Ezekiel 16
1 Yahweh gave me another message. He said,
And the word of Jehovah came unto 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 saith the Lord Jehovah unto Jerusalem: Thy birth and thy nativity is of the land of the Canaanite: thy father was an Amorite, and thy mother 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 wast born thy navel was not cut, neither wast thou washed in water for cleansing; thou wast not rubbed with salt 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 unto thee, to have compassion upon thee; but thou wast cast out in the open field, from abhorrence of thy person, in the day that thou wast 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 I passed by thee, and saw thee weltering in thy blood, and I said unto thee, in thy blood, Live! yea, I said unto 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 the bud of the field; and thou didst increase and grow great, and thou camest to fulness of beauty; [thy] breasts were fashioned, and thy hair grew: but thou wast 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.
And I passed by thee, and looked upon thee, and behold, thy time was the time of love; and I spread my skirt over thee, and covered thy nakedness; and I swore unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord Jehovah, and thou becamest mine.
9 [And then it was as though] [MET] I bathed you and washed the blood from you and put ointment on your body.
And I washed thee with water, and 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.
and I clothed thee with embroidered work, and shod thee with badgers' skin, and I bound thee about with byssus, 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 on 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 wast thou decked with gold and silver, and thy raiment was byssus, and silk, and embroidered work. Thou didst eat fine flour, and honey, and oil; and thou becamest exceedingly beautiful, and thou didst prosper into a kingdom.
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 fame went forth among the nations for thy beauty; for it was perfect through my magnificence, which I had put upon thee, saith 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 didst confide in thy beauty, and playedst the harlot because of thy renown, and pouredst out thy whoredoms on every one that 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 of thy garments thou didst take, and madest for thyself high places decked with divers colours, and didst play the harlot thereupon: [the like] hath not come to pass, and shall be no more.
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.
And thou didst take thy fair jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given thee, and madest to thyself images of males, and didst commit fornication 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 tookest thine embroidered garments, and coveredst them; and thou didst set mine oil and mine 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.
And my bread which I had given thee, the fine flour and the oil and the honey wherewith I fed thee, thou didst even set it before them for a sweet savour: thus it was, saith 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.
And thou didst take thy sons and thy daughters, whom thou hadst borne unto me, and these didst thou sacrifice unto 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 didst slay my children and give them up in passing them over 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 hast not remembered the days of thy youth, when thou wast naked and bare, when thou wast 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 came to pass after all thy wickedness (woe, woe unto thee! saith the Lord Jehovah),
24 you built a shrine to worship idols in every [city] square/plaza.
that thou didst also build unto thee a place of debauchery, and didst make thee a high 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 didst build thy high place at every head of the way, and madest thy beauty to be abhorred, and thou didst open thy feet to every one that passed by, and multiply 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.
And thou didst commit fornication with the Egyptians thy neighbours, great of flesh; and didst multiply 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.
And behold, I stretched out my hand over thee, and diminished thine appointed portion; and I gave thee over unto the will of them that hate thee, the daughters of the Philistines, who were confounded at 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.
And thou didst commit fornication with the Assyrians, because thou wast insatiable; yea, thou didst commit fornication with them, and yet couldest not be satisfied.
29 So you also had sex [with soldiers from] Babylonia, a country full of merchants/businessmen, but even that did not satisfy you.
And thou didst multiply thy whoredom with the land of merchants, Chaldea, and yet thou wast not satisfied herewith.
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, saith the Lord Jehovah, seeing thou doest all these [things], the work of a whorish woman, under no restraint;
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 buildest thy place of debauchery at the head of every way, and makest thy high place in every street! And thou hast not been as a harlot, in that thou scornest reward,
32 You are like [MET] a woman who commits adultery: You prefer to [have sex with] strangers rather than with your husband.
O adulterous wife, that taketh 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 rewards to all harlots; but thou gavest thy rewards to all thy lovers, and rewardedst them, that they might come unto 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 in thee is the contrary from [other] women, in thy whoredoms, in that none followeth thee to commit fornication; and whereas thou givest a reward, and no reward is given unto thee, so art thou contrary.
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 saith the Lord Jehovah: Because thy money hath been poured out, and thy nakedness discovered through thy fornications with thy lovers, and with all the idols of thine abominations, and because of the blood of thy children which thou didst give unto 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 hast taken pleasure, and all that thou hast loved, with all that thou hast hated, — I will even gather them round about against thee, and will discover thy nakedness unto 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 with the judgments of women that commit adultery and shed blood; and I will give thee up to the blood of fury 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].
and I will give thee into their hand, and they shall throw down thy place of debauchery, and shall break down thy high places; and they shall strip thee of thy garments, and shall take thy fair jewels, and 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.
And they shall bring up an assemblage 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 being a harlot, and thou also shalt give no more any reward.
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].
And I will appease my fury against thee, and my jealousy shall depart from thee; and I will be quiet, and will be no more 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 hast not remembered the days of thy youth, but hast raged against me in all these [things], behold, therefore, I also will recompense thy way upon [thy] head, saith the Lord Jehovah, and thou shalt not commit this lewdness besides all thine abominations.
44 People who [like to] quote proverbs will quote this proverb about you: “[behave] like their mothers [behave].”
Behold, every one that useth proverbs shall speak in a proverb against thee, saying, As 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 art the daughter of thy mother that loathed 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.
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 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.
47 You not only imitated all [DOU] their detestable behavior, but you quickly became more sinful than they were.
And thou hast not walked in their ways, nor done according to their abominations; but as though that were a very little, thou hast been 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, saith the Lord Jehovah, Sodom thy sister hath not done, she nor her daughters, as thou hast 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, fulness of bread, and careless ease was in her and in her daughters, but she did not strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.
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, and I took them away when I saw [it].
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.
And Samaria hath not sinned according to the 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.
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, who hast judged thy sisters, bear thine own confusion, because of thy sins in which thou hast acted more abominably than they: they are more righteous than thou. So be thou ashamed also, and bear thy confusion, in that thou hast 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 bring 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 mayest bear thy confusion, and mayest be confounded for all that thou hast done, in that thou comfortest 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; thou also and thy daughters, ye shall return to your former estate.
56 You (sneered at/despised) [the people of] Sodom when you were proud,
Yea, Sodom thy sister 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 discovered, as at the time of the reproach of the daughters of Syria, and of all that are round about her, the daughters of the Philistines, who despise thee on every side.
58 And you are being punished for all your immoral behavior and other detestable things that you do.
Thy lewdness and thine abominations, thou bearest them, saith 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 saith the Lord Jehovah: I will even deal with thee as thou hast done, who hast despised the oath, and broken 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 unto 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.
And thou shalt remember thy ways, and be confounded, when thou shalt receive thy sisters who are older than thou, together with those who are younger than thou; for I will give them unto thee for daughters, but not by virtue of 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 shalt 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 mayest remember, and be ashamed, and no more open thy mouth because of thy confusion, when I forgive thee all that thou hast done, saith the Lord Jehovah.
