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16 Then again a message came to me from the Lord.

“Son of dust,” he said, “speak to Jerusalem about her loathsome sins. Tell her, ‘The Lord God says: You are no better than the people of Canaan—your father must have been an Amorite and your mother a Hittite![a] When you were born, no one cared for you. When I first saw you, your umbilical cord was uncut, and you had been neither washed nor rubbed with salt nor clothed. No one had the slightest interest in you; no one pitied you or cared for you. On that day when you were born, you were dumped out into a field and left to die, unwanted.

6-7 “‘But I came by and saw you there, covered with your own blood, and I said, “Live! Thrive like a plant in the field!” And you did! You grew up and became tall, slender and supple, a jewel among jewels. And when you reached the age of maidenhood, your breasts were full-formed and your pubic hair had grown; yet you were naked.

“‘Later, when I passed by and saw you again, you were old enough for marriage; and I wrapped my cloak around you to legally declare my marriage vow. I signed a covenant with you, and you became mine. 9-10 Then, when the marriage had taken place, I gave you beautiful clothes of linens and silk, embroidered, and sandals made of dolphin hide. 11 I gave you lovely ornaments, bracelets, and beautiful necklaces, 12 a ring for your nose and two more for your ears, and a lovely tiara for your head. 13 And so you were made beautiful with gold and silver, and your clothes were silk and linen and beautifully embroidered. You ate the finest foods and became more beautiful than ever. You looked like a queen, and so you were! 14 Your reputation was great among the nations for your beauty; it was perfect because of all the gifts I gave you,’” says the Lord God.

15 “‘But you thought you could get along without me—you trusted in your beauty instead; and you gave yourself as a prostitute to every man who came along. Your beauty was his for the asking. 16 You used the lovely things I gave you for making idol shrines and to decorate your bed of prostitution. Unbelievable! There has never been anything like it before! 17 You took the very jewels and gold and silver ornaments I gave to you and made statues of men and worshiped them, which is adultery against me. 18 You used the beautifully embroidered clothes I gave you—to cover your idols! And used my oil and incense to worship them! 19 You set before them as a lovely sacrifice—imagine it—the fine flour and oil and honey I gave you! 20 And you took my sons and daughters you had borne to me and sacrificed them to your gods; and they are gone. Wasn’t it enough that you should be a prostitute? 21 Must you also slay my children by sacrificing them to idols?

22 “‘And in all these years of adultery and sin you have not thought of those days long ago when you were naked and covered with blood.

23 “‘And then, in addition to all your other wickedness—woe, woe upon you, says the Lord God— 24 you built a spacious brothel for your lovers and idol altars on every street, 25 and there you offered your beauty to every man who came by, in an endless stream of prostitution. 26 And you added lustful Egypt to your prostitutions by your alliance with her. My anger is great.

27 “‘Therefore I have crushed you with my fist; I have reduced your boundaries and delivered you into the hands of those who hate you—the Philistines—and even they are ashamed of you.

28 “‘You have committed adultery with the Assyrians too by making them your allies and worshiping their gods;[b] it seems that you can never find enough new gods. After your adultery there, you still weren’t satisfied, 29 so you worshiped the gods of that great merchant land of Babylon—and you still weren’t satisfied. 30 What a filthy heart you have, says the Lord God, to do such things as these; you are a brazen prostitute, 31 building your idol altars, your brothels, on every street. You have been worse than a prostitute, so eager for sin that you have not even charged for your love! 32 Yes, you are an adulterous wife who lives with other men instead of her own husband. 33-34 Prostitutes charge for their services—men pay with many gifts. But not you, you give them gifts, bribing them to come to you! So you are different from other prostitutes. But you had to pay them, for no one wanted you.

35 “‘O prostitute, hear the word of the Lord: 36 This is what the Lord God says! Because I see your filthy sins, your adultery with your lovers—your worshiping of idols—and the slaying of your children as sacrifices to your gods, 37 this is what I am going to do: I will gather together all your allies—these lovers of yours you have sinned with, both those you loved and those you hated—and I will make you naked before them that they may see you. 38 I will punish you as a murderess is punished and as a woman breaking wedlock living with other men. 39 I will give you to your lovers—these many nations—to destroy, and they will knock down your brothels and idol altars. They will strip you, take your beautiful jewels, and leave you naked and ashamed. 40-41 They will burn your homes, punishing you before the eyes of many women. And I will see to it that you stop your adulteries with other gods and end your payments to your allies for their love.

42 “‘Then at last my fury against you will die away; my jealousy against you will end, and I will be quiet and not be angry with you anymore. 43 But first, because you have not remembered your youth but have angered me by all these evil things you do, I will fully repay you for all of your sins,’” says the Lord. “‘For you are thankless in addition to all your other faults.

44 “‘“Like mother, like daughter”—that is what everyone will say of you. 45 For your mother loathed her husband and her children, and you do too. And you are exactly like your sisters, for they despised their husbands and their children. Truly, your mother must have been a Hittite and your father an Amorite.

46 “‘Your older sister is Samaria, living with her daughters north of you; your younger sister is Sodom and her daughters, in the south. 47 You have not merely sinned as they do—no, that was nothing to you; in a very short time you far surpassed them.

48 “‘As I live, the Lord God says, Sodom and her daughters have never been as wicked as you and your daughters. 49 Your sister Sodom’s sins were pride, laziness, and too much food, while the poor and needy suffered outside her door. 50 She insolently worshiped many idols as I watched. Therefore I crushed her.

51 “‘Even Samaria has not committed half your sins. You have worshiped idols far more than your sisters have; they seem almost righteous in comparison with you! 52 Don’t be surprised then by the lighter punishment they get. For your sins are so awful that in comparison with you, your sisters seem innocent! 53 (But someday I will restore the fortunes of Sodom and Samaria again, and those of Judah too.) 54 Your terrible punishment will be a consolation to them, for it will be greater than theirs.

55 “‘Yes, your sisters, Sodom and Samaria, and all their people will be restored again, and Judah, too, will prosper in that day. 56 In your proud days you held Sodom in unspeakable contempt. 57 But now your greater wickedness has been exposed to all the world, and you are the one who is scorned—by Edom and all her neighbors and by all the Philistines. 58 This is part of your punishment for all your sins,’” says the Lord.

59-60 For the Lord God says: “I will repay you for your broken promises. You lightly broke your solemn vows to me, yet I will keep the pledge I made to you when you were young. I will establish an everlasting covenant with you forever, 61 and you will remember with shame all the evil you have done; and you will be overcome by my favor when I take your sisters, Samaria and Sodom, and make them your daughters, for you to rule over. You will know you don’t deserve this gracious act, for you did not keep my covenant. 62 I will reaffirm my covenant with you, and you will know I am the Lord. 63 Despite all you have done, I will be kind to you again; you will cover your mouth in silence and in shame when I forgive you all that you have done,” says the Lord God.

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 16:3 your father must have been an Amorite and your mother a Hittite! The Amorites and Hittites were nations who turned their backs to all knowledge of God.
  2. Ezekiel 16:28 by making them your allies and worshiping their gods, implied.

Jerusalem as an Adulterous Wife

16 The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, confront(A) Jerusalem with her detestable practices(B) and say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says to Jerusalem: Your ancestry(C) and birth were in the land of the Canaanites; your father(D) was an Amorite(E) and your mother a Hittite.(F) On the day you were born(G) your cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water to make you clean, nor were you rubbed with salt or wrapped in cloths. No one looked on you with pity or had compassion enough to do any of these things for you. Rather, you were thrown out into the open field, for on the day you were born you were despised.

“‘Then I passed by and saw you kicking about in your blood, and as you lay there in your blood I said to you, “Live!”[a](H) I made you grow(I) like a plant of the field. You grew and developed and entered puberty. Your breasts had formed and your hair had grown, yet you were stark naked.(J)

“‘Later I passed by, and when I looked at you and saw that you were old enough for love, I spread the corner of my garment(K) over you and covered your naked body. I gave you my solemn oath and entered into a covenant(L) with you, declares the Sovereign Lord, and you became mine.(M)

“‘I bathed you with water and washed(N) the blood from you and put ointments on you. 10 I clothed you with an embroidered(O) dress and put sandals of fine leather on you. I dressed you in fine linen(P) and covered you with costly garments.(Q) 11 I adorned you with jewelry:(R) I put bracelets(S) on your arms and a necklace(T) around your neck, 12 and I put a ring on your nose,(U) earrings(V) on your ears and a beautiful crown(W) on your head.(X) 13 So you were adorned with gold and silver; your clothes(Y) were of fine linen and costly fabric and embroidered cloth. Your food was honey, olive oil(Z) and the finest flour. You became very beautiful and rose to be a queen.(AA) 14 And your fame(AB) spread among the nations on account of your beauty,(AC) because the splendor I had given you made your beauty perfect, declares the Sovereign Lord.(AD)

15 “‘But you trusted in your beauty and used your fame to become a prostitute. You lavished your favors on anyone who passed by(AE) and your beauty became his.(AF) 16 You took some of your garments to make gaudy high places,(AG) where you carried on your prostitution.(AH) You went to him, and he possessed your beauty.[b] 17 You also took the fine jewelry I gave you, the jewelry made of my gold and silver, and you made for yourself male idols and engaged in prostitution with them.(AI) 18 And you took your embroidered clothes to put on them, and you offered my oil and incense(AJ) before them. 19 Also the food I provided for you—the flour, olive oil and honey I gave you to eat—you offered as fragrant incense before them. That is what happened, declares the Sovereign Lord.(AK)

20 “‘And you took your sons and daughters(AL) whom you bore to me(AM) and sacrificed them as food to the idols. Was your prostitution not enough?(AN) 21 You slaughtered my children and sacrificed them to the idols.(AO) 22 In all your detestable practices and your prostitution you did not remember the days of your youth,(AP) when you were naked and bare,(AQ) kicking about in your blood.(AR)

23 “‘Woe!(AS) Woe to you, declares the Sovereign Lord. In addition to all your other wickedness, 24 you built a mound for yourself and made a lofty shrine(AT) in every public square.(AU) 25 At every street corner(AV) you built your lofty shrines and degraded your beauty, spreading your legs with increasing promiscuity to anyone who passed by.(AW) 26 You engaged in prostitution(AX) with the Egyptians,(AY) your neighbors with large genitals, and aroused my anger(AZ) with your increasing promiscuity.(BA) 27 So I stretched out my hand(BB) against you and reduced your territory; I gave you over(BC) to the greed of your enemies, the daughters of the Philistines,(BD) who were shocked by your lewd conduct. 28 You engaged in prostitution with the Assyrians(BE) too, because you were insatiable; and even after that, you still were not satisfied.(BF) 29 Then you increased your promiscuity to include Babylonia,[c](BG) a land of merchants, but even with this you were not satisfied.(BH)

30 “‘I am filled with fury against you,[d] declares the Sovereign Lord, when you do all these things, acting like a brazen prostitute!(BI) 31 When you built your mounds at every street corner and made your lofty shrines(BJ) in every public square, you were unlike a prostitute, because you scorned payment.

32 “‘You adulterous wife! You prefer strangers to your own husband! 33 All prostitutes receive gifts,(BK) but you give gifts(BL) to all your lovers, bribing them to come to you from everywhere for your illicit favors.(BM) 34 So in your prostitution you are the opposite of others; no one runs after you for your favors. You are the very opposite, for you give payment and none is given to you.

35 “‘Therefore, you prostitute, hear the word of the Lord! 36 This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because you poured out your lust and exposed your naked body in your promiscuity with your lovers, and because of all your detestable idols, and because you gave them your children’s blood,(BN) 37 therefore I am going to gather all your lovers, with whom you found pleasure, those you loved as well as those you hated. I will gather them against you from all around and will strip(BO) you in front of them, and they will see you stark naked.(BP) 38 I will sentence you to the punishment of women who commit adultery and who shed blood;(BQ) I will bring on you the blood vengeance of my wrath and jealous anger.(BR) 39 Then I will deliver you into the hands(BS) of your lovers, and they will tear down your mounds and destroy your lofty shrines. They will strip you of your clothes and take your fine jewelry and leave you stark naked.(BT) 40 They will bring a mob against you, who will stone(BU) you and hack you to pieces with their swords. 41 They will burn down(BV) your houses and inflict punishment on you in the sight of many women.(BW) I will put a stop(BX) to your prostitution, and you will no longer pay your lovers. 42 Then my wrath against you will subside and my jealous anger will turn away from you; I will be calm and no longer angry.(BY)

43 “‘Because you did not remember(BZ) the days of your youth but enraged me with all these things, I will surely bring down(CA) on your head what you have done, declares the Sovereign Lord. Did you not add lewdness to all your other detestable practices?(CB)

44 “‘Everyone who quotes proverbs(CC) will quote this proverb about you: “Like mother, like daughter.” 45 You are a true daughter of your mother, who despised(CD) her husband(CE) and her children; and you are a true sister of your sisters, who despised their husbands and their children. Your mother was a Hittite and your father an Amorite.(CF) 46 Your older sister(CG) was Samaria, who lived to the north of you with her daughters; and your younger sister, who lived to the south of you with her daughters, was Sodom.(CH) 47 You not only followed their ways and copied their detestable practices, but in all your ways you soon became more depraved than they.(CI) 48 As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign(CJ) Lord, your sister Sodom(CK) and her daughters never did what you and your daughters have done.(CL)

49 “‘Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom:(CM) She and her daughters were arrogant,(CN) overfed and unconcerned;(CO) they did not help the poor and needy.(CP) 50 They were haughty(CQ) and did detestable things before me. Therefore I did away with them as you have seen.(CR) 51 Samaria did not commit half the sins you did. You have done more detestable things than they, and have made your sisters seem righteous by all these things you have done.(CS) 52 Bear your disgrace, for you have furnished some justification for your sisters. Because your sins were more vile than theirs, they appear more righteous(CT) than you. So then, be ashamed and bear(CU) your disgrace, for you have made your sisters appear righteous.

53 “‘However, I will restore(CV) the fortunes of Sodom and her daughters and of Samaria and her daughters, and your fortunes along with them,(CW) 54 so that you may bear your disgrace(CX) and be ashamed of all you have done in giving them comfort. 55 And your sisters, Sodom with her daughters and Samaria with her daughters, will return to what they were before; and you and your daughters will return to what you were before.(CY) 56 You would not even mention your sister Sodom in the day of your pride, 57 before your wickedness was uncovered. Even so, you are now scorned(CZ) by the daughters of Edom[e](DA) and all her neighbors and the daughters of the Philistines—all those around you who despise you. 58 You will bear the consequences of your lewdness and your detestable practices, declares the Lord.(DB)

59 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will deal with you as you deserve, because you have despised my oath by breaking the covenant.(DC) 60 Yet I will remember the covenant(DD) I made with you in the days of your youth,(DE) and I will establish an everlasting covenant(DF) with you. 61 Then you will remember your ways and be ashamed(DG) when you receive your sisters, both those who are older than you and those who are younger. I will give them to you as daughters,(DH) but not on the basis of my covenant with you. 62 So I will establish my covenant(DI) with you, and you will know that I am the Lord.(DJ) 63 Then, when I make atonement(DK) for you for all you have done, you will remember and be ashamed(DL) and never again open your mouth(DM) because of your humiliation, declares the Sovereign Lord.(DN)’”

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 16:6 A few Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint and Syriac; most Hebrew manuscripts repeat and as you lay there in your blood I said to you, “Live!”
  2. Ezekiel 16:16 The meaning of the Hebrew for this sentence is uncertain.
  3. Ezekiel 16:29 Or Chaldea
  4. Ezekiel 16:30 Or How feverish is your heart,
  5. Ezekiel 16:57 Many Hebrew manuscripts and Syriac; most Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint and Vulgate Aram