Ezekiel 16

1 Yahweh gave me another message. He said,

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

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

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

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 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.

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] 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.

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}.

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.

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

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].

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.

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 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.

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 you in water, and washed your blood from you, and anointed you 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 you with embroidered [garments], and clothed you beneath with purple, and girded you with fine linen, and clothed you 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 decked you also with ornaments, and put bracelets on your hands, and a necklace on your 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 pendant on your nostril, and rings in your ears, and a crown of glory on your 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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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 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.

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

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 [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.

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 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,

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

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

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.

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.

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 your wickedness, says the Lord,

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

that you did build yourself a house of fornication, and did make yourself a public 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.

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.

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 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.

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 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.

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 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.

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

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

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].

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.

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.

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.

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

An adulteress resembles you, taking rewards 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.

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.

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 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.

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

Therefore, harlot, hear the word of the Lord:

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, 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.

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 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.

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 be avenged on you with the vengeance of an adulteress, and I will bring upon you 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 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.

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 multitudes upon you, and they shall stone you with stones, and pierce you 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 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.

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 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].

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 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.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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, this Sodom and her daughters have not done as you and your daughters have done.

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.

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.

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 boasted, and wrought iniquities before me: so I cut them off 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.

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.

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].

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.

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 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:

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

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

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.

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

And surely your sister Sodom was not mentioned by your mouth in the days of your 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 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.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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 you; and you shall know that I am the Lord:

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 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.