以西結書 16
Chinese Contemporary Bible (Traditional)
耶路撒冷的不忠
16 耶和華對我說: 2 「人子啊,你要使耶路撒冷知道她的可憎行徑。 3 你要告訴她,主耶和華這樣對她說,『你祖居迦南,生於迦南。你的父親是亞摩利人,母親是赫人。 4 你出生時沒人剪斷你的臍帶,沒人用水洗你的身體,用鹽擦淨你,用布包裹你。 5 沒有人可憐你,同情你,為你做以上的事。你生下來便遭人厭惡,被扔在野外。
6 「『我從你旁邊經過,見你在血泊中掙扎,便對血泊中的你說,活下去! 7 我使你像田間的植物一樣茁壯生長。你漸漸發育成熟,長得亭亭玉立,雙乳豐滿,秀髮垂肩,但仍然赤身露體。
8 「『後來我又從你旁邊經過,見你正值少女懷春,我便用衣襟遮蓋你的身體,向你起誓,與你定下婚約,你便屬於我。這是主耶和華說的。 9 我用水洗淨你身上的血污,給你塗上馨香的油, 10 穿上錦繡的衣裳和海狗皮的鞋,披上細麻衣和絲綢外袍。 11 我用首飾來裝扮你,給你戴上手鐲、項鏈、 12 鼻環、耳環和華冠。 13 這樣,你戴的是金銀首飾,穿的是綾羅綢緞,吃的是細麵粉、蜂蜜和油。你變得美豔絕倫,晉升為王后。 14 你的美貌名揚四方,因為我給你的華貴使你美貌無比。這是主耶和華說的。
15 「『你卻仗著自己的美貌和名聲縱情淫亂,與所有過路的人苟合。 16 你用自己的衣服在拜偶像的地方結彩,在那裡行淫。這樣的事真是空前絕後! 17 你用我給你的金銀首飾為自己製造男人的像,與他們苟合。 18 你給他們穿上錦繡衣服,把我給你的膏油和香料供奉他們。 19 你把我賜你吃的細麵粉、油和蜂蜜作為馨香的供物奉獻在他們面前。這是主耶和華說的。 20 你還把你給我生的兒女燒作燔祭獻給偶像。難道你淫亂還不夠嗎? 21 你竟屠殺我的兒女,把他們焚燒獻給偶像。 22 你做這一切可憎、淫亂的事,忘記了你幼年赤身露體,在血泊中掙扎的日子。
23 「『主耶和華說,你有禍了!你有禍了!你不但做了這些惡事, 24 還為自己築祭壇,在各廣場建高高的神廟。 25 你在街頭巷尾建高高的神廟,糟蹋自己的美貌。你向每一個過路的人投懷送抱,縱情淫亂, 26 甚至與放縱情慾的鄰邦埃及人苟合,激起我的憤怒。 27 看吧,我要伸手攻擊你,削減你的口糧,把你交給憎恨你的非利士人,任他們宰割。他們會為你的淫蕩行為感到羞恥。 28 你慾海難填,又跟亞述人行淫,但仍不滿足, 29 於是又跟那商賈之地的迦勒底人行淫,但仍不滿足。
30 「『主耶和華說,你的心敗壞至極,簡直就像不知羞恥的娼妓, 31 因為你在街頭巷尾築祭壇,在廣場建高高的神廟,甚至不收淫資,實在連妓女都不如。 32 你這蕩婦,寧願跟外人淫亂,也不愛自己的丈夫。 33 妓女接受淫資,你卻送禮物給所有的情人,引誘他們從四方前來跟你淫亂。 34 你賣淫不同於別的妓女,沒有人給你淫資,你倒貼錢給人,你真是與眾不同。
主對耶路撒冷的審判和應許
35 「『你這淫婦,要聽耶和華的話。 36 主耶和華說,你放縱情慾,赤身露體地與眾情人苟合。你祭拜一切可憎的偶像,把自己兒女的血獻給它們。 37 因此,我要把你所愛和所恨的情人都聚集起來,從四方攻擊你,讓你赤裸裸地顯露在他們面前,讓他們看到你赤身露體。 38 我要懲罰你,像懲罰淫亂和殺人的婦女一樣。我要把烈怒和義憤倒在你身上,報應你殺人流血的罪。 39 我要把你交在你的情人手裡。他們必拆毀你的祭壇,夷平你高高的神廟,剝去你的衣裳,奪走你的珠寶,留下你赤身露體。 40 他們要聚眾攻擊你,用石頭打你,用刀劍砍碎你, 41 燒毀你的房屋,在眾婦女面前審判你。我要阻止你的淫亂行為,使你不再倒貼錢給情人。 42 這樣,我的烈怒才會平息,我的義憤才會消除,我才會平靜下來,不再發怒。 43 因為你忘記了幼年的日子,做這些事來惹我發怒,我要照你的所作所為報應你。因為你不僅行一切可憎的事,還放蕩淫亂。這是主耶和華說的。
44 「『好說俗語的人都會譏諷你說,有其母必有其女。 45 你和你母親及姊妹如出一轍,都厭棄自己的丈夫和兒女。你母親是赫人,你父親是亞摩利人。 46 你姐姐是撒瑪利亞,她和她的女兒們住在你的北面。你妹妹是所多瑪,她和她的女兒們住在你的南面。 47 你不僅追隨她們可憎的行徑,還很快超過了她們。 48 我憑我的永恆起誓,與你妹妹所多瑪和她女兒們相比,你和你女兒們的行徑有過之而無不及。這是主耶和華說的。 49 看啊,你妹妹所多瑪和她的女兒們傲慢狂妄,安逸飽足,對窮困的人漠不關心。 50 她們心驕氣傲,在我面前做可憎的事,我看見後便除掉了她們。 51 撒瑪利亞的罪還不及你的一半,你做的事比她們做的更可憎,以致與你相比,你的姊妹倒顯得公義了。 52 既然你幫了你的姊妹,使她們顯得公義,你就蒙受羞辱吧!因為你犯的罪比你姊妹犯的罪更可憎,以致她們顯得比你更公義。因此,你就自取其辱,抱愧蒙羞吧!
53 「『然而,我要使所多瑪、撒瑪利亞及她們的女兒們復興,並使你一同復興, 54 讓你自取其辱,深感羞愧,因為你的一切惡行使她們反得安慰。 55 你姊妹所多瑪、撒瑪利亞和她們的眾女兒,以及你和你的眾女兒必恢復起初的光景。 56-57 在你驕傲的日子,你的惡行還沒有被揭露的時候,你覺得妹妹所多瑪不屑一提。但現在,你卻成為以東的眾女兒和她四鄰非利士的眾女兒的笑柄。你周圍的人都鄙視你。 58 你要承擔淫蕩和可憎行徑帶來的懲罰。這是耶和華說的。
59 「『主耶和華說,你背誓毀約,我必照你的所作所為報應你。 60 然而,我顧念在你幼年時與你所立的約,我要與你立一個永遠的約。 61 你接納你姊妹的時候,會想起自己的所作所為並自覺羞愧。我要將你姊妹賜給你作女兒,我這樣做並不是出於我與你所立的約。 62 我要和你立約,使你知道我是耶和華。 63 我要赦免你所有的罪,那時你想起這事會羞愧難當,不敢再開口。這是主耶和華說的。』」
Ezekiel 16
New International Version
Jerusalem as an Adulterous Wife
16 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, confront(A) Jerusalem with her detestable practices(B) 3 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) 4 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. 5 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.
6 “‘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) 7 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)
8 “‘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)
9 “‘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
- 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!”
- Ezekiel 16:16 The meaning of the Hebrew for this sentence is uncertain.
- Ezekiel 16:29 Or Chaldea
- Ezekiel 16:30 Or How feverish is your heart,
- Ezekiel 16:57 Many Hebrew manuscripts and Syriac; most Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint and Vulgate Aram
Ezekiel 16
King James Version
16 Again the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations,
3 And say, Thus saith the Lord God unto Jerusalem; Thy birth and thy nativity is of the land of Canaan; thy father was an Amorite, and thy mother an Hittite.
4 And as for thy nativity, in the day thou wast born thy navel was not cut, neither wast thou washed in water to supple thee; thou wast not salted at all, nor swaddled at all.
5 None eye pitied thee, to do any of these unto thee, to have compassion upon thee; but thou wast cast out in the open field, to the lothing of thy person, in the day that thou wast born.
6 And when I passed by thee, and saw thee polluted in thine own blood, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live; yea, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live.
7 I have caused thee to multiply as the bud of the field, and thou hast increased and waxen great, and thou art come to excellent ornaments: thy breasts are fashioned, and thine hair is grown, whereas thou wast naked and bare.
8 Now when I passed by thee, and looked upon thee, behold, thy time was the time of love; and I spread my skirt over thee, and covered thy nakedness: yea, I sware unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord God, and thou becamest mine.
9 Then washed I thee with water; yea, I throughly washed away thy blood from thee, and I anointed thee with oil.
10 I clothed thee also with broidered work, and shod thee with badgers' skin, and I girded thee about with fine linen, and I covered thee with silk.
11 I decked thee also with ornaments, and I put bracelets upon thy hands, and a chain on thy neck.
12 And I put a jewel on thy forehead, and earrings in thine ears, and a beautiful crown upon thine head.
13 Thus wast thou decked with gold and silver; and thy raiment was of fine linen, and silk, and broidered work; thou didst eat fine flour, and honey, and oil: and thou wast exceeding beautiful, and thou didst prosper into a kingdom.
14 And thy renown went forth among the heathen for thy beauty: for it was perfect through my comeliness, which I had put upon thee, saith the Lord God.
15 But thou didst trust in thine own beauty, and playedst the harlot because of thy renown, and pouredst out thy fornications on every one that passed by; his it was.
16 And of thy garments thou didst take, and deckedst thy high places with divers colours, and playedst the harlot thereupon: the like things shall not come, neither shall it be so.
17 Thou hast also taken thy fair jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given thee, and madest to thyself images of men, and didst commit whoredom with them,
18 And tookest thy broidered garments, and coveredst them: and thou hast set mine oil and mine incense before them.
19 My meat also which I gave thee, fine flour, and oil, and honey, wherewith I fed thee, thou hast even set it before them for a sweet savour: and thus it was, saith the Lord God.
20 Moreover thou hast taken thy sons and thy daughters, whom thou hast borne unto me, and these hast thou sacrificed unto them to be devoured. Is this of thy whoredoms a small matter,
21 That thou hast slain my children, and delivered them to cause them to pass through the fire for them?
22 And in all thine abominations and thy whoredoms thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, when thou wast naked and bare, and wast polluted in thy blood.
23 And it came to pass after all thy wickedness, (woe, woe unto thee! saith the Lord God;)
24 That thou hast also built unto thee an eminent place, and hast made thee an high place in every street.
25 Thou hast built thy high place at every head of the way, and hast made thy beauty to be abhorred, and hast opened thy feet to every one that passed by, and multiplied thy whoredoms.
26 Thou hast also committed fornication with the Egyptians thy neighbours, great of flesh; and hast increased thy whoredoms, to provoke me to anger.
27 Behold, therefore I have stretched out my hand over thee, and have diminished thine ordinary food, and delivered thee unto the will of them that hate thee, the daughters of the Philistines, which are ashamed of thy lewd way.
28 Thou hast played the whore also with the Assyrians, because thou wast unsatiable; yea, thou hast played the harlot with them, and yet couldest not be satisfied.
29 Thou hast moreover multiplied thy fornication in the land of Canaan unto Chaldea; and yet thou wast not satisfied therewith.
30 How weak is thine heart, saith the Lord God, seeing thou doest all these things, the work of an imperious whorish woman;
31 In that thou buildest thine eminent place in the head of every way, and makest thine high place in every street; and hast not been as an harlot, in that thou scornest hire;
32 But as a wife that committeth adultery, which taketh strangers instead of her husband!
33 They give gifts to all whores: but thou givest thy gifts to all thy lovers, and hirest them, that they may come unto thee on every side for thy whoredom.
34 And the contrary is in thee from other women in thy whoredoms, whereas none followeth thee to commit whoredoms: and in that thou givest a reward, and no reward is given unto thee, therefore thou art contrary.
35 Wherefore, O harlot, hear the word of the Lord:
36 Thus saith the Lord God; Because thy filthiness was poured out, and thy nakedness discovered through thy whoredoms with thy lovers, and with all the idols of thy abominations, and by the blood of thy children, which thou didst give unto them;
37 Behold, therefore I will gather all thy lovers, with whom thou hast taken pleasure, and all them that thou hast loved, with all them 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 And I will judge thee, as women that break wedlock and shed blood are judged; and I will give thee blood in fury and jealousy.
39 And I will also give thee into their hand, and they shall throw down thine eminent place, and shall break down thy high places: they shall strip thee also of thy clothes, and shall take thy fair jewels, and leave thee naked and bare.
40 They shall also bring up a company against thee, and they shall stone thee with stones, and thrust thee through with their swords.
41 And they shall burn thine houses with fire, and execute judgments upon thee in the sight of many women: and I will cause thee to cease from playing the harlot, and thou also shalt give no hire any more.
42 So will I make my fury toward thee to rest, and my jealousy shall depart from thee, and I will be quiet, and will be no more angry.
43 Because thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, but hast fretted me in all these things; behold, therefore I also will recompense thy way upon thine head, saith the Lord God: and thou shalt not commit this lewdness above all thine abominations.
44 Behold, every one that useth proverbs shall use this proverb against thee, saying, As is the mother, so is her daughter.
45 Thou art thy mother's daughter, that lotheth her husband and her children; and thou art the sister of thy sisters, which lothed their husbands and their children: your mother was an Hittite, and your father an Amorite.
46 And thine elder sister is Samaria, she and her daughters that dwell at thy left hand: and thy younger sister, that dwelleth at thy right hand, is Sodom and her daughters.
47 Yet hast thou not walked after their ways, nor done after their abominations: but, as if that were a very little thing, thou wast corrupted more than they in all thy ways.
48 As I live, saith the Lord God, Sodom thy sister hath not done, she nor her daughters, as thou hast done, thou and thy daughters.
49 Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.
50 And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good.
51 Neither hath Samaria committed half of thy sins; but thou hast multiplied thine abominations more than they, and hast justified thy sisters in all thine abominations which thou hast done.
52 Thou also, which hast judged thy sisters, bear thine own shame for thy sins that thou hast committed more abominable than they: they are more righteous than thou: yea, be thou confounded also, and bear thy shame, in that thou hast justified thy sisters.
53 When I shall bring again their captivity, the captivity of Sodom and her daughters, and the captivity of Samaria and her daughters, then will I bring again the captivity of thy captives in the midst of them:
54 That thou mayest bear thine own shame, and mayest be confounded in all that thou hast done, in that thou art a comfort unto them.
55 When thy sisters, Sodom and her daughters, shall return to their former estate, and Samaria and her daughters shall return to their former estate, then thou and thy daughters shall return to your former estate.
56 For thy sister Sodom was not mentioned by thy mouth in the day of thy pride,
57 Before thy wickedness was discovered, as at the time of thy reproach of the daughters of Syria, and all that are round about her, the daughters of the Philistines, which despise thee round about.
58 Thou hast borne thy lewdness and thine abominations, saith the Lord.
59 For thus saith the Lord God; I will even deal with thee as thou hast done, which hast despised the oath in breaking the covenant.
60 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 thou shalt remember thy ways, and be ashamed, when thou shalt receive thy sisters, thine elder and thy younger: and I will give them unto thee for daughters, but not by thy covenant.
62 And I will establish my covenant with thee; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord:
63 That thou mayest remember, and be confounded, and never open thy mouth any more because of thy shame, when I am pacified toward thee for all that thou hast done, saith the Lord God.
Ezekiel 16
English Standard Version
The Lord's Faithless Bride
16 Again the word of the Lord came to me: 2 (A)“Son of man, (B)make known to Jerusalem her abominations, 3 and say, Thus says the Lord God to Jerusalem: Your origin and your birth are of the land of the Canaanites; your father was an (C)Amorite and your mother a (D)Hittite. 4 And as for your birth, (E)on the day you were born your cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water to cleanse you, nor rubbed with salt, nor wrapped in swaddling cloths. 5 No eye pitied you, to do any of these things to you out of compassion for you, (F)but you were cast out on the open field, for you were abhorred, (G)on the day that you were born.
6 “And when I passed by you and saw you wallowing (H)in your blood, I said to you (I)in your blood, ‘Live!’ I said to you (J)in your blood, ‘Live!’ 7 (K)I made you flourish like a plant of the field. And you grew up and became tall (L)and arrived at full adornment. Your breasts were formed, and your hair had grown; yet (M)you were naked and bare.
8 “When I passed by you again and saw you, behold, you were at the age for love, and (N)I spread the corner of my garment over you and covered your nakedness; I made my vow to you (O)and entered into a covenant with you, declares the Lord God, (P)and you became mine. 9 Then I bathed you with water and washed off your blood from you and (Q)anointed you with oil. 10 (R)I clothed you also with embroidered cloth and shod you with fine leather. I wrapped you in fine linen and covered you with silk.[a] 11 (S)And I adorned you with ornaments and (T)put bracelets on your wrists and a chain on your neck. 12 And I put a ring on your nose and earrings in your ears and a beautiful crown on your head. 13 Thus you were adorned with gold and silver, and your clothing was of fine linen and silk and embroidered cloth. (U)You ate fine flour and honey and oil. (V)You grew exceedingly beautiful and advanced to royalty. 14 And (W)your renown went forth among the nations because of your beauty, for it was perfect through the splendor that I had bestowed on you, declares the Lord God.
15 (X)“But you trusted in your beauty (Y)and played the whore[b] because of your renown (Z)and lavished your whorings[c] on any passerby; your beauty[d] became his. 16 You took some of your garments and made for yourself colorful shrines, and on them played the whore. The like has never been, nor ever shall be.[e] 17 You also took (AA)your beautiful jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given you, and (AB)made for yourself images of men, and with them played the whore. 18 And you took your embroidered garments to cover them, (AC)and set my oil and my incense before them. 19 (AD)Also my bread that I gave you—(AE)I fed you with fine flour and oil and honey—you set before them for (AF)a pleasing aroma; and so it was, declares the Lord God. 20 (AG)And you took your sons and your daughters, whom you had borne to me, and (AH)these you sacrificed to them to be devoured. Were your whorings so small a matter 21 that you slaughtered my children and delivered them up as an offering by fire to them? 22 And in all your abominations and your whorings you did not remember (AI)the days of your youth, (AJ)when you were naked and bare, wallowing in your blood.
23 “And after all your wickedness (woe, woe to you! declares the Lord God), 24 you built yourself (AK)a vaulted chamber and made yourself a lofty place in every square. 25 At the head of every street (AL)you built your lofty place and made (AM)your beauty an abomination, (AN)offering yourself[f] to any passerby and multiplying your whoring. 26 (AO)You also played the whore (AP)with the Egyptians, your lustful neighbors, (AQ)multiplying your whoring, (AR)to provoke me to anger. 27 Behold, therefore, I stretched out my hand against you (AS)and diminished your allotted portion (AT)and delivered you to the greed of your enemies, (AU)the daughters of the Philistines, who were ashamed of your lewd behavior. 28 (AV)You played the whore also (AW)with the Assyrians, because you were not satisfied; yes, you played the whore with them, and still you were not satisfied. 29 You multiplied your whoring also with the trading land (AX)of Chaldea, and even with this you were not satisfied.
30 “How sick is your heart,[g] declares the Lord God, because you did all these things, the deeds of a brazen prostitute, 31 building your vaulted chamber at the head of every street, and making your lofty place in every square. Yet you were not like a prostitute, (AY)because you scorned payment. 32 Adulterous wife, who receives strangers instead of her husband! 33 Men give gifts to all prostitutes, (AZ)but you gave your gifts to all your lovers, bribing them to come to you from every side with your whorings. 34 So you were different from other women in your whorings. No one solicited you to play the whore, and (BA)you gave payment, while no payment was given to you; therefore you were different.
35 “Therefore, O prostitute, hear the word of the Lord: 36 Thus says the Lord God, Because your lust was poured out and your nakedness uncovered in your whorings with your lovers, and with all your abominable idols, (BB)and because of the blood of your children that you gave to them, 37 therefore, behold, (BC)I will gather all your lovers with whom you took pleasure, all those you loved and (BD)all those you hated. (BE)I will gather them against you from every side (BF)and will uncover your nakedness to them, that (BG)they may see all your nakedness. 38 (BH)And I will judge you (BI)as women who commit adultery and (BJ)shed blood are judged, and bring upon you the blood of wrath and jealousy. 39 And I will give you into their hands, and they shall throw down your (BK)vaulted chamber and break down (BL)your lofty places. (BM)They shall strip you of your clothes and take (BN)your beautiful jewels and leave you (BO)naked and bare. 40 (BP)They shall bring up a crowd against you, (BQ)and they shall stone you and cut you to pieces with their swords. 41 (BR)And they shall (BS)burn your houses and (BT)execute judgments upon you in the sight of many women. (BU)I will make you stop playing the whore, and (BV)you shall also give payment no more. 42 (BW)So will I satisfy my wrath on you, and my jealousy shall depart from you. I will be calm and will no more be angry. 43 Because you have not remembered (BX)the days of your youth, but have enraged me with all these things, therefore, behold, (BY)I have returned your deeds upon your head, declares the Lord God. Have you not (BZ)committed lewdness in addition to all your abominations?
44 “Behold, everyone (CA)who uses proverbs will use this proverb about you: ‘Like mother, like daughter.’ 45 You are the daughter of your mother, who loathed her husband and her children; and you are the sister of (CB)your sisters, who loathed their husbands and their children. (CC)Your mother was a Hittite and (CD)your father an Amorite. 46 And (CE)your elder sister is Samaria, who lived with her daughters to the north of you; and (CF)your younger sister, who lived to the south of you, is Sodom with her daughters. 47 (CG)Not only did you walk in their ways and do according to their abominations; within a very little time (CH)you were more corrupt than they in all your ways. 48 (CI)As I live, declares the Lord God, your sister (CJ)Sodom and her daughters have not done as you and your daughters have done. 49 Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, (CK)excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy. 50 They were haughty and (CL)did an abomination before me. So (CM)I removed them, when I saw it. 51 (CN)Samaria has not committed half your sins. You have committed more abominations than they, and (CO)have made your sisters appear righteous by all the abominations that you have committed. 52 (CP)Bear your disgrace, you also, for you have intervened on behalf of your sisters. Because of your sins in which you acted more abominably than they, they are more in the right than you. So be ashamed, you also, and bear your disgrace, for you have made your sisters appear righteous.
53 (CQ)“I will restore their fortunes, both the fortunes of Sodom and her daughters, and the fortunes of Samaria and her daughters, and I will restore your own fortunes in their midst, 54 that you may bear your disgrace (CR)and be ashamed of all that you have done, (CS)becoming a consolation to them. 55 As for your sisters, Sodom and her daughters shall return to their former state, (CT)and Samaria and her daughters shall return (CU)to their former state, (CV)and you and your daughters shall return (CW)to your former state. 56 Was not your sister Sodom a byword in your mouth (CX)in the day of your pride, 57 before your wickedness was uncovered? Now you have become (CY)an object of reproach for the daughters of Syria[h] and all those around her, and for (CZ)the daughters of the Philistines, (DA)those all around who despise you. 58 (DB)You bear the penalty of your lewdness and your abominations, declares the Lord.
The Lord's Everlasting Covenant
59 “For thus says the Lord God: I will deal with you as you have done, you (DC)who have despised the oath in breaking the covenant, 60 yet (DD)I will remember my covenant with you (DE)in the days of your youth, (DF)and I will establish for you an everlasting covenant. 61 (DG)Then you will remember your ways (DH)and be ashamed when you take (DI)your sisters, both your elder and your younger, and I give them to you (DJ)as daughters, but not on account of[i] the covenant with you. 62 I will establish my covenant with you, (DK)and you shall know that I am the Lord, 63 that you may remember and be confounded, and (DL)never open your mouth again because of your shame, when I atone for you for all that you have done, declares the Lord God.”
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 16:10 Or with rich fabric
- Ezekiel 16:15 Or were unfaithful; also verses 16, 17, 26, 28
- Ezekiel 16:15 Or unfaithfulness; also verses 20, 22, 25, 26, 29, 33, 34, 36
- Ezekiel 16:15 Hebrew it
- Ezekiel 16:16 The meaning of this Hebrew sentence is uncertain
- Ezekiel 16:25 Hebrew spreading your legs
- Ezekiel 16:30 Revocalization yields How I am filled with anger against you
- Ezekiel 16:57 Some manuscripts (compare Syriac) of Edom
- Ezekiel 16:61 Or not apart from
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