Ezekiel 16

1 Yahweh gave me another message. He said,

Again the word of Jehovah came to me, saying,

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

Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations,

3 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.

and say, Thus says the lord Jehovah to Jerusalem: Thy birth and thy nativity is from the land of the Canaanite. The Amorite was thy father, and thy mother was a Hittite.

4 [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].

And as for thy nativity, in the day thou were born thy navel was not cut, nor were thou washed in water to cleanse thee. Thou were not salted at all, nor swaddled at all.

5 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}.

No eye pitied thee, to do any of these things to thee, to have compassion upon thee, but thou were cast out in the open field. For thy person was abhorred, in the day that thou were born.

6 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!”

And when I passed by thee, and saw thee weltering in thy blood, I said to thee, in thy blood, Live! Yea, I said to thee, in thy blood, Live!

7 [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].

I caused thee to multiply as that which grows in the field, and thou increased and grew great. And thou attained to excellent ornament, thy breasts were fashioned, and thy hair was grown. Yet thou were naked and bare.

8 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.

Now when I passed by thee, and looked upon thee, behold, thy time was the time of love. And I spread my skirt over thee, and covered thy nakedness. Yea, I swore to thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, says the lord Jehovah, and thou became mine.

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

Then I washed thee with water. Yea, I thoroughly washed away thy blood from thee, and I anointed thee with oil.

10 [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.

I also clothed thee with embroidered work, and shod thee with a certain skin. And I girded thee around with fine linen, and covered thee with silk.

11 [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.

And I decked thee with ornaments, and I put bracelets upon thy hands, and a chain on thy neck.

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

And I put a ring upon thy nose, and earrings in thine ears, and a beautiful crown upon thy head.

13 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.

Thus thou were decked with gold and silver, and thy raiment was of fine linen, and silk, and embroidered work. Thou ate fine flour, and honey, and oil. And thou were very beautiful, and thou prospered to royalty.

14 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.

And thy renown went forth among the nations for thy beauty. For it was perfect, through my majesty which I had put upon thee, says the lord Jehovah.

15 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.

But thou trusted in thy beauty, and played the harlot because of thy renown, and poured out thy whoredoms on everyone who passed by; his it was.

16 [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!

And thou took of thy garments, and made high places for thee, decked with various colors, and played the harlot upon them, things which should not come, nor should it be.

17 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.

Thou also took thy fair jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given thee, and made for thee images of men, and played the harlot with them.

18 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].

And thou took thy embroidered garments, and covered them, and set my oil and my incense before them.

19 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.

My bread also which I gave thee, fine flour and oil and honey, with which I fed thee, thou even set it before them for a sweet savor, and thus it was, says the lord Jehovah.

20 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.

Moreover thou have taken thy sons and thy daughters, whom thou have borne to me, and thou have sacrificed these to them to be devoured. Were thy whoredoms a small matter,

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

that thou have slain my children, and delivered them up, in causing them to pass through the fire to them?

22 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.

And in all thine abominations and thy whoredoms thou have not remembered the days of thy youth when thou were naked and bare, and were weltering in thy blood.

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

And it has come to pass according to all thy wickedness, (woe, woe to thee! says the lord Jehovah),

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

that thou have built thyself a vaulted place, and have made thee a lofty place in every street.

25 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.

Thou have built thy lofty place at the head of every way, and have made thy beauty an abomination. And have opened thy feet to everyone who passed by, and multiplied thy whoredom.

26 [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.

Thou have also committed fornication with the Egyptians, thy neighbors, great of flesh, and have multiplied thy whoredom, to provoke me to anger.

27 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.

Behold therefore, I have stretched out my hand over thee, and have diminished thy portion, and delivered thee to the will of those who hate thee, the daughters of the Philistines, who are ashamed of thy lewd way.

28 [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.

Thou have played the harlot also with the Assyrians, because thou were insatiable. Yea, thou have played the harlot with them, and yet thou were not satisfied.

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

Thou have moreover multiplied thy whoredom to the land of traffic, to Chaldea, and yet thou were not satisfied with this.

30 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].

How weak is thy heart, says the lord Jehovah, seeing thou do all these things, the work of an impudent harlot,

31 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.

in that thou build thy vaulted place at the head of every way, and make thy lofty place in every street. And have not even been as a harlot, in that thou scorn hire.

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

A wife who commits adultery, who takes strangers instead of her husband!

33 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.

They give gifts to all harlots, but thou give thy gifts to all thy lovers, and bribe them, that they may come to thee on every side for thy whoredoms.

34 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.

And thou are different from other women in thy whoredoms, in that none follows thee to play the harlot. And whereas thou give a wage, and no wage is given to thee, therefore thou are different.

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

Therefore, O harlot, hear the word of Jehovah.

36 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.

Thus says the lord Jehovah: Because thy filthiness was poured out, and thy nakedness uncovered through thy whoredoms with thy lovers, and because of all the idols of thy abominations, and for the blood of thy sons, that thou gave to them,

37 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.

therefore, behold, I will gather all thy lovers, with whom thou have taken pleasure, and all those whom thou have loved, with all those whom thou have hated, I will even gather them against thee on every side. And I will uncover thy nakedness to them, that they may see all thy nakedness.

38 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.

And I will judge thee, as women who break wedlock and shed blood are judged. And I will bring upon thee the blood of wrath and jealousy.

39 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].

I will also give thee into their hand, and they shall throw down thy vaulted 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.

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

They shall also bring up a company against thee, and they shall stone thee with stones, and thrust thee through with their swords.

41 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.

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 shall also give no wage any more.

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

So I will cause my wrath toward thee to rest, and my jealousy shall depart from thee, and I will be quiet, and will no more be angry.

43 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.

Because thou have not remembered the days of thy youth, but have raged against me in all these things, therefore, behold, I also will bring thy way upon thy head, says the lord Jehovah. And thou shall not commit this lewdness with all thine abominations.

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

Behold, everyone who uses proverbs shall use this proverb against thee, saying, As is the mother, so is her daughter.

45 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.

Thou are the daughter of thy mother, who loathes her husband and her sons. And thou are the sister of thy sisters, who loathed their husbands and their sons. Your mother was a Hittite, and your father an Amorite.

46 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.

And thine elder sister is Samaria, who dwells at thy left hand, she and her daughters. And thy younger sister, who dwells at thy right hand, is Sodom and her daughters.

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

Yet thou have not walked in their ways, nor done according to their abominations, but, like it was a very little thing, thou were more corrupt than they in all thy ways.

48 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.

As I live, says the lord Jehovah, Sodom thy sister has not done, she nor her daughters, as thou have done, thou and thy daughters.

49 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.

Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom: pride, fullness of bread, and prosperous ease was in her and in her daughters, and she did not strengthen the hand of a poor and needy man.

50 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.

And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me. Therefore I took them away as I saw fit.

51 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.

Neither has Samaria committed half of thy sins, but thou have multiplied thine abominations more than they, and have justified thy sisters by all thine abominations which thou have done.

52 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].

Thou also, bear thou thine own shame, in that thou have given judgment for thy sisters, through thy sins that thou have committed more abominable than they. They are more righteous than thou. Yea, be thou also confounded, and bear thy shame, in that thou have justified thy sisters.

53 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.

And I will turn back again 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,

54 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.

that thou may bear thine own shame, and may be ashamed because of all that thou have done, in that thou are a comfort to them.

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

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.

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

For thy sister Sodom was not mentioned by thy mouth in the day of thy pride,

57 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.

before thy wickedness was uncovered, as at the time of the reproach of the daughters of Syria, and of all who are round about her, the daughters of the Philistines, who do despite to thee round about.

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

Thou have borne thy lewdness and thine abominations, says Jehovah.

59 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.

For thus says the lord Jehovah: I will also deal with thee as thou have done, who have despised the oath in breaking the covenant.

60 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.

Nevertheless I will remember my covenant with thee in the days of thy youth, and I will establish to thee an everlasting covenant.

61 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.

Then thou shall remember thy ways, and be ashamed, when thou shall receive thy sisters, thine elder sisters and thy younger, and I will give them to thee for daughters, but not by thy covenant.

62 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].

And I will establish my covenant with thee, and thou shall know that I am Jehovah,

63 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.’”

that thou may remember, and be confounded, and never open thy mouth any more, because of thy shame, when I have forgiven thee all that thou have done, says the lord Jehovah.