Ezekiel 16
1 And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying,
And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
2 'Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations, and thou hast said:
Son of man, make clear to Jerusalem her disgusting ways,
3 Thus said the Lord Jehovah to Jerusalem: Thy birth and thy nativity [Are] of the land of the Canaanite, Thy father the Amorite, and thy mother 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 As to thy nativity, in the day thou wast born, Thou — thy navel hath not been cut, And in water thou wast not washed for ease, And thou hast not been salted at all, And thou hast not been swaddled at all.
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 eye hath had pity on thee, to do to thee any of these, To have compassion on thee, And thou art cast on the face of the field, With loathing of thy person. In the day thou hast been born — thou!
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 And I do pass over by thee, And I see thee trodden down in thy blood, And I say to thee in thy blood, Live, And I say to thee in thy blood, 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 A myriad — as the shoot of the field I have made thee, And thou art multiplied, and art great, And comest in with an excellent adornment, Breasts have been formed, and thy hair hath grown — And thou, naked and bare!
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 And I pass over by thee, and I see thee, And lo, thy time [is] a time of loves, And I spread My skirt over thee, And I cover thy nakedness, And I swear to thee, and come in to a covenant with thee, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah, And thou dost become Mine.
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 And I do wash thee with water, And I wash away thy blood from off thee, And I anoint thee with perfume.
Then I had you washed with water, washing away all your blood and rubbing you with oil.
10 And I clothe thee with embroidery, And I shoe thee with badger's skin, And I gird thee with fine linen, And I cover thee with figured 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 And I adorn thee with adornments, And I give bracelets for thy hands, And a chain for thy neck.
And I made you fair with ornaments and put jewels on your hands and a chain on your neck.
12 And I give a ring for thy nose, And rings for thine ears, And a crown of beauty on thy head.
And I put a ring in your nose and ear-rings in your ears and a beautiful crown on your head.
13 And thou dost put on gold and silver, And thy clothing [is] fine linen, And figured silk and embroidery, Fine flour, and honey, and oil thou hast eaten, And thou art very very beautiful, And dost go prosperously to the kingdom.
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 And go forth doth thy name among nations, Because of thy beauty — for it [is] complete, In My honour that I have set upon thee, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah.
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 And thou dost trust in thy beauty, And goest a-whoring because of thy renown, And dost pour out thy whoredoms On every passer by — to him it is.
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 And thou dost take of thy garments, And dost make to thee spotted high-places, And dost go a-whoring upon them, They are not coming in — nor shall it be!
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 And thou dost take thy beauteous vessels Of My gold and My silver that I gave to thee, And dost make to thee images of a male, And dost go a-whoring 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 And dost take the garments of thy embroidery, And thou dost cover them, And My oil and My perfume thou hast set before them.
And you took your robes of needlework for their clothing, and put my oil and my perfume before them.
19 And My bread, that I gave to thee, Fine flour, and oil, and honey, that I caused thee to eat. Thou hast even set it before them, For a sweet fragrance — thus it is, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah.
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 And thou dost take thy sons and thy daughters Whom thou hast born to Me, And dost sacrifice them to them for food. Is it a little thing because of thy whoredoms,
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 That thou dost slaughter My sons, And dost give them up in causing them to pass over to them?
That you put my children to death and gave them up to go through the fire to them?
22 And with all thine abominations and thy whoredoms, Thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, When thou wast naked and bare, Trodden down in thy blood thou wast!
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 And it cometh to pass, after all thy wickedness, (Woe, woe, to thee — an affirmation of the Lord Jehovah),
And it came about, after all your evil-doing, says the Lord,
24 That thou dost build to thee an arch, And dost make to thee a high place in every broad place.
That you made for yourself an arched room in every open place.
25 At every head of the way thou hast built thy high place, And thou dost make thy beauty abominable, And dost open wide thy feet to every passer by, And dost multiply thy whoredoms,
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 And dost go a-whoring unto sons of Egypt, Thy neighbours — great of appetite! And thou dost multiply thy whoredoms, To provoke Me to anger.
And you went with the Egyptians, your neighbours, great of flesh; increasing your loose ways, moving me to wrath.
27 And lo, I have stretched out My hand against thee, And I diminish thy portion, And give thee to the desire of those hating thee, The daughters of the Philistines, Who are ashamed of thy wicked way.
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 And thou goest a-whoring unto sons of Asshur, Without thy being satisfied, And thou dost go a-whoring with them, And also — thou hast not been 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 And thou dost multiply thy whoredoms On the land of Canaan — toward Chaldea, And even with this thou hast not been satisfied.
And you went on in your loose ways, even as far as the land of Chaldaea, and still you had not enough.
30 How weak [is] thy heart, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah, In thy doing all these, The work of a domineering whorish woman.
How feeble is your heart, says the Lord, seeing that you do all these things, the work of a loose and overruling woman;
31 In thy building thine arch at the head of every way, Thy high place thou hast made in every broad place, And — hast not been as a whore deriding a gift.
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 The wife who committeth adultery — Under her husband — doth receive strangers.
The untrue wife who takes strange lovers in place of her husband!
33 To all whores they give a gift, And — thou hast given thy gifts to all thy lovers, And dost bribe them to come in unto thee, From round about — in thy whoredoms.
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 And the contrary is in thee from women in thy whoredoms, That after thee none doth go a-whoring; And in thy giving a gift, And a gift hath not been given to thee; And thou art become contrary.
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 Therefore, O whore, hear a word of Jehovah,
For this cause, O loose woman, give ear to the voice of the Lord:
36 Thus said the Lord Jehovah: Because of thy brass being poured forth, And thy nakedness is revealed in thy whoredoms near thy lovers, And near all the idols of thy abominations, And according to the blood of thy sons, Whom thou hast given to them;
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 Therefore, lo, I am assembling all thy lovers, To whom thou hast been sweet, And all whom thou hast loved, Besides all whom thou hast hated; And I have assembled them by thee round about, And have revealed thy nakedness to them, And they have seen all thy nakedness.
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 And I have judged thee — judgments of adulteresses, And of women shedding blood, And have given thee blood, fury, and jealousy.
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 And I have given thee into their hand, And they have thrown down thine arch, And they have broken down thy high places, And they have stript thee of thy garments, And they have taken thy beauteous vessels, And they have left thee naked and bare.
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 And have caused an assembly to come up against thee, And stoned thee with stones, And thrust thee through with their swords,
And they will get together a meeting against you, stoning you with stones and wounding you with their swords.
41 And burnt thy houses with fire, And done in thee judgments before the eyes of many women, And I have caused thee to cease from going a-whoring, And also a gift thou givest no more.
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 And I have caused My fury against thee to rest, And My jealousy hath turned aside from thee, And I have been quiet, and I am not 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 Because thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, And dost give trouble to Me in all these, Lo, even I also thy way at first gave up, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah, And I did not this thought for all thine abominations.
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 Lo, every one using a simile, Doth use a simile concerning thee, saying: As the mother — her daughter!
See, in every common saying about you it will be said, As the mother is, so is her daughter.
45 Thy mother's daughter thou [art], Loathing her husband and her sons, And thy sisters' sister thou [art], Who loathed their husbands and their sons, Your mother [is] a Hittite, and your father 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 And thine elder sister [is] Samaria, she and her daughters, Who is dwelling at thy left hand, And thy younger sister, who is dwelling on thy right hand, [is] Sodom and 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 And — in their ways thou hast not walked, And according to their abominations done, As a little thing it hath been loathed, And thou dost more corruptly than they in all thy ways.
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 I live — an affirmation of the Lord Jehovah, Sodom thy sister hath not done — she and her daughters — As thou hast done — thou and thy daughters.
By my life, says the Lord, Sodom your sister never did, she or her daughters, what you and your daughters have done.
49 Lo, this hath been the iniquity of Sodom thy sister, Arrogancy, fulness of bread, and quiet ease, Have been to her and to her daughters, And the hand of the afflicted and needy She hath not strengthened.
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 And they are haughty and do abomination before Me, And I turn them aside when I have seen.
They were full of pride and did what was disgusting to me: and so I took them away as you have seen.
51 As to Samaria, as the half of thy sins — she hath not sinned, And thou dost multiply thine abominations more than they, And dost justify thy sisters by all thy abominations that thou hast done.
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 Thou also — bear thy shame, That thou hast adjudged to thy sisters, Because of thy sins that thou hast done more abominably than they, They are more righteous than thou, And thou, also, be ashamed and bear thy shame, In thy justifying thy sisters.
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 And I have turned back [to] their captivity, The captivity of Sodom and her daughters, And the captivity of Samaria and her daughters, And the captivity of thy captives in their midst,
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 So that thou dost bear thy shame, And hast been ashamed of all that thou hast done, In thy comforting them.
So that you will be shamed and made low because of all you have done, when I have mercy on you.
55 And thy sisters, Sodom and her daughters, Do turn back to their former state, And Samaria and her daughters Do turn back to their former state, And thou and thy daughters do turn back to your former state.
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 And thy sister Sodom hath not been for a report in thy mouth, In the day of thine arrogancy,
Was not your sister Sodom an oath in your mouth in the day of your pride,
57 Before thy wickedness is revealed, As [at] the time of the reproach of the daughters of Aram, And of all her neighbours, the daughters of the Philistines, Who are despising thee round about.
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 Thy devices and thine abominations, Thou hast borne them, an affirmation of Jehovah.
The reward of your evil designs and your disgusting ways has come on you, says the Lord.
59 For thus said the Lord Jehovah: I have dealt with thee as thou hast done, In that thou hast despised an oath — to break covenant.
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 And I — I have remembered My covenant with thee, In the days of thy youth, And I have established for thee a covenant age-during.
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 And thou hast remembered thy ways, And thou hast been ashamed, In thy receiving thy sisters — Thine elder with thy younger, And I have given them to thee for daughters, And not by thy covenant.
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 And I — I have established My covenant with thee, And thou hast known that I [am] Jehovah.
And I will make my agreement with you; and you will be certain that I am the Lord:
63 So that thou dost remember, And thou hast been ashamed, And there is not to thee any more an opening of the mouth because of thy shame, In My receiving atonement for thee, For all that thou hast done, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah!'
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.
