Add parallel Print Page Options

Jerusalem Plays the Harlot

16 Then the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, “Son of man, (A)make known to Jerusalem her abominations and say, ‘Thus says Lord Yahweh to Jerusalem, “Your origin and your birth are from the land of the Canaanite; your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite. As for your birth, (B)on the day you were born your navel cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water for cleansing; you were not rubbed with salt or even wrapped in cloths. No eye had pity on you to do any of these things for you, to have compassion on you. Rather you were thrown out into the [a](C)open field, for your soul was abhorred on the day you were born.

“Then I passed by you and saw you squirming in your blood. So I said to you while you were in your blood, ‘Live!’ Indeed I said to you while you were in your blood, ‘Live!’ I (D)made you [b]numerous like plants of the field. Then you grew up, became tall, and came into the age for fine ornaments; your breasts were formed, and your hair had grown. Yet you were naked and bare.

“Then I passed by you and saw you, and behold, [c]you were at the time for love; so I (E)spread My skirt over you and covered your nakedness. I also (F)swore to you and (G)entered into a covenant with you so that you (H)became Mine,” declares Lord Yahweh. “Then I washed you with water, rinsed your blood off from you, and (I)anointed you with oil. 10 I also clothed you with (J)embroidered cloth and put sandals of porpoise skin on your feet; and I wrapped you with fine linen and covered you with silk. 11 I also adorned you with ornaments and put (K)bracelets on your hands and a (L)necklace around your neck. 12 I also put a (M)ring in your nose, earrings in your ears, and a (N)splendid crown on your head. 13 Thus you were adorned with (O)gold and silver, and your clothing was of fine linen, silk, and embroidered cloth. You ate fine flour, honey, and oil; so you were exceedingly beautiful and advanced to (P)royalty. 14 Then your (Q)name went forth among the nations on account of your beauty, for it was (R)perfect because of My majesty which I set on you,” declares Lord Yahweh.

15 “But you (S)trusted in your beauty and (T)played the harlot because of your name, and you poured out your harlotries on every passer-by [d]who might be willing. 16 You took some of your clothes, made for yourself high places of various colors, and played the harlot on them, [e]which should never come about nor happen. 17 You also took your splendid [f](U)jewelry made of My gold and of My silver, which I had given you, and made for yourself male images that you might play the harlot with them. 18 Then you took your embroidered cloth and covered them and gave My oil and My incense before them. 19 Also (V)My bread which I gave you, fine flour, oil, and honey with which I had you eat, you gave before them for a soothing aroma; so it happened,” declares Lord Yahweh. 20 “Moreover, you took your sons and daughters, whom you had borne to (W)Me, and (X)sacrificed them to [g]idols to be devoured. Were your harlotries so small a matter? 21 You slaughtered (Y)My children and gave them up to [h]idols by (Z)causing them to pass through the fire. 22 Besides all your abominations and harlotries you did not remember the days of (AA)your youth, when you were naked and bare—you were squirming in your blood!

23 “Now it happened after all your evil—‘Woe, woe to you!’ declares Lord Yahweh— 24 that you built yourself a (AB)shrine and made yourself a (AC)high place in every square. 25 You built yourself a high place at the head of (AD)every street and made your beauty abominable, and you spread your legs to every passer-by to multiply your harlotry. 26 You also played the harlot with the Egyptians, your [i]lustful neighbors, and you multiplied your harlotry to (AE)provoke Me to anger. 27 Behold now, I have stretched out My hand against you and cut off your rations. And I gave you up to the desire of those who hate you, the (AF)daughters of the Philistines, who are ashamed of your lewd way. 28 Moreover, you played the harlot with the (AG)Assyrians because you were not satisfied; you played the harlot with them and still were not satisfied. 29 You also multiplied your harlotry with the land of merchants, Chaldea, yet even with this you were not satisfied.”’”

30 “How (AH)languishing is your heart,” declares Lord Yahweh, “while you do all these things, the actions of a [j](AI)bold-faced harlot. 31 When you built your shrine at the head of every way and made your high place in every square, in (AJ)disdaining your earnings, you were not like a harlot. 32 You adulteress wife, who takes strangers instead of her husband! 33 [k]Men give gifts to all harlots, but you (AK)give your gifts to all your lovers to bribe them to come to you from all around for your harlotries. 34 Thus you are the opposite of those women in your harlotries, in that no one plays the harlot [l]as you do, because you give away your earnings and no earnings are given to you; thus you are the opposite.”

35 Therefore, O harlot, hear the word of Yahweh. 36 Thus says Lord Yahweh, “Because your lewdness was poured out and your nakedness uncovered through your harlotries with your lovers and with all your abominable (AL)idols, and because of the blood of your sons which you gave to [m]idols, 37 therefore, behold, I will (AM)gather all your lovers with whom you took pleasure, even all those whom you loved and all those whom you (AN)hated. So I will gather them against you from all around and (AO)uncover your nakedness to them that they may see all your nakedness. 38 Thus I will (AP)judge you like women who commit adultery or shed blood are judged; and I will bring on you the blood of (AQ)wrath and jealousy. 39 I will also give you into [n]the hands of your lovers, and they will pull down your shrines, tear down your high places, (AR)strip you of your clothing, take away your [o]splendid jewelry, and will leave you naked and bare. 40 They will bring up an (AS)assembly against you, and they will stone you and cut you to pieces with their swords. 41 They will (AT)burn your houses with fire and execute judgments on you in the sight of many women. Then I will (AU)make you cease from playing the harlot, and you will also no longer give [p]your earnings to your lovers. 42 So I (AV)will [q]cause My wrath against you to be at rest, and My jealousy will depart from you, and I will be quiet, and I will (AW)not be provoked anymore. 43 Because you have (AX)not remembered the days of your youth but [r]have (AY)enraged Me by all these things, behold, I in turn will (AZ)bring your way down on your own head,” declares Lord Yahweh, “so that you will not commit this lewdness on top of all your other abominations.

44 “Behold, everyone who quotes (BA)proverbs will quote this proverb concerning you, saying, ‘[s]Like mother, [t]like daughter.’ 45 You are the daughter of your mother, who loathed her husband and children. You are also the (BB)sister of your sisters, who (BC)loathed their husbands and children. Your mother was a Hittite and your father an Amorite. 46 Now your (BD)older sister is Samaria, who lives [u]north of you with her [v]daughters; and your younger sister, who lives [w]south of you, is (BE)Sodom with her daughters. 47 Yet you have not merely walked in their ways or done according to their abominations; but, as if that were (BF)too little, you acted (BG)more corruptly in all your ways than they. 48 As I live,” declares Lord Yahweh, “Sodom your sister and her daughters have (BH)not done as you and your daughters have done. 49 Behold, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had (BI)lofty pride, (BJ)abundant food, and (BK)quiet ease, but she did not strengthen the hand of the (BL)afflicted and needy. 50 Then they were haughty and committed (BM)abominations before Me. So I (BN)removed them [x]when I saw it. 51 Furthermore, Samaria did not commit half of your sins, for you have multiplied your abominations more than they. Thus you have made your sisters appear (BO)righteous by all your abominations which you have done. 52 Also bear your dishonor in that you have [y]made judgment favorable for your sisters. Because of your sins in which you acted (BP)more abominably than they, they are more in the right than you. Yes, be also ashamed and bear your dishonor, in that you made your sisters appear righteous.

53 “Nevertheless, I will [z]return their captivity, the captivity of Sodom and her daughters, the captivity of Samaria and her daughters, and [aa]along with them [ab]your own captivity, 54 in order that you may bear your dishonor and feel (BQ)dishonor for all that you have done when you become (BR)a comfort to them. 55 Your sisters, Sodom with her daughters and Samaria with her daughters, [ac]will return to their former state, and you with your daughters will also return to your former state. 56 As the name of your sister Sodom was not heard in your mouth in your day of lofty pride, 57 before your (BS)wickedness was uncovered, [ad]so now you have become the (BT)reproach of the daughters of [ae]Edom and of all who are around her, of the daughters of the Philistines—those all around you who despise you. 58 You have (BU)borne the penalty of your lewdness and abominations,” declares Yahweh. 59 For thus says Lord Yahweh, “I will also do with you as you have done, you who have (BV)despised the oath by breaking the covenant.

Yahweh’s Everlasting Covenant

60 “Nevertheless, I Myself will remember My covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish an (BW)everlasting covenant with you. 61 Then you will (BX)remember your ways and feel dishonor when you receive your sisters, both your older and your younger; and I will give them to you as daughters, but not because of your covenant. 62 Thus I will (BY)establish My covenant with you, and you shall (BZ)know that I am Yahweh, 63 so that you may (CA)remember and be ashamed and (CB)never open your mouth anymore because of your dishonor, when I have (CC)atoned for you for all that you have done,” declares Lord Yahweh.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 16:5 Lit surface
  2. Ezekiel 16:7 Lit a myriad
  3. Ezekiel 16:8 Lit your time was
  4. Ezekiel 16:15 Lit to whom it might be
  5. Ezekiel 16:16 Lit things which had not happened nor will it be
  6. Ezekiel 16:17 Lit articles
  7. Ezekiel 16:20 Lit them
  8. Ezekiel 16:21 Lit them
  9. Ezekiel 16:26 Lit great of flesh
  10. Ezekiel 16:30 Lit domineering
  11. Ezekiel 16:33 Lit They
  12. Ezekiel 16:34 Lit after you
  13. Ezekiel 16:36 Lit them
  14. Ezekiel 16:39 Lit their hands, and they
  15. Ezekiel 16:39 Lit articles of beauty
  16. Ezekiel 16:41 Lit a harlot’s hire
  17. Ezekiel 16:42 Or calm
  18. Ezekiel 16:43 As in ancient versions; Heb are angry against
  19. Ezekiel 16:44 Lit Her
  20. Ezekiel 16:44 Lit Her
  21. Ezekiel 16:46 Lit on your left
  22. Ezekiel 16:46 Environs, so through v 55
  23. Ezekiel 16:46 Lit from your right
  24. Ezekiel 16:50 Many ancient mss and versions as you have seen
  25. Ezekiel 16:52 Lit mediated for
  26. Ezekiel 16:53 Or restore
  27. Ezekiel 16:53 Lit in their midst
  28. Ezekiel 16:53 Lit the captivity of your captivity
  29. Ezekiel 16:55 Heb also includes will return...state after Sodom
  30. Ezekiel 16:57 Lit as at the time of
  31. Ezekiel 16:57 As in many mss and one version; M.T. Aram

God’s Unfaithful Bride

16 The Lord’s message came to me: “Son of man, confront Jerusalem with her abominable practices 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. 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] 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.

“‘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] 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.

“‘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.

“‘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.’”

Read full chapter

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.”