< Ezekiel 16 >

1 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:
Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
2 Son of man, make known to Jerusalem her abominations.
Son of man, testify to Jerusalem [of] her iniquities;
3 And thou shalt say: Thus saith the Lord God to Jerusalem: Thy root, and thy nativity is of the land of Chanaan, thy father was an Amorrhite, and thy mother a Cethite.
and you shall say, Thus says the Lord to Jerusalem; Your root and your birth are of the land of Chanaan: your father was an Amorite, and your mother a Chettite.
4 And when thou wast born, in the day of thy nativity thy navel wits not cut, neither wast thou washed with water for thy health, nor salted with salt, nor swaddled with clouts.
And [as for] your birth in the day wherein you were born, you did not bind your breasts, and you were not washed in water, neither was you salted with salt, neither was you swathed in swaddling-bands.
5 No eye had pity on thee to do any of these things for thee, out of compassion to thee: but thou wast cast out upon the face of the earth in the abjection of thy soul, in the day that thou wast born.
Nor did mine eye pity you, to do for you one of all these things, to feel at all for you; but you were cast out on the face of the field, because of the deformity of your person, in the day wherein you were born.
6 And passing by thee, I saw that thou wast trodden under foot in thy own blood. and I said to thee when thou wast in thy blood: Live: I have said to thee: Live in thy blood.
And I passed by to you, and saw you polluted in your blood; and I said to you, [Let there be] life out of your blood:
7 I caused thee to multiply as the bud of the field: and thou didst increase and grow great, and advancedst, and camest to woman’s ornament: thy breasts were fashioned, and thy hair grew: and thou wast naked, and full of confusion.
increase; I have made you as the springing grass of the field. So you did increase and grow, and did enter into great cities: your breasts were set, and your hair grew, whereas you were naked and bare.
8 And I passed by thee, and saw thee: and behold thy time was the time of lovers: and I spread my garment over thee, and covered thy ignominy. And I swore to thee, and I entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord God: and thou becamest mine.
And I passed by you and saw you, and, behold, [it was] your time and a time of resting; and I spread my wings over you, and covered your shame, and swear to you: and I entered into covenant with you, says the Lord, and you became mine.
9 And I washed thee with water, and cleansed away thy blood from thee: and I anointed thee with oil.
And I washed you in water, and washed your blood from you, and anointed you with oil.
10 And I clothed thee with embroidery, and shed thee with violet coloured shoes: and I girded thee about with fine linen, and clothed thee with fine garments.
And I clothed you with embroidered [garments], and clothed you beneath with purple, and girded you with fine linen, and clothed you with silk,
11 I decked thee also with ornaments, and put bracelets on thy hands, and a chain about thy neck.
and decked you also with ornaments, and put bracelets on your hands, and a necklace on your neck.
12 And I put a jewel upon thy forehead and earrings in thy ears, and a beautiful crown upon thy head.
And I put a pendant on your nostril, and rings in your ears, and a crown of glory on your head.
13 And thou wast adorned with gold, and silver, and wast clothed with fine linen, and embroidered work, and many colours: thou didst eat fine hour, and honey, and oil, and wast made exceeding beautiful: and wast advanced to be a queen.
So you were adorned with gold and silver; and your raiment was of fine linen, and silk, and variegated work: you did eat fine flour, and oil, and honey, and did become extremely beautiful.
14 And thy renown went forth among the nations for thy beauty: for thou wast perfect through my beauty, which I had put upon thee, saith the Lord God.
And your name went forth amongst the nations for your beauty: because it was perfected with elegance, [and] in the comeliness which I put upon you, says the Lord.
15 But trusting in thy beauty, thou playedst the harlot because of thy renown, and thou hast prostituted thyself to every passenger, to be his.
You did trust in your beauty, and did go a-whoring because of your renown, and did pour out your fornication on every passer by.
16 And taking of thy garments thou hast made thee high places sewed together on each side: and hast played the harlot upon them, as hath not been done before, nor shall be hereafter.
And you did take of your garments, and made to yourself idols of needlework, and did go a-whoring after them; therefore you shall never come in, nor shall [the like] take place.
17 And thou tookest thy beautiful vessels, of my gold, and my silver, which I gave thee, and thou madest thee images of men, and hast committed fornication with them.
And you took your fair ornaments of my gold and of my silver, of what I gave you, and you made to yourself male images, and you did commit whoredom with them.
18 And thou tookest thy garments of divers colours, and coveredst them: and settest my oil and my sweet incense before them.
And you did take your variegated apparel and did clothe them, and you did set before them mine oil and mine incense.
19 And my bread which I gave thee, the fine flour, and oil, and honey, wherewith I fed thee, thou hast set before them for a sweet odour; and it was done, saith the Lord God.
And [you took] my bread which I gave you, ([yes] I fed you with fine flour and oil and honey) and did set them before them for a sweet smelling savour: yes, it was so, says the Lord.
20 And thou hast taken thy sons, and thy daughters, whom thou hast borne to me: and best sacrificed the same to them to be devoured. Is thy fornication small?
And you took your sons and your daughters, whom you bore, and did sacrifice [these] to them to be destroyed. You did go a-whoring as [if that were] little,
21 Thou hast sacrificed and given my children to them, consecrating them by fire.
and did kill your children, and gave them up in offering them to them for an expiation.
22 And after all thy abominations, and fornications, thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, when thou wast naked, and full of confusion, trodden under foot in thy own blood.
This is beyond all your fornication, and you did not remember your infancy, when you were naked and bare, [and] did live [though] defiled in your blood.
23 And it came to pass after all thy wickedness (woe, woe to thee, saith the Lord God)
And it came to pass after all your wickedness, says the Lord,
24 That thou didst also build thee a common stew, and madest thee a brothel house in every street.
that you did build yourself a house of fornication, and did make yourself a public place in every street;
25 At every head of the way thou hast set up a sign of thy prostitution: and hast made thy beauty to be abominable: and hast prostituted thyself to every one that passed by, and hast multiplied thy fornications.
and on the head of every way you did set up your fornications, and did defile your beauty, and did open your feet to every passer by, and did multiply your fornication.
26 And thou hast committed fornication with the Egyptians thy neighbours, men of large bodies, and hast multiplied thy fornications to provoke me.
And you did go a-whoring after the children of Egypt your neighbours, great of flesh; and did go a-whoring, often to provoke me to anger.
27 Behold, I will stretch out my hand upon thee, and will take away thy justification: and I will deliver thee up to the will of the daughters of the Philistines that hate thee, that are ashamed of thy wicked way.
And if I stretch out my hand against you, then will I abolish your statutes, and deliver [you] up to the wills of them that hate you, [even to] the daughters of the Philistines that turned you aside from the way wherein you sinned.
28 Thou hast also committed fornication with the Assyrians, because thou wast not yet satisfied: and after thou hadst played the harlot with them, even so thou wast not contented.
And you did go a-whoring to the daughters of Assur, and not even thus was you satisfied; yes, you did go a-whoring, and was not satisfied.
29 Thou hast also multiplied thy fornications in the land of Chanaan with the Chaldeans: and neither so wast then satisfied.
And you did multiply your covenants with the land of the Chaldeans; and not even with these was you satisfied.
30 Wherein shall I cleanse thy heart, saith the Lord God: seeing thou dost all these the works of a shameless prostitute?
Why should I make a covenant with your daughter, says the Lord, while you do all these things, the works of a harlot? and you have gone a-whoring in a threefold degree with your daughters.
31 Because thou hast built thy brothel house at the head of every way, and thou hast made thy high place in every street: and wast not as a harlot that by disdain enhanceth her price,
You have built a house of harlotry in every top of a way, and have set up your high place in every street; and you did become as a harlot gathering hires.
32 But as an adulteress, that bringeth in strangers over her husband.
An adulteress resembles you, taking rewards of her husband.
33 Gifts are given to all harlots: but thou hast given hire to all thy lovers, and thou hast given them gifts to come to thee from every side, to commit fornication with thee.
She has even given rewards to all that went a-whoring after her, and you have given rewards to all your lovers, yes, you did load them with rewards, that they should come to you from every side for your fornication.
34 And it hath happened in thee contrary to the custom of women in thy fornications, and after thee there shall be no such fornication: for in that thou gavest rewards, and didst not take rewards, the contrary hath been done in thee.
And there has happened in you perverseness in your fornication beyond [other] women, and they have committed fornication with you, in that you give hires over and above, and hires were not given to you; and [thus] perverseness happened in you.
35 Therefore, O harlot, hear the word of the Lord.
Therefore, harlot, hear the word of the Lord:
36 Thus saith the Lord God: Because thy money hath been poured out, and thy shame discovered through thy fornications with thy lovers, and with the idols of thy abominations, by the blood of thy children whom thou gavest them:
Thus says the Lord, Because you have poured forth your money, therefore your shame shall be discovered in your harlotry with your lovers, and [with] regard to all the imaginations of your iniquities, and for the blood of your children which you have given to them.
37 Behold, I will gather together all thy lovers with whom thou hast taken pleasure, and all whom thou hast loved, with all whom thou hast hated: and I will gather them together against thee on every side, and will discover thy shame in their sight, and they shall see all thy nakedness.
Therefore, behold, I [will] gather all your lovers with whom you have consorted, and all whom you have loved, with all whom you did hate; and I will gather them against you round about, and will expose your wickedness to them, and they shall see all your shame.
38 And I will judge thee as adulteresses, and they that shed blood are judged: and I will give thee blood in fury and jealousy.
And I will be avenged on you with the vengeance of an adulteress, and I will bring upon you blood of fury and jealousy.
39 And I will deliver thee into their hands, and they shall destroy thy brothel house, and throw down thy stews: and they shall strip thee of thy garments, and shall take away the vessels of thy beauty: and leave thee naked, and full of disgrace.
And I will deliver you into their hands, and they shall break down your house of harlotry, and destroy your high place; and they shall strip you of your garments, and shall take your proud ornaments, and leave you naked and bare.
40 And they shall bring upon thee a multitude, and they shall stone thee with stones, and shall slay thee with their swords.
And they shall bring multitudes upon you, and they shall stone you with stones, and pierce you with their swords.
41 And they shall burn thy houses with fire, and shall execute judgments upon thee in the sight of many women: and thou shalt cease from fornication, and shalt give no hire any more.
And they shall burn your houses with fire, and shall execute vengeance on you in the sight of many women: and I will turn you back from harlotry, and I will no more give [you] rewards.
42 And my indignation shall rest in thee: and my jealousy shall depart from thee, and I will cease and be angry no more.
So will I slacken my fury against you, and my jealousy shall be removed from you, and I will rest, and be no more careful [for you].
43 Because thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, but hast provoked me in all these things: wherefore I also have turned thy ways upon thy head, saith the Lord God, and I have not done according to thy wicked deeds in all thy abominations.
Because you did not remember your infancy, and you did grieve me in all these things; therefore, behold, I have recompensed your ways upon your head, says the Lord: for thus have you wrought ungodliness above all your [other] iniquities.
44 Behold every one that useth a common proverb, shall use this against thee, saying: As the mother was, so also is her daughter.
These are all the things they have spoken against you in a proverb, saying,
45 Thou art thy mother’s daughter, that cast off her husband, and her children: and thou art the sister of thy sisters, who cast off their husbands, and their children: your mother was a Cethite, and your father an Amorrhite.
As is the mother, so is your mother's daughter: you are she that has rejected her husband and her children; and the sisters of your sisters have rejected their husbands and their children: your mother was a Chettite, and [your] father an Amorite.
46 And thy elder sister is Samaria, she and her daughters that dwell at thy left hand: and thy younger sister that dwelleth at thy right hand is Sodom, and her daughters.
Your elder sister who dwells on your left hand is Samaria, she and her daughters: and your younger sister, that dwells on the right hand, is Sodom and her daughters.
47 But neither hast thou walked in their ways, nor hast thou done a little less than they according to their wickednesses: thou hast done almost more wicked things than they in all thy ways.
Yet notwithstanding you have not walked in their ways, neither have you done according to their iniquities within a little, but you have exceeded them in all your ways.
48 As I live, saith the Lord God, thy sister Sodom herself, and her daughters, have not done as thou hast done, and thy daughters.
[As] I live, says the Lord, this Sodom and her daughters have not done as you and your daughters have done.
49 Behold this was the iniquity of Sodom thy sister, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance, and the idleness of her, and of her daughters: and they did not put forth their hand to the needy, and to the poor.
Moreover this was the sin of your sister Sodom, pride: she and her daughters lived in pleasure, in fullness of bread [and] in abundance: this belonged to her and her daughters, and they helped not the hand of the poor and needy.
50 And they were lifted up, and committed abominations before me: and I took them away as thou hast seen.
And they boasted, and wrought iniquities before me: so I cut them off as I saw [fit].
51 And Samaria committed not half thy sins: but thou hast surpassed them with thy crimes, and hast justified thy sisters by all thy abominations which thou hast done.
Also Samaria has not sinned according to half of your sins; but you have multiplied your iniquities beyond them, and you have justified your sisters in all your iniquities which you have committed.
52 Therefore do thou also bear thy confusion, thou that hast surpassed thy sisters with thy sins, doing more wickedly than they: for they are justified above thee, therefore be thou also confounded, and bear thy shame, thou that hast justified thy sisters.
You therefore bear your punishment, for that you have corrupted your sisters by your sins which you have committed beyond them; and you have made them [appear] more righteous than yourself: you therefore be ashamed, and bear your dishonour, in that you have justified your sisters.
53 And I will bring back and restore them by bringing back Sodom, with her daughters, and by bringing back Samaria, and her daughters: and I will bring those that return of thee in the midst of them.
And I will turn their captivity, [even] the captivity of Sodom and her daughters; and I will turn the captivity of Samaria and her daughters; and I will turn your captivity in the midst of them:
54 That thou mayest bear thy shame, and mayest be confounded in all that thou hast done, comforting them.
that you may bear your punishment, and be dishonoured for all that you have done in provoking me to anger.
55 And thy sister Sodom and her daughters shall return to their ancient state: and Samaria and her daughters shall return to their ancient state: and thou and thy daughters shall return to your ancient state.
And your sister Sodom and her daughters shall be restored as they were at the beginning, and you and your daughters shall be restored as you were at the beginning.
56 And Sodom thy sister was not heard of in thy mouth, in the day of thy pride,
And surely your sister Sodom was not mentioned by your mouth in the days of your pride:
57 Before thy malice was laid open: as it is at this time, making thee a reproach of the daughters of Syria, and of all the daughters of Palestine round about thee, that encompass thee on all sides.
before your wickedness was discovered, even now you are the reproach of the daughters of Syria, and of all that are round about her, [even] of the daughters of the Philistines that compass you round about.
58 Thou hast borne thy wickedness, and thy disgrace, saith the Lord God.
[As for] your ungodliness and your iniquities, you have borne them, says the Lord.
59 For thus saith the Lord God: I will deal with thee, as thou hast despised the oath, in breaking the covenant:
Thus says the Lord; I will even do to you as you have done, as you have dealt shamefully in these things to transgress my covenant.
60 And I will remember my covenant with thee in the days of thy youth: and I will establish with thee an everlasting covenant.
And I will remember my covenant [made] with you in the days of your infancy, and I will establish to you an everlasting covenant.
61 And thou shalt remember thy ways, and be ashamed: when thou shalt receive thy sisters, thy elder and thy younger: and I will give them to thee for daughters, but not by thy covenant.
Then you shall remember your way, and shall be utterly dishonoured when you receive your elder sisters with your younger ones: and I will give them to you for building up, but not by your covenant.
62 And I will establish my covenant with thee: and thou shalt know that I am the Lord,
And I will establish my covenant with you; and you shall know that I am the Lord:
63 That thou mayest remember, and be confounded, and mayest no more open thy mouth because of thy confusion, when I shall be pacified toward thee for all that thou hast done, saith the Lord God.
that you may remember, and be ashamed, and may no more be able to open your mouth for your shame, when I am reconciled to you for all that you have done, says the Lord.

< Ezekiel 16 >