Ezekiel 16

1 Again, the worde of the Lord came vnto me, saying,

Yahweh gave me another message. He said,

2 Sonne of man, cause Ierusalem to knowe her abominations,

“You human, cause the people of Jerusalem to think about their detestable behavior.

3 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.

Say to them, ‘This is what Yahweh the Lord says to you people of Jerusalem: [It is as though you are a woman who] [MET] was born in the country where the Canaan people-group lived. [It is as though] [MET] your father belonged to the Amor people-group and your mother belonged to the Heth people-group.

4 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.

[It is as though] [MET] on the day that you were born, your umbilical cord was not cut, and your body was not washed in water, and it was not rubbed with salt or wrapped in strips of cloth, [like Israeli babies always are].

5 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.

No one pitied you or acted kindly toward you by doing those things for you. Instead, [it was as though] [MET] you were thrown into a field, because on the day that you were born, you were despised {everyone despised you}.

6 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.

Then [it was as though] [MET] I passed by and saw you lying in your own blood and kicking. And while you lay there kicking in your own blood, I said to you, “I want you to remain alive!”

7 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.

[It was as though] I caused you to grow up, like plants in the field grow; you grew up and became tall and became like [MET] a very beautiful jewel. [It was as though] [MET] your breasts (formed/became large), and your hair became long, although you were still naked [DOU].

8 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.

When I saw you several years later, [it was as though] [MET] I saw that you were old enough to have sex [EUP]. So [it was as though] [MET] I spread the corner of my robe over [to symbolize that I would marry you], with the result that you were no longer naked. I solemnly promised [that I would marry you] and made a marriage agreement with you, and you became my wife. That is what I, Yahweh the Lord, say.

9 Then washed I thee with water: yea, I washed away thy blood from thee, and I anointed thee with oyle.

[And then it was as though] [MET] I bathed you and washed the blood from you and put ointment on your body.

10 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.

[It was as though] [MET] I put a fine linen robe on you and gave you other expensive clothes. I put an embroidered dress on you and put leather sandals on your feet.

11 I decked thee also with ornaments, and I put bracelets vpon thine handes, and a chaine on thy necke.

[It was as though] [MET] I put bracelets on your arms and a necklace around your neck. Those things all had nice jewels fastened to them.

12 And I put a frontlet vpon thy face, and earings in thine eares, and a beautifull crowne vpon thine head.

I put a gold ring in your nose and fastened earrings to your ears and put a beautiful crown on your head.

13 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.

So [it was as though] you wore gold and silver ornaments. You had clothes made from fine (linen/white cloth) and other expensive embroidered material/cloth. You ate [bread made from] fine flour, honey, and olive oil. You became very beautiful, like [MET] a queen.

14 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.

You were very beautiful, with the result that people in other nations heard about you, because they knew that I, Yahweh the Lord, am the one who had caused you to become very beautiful.

15 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.

But [it was as though] [MET] you realized that because people knew that you were very beautiful, you could [earn a lot of money by] becoming a prostitute. [It was as though] you had sex with [EUP] every man who came along, and they all enjoyed your beauty.

16 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.

[It was as though] you took some of your clothes to make beautifully decorated shrines, and that is where you had sex with those men. Those things should certainly never occur!

17 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,

You took the fine gold and silver jewelry that I gave you, and you made male idols for yourself, in order to have sex with them.

18 And tookest thy broydred garments, and coueredst them: and thou hast set mine oyle and my perfume before them.

You took some of your embroidered clothes to put on those idols, and you burned oil and incense in front of them [to honor them].

19 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.

And the [bread that was made from] fine flour and the olive oil and honey that I gave to you to eat, you offered to be a fragrant sacrifice to those idols. I, Yahweh the Lord, declare that is what happened.

20 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?

And you even took your sons and daughters who were [as though they were] [MET] my children, and sacrificed them to be food for the idols. That was much worse [RHQ] than your becoming a prostitute.

21 That thou hast slaine my children, and deliuered them to cause them to passe through fire for them?

You slaughtered [those who were like] [MET] my children, and offered them to be sacrifices to the gods!

22 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.

All during the time when you were acting like a prostitute and doing other detestable things, you did not think about the time when [it was as though] you were very young, naked [DOU], lying in your own blood and kicking.

23 And beside all thy wickednes (wo, wo vnto thee, saith the Lord God)

So I, Yahweh the Lord, declare that terrible things will happen to you. In addition to all the other wicked things that you did,

24 Thou hast also built vnto thee an hie place, and hast made thee an hie place in euery streete.

you built a shrine to worship idols in every [city] square/plaza.

25 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.

At the beginning of every street you built a shrine, and showed people your beautiful body, offering it to have sex with every man who walked by, becoming a better known prostitute every day.

26 Thou hast also committed fornication with the Egyptians thy neighbours, which haue great members, and hast encreased thy whoredome, to prouoke me.

[It was as though] [MET] you had sex with men from Egypt who were eager to have sex with you, men who lived near to Israel. You caused me to become very angry because you became more eager to have sex with more and more of them.

27 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.

So I punished [IDM] you and caused your enemies to capture some of your country. I enabled your greedy enemies from Philistia to defeat you; and even they were shocked because of your disgraceful behavior.

28 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.

[It was as though] you had sex with soldiers from Assyria, too, because you always wanted more sex. And after that, you still were not satisfied.

29 Thou hast moreouer multiplied thy fornication from the land of Canaan vnto Caldea, and yet thou wast not satisfied herewith.

So you also had sex [with soldiers from] Babylonia, a country full of merchants/businessmen, but even that did not satisfy you.

30 Howe weake is thine heart, saith the Lord God, seeing thou doest all these thinges, euen the worke of a presumptuous whorish woman?

I, Yahweh the Lord, declare that when you did all those things, acting like [MET] a bold prostitute, you were showing that you were ready to do anything that you wanted to [IDM].

31 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,

When you built shrines to worship idols on every street corner and in every city square/plaza, you were not like a prostitute: Prostitutes charge money, but you refused to take money for what you did.

32 But as a wife that playeth the harlot, and taketh others for her husband:

You are like [MET] a woman who commits adultery: You prefer to [have sex with] strangers rather than with your husband.

33 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.

Prostitutes are paid, but [it is as though] you give gifts to all your lovers; you bribe them to come to you from everywhere to have sex with you.

34 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.

So although you act like [MET] a prostitute, you are not like other prostitutes: No one needs to request you to have sex [EUP] with them. You are the opposite of other prostitutes; instead of them giving any money to you, you give men money to have sex with you.

35 Wherefore, O harlot, heare the worde of the Lord.

Therefore, [you people of] Jerusalem, who are like a prostitute [MET], listen to what I, Yahweh the Lord, am saying about you!

36 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,

I say that [what you have done is as though] [MET] you took off your clothes and acted like a prostitute and had sex with men who are not your husband. [What I mean is that you have been worshiping] detestable idols, and you have murdered [MTY] your own children to be sacrifices to them.

37 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.

So [what I am going to do is as though] I will gather those who you think have loved you and those whom you hated. I will gather them around you [to attack you], and [what I will do is as though] I will strip your clothes off you, and they will see you when you are completely naked.

38 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.

I will punish you like women who commit adultery and who murder people [MTY] are punished. I will get revenge on you and get rid of you because I am extremely angry with you.

39 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.

I will allow [your enemies who you thought] loved you [IRO] to defeat you, and they will tear down your shrines. [It will be as though] they will strip off your fancy clothes and take away your fine jewelry and cause you to be completely naked [DOU].

40 They shall also bring vp a company against thee, and they shall stone thee with stones, and thrust thee through with their swordes.

They will bring a mob to attack you, and that mob will throw stones at you and cut you to pieces with their swords.

41 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.

They will burn down your houses and punish you while many women are watching. I will cause your acting like a prostitute and paying your lovers to have sex with you to end.

42 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.

Then I will no longer be angry [DOU] with you. I will stop being jealous [because of your worshiping gods other than me only].

43 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.

You have forgotten [the wonderful things that I did for you] in previous years [MET]. You have caused me to become extremely angry because of all the [evil things] that you have done. In addition to all the other detestable things that you did, you committed many sexual sins. So I, Yahweh the Lord, declare that I will punish you [IDM] for doing those things.

44 Beholde, all that vse prouerbes, shall vse this prouerbe against thee, saying, As is the mother, so is her daughter.

People who [like to] quote proverbs will quote this proverb about you: “[behave] like their mothers [behave].”

45 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.

You are like your mother; [it was as though] she detested her husband and her children. You are like your sisters, who also despised their husbands and their children. [It was as though] [MET] your father belonged to the Amor people-group and your mother belonged to the Heth people-group.

46 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.

And [it was as though] [MET] your older sister was Samaria, and she and her daughters lived to the north of you, and [it was as though] your younger sister was Sodom, and she and her daughters lived to the south of you.

47 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.

You not only imitated all [DOU] their detestable behavior, but you quickly became more sinful than they were.

48 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.

I, Yahweh the Lord, solemnly declare that as surely as I am alive, [the people who lived in] [MTY] Sodom and other nearby cities never did the detestable things that you [people in Jerusalem and other places in Judah] have done.

49 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.

These are the sins [the people who lived in] Sodom, who were like your sister [MET]: The people who lived there and in nearby cities were arrogant. In spite of having more food to eat than they needed, they refused to help the poor and needy [DOU] people among them.

50 But they were hautie, and committed abomination before mee: therefore I tooke them away, as pleased me.

The people of Sodom and nearby cities [MET] were proud and did detestable things in my presence, so I got rid of them when I saw what they had been doing.

51 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.

Also, [the people of] Samaria did not commit half as many sins as you have committed. You have done more disgusting things than they have done. You cause the people of Samaria to appear to be good, compared to you.

52 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.

Your sins are worse than their sins, so they seem to be less wicked than you are. So I will punish you more than I punished them. As a result, you will be ashamed and disgraced [DOU].

53 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,

However, [some day] I will [the people of] Sodom and Samaria and the cities near to them [MET] to prosper again. And I will cause you to prosper again, too.

54 That thou mayest beare thine owne shame, and mayest bee confounded in all that thou hast done, in that thou hast comforted them.

You will be very ashamed [DOU] of the wicked things that you have done, and that will cause the people of those cities to be encouraged.

55 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.

[The people of] Sodom and Samaria will prosper again, and you and the people in nearby cities will prosper also.

56 For thy sister Sodom was not heard of by thy report in the day of thy pride,

You (sneered at/despised) [the people of] Sodom when you were proud,

57 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.

before it was revealed that you were very wicked. And now [the people of] Edom and [the people of] Philistia all insult you and despise you.

58 Thou hast borne therefore thy wickednesse and thine abomination, saith the Lord.

And you are being punished for all your immoral behavior and other detestable things that you do.

59 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.

This is what I, Yahweh the Lord, say: I will continue to punish you like you deserve to be punished, because by rejecting the agreement that I made with you, you have despised that solemn agreement that you promised to obey.

60 Neuerthelesse, I wil remember my couenant made with thee in ye dayes of thy youth, and I wil confirme vnto thee an euerlasting couenant.

But I will not forget the agreement that I made with you long ago [MET], and I will make an agreement with you that will endure forever.

61 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.

Then you will think about what you have done, and you will be ashamed about those things when you welcome [the people of] Sodom and Samaria, cities which are like [MET] older and younger sisters to you people of Jerusalem. I will [put them under your control by] causing them to become like [MET] your daughters, but they will not have the same agreement that I will make with you.

62 And I wil establish my couenant with thee, and thou shalt knowe that I am the Lord,

I will establish my agreement with you, and you will know that I, Yahweh, [have the power to do what I say that I will do].

63 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.

Then when I have forgiven you for all your sins, you will think about all the sins that you committed and you will be ashamed, and you will never again [boast about them], because you will be humiliated.’”