Ezekiel 16
Christian Standard Bible
Parable of God’s Adulterous Wife
16 The word of the Lord came to me again: 2 “Son of man, confront Jerusalem with her detestable practices.(A) 3 You are to say, ‘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 Hethite.(B) 4 As for your birth, your umbilical cord wasn’t cut on the day you were born,(C) and you weren’t washed clean[a] with water. You were not rubbed with salt or wrapped in cloths.(D) 5 No one cared enough about you to do even one of these things out of compassion for you. But you were thrown out into the open field because you were despised on the day you were born.
6 “‘I passed by you and saw you thrashing around in your blood, and I said to you as you lay in your blood, “Live!” Yes, I said to you as you lay in your blood, “Live!” [b] 7 I made you thrive[c] like plants of the field.(E) You grew up and matured and became very beautiful.[d] Your breasts were formed and your hair grew, but you were stark naked.
8 “‘Then I passed by you and saw you, and you were indeed at the age for love. So I spread the edge of my garment over you and covered your nakedness.(F) I pledged myself to you,(G) entered into a covenant with you—this is the declaration of the Lord God—and you became mine.(H) 9 I washed you with water, rinsed off your blood, and anointed you with oil. 10 I clothed you in embroidered cloth and provided you with fine leather[e] sandals. I also wrapped you in fine linen and covered you with silk. 11 I adorned you with jewelry, putting bracelets on your wrists and a necklace around your neck. 12 I put a ring in your nose,(I) earrings on your ears, and a beautiful crown on your head. 13 So you were adorned with gold and silver,(J) and your clothing was made of fine linen, silk, and embroidered cloth. You ate fine flour, honey, and oil. You became extremely beautiful and attained royalty. 14 Your fame spread among the nations because of your beauty, for it was perfect through my splendor,(K) which I had bestowed on you. This is the declaration of the Lord God.
15 “‘But you trusted in your beauty and acted like a prostitute because of your fame.(L) You lavished your sexual favors on everyone who passed by.(M) Your beauty became his.[f] 16 You took some of your clothing and made colorful high places for yourself, and you engaged in prostitution on them. These places should not have been built, and this should never have happened![g] 17 You also took your beautiful jewelry made from the gold and silver I had given you, and you made male images so that you could engage in prostitution with them.(N) 18 Then you took your embroidered clothing to cover them and set my oil and incense before them. 19 The food that I gave you—the fine flour, oil, and honey that I fed you—you set it before them as a pleasing aroma.(O) That is what happened. This is the declaration of the Lord God.
20 “‘You even took your sons and daughters you bore to me and sacrificed them to these images as food.(P) Wasn’t your prostitution enough? 21 You slaughtered my children and gave them up when you passed them through the fire(Q) to the images. 22 In all your detestable practices and acts of prostitution, you did not remember the days of your youth(R) when you were stark naked and thrashing around in your blood.
23 “‘Then after all your evil—Woe, woe to you!—the declaration of the Lord God— 24 you built yourself a mound and made yourself an elevated place in every square.(S) 25 You built your elevated place at the head of every street(T) and turned your beauty into a detestable thing. You spread your legs to everyone who passed by and increased your prostitution. 26 You engaged in promiscuous acts with Egyptian men, your well-endowed neighbors, and increased your prostitution(U) to anger me.
27 “‘Therefore, I stretched out my hand against you and reduced your provisions. I gave you over to the desire of those who hate you, the Philistine women,(V) who were embarrassed by your indecent conduct. 28 Then you engaged in prostitution with the Assyrian men because you were not satisfied.(W) Even though you did this with them, you were still not satisfied. 29 So you extended your prostitution to Chaldea,(X) the land of merchants, but you were not even satisfied with this!
30 “‘How your heart was inflamed with lust[h]—the declaration of the Lord God—when you did all these things, the acts of a brazen prostitute, 31 building your mound at the head of every street and making your elevated place in every square. But you were unlike a prostitute because you scorned payment.(Y) 32 You adulterous wife, who receives strangers instead of her husband! 33 Men give gifts to all prostitutes, but you gave gifts to all your lovers. You bribed them to come to you from all around for your sexual favors. 34 So you were the opposite of other women in your acts of prostitution; no one solicited you. When you paid a fee instead of one being paid to you, you were the opposite.
35 “‘Therefore, you prostitute, hear the word of the Lord! 36 This is what the Lord God says: Because your lust was poured out and your nakedness exposed by your acts of prostitution with your lovers, and because of all your detestable idols and the blood of your children that you gave to them,(Z) 37 I am therefore going to gather all the lovers you pleased(AA)—all those you loved as well as all those you hated. I will gather them against you from all around and expose your nakedness(AB) to them so they see you completely naked. 38 I will judge you the way adulteresses and those who shed blood are judged.(AC) Then I will bring about the shedding of your blood in jealous wrath.(AD) 39 I will hand you over to them, and they will demolish your mounds and tear down your elevated places. They will strip off your clothes,(AE) take your beautiful jewelry, and leave you stark naked. 40 They will bring a mob against you(AF) to stone you and to cut you to pieces with their swords. 41 They will burn your houses and execute judgments against you in the sight of many women. I will stop you from being a prostitute,(AG) and you will never again pay fees for lovers. 42 So I will satisfy my wrath against you,(AH) and my jealousy will turn away from you. Then I will be calm and no longer angry. 43 Because you did not remember the days(AI) of your youth but enraged me with all these things, I will also bring your conduct down on your own head.(AJ) This is the declaration of the Lord God. Haven’t you committed depravity in addition to all your detestable practices?
44 “‘Look, everyone who uses proverbs will quote this proverb about you: “Like mother, like daughter.” 45 You are the daughter of your mother, who despised her husband and children. You are the sister of your sisters,(AK) who despised their husbands and children. Your mother was a Hethite and your father an Amorite.(AL) 46 Your older sister was Samaria,(AM) who lived with her daughters to the north of you, and your younger sister was Sodom, who lived with her daughters to the south of you. 47 Didn’t you walk in their ways and do their detestable practices? It was only a short time before all your ways were more corrupt than theirs.(AN)
48 “‘As I live—the declaration of the Lord God—your sister Sodom and her daughters have not behaved as you and your daughters have.(AO) 49 Now this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters had pride, plenty of food,(AP) and comfortable security, but didn’t support[i] the poor and needy. 50 They were haughty and did detestable acts before me, so I removed them when I saw this.[j](AQ) 51 But Samaria did not commit even half your sins. You have multiplied your detestable practices beyond theirs and made your sisters appear righteous by all the detestable acts you have committed. 52 You must also bear your disgrace, since you have helped your sisters out.[k] For they appear more righteous than you because of your sins, which you committed more detestably than they did. So you also, be ashamed and bear your disgrace, since you have made your sisters appear righteous.
53 “‘I will restore their fortunes,(AR) the fortunes of Sodom and her daughters and those of Samaria and her daughters. I will also restore[l] your fortunes among them,(AS) 54 so you will bear your disgrace and be ashamed of all you did when you comforted them.(AT) 55 As for your sisters, Sodom and her daughters and Samaria and her daughters will return to their former state. You and your daughters will also return to your former state. 56 Didn’t you treat your sister Sodom as an object of scorn when you were proud, 57 before your wickedness was exposed? It was like the time you were scorned by the daughters of Aram[m](AU) and all those around her, and by the daughters of the Philistines—those who treated you with contempt from every side. 58 You yourself must bear the consequences of your depravity and detestable practices(AV)—this is the Lord’s declaration.
59 “‘For this is what the Lord God says: I will deal with you according to what you have done, since you have despised the oath by breaking the covenant.(AW) 60 But I will remember the covenant I made with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish a permanent covenant with you.(AX) 61 Then you will remember your ways(AY) and be ashamed when you[n] receive your older and younger sisters. I will give them to you as daughters, but not because of your covenant. 62 I will establish my covenant with you,(AZ) and you will know that I am the Lord, 63 so that when I make atonement for all you have done, you will remember and be ashamed,(BA) and never open your mouth again because of your disgrace.(BB) This is the declaration of the Lord God.’”
Footnotes
- 16:4 Hb obscure
- 16:6 Some Hb mss, LXX, Syr omit Yes, I said to you as you lay in your blood, “Live!”
- 16:7 LXX reads Thrive; I made you
- 16:7 Or matured and developed the loveliest of ornaments
- 16:10 Hb obscure
- 16:15 Hb obscure
- 16:16 Hb obscure
- 16:30 Or was sick
- 16:49 Lit strengthen the hand of
- 16:50 Or them as you have seen
- 16:52 Lit you have been the advocate for your sisters
- 16:53 LXX, Vg; MT reads Samaria and her daughters and the fortunes of
- 16:57 Some Hb mss, Syr read Edom
- 16:61 Some LXX mss, Syr read I
Ezekiel 16
Common English Bible
Jerusalem’s unfaithfulness
16 The Lord’s word came to me: 2 Human one, show Jerusalem her detestable practices. 3 Say, The Lord God proclaims to Jerusalem: By origin and birth you are from the land of Canaan. Your father was an Amorite, your mother a Hittite. 4 This is how you were treated on the day you were born: Your umbilical cord wasn’t cut, you weren’t washed clean with water or rubbed with salt, and you weren’t wrapped in blankets. 5 No one took pity or cared enough to do any of these things for you. You were despised on the day of your birth and thrown out on the open field. 6 When I happened to come by, I saw you flailing about in your blood. I said to you while you were still bloody, “Live!” 7 I helped you to flourish like a young plant in the field, and you grew tall and became wonderfully endowed. Your breasts were firm, your hair beautifully thick. And you were completely naked.
8 When I passed by you, I realized that you were ready for love. So I spread my cloak over you and covered your nakedness. I made a solemn promise and entered into a covenant with you, and you became mine. This is what the Lord God says. 9 Then I washed you with water, rinsed off your blood, and poured oil on you. 10 I clothed you with colorful garments, put fine sandals on you, wrapped your head in linen, and covered you with jewels. 11 I adorned you with fine jewelry, and put bracelets on your wrists and a necklace around your neck. 12 I put a ring in your nose, earrings in your ears, and a beautiful crown on your head. 13 I adorned you with gold and silver, and your garments were made of the finest linen and brocade. You ate the finest flour, honey, and oil. You became very beautiful, fit for royalty. 14 Among the nations you were famous for your beauty. It was perfect because of the splendor that I had given you. This is what the Lord God says.
15 But you trusted in your beauty and traded on your fame. At every opportunity, you seduced all who came by. 16 You took some of your clothing to make colorful shrines and prostituted yourself in them. 17 You took the beautiful gold and silver jewelry that I had given to you, and you made male images for yourself and prostituted yourself with them. 18 You took your fine garments and clothed them. You set my oil and incense before them. 19 You set my food that I had given you to eat—fine wheat, oil, and honey—before them as a pleasing aroma. This is what the Lord God says. 20 You took your sons and daughters, which you had borne to me, and you sacrificed these to them so they could consume them. Was this promiscuity of yours a small thing? 21 You slaughtered my sons and placed them in the fire for them! 22 In all your detestable practices and promiscuities, you didn’t remember the days of your infancy when you lay completely naked, flailing about in your blood.
23 After all your wickedness—doom, doom to you, proclaims the Lord God— 24 you built a pavilion for yourself and set up platforms in every square. 25 At every crossroad you built your platform and degraded your beauty by spreading your legs to all comers. And so you encouraged even more promiscuity. 26 You prostituted yourself with the Egyptians, your neighbors with the large sexual organs, and as you added to your seductions, you provoked me to anger. 27 So I used my power against you, cut off your allowance, and gave you up to the passions of the Philistine women who had been confounded by your infamous ways and had rejected you. 28 Still not satisfied, you prostituted yourself to the Assyrians, but they weren’t enough for you either. 29 So you prostituted yourself with the Babylonians, the land of traders, but again you weren’t satisfied. 30 How sick was your heart—the Lord God proclaims—that you could do all these things, the deeds of a hardened prostitute. 31 But you weren’t like an ordinary prostitute! When you built your pavilion at the head of every street and made your platform in every square, you refused to be paid. 32 You are like an adulterous wife: you take in strangers instead of your husband. 33 Ordinary prostitutes are given gifts, but you gave your gifts to all your lovers. From every direction you even bribed them to come to you for your sexual favors. 34 As a prostitute, you were more perverse than other women. No one approached you for sexual favors, but you yourself gave gifts instead of receiving them. You are perversion itself! 35 Therefore, you prostitute, hear the Lord’s word!
36 The Lord God proclaims: You were in a constant state of arousal[a] and exposed yourself when you acted like a prostitute with your lovers and with the idols to which you gave your children’s blood. 37 Therefore, I will now gather all of your lovers whom you pleased, the ones you loved and the ones you rejected. I will gather them against you from all around, and I will expose you to them. They will see it all. 38 I will convict you of adultery and murder, and I will hand you over in bloody fury and zeal. 39 I will hand you over to them, and they will tear down your pavilion and destroy your platforms. They will strip you of your garments, take your beautiful jewels, and they will leave you completely naked. 40 They will bring an army against you, pelt you with stones, and slaughter you with their swords. 41 They will burn down your houses and execute judgments against you in the sight of many women. I will bring an end to your prostitution; indeed, you will never again give payment. 42 When I’ve satisfied my anger, and my rage has turned away from you, I will be calm and no longer angry. 43 Because you didn’t remember your youthful days, and infuriated me with all these things, I will hold you accountable for what you’ve done. This is what the Lord God says.
Have you not added bad reputation to all your detestable acts? 44 Now everyone who speaks in proverbs will say this about you: “Like mother, like daughter.” 45 You are your mother’s daughter! She loathed her husband and also her children. You are just like your sisters too! They also loathed their husbands and children. Your mother was a Hittite, and your father was an Amorite. 46 Your older sister is Samaria, who lives with her daughters in the north. Your younger sister is Sodom, who lives with her daughters in the south. 47 You didn’t follow in their ways or engage in their detestable practices in any small way. You were far more destructive. 48 As surely as I live, says the Lord God, not even your sister Sodom and her daughters did what you and your daughters have done! 49 This is the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were proud, had plenty to eat, and enjoyed peace and prosperity; but she didn’t help the poor and the needy. 50 They became haughty and did detestable things in front of me, and I turned away from them as soon as I saw it.
51 Samaria didn’t sin even half as much as you did. You’ve so outstripped her in multiplying your detestable practices, with all the detestable things you’ve done, that you’ve even made your sisters seem innocent. 52 Bear your disgrace, which has actually improved your sisters’ position. Because your sins and detestable acts were greater than theirs, they are now more righteous than you. Be ashamed, and bear the disgrace of making your sisters righteous! 53 I will improve the circumstances of Sodom and her daughters and the circumstances of Samaria and her daughters. And what’s left of your fortune will go to them, 54 so that you will bear your disgrace and be humiliated by all that you’ve done to make them feel better. 55 Then your sister Sodom and her daughters will return to their former state, and your sister Samaria and her daughters will return to their former state. You and your daughters will return to your former state, 56 but you will no longer talk about your sister Sodom as in your haughty days 57 before your wickedness was exposed. You are now the reproach of all the daughters of Edom[b] and all those around her, including the daughters of the Philistines. They mock you on every side. 58 You alone must bear your bad reputation and your detestable ways. This is what the Lord says.
59 The Lord God proclaims: I will do to you just as you have done, despising solemn pledges and breaking covenants. 60 Nevertheless, I will remember my covenant with you when you were young, and I will establish an everlasting covenant with you. 61 And you will remember your ways and be ashamed, when in spite of your covenant I[c] take your big sisters and little sisters from you and give them back to you as daughters. 62 I myself will establish my covenant with you, and you will know that I am the Lord. 63 Then you will remember and be ashamed, and you won’t even open your mouth because of your shame, after I’ve forgiven you for all that you’ve done. This is what the Lord God says.
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 16:36 Heb uncertain
- Ezekiel 16:57 Syr; MT Aram
- Ezekiel 16:61 LXX; MT you
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