Ezekiel 16
1 And the word of Yahweh came unto me, saying:
And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:
2 Son of man Let Jerusalem know her abominations,
“Son of man, make known to Jerusalem her abominations.
3 Therefore shalt thou say— Thus saith My Lord. Yahweh To Jerusalem, Thine origin and thy birth, were of the land of the Canaanite, — Thy father was the Amorite And thy 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 And, as for thy birth, in the day thou wast born, Thy navel-cord was not cut, And, in water, wast thou not bathed to cleanse thee, — And, as for being salted, thou was not salted, And, as for being bandaged, thou wast not bandaged.
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, threw a shield over thee, by doing for thee one of these things taking pity on thee, - But thou wast cast out on the face of the field Because thy person, was abhorred, in the day thou wast 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 passed by thee, and looked upon thee, thrusting about thee in thy blood, And said to thee— Despite thy blood, live! Yea I said to thee— Despite thy 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 Into myriads—like the bud of the field, made I thee, And thou didst increase and become well grown, and didst attain to most excellent adornments, — Thy breasts were well-formed And thy hair was grown, But thou thyself wast utterly naked.
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 passed by thee and looked upon thee and lo! thy time was the time for endearments, So I spread my skirt over thee, and covered thy shame, And took an oath to thee And entered into covenant with thee. Declareth My Lord. Yahweh. And thou didst 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 bathed thee in water, and rinsed thy blood from off thee, And anointed thee with oil;
And I washed you with water, and I cleansed you of your blood. And I anointed you with oil.
10 And clothed thee with an embroidered dress, And sandalled thee in red leather, And wrapped thee about with fine linen, And put over thee a mantle of 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 Then decked I thee with ornaments, And put bracelets upon thy hands, And a neckchain upon thy throat;
I adorned you with ornaments, and I put bracelets upon your hands and a necklace around your neck.
12 And put a nose-jewel upon thy nose, And earrings in thine ears, And a crown of adorning, upon thy head.
And I put gold upon your face, and earrings in your ears, and a beautiful crown upon your head.
13 Thus wast thou adorned with gold and silver, And thy raiment was of fine linen and silk and embroidered work, Fine flour and honey and oil, didst thou eat, — And so thou becamest exceedingly beautiful, And didst attain unto royalty.
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 Then went forth thy fame among the nations. for thy beauty, - For perfect, it was—in my splendour which I had put upon thee, Declareth My Lord, Yahweh.
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 Then didst thou trust in thy beauty, And become unchaste, because of thy fame, - And didst pour out thine unchastity upon every passer-by, his it was!
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 Yea thou didst take of thy raiment and madest thee high places of hangings, And didst commit unchastity thereon, - Which ought not to have befallen And not to have come to pass.
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 But thou didst take thine adorning jewels Of my gold and of my silver which I had given thee, And didst make thee images of the male, — And didst act unchastely 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 thou didst take thine embroidered raiment, and cover them, - And mine oil and mine incense, didst thou set 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 food which I had given thee, Fine flour and oil and honey wherewith I fed thee, And didst set it before them for a satisfying odour Yea so it was, — Saith My Lord Yahweh.
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 thou didst take thy sons and thy daughters, Whom thou hadst borne unto me, And didst sacrifice them unto them to be devoured, - Is this of thine unchastity. a light thing?
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 Yea thou didst slay my children, — And didst deliver them up. that they should be caused to pass through the fire unto them.
You have immolated my sons, and you have consecrated and delivered my sons to them.
22 And in all thine abominations, and thine unchaste ways, thou rememberedst not the days of thy youth, When thou wast utterly naked. When thou wast thrusting about thee in thy 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 came to pass after all thy wickedness, Woe! Woe! to thee, Exclaimeth My Lord Yahweh;
And it happened that, after all your wickedness, (woe, woe to you, says the Lord God)
24 That thou didst build thee a brothel, — and didst make thee a height in every broadway:
you built for yourself a brothel, and you made for yourself a place of prostitution in every street.
25 At the head of every road, didst thou build thy height, And bring thy beauty into disgust, And open thy feet to every passer-by, So didst thou make thine unchaste ways to abound.
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 Then didst thou extend thine unchaste acts unto the sons of Egypt—thy neighbour great of flesh, - And caused thine unchaste ways to abound provoking 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 Lo! therefore, I have stretched out my hand against thee, And diminished thine allotted portion, — And have delivered thee up unto the desire of them who hate thee The daughters of the Philistines, who are ashamed of thy lewd 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 Thou didst also extend thine unchastity unto the sons of Assyria, because thou wast insatiable. Yet though thou didst behave unchastely with them, yet even so couldst thou not be 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 Thou didst therefore cause thine unchaste ways to abound unto the land of Canaan as towards Chaldea. Yet even herewith, wast thou not satisfied.
And you multiplied your fornications in the land of Canaan with the Chaldeans. And even then, you were not satisfied.
30 How weak was thy heart! Exclaimeth My Lord Yahweh, — That thou couldst have done all these things, The doing of a lewd woman without shame:
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 That thou couldst have built thy brothel at the head of every road, And thy height, couldst have made in every broadway, - Yet becamest not as a harlot to lay claim to a harlot’s hire.
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 A wife who committeth adultery, instead of her husband accepteth strangers.
but instead like a woman who is an adulteress, who prefers strangers to her own husband.
33 To all harlots, they give a present, — But, thou, didst give thy presents to all thy lovers, And didst bribe them to come in unto thee from every side, in thine unchastity!
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 so there came about in thee, the reverse of women, in thine unchastity, In that they did not follow thee for purposes of lewdness, — And in that thou gavest a present while, no present, was given to thee So didst thou become, the reverse.
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 harlot, hear thou the word of Yahweh;
Because of this, O harlot, listen to the word of the Lord.
36 Thus saith My Lord Yahweh, — Because thy money, was poured out, and thy shame, was uncovered, in thine unchastity, unto thy lovers, —and unto all thine abominable manufactured gods, even as the blood of thy children, whom thou didst deliver up unto 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 me! gathering together all thy lovers unto whom thou didst make thyself pleasant, Even all whom thou lovedst, With all whom thou hatedst, — Yea I will gather them together unto thee from every side And will uncover thy shame unto them, And they shall see all thy shame.
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 So will I judge thee. with the judgments meted out to adulteresses and shedders of blood, - And will repay thee with the blood of indignation 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 will deliver thee into their hand. And they shall pull down thy brothel And break in pieces thy heights, And strip thee of thy raiment, And take away thine adorning jewels, - And leave thee utterly naked.
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 Then will they bring up against thee a gathered host, And they will stone thee with stones, - And cut thee to pieces 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 burn up thy houses with fire, And execute upon thee judgments before the eyes of many women, —So will I cause thee to cease from acting unchastely, Moreover also a present, shalt thou not give any more.
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 So will I let mine indignation find rest in thee, And my jealousy shall depart from thee, —And I will be quiet, and not be provoked any more.
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 thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, But hast enraged me with all these things Therefore also behold! I thy way, upon thine own head, will place Declareth My Lord Yahweh, And thou shalt not commit a crime above all thine 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 Lo! every one who useth proverbs, against thee, shall use a proverb saying, — Like the mother, so 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 The daughter of thy mother, thou art! One abhorring her own husband and her own children, — Yea the sister of thy sisters, thou art Who abhorred their own husbands and their own children, Your mother was 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 thine elder sister, was Samaria, she and her daughters, dwelling on thy left hand, — And thy sister younger than thou dwelling on thy right hand was 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 Yet not in their ways, didst thou walk, nor according to their abominations, didst thou do, — As though that were quite too little, thou didst corrupt thyself beyond them in all thy 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, Declareth My Lord Yahweh, Very! Sodom thy sister had not done, neither she nor her daughters, —as thou and thy daughters have done.
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 Lo! this became the iniquity of Sodom thy sister, — Pride, fulness of bread, and careless security came to her and to her daughters, And the hand of the oppressed and the needy, she strengthened not.
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 So then they became haughty, and committed abomination before me, - And I took them away. when I saw [it],
And they were exalted, and they committed abominations before me. And so I took them away, just as you have seen.
51 Nor did, Samaria, commit, one-half thy sins, — But thou didst multiply thine abominations more than they, And didst cause thy sisters to appear righteous, by all the abominations which thou didst commit.
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 Thou also bear thine own reproach, which thou didst adjudge to thy sisters, by thy sins in which thou wast more abominable than they, thou didst make them appear more righteous than thou, — Thou also, therefore turn thou pale and bear thine own reproach, for making thy sisters appear righteous!
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 When therefore I bring back their captivity, The captivity of Sodom and her daughters, And the captivity of Samaria and her daughters Then will I bring back thy captivities 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 That thou mayest bear thine own reproach, And take to thyself reproach because of all that thou didst in comforting them.
So may you bear your disgrace and be confounded over all that you have done, consoling them.
55 When thy sisters Sodom and her daughters shall return to their former estate, And Samaria and her daughters shall return to their former estate Then thou and thy daughters, shall return to your former estate.
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 Sodom thy sister was never heard in thy mouth, —In the day of thy pride:
Your sister Sodom was not heard from your mouth, then, in the day of your pride,
57 Before thy wickedness was discovered, As now, [thou art] the reproach of the daughters of Syria and all round about her the daughters of the Philistines, —who are despising thee on every side.
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 As for thy crime and thine abominations, thou thyself, dost bear them, — Declareth Yahweh.
You have borne your wickedness and your disgrace, says the Lord God.”
59 For Thus, saith My Lord, Yahweh, Therefore will I deal with thee just as thou hast dealt, - In that thou didst despise an oath by breaking a 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 Therefore will I remember my covenant with thee in the days of thy youth, — And will establish for thee a covenant age-abiding.
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 Thou shalt therefore remember thy ways and take to thyself reproach, by receiving thy sisters. The older than thou, And the younger than thou, - And I will give them unto thee for daughters Though not by thine own 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 But I myself, will establish my covenant with thee— And thou shalt know that I, am Yahweh:
And I will raise up my covenant with you. And you shall know that I am the Lord.
63 To the end thou mayest remember and turn pale, and there be to thee no more, an opening of mouth, because of thy reproach, - In that I have accepted a propitiatory covering for thee as to all that thou hast done, Declareth My Lord. Yahweh.
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.”
