The Lord’s Kindness to Jerusalem

16 The Lord spoke his word to me. He said: ² “Human being, tell Jerusalem about her hated actions. ³ Say, ‘This is what the Lord God says to Jerusalem: Your beginnings and your ancestors were in the land of the Canaanites. Your father was an Amorite. And your mother was a Hittite. ⁴ On the day you were born, your cord^[a] was not cut. You were not washed with water for cleansing. You were not rubbed with salt. You were not wrapped in cloths. ⁵ No one felt sorry for you. No one would do any of these things for you. No, you were thrown out into the open field. This is because you were hated on the day you were born.

⁶ “‘Then I passed by and saw you kicking about in your blood. I said to you, “Live!” ⁷ I made you grow like a plant in the field. You grew up and became tall. You grew up and became like a beautiful jewel. Your breasts formed. Your hair grew. But you were naked and without clothes.

⁸ “‘Later I passed by you and looked at you. I saw that you were at the time for love. So I spread my robe over you and covered your nakedness. I also made a marriage promise to you. I entered into an agreement with you. Then you became mine, says the Lord God.

⁹ “‘Then I bathed you with water and washed all the blood off of you. I put oil on you. ¹⁰ I put beautiful clothes made with needlework on you. I put sandals of fine leather on your feet. I wrapped you in fine linen and covered you with silk. ¹¹ I put jewelry on you. I put bracelets on your arms and a necklace around your neck. ¹² I also put a ring in your nose and earrings in your ears. And I put a beautiful crown on your head. ¹³ So you wore gold and silver. Your dress was made of fine linen, silk and beautiful needlework. You ate fine flour, honey and olive oil. You were very beautiful and became a queen. ¹⁴ Then you became famous among the nations because you were so beautiful. Your beauty was perfect, because of the glory I gave you, says the Lord God.

Jerusalem Becomes a Prostitute

¹⁵ “‘But you trusted in your beauty. You became a prostitute because you were so famous. You had physical relations with anyone who passed by. ¹⁶ And you took some of your clothes and made your places of worship colorful. This is where you carried on your prostitution. These things should not have happened. They should never happen again. ¹⁷ You also took your beautiful jewelry. It was made from gold and silver I had given you. Then you made for yourselves male idols. And you were a prostitute with them. ¹⁸ Then you took your clothes with beautiful needlework and covered the idols. You gave my oil and incense as an offering to them. ¹⁹ Also, you took the bread I gave you. You took the fine flour, oil and honey I gave you to eat. And you offered them before the false gods as a pleasing smell. This is what happened, says the Lord God.

²⁰ “‘Also, you took your sons and daughters who were my children. And you sacrificed them to idols as food. Your sexual sins were not enough for you. ²¹ You killed my children and offered them up in fire to idols. ²² You did all your hated acts and sexual sins. But you did not remember when you were young. At that time you were naked and had no clothes. You were left in your blood.

²³ “‘How terrible! How terrible it will be for you, says the Lord God. This is what you did after all these evil things. ²⁴ You built yourself a place to worship false gods. You made for yourself a place of worship in every city square. ²⁵ You built a place of worship at the head of every street. You made your beauty hateful. You offered your body for sex to anyone who passed by. Your sexual sins became worse and worse. ²⁶ You also committed shameful acts with the Egyptians. They were your neighbors and partners in sexual sins. Your sexual sins became even worse. And they caused me to be angry. ²⁷ So then, I used my power against you. I took away some of your land. I let those who hated you defeat you. They were the Philistine women. Even they were ashamed of your evil ways. ²⁸ Also, you committed shameful acts with the Assyrians because you could not be satisfied. You sinned sexually with them, but you still were not satisfied. ²⁹ You did even more sexual sins in the land of Babylonia. The Babylonians were traders. But you were not satisfied even with this.

³⁰ “‘Truly your will is weak, says the Lord God. You do all the things a stubborn prostitute does. ³¹ You built your place to worship false gods at the beginning of every street. And you made places of worship in every city square. But you were not like a prostitute because you refused payment.

³² “‘You are a wife who is guilty of adultery. You desire strangers instead of your husband. ³³ Men pay prostitutes, but you pay all your lovers. You pay them to come to you. And they come from all around and sin sexually. ³⁴ So you are different from other prostitutes. No one acts like a prostitute the same way you do. You give money, and no money is given to you. Yes, you are different.

The Prostitute Is Judged

³⁵ “‘So, prostitute, hear the word of the Lord. ³⁶ This is what the Lord God says: You showed your riches to other countries. And you uncovered your body in your sexual sins with your lovers. And you even did it with all your hated idols. You killed your children and offered their blood to your idols. ³⁷ So I will gather all your lovers with whom you found pleasure. Yes, I will gather all those you loved and those you hated. Yes, I will gather them against you from all around. I will strip you naked in front of them. Then they will be able to see your nakedness. ³⁸ So I will punish you as judges punish women guilty of adultery. I will punish you as murderers are punished. I will put you to death because I am angry and jealous. ³⁹ I will also hand you over to your lovers. They will tear down your places of worship. They will destroy the places where you worship false gods. They will tear off your clothes and take away your jewelry. They will leave you naked and bare. ⁴⁰ They will bring a crowd against you. They will throw stones at you and cut you into pieces with their swords. ⁴¹ They will burn your houses with fire. They will punish you in front of many women. Then I will put an end to your sexual sins. And you will no longer pay your lovers. ⁴² Then I will rest from my anger against you. I will stop being jealous. I will be quiet and not angry anymore.

⁴³ “‘You didn’t remember when you were young. So you have made me angry in all these ways. And I will repay you for what you have done, says the Lord God. Didn’t you add sexual sins to all your other acts which I hate?

⁴⁴ “‘Everyone who uses wise sayings will say this about you: “The daughter is like her mother.” ⁴⁵ You are like your mother. She hated her husband and children. You are also like your sisters. They hated their husbands and children. Your mother was a Hittite. And your father was an Amorite. ⁴⁶ Now your older sister is Samaria. She lived north of you with her daughters. And your younger sister Sodom lived south of you with her daughters. ⁴⁷ You followed their ways. And you did what they did. But you were even worse than they were in everything you did. ⁴⁸ As surely as I live, says the Lord God, this is true. Your sister Sodom and her daughters never did what you and your daughters have done.

⁴⁹ “‘This was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were proud. They had plenty of food. They lived in great comfort. But she did not help the poor and needy. ⁵⁰ So Sodom and her daughters were proud. And they did things I hate in front of me. So I got rid of them when I saw what they did. ⁵¹ Also, Samaria did not do half the sins you do. You have done more hated things than they did. So you make your sisters look good because of all the hated things you have done. ⁵² You will suffer disgrace because you have provided an excuse for your sisters. They are more right than you are. Your sins were even more terrible than theirs. Be ashamed and suffer disgrace because you made your sisters seem right.

⁵³ “‘But I will give Sodom and her daughters their riches back. I will give Samaria and her daughters their riches back. And with them I will also give you back your riches. ⁵⁴ But you will have to suffer disgrace. You will feel ashamed for all the things you have done. You even gave comfort to your sisters in their sins. ⁵⁵ Your sisters are Sodom with her daughters and Samaria with her daughters. They will return to what they were before. You and your daughters will also return to what you were before. ⁵⁶ You would not even mention your sister Samaria when you were proud. ⁵⁷ Nor would you mention her before your evil was uncovered. And now the Edomite women and their neighbors say bad things about you. Even the Philistine women say bad things about you. Those around you hate you. ⁵⁸ You will be punished for your sexual sins and actions that I hate, says the Lord.

God Keeps His Promises

⁵⁹ “‘This is what the Lord God says: I will give you what you should have. You hated and broke the marriage agreement. ⁶⁰ But I will remember my agreement I made with you when you were young. I will make an agreement that will continue forever with you. ⁶¹ Then you will remember what you have done. You will be ashamed when you receive your sisters—both your older and your younger sisters. I will give them to you like daughters. But it will not be because of my agreement with you. ⁶² I will set up my agreement with you. And you will know that I am the Lord. ⁶³ You will remember and be ashamed. You will not open your mouth again because of your shame. This is because I will forgive you for all the things you have done, says the Lord God.’”