adultery with your lovers and with all your disgusting idols, and because you killed your children as sacrifices to those idols,
Thus sayeth the Lord God, Because thy shame was powred out, and thy filthinesse discouered through thy fornications with thy louers, and with all the idoles of thine abominations, and by the blood of thy children, which thou didest offer vnto them,
37 I'm going to bring together all the lovers you went to bed with, whether you loved them or hated them, and I will have them gather from everywhere around and I will strip you as they watch so they will see you totally naked.
Beholde, therefore I wil gather all thy louers, with whom thou hast taken pleasure, and all them that thou hast loued, with al them that thou hast hated: I will euen gather them round about against thee, and will discouer thy filthines vnto them, that they may see all thy filthines.
38 I will impose on you the punishment for women who commit adultery and those who murder; you will be punished in passionate anger.
And I wil iudge thee after ye maner of them that are harlots, and of them that shead blood, and I wil giue thee the blood of wrath and ielousie.
39 Then I will hand you over to your lovers, and they will demolish your pagan shrines and destroy your high places of idol worship. They will strip you of your clothes, remove your beautiful jewelry, and leave you stark naked.
I will also giue thee into their handes, and they shall destroy thine hie place, and shall breake downe thine hie places. they shall strippe thee also out of thy clothes, and shall take thy faire iewels, and leaue thee naked and bare.
40 They will come with a mob to attack you. They will stone you and chop you into pieces with their swords.
They shall also bring vp a company against thee, and they shall stone thee with stones, and thrust thee through with their swordes.
41 They will burn down your houses and punish you while many women watch. I will stop your prostitution, and you won't ever pay your lovers again.
And they shall burne vp thine houses with fire, and execute iudgements vpon thee in the sight of many women: and I will cause thee to cease from playing the harlot, and thou shalt giue no reward any more.
42 Then I will finish being jealous and furious with you. I will calm down and won't be angry any more.
So will I make my wrath towarde thee to rest, and my ielousie shall depart from thee, and I will cease and be no more angrie.
43 Since you didn't remember how I looked after you when you were young, but made me angry with all the things that you did, I will make sure you experience the results of what you've done, declares the Lord God. For this immorality was in addition to all the other disgusting things you did, wasn't it?
Because thou hast not remembred the dayes of thy youth, but hast prouoked me with all these things, behold, therefore I also haue brought thy way vpon thine head, sayeth the Lord God: yet hast not thou had consideration of all thine abominations.
44 Everyone who likes to use proverbs will quote this one about you: ‘Like mother, like daughter.’
Beholde, all that vse prouerbes, shall vse this prouerbe against thee, saying, As is the mother, so is her daughter.
45 You are the daughter of your mother who detested her husband and children. You are just like her! You are the sister of your sisters, just like them who detested their husbands and children. In fact your mother was a Hittite and your father was an Amorite.
Thou art thy mothers daughter, that hath cast off her husband and her children, and thou art the sister of thy sisters, which forsooke their husbands and their children: your mother is an Hittite, and your father an Amorite.
46 Your older sister was Samaria, who lived north of you with her daughters. Your younger sister was Sodom, who lived south of you with her daughters.
And thine elder sister is Samaria, and her daughters, that dwell at thy left hand, and thy yong sister, that dwelleth at thy right hand, is Sodom, and her daughters.
47 You didn't just follow their ways and do the same disgusting things they did, you very quickly became even worse than them.
Yet hast thou not walked after their wayes, nor done after their abominations: but as it had bene a very little thing, thou wast corrupted more then they in all thy wayes.
48 As I live, declares the Lord God, your sister Sodom and her daughters didn't ever do what you and your daughters have done.
As I liue, saith the Lord God, Sodom thy sister hath not done, neither shee nor her daughters, as thou hast done and thy daughters.
49 The sins of your sister Sodom were these: She and her daughters were proud, greedy, and lazy. They didn't help the poor and those in need.
Beholde, this was the iniquitie of thy sister Sodom, Pride, fulnesse of bread, and aboundance of idlenesse was in her, and in her daughters: neither did shee strengthen the hande of the poore and needie.
50 They became arrogant and did disgusting things in my presence. So I got rid of them when I saw this.
But they were hautie, and committed abomination before mee: therefore I tooke them away, as pleased me.
51 Samaria didn't sin half as badly as you did. You have done far more disgusting things than they did. In fact, all the revolting things you've done make your sisters look good!
Neither hath Samaria committed halfe of thy sinnes, but thou hast exceeded them in thine abominations, and hast iustified thy sisters in all thine abominations, which thou hast done.
52 Now you're going to have to put up with your shame, since by your disgraceful sins you made them seem far better. Compared to you they look good! Now you too have to put up with your shame and disgrace because you've made your sisters look as if they were good.
Therefore thou which hast iustified thy sisters, beare thine owne shame for thy sinnes, that thou hast committed more abominable then they which are more righteous then thou art: be thou therefore confounded also, and beare thy shame, seeing that thou hast iustified thy sisters.
53 Even so I'm going to bring Sodom and her daughters back from exile, and Samaria and her daughters too. I will bring you back together with them.
Therefore I will bring againe their captiuitie with the captiuitie of Sodom, and her daughters, and with the captiuitie of Samaria, and her daughters: euen the captiuitie of thy captiues in the middes of them,
54 In this way you will have to put up with your disgrace and be ashamed of all the bad things you did that made them feel better about themselves.
That thou mayest beare thine owne shame, and mayest bee confounded in all that thou hast done, in that thou hast comforted them.
55 Your sisters, Sodom with her daughters and Samaria with her daughters, will be restored to what they were before. You and your daughters will also be restored to what you were before.
And thy sister Sodom and her daughters shall returne to their former state: Samaria also and her daughters shall returne to their former state, when thou and thy daughters shall returne to your former state.
56 Didn't you mock your sister Sodom when you were feeling proud,
For thy sister Sodom was not heard of by thy report in the day of thy pride,
57 before you were shown to be so wicked yourselves? Of course now you are mocked by the Edomites and the surrounding nations, as well as by the Philistines. Everyone around you looks down on you.
Before thy wickednes was discouered, as in that same time of the reproch of the daughters of Aram, and of all the daughters of the Philistims round about her which despise thee on all sides.
58 You will have to experience the consequences of your immorality and your disgusting practices, declares the Lord.
Thou hast borne therefore thy wickednesse and thine abomination, saith the Lord.
59 This is what the Lord God says: I'm going to punish you according to your sins, because you treated the promise you made with contempt by breaking the agreement.
For thus saith the Lord God, I might euen deale with thee, as thou hast done: when thou didest despise the othe, in breaking the couenant.
60 But I won't forget the agreement I made with you when you were young, and I will make an everlasting agreement with you.
Neuerthelesse, I wil remember my couenant made with thee in ye dayes of thy youth, and I wil confirme vnto thee an euerlasting couenant.
61 Then you will remember the way you are meant to live and be ashamed when you meet your older and younger sisters when they return to you. I will give them to you as daughters, even though this was not part of our original agreement.
Then thou shalt remember thy wayes, and be ashamed, when thou shalt receiue thy sisters, both thy elder and thy yonger, and I will giue them vnto thee for daughters, but not by thy couenat.
62 This is how I will endorse my agreement with you, and you will know that I am the Lord,
And I wil establish my couenant with thee, and thou shalt knowe that I am the Lord,
63 so that you will remember and be ashamed, and won't ever defend your disgraceful behavior when I forgive you for everything you've done, declares the Lord God.”
That thou mayest remember, and be ashamed, and neuer open thy mouth any more: because of thy shame when I am pacified toward thee, for all that thou hast done, saith the Lord God.
