Jerusalem Plays the Harlot

16 Then the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, ^(A)make known to Jerusalem her abominations ³ 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. ⁴ 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. ⁵ 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.

⁶ “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!’ ⁷ 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.

⁸ “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. ⁹ “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.