Ezekiel 16
1 And the word of Yahweh came unto me, saying:
Another message from the Lord came to me, saying,
2 Son of man Let Jerusalem know her abominations,
“Son of man, challenge Jerusalem over her disgusting practices.
3 Therefore shalt thou say— Thus saith My Lord. Yahweh To Jerusalem, Thine origin and thy birth, were of the land of the Canaanite, — Thy father was the Amorite And thy mother a Hittite
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.
4 And, as for thy birth, in the day thou wast born, Thy navel-cord was not cut, And, in water, wast thou not bathed to cleanse thee, — And, as for being salted, thou was not salted, And, as for being bandaged, thou wast not bandaged.
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.
5 No eye, threw a shield over thee, by doing for thee one of these things taking pity on thee, - But thou wast cast out on the face of the field Because thy person, was abhorred, in the day thou wast born.
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.
6 And I passed by thee, and looked upon thee, thrusting about thee in thy blood, And said to thee— Despite thy blood, live! Yea I said to thee— Despite thy blood, live!
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!’
7 Into myriads—like the bud of the field, made I thee, And thou didst increase and become well grown, and didst attain to most excellent adornments, — Thy breasts were well-formed And thy hair was grown, But thou thyself wast utterly naked.
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.
8 And I passed by thee and looked upon thee and lo! thy time was the time for endearments, So I spread my skirt over thee, and covered thy shame, And took an oath to thee And entered into covenant with thee. Declareth My Lord. Yahweh. And thou didst become mine.
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.
9 And I bathed thee in water, and rinsed thy blood from off thee, And anointed thee with oil;
Then I washed you with water, cleaned off your blood, and anointed you with oil.
10 And clothed thee with an embroidered dress, And sandalled thee in red leather, And wrapped thee about with fine linen, And put over thee a mantle of silk.
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.
11 Then decked I thee with ornaments, And put bracelets upon thy hands, And a neckchain upon thy throat;
I gave you jewelry—I put bracelets on your wrists and a necklace around your neck.
12 And put a nose-jewel upon thy nose, And earrings in thine ears, And a crown of adorning, upon thy head.
I put a ring in your nose and earrings on your ears, and placed a beautiful crown on your head.
13 Thus wast thou adorned with gold and silver, And thy raiment was of fine linen and silk and embroidered work, Fine flour and honey and oil, didst thou eat, — And so thou becamest exceedingly beautiful, And didst attain unto royalty.
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.
14 Then went forth thy fame among the nations. for thy beauty, - For perfect, it was—in my splendour which I had put upon thee, Declareth My Lord, Yahweh.
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.
15 Then didst thou trust in thy beauty, And become unchaste, because of thy fame, - And didst pour out thine unchastity upon every passer-by, his it was!
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.
16 Yea thou didst take of thy raiment and madest thee high places of hangings, And didst commit unchastity thereon, - Which ought not to have befallen And not to have come to pass.
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!
17 But thou didst take thine adorning jewels Of my gold and of my silver which I had given thee, And didst make thee images of the male, — And didst act unchastely with them;
You also used the beautiful gold and silver jewelry I gave you to make male idols and you prostituted yourself with them.
18 And thou didst take thine embroidered raiment, and cover them, - And mine oil and mine incense, didst thou set before them;
You used your embroidered clothes to dress them, and you placed before them my olive oil and incense.
19 And my food which I had given thee, Fine flour and oil and honey wherewith I fed thee, And didst set it before them for a satisfying odour Yea so it was, — Saith My Lord Yahweh.
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.
20 And thou didst take thy sons and thy daughters, Whom thou hadst borne unto me, And didst sacrifice them unto them to be devoured, - Is this of thine unchastity. a light thing?
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?
21 Yea thou didst slay my children, — And didst deliver them up. that they should be caused to pass through the fire unto them.
You slaughtered my children, sacrificing them to idols.
22 And in all thine abominations, and thine unchaste ways, thou rememberedst not the days of thy youth, When thou wast utterly naked. When thou wast thrusting about thee in thy blood!
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.
23 And it came to pass after all thy wickedness, Woe! Woe! to thee, Exclaimeth My Lord Yahweh;
Disaster is coming! Disaster is coming on you, declares the Lord God. As well as all the other evil things you did,
24 That thou didst build thee a brothel, — and didst make thee a height in every broadway:
you built yourself a pagan shrine, a high place of idol worship on every public square in the city.
25 At the head of every road, didst thou build thy height, And bring thy beauty into disgust, And open thy feet to every passer-by, So didst thou make thine unchaste ways to abound.
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.
26 Then didst thou extend thine unchaste acts unto the sons of Egypt—thy neighbour great of flesh, - And caused thine unchaste ways to abound provoking me to anger.
You gave yourself as a prostitute to your Egyptian neighbors with their large sexual organs, making me angry as you became even more promiscuous.
27 Lo! therefore, I have stretched out my hand against thee, And diminished thine allotted portion, — And have delivered thee up unto the desire of them who hate thee The daughters of the Philistines, who are ashamed of thy lewd way.
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.
28 Thou didst also extend thine unchastity unto the sons of Assyria, because thou wast insatiable. Yet though thou didst behave unchastely with them, yet even so couldst thou not be satisfied,
Because you weren't satisfied you prostituted yourself with the Assyrians. But even then you weren't satisfied.
29 Thou didst therefore cause thine unchaste ways to abound unto the land of Canaan as towards Chaldea. Yet even herewith, wast thou not satisfied.
So you took your promiscuous behavior to Babylonia, the country of merchants, but even then you weren't satisfied!
30 How weak was thy heart! Exclaimeth My Lord Yahweh, — That thou couldst have done all these things, The doing of a lewd woman without shame:
You're really sick-minded to do all this, acting like a prostitute with no shame, declares the Lord God.
31 That thou couldst have built thy brothel at the head of every road, And thy height, couldst have made in every broadway, - Yet becamest not as a harlot to lay claim to a harlot’s hire.
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!
32 A wife who committeth adultery, instead of her husband accepteth strangers.
You're a wife that loves adultery! You sleep with strangers instead of your husband!
33 To all harlots, they give a present, — But, thou, didst give thy presents to all thy lovers, And didst bribe them to come in unto thee from every side, in thine unchastity!
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.
34 And so there came about in thee, the reverse of women, in thine unchastity, In that they did not follow thee for purposes of lewdness, — And in that thou gavest a present while, no present, was given to thee So didst thou become, the reverse.
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!
35 Therefore O harlot, hear thou the word of Yahweh;
So, you prostitute, listen to the message from the Lord!
36 Thus saith My Lord Yahweh, — Because thy money, was poured out, and thy shame, was uncovered, in thine unchastity, unto thy lovers, —and unto all thine abominable manufactured gods, even as the blood of thy children, whom thou didst deliver up unto them,
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,
37 Therefore behold me! gathering together all thy lovers unto whom thou didst make thyself pleasant, Even all whom thou lovedst, With all whom thou hatedst, — Yea I will gather them together unto thee from every side And will uncover thy shame unto them, And they shall see all thy shame.
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.
38 So will I judge thee. with the judgments meted out to adulteresses and shedders of blood, - And will repay thee with the blood of indignation and jealousy;
I will impose on you the punishment for women who commit adultery and those who murder; you will be punished in passionate anger.
39 And will deliver thee into their hand. And they shall pull down thy brothel And break in pieces thy heights, And strip thee of thy raiment, And take away thine adorning jewels, - And leave thee utterly naked.
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.
40 Then will they bring up against thee a gathered host, And they will stone thee with stones, - And cut thee to pieces with their swords;
They will come with a mob to attack you. They will stone you and chop you into pieces with their swords.
41 And burn up thy houses with fire, And execute upon thee judgments before the eyes of many women, —So will I cause thee to cease from acting unchastely, Moreover also a present, shalt thou not give any more.
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.
42 So will I let mine indignation find rest in thee, And my jealousy shall depart from thee, —And I will be quiet, and not be provoked any more.
Then I will finish being jealous and furious with you. I will calm down and won't be angry any more.
43 Because thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, But hast enraged me with all these things Therefore also behold! I thy way, upon thine own head, will place Declareth My Lord Yahweh, And thou shalt not commit a crime above all thine abominations
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?
44 Lo! every one who useth proverbs, against thee, shall use a proverb saying, — Like the mother, so her daughter!
Everyone who likes to use proverbs will quote this one about you: ‘Like mother, like daughter.’
45 The daughter of thy mother, thou art! One abhorring her own husband and her own children, — Yea the sister of thy sisters, thou art Who abhorred their own husbands and their own children, Your mother was a Hittite, And your father an Amorite.
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.
46 And thine elder sister, was Samaria, she and her daughters, dwelling on thy left hand, — And thy sister younger than thou dwelling on thy right hand was Sodom and her daughters.
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.
47 Yet not in their ways, didst thou walk, nor according to their abominations, didst thou do, — As though that were quite too little, thou didst corrupt thyself beyond them in all thy ways.
You didn't just follow their ways and do the same disgusting things they did, you very quickly became even worse than them.
48 As I live, Declareth My Lord Yahweh, Very! Sodom thy sister had not done, neither she nor her daughters, —as thou and thy daughters have done.
As I live, declares the Lord God, your sister Sodom and her daughters didn't ever do what you and your daughters have done.
49 Lo! this became the iniquity of Sodom thy sister, — Pride, fulness of bread, and careless security came to her and to her daughters, And the hand of the oppressed and the needy, she strengthened not.
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.
50 So then they became haughty, and committed abomination before me, - And I took them away. when I saw [it],
They became arrogant and did disgusting things in my presence. So I got rid of them when I saw this.
51 Nor did, Samaria, commit, one-half thy sins, — But thou didst multiply thine abominations more than they, And didst cause thy sisters to appear righteous, by all the abominations which thou didst commit.
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!
52 Thou also bear thine own reproach, which thou didst adjudge to thy sisters, by thy sins in which thou wast more abominable than they, thou didst make them appear more righteous than thou, — Thou also, therefore turn thou pale and bear thine own reproach, for making thy sisters appear righteous!
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.
53 When therefore I bring back their captivity, The captivity of Sodom and her daughters, And the captivity of Samaria and her daughters Then will I bring back thy captivities in their midst:
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.
54 That thou mayest bear thine own reproach, And take to thyself reproach because of all that thou didst in comforting them.
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.
55 When thy sisters Sodom and her daughters shall return to their former estate, And Samaria and her daughters shall return to their former estate Then thou and thy daughters, shall return to your former estate.
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.
56 And Sodom thy sister was never heard in thy mouth, —In the day of thy pride:
Didn't you mock your sister Sodom when you were feeling proud,
57 Before thy wickedness was discovered, As now, [thou art] the reproach of the daughters of Syria and all round about her the daughters of the Philistines, —who are despising thee on every side.
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.
58 As for thy crime and thine abominations, thou thyself, dost bear them, — Declareth Yahweh.
You will have to experience the consequences of your immorality and your disgusting practices, declares the Lord.
59 For Thus, saith My Lord, Yahweh, Therefore will I deal with thee just as thou hast dealt, - In that thou didst despise an oath by breaking a covenant.
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.
60 Therefore will I remember my covenant with thee in the days of thy youth, — And will establish for thee a covenant age-abiding.
But I won't forget the agreement I made with you when you were young, and I will make an everlasting agreement with you.
61 Thou shalt therefore remember thy ways and take to thyself reproach, by receiving thy sisters. The older than thou, And the younger than thou, - And I will give them unto thee for daughters Though not by thine own covenant.
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.
62 But I myself, will establish my covenant with thee— And thou shalt know that I, am Yahweh:
This is how I will endorse my agreement with you, and you will know that I am the Lord,
63 To the end thou mayest remember and turn pale, and there be to thee no more, an opening of mouth, because of thy reproach, - In that I have accepted a propitiatory covering for thee as to all that thou hast done, Declareth My Lord. Yahweh.
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.”
