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Ezekiel 16
New English Translation

God’s Unfaithful Bride

16 The Lord’s message came to me: 2 “Son of man, confront Jerusalem with her abominable practices 3 and say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord 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. 4 As for your birth, on the day you were born your umbilical cord was not cut, nor were you washed in water;[a] you were certainly not rubbed down with salt, nor wrapped with blankets.[b] 5 No eye took pity on you to do even one of these things for you to spare you;[c] you were thrown out into the open field[d] because you were detested on the day you were born.

6 “‘I passed by you and saw you kicking around helplessly in your blood. I said to you as you lay there in your blood, “Live!” I said to you as you lay there in your blood, “Live!”[e] 7 I made you plentiful like sprouts in a field; you grew tall and came of age so that you could wear jewelry. Your breasts had formed and your hair had grown, but you were still naked and bare.

8 “‘Then I passed by you and watched you, noticing[f] that you had reached the age for love.[g] I spread my cloak[h] over you and covered your nakedness. I swore a solemn oath to you and entered into a marriage covenant with you, declares the Sovereign Lord, and you became mine.

9 “‘Then I bathed you in water, washed the blood off you, and anointed you with fragrant oil. 10 I dressed you in embroidered clothing and put fine leather sandals on your feet. I wrapped you with fine linen and covered you with silk. 11 I adorned you with jewelry. I put bracelets on your hands and a necklace around your neck. 12 I put a ring in your nose, earrings on your ears, and a beautiful crown on your head. 13 You were adorned with gold and silver, while your clothing was of fine linen, silk, and embroidery. You ate the finest flour, honey, and olive oil. You became extremely beautiful and attained the position of royalty. 14 Your fame[i] spread among the nations because of your beauty; your beauty was perfect because of the splendor that I bestowed on you, declares the Sovereign Lord.[j]

15 “‘But you trusted in your beauty and capitalized on your fame by becoming a prostitute. You offered your sexual favors to every man who passed by so that your beauty[k] became his. 16 You took some of your clothing and made for yourself decorated high places; you engaged in prostitution on them. You went to him to become his.[l] 17 You also took your beautiful jewelry, made of my gold and my silver I had given to you, and made for yourself male images and engaged in prostitution[m] with them. 18 You took your embroidered clothing and used it to cover them; you offered my olive oil and my incense to them. 19 As for my food that I gave you—the fine flour, olive oil, and honey I fed you—you placed it before them as a soothing aroma. That is exactly what happened, declares the Sovereign Lord.

20 “‘You took your sons and your daughters whom you bore to me and you sacrificed them[n] as food for the idols to eat. As if your prostitution was not enough, 21 you slaughtered my children and sacrificed them to the idols.[o] 22 And with all your abominable practices and prostitution you did not remember the days of your youth when you were naked and bare, kicking around in your blood.

23 “‘After all your evil—“Woe! Woe to you!” declares the Sovereign Lord— 24 you built yourself a chamber[p] and put up a pavilion[q] in every public square. 25 At the head of every street you erected your pavilion, and you disgraced[r] your beauty when you spread[s] your legs to every passerby and multiplied your promiscuity. 26 You engaged in prostitution with the Egyptians, your lustful neighbors,[t] multiplying your promiscuity and provoking me to anger. 27 So see here, I have stretched out my hand against you and cut off your rations. I have delivered you into the power of those who hate you, the daughters of the Philistines, who were ashamed of your obscene conduct. 28 You engaged in prostitution with the Assyrians because your desires were insatiable; you prostituted yourself with them and yet you were still not satisfied. 29 Then you multiplied your promiscuity to the land of merchants, Babylonia,[u] but you were not satisfied there either.

30 “‘How sick is your heart, declares the Sovereign Lord, when you perform all these acts, the deeds of a bold prostitute. 31 When you built your chamber at the head of every street and put up your pavilion in every public square, you were not like a prostitute, because you scoffed at payment.[v]

32 “‘Adulterous wife, who prefers strangers instead of her own husband! 33 All prostitutes receive payment,[w] but instead you give gifts to every one of your lovers. You bribe them to come to you from all around for your sexual favors! 34 You were different from other prostitutes[x] because no one solicited you. When you gave payment and no payment was given to you, you became the opposite!

35 “‘Therefore, you prostitute, listen to the Lord’s message! 36 This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because your lust[y] was poured out and your nakedness was uncovered in your prostitution with your lovers, and because of all your detestable idols, and because of the blood of your children you have given to them, 37 therefore, take note: I am about to gather all your lovers whom you enjoyed, both all those you loved and all those you hated. I will gather them against you from all around, and I will expose your nakedness to them, and they will see all your nakedness.[z] 38 I will punish you as an adulteress and murderer deserves.[aa] I will avenge your bloody deeds with furious rage.[ab] 39 I will give you into their hands, and they will destroy your chambers and tear down your pavilions. They will strip you of your clothing and take your beautiful jewelry and leave you naked and bare. 40 They will summon a mob who will stone you and hack you in pieces with their swords. 41 They will burn down your houses and execute judgments on you in front of many women. Thus I will put a stop to your prostitution, and you will no longer give gifts to your clients.[ac] 42 I will exhaust my rage on you, and then my fury will turn from you. I will calm down and no longer be angry.

43 “‘Because you did not remember the days of your youth and have enraged me with all these deeds, I hereby repay you for what you have done,[ad] declares the Sovereign Lord. Have you not engaged in prostitution on top of all your other abominable practices?

44 “‘Observe—everyone who quotes proverbs will quote this proverb about you: “Like mother, like daughter.” 45 You are the daughter of your mother, who detested her husband and her sons, and you are the sister of your sisters, who detested their husbands and their sons. Your mother was a Hittite and your father an Amorite. 46 Your older sister was Samaria, who lived north[ae] of you with her daughters, and your younger sister, who lived south[af] of you, was Sodom[ag] with her daughters. 47 Have you not copied their behavior[ah] and practiced their abominable deeds? In a short time[ai] you became even more depraved in all your conduct than they were! 48 As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, your sister Sodom and her daughters never behaved as wickedly as you and your daughters have behaved.

49 “‘See here—this was the iniquity[aj] of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters had majesty, abundance of food, and enjoyed carefree ease, but they did not help[ak] the poor and needy. 50 They were haughty and practiced abominable deeds before me. Therefore, when I saw it I removed them. 51 Samaria has not committed half the sins you have; you have done more abominable deeds than they did.[al] You have made your sisters appear righteous with all the abominable things you have done. 52 So now, bear your disgrace, because you have given your sisters reason to justify their behavior.[am] Because the sins you have committed were more abominable than those of your sisters; they have become more righteous than you. So now, be ashamed and bear the disgrace of making your sisters appear righteous.

53 “‘I will restore their fortunes, the fortunes of Sodom and her daughters, and the fortunes of Samaria and her daughters (along with your fortunes among them), 54 so that you may bear your disgrace and be ashamed of all you have done in consoling them. 55 As for your sisters, Sodom and her daughters will be restored to their former status, Samaria and her daughters will be restored to their former status, and you and your daughters will be restored to your former status. 56 In your days of majesty,[an] was not Sodom your sister a byword in your mouth, 57 before your evil was exposed? Now you have become an object of scorn to the daughters of Aram[ao] and all those around her and to the daughters of the Philistines—those all around you who despise you. 58 You must bear your punishment for your obscene conduct and your abominable practices, declares the Lord.

59 “‘For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will deal with you according to what you have done when you despised your oath by breaking your covenant. 60 Yet I will remember the covenant I made with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish a lasting[ap] covenant with you. 61 Then you will remember your conduct, and be ashamed when you receive your older and younger sisters. I will give them to you as daughters, but not on account of my covenant with you. 62 I will establish my covenant with you, and then you will know that I am the Lord. 63 Then you will remember, be ashamed, and remain silent[aq] because of your disgrace when I make atonement for all you have done,[ar] declares the Sovereign Lord.’”

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 16:4 tn Heb “in water you were not washed for cleansing” or “with water you were not washed smooth” (see D. I. Block, Ezekiel [NICOT], 1:473, n. 57, for a discussion of possible meanings of this hapax legomenon).
  2. Ezekiel 16:4 sn Arab midwives still cut the umbilical cords of infants and then proceed to apply salt and oil to their bodies.
  3. Ezekiel 16:5 sn These verbs, “pity” and “spare,” echo the judgment oracles in 5:11; 7:4, 9; 8:18; 9:5, 10.
  4. Ezekiel 16:5 sn A similar concept is found in Deut 32:10.
  5. Ezekiel 16:6 tc The translation reflects the Hebrew text, which repeats the statement, perhaps for emphasis. However, a few medieval Hebrew manuscripts, the Old Greek, and the Syriac do not include the repetition. The statement could have been accidentally repeated, or the second occurrence could have been accidentally omitted. Based on the available evidence it is difficult to know which is more likely.
  6. Ezekiel 16:8 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a participle.
  7. Ezekiel 16:8 tn See similar use of this term in Ezek 23:17; Prov 7:16; Song of Songs 4:10; 7:13.
  8. Ezekiel 16:8 tn Heb “wing” or “skirt.” The gesture symbolized acquiring a woman in early Arabia (similarly, see Deut 22:30; Ruth 3:9).
  9. Ezekiel 16:14 tn Heb “name.”
  10. Ezekiel 16:14 sn The description of the nation Israel in vv. 10-14 recalls the splendor of the nation’s golden age under King Solomon.
  11. Ezekiel 16:15 tn Heb “it” (so KJV, ASV); the referent (the beauty in which the prostitute trusted; see the beginning of the verse) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  12. Ezekiel 16:16 tc The text as written in the MT is incomprehensible (“not coming [plural] and he will not”). Driver has suggested a copying error of similar-sounding words, specifically לֹא (loʾ) for לוֹ (lo). The feminine participle בָאוֹת (vaʾot) has also been read as the feminine perfect בָאת (vaʾt). See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 1:228, n. 15.b, and D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:486, n. 137.
  13. Ezekiel 16:17 tn Or perhaps “and worshiped them,” if the word “prostitution” is understood in a figurative rather than a literal sense (cf. CEV, NLT).
  14. Ezekiel 16:20 sn The sacrifice of children was prohibited in Lev 18:21; 20:2; Deut 12:31; 18:10.
  15. Ezekiel 16:21 tn Heb “and you gave them, by passing them through to them.” Some believe this alludes to the pagan practice of making children pass through the fire.
  16. Ezekiel 16:24 tn The Hebrew גֶּב (gev) may represent more than one word, each rare in the Old Testament. It may refer to a “mound” or to “rafters.” The LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate interpret this as a brothel.
  17. Ezekiel 16:24 tn Or “lofty place” (NRSV). See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 1:229, and B. Lang, Frau Weisheit, 137.
  18. Ezekiel 16:25 tn Heb “treated as if abominable,” i.e., repudiated.
  19. Ezekiel 16:25 tn The only other occurrence of the Hebrew root is found in Prov 13:3 in reference to the talkative person who habitually “opens wide” his lips.
  20. Ezekiel 16:26 tn Heb “your neighbors, large of flesh.” The word “flesh” is used here of the genitals. It may simply refer to the size of their genitals in general, or that they are lustful.
  21. Ezekiel 16:29 tn Heb “Chaldea.” The name of the tribal group ruling Babylon (“Chaldeans”) and the territory from which they originated (“Chaldea”) are used as metonymy for the whole empire of Babylon.
  22. Ezekiel 16:31 tn The Hebrew term, which also occurs in vv. 34 and 41 of this chapter, always refers to the payment of a prostitute (Deut 23:19; Isa 23:17; Hos 9:1; Mic 1:7).
  23. Ezekiel 16:33 tn The Hebrew word occurs only here in the OT.
  24. Ezekiel 16:34 tn Heb “With you it was opposite of women in your prostitution.”
  25. Ezekiel 16:36 tn The Hebrew word occurs only here in the OT.
  26. Ezekiel 16:37 sn Harlots suffered degradation when their nakedness was exposed (Jer 13:22, 26; Hos 2:12; Nah 3:5).
  27. Ezekiel 16:38 tn Heb “and I will judge you (with) the judgments of adulteresses and of those who shed blood.”
  28. Ezekiel 16:38 tn Heb “and I will give you the blood of rage and zeal.”
  29. Ezekiel 16:41 tn The words “to your clients” are not in the Hebrew text but are implied.
  30. Ezekiel 16:43 tn Heb “your way on (your) head I have placed.”
  31. Ezekiel 16:46 tn Heb “left.”
  32. Ezekiel 16:46 tn Heb “right.”
  33. Ezekiel 16:46 sn Sodom was the epitome of evil (Deut 29:23; 32:32; Isa 1:9-10; 3:9; Jer 23:14; Lam 4:6; Matt 10:15; 11:23-24; Jude 7).
  34. Ezekiel 16:47 tn Heb “walked in their ways.”
  35. Ezekiel 16:47 tn The Hebrew expression has a temporal meaning as illustrated by the use of the phrase in 2 Chr 12:7.
  36. Ezekiel 16:49 tn Or “guilt.”
  37. Ezekiel 16:49 tn Heb “strengthen the hand of.”
  38. Ezekiel 16:51 tn Or “you have multiplied your abominable deeds beyond them.”
  39. Ezekiel 16:52 tn Heb “because you have interceded for your sisters with your sins.”
  40. Ezekiel 16:56 tn Or “pride.”
  41. Ezekiel 16:57 tc So MT, LXX, and Vulgate; many Hebrew mss and the Syriac read “Edom.”
  42. Ezekiel 16:60 tn Or “eternal.”
  43. Ezekiel 16:63 tn Heb “and your mouth will not be open any longer.”
  44. Ezekiel 16:63 tn Heb “when I make atonement for you for all that you have done.”
Listen to Ezekiel 16
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Ezekiel 16
New King James Version

God’s Love for Jerusalem

16 Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, (A)cause Jerusalem to know her abominations, 3 and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God to Jerusalem: “Your [a]birth (B)and your nativity are from the land of Canaan; (C)your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite. 4 As for your nativity, (D)on the day you were born your navel cord was not cut, nor were you washed in water to cleanse you; you were not rubbed with salt nor wrapped in swaddling cloths. 5 No eye pitied you, to do any of these things for you, to have compassion on you; but you were thrown out into the open field, when you yourself were [b]loathed on the day you were born.

6 “And when I passed by you and saw you struggling in your own blood, I said to you in your blood, ‘Live!’ Yes, I said to you in your blood, ‘Live!’ 7 (E)I made you [c]thrive like a plant in the field; and you grew, matured, and became very beautiful. Your breasts were formed, your hair grew, but you were naked and bare.

8 “When I passed by you again and looked upon you, indeed your time was the time of love; (F)so I spread [d]My wing over you and covered your nakedness. Yes, I (G)swore an oath to you and entered into a (H)covenant with you, and (I)you became Mine,” says the Lord God.

9 “Then I washed you in water; yes, I thoroughly washed off your blood, and I anointed you with oil. 10 I clothed you in embroidered cloth and gave you sandals of [e]badger skin; I clothed you with fine linen and covered you with silk. 11 I adorned you with ornaments, (J)put bracelets on your wrists, (K)and a chain on your neck. 12 And I put a [f]jewel in your nose, 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, silk, and embroidered cloth. (L)You ate pastry of fine flour, honey, and oil. You were exceedingly (M)beautiful, and succeeded to royalty. 14 (N)Your fame went out among the nations because of your beauty, for it was perfect through My splendor which I had bestowed on you,” says the Lord God.

Jerusalem’s Harlotry

15 (O)“But you trusted in your own beauty, (P)played the harlot because of your fame, and poured out your harlotry on everyone passing by who would have it. 16 (Q)You took some of your garments and adorned multicolored [g]high places for yourself, and played the harlot on them. Such things should not happen, nor be. 17 You have also taken your beautiful jewelry from My gold and My silver, which I had given you, and made for yourself male images and played the harlot with them. 18 You took your embroidered garments and covered them, and you set My oil and My incense before them. 19 Also (R)My food which I gave you—the pastry of fine flour, oil, and honey which I fed you—you set it before them as [h]sweet incense; and so it was,” says the Lord God.

20 (S)“Moreover you took your sons and your daughters, whom you bore to Me, and these you sacrificed to them to be devoured. Were your acts of harlotry a small matter, 21 that you have slain My children and offered them up to them by causing them to pass through the (T)fire? 22 And in all your abominations and acts of harlotry you did not remember the days of your (U)youth, (V)when you were naked and bare, struggling in your blood.

23 “Then it was so, after all your wickedness—‘Woe, woe to you!’ says the Lord God— 24 that (W)you also built for yourself a shrine, and (X)made a [i]high place for yourself in every street. 25 You built your high places (Y)at the head of every road, and made your beauty to be abhorred. You offered yourself to everyone who passed by, and multiplied your acts of harlotry. 26 You also committed harlotry with (Z)the Egyptians, your very fleshly neighbors, and increased your acts of harlotry to (AA)provoke Me to anger.

27 “Behold, therefore, I stretched out My hand against you, diminished your [j]allotment, and gave you up to the will of those who hate you, (AB)the daughters of the Philistines, who were ashamed of your lewd behavior. 28 You also played the harlot with the (AC)Assyrians, because you were insatiable; indeed you played the harlot with them and still were not satisfied. 29 Moreover you multiplied your acts of harlotry as far as the land of the trader, (AD)Chaldea; and even then you were not satisfied.

30 “How degenerate is your heart!” says the Lord God, “seeing you do all these things, the deeds of a brazen harlot.

Jerusalem’s Adultery

31 (AE)“You erected your shrine at the head of every road, and built your [k]high place in every street. Yet you were not like a harlot, because you scorned (AF)payment. 32 You are an adulterous wife, who takes strangers instead of her husband. 33 Men make payment to all harlots, but (AG)you made your payments to all your lovers, and [l]hired them to come to you from all around for your harlotry. 34 You are the opposite of other women in your harlotry, because no one solicited you to be a harlot. In that you gave payment but no payment was given you, therefore you are the opposite.”

Jerusalem’s Lovers Will Abuse Her

35 ‘Now then, O harlot, hear the word of the Lord! 36 Thus says the Lord God: “Because your filthiness was poured out and your nakedness uncovered in your harlotry with your lovers, and with all your abominable idols, and because of (AH)the blood of your children which you gave to them, 37 surely, therefore, (AI)I will gather all your lovers with whom you took pleasure, all those you loved, and all those you hated; I will gather them from all around against you and will uncover your nakedness to them, that they may see all your nakedness. 38 And I will judge you as (AJ)women who break wedlock or (AK)shed blood are judged; I will bring blood upon you in fury and jealousy. 39 I will also give you into their hand, and they shall throw down your shrines and break down (AL)your [m]high places. (AM)They shall also strip you of your clothes, take your beautiful jewelry, and leave you naked and bare.

40 (AN)“They shall also bring up an assembly against you, (AO)and they shall stone you with stones and thrust you through with their swords. 41 They shall (AP)burn your houses with fire, and (AQ)execute judgments on you in the sight of many women; and I will make you (AR)cease playing the harlot, and you shall no longer hire lovers. 42 So (AS)I will lay to rest My fury toward you, and My jealousy shall depart from you. I will be quiet, and be angry no more. 43 Because (AT)you did not remember the days of your youth, but [n]agitated Me with all these things, surely (AU)I will also recompense your [o]deeds on your own head,” says the Lord God. “And you shall not commit lewdness in addition to all your abominations.

More Wicked than Samaria and Sodom

44 “Indeed everyone who quotes proverbs will use this proverb against you: ‘Like mother, like daughter!’ 45 You are your mother’s daughter, [p]loathing husband and children; and you are the (AV)sister of your sisters, who loathed their husbands and children; (AW)your mother was a Hittite and your father an Amorite.

46 “Your elder sister is Samaria, who dwells with her daughters to the north of you; and (AX)your younger sister, who dwells to the south of you, is Sodom and her daughters. 47 You did not walk in their ways nor act according to their abominations; but, as if that were too little, (AY)you became more corrupt than they in all your ways.

48 “As I live,” says the Lord God, “neither (AZ)your sister Sodom nor her daughters have done as you and your daughters have done. 49 Look, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: She and her daughter had pride, (BA)fullness of food, and abundance of idleness; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. 50 And they were haughty and (BB)committed abomination before Me; therefore (BC)I took them away as [q]I saw fit.

51 “Samaria did not commit (BD)half of your sins; but you have multiplied your abominations more than they, and (BE)have justified your sisters by all the abominations which you have done. 52 You who judged your sisters, bear your own shame also, because the sins which you committed were more abominable than theirs; they are more righteous than you. Yes, be disgraced also, and bear your own shame, because you justified your sisters.

53 (BF)“When I bring back their captives, the captives of Sodom and her daughters, and the captives of Samaria and her daughters, then I will also bring back (BG)the captives of your captivity among them, 54 that you may bear your own shame and be disgraced by all that you did when (BH)you comforted them. 55 When your sisters, Sodom and her daughters, return to their former state, and Samaria and her daughters return to their former state, then you and your daughters will return to your former state. 56 For your sister Sodom was not a byword in your mouth in the days of your pride, 57 before your wickedness was uncovered. It was like the time of the (BI)reproach of the daughters of [r]Syria and all those around her, and of (BJ)the daughters of the Philistines, who despise you everywhere. 58 (BK)You have paid for your lewdness and your abominations,” says the Lord. 59 For thus says the Lord God: “I will deal with you as you have done, who (BL)despised (BM)the oath by breaking the covenant.

An Everlasting Covenant

60 “Nevertheless I will (BN)remember My covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish (BO)an everlasting covenant with you. 61 Then (BP)you will remember your ways and be ashamed, when you receive your older and your younger sisters; for I will give them to you for (BQ)daughters, (BR)but not because of My covenant with you. 62 (BS)And I will establish My covenant with you. Then you shall know that I am the Lord, 63 that you may (BT)remember and be ashamed, (BU)and never open your mouth anymore because of your shame, when I provide you an atonement for all you have done,” says the Lord God.’ ”

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 16:3 origin and your birth
  2. Ezekiel 16:5 abhorred
  3. Ezekiel 16:7 Lit. a myriad
  4. Ezekiel 16:8 Or the corner of My garment
  5. Ezekiel 16:10 Or dolphin or dugong
  6. Ezekiel 16:12 Lit. ring
  7. Ezekiel 16:16 Places for pagan worship
  8. Ezekiel 16:19 Or a sweet aroma
  9. Ezekiel 16:24 Place for pagan worship
  10. Ezekiel 16:27 Allowance of food
  11. Ezekiel 16:31 Place for pagan worship
  12. Ezekiel 16:33 Or bribed
  13. Ezekiel 16:39 Places for pagan worship
  14. Ezekiel 16:43 So with LXX, Syr., Tg., Vg.; MT were agitated with Me
  15. Ezekiel 16:43 Lit. way
  16. Ezekiel 16:45 Or despising
  17. Ezekiel 16:50 Vg. you saw; LXX he saw; Tg. as was revealed to Me
  18. Ezekiel 16:57 Heb. Aram; so with MT, LXX, Tg., Vg.; many Heb. mss., Syr. Edom
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New King James Version (NKJV)

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