Ezekiel 16
1 Another message from the Lord came to me, saying,
And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
2 “Son of man, challenge Jerusalem over her disgusting practices.
Son of man, make clear to Jerusalem her disgusting ways,
3 Tell Jerusalem that this is what the Lord God says to her: You really are a Canaanite, both by your birth and parentage. Your father was an Amorite, and your mother was a Hittite.
And say, This is what the Lord has said to Jerusalem: Your start and your birth was from the land of the Canaanite; an Amorite was your father and your mother was a Hittite.
4 On the day you were born your cord was not cut, and you weren't washed to clean you up, you weren't rubbed with salt, and you weren't wrapped in cloths.
As for your birth, on the day of your birth your cord was not cut and you were not washed in water to make you clean; you were not salted or folded in linen bands.
5 No one looked on you with love to do anything like this for you; no one showed any kind of care for you. No, you were thrown away in a field, abandoned and despised from the day you were born.
No eye had pity on you to do any of these things to you or to be kind to you; but you were put out into the open country, because your life was hated at the time of your birth.
6 But I passed by and saw you kicking, covered in your own blood. As you were lying there in your blood I told you, ‘I want you to live!’ I said to you right there, ‘I want you to live!’
And when I went past you and saw you stretched out in your blood, I said to you, Though you are stretched out in your blood, have life;
7 I help you to grow like a plant in the field. You grew up into a beautiful young woman. Your breasts developed and your body hair grew, and you were completely naked.
And be increased in number like the buds of the field; and you were increased and became great, and you came to the time of love: your breasts were formed and your hair was long; but you were uncovered and without clothing.
8 When I passed by again, I looked at you and saw that you were old enough for lovemaking. So I spread my robe over you and covered up your naked body. I committed myself to you and made a solemn agreement with you, and made you mine, declares the Lord God.
Now when I went past you, looking at you, I saw that your time was the time of love; and I put my skirts over you, covering your unclothed body: and I gave you my oath and made an agreement with you, says the Lord, and you became mine.
9 Then I washed you with water, cleaned off your blood, and anointed you with oil.
Then I had you washed with water, washing away all your blood and rubbing you with oil.
10 I put a beautifully embroidered dress on you and gave you fine leather sandals. I clothed you in fine linen and covered you with silk.
And I had you clothed with needlework, and put leather shoes on your feet, folding fair linen about you and covering you with silk.
11 I gave you jewelry—I put bracelets on your wrists and a necklace around your neck.
And I made you fair with ornaments and put jewels on your hands and a chain on your neck.
12 I put a ring in your nose and earrings on your ears, and placed a beautiful crown on your head.
And I put a ring in your nose and ear-rings in your ears and a beautiful crown on your head.
13 You wore gold and silver jewelry, and your clothes were made of the finest linen, expensive fabric, and embroidered cloth. You ate bread made with the best flour, and honey and olive oil. You grew even more beautiful and became a queen.
So you were made beautiful with gold and silver; and your clothing was of the best linen and silk and needlework; your food was the best meal and honey and oil: and you were very beautiful.
14 You were famous around the world because of your beauty, for I used my majestic power to make you so wonderful, declares the Lord God.
You were so beautiful that the story of you went out into all nations; you were completely beautiful because of my glory which I had put on you, says the Lord.
15 You were so proud of your beauty that you were unfaithful to me. You thought that because you were so famous you could prostitute yourself and sleep with anyone who passed by. They took your beautiful body for themselves.
But you put your faith in the fact that you were beautiful, acting like a loose woman because you were widely talked of, and offering your cheap love to everyone who went by, whoever it might be.
16 You made yourself colorful pagan shrines out of the clothes I'd given you, and there you acted as a prostitute. Things like this have never happened before, and they should never happen in the future!
And you took your robes and made high places for yourself ornamented with every colour, acting like a loose woman on them, without shame or fear.
17 You also used the beautiful gold and silver jewelry I gave you to make male idols and you prostituted yourself with them.
And you took the fair jewels, my silver and gold which I had given to you, and made for yourself male images, acting like a loose woman with them;
18 You used your embroidered clothes to dress them, and you placed before them my olive oil and incense.
And you took your robes of needlework for their clothing, and put my oil and my perfume before them.
19 You presented the food I had given you as an offering for them to accept —bread made from the best flour, olive oil, and honey that I had provided for you to eat. That's exactly what you did, declares the Lord God.
And my bread which I gave you, the best meal and oil and honey which I gave you for your food, you put it before them for a sweet smell, says the Lord.
20 You sacrificed your sons and daughters—the children you had for me—offering them as food for idols to eat. Wasn't your prostitution evil enough?
And you took your sons and your daughters whom I had by you, offering even these to them to be their food. Was your loose behaviour so small a thing,
21 You slaughtered my children, sacrificing them to idols.
That you put my children to death and gave them up to go through the fire to them?
22 While you were busy with all your disgusting practices and your prostitution, you forgot about the time when you were young, completely naked and lying there kicking in your own blood.
And in all your disgusting and false behaviour you had no memory of your early days, when you were uncovered and without clothing, stretched out in your blood.
23 Disaster is coming! Disaster is coming on you, declares the Lord God. As well as all the other evil things you did,
And it came about, after all your evil-doing, says the Lord,
24 you built yourself a pagan shrine, a high place of idol worship on every public square in the city.
That you made for yourself an arched room in every open place.
25 You made yourselves high places of idol worship at the top of every street; you degraded yourself, offering your beautiful body to anyone who passed by, opening your legs for them, becoming more and more promiscuous.
You put up your high places at the top of every street, and made the grace of your form a disgusting thing, opening your feet to everyone who went by, increasing your loose ways.
26 You gave yourself as a prostitute to your Egyptian neighbors with their large sexual organs, making me angry as you became even more promiscuous.
And you went with the Egyptians, your neighbours, great of flesh; increasing your loose ways, moving me to wrath.
27 So I acted to reduce my blessings to you. I let your enemies the Philistines do what they wanted to you. Even they were embarrassed at your immorality.
Now, then, my hand is stretched out against you, cutting down your fixed amount, and I have given you up to the desire of your haters, the daughters of the Philistines who are shamed by your loose ways.
28 Because you weren't satisfied you prostituted yourself with the Assyrians. But even then you weren't satisfied.
And you went with the Assyrians, because of your desire which was without measure; you were acting like a loose woman with them, and still you had not enough.
29 So you took your promiscuous behavior to Babylonia, the country of merchants, but even then you weren't satisfied!
And you went on in your loose ways, even as far as the land of Chaldaea, and still you had not enough.
30 You're really sick-minded to do all this, acting like a prostitute with no shame, declares the Lord God.
How feeble is your heart, says the Lord, seeing that you do all these things, the work of a loose and overruling woman;
31 Actually you weren't even a normal prostitute when you built yourselves pagan shrines at the top of every street and high places of idol worship on every public square—because you refused to be paid for your services!
For you have made your arched room at the top of every street, and your high place in every open place; though you were not like a loose woman in getting together your payment.
32 You're a wife that loves adultery! You sleep with strangers instead of your husband!
The untrue wife who takes strange lovers in place of her husband!
33 Normally all prostitutes are paid, but you were the one giving gifts to all your lovers. You even bribed them to come from all around and have sex with you.
They give payment to all loose women: but you give rewards to your lovers, offering them payment so that they may come to you on every side for your cheap love.
34 So you're the opposite of other prostitutes. No one comes to you asking for sex, and you pay the prostitute's fee instead of receiving it. You're the exact opposite!
And in your loose behaviour you are different from other women, for no one goes after you to make love to you: and because you give payment and no payment is given to you, in this you are different from them.
35 So, you prostitute, listen to the message from the Lord!
For this cause, O loose woman, give ear to the voice of the Lord:
36 This is what the Lord God says: Because you were so crazy with desire you stripped yourself naked and committed adultery with your lovers and with all your disgusting idols, and because you killed your children as sacrifices to those idols,
This is what the Lord has said: Because your unclean behaviour was let loose and your body uncovered in your loose ways with your lovers and with your disgusting images, and for the blood of your children which you gave to them;
37 I'm going to bring together all the lovers you went to bed with, whether you loved them or hated them, and I will have them gather from everywhere around and I will strip you as they watch so they will see you totally naked.
For this cause I will get together all your lovers with whom you have taken your pleasure, and all those to whom you have given your love, with all those who were hated by you; I will even make them come together against you on every side, and I will have you uncovered before them so that they may see your shame.
38 I will impose on you the punishment for women who commit adultery and those who murder; you will be punished in passionate anger.
And you will be judged by me as women are judged who have been untrue to their husbands and have taken life; and I will let loose against you passion and bitter feeling.
39 Then I will hand you over to your lovers, and they will demolish your pagan shrines and destroy your high places of idol worship. They will strip you of your clothes, remove your beautiful jewelry, and leave you stark naked.
I will give you into their hands, and your arched room will be overturned and your high places broken down; they will take your clothing off you and take away your fair jewels: and when they have done, you will be uncovered and shamed.
40 They will come with a mob to attack you. They will stone you and chop you into pieces with their swords.
And they will get together a meeting against you, stoning you with stones and wounding you with their swords.
41 They will burn down your houses and punish you while many women watch. I will stop your prostitution, and you won't ever pay your lovers again.
And they will have you burned with fire, sending punishments on you before the eyes of great numbers of women; and I will put an end to your loose ways, and you will no longer give payment.
42 Then I will finish being jealous and furious with you. I will calm down and won't be angry any more.
And the heat of my wrath against you will have an end, and my bitter feeling will be turned away from you, and I will be quiet and will be angry no longer.
43 Since you didn't remember how I looked after you when you were young, but made me angry with all the things that you did, I will make sure you experience the results of what you've done, declares the Lord God. For this immorality was in addition to all the other disgusting things you did, wasn't it?
Because you have not kept in mind the days when you were young, but have been troubling me with all these things; for this reason I will make the punishment of your ways come on your head, says the Lord, because you have done this evil thing in addition to all your disgusting acts.
44 Everyone who likes to use proverbs will quote this one about you: ‘Like mother, like daughter.’
See, in every common saying about you it will be said, As the mother is, so is her daughter.
45 You are the daughter of your mother who detested her husband and children. You are just like her! You are the sister of your sisters, just like them who detested their husbands and children. In fact your mother was a Hittite and your father was an Amorite.
You are the daughter of your mother whose soul is turned in disgust from her husband and her children; and you are the sister of your sisters who were turned in disgust from their husbands and their children: your mother was a Hittite and your father an Amorite.
46 Your older sister was Samaria, who lived north of you with her daughters. Your younger sister was Sodom, who lived south of you with her daughters.
Your older sister is Samaria, living at your left hand, she and her daughters: and your younger sister, living at your right hand, is Sodom and her daughters.
47 You didn't just follow their ways and do the same disgusting things they did, you very quickly became even worse than them.
Still you have not gone in their ways or done the disgusting things which they have done; but, as if that was only a little thing, you have gone deeper in evil than they in all your ways.
48 As I live, declares the Lord God, your sister Sodom and her daughters didn't ever do what you and your daughters have done.
By my life, says the Lord, Sodom your sister never did, she or her daughters, what you and your daughters have done.
49 The sins of your sister Sodom were these: She and her daughters were proud, greedy, and lazy. They didn't help the poor and those in need.
Truly, this was the sin of your sister Sodom: pride, a full measure of food, and the comforts of wealth in peace, were seen in her and her daughters, and she gave no help to the poor or to those in need.
50 They became arrogant and did disgusting things in my presence. So I got rid of them when I saw this.
They were full of pride and did what was disgusting to me: and so I took them away as you have seen.
51 Samaria didn't sin half as badly as you did. You have done far more disgusting things than they did. In fact, all the revolting things you've done make your sisters look good!
And Samaria has not done half your sins; but you have made the number of your disgusting acts greater than theirs, making your sisters seem more upright than you by all the disgusting things which you have done.
52 Now you're going to have to put up with your shame, since by your disgraceful sins you made them seem far better. Compared to you they look good! Now you too have to put up with your shame and disgrace because you've made your sisters look as if they were good.
And you yourself will be put to shame, in that you have given the decision for your sisters; through your sins, which are more disgusting than theirs, they are more upright than you: truly, you will be shamed and made low, for you have made your sisters seem upright.
53 Even so I'm going to bring Sodom and her daughters back from exile, and Samaria and her daughters too. I will bring you back together with them.
And I will let their fate be changed, the fate of Sodom and her daughters, and the fate of Samaria and her daughters, and your fate with theirs.
54 In this way you will have to put up with your disgrace and be ashamed of all the bad things you did that made them feel better about themselves.
So that you will be shamed and made low because of all you have done, when I have mercy on you.
55 Your sisters, Sodom with her daughters and Samaria with her daughters, will be restored to what they were before. You and your daughters will also be restored to what you were before.
And your sisters, Sodom and her daughters, will go back to their first condition, and Samaria and her daughters will go back to their first condition, and you and your daughters will go back to your first condition.
56 Didn't you mock your sister Sodom when you were feeling proud,
Was not your sister Sodom an oath in your mouth in the day of your pride,
57 before you were shown to be so wicked yourselves? Of course now you are mocked by the Edomites and the surrounding nations, as well as by the Philistines. Everyone around you looks down on you.
Before your shame was uncovered? Now you have become like her a word of shame to the daughters of Edom and all who are round about you, the daughters of the Philistines who put shame on you round about.
58 You will have to experience the consequences of your immorality and your disgusting practices, declares the Lord.
The reward of your evil designs and your disgusting ways has come on you, says the Lord.
59 This is what the Lord God says: I'm going to punish you according to your sins, because you treated the promise you made with contempt by breaking the agreement.
For this is what the Lord has said: I will do to you as you have done, you who, putting the oath on one side, have let the agreement be broken.
60 But I won't forget the agreement I made with you when you were young, and I will make an everlasting agreement with you.
But still I will keep in mind the agreement made with you in the days when you were young, and I will make with you an eternal agreement.
61 Then you will remember the way you are meant to live and be ashamed when you meet your older and younger sisters when they return to you. I will give them to you as daughters, even though this was not part of our original agreement.
Then at the memory of your ways you will be overcome with shame, when I take your sisters, the older and the younger, and give them to you for daughters, but not by your agreement.
62 This is how I will endorse my agreement with you, and you will know that I am the Lord,
And I will make my agreement with you; and you will be certain that I am the Lord:
63 so that you will remember and be ashamed, and won't ever defend your disgraceful behavior when I forgive you for everything you've done, declares the Lord God.”
So that, at the memory of these things, you may be at a loss, never opening your mouth because of your shame; when you have my forgiveness for all you have done, says the Lord.
