56 (A)Yet they tested and provoked the Most High God,
And did not keep His testimonies,

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56 But they put God to the test
    and rebelled against the Most High;
    they did not keep his statutes.

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Israel’s Unfaithfulness

11 Then the children of Israel did (A)evil in the sight of the Lord, and served the Baals; 12 and they (B)forsook the Lord God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt; and they followed (C)other gods from among the gods of the people who were all around them, and they (D)bowed down to them; and they provoked the Lord to anger.

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11 Then the Israelites did evil(A) in the eyes of the Lord(B) and served the Baals.(C) 12 They forsook the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of Egypt. They followed and worshiped various gods(D) of the peoples around them.(E) They aroused(F) the Lord’s anger(G)

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Jerusalem’s Harlotry

15 (A)“But you trusted in your own beauty, (B)played the harlot because of your fame, and poured out your harlotry on everyone passing by who would have it. 16 (C)You took some of your garments and adorned multicolored [a]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 (D)My food which I gave you—the pastry of fine flour, oil, and honey which I fed you—you set it before them as [b]sweet incense; and so it was,” says the Lord God.

20 (E)“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 (F)fire? 22 And in all your abominations and acts of harlotry you did not remember the days of your (G)youth, (H)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 (I)you also built for yourself a shrine, and (J)made a [c]high place for yourself in every street. 25 You built your high places (K)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 (L)the Egyptians, your very fleshly neighbors, and increased your acts of harlotry to (M)provoke Me to anger.

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Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 16:16 Places for pagan worship
  2. Ezekiel 16:19 Or a sweet aroma
  3. Ezekiel 16:24 Place for pagan worship

15 “‘But you trusted in your beauty and used your fame to become a prostitute. You lavished your favors on anyone who passed by(A) and your beauty became his.(B) 16 You took some of your garments to make gaudy high places,(C) where you carried on your prostitution.(D) You went to him, and he possessed your beauty.[a] 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.(E) 18 And you took your embroidered clothes to put on them, and you offered my oil and incense(F) 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.(G)

20 “‘And you took your sons and daughters(H) whom you bore to me(I) and sacrificed them as food to the idols. Was your prostitution not enough?(J) 21 You slaughtered my children and sacrificed them to the idols.(K) 22 In all your detestable practices and your prostitution you did not remember the days of your youth,(L) when you were naked and bare,(M) kicking about in your blood.(N)

23 “‘Woe!(O) 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(P) in every public square.(Q) 25 At every street corner(R) you built your lofty shrines and degraded your beauty, spreading your legs with increasing promiscuity to anyone who passed by.(S) 26 You engaged in prostitution(T) with the Egyptians,(U) your neighbors with large genitals, and aroused my anger(V) with your increasing promiscuity.(W)

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Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 16:16 The meaning of the Hebrew for this sentence is uncertain.

40 How often they (A)provoked[a] Him in the wilderness,
And grieved Him in the desert!
41 Yes, (B)again and again they tempted God,
And limited the Holy One of Israel.

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Footnotes

  1. Psalm 78:40 rebelled against Him

40 How often they rebelled(A) against him in the wilderness(B)
    and grieved him(C) in the wasteland!
41 Again and again they put God to the test;(D)
    they vexed the Holy One of Israel.(E)

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25 And they took strong cities and a (A)rich land,
And possessed (B)houses full of all goods,
Cisterns already dug, vineyards, olive groves,
And [a]fruit trees in abundance.
So they ate and were filled and (C)grew fat,
And delighted themselves in Your great (D)goodness.

26 “Nevertheless they (E)were disobedient
And rebelled against You,
(F)Cast Your law behind their backs
And killed Your (G)prophets, who [b]testified against them
To turn them to Yourself;
And they worked great provocations.

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Footnotes

  1. Nehemiah 9:25 Lit. trees for eating
  2. Nehemiah 9:26 admonished or warned them

25 They captured fortified cities and fertile land;(A) they took possession of houses filled with all kinds of good things,(B) wells already dug, vineyards, olive groves and fruit trees in abundance. They ate to the full and were well-nourished;(C) they reveled in your great goodness.(D)

26 “But they were disobedient and rebelled against you; they turned their backs on your law.(E) They killed(F) your prophets,(G) who had warned them in order to turn them back to you; they committed awful blasphemies.(H)

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For (A)so it was that the children of Israel had sinned against the Lord their God, who had brought them up out of the land of Egypt, from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and they had (B)feared other gods, and (C)had walked in the statutes of the nations whom the Lord had cast out from before the children of Israel, and of the kings of Israel, which they had made. Also the children of Israel secretly did against the Lord their God things that were not right, and they built for themselves [a]high places in all their cities, (D)from watchtower to fortified city. 10 (E)They set up for themselves sacred pillars and (F)wooden images[b] (G)on every high hill and under every green tree. 11 There they burned incense on all the high places, like the nations whom the Lord had carried away before them; and they did wicked things to provoke the Lord to anger, 12 for they served idols, (H)of which the Lord had said to them, (I)“You shall not do this thing.”

13 Yet the Lord testified against Israel and against Judah, by all of His (J)prophets, (K)every seer, saying, (L)“Turn from your evil ways, and keep My commandments and My statutes, according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you by My servants the prophets.” 14 Nevertheless they would not hear, but (M)stiffened their necks, like the necks of their fathers, who (N)did not believe in the Lord their God. 15 And they (O)rejected His statutes (P)and His covenant that He had made with their fathers, and His testimonies which He had testified against them; they followed (Q)idols, (R)became idolaters, and went after the nations who were all around them, concerning whom the Lord had charged them that they should (S)not do like them. 16 So they left all the commandments of the Lord their God, (T)made for themselves a molded image and two calves, (U)made a wooden image and worshiped all the (V)host of heaven, (W)and served Baal. 17 (X)And they caused their sons and daughters to pass through the fire, (Y)practiced witchcraft and soothsaying, and (Z)sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke Him to anger. 18 Therefore the Lord was very angry with Israel, and removed them from His sight; there was none left (AA)but the tribe of Judah alone.

19 Also (AB)Judah did not keep the commandments of the Lord their God, but walked in the statutes of Israel which they made. 20 And the Lord rejected all the descendants of Israel, afflicted them, and (AC)delivered them into the hand of plunderers, until He had cast them from His (AD)sight. 21 For (AE)He tore Israel from the house of David, and (AF)they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king. Then Jeroboam drove Israel from following the Lord, and made them commit a great sin. 22 For the children of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did; they did not depart from them, 23 until the Lord removed Israel out of His sight, (AG)as He had said by all His servants the prophets. (AH)So Israel was carried away from their own land to Assyria, as it is to this day.

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 17:9 Places for pagan worship
  2. 2 Kings 17:10 Heb. Asherim, Canaanite deities

Israel Exiled Because of Sin

All this took place because the Israelites had sinned(A) against the Lord their God, who had brought them up out of Egypt(B) from under the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. They worshiped other gods and followed the practices of the nations(C) the Lord had driven out before them, as well as the practices that the kings of Israel had introduced. The Israelites secretly did things against the Lord their God that were not right. From watchtower to fortified city(D) they built themselves high places in all their towns. 10 They set up sacred stones(E) and Asherah poles(F) on every high hill and under every spreading tree.(G) 11 At every high place they burned incense, as the nations whom the Lord had driven out before them had done. They did wicked things that aroused the Lord’s anger. 12 They worshiped idols,(H) though the Lord had said, “You shall not do this.”[a] 13 The Lord warned(I) Israel and Judah through all his prophets and seers:(J) “Turn from your evil ways.(K) Observe my commands and decrees, in accordance with the entire Law that I commanded your ancestors to obey and that I delivered to you through my servants the prophets.”(L)

14 But they would not listen and were as stiff-necked(M) as their ancestors, who did not trust in the Lord their God. 15 They rejected his decrees and the covenant(N) he had made with their ancestors and the statutes he had warned them to keep. They followed worthless idols(O) and themselves became worthless.(P) They imitated the nations(Q) around them although the Lord had ordered them, “Do not do as they do.”

16 They forsook all the commands of the Lord their God and made for themselves two idols cast in the shape of calves,(R) and an Asherah(S) pole. They bowed down to all the starry hosts,(T) and they worshiped Baal.(U) 17 They sacrificed(V) their sons and daughters in the fire. They practiced divination and sought omens(W) and sold(X) themselves to do evil in the eyes of the Lord, arousing his anger.

18 So the Lord was very angry with Israel and removed them from his presence.(Y) Only the tribe of Judah was left, 19 and even Judah did not keep the commands of the Lord their God. They followed the practices Israel had introduced.(Z) 20 Therefore the Lord rejected all the people of Israel; he afflicted them and gave them into the hands of plunderers,(AA) until he thrust them from his presence.(AB)

21 When he tore(AC) Israel away from the house of David, they made Jeroboam son of Nebat their king.(AD) Jeroboam enticed Israel away from following the Lord and caused them to commit a great sin.(AE) 22 The Israelites persisted in all the sins of Jeroboam and did not turn away from them 23 until the Lord removed them from his presence,(AF) as he had warned(AG) through all his servants the prophets. So the people of Israel were taken from their homeland(AH) into exile in Assyria, and they are still there.

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 17:12 Exodus 20:4,5

15 “But Jeshurun grew fat and kicked;
(A)You grew fat, you grew thick,
You are obese!
Then he (B)forsook God who (C)made him,
And scornfully esteemed the (D)Rock of his salvation.
16 (E)They provoked Him to jealousy with foreign gods;
With [a]abominations they provoked Him to anger.
17 (F)They sacrificed to demons, not to God,
To gods they did not know,
To new gods, new arrivals
That your fathers did not fear.
18 (G)Of the Rock who begot you, you are unmindful,
And have (H)forgotten the God who fathered you.

19 “And(I) when the Lord saw it, He spurned them,
Because of the provocation of His sons and His daughters.
20 And He said: ‘I will hide My face from them,
I will see what their end will be,
For they are a perverse generation,
(J)Children in whom is no faith.
21 (K)They have provoked Me to jealousy by what is not God;
They have moved Me to anger (L)by their [b]foolish idols.
But (M)I will provoke them to jealousy by those who are not a nation;
I will move them to anger by a foolish nation.

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Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 32:16 detestable acts
  2. Deuteronomy 32:21 foolishness, lit. vanities

15 Jeshurun[a](A) grew fat(B) and kicked;
    filled with food, they became heavy and sleek.
They abandoned(C) the God who made them
    and rejected the Rock(D) their Savior.
16 They made him jealous(E) with their foreign gods
    and angered(F) him with their detestable idols.
17 They sacrificed(G) to false gods,(H) which are not God—
    gods they had not known,(I)
    gods that recently appeared,(J)
    gods your ancestors did not fear.
18 You deserted the Rock, who fathered you;
    you forgot(K) the God who gave you birth.

19 The Lord saw this and rejected them(L)
    because he was angered by his sons and daughters.(M)
20 “I will hide my face(N) from them,” he said,
    “and see what their end will be;
for they are a perverse generation,(O)
    children who are unfaithful.(P)
21 They made me jealous(Q) by what is no god
    and angered me with their worthless idols.(R)
I will make them envious by those who are not a people;
    I will make them angry by a nation that has no understanding.(S)

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Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 32:15 Jeshurun means the upright one, that is, Israel.

16 And the Lord said to Moses: “Behold, you will [a]rest with your fathers; and this people will (A)rise and (B)play the harlot with the gods of the foreigners of the land, where they go to be among them, and they will (C)forsake Me and (D)break My covenant which I have made with them. 17 Then My anger shall be (E)aroused against them in that day, and (F)I will forsake them, and I will (G)hide My face from them, and they shall be [b]devoured. And many evils and troubles shall befall them, so that they will say in that day, (H)‘Have not these evils come upon us because our God is (I)not among us?’ 18 And (J)I will surely hide My face in that day because of all the evil which they have done, in that they have turned to other gods.

19 “Now therefore, write down this song for yourselves, and teach it to the children of Israel; put it in their mouths, that this song may be (K)a witness for Me against the children of Israel. 20 When I have brought them to the land flowing with milk and honey, of which I swore to their fathers, and they have eaten and filled themselves (L)and grown fat, (M)then they will turn to other gods and serve them; and they will provoke Me and break My covenant.

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Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 31:16 Die and join your ancestors
  2. Deuteronomy 31:17 consumed

16 And the Lord said to Moses: “You are going to rest with your ancestors,(A) and these people will soon prostitute(B) themselves to the foreign gods of the land they are entering. They will forsake(C) me and break the covenant I made with them. 17 And in that day I will become angry(D) with them and forsake(E) them; I will hide(F) my face(G) from them, and they will be destroyed. Many disasters(H) and calamities will come on them, and in that day they will ask, ‘Have not these disasters come on us because our God is not with us?’(I) 18 And I will certainly hide my face in that day because of all their wickedness in turning to other gods.

19 “Now write(J) down this song and teach it to the Israelites and have them sing it, so that it may be a witness(K) for me against them. 20 When I have brought them into the land flowing with milk and honey, the land I promised on oath to their ancestors,(L) and when they eat their fill and thrive, they will turn to other gods(M) and worship them,(N) rejecting me and breaking my covenant.(O)

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