Jezekiel 16

1 Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

And there is a word of YHWH to me, saying,

2 Son of man, testify to Jerusalem [of] her iniquities;

“Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations, and you have said,

3 and you shall say, Thus says the Lord to Jerusalem; Your root and your birth are of the land of Chanaan: your father was an Amorite, and your mother a Chettite.

Thus said Lord YHWH to Jerusalem: Your birth and your nativity [Are] of the land of the Canaanite, Your father the Amorite, and your mother a Hittite.

4 And [as for] your birth in the day wherein you were born, you did not bind your breasts, and you were not washed in water, neither was you salted with salt, neither was you swathed in swaddling-bands.

As for your nativity, in the day you were born, Your navel has not been cut, And you were not washed in water for ease, And you have not been salted at all, And you have not been swaddled at all.

5 Nor did mine eye pity you, to do for you one of all these things, to feel at all for you; but you were cast out on the face of the field, because of the deformity of your person, in the day wherein you were born.

No eye has had pity on you, to do any of these to you, To have compassion on you, And you are cast on the face of the field, With loathing of your soul In the day you were born!

6 And I passed by to you, and saw you polluted in your blood; and I said to you, [Let there be] life out of your blood:

And I pass over by you, And I see you trodden down in your blood, And I say to you in your blood, Live! Indeed, I say to you in your blood, Live!

7 increase; I have made you as the springing grass of the field. So you did increase and grow, and did enter into great cities: your breasts were set, and your hair grew, whereas you were naked and bare.

I have made you a myriad as the shoot of the field, And you are multiplied, and are great, And come in with an excellent adornment, Breasts have been formed, and your hair has grown—And you, naked and bare!

8 And I passed by you and saw you, and, behold, [it was] your time and a time of resting; and I spread my wings over you, and covered your shame, and swear to you: and I entered into covenant with you, says the Lord, and you became mine.

And I pass over by you, and I see you, And behold, your time [is] a time of loves, And I spread My skirt over you, And I cover your nakedness, And I swear to you, and come into a covenant with you, A declaration of Lord YHWH, And you become Mine.

9 And I washed you in water, and washed your blood from you, and anointed you with oil.

And I wash you with water, And I wash away your blood from off you, And I anoint you with oil.

10 And I clothed you with embroidered [garments], and clothed you beneath with purple, and girded you with fine linen, and clothed you with silk,

And I clothe you with embroidery, And I shoe you with tachash [skin], And I gird you with fine linen, And I cover you with figured silk.

11 and decked you also with ornaments, and put bracelets on your hands, and a necklace on your neck.

And I adorn you with adornments, And I give bracelets for your hands, And a chain for your neck.

12 And I put a pendant on your nostril, and rings in your ears, and a crown of glory on your head.

And I give a ring for your nose, And rings for your ears, And a crown of beauty on your head.

13 So you were adorned with gold and silver; and your raiment was of fine linen, and silk, and variegated work: you did eat fine flour, and oil, and honey, and did become extremely beautiful.

And you put on gold and silver, And your clothing [is] fine linen, And figured silk and embroidery, You have eaten fine flour, and honey, and oil, And you are very, very beautiful, And go prosperously to the kingdom.

14 And your name went forth among the nations for your beauty: because it was perfected with elegance, [and] in the comeliness which I put upon you, says the Lord.

And your name goes forth among nations, Because of your beauty—for it [is] complete, In My honor that I have set on you, A declaration of Lord YHWH.

15 You did trust in your beauty, and did go a-whoring because of your renown, and did pour out your fornication on every passer by.

And you trust in your beauty, And go whoring because of your renown, And pour out your whoredoms on everyone passing by—to him [that would have] it.

16 And you did take of your garments, and made to yourself idols of needlework, and did go a-whoring after them; therefore you shall never come in, nor shall [the like] take place.

And you take from your garments, And make spotted high-places for yourself, And go whoring on them, They are not coming in—nor will it be!

17 And you took your fair ornaments of my gold and of my silver, of what I gave you, and you made to yourself male images, and you did commit whoredom with them.

And you take your beautiful vessels Of My gold and My silver that I gave to you, And make images of a male for yourself, And go whoring with them,

18 And you did take your variegated apparel and did clothe them, and you did set before them mine oil and mine incense.

And you take the garments of your embroidery, And cover them, And you have set My oil and My incense before them.

19 And [you took] my bread which I gave you, ([yes] I fed you with fine flour and oil and honey) and did set them before them for a sweet smelling savor: yes, it was so, says the Lord.

And My bread, that I gave to you, Fine flour, and oil, and honey, that I caused you to eat. You have even set it before them, For a refreshing fragrance—thus it is, A declaration of Lord YHWH.

20 And you took your sons and your daughters, whom you bore, and did sacrifice [these] to them to be destroyed. You did go a-whoring as [if that were] little,

And you take your sons and your daughters whom you have born to Me, And sacrifice them to them for food. Is it a little thing because of your whoredoms,

21 and did kill your children, and gave them up in offering them to them for an expiation.

that you slaughter My sons, And give them up in causing them to pass over to them?

22 This is beyond all your fornication, and you did not remember your infancy, when you were naked and bare, [and] did live [though] defiled in your blood.

And with all your abominations and your whoredoms, You have not remembered the days of your youth, When you were naked and bare, You were trodden down in your blood!

23 And it came to pass after all your wickedness, says the Lord,

And it comes to pass, after all your wickedness (Woe, woe, to you—a declaration of Lord YHWH),

24 that you did build yourself a house of fornication, and did make yourself a public place in every street;

That you build an arch for yourself, And make a high place for yourself in every broad place.

25 and on the head of every way you did set up your fornications, and did defile your beauty, and did open your feet to every passer by, and did multiply your fornication.

At every head of the way you have built your high place, And you make your beauty abominable, And open wide your feet to everyone passing by, And multiply your whoredoms,

26 And you did go a-whoring after the children of Egypt your neighbors, great of flesh; and did go a-whoring, often to provoke me to anger.

And go whoring to sons of Egypt, Your neighbors—great of appetite! And you multiply your whoredoms, To provoke Me to anger.

27 And if I stretch out my hand against you, then will I abolish your statutes, and deliver [you] up to the wills of them that hate you, [even to] the daughters of the Philistines that turned you aside from the way wherein you sinned.

And behold, I have stretched out My hand against you, And I diminish your portion, And give you to the desire of those hating you, The daughters of the Philistines, Who are ashamed of your wicked way.

28 And you did go a-whoring to the daughters of Assur, and not even thus was you satisfied; yes, you did go a-whoring, and was not satisfied.

And you go whoring to sons of Asshur, Without your being satisfied, And you go whoring with them, And also—you have not been satisfied.

29 And you did multiply your covenants with the land of the Chaldeans; and not even with these was you satisfied.

And you multiply your whoredoms On the land of Canaan—toward Chaldea, And even with this you have not been satisfied.

30 Why should I make a covenant with your daughter, says the Lord, while you do all these things, the works of a harlot? and you have gone a-whoring in a threefold degree with your daughters.

How weak [is] your heart, A declaration of Lord YHWH, In your doing all these, The work of a domineering, whorish woman.

31 You have built a house of harlotry in every top of a way, and have set up your high place in every street; and you did become as a harlot gathering hires.

In your building your arch at the head of every way, You have made your high place in every broad place, And have not been as a whore deriding a wage.

32 An adulteress resembles you, taking rewards of her husband.

The wife who commits adultery—Under her husband—receives strangers.

33 She has even given rewards to all that went a-whoring after her, and you have given rewards to all your lovers, yes, you did load them with rewards, that they should come to you from every side for your fornication.

They give a gift to all whores, And you have given your gifts to all your lovers, And bribe them to come in to you, From all around—in your whoredoms.

34 And there has happened in you perverseness in your fornication beyond [other] women, and they have committed fornication with you, in that you give hires over and above, and hires were not given to you; and [thus] perverseness happened in you.

And you are opposite from [other] women in your whoredoms, That none go whoring after you; And in your giving a wage, And a wage has not been given to you; Therefore you are the opposite.

35 Therefore, harlot, hear the word of the Lord:

Therefore, O whore, hear a word of YHWH!

36 Thus says the Lord, Because you have poured forth your money, therefore your shame shall be discovered in your harlotry with your lovers, and [with] regard to all the imaginations of your iniquities, and for the blood of your children which you have given to them.

Thus said Lord YHWH: Because of your bronze being poured forth, And your nakedness is revealed in your whoredoms near your lovers, And near all the idols of your abominations, And according to the blood of your sons, Whom you have given to them;

37 Therefore, behold, I [will] gather all your lovers with whom you have consorted, and all whom you have loved, with all whom you did hate; and I will gather them against you round about, and will expose your wickedness to them, and they shall see all your shame.

Therefore, behold, I am assembling all your lovers, To whom you have been sweet, And all whom you have loved, Besides all whom you have hated; And I have assembled them by you all around, And have revealed your nakedness to them, And they have seen all your nakedness.

38 And I will be avenged on you with the vengeance of an adulteress, and I will bring upon you blood of fury and jealousy.

And I have judged you—judgments of adultresses, And of women shedding blood, And have given you blood, fury, and jealousy.

39 And I will deliver you into their hands, and they shall break down your house of harlotry, and destroy your high place; and they shall strip you of your garments, and shall take your proud ornaments, and leave you naked and bare.

And I have given you into their hand, And they have thrown down your arch, And they have broken down your high places, And they have stripped you of your garments, And they have taken your beautiful vessels, And they have left you naked and bare.

40 And they shall bring multitudes upon you, and they shall stone you with stones, and pierce you with their swords.

And have caused an assembly to come up against you, And stoned you with stones, And thrust you through with their swords,

41 And they shall burn your houses with fire, and shall execute vengeance on you in the sight of many women: and I will turn you back from harlotry, and I will no more give [you] rewards.

And burned your houses with fire, And done judgments in you before the eyes of many women, And I have caused you to cease from going whoring, And also, you no longer give a wage.

42 So will I slacken my fury against you, and my jealousy shall be removed from you, and I will rest, and be no more careful [for you].

And I have caused My fury against you to rest, And My jealousy has turned aside from you, And I have been quiet, and I am not angry anymore.

43 Because you did not remember your infancy, and you did grieve me in all these things; therefore, behold, I have recompensed your ways upon your head, says the Lord: for thus have you wrought ungodliness above all your [other] iniquities.

Because you have not remembered the days of your youth, And give trouble to Me in all these, Therefore I also—behold—I put your way on [your own] head, A declaration of Lord YHWH, And you will not have done—have done this wickedness above all your abominations.

44 These are all the things they have spoken against you in a proverb, saying,

Behold, everyone using the allegory against you, Uses [this] allegory concerning [you], saying, As the mother—her daughter!

45 As is the mother, so is your mother's daughter: you are she that has rejected her husband and her children; and the sisters of your sisters have rejected their husbands and their children: your mother was a Chettite, and [your] father an Amorite.

You [are] your mother’s daughter, Loathing her husband and her sons, And you [are] your sisters’ sister, Who loathed their husbands and their sons, Your mother [is] a Hittite, and your father an Amorite.

46 Your elder sister who dwells on your left hand is Samaria, she and her daughters: and your younger sister, that dwells on the right hand, is Sodom and her daughters.

And your older sister [is] Samaria, she and her daughters, Who is dwelling at your left hand, And your younger sister, who is dwelling on your right hand, [is] Sodom and her daughters.

47 Yet notwithstanding you have not walked in their ways, neither have you done according to their iniquities within a little, but you have exceeded them in all your ways.

And you have not walked in their ways, And done according to their abominations, It has been loathed as a little thing, Indeed, you do more corruptly than they in all your ways.

48 [As] I live, says the Lord, this Sodom and her daughters have not done as you and your daughters have done.

[As] I live—a declaration of Lord YHWH, Your sister Sodom has not done—she and her daughters—As you have done—you and your daughters.

49 Moreover this was the sin of your sister Sodom, pride: she and her daughters lived in pleasure, in fullness of bread [and] in abundance: this belonged to her and her daughters, and they helped not the hand of the poor and needy.

Behold, this has been the iniquity of your sister Sodom, Arrogancy, fullness of bread, and quiet ease, Have been to her and to her daughters, And the hand of the afflicted and needy She has not strengthened.

50 And they boasted, and wrought iniquities before me: so I cut them off as I saw [fit].

And they are haughty and do abomination before Me, And I turn them aside when I have seen.

51 Also Samaria has not sinned according to half of your sins; but you have multiplied your iniquities beyond them, and you have justified your sisters in all your iniquities which you have committed.

And Samaria has not sinned even half of your sins, But you multiply your abominations more than they, And justify your sisters by all your abominations that you have done.

52 You therefore bear your punishment, for that you have corrupted your sisters by your sins which you have committed beyond them; and you have made them [appear] more righteous than yourself: you therefore be ashamed, and bear your dishonor, in that you have justified your sisters.

You also—bear your shame, That you have adjudged for your sisters, Because of your sins that you have done more abominably than they, They are more righteous than you, And you, also, be ashamed and bear your shame, In your justifying your sisters.

53 And I will turn their captivity, [even] the captivity of Sodom and her daughters; and I will turn the captivity of Samaria and her daughters; and I will turn your captivity in the midst of them:

And I have turned back [to] their captivity, The captivity of Sodom and her daughters, And the captivity of Samaria and her daughters, And the captivity of your captives in their midst,

54 that you may bear your punishment, and be dishonored for all that you have done in provoking me to anger.

So that you bear your shame, And have been ashamed of all that you have done, In your comforting them.

55 And your sister Sodom and her daughters shall be restored as they were at the beginning, and you and your daughters shall be restored as you were at the beginning.

And your sisters, Sodom and her daughters, Return to their former state, And Samaria and her daughters return to their former state, And you and your daughters return to your former state.

56 And surely your sister Sodom was not mentioned by your mouth in the days of your pride:

And your sister Sodom has not been for a report in your mouth, In the day of your arrogancy,

57 before your wickedness was discovered, even now you are the reproach of the daughters of Syria, and of all that are round about her, [even] of the daughters of the Philistines that compass you round about.

Before your wickedness is revealed, As [at] the time of the reproach of the daughters of Aram, And of all her neighbors, the daughters of the Philistines, Who are despising you all around.

58 [As for] your ungodliness and your iniquities, you have borne them, says the Lord.

Your wicked plans and your abominations, You have borne them, a declaration of YHWH.

59 Thus says the Lord; I will even do to you as you have done, as you have dealt shamefully in these things to transgress my covenant.

For thus said Lord YHWH: I have dealt with you as you have done, In that you have despised an oath—to break covenant.

60 And I will remember my covenant [made] with you in the days of your infancy, and I will establish to you an everlasting covenant.

And I have remembered My covenant with you, In the days of your youth, And I have established a perpetual covenant for you.

61 Then you shall remember your way, and shall be utterly dishonored when you receive your elder sisters with your younger ones: and I will give them to you for building up, but not by your covenant.

And you have remembered your ways, And you have been ashamed, In your receiving your sisters—Your older with your younger, And I have given them to you for daughters, And not by your covenant.

62 And I will establish my covenant with you; and you shall know that I am the Lord:

And I have established My covenant with you, And you have known that I [am] YHWH.

63 that you may remember, and be ashamed, and may no more be able to open your mouth for your shame, when I am reconciled to you for all that you have done, says the Lord.

So that you remember, And you have been ashamed, And there is not an opening of the mouth to you anymore because of your shame, In My receiving atonement for you, For all that you have done, A declaration of Lord YHWH!”