Ezekiel 16
1 And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying,
Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
2 'Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations, and thou hast said:
“Son of man, confront Jerusalem with her abominations
3 Thus said the Lord Jehovah to Jerusalem: Thy birth and thy nativity [Are] of the land of the Canaanite, Thy father the Amorite, and thy mother a Hittite.
and tell her that this is what the Lord GOD says to Jerusalem: Your origin and your birth were in the land of the Canaanites. Your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite.
4 As to thy nativity, in the day thou wast born, Thou — thy navel hath not been cut, And in water thou wast not washed for ease, And thou hast not been salted at all, And thou hast not been swaddled at all.
On the day of your birth your cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water for cleansing. You were not rubbed with salt or wrapped in cloths.
5 No eye hath had pity on thee, to do to thee any of these, To have compassion on thee, And thou art cast on the face of the field, With loathing of thy person. In the day thou hast been born — thou!
No one cared enough for you to do even one of these things out of compassion for you. Instead, you were thrown out into the open field, because you were despised on the day of your birth.
6 And I do pass over by thee, And I see thee trodden down in thy blood, And I say to thee in thy blood, Live, And I say to thee in thy blood, Live.
Then I passed by and saw you wallowing in your blood, and as you lay there in your blood I said to you, ‘Live!’ There I said to you, ‘Live!’
7 A myriad — as the shoot of the field I have made thee, And thou art multiplied, and art great, And comest in with an excellent adornment, Breasts have been formed, and thy hair hath grown — And thou, naked and bare!
I made you thrive like a plant of the field. You grew up and matured and became very beautiful. Your breasts were formed and your hair grew, but you were naked and bare.
8 And I pass over by thee, and I see thee, And lo, thy time [is] a time of loves, And I spread My skirt over thee, And I cover thy nakedness, And I swear to thee, and come in to a covenant with thee, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah, And thou dost become Mine.
Then I passed by and saw you, and you were indeed old enough for love. So I spread My cloak over you and covered your nakedness. I pledged Myself to you, entered into a covenant with you, and you became Mine, declares the Lord GOD.
9 And I do wash thee with water, And I wash away thy blood from off thee, And I anoint thee with perfume.
Then I bathed you with water, rinsed off your blood, and anointed you with oil.
10 And I clothe thee with embroidery, And I shoe thee with badger's skin, And I gird thee with fine linen, And I cover thee with figured silk.
I clothed you in embroidered cloth and gave you sandals of fine leather. I wrapped you in fine linen and covered you with silk.
11 And I adorn thee with adornments, And I give bracelets for thy hands, And a chain for thy neck.
I adorned you with jewelry, and I put bracelets on your wrists and a chain around your neck.
12 And I give a ring for thy nose, And rings for thine ears, And a crown of beauty on thy head.
I put a ring in your nose, earrings on your ears, and a beautiful crown upon your head.
13 And thou dost put on gold and silver, And thy clothing [is] fine linen, And figured silk and embroidery, Fine flour, and honey, and oil thou hast eaten, And thou art very very beautiful, And dost go prosperously to the kingdom.
So you were adorned with gold and silver, and your clothing was made of fine linen, silk, and embroidered cloth. You ate fine flour, honey, and oil. You became very beautiful and rose to be queen.
14 And go forth doth thy name among nations, Because of thy beauty — for it [is] complete, In My honour that I have set upon thee, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah.
Your fame spread among the nations on account of your beauty, for it was perfect in the splendor I bestowed on you, declares the Lord GOD.
15 And thou dost trust in thy beauty, And goest a-whoring because of thy renown, And dost pour out thy whoredoms On every passer by — to him it is.
But because of your fame, you trusted in your beauty and played the harlot. You lavished your favors on everyone who passed by, and your beauty was theirs for the asking.
16 And thou dost take of thy garments, And dost make to thee spotted high-places, And dost go a-whoring upon them, They are not coming in — nor shall it be!
You took some of your garments and made colorful high places for yourself, and on them you prostituted yourself. Such things should not have happened; never should they have occurred!
17 And thou dost take thy beauteous vessels Of My gold and My silver that I gave to thee, And dost make to thee images of a male, And dost go a-whoring with them,
You also took the fine jewelry of gold and silver I had given you, and you made male idols with which to prostitute yourself.
18 And dost take the garments of thy embroidery, And thou dost cover them, And My oil and My perfume thou hast set before them.
You took your embroidered garments to cover them, and you set My oil and incense before them.
19 And My bread, that I gave to thee, Fine flour, and oil, and honey, that I caused thee to eat. Thou hast even set it before them, For a sweet fragrance — thus it is, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah.
And you set before them as a pleasing aroma the food I had given you—the fine flour, oil, and honey that I had fed you. That is what happened, declares the Lord GOD.
20 And thou dost take thy sons and thy daughters Whom thou hast born to Me, And dost sacrifice them to them for food. Is it a little thing because of thy whoredoms,
You even took the sons and daughters you bore to Me and sacrificed them as food to idols. Was your prostitution not enough?
21 That thou dost slaughter My sons, And dost give them up in causing them to pass over to them?
You slaughtered My children and delivered them up through the fire to idols.
22 And with all thine abominations and thy whoredoms, Thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, When thou wast naked and bare, Trodden down in thy blood thou wast!
And in all your abominations and acts of prostitution, you did not remember the days of your youth when you were naked and bare, wallowing in your own blood.
23 And it cometh to pass, after all thy wickedness, (Woe, woe, to thee — an affirmation of the Lord Jehovah),
Woe! Woe to you, declares the Lord GOD. And in addition to all your other wickedness,
24 That thou dost build to thee an arch, And dost make to thee a high place in every broad place.
you built yourself a mound and made yourself a lofty shrine in every public square.
25 At every head of the way thou hast built thy high place, And thou dost make thy beauty abominable, And dost open wide thy feet to every passer by, And dost multiply thy whoredoms,
At the head of every street you built your lofty shrines and degraded your beauty. With increasing promiscuity, you spread your legs to all who passed by.
26 And dost go a-whoring unto sons of Egypt, Thy neighbours — great of appetite! And thou dost multiply thy whoredoms, To provoke Me to anger.
You prostituted yourself with your lustful neighbors, the Egyptians, and increased your promiscuity to provoke Me to anger.
27 And lo, I have stretched out My hand against thee, And I diminish thy portion, And give thee to the desire of those hating thee, The daughters of the Philistines, Who are ashamed of thy wicked way.
Therefore I stretched out My hand against you and reduced your portion. I gave you over to the desire of those who hate you, the daughters of the Philistines, who were ashamed of your lewd conduct.
28 And thou goest a-whoring unto sons of Asshur, Without thy being satisfied, And thou dost go a-whoring with them, And also — thou hast not been satisfied.
Then you prostituted yourself with the Assyrians, because you were not yet satisfied. Even after that, you were still not satisfied.
29 And thou dost multiply thy whoredoms On the land of Canaan — toward Chaldea, And even with this thou hast not been satisfied.
So you extended your promiscuity to Chaldea, the land of merchants—but even with this you were not satisfied!
30 How weak [is] thy heart, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah, In thy doing all these, The work of a domineering whorish woman.
How weak-willed is your heart, declares the Lord GOD, while you do all these things, the acts of a shameless prostitute!
31 In thy building thine arch at the head of every way, Thy high place thou hast made in every broad place, And — hast not been as a whore deriding a gift.
But when you built your mounds at the head of every street and made your lofty shrines in every public square, you were not even like a prostitute, because you scorned payment.
32 The wife who committeth adultery — Under her husband — doth receive strangers.
You adulterous wife! You receive strangers instead of your own husband!
33 To all whores they give a gift, And — thou hast given thy gifts to all thy lovers, And dost bribe them to come in unto thee, From round about — in thy whoredoms.
Men give gifts to all their prostitutes, but you gave gifts to all your lovers. You bribed them to come to you from everywhere for your illicit favors.
34 And the contrary is in thee from women in thy whoredoms, That after thee none doth go a-whoring; And in thy giving a gift, And a gift hath not been given to thee; And thou art become contrary.
So your prostitution is the opposite of that of other women: No one solicited your favors, and you paid a fee instead of receiving one; so you are the very opposite!
35 Therefore, O whore, hear a word of Jehovah,
Therefore, O prostitute, hear the word of the LORD!
36 Thus said the Lord Jehovah: Because of thy brass being poured forth, And thy nakedness is revealed in thy whoredoms near thy lovers, And near all the idols of thy abominations, And according to the blood of thy sons, Whom thou hast given to them;
This is what the Lord GOD says: Because you poured out your wealth and exposed your nakedness in your promiscuity with your lovers and with all your detestable idols, and because of the blood of your children which you gave to them,
37 Therefore, lo, I am assembling all thy lovers, To whom thou hast been sweet, And all whom thou hast loved, Besides all whom thou hast hated; And I have assembled them by thee round about, And have revealed thy nakedness to them, And they have seen all thy nakedness.
therefore I will surely gather all the lovers with whom you found pleasure, all those you loved and all those you hated. I will gather them against you from all around and expose you before them, and they will see you completely naked.
38 And I have judged thee — judgments of adulteresses, And of women shedding blood, And have given thee blood, fury, and jealousy.
And I will sentence you to the punishment of women who commit adultery and those who shed blood; so I will bring upon you the wrath of your bloodshed and jealousy.
39 And I have given thee into their hand, And they have thrown down thine arch, And they have broken down thy high places, And they have stript thee of thy garments, And they have taken thy beauteous vessels, And they have left thee naked and bare.
Then I will deliver you into the hands of your lovers, and they will level your mounds and tear down your lofty shrines. They will strip off your clothes, take your fine jewelry, and leave you naked and bare.
40 And have caused an assembly to come up against thee, And stoned thee with stones, And thrust thee through with their swords,
They will bring a mob against you, who will stone you and cut you to pieces with their swords.
41 And burnt thy houses with fire, And done in thee judgments before the eyes of many women, And I have caused thee to cease from going a-whoring, And also a gift thou givest no more.
Then they will burn down your houses and execute judgment against you in the sight of many women. I will put an end to your prostitution, and you will never again pay your lovers.
42 And I have caused My fury against thee to rest, And My jealousy hath turned aside from thee, And I have been quiet, and I am not angry any more.
So I will lay to rest My wrath against you, and My jealousy will turn away from you. Then I will be calm and no longer angry.
43 Because thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, And dost give trouble to Me in all these, Lo, even I also thy way at first gave up, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah, And I did not this thought for all thine abominations.
Because you did not remember the days of your youth, but enraged Me with all these things, I will surely bring your deeds down upon your own head, declares the Lord GOD. Have you not committed this lewdness on top of all your other abominations?
44 Lo, every one using a simile, Doth use a simile concerning thee, saying: As the mother — her daughter!
Behold, all who speak in proverbs will quote this proverb about you: ‘Like mother, like daughter.’
45 Thy mother's daughter thou [art], Loathing her husband and her sons, And thy sisters' sister thou [art], Who loathed their husbands and their sons, Your mother [is] a Hittite, and your father an Amorite.
You are the daughter of your mother, who despised her husband and children. You are the sister of your sisters, who despised their husbands and children. Your mother was a Hittite and your father an Amorite.
46 And thine elder sister [is] Samaria, she and her daughters, Who is dwelling at thy left hand, And thy younger sister, who is dwelling on thy right hand, [is] Sodom and her daughters.
Your older sister was Samaria, who lived with her daughters to your north; and your younger sister was Sodom, who lived with her daughters to your south.
47 And — in their ways thou hast not walked, And according to their abominations done, As a little thing it hath been loathed, And thou dost more corruptly than they in all thy ways.
And you not only walked in their ways and practiced their abominations, but soon you were more depraved than they were.
48 I live — an affirmation of the Lord Jehovah, Sodom thy sister hath not done — she and her daughters — As thou hast done — thou and thy daughters.
As surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, your sister Sodom and her daughters never did as you and your daughters have done.
49 Lo, this hath been the iniquity of Sodom thy sister, Arrogancy, fulness of bread, and quiet ease, Have been to her and to her daughters, And the hand of the afflicted and needy She hath not strengthened.
Now this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed, and complacent; they did not help the poor and needy.
50 And they are haughty and do abomination before Me, And I turn them aside when I have seen.
Thus they were haughty and committed abominations before Me. Therefore I removed them, as you have seen.
51 As to Samaria, as the half of thy sins — she hath not sinned, And thou dost multiply thine abominations more than they, And dost justify thy sisters by all thy abominations that thou hast done.
Furthermore, Samaria did not commit half the sins you did. You have multiplied your abominations beyond theirs, and all the abominations you have committed have made your sisters appear righteous.
52 Thou also — bear thy shame, That thou hast adjudged to thy sisters, Because of thy sins that thou hast done more abominably than they, They are more righteous than thou, And thou, also, be ashamed and bear thy shame, In thy justifying thy sisters.
So now you must bear your disgrace, since you have brought justification for your sisters. For they appear more righteous than you, because your sins were more vile than theirs. So you too must bear your shame and disgrace, since you have made your sisters appear righteous.
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 thy captives in their midst,
But I will restore Sodom and her daughters from captivity, as well as Samaria and her daughters. And I will restore you along with them.
54 So that thou dost bear thy shame, And hast been ashamed of all that thou hast done, In thy comforting them.
So you will bear your disgrace and be ashamed of all you did to comfort them.
55 And thy sisters, Sodom and her daughters, Do turn back to their former state, And Samaria and her daughters Do turn back to their former state, And thou and thy daughters do turn back to your former state.
And your sisters, Sodom with her daughters and Samaria with her daughters, will return to their former state. You and your daughters will also return to your former state.
56 And thy sister Sodom hath not been for a report in thy mouth, In the day of thine arrogancy,
Did you not treat your sister Sodom as an object of scorn in the day of your pride,
57 Before thy wickedness is revealed, As [at] the time of the reproach of the daughters of Aram, And of all her neighbours, the daughters of the Philistines, Who are despising thee round about.
before your wickedness was uncovered? Even so, you are now scorned by the daughters of Edom and all those around her, and by the daughters of the Philistines—all those around you who despise you.
58 Thy devices and thine abominations, Thou hast borne them, an affirmation of Jehovah.
You will bear the consequences of your lewdness and your abominations, declares the LORD.
59 For thus said the Lord Jehovah: I have dealt with thee as thou hast done, In that thou hast despised an oath — to break covenant.
For this is what the Lord GOD says: I will deal with you according to your deeds, since you have despised the oath by breaking the covenant.
60 And I — I have remembered My covenant with thee, In the days of thy youth, And I have established for thee a covenant age-during.
But I will remember the covenant I made with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish an everlasting covenant with you.
61 And thou hast remembered thy ways, And thou hast been ashamed, In thy receiving thy sisters — Thine elder with thy younger, And I have given them to thee for daughters, And not by thy covenant.
Then you will remember your ways and be ashamed when you receive your older and younger sisters. I will give them to you as daughters, but not because of My covenant with you.
62 And I — I have established My covenant with thee, And thou hast known that I [am] Jehovah.
So I will establish My covenant with you, and you will know that I am the LORD,
63 So that thou dost remember, And thou hast been ashamed, And there is not to thee any more an opening of the mouth because of thy shame, In My receiving atonement for thee, For all that thou hast done, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah!'
so that when I make atonement for all you have done, you will remember and be ashamed and never again open your mouth because of your disgrace, declares the Lord GOD.”
