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Ezekiel 16
Holman Christian Standard Bible

Parable of God’s Adulterous Wife

16 The word of the Lord came to me again: 2 “Son of man, explain Jerusalem’s detestable practices to her.(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 Hittite.(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 lying 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, and you became Mine.”(H) This is the declaration of the Lord God. 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 leather 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 chain around your neck. 12 I put a ring in your nose,(I) earrings on your ears, and a beautiful tiara 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 were confident 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.[e] 16 You took some of your garments 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![f] 17 You also took your beautiful jewelry made from the gold and silver I had given you,(N) and you made male images so that you could engage in prostitution with them. 18 Then you took your embroidered garments to cover them, and set My oil and incense before them. 19 You also set before them as a pleasing aroma the food I gave you—the fine flour, oil, and honey that I fed you.(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 lying 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 provoke Me to anger.

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 behavior. 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”—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 your bloodshed in wrath and jealousy.(AD) 39 I will hand you over to them, and they will level 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 cut you to pieces with their swords. 41 Then they will burn down 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 silent 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 actions down on your own head.”(AJ) This is the declaration of the Lord God. “Haven’t you committed immoral acts in addition to all your detestable practices?

44 “Look, everyone who uses proverbs will say 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 Hittite 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 you behaved more corruptly than they did.[g](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 the poor and needy. 50 They were haughty and did detestable things before Me, so I removed them when I saw this.[h](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 things you have committed. 52 You must also bear your disgrace, since you have been an advocate for your sisters. For they appear more righteous than you because of your sins, which you committed more abhorrently 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[i] 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[j](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 indecency 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 an everlasting covenant with you.(AX) 61 Then you will remember your ways(AY) and be ashamed when you[k] 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 Yahweh, 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

  1. Ezekiel 16:4 Hb obscure
  2. Ezekiel 16:6 Some Hb mss, LXX, Syr omit Yes, I said to you [as you lay] in your blood: Live!
  3. Ezekiel 16:7 LXX reads Thrive; I made you
  4. Ezekiel 16:7 Or matured and developed the loveliest of ornaments
  5. Ezekiel 16:15 Hb obscure
  6. Ezekiel 16:16 Hb obscure
  7. Ezekiel 16:47 Lit they in all your ways
  8. Ezekiel 16:50 Or them as you have seen
  9. Ezekiel 16:53 LXX, Vg; MT reads Samaria and her daughters and the fortunes of
  10. Ezekiel 16:57 Some Hb mss, Syr read Edom
  11. Ezekiel 16:61 Some LXX mss, Syr read I
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Ezekiel 16
New Living Translation

Jerusalem—an Unfaithful Wife

16 Then another message came to me from the Lord: 2 “Son of man, confront Jerusalem with her detestable sins. 3 Give her this message from the Sovereign Lord: You are nothing but a Canaanite! Your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite. 4 On the day you were born, no one cared about you. Your umbilical cord was not cut, and you were never washed, rubbed with salt, and wrapped in cloth. 5 No one had the slightest interest in you; no one pitied you or cared for you. On the day you were born, you were unwanted, dumped in a field and left to die.

6 “But I came by and saw you there, helplessly kicking about in your own blood. As you lay there, I said, ‘Live!’ 7 And I helped you to thrive like a plant in the field. You grew up and became a beautiful jewel. Your breasts became full, and your body hair grew, but you were still naked. 8 And when I passed by again, I saw that you were old enough for love. So I wrapped my cloak around you to cover your nakedness and declared my marriage vows. I made a covenant with you, says the Sovereign Lord, and you became mine.

9 “Then I bathed you and washed off your blood, and I rubbed fragrant oils into your skin. 10 I gave you expensive clothing of fine linen and silk, beautifully embroidered, and sandals made of fine goatskin leather. 11 I gave you lovely jewelry, bracelets, beautiful necklaces, 12 a ring for your nose, earrings for your ears, and a lovely crown for your head. 13 And so you were adorned with gold and silver. Your clothes were made of fine linen and costly fabric and were beautifully embroidered. You ate the finest foods—choice flour, honey, and olive oil—and became more beautiful than ever. You looked like a queen, and so you were! 14 Your fame soon spread throughout the world because of your beauty. I dressed you in my splendor and perfected your beauty, says the Sovereign Lord.

15 “But you thought your fame and beauty were your own. So you gave yourself as a prostitute to every man who came along. Your beauty was theirs for the asking. 16 You used the lovely things I gave you to make shrines for idols, where you played the prostitute. Unbelievable! How could such a thing ever happen? 17 You took the very jewels and gold and silver ornaments I had given you and made statues of men and worshiped them. This is adultery against me! 18 You used the beautifully embroidered clothes I gave you to dress your idols. Then you used my special oil and my incense to worship them. 19 Imagine it! You set before them as a sacrifice the choice flour, olive oil, and honey I had given you, says the Sovereign Lord.

20 “Then you took your sons and daughters—the children you had borne to me—and sacrificed them to your gods. Was your prostitution not enough? 21 Must you also slaughter my children by sacrificing them to idols? 22 In all your years of adultery and detestable sin, you have not once remembered the days long ago when you lay naked in a field, kicking about in your own blood.

23 “What sorrow awaits you, says the Sovereign Lord. In addition to all your other wickedness, 24 you built a pagan shrine and put altars to idols in every town square. 25 On every street corner you defiled your beauty, offering your body to every passerby in an endless stream of prostitution. 26 Then you added lustful Egypt to your lovers, provoking my anger with your increasing promiscuity. 27 That is why I struck you with my fist and reduced your boundaries. I handed you over to your enemies, the Philistines, and even they were shocked by your lewd conduct. 28 You have prostituted yourself with the Assyrians, too. It seems you can never find enough new lovers! And after your prostitution there, you still were not satisfied. 29 You added to your lovers by embracing Babylonia,[a] the land of merchants, but you still weren’t satisfied.

30 “What a sick heart you have, says the Sovereign Lord, to do such things as these, acting like a shameless prostitute. 31 You build your pagan shrines on every street corner and your altars to idols in every square. In fact, you have been worse than a prostitute, so eager for sin that you have not even demanded payment. 32 Yes, you are an adulterous wife who takes in strangers instead of her own husband. 33 Prostitutes charge for their services—but not you! You give gifts to your lovers, bribing them to come and have sex with you. 34 So you are the opposite of other prostitutes. You pay your lovers instead of their paying you!

Judgment on Jerusalem’s Prostitution

35 “Therefore, you prostitute, listen to this message from the Lord! 36 This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because you have poured out your lust and exposed yourself in prostitution to all your lovers, and because you have worshiped detestable idols,[b] and because you have slaughtered your children as sacrifices to your gods, 37 this is what I am going to do. I will gather together all your allies—the lovers with whom you have sinned, both those you loved and those you hated—and I will strip you naked in front of them so they can stare at you. 38 I will punish you for your murder and adultery. I will cover you with blood in my jealous fury. 39 Then I will give you to these many nations who are your lovers, and they will destroy you. They will knock down your pagan shrines and the altars to your idols. They will strip you and take your beautiful jewels, leaving you stark naked. 40 They will band together in a mob to stone you and cut you up with swords. 41 They will burn your homes and punish you in front of many women. I will stop your prostitution and end your payments to your many lovers.

42 “Then at last my fury against you will be spent, and my jealous anger will subside. I will be calm and will not be angry with you anymore. 43 But first, because you have not remembered your youth but have angered me by doing all these evil things, I will fully repay you for all of your sins, says the Sovereign Lord. For you have added lewd acts to all your detestable sins. 44 Everyone who makes up proverbs will say of you, ‘Like mother, like daughter.’ 45 For your mother loathed her husband and her children, and so do you. And you are exactly like your sisters, for they despised their husbands and their children. Truly your mother was a Hittite and your father an Amorite.

46 “Your older sister was Samaria, who lived with her daughters in the north. Your younger sister was Sodom, who lived with her daughters in the south. 47 But you have not merely sinned as they did. You quickly surpassed them in corruption. 48 As surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, Sodom and her daughters were never as wicked as you and your daughters. 49 Sodom’s sins were pride, gluttony, and laziness, while the poor and needy suffered outside her door. 50 She was proud and committed detestable sins, so I wiped her out, as you have seen.[c]

51 “Even Samaria did not commit half your sins. You have done far more detestable things than your sisters ever did. They seem righteous compared to you. 52 Shame on you! Your sins are so terrible that you make your sisters seem righteous, even virtuous.

53 “But someday I will restore the fortunes of Sodom and Samaria, and I will restore you, too. 54 Then you will be truly ashamed of everything you have done, for your sins make them feel good in comparison. 55 Yes, your sisters, Sodom and Samaria, and all their people will be restored, and at that time you also will be restored. 56 In your proud days you held Sodom in contempt. 57 But now your greater wickedness has been exposed to all the world, and you are the one who is scorned—by Edom[d] and all her neighbors and by Philistia. 58 This is your punishment for all your lewdness and detestable sins, says the Lord.

59 “Now this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will give you what you deserve, for you have taken your solemn vows lightly by breaking your covenant. 60 Yet I will remember the covenant I made with you when you were young, and I will establish an everlasting covenant with you. 61 Then you will remember with shame all the evil you have done. I will make your sisters, Samaria and Sodom, to be your daughters, even though they are not part of our covenant. 62 And I will reaffirm my covenant with you, and you will know that I am the Lord. 63 You will remember your sins and cover your mouth in silent shame when I forgive you of all that you have done. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!”

Footnotes

  1. 16:29 Or Chaldea.
  2. 16:36 The Hebrew term (literally round things) probably alludes to dung.
  3. 16:50 As in a few Hebrew manuscripts and Greek version; Masoretic Text reads as I have seen.
  4. 16:57 As in many Hebrew manuscripts and Syriac version; Masoretic Text reads Aram.
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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

  1. Ezekiel 16:10 Or with rich fabric
  2. Ezekiel 16:15 Or were unfaithful; also verses 16, 17, 26, 28
  3. Ezekiel 16:15 Or unfaithfulness; also verses 20, 22, 25, 26, 29, 33, 34, 36
  4. Ezekiel 16:15 Hebrew it
  5. Ezekiel 16:16 The meaning of this Hebrew sentence is uncertain
  6. Ezekiel 16:25 Hebrew spreading your legs
  7. Ezekiel 16:30 Revocalization yields How I am filled with anger against you
  8. Ezekiel 16:57 Some manuscripts (compare Syriac) of Edom
  9. Ezekiel 16:61 Or not apart from
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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

  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
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Ezekiel 15
Ezekiel 17
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