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Ezekiel 16
King James Version

16 Again the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,

2 Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations,

3 And say, Thus saith the Lord God unto Jerusalem; Thy birth and thy nativity is of the land of Canaan; thy father was an Amorite, and thy mother an Hittite.

4 And as for thy nativity, in the day thou wast born thy navel was not cut, neither wast thou washed in water to supple thee; thou wast not salted at all, nor swaddled at all.

5 None eye pitied thee, to do any of these unto thee, to have compassion upon thee; but thou wast cast out in the open field, to the lothing of thy person, in the day that thou wast born.

6 And when I passed by thee, and saw thee polluted in thine own blood, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live; yea, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live.

7 I have caused thee to multiply as the bud of the field, and thou hast increased and waxen great, and thou art come to excellent ornaments: thy breasts are fashioned, and thine hair is grown, whereas thou wast naked and bare.

8 Now when I passed by thee, and looked upon thee, behold, thy time was the time of love; and I spread my skirt over thee, and covered thy nakedness: yea, I sware unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord God, and thou becamest mine.

9 Then washed I thee with water; yea, I throughly washed away thy blood from thee, and I anointed thee with oil.

10 I clothed thee also with broidered work, and shod thee with badgers' skin, and I girded thee about with fine linen, and I covered thee with silk.

11 I decked thee also with ornaments, and I put bracelets upon thy hands, and a chain on thy neck.

12 And I put a jewel on thy forehead, and earrings in thine ears, and a beautiful crown upon thine head.

13 Thus wast thou decked with gold and silver; and thy raiment was of fine linen, and silk, and broidered work; thou didst eat fine flour, and honey, and oil: and thou wast exceeding beautiful, and thou didst prosper into a kingdom.

14 And thy renown went forth among the heathen for thy beauty: for it was perfect through my comeliness, which I had put upon thee, saith the Lord God.

15 But thou didst trust in thine own beauty, and playedst the harlot because of thy renown, and pouredst out thy fornications on every one that passed by; his it was.

16 And of thy garments thou didst take, and deckedst thy high places with divers colours, and playedst the harlot thereupon: the like things shall not come, neither shall it be so.

17 Thou hast also taken thy fair jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given thee, and madest to thyself images of men, and didst commit whoredom with them,

18 And tookest thy broidered garments, and coveredst them: and thou hast set mine oil and mine incense before them.

19 My meat also which I gave thee, fine flour, and oil, and honey, wherewith I fed thee, thou hast even set it before them for a sweet savour: and thus it was, saith the Lord God.

20 Moreover thou hast taken thy sons and thy daughters, whom thou hast borne unto me, and these hast thou sacrificed unto them to be devoured. Is this of thy whoredoms a small matter,

21 That thou hast slain my children, and delivered them to cause them to pass through the fire for them?

22 And in all thine abominations and thy whoredoms thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, when thou wast naked and bare, and wast polluted in thy blood.

23 And it came to pass after all thy wickedness, (woe, woe unto thee! saith the Lord God;)

24 That thou hast also built unto thee an eminent place, and hast made thee an high place in every street.

25 Thou hast built thy high place at every head of the way, and hast made thy beauty to be abhorred, and hast opened thy feet to every one that passed by, and multiplied thy whoredoms.

26 Thou hast also committed fornication with the Egyptians thy neighbours, great of flesh; and hast increased thy whoredoms, to provoke me to anger.

27 Behold, therefore I have stretched out my hand over thee, and have diminished thine ordinary food, and delivered thee unto the will of them that hate thee, the daughters of the Philistines, which are ashamed of thy lewd way.

28 Thou hast played the whore also with the Assyrians, because thou wast unsatiable; yea, thou hast played the harlot with them, and yet couldest not be satisfied.

29 Thou hast moreover multiplied thy fornication in the land of Canaan unto Chaldea; and yet thou wast not satisfied therewith.

30 How weak is thine heart, saith the Lord God, seeing thou doest all these things, the work of an imperious whorish woman;

31 In that thou buildest thine eminent place in the head of every way, and makest thine high place in every street; and hast not been as an harlot, in that thou scornest hire;

32 But as a wife that committeth adultery, which taketh strangers instead of her husband!

33 They give gifts to all whores: but thou givest thy gifts to all thy lovers, and hirest them, that they may come unto thee on every side for thy whoredom.

34 And the contrary is in thee from other women in thy whoredoms, whereas none followeth thee to commit whoredoms: and in that thou givest a reward, and no reward is given unto thee, therefore thou art contrary.

35 Wherefore, O harlot, hear the word of the Lord:

36 Thus saith the Lord God; Because thy filthiness was poured out, and thy nakedness discovered through thy whoredoms with thy lovers, and with all the idols of thy abominations, and by the blood of thy children, which thou didst give unto them;

37 Behold, therefore I will gather all thy lovers, with whom thou hast taken pleasure, and all them that thou hast loved, with all them that thou hast hated; I will even gather them round about against thee, and will discover thy nakedness unto them, that they may see all thy nakedness.

38 And I will judge thee, as women that break wedlock and shed blood are judged; and I will give thee blood in fury and jealousy.

39 And I will also give thee into their hand, and they shall throw down thine eminent place, and shall break down thy high places: they shall strip thee also of thy clothes, and shall take thy fair jewels, and leave thee naked and bare.

40 They shall also bring up a company against thee, and they shall stone thee with stones, and thrust thee through with their swords.

41 And they shall burn thine houses with fire, and execute judgments upon thee in the sight of many women: and I will cause thee to cease from playing the harlot, and thou also shalt give no hire any more.

42 So will I make my fury toward thee to rest, and my jealousy shall depart from thee, and I will be quiet, and will be no more angry.

43 Because thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, but hast fretted me in all these things; behold, therefore I also will recompense thy way upon thine head, saith the Lord God: and thou shalt not commit this lewdness above all thine abominations.

44 Behold, every one that useth proverbs shall use this proverb against thee, saying, As is the mother, so is her daughter.

45 Thou art thy mother's daughter, that lotheth her husband and her children; and thou art the sister of thy sisters, which lothed their husbands and their children: your mother was an Hittite, and your father an Amorite.

46 And thine elder sister is Samaria, she and her daughters that dwell at thy left hand: and thy younger sister, that dwelleth at thy right hand, is Sodom and her daughters.

47 Yet hast thou not walked after their ways, nor done after their abominations: but, as if that were a very little thing, thou wast corrupted more than they in all thy ways.

48 As I live, saith the Lord God, Sodom thy sister hath not done, she nor her daughters, as thou hast done, thou and thy daughters.

49 Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.

50 And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good.

51 Neither hath Samaria committed half of thy sins; but thou hast multiplied thine abominations more than they, and hast justified thy sisters in all thine abominations which thou hast done.

52 Thou also, which hast judged thy sisters, bear thine own shame for thy sins that thou hast committed more abominable than they: they are more righteous than thou: yea, be thou confounded also, and bear thy shame, in that thou hast justified thy sisters.

53 When I shall bring again their captivity, the captivity of Sodom and her daughters, and the captivity of Samaria and her daughters, then will I bring again the captivity of thy captives in the midst of them:

54 That thou mayest bear thine own shame, and mayest be confounded in all that thou hast done, in that thou art a comfort unto them.

55 When thy sisters, Sodom and her daughters, shall return to their former estate, and Samaria and her daughters shall return to their former estate, then thou and thy daughters shall return to your former estate.

56 For thy sister Sodom was not mentioned by thy mouth in the day of thy pride,

57 Before thy wickedness was discovered, as at the time of thy reproach of the daughters of Syria, and all that are round about her, the daughters of the Philistines, which despise thee round about.

58 Thou hast borne thy lewdness and thine abominations, saith the Lord.

59 For thus saith the Lord God; I will even deal with thee as thou hast done, which hast despised the oath in breaking the covenant.

60 Nevertheless I will remember my covenant with thee in the days of thy youth, and I will establish unto thee an everlasting covenant.

61 Then thou shalt remember thy ways, and be ashamed, when thou shalt receive thy sisters, thine elder and thy younger: and I will give them unto thee for daughters, but not by thy covenant.

62 And I will establish my covenant with thee; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord:

63 That thou mayest remember, and be confounded, and never open thy mouth any more because of thy shame, when I am pacified toward thee for all that thou hast done, saith the Lord God.

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Ezekiel 16
Easy-to-Read Version

God’s Love for Jerusalem

16 Then the word of the Lord came to me. He said, 2 “Son of man, tell the people of Jerusalem about the terrible things they have done. 3 You must say, ‘This is what the Lord God says to Jerusalem: Look at your history. You were born in Canaan. Your father was an Amorite. Your mother was a Hittite. 4 Jerusalem, on the day you were born, there was no one to cut your navel cord. No one put salt on you and washed you to make you clean. No one wrapped you in cloth. 5 No one felt sorry for you or took care of you. On the day you were born, your parents threw you out into the field, because no one wanted you.

6 “‘Then I passed by. I saw you lying there, kicking in the blood. You were covered with blood, but I said, “Please live!” Yes, you were covered with blood, but I said, “Please live!” 7 I helped you grow like a plant in the field. You grew and grew. You became a young woman: your periods began, your breasts grew, and your hair began to grow. But you were still bare and naked. 8 I looked you over. I saw you were ready for love, so I spread my clothes over you[a] and covered your nakedness. I promised to marry you. I made the agreement[b] with you, and you became mine.’” This is what the Lord God said.

9 “‘I washed you in water. I poured water over you to wash away the blood that was on you, and then I put oil on your skin. 10 [c] I gave you a nice dress and soft leather sandals, a linen headband, and a silk scarf. 11 I also gave you some jewelry. I put bracelets on your arms and a necklace around your neck. 12 I gave you a nose ring, earrings, and a beautiful crown to wear. 13 You were beautiful in your gold and silver jewelry, and your linen, silk, and embroidered material. You ate the best foods. You were very, very beautiful, and you became the queen! 14 You became famous for your beauty, all because I made you so lovely!’” This is what the Lord God said.

Jerusalem, the Unfaithful Bride

15 “But you began to trust in your beauty. You used the good name you had and became unfaithful to me. You acted like a prostitute with every man who passed by. You gave yourself to them all! 16 You took your beautiful clothes and used them to decorate your places for worship.[d] And you acted like a prostitute there. You gave yourself to every man who came by! 17 Then you took your beautiful jewelry that I gave you, and you used the gold and silver to make statues of men, and you had sex with them too! 18 Then you took the beautiful cloth and made clothes for those statues. You took the perfume and incense I gave you and put it in front of those idols. 19 I gave you bread, honey, and oil, but you gave that food to your idols. You offered them as a sweet smell to please your false gods. You acted like a prostitute with those false gods!” This is what the Lord God said.

20 “You and I had children together, but you took our children. You killed them and gave them to those false gods! But that is only some of the evil things you did when you were unfaithful to me and went to those false gods. 21 You slaughtered[e] my sons and then passed them through the fire to those false gods. 22 You left me and did all those terrible things. You never remembered what happened when you were young. You did not remember that you were naked and kicking in blood when I found you.

23 “After all these evil things, … it will be very bad for you!” The Lord God said all these things. 24 “After all those things, you made a mound for worshiping that false god. You built those places for worshiping false gods on every street corner. 25 You built your mounds at the head of every road. Then you degraded your beauty. You used it to catch every man who walked by. You raised your skirt so that they could see your legs, and you acted like a prostitute with those men. 26 Then you went to Egypt, your neighbor that is always ready for sex. With more and more sexual sin, you made me angry. 27 So I punished you! I took away part of your land. I let your enemies, the daughters of the Philistines, do what they wanted to you. Even they were shocked at the evil things you did. 28 Then you went to have sex with Assyria. You could not get enough. You were never satisfied. 29 So you turned to Canaan, and then to Babylonia, and still you were not satisfied. 30 You are so weak. You let all those men cause you to sin. You acted just like a prostitute who wants to be the one in control.” This is what the Lord God said.

31 God said, “But you were not exactly like a prostitute. You built your mounds at the head of every road, and you built your places for worship at every street corner. You had sex with all those men, but you did not ask them to pay you the way a prostitute does. 32 You are a woman guilty of adultery. You would rather have sex with strangers than with your own husband. 33 Most prostitutes force men to pay them for sex, but you gave money to your many lovers. You paid all the men around to come in to have sex with you. 34 You are just the opposite of most prostitutes who force men to pay them, because you pay the men to have sex with you.”

35 Prostitute, listen to the message from the Lord. 36 This is what the Lord God says: “You have spent your money[f] and let your lovers and filthy gods see your naked body and have sex with you. You have killed your children and poured out their blood. This was your gift to those false gods. 37 So I am bringing all of your lovers together. I will bring all the men you loved and all the men you hated. I will bring them all together and let them see you naked.[g] They will see you completely naked. 38 Then I will punish you. I will punish you as a murderer and a woman who committed the sin of adultery. You will be punished as if by an angry and jealous husband. 39 I will let those lovers have you. They will destroy your mounds. They will burn your places for worship. They will tear off your clothes and take your beautiful jewelry. They will leave you bare and naked as you were when I found you. 40 They will bring a crowd of people and throw rocks at you to kill you. Then they will cut you into pieces with their swords. 41 They will burn your house. They will punish you so that all the other women can see. I will stop you from living like a prostitute. I will stop you from paying money to your lovers. 42 Then I will stop being angry and jealous. I will calm down. I will not be angry anymore. 43 Why will all these things happen? Because you did not remember what happened when you were young. You did all those bad things and made me angry. So I had to punish you for doing them, but you planned even more terrible things.” This is what the Lord God said.

44 “All the people who talk about you will now have one more thing to say. They will say, ‘Like mother, like daughter.’ 45 You are your mother’s daughter. You don’t care about your husband or your children. You are like your sister. Both of you hated your husband and your children. You are like your parents. Your mother was a Hittite and your father was an Amorite. 46 Your older sister was Samaria. She lived to the north of you with her daughters. Your younger sister was Sodom.[h] She lived to the south of you with her daughters. 47 You did all the terrible things they did, but you also did much worse! 48 I am the Lord God. As I live, I swear that your sister Sodom and her daughters never did as many bad things as you and your daughters.

49 “Your sister Sodom and her daughters were proud. They had too much to eat and too much time on their hands, and they did not help poor, helpless people. 50 Sodom and her daughters became too proud and began to do terrible things in front of me. So I punished them!

51 “And Samaria did only half as many bad things as you did. You did many more terrible things than Samaria! You have done so many more terrible things than your sisters have done. Sodom and Samaria seem good compared to you. 52 So you must bear your shame. You have made your sisters look good compared to you. You have done terrible things, so you should be ashamed.

53 “I destroyed Sodom and the towns around it, and I destroyed Samaria and the towns around it. And I will destroy you too, Jerusalem. But I will build those cities again, and I will rebuild you too. 54 I will comfort you. Then you will remember the terrible things you did, and you will be ashamed. 55 So you and your sisters will be rebuilt. Sodom and the towns around her, Samaria and the towns around her, and you and the towns around you will all be rebuilt.

56 “In the past, you were proud and made fun of your sister Sodom. But you will not do that again. 57 You did that before you were punished, before your neighbors started making fun of you. The daughters of Edom[i] and Philistia are making fun of you now. 58 Now you must suffer for the terrible things you did.” This is what the Lord said.

God Remains Faithful

59 This is what the Lord God said: “I will treat you like you treated me! You broke your marriage promise. You did not respect our agreement. 60 But I will remember the agreement we made when you were young. I made an agreement with you that will continue forever! 61 I will bring your sisters to you, and I will make them your daughters. That was not in our agreement, but I will do that for you. Then you will remember the terrible things you did, and you will be ashamed. 62 So I will make my agreement with you, and you will know that I am the Lord. 63 You will remember me, and you will be so ashamed of the evil things you did that you will not be able to say anything. But I will make you pure, and you will never be ashamed again!” This is what the Lord God said.

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 16:8 spread my clothes over you This showed that he was agreeing to protect her and care for her. See Ruth 3:1-15.
  2. Ezekiel 16:8 agreement Here, this means the marriage agreement. But it also refers to the agreement God made with the people of Israel. See “agreement” in the Word List.
  3. Ezekiel 16:10 Verses 10-13 All the materials in this list are the things used in building the Holy Tent. See Ex. 25-40.
  4. Ezekiel 16:16 places for worship Or “high places.” See “high place” in the Word List. Also in verses 31, 39.
  5. Ezekiel 16:21 slaughtered This usually means to kill an animal and cut it into pieces for meat, but it often means to kill people as if they were animals.
  6. Ezekiel 16:36 spent your money Literally, “poured out your copper.” This might also mean “you have done the things that stain you with sin.”
  7. Ezekiel 16:37 let them see you naked The Hebrew words are like the words meaning “to be carried away as a prisoner to a foreign country.”
  8. Ezekiel 16:46 Samaria … Sodom Ezekiel is saying the people in Judah are just as evil as the people who lived in Samaria and Sodom—and those people were so evil that God completely destroyed those cities.
  9. Ezekiel 16:57 Edom Or “Aram.”
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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 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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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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