Ezekiel 16
Lexham English Bible
God’s Covenant Grace to Unfaithful and Rebellious Israel
16 And the word of Yahweh came[a] to me, saying,[b] 2 “Son of man,[c] make known to Jerusalem its detestable things, 3 and you must say, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh to Jerusalem: Your origin and your birth were from the land of the Canaanites,[d] your father was an Amorite, and your mother was a Hittite. 4 And as for your birth, on the day you were born[e] your umbilical cord was not cut, and you were not thoroughly washed clean with water,[f] and you were not thoroughly rubbed with salt,[g] and you were not carefully wrapped in strips of cloth.[h] 5 No eye took pity on you[i] to do to you one of these things to show compassion for you, and you were thrown into the open field[j] in their despising of you on the day you were born.[k]
6 “‘And I passed by you, and I saw you kicking about in your blood, and I said to you in your blood, “Live! 7 Grow up;[l] I will make you like a plant of the field.” And you grew up, and you became tall and reached full womanhood.[m] Your breasts were formed, and your hair had grown, but you were naked and bare.
8 “‘And I passed by you, and I saw you, and look, your time of lovemaking had come,[n] and so I spread out my hem over you, and I covered your nakedness, and I swore to you, and I entered into[o] a covenant with you,’ declares[p] the Lord Yahweh, ‘and you became mine.[q] 9 And I washed you with water, and I rinsed off your blood from on you, and I anointed you with oil. 10 And I clothed you with beautiful finished cloth, and I put sandals on you of fine leather, and I bound you in fine linen, and I covered you with costly fabric. 11 And I adorned you with ornaments,[r] and I put a bracelet on your arms and a necklace on your neck. 12 And I put an ornamental ring on your nose and earrings on your ears and a beautiful crown[s] on your head. 13 And you adorned yourself with gold and silver, and your clothing was fine linen and costly fabric and beautiful finished cloth; you ate finely milled flour and honey and olive oil, and you became exceedingly beautiful; you were fit to be a queen.[t] 14 And a name went out for you among the nations because of your beauty, for it was perfect because of my majesty that I bestowed on you,’ declares[u] the Lord Yahweh. 15 ‘And you trusted in your beauty, and you prostituted on account of your name, and you poured out your fornication on every one passing by, saying, “Let it be his.” 16 And you took from your clothes and you made for yourself colorful[v] shrines, and you prostituted on them; this had not happened before,[w] and it will not continue to happen.[x] 17 And you took your beautiful jewelry[y] made from my gold and from my silver that I had given to you, and you made for yourself male images,[z] and you prostituted with them. 18 And you took the clothes of your beautiful finished cloth, and you covered them and my oil and my incense you set before them.[aa] 19 And my bread that I gave to you, finely milled flour and oil and honey with which I fed you, then you set it before them[ab] as a pleasing odor,[ac] and so it was,’ declares[ad] the Lord Yahweh. 20 ‘And you took your sons and your daughters whom you had borne for me, and you sacrificed them to them to be eaten,[ae] as if your whorings were not enough.[af] 21 And you slaughtered my children, and you gave them to be sacrificed to them.[ag] 22 And in all of your detestable things and your fornication you did not remember the days of your childhood when you were naked and bare,[ah] when you were kicking about in your blood.
23 “‘And then after all of your evil! Woe, woe, to you!’ declares[ai] the Lord Yahweh. 24 ‘And then you built for yourself a mound, and you made for yourself a high place in every public square. 25 At the head of every street you built your high place and you disgraced your beauty and you spread your feet for every passerby, and you increased your whoring. 26 And you prostituted with the Egyptians,[aj] your neighbors who were sexually aroused,[ak] and you increased your fornication to provoke me. 27 And look! I stretched out my hand against you, and I reduced your portion, and I gave you into[al] the desire of your haters, the daughters of the Philistines, who were ashamed because of your lewd conduct.[am] 28 And you prostituted with the Assyrians[an] on account of your insatiable lust,[ao] and you prostituted with them, and still you were not satisfied. 29 And you increased your fornication to the land of traders,[ap] to Chaldea, and even with this you were not satisfied. 30 How hot with fever was your heart!’ declares[aq] the Lord Yahweh. ‘When you did[ar] all of these actions of a headstrong female prostitute,[as] 31 when you built[at] your mound at the head of every street and your high place you made on every street, yet[au] you were[av] not like a prostitute, as you were scorning your harlot’s wages. 32 O, adulterous woman! In the place of her husband she received strangers. 33 To all prostitutes they give a fee, but you, you gave your gifts to all of your lovers, and you bribed them to come to you from all around in your whorings! 34 And it was the opposite with you from the other women in your whorings; no one solicited you as a prostitute.[aw] You gave[ax] a harlot’s wages, and a harlot’s wages were not given to you, and so it was just the opposite.
35 “‘Therefore, prostitute, hear the word of Yahweh. 36 Thus says the Lord Yahweh: Because of the pouring out of your shame and because your nakedness was revealed in your whoring with your lovers, and on account of all of the idols of your detestable things, and according to the blood of your children whom you gave to them, 37 therefore, look! I am gathering all of your lovers whom you were pleased about,[ay] and all of whom you loved in addition to all of whom you hated, and I will gather them against you from everywhere,[az] and I will uncover your nakedness to them, and they will see all of your nakedness. 38 And I will judge you with the judgment of women committing adultery and shedding blood, and I will give you the blood of rage and jealousy. 39 And I will give you into their hand, and they will demolish your mound, and they will break down your high places, and they will strip you of your clothes, and they will take your beautiful jewelry,[ba] and they will leave you naked and bare. 40 And they will bring up against you a crowd, and they will stone you with stones,[bb] and they will cut you to pieces with their swords. 41 And they will burn your houses with fire, and they will execute against you judgments before[bc] many women, and I will stop you from prostitution, and also a harlot’s wages you will not give[bd] again. 42 And I will satisfy my rage on you, and my jealousy will turn away from you, and I will be calm, and I will not be angry any longer. 43 Because[be] you did not remember[bf] the days of your childhood and you made me angry with all of these. And in turn I, look, I will return your way upon your head,’ declares[bg] the Lord Yahweh, ‘and did[bh] you not do wickedness[bi] in addition to all of your detestable things? 44 Look! Everyone quoting a proverb[bj] against you, he will quote, saying,[bk] ‘Like her mother is her daughter!’ 45 You are a daughter of your mother who abhorred her husband and her children, and you are a sister of your sisters who abhorred their husbands and their children. Your mother was a Hittite, and your father was an Amorite. 46 And your elder sister, she is Samaria, and her daughters, who are dwelling on your north, and your younger sister is the one dwelling on your south; she is Sodom and her daughters. 47 And you have not only gone in their ways, but[bl] you also did according to their detestable things. In such a short time[bm] you behaved more corruptly than they in all of your ways. 48 As surely as I live,’[bn] declares[bo] the Lord Yahweh, ‘surely your sister Sodom and her daughters did not do as[bp] you and your daughters did. 49 Look! This was the iniquity of Sodom, your sister: Pride, abundance of food, and prosperous ease[bq] was to her and to her daughters, and she did not sustain the needy and the poor.[br] 50 And they were proud, and they did a detestable thing before me,[bs] and I removed them because[bt] I saw it. 51 And Samaria did not sin according to even half of your sins,[bu] and you caused your detestable things to increase more than they, and you made your sister righteous in comparison with all of your detestable things that you did.[bv] 52 Also,[bw] you bear your disgrace, by which you furnished justification to your sisters[bx] through your sins by which you acted more abominably than they; they were more righteous than you, and also,[by] you be ashamed and bear your disgrace through your making your sister righteous.
53 And I will restore their fortune, the fortunes of Sodom and her daughters, and the fortunes of Samaria and her daughters, and even the fortunes of your captivity in the midst of them, 54 in order that you may bear your disgrace and you may be put to shame because of all that you did at your consoling them. 55 And as for your sisters, Sodom and her daughters, they will return to their former state, and Samaria and her daughters, they will return to their former state, and you and your daughters will return to your former state. 56 And was not Sodom, your sister, a byword in your mouth in the day of your pride 57 before[bz] your evil was uncovered? It was like the time of the scorn of the daughters of Aram and all those around her, and of the daughters of the Philistines, those all around who are despising you. 58 Your wickedness and your detestable things, you, you must bear them,’ declares[ca] Yahweh. 59 ‘For thus says the Lord Yahweh: And I will do it[cb] to you according to what you have done,[cc] who despised the oath to break covenant. 60 And I, I will remember my covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish with you an everlasting covenant.[cd] 61 And you will remember your ways, and you will be ashamed when you take your sisters, both the older and the younger,[ce] and I give them to you as daughters, but not on account of your covenant. 62 And I, I will establish my covenant with you, and you will know that I am Yahweh, 63 in order that you will remember, and you will be ashamed, and you will not open your mouth again[cf] because of[cg] your disgrace when I forgive you for all that you have done!’” declares[ch] the Lord Yahweh.
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 16:1 Literally “was”
- Ezekiel 16:1 Literally “to say”
- Ezekiel 16:2 Or “mortal,” or “son of humankind”
- Ezekiel 16:3 Hebrew “Canaanite”
- Ezekiel 16:4 Literally “on the day of being born you”
- Ezekiel 16:4 Literally “with water not you were cleansed for cleansing”
- Ezekiel 16:4 Literally “being rubbed with salt you were not rubbed with salt”
- Ezekiel 16:4 Literally “being wrapped in strips of cloth not you were wrapped in strips of cloth”
- Ezekiel 16:5 Literally “not took pity on you an eye”
- Ezekiel 16:5 Literally “to the face of the field”
- Ezekiel 16:5 Literally “on the day of being born you”
- Ezekiel 16:7 Or “A myriad I have made you”
- Ezekiel 16:7 Literally “ornament of ornaments”
- Ezekiel 16:8 Literally “your time was the time of lovemaking”
- Ezekiel 16:8 Hebrew “in”
- Ezekiel 16:8 Literally “declaration of”
- Ezekiel 16:8 Literally “and you were to me”
- Ezekiel 16:11 Hebrew “ornament”
- Ezekiel 16:12 Literally “a crown of splendor”
- Ezekiel 16:13 Literally “you could succeed to queenship”
- Ezekiel 16:14 Literally “declaration of”
- Ezekiel 16:16 Or “gaudy”
- Ezekiel 16:16 Literally “Not were happening”
- Ezekiel 16:16 Literally “and not it will be”; Hebrew text unclear
- Ezekiel 16:17 Literally “the jewelry of splendor”
- Ezekiel 16:17 Literally “images of a male”
- Ezekiel 16:18 Literally “to the face of them”
- Ezekiel 16:19 Literally “to the face of them”
- Ezekiel 16:19 Literally “a scent of an incense”
- Ezekiel 16:19 Literally “declaration of”
- Ezekiel 16:20 Or “consumed”
- Ezekiel 16:20 Literally “it was too little from your whorings”
- Ezekiel 16:21 Literally “to cause them to cross over to them”
- Ezekiel 16:22 Literally “at your being naked and bare”
- Ezekiel 16:23 Literally “declaration of”
- Ezekiel 16:26 Literally “sons/children of Egypt”
- Ezekiel 16:26 Literally “those being great of flesh”
- Ezekiel 16:27 Hebrew “in”
- Ezekiel 16:27 Literally “your way of life”
- Ezekiel 16:28 Literally “sons/children of Assyria”
- Ezekiel 16:28 Literally “of no your satisfaction”
- Ezekiel 16:29 Hebrew “trader”
- Ezekiel 16:30 Literally “declaration of”
- Ezekiel 16:30 Literally “at/in you to do”
- Ezekiel 16:30 Literally “deeds of a woman prostituting domineering”
- Ezekiel 16:31 Literally “at/in building your”
- Ezekiel 16:31 Hebrew “and”
- Ezekiel 16:31 According to the reading tradition (Qere)
- Ezekiel 16:34 Literally “and after you not he solicited a prostitute”
- Ezekiel 16:34 Literally “And at your giving”
- Ezekiel 16:37 Literally “whom you were pleased about them”
- Ezekiel 16:37 Literally “all around”
- Ezekiel 16:39 Literally “the objects of your splendor”
- Ezekiel 16:40 Hebrew “stone”
- Ezekiel 16:41 Literally “to the eyes of”
- Ezekiel 16:41 Or “pay”
- Ezekiel 16:43 Literally “because that”
- Ezekiel 16:43 According to the reading tradition (Qere) with BHS
- Ezekiel 16:43 Literally “declaration of”
- Ezekiel 16:43 According to the reading tradition (Qere); cf. BHS
- Ezekiel 16:43 Literally “the wickedness”
- Ezekiel 16:44 Literally “proverbing a proverb”
- Ezekiel 16:44 Literally “to say”
- Ezekiel 16:47 Or “and”
- Ezekiel 16:47 Literally “as few little and”
- Ezekiel 16:48 Literally “live I”
- Ezekiel 16:48 Literally “declaration of”
- Ezekiel 16:48 Hebrew “as that”
- Ezekiel 16:49 Literally “and ease of granting relief”
- Ezekiel 16:49 Literally “And the hand of the needy and the poor not she did take hold of”
- Ezekiel 16:50 Literally “to the face of me”
- Ezekiel 16:50 Literally “as that”
- Ezekiel 16:51 Literally “about/as/like the half of sins your not did she sin”
- Ezekiel 16:51 According to the reading tradition (Qere); cf. BHS
- Ezekiel 16:52 Or “indeed”
- Ezekiel 16:52 Hebrew “sister”
- Ezekiel 16:52 Or “indeed”
- Ezekiel 16:57 Literally “at not yet”
- Ezekiel 16:58 Literally “declaration of”
- Ezekiel 16:59 According to the reading tradition (Qere)
- Ezekiel 16:59 Literally “as that you have done”
- Ezekiel 16:60 Literally “a covenant of eternity”
- Ezekiel 16:61 Literally “the older from you to the younger from you”
- Ezekiel 16:63 Literally “and not it will be again an opening of mouth”
- Ezekiel 16:63 Literally “from the face of”
- Ezekiel 16:63 Literally “declaration of”
Ezekiel 16
American Standard Version
16 Again the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying, 2 Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations; 3 and say, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah unto Jerusalem: [a]Thy birth and thy nativity is of the land of the Canaanite; the Amorite was thy father, and thy mother was a 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 cleanse thee; thou wast not salted at all, nor swaddled at all. 5 No eye pitied thee, to do any of these things unto thee, to have compassion upon thee; but thou wast cast out in the open field, for that thy person was abhorred, in the day that thou wast born.
6 And when I passed by thee, and saw thee weltering in thy blood, I said unto thee, Though thou art in thy blood, live; yea, I said unto thee, Though thou art in thy blood, live. 7 I [b]caused thee to multiply as that which groweth in the field, and thou didst increase and wax great, and thou attainedst to [c]excellent ornament; thy breasts were fashioned, and thy hair was grown; yet 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 Jehovah, and thou becamest mine. 9 Then washed I thee with water; yea, I thoroughly washed away thy blood from thee, and I anointed thee with oil. 10 I clothed thee also with broidered work, and shod thee with [d]sealskin, and I [e]girded thee about with fine linen, and covered thee with silk. 11 And I decked thee with ornaments, and I put bracelets upon thy hands, and a chain on thy neck. 12 And I put a ring upon thy nose, and ear-rings in thine ears, and a beautiful crown upon thy 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 unto royal estate. 14 And thy renown went forth among the nations for thy beauty; for it was perfect, through my majesty which I had put upon thee, saith the Lord Jehovah.
15 But thou didst trust in thy beauty, and playedst the harlot because of thy renown, and pouredst out thy whoredoms on every one that passed by; his it was. 16 And thou didst take of thy garments, and madest for thee high places decked with divers colors, and playedst the harlot upon them: the like things shall not come, neither shall it be so. 17 Thou didst also take thy [f]fair jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given thee, and madest for thee [g]images of men, and didst play the harlot with them; 18 and thou tookest thy broidered garments, and coveredst them, and didst set mine oil and mine incense before them. 19 My bread also which I gave thee, fine flour, and oil, and honey, wherewith I fed thee, thou didst even set it before them for a sweet savor; and thus it was, saith the Lord Jehovah. 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. Were thy whoredoms a small matter, 21 that thou hast slain my children, and delivered them up, in [h]causing them to pass through the fire unto 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 weltering in thy blood.
23 And it is come to pass after all thy wickedness (woe, woe unto thee! saith the Lord Jehovah), 24 that thou hast built unto thee a vaulted place, and hast made thee a lofty place in every street. 25 Thou hast built thy lofty place at the head of every way, and hast made thy beauty an abomination, and hast opened thy feet to every one that passed by, and multiplied thy whoredom. 26 Thou hast also committed fornication with the Egyptians, thy neighbors, great of flesh; and hast multiplied thy whoredom, to provoke me to anger. 27 Behold therefore, I have stretched out my hand over thee, and have diminished thine [i]ordinary food, and delivered thee unto the will of them that hate thee, the daughters of the Philistines, that are ashamed of thy lewd way. 28 Thou hast played the harlot also with the Assyrians, because thou wast insatiable; yea, thou hast played the harlot with them, and yet thou wast not satisfied. 29 Thou hast moreover multiplied thy whoredom unto the land of [j]traffic, unto Chaldea; and yet thou wast not satisfied herewith.
30 How weak is thy heart, saith the Lord Jehovah, seeing thou doest all these things, the work of an impudent harlot; 31 in that thou buildest thy vaulted place at the head of every way, and makest thy lofty place in every street, and hast not been as a harlot, [k]in that thou scornest hire. 32 A wife that committeth adultery! that taketh strangers instead of her husband! 33 They give gifts to all harlots; but thou givest thy gifts to all thy lovers, and bribest them, that they may come unto thee on every side for thy whoredoms. 34 And thou art different from other women in thy whoredoms, in that none followeth thee to play the harlot; and whereas thou givest hire, and no hire is given unto thee, therefore thou art different.
35 Wherefore, O harlot, hear the word of Jehovah: 36 Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Because thy [l]filthiness was poured out, and thy nakedness uncovered through thy whoredoms with thy lovers; and because of all the idols of thy abominations, and for the blood of thy children, that thou didst give unto them; 37 therefore behold, 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 against thee on every side, and will uncover 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 bring upon thee the blood of wrath and jealousy. 39 I will also give thee into their hand, and they shall throw down thy vaulted place, and break down thy lofty places; and they shall strip thee of thy clothes, and take thy fair jewels; and they shall 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 thy 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 shalt also give no hire any more. 42 So will I cause my wrath 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 raged against me in all these things; therefore, behold, I also will bring thy way upon thy head, saith the Lord Jehovah: and [m]thou shalt not commit this lewdness with 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 the daughter of thy mother, that loatheth her husband and her children; and thou art the sister of thy sisters, who loathed their husbands and their children: your mother was a Hittite, and your father an Amorite. 46 And thine elder sister is Samaria, that dwelleth at thy left hand, she and her daughters; and thy younger sister, that dwelleth at thy right hand, is Sodom and her daughters. 47 Yet hast thou not walked in their ways, nor done after their abominations; but, as if that were a very little thing, thou wast more corrupt than they in all thy ways. 48 As I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, 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 prosperous ease 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 [n]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 by all thine abominations which thou hast done. 52 Thou also, bear thou thine own shame, in that thou hast given judgment for thy [o]sisters; through thy sins that thou hast committed more abominable than they, they are more righteous than thou: yea, be thou also confounded, and bear thy shame, in that thou hast justified thy sisters.
53 And I will [p]turn again their captivity, the captivity of Sodom and her daughters, and the captivity of Samaria and her daughters, and the captivity of thy captives in the midst of them; 54 that thou mayest bear thine own shame, and mayest be ashamed because of all that thou hast done, in that thou art a comfort unto them. 55 And thy sisters, Sodom and her daughters, shall return to their former estate; and Samaria and her daughters shall return to their former estate; and 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 uncovered, as at the time of the reproach of the daughters of Syria, and of all that are round about her, the daughters of the Philistines, that do despite unto thee round about. 58 Thou hast borne thy lewdness and thine abominations, saith Jehovah. 59 For thus saith the Lord Jehovah: I will also deal with thee as thou hast done, who 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 shalt thou remember thy ways, and be ashamed, when thou shalt receive thy sisters, thine elder sisters 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 Jehovah; 63 that thou mayest remember, and be confounded, and never open thy mouth any more, because of thy shame, when I have forgiven thee all that thou hast done, saith the Lord Jehovah.
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 16:3 Or, Thine origin
- Ezekiel 16:7 Hebrew made thee a myriad.
- Ezekiel 16:7 Hebrew ornament of ornaments.
- Ezekiel 16:10 Or, porpoise-skin
- Ezekiel 16:10 Or, bound thee with attire of fine linen
- Ezekiel 16:17 Or, beautiful vessels
- Ezekiel 16:17 Or, male images
- Ezekiel 16:21 Or, setting them apart. Hebrew making them pass over.
- Ezekiel 16:27 Or, allowance
- Ezekiel 16:29 Or, Canaan
- Ezekiel 16:31 Or, that scoffeth at her hire
- Ezekiel 16:36 Hebrew brass.
- Ezekiel 16:43 Or, hast thou not committed etc.?
- Ezekiel 16:50 Or, when I saw it
- Ezekiel 16:52 Or, sister
- Ezekiel 16:53 Or, return to
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