Ezekiel 16

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

And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

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

“Son of man, make known to Jerusalem her abominations.

3 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.

And you shall say: Thus says the Lord God to Jerusalem: Your root and your lineage is from the land of Canaan; your father was an Amorite, and your mother was a Cethite.

4 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.

And when you were born, on the day of your nativity, your umbilical cord was not cut, and you were not washed with water for health, nor salted with salt, nor wrapped with cloths.

5 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!

No eye took pity on you, so as to do even one of these things to you, out of compassion for you. Instead, you were cast upon the face of the earth, in the abjection of your soul, on the day when you were born.

6 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!

But, passing by you, I saw that you were wallowing in your own blood. And I said to you, when you were in your blood: ‘Live.’ I tell you that I said to you, in your blood: ‘Live.’

7 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!

I multiplied you like the seedling of the field. And you were multiplied and became great, and you advanced and arrived at the ornament of a woman. Your breasts rose up, and your hair grew. And you were naked and full of shame.

8 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.

And I passed by you and saw you. And behold, your time was the time of lovers. And I spread my garment over you, and I covered your disgrace. And I swore to you, and I entered into a covenant with you, says the Lord God, and you became mine.

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

And I washed you with water, and I cleansed you of your blood. And I anointed you with oil.

10 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.

And I covered you with embroidery, and I put violet shoes upon you, and I wrapped you in fine linen, and I clothed you with delicate garments.

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

I adorned you with ornaments, and I put bracelets upon your hands and a necklace around your neck.

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

And I put gold upon your face, and earrings in your ears, and a beautiful crown upon your head.

13 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.

And you were adorned with gold and silver, and you were clothed in fine linen, woven with many colors. You ate fine flour, and honey, and oil. And you became very beautiful. And you advanced to royal power.

14 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.

And your renown went forth among the Gentiles, because of your beauty. For you were perfected by my beauty, which I had placed upon you, says the Lord God.

15 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.

But, having confidence in your own beauty, you fornicated in your fame. And you presented your fornication to every passer-by, so as to become his.

16 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!

And taking from your garments, you made for yourself exalted things, having sewed together disparate pieces. And you fornicated upon them, in a way that has not been done before, nor will be in the future.

17 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,

And you took your beautiful items, made of my gold and my silver, which I gave to you, and you made for yourself images of men, and you fornicated with them.

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

And you used your multicolored vestments to cover these things. And you placed my oil and my incense before them.

19 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.

And my bread, which I gave to you, the fine flour, and the oil, and the honey, by which I nourished you, you placed in their sight as a sweet fragrance. And so it was done, says the Lord God.

20 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,

And you took your sons and your daughters, whom you bore for me, and you immolated them to be devoured. Is your fornication a small matter?

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

You have immolated my sons, and you have consecrated and delivered my sons to them.

22 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!

And after all your abominations and fornications, you have not remembered the days of your youth, when you were naked and full of shame, wallowing in your own blood.

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

And it happened that, after all your wickedness, (woe, woe to you, says the Lord God)

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

you built for yourself a brothel, and you made for yourself a place of prostitution in every street.

25 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,

At the head of every way, you set up a banner of your prostitution. And you caused your beauty to become abominable. And you distributed your feet to every passer-by. And you multiplied your fornications.

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

And you fornicated with the sons of Egypt, your neighbors, who have large bodies. And you multiplied your fornications, so as to provoke me.

27 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.

Behold, I will extend my hand over you, and I will take away your justification. And I will give you to the souls of those who hate you, the daughters of the Philistines, who are ashamed of your wicked way.

28 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.

You also fornicated with the sons of the Assyrians, for you were not yet done. And after you fornicated, even then, you were not satisfied.

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

And you multiplied your fornications in the land of Canaan with the Chaldeans. And even then, you were not satisfied.

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

With what can I cleanse your heart, says the Lord God, since you do all these things, the works of a woman who is a shameless prostitute?

31 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.

For you have built your brothel at the head of every way, and you have made your exalted place on every street. And you have not even been like a choosy prostitute, increasing her price,

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

but instead like a woman who is an adulteress, who prefers strangers to her own husband.

33 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.

Wages are given to all prostitutes. But you have given wages to all your lovers, and you have given gifts to them, so that they would enter to you from every side, in order to fornicate with you.

34 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.

And it is done with you, in your fornications, contrary to the custom of women, and even after you, there will be no such fornication. For in as much as you have given payment, and not taken payment, what has been done in you is the contrary.”

35 Therefore, O whore, hear a word of YHWH!

Because of this, O harlot, listen to the word of the Lord.

36 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;

Thus says the Lord God: “Because your money has been poured out, and your disgrace has been uncovered, in your fornications with your lovers and with the idols of your abominations, in the blood of your sons, whom you gave to them:

37 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.

Behold, I will gather all your lovers, with whom you have united, and all those whom you have loved, together with all those whom you have hated. And I will gather them together against you on every side. And I will uncover your disgrace before them, and they will see all your indecency.

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

And I will judge you with the judgment of adulteresses and of those who shed blood. And I will give you over to blood, in fury and in zeal.

39 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.

And I will deliver you into their hands. And they will destroy your brothel and demolish your place of prostitution. And they will strip you of your vestments. And they will take away the ornaments of your beauty. And they will leave you behind, naked and full of disgrace.

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

And they will lead over you a multitude. And they will stone you with stones, and massacre you with their swords.

41 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.

And they will burn up your houses with fire, and they will carry out judgments against you in the sight of many women. And you will cease from fornication, and no longer give payment.

42 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.

And my indignation will be quieted in you. And my zeal will be taken from you. And I will rest, and no longer be angry.

43 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.

For you have not remembered the days of your youth, and you have provoked me in all these things. Because of this, I also have delivered all your ways upon your head, says the Lord God, but I have not acted in accord with your wickedness in all your abominations.

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

Behold, all who speak a common proverb will take this up against you, saying: ‘Like the mother, so also is her daughter.’

45 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.

You are your mother’s daughter, for she cast away her husband and her children. And you are the sister of your sisters, for they cast away their husbands and their children. Your mother was a Cethite, and your father was an Amorite.

46 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.

And your older sister is Samaria, she and her daughters are those who live to your left. But your younger sister, who lives to your right, is Sodom and her daughters.

47 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.

But neither have you walked in their ways. For you have done only a little less compared to their wickedness. You have acted almost more wickedly, in all your ways, than they have acted.

48 [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.

As I live, says the Lord God, your sister Sodom herself, and her daughters, have not done as you and your daughters have done.

49 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.

Behold, this was the iniquity of Sodom, your sister: arrogance, indulgence in bread and abundance, and the idleness of her and her daughters; and they did not reach out their hand to the needy and the poor.

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

And they were exalted, and they committed abominations before me. And so I took them away, just as you have seen.

51 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.

But Samaria has not committed even half of your sins. For you have exceeded them in your wickedness, and you have justified your sisters by all your abominations, which you have wrought.

52 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.

Therefore, you also bear your shame, for you have exceeded your sisters with your sins, acting more wickedly than they did. So they have been justified above you. By this also, you are confounded, and you bear your disgrace, for you have justified your sisters.

53 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,

But I will convert and restore them, by converting Sodom with her daughters, and by converting Samaria and her daughters. And I will convert your return in their midst.

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

So may you bear your disgrace and be confounded over all that you have done, consoling them.

55 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.

And your sister Sodom and her daughters will return to their ancient state. And Samaria and her daughters will return to their ancient state. And you and your daughters will be returned to your ancient state.

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

Your sister Sodom was not heard from your mouth, then, in the day of your pride,

57 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.

before your malice was revealed, as it is at this time, with the reproach of the daughters of Syria and of all the daughters of Palestine, who surround you, who encircle you on every side.

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

You have borne your wickedness and your disgrace, says the Lord God.”

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

For thus says the Lord God: “I will act toward you, just as you have despised the oath, so that you would make void the covenant.

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

And I will remember my covenant with you in the days of your youth. And I will raise up for you an everlasting covenant.

61 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.

And you shall remember your ways and be confounded, when you will have received your sisters, your elder with your younger. And I will give them to you as daughters, but not by your covenant.

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

And I will raise up my covenant with you. And you shall know that I am the Lord.

63 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!”

So may you remember and be confounded. And it will no longer be for you to open your mouth, because of your shame, when I will have been pacified toward you over all that you have done, says the Lord God.”