Ezekiel 16
1 Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying:
Another message from the Lord came to me, saying,
2 'Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations,
“Son of man, challenge Jerusalem over her disgusting practices.
3 and say: Thus saith the Lord GOD unto Jerusalem: Thine origin and thy nativity is of the land of the Canaanite; the Amorite was thy father, and thy mother was a Hittite.
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.
4 And as for thy nativity, in the day thou wast born thy navel was not cut, neither wast thou washed in water for cleansing; thou was not salted at all, nor swaddled at all.
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.
5 No eye pitied thee, to do any of these unto thee, to have compassion upon thee; but thou wast cast out in the open field in the loathsomeness of thy person, in the day that thou wast born.
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.
6 And when I passed by thee, and saw thee wallowing in thy blood, I said unto thee: In thy blood, live; yea, I said unto thee: In thy blood, live;
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!’
7 I cause thee to increase, even as the growth of the field. And thou didst increase and grow up, and thou camest to excellent beauty: thy breasts were fashioned, and thy hair was grown; yet thou wast naked and bare.
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.
8 Now when I passed by thee, and looked upon thee, and, behold, thy time was the time of love, I spread my skirt over thee, and covered thy nakedness; yea, I swore unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord GOD, and thou becamest Mine.
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.
9 Then washed I thee with water; yea, I cleansed away thy blood from thee, and I anointed thee with oil.
Then I washed you with water, cleaned off your blood, and anointed you with oil.
10 I clothed thee also with richly woven work, and shod thee with sealskin, and I wound fine linen about thy head, and covered thee with silk.
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.
11 I decked thee also with ornaments, and I put bracelets upon thy hands, and a chain on thy neck.
I gave you jewelry—I put bracelets on your wrists and a necklace around your neck.
12 And I put a ring upon thy nose, and earrings in thine ears, and a beautiful crown upon thy head.
I put a ring in your nose and earrings on your ears, and placed a beautiful crown on your head.
13 Thus wast thou decked with gold and silver; and thy raiment was of fine linen, and silk, and richly woven work; thou didst eat fine flour, and honey, and oil; and thou didst wax exceeding beautiful, and thou wast meet for royal estate.
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.
14 And thy renown went forth among the nations for thy beauty; for it was perfect, through My splendour which I had put upon thee, saith the Lord GOD.
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.
15 But thou didst trust in thy beauty and play the harlot because of thy renown, and didst pour out thy harlotries on every one that passed by; his it was.
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.
16 And thou didst take of thy garments, and didst make for thee high places decked with divers colours, and didst play the harlot upon them; the like things shall not come, neither shall it be so.
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!
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;
You also used the beautiful gold and silver jewelry I gave you to make male idols and you prostituted yourself with them.
18 and thou didst take thy richly woven garments and cover them, and didst set Mine oil and Mine incense before them.
You used your embroidered clothes to dress them, and you placed before them my olive oil and incense.
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 savour, and thus it was; saith the Lord GOD.
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.
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 harlotries a small matter,
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?
21 that thou hast slain My children, and delivered them up, in setting them apart unto them?
You slaughtered my children, sacrificing them to idols.
22 And in all thine abominations and thy harlotries thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, when thou wast naked and bare, and wast wallowing in thy blood.
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.
23 And it came to pass after all thy wickedness — woe, woe unto thee! saith the Lord GOD —
Disaster is coming! Disaster is coming on you, declares the Lord God. As well as all the other evil things you did,
24 that thou hast built unto thee an eminent place, and hast made thee a lofty place in every street.
you built yourself a pagan shrine, a high place of idol worship on every public square in the city.
25 Thou hast built thy lofty place at every head of the way, and hast made thy beauty an abomination, and hast opened thy feet to every one that passed by, and multiplied thy harlotries.
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.
26 Thou hast also played the harlot with the Egyptians, thy neighbours, great of flesh; and hast multiplied thy harlotry, to provoke Me.
You gave yourself as a prostitute to your Egyptian neighbors with their large sexual organs, making me angry as you became even more promiscuous.
27 Behold, therefore I have stretched out My hand over thee, and have diminished thine allowance, and delivered thee unto the will of them that hate thee, the daughters of the Philistines, that are ashamed of thy lewd way.
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.
28 Thou hast played the harlot also with the Assyrians, without having enough; yea, thou hast played the harlot with them, and yet thou wast not satisfied.
Because you weren't satisfied you prostituted yourself with the Assyrians. But even then you weren't satisfied.
29 Thou hast moreover multiplied thy harlotry with the land of traffic, even with Chaldea; and yet thou didst not have enough herewith.
So you took your promiscuous behavior to Babylonia, the country of merchants, but even then you weren't satisfied!
30 How weak is thy heart, saith the Lord GOD, seeing thou doest all these things, the work of a wanton harlot;
You're really sick-minded to do all this, acting like a prostitute with no shame, declares the Lord God.
31 in that thou buildest thine eminent place in the head of every way, and makest thy lofty place in every street; and hast not been as a harlot that enhanceth her hire.
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!
32 Thou wife that committest adultery, that takest strangers instead of thy husband —
You're a wife that loves adultery! You sleep with strangers instead of your husband!
33 to all harlots gifts are given; but thou hast given thy gifts to all thy lovers, and hast bribed them to come unto thee from every side in thy harlotries.
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.
34 And the contrary is in thee from other women, in that thou didst solicit to harlotry, and wast not solicited; and in that thou givest hire, and no hire is given unto thee, thus thou art contrary.
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!
35 Wherefore, O harlot, hear the word of the LORD!
So, you prostitute, listen to the message from the Lord!
36 Thus saith the Lord GOD: Because thy filthiness was poured out, and thy nakedness uncovered through thy harlotries 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;
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,
37 therefore behold, I will gather all thy lovers, unto whom thou hast been pleasant, and all them that thou hast loved, with all them that thou hast hated; I will even gather them against thee from every side, and will uncover thy nakedness unto them, that they may see all thy nakedness.
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.
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 fury and jealousy.
I will impose on you the punishment for women who commit adultery and those who murder; you will be punished in passionate anger.
39 I will also give thee into their hand, and they shall throw down thine eminent 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.
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.
40 They shall also bring up an assembly against thee, and they shall stone thee with stones, and thrust thee through with their swords.
They will come with a mob to attack you. They will stone you and chop you into pieces 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.
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.
42 So will I satisfy My fury upon thee, and My jealousy shall depart from thee, and I will be quiet, and will be no more angry.
Then I will finish being jealous and furious with you. I will calm down and won't be angry any more.
43 Because thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, but hast fretted Me in all these things; lo, therefore I also will bring thy way upon thy head, saith the Lord GOD; or hast thou not committed this lewdness above all thine abominations?
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?
44 Behold, every one that useth proverbs shall use this proverb against thee, saying: As the mother, so her daughter.
Everyone who likes to use proverbs will quote this one about you: ‘Like mother, like daughter.’
45 Thou art thy mother's daughter, 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.
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.
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.
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.
47 Yet hast thou not walked in their ways, nor done after their abominations; but in a very little while thou didst deal more corruptly than they in all thy ways.
You didn't just follow their ways and do the same disgusting things they did, you very quickly became even worse than them.
48 As I live, saith the Lord GOD, Sodom thy sister hath not done, she nor her daughters, as thou hast done, thou and thy daughters.
As I live, declares the Lord God, your sister Sodom and her daughters didn't ever do what you and your daughters have done.
49 Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom: pride, fulness of bread, and careless ease was in her and in her daughters; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.
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.
50 And they were haughty, and committed abomination before Me; therefore I removed them when I saw it.
They became arrogant and did disgusting things in my presence. So I got rid of them when I saw this.
51 Neither hath Samaria committed even 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.
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!
52 Thou also, bear 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 than thou; yea, be thou also confounded, and bear thy shame, in that thou hast justified thy sisters.
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.
53 And I will turn 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;
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
56 For thy sister Sodom was not mentioned by thy mouth in the day of thy pride;
Didn't you mock your sister Sodom when you were feeling proud,
57 before thy wickedness was uncovered, as at the time of the taunt of the daughters of Aram, and of all that are round about her, the daughters of the Philistines, that have thee in disdain round about.
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.
58 Thou hast borne thy lewdness and thine abominations, saith the LORD.
You will have to experience the consequences of your immorality and your disgusting practices, declares the Lord.
59 For thus saith the Lord GOD: I will even deal with thee as thou hast done, who hast despised the oath in breaking the covenant.
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.
60 Nevertheless I will remember My covenant with thee in the days of thy youth, and I will establish unto thee an everlasting covenant.
But I won't forget the agreement I made with you when you were young, and I will make an everlasting agreement with you.
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 because of thy covenant.
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.
62 And I will establish My covenant with thee, and thou shalt know that I am the LORD;
This is how I will endorse my agreement with you, and you will know that I am the Lord,
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 GOD.'
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.”
