Ezekiel 16

1 Yahweh gave me another message. He said,

Then the word of Yahweh came to me, saying,

2 “You human, cause the people of Jerusalem to think about their detestable behavior.

“Son of man, inform Jerusalem about her abominations,

3 Say to them, ‘This is what Yahweh the Lord says to you people of Jerusalem: [It is as though you are a woman who] [MET] was born in the country where the Canaan people-group lived. [It is as though] [MET] your father belonged to the Amor people-group and your mother belonged to the Heth people-group.

and declare, 'The Lord Yahweh says this to Jerusalem: Your beginning and your birth took place in the land of Canaan; your father was an Amorite, and your mother was a Hittite.

4 [It is as though] [MET] on the day that you were born, your umbilical cord was not cut, and your body was not washed in water, and it was not rubbed with salt or wrapped in strips of cloth, [like Israeli babies always are].

On the day of your birth, your mother did not cut your navel, nor did she purify you in water or rub you down with salt, or wrap cloth around you.

5 No one pitied you or acted kindly toward you by doing those things for you. Instead, [it was as though] [MET] you were thrown into a field, because on the day that you were born, you were despised {everyone despised you}.

No eye had compassion for you to do any of these things for you, to be compassionate toward you. On the day that you were born, with loathing for your life, you were thrown out into the open field.

6 Then [it was as though] [MET] I passed by and saw you lying in your own blood and kicking. And while you lay there kicking in your own blood, I said to you, “I want you to remain alive!”

But I passed by you, and I saw you writhing in your own blood; so I said to you in your blood, “Live!” I said to you in your blood, “Live!”

7 [It was as though] I caused you to grow up, like plants in the field grow; you grew up and became tall and became like [MET] a very beautiful jewel. [It was as though] [MET] your breasts (formed/became large), and your hair became long, although you were still naked [DOU].

I made you grow like a plant in a field. You multiplied and became great, and you became the jewel of jewels. Your breasts became firm, and your hair grew thick, though you had been naked and bare.

8 When I saw you several years later, [it was as though] [MET] I saw that you were old enough to have sex [EUP]. So [it was as though] [MET] I spread the corner of my robe over [to symbolize that I would marry you], with the result that you were no longer naked. I solemnly promised [that I would marry you] and made a marriage agreement with you, and you became my wife. That is what I, Yahweh the Lord, say.

I passed by you again, and I saw you. See! the time of love came for you, so I spread my robe over you and covered your nakedness. Then I swore to you and brought you into a covenant—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration—and you became mine.

9 [And then it was as though] [MET] I bathed you and washed the blood from you and put ointment on your body.

So I washed you with water and rinsed your blood off you, and I anointed you with oil.

10 [It was as though] [MET] I put a fine linen robe on you and gave you other expensive clothes. I put an embroidered dress on you and put leather sandals on your feet.

I dressed you in embroidered clothes and placed leather sandals on your feet. I wrapped you with fine linen and covered you with silk.

11 [It was as though] [MET] I put bracelets on your arms and a necklace around your neck. Those things all had nice jewels fastened to them.

Next I adorned you with jewelry, and I put bracelets on your hands, and a chain around your neck.

12 I put a gold ring in your nose and fastened earrings to your ears and put a beautiful crown on your head.

I put a nose ring in your nostrils and earrings in your ears, and a beautiful crown on your head.

13 So [it was as though] you wore gold and silver ornaments. You had clothes made from fine (linen/white cloth) and other expensive embroidered material/cloth. You ate [bread made from] fine flour, honey, and olive oil. You became very beautiful, like [MET] a queen.

So you were adorned with gold and silver, and you were dressed in fine linen, silk, and embroidered clothes; you ate fine flour, honey, and oil, and you were very beautiful, and you became a queen.

14 You were very beautiful, with the result that people in other nations heard about you, because they knew that I, Yahweh the Lord, am the one who had caused you to become very beautiful.

Your fame went out among the nations because of your beauty, for it was perfect in the majesty that I had given to you—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration.

15 But [it was as though] [MET] you realized that because people knew that you were very beautiful, you could [earn a lot of money by] becoming a prostitute. [It was as though] you had sex with [EUP] every man who came along, and they all enjoyed your beauty.

But you trusted in your own beauty, and you acted like a prostitute because of your fame; you poured out your acts of prostitution on everyone who passed by, so that your beauty became his.

16 [It was as though] you took some of your clothes to make beautifully decorated shrines, and that is where you had sex with those men. Those things should certainly never occur!

Then you took your clothes and with them you made high places for yourself decorated in various colors, and there you acted like a prostitute. This should not have happened. Nor should such a thing exist.

17 You took the fine gold and silver jewelry that I gave you, and you made male idols for yourself, in order to have sex with them.

You took the fine jewels of the gold and silver that I gave you, and you made for yourself male figures, and you did with them as a prostitute would do.

18 You took some of your embroidered clothes to put on those idols, and you burned oil and incense in front of them [to honor them].

You took your embroidered garments and covered them, and you set my oils and perfumes before them.

19 And the [bread that was made from] fine flour and the olive oil and honey that I gave to you to eat, you offered to be a fragrant sacrifice to those idols. I, Yahweh the Lord, declare that is what happened.

My bread I gave you—made with fine flour, oil, and honey—you set before them for a fragrant aroma, for this is what happened—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration.

20 And you even took your sons and daughters who were [as though they were] [MET] my children, and sacrificed them to be food for the idols. That was much worse [RHQ] than your becoming a prostitute.

Then you took your sons and daughters whom you bore for me, and you sacrificed them to the images to be devoured as food. Are your acts of prostitution a small matter?

21 You slaughtered [those who were like] [MET] my children, and offered them to be sacrifices to the gods!

You slaughtered my children to the idols and made them pass through the fire.

22 All during the time when you were acting like a prostitute and doing other detestable things, you did not think about the time when [it was as though] you were very young, naked [DOU], lying in your own blood and kicking.

In all your abominations and your acts of prostitution you have not thought about the days of your youth, when you were naked and bare as you thrashed about in your blood.

23 So I, Yahweh the Lord, declare that terrible things will happen to you. In addition to all the other wicked things that you did,

Woe! Woe to you!—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration—therefore, in addition to all this wickedness,

24 you built a shrine to worship idols in every [city] square/plaza.

you built yourself a vaulted chamber in every public place.

25 At the beginning of every street you built a shrine, and showed people your beautiful body, offering it to have sex with every man who walked by, becoming a better known prostitute every day.

You built your high place at the head of every road and made your beauty a disgrace, and you spread your legs to anyone who passed by, and you multiplied your acts of prostitution.

26 [It was as though] [MET] you had sex with men from Egypt who were eager to have sex with you, men who lived near to Israel. You caused me to become very angry because you became more eager to have sex with more and more of them.

You have acted like a prostitute with the Egyptians, your lustful neighbors, and you committed many more acts of prostitution, provoking me to anger.

27 So I punished [IDM] you and caused your enemies to capture some of your country. I enabled your greedy enemies from Philistia to defeat you; and even they were shocked because of your disgraceful behavior.

See! I will strike you with my hand and cut off your food. I will hand your life over to your enemies, the daughters of the Philistines, who were ashamed of your obscene behavior.

28 [It was as though] you had sex with soldiers from Assyria, too, because you always wanted more sex. And after that, you still were not satisfied.

You have acted like a prostitute with the Assyrians because you could not be satisfied. You acted like a prostitute and still were not satisfied.

29 So you also had sex [with soldiers from] Babylonia, a country full of merchants/businessmen, but even that did not satisfy you.

You performed many more acts of prostitution in the land of the merchants of Chaldea, and even this did not satisfy you.

30 I, Yahweh the Lord, declare that when you did all those things, acting like [MET] a bold prostitute, you were showing that you were ready to do anything that you wanted to [IDM].

How sick is your heart—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration—that you would do all these things, deeds of a shameless prostitute?

31 When you built shrines to worship idols on every street corner and in every city square/plaza, you were not like a prostitute: Prostitutes charge money, but you refused to take money for what you did.

You have built your high places at the head of every street and made your vaulted chamber in every public place. Yet you were not like a prostitute because you refused to take payment.

32 You are like [MET] a woman who commits adultery: You prefer to [have sex with] strangers rather than with your husband.

You adulterous woman, you accept strangers instead of your husband.

33 Prostitutes are paid, but [it is as though] you give gifts to all your lovers; you bribe them to come to you from everywhere to have sex with you.

People give payment to every prostitute, but you give your wages to all your lovers and bribe them to come to you from all around for your acts of prostitution.

34 So although you act like [MET] a prostitute, you are not like other prostitutes: No one needs to request you to have sex [EUP] with them. You are the opposite of other prostitutes; instead of them giving any money to you, you give men money to have sex with you.

So there is a difference between you and those other women, since no one goes to you to ask you to sleep with them. Instead, you pay them. No one pays you.

35 Therefore, [you people of] Jerusalem, who are like a prostitute [MET], listen to what I, Yahweh the Lord, am saying about you!

Therefore, you prostitute, listen to the word of Yahweh.

36 I say that [what you have done is as though] [MET] you took off your clothes and acted like a prostitute and had sex with men who are not your husband. [What I mean is that you have been worshiping] detestable idols, and you have murdered [MTY] your own children to be sacrifices to them.

The Lord Yahweh says this: Because you have poured out your lust and uncovered your nakedness through your acts of prostitution with your lovers and with all your detestable idols, and because you gave them your children's blood,

37 So [what I am going to do is as though] I will gather those who you think have loved you and those whom you hated. I will gather them around you [to attack you], and [what I will do is as though] I will strip your clothes off you, and they will see you when you are completely naked.

therefore, behold, I will gather all your lovers that you have met, all those whom you loved and all those whom you hated, and I will gather them against you on every side. I will uncover your nakedness to them so they see all your nakedness.

38 I will punish you like women who commit adultery and who murder people [MTY] are punished. I will get revenge on you and get rid of you because I am extremely angry with you.

For I will punish you for adultery and the shedding of blood, and I will bring on you the bloodshed of my anger and passion.

39 I will allow [your enemies who you thought] loved you [IRO] to defeat you, and they will tear down your shrines. [It will be as though] they will strip off your fancy clothes and take away your fine jewelry and cause you to be completely naked [DOU].

I will give you into their hands so they will throw down your vaulted chamber and break down your high places and they will strip you of your clothes and take all of your jewelry. They will leave you naked and bare.

40 They will bring a mob to attack you, and that mob will throw stones at you and cut you to pieces with their swords.

Then they will bring up a crowd against you and stone you with stones, and they will cut you apart with their swords.

41 They will burn down your houses and punish you while many women are watching. I will cause your acting like a prostitute and paying your lovers to have sex with you to end.

They will burn your houses and will perform many acts of punishment on you in the sight of many women, for I will put a stop to your prostitution, and you will no longer pay your lovers.

42 Then I will no longer be angry [DOU] with you. I will stop being jealous [because of your worshiping gods other than me only].

Then I will calm my fury against you; my anger will leave you, for I will be satisfied, and will no longer be angry.

43 You have forgotten [the wonderful things that I did for you] in previous years [MET]. You have caused me to become extremely angry because of all the [evil things] that you have done. In addition to all the other detestable things that you did, you committed many sexual sins. So I, Yahweh the Lord, declare that I will punish you [IDM] for doing those things.

Because you did not call to mind the days of your youth and have made me shake with anger because of all these things, therefore, behold! I myself will bring down on your own head the punishment for what you have done—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration. Have you not added prostitution to all your other detestable practices?

44 People who [like to] quote proverbs will quote this proverb about you: “[behave] like their mothers [behave].”

Behold! Everyone who speaks proverbs concerning you will say, “As the mother is, so also is her daughter.”

45 You are like your mother; [it was as though] she detested her husband and her children. You are like your sisters, who also despised their husbands and their children. [It was as though] [MET] your father belonged to the Amor people-group and your mother belonged to the Heth people-group.

You are the daughter of your mother, who detested her husband and her children, and you are the sister of your sisters who detested their husbands and their children. Your mother was a Hittite, and your father was an Amorite.

46 And [it was as though] [MET] your older sister was Samaria, and she and her daughters lived to the north of you, and [it was as though] your younger sister was Sodom, and she and her daughters lived to the south of you.

Your older sister was Samaria and her daughters were the ones living in the north, while your younger sister was the one living south of you, that is, Sodom and her daughters.

47 You not only imitated all [DOU] their detestable behavior, but you quickly became more sinful than they were.

You not only walked in their ways and copied their behavior and practices, but in all your ways you have been worse than they were.

48 I, Yahweh the Lord, solemnly declare that as surely as I am alive, [the people who lived in] [MTY] Sodom and other nearby cities never did the detestable things that you [people in Jerusalem and other places in Judah] have done.

As I live—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration—your sister Sodom and her daughters, have not done as much evil as you and your daughters have done.

49 These are the sins [the people who lived in] Sodom, who were like your sister [MET]: The people who lived there and in nearby cities were arrogant. In spite of having more food to eat than they needed, they refused to help the poor and needy [DOU] people among them.

Behold! This was the sin of your sister Sodom that she was arrogant in her leisure, careless and unconcerned about anything. She did not strengthen the hands of the poor and needy people.

50 The people of Sodom and nearby cities [MET] were proud and did detestable things in my presence, so I got rid of them when I saw what they had been doing.

She was arrogant and committed disgusting actions before me, so I took them away just as you have seen.

51 Also, [the people of] Samaria did not commit half as many sins as you have committed. You have done more disgusting things than they have done. You cause the people of Samaria to appear to be good, compared to you.

Neither did Samaria commit even half of your sins; instead, you have done many more disgusting things than they did, and you have shown that your sisters were better than you because of all the disgusting things that you do!

52 Your sins are worse than their sins, so they seem to be less wicked than you are. So I will punish you more than I punished them. As a result, you will be ashamed and disgraced [DOU].

Especially you, show your own shame; in this way you have shown that your sisters were better than you, because of the sins you committed in all those disgusting ways. Your sisters now seem better than you. Especially you, show your own shame, for in this way you have shown that your sisters were better than you.

53 However, [some day] I will [the people of] Sodom and Samaria and the cities near to them [MET] to prosper again. And I will cause you to prosper again, too.

For I will restore their fortunes—the fortunes of Sodom and her daughters, and the fortunes of Samaria and her daughters; but your fortunes will be among them.

54 You will be very ashamed [DOU] of the wicked things that you have done, and that will cause the people of those cities to be encouraged.

On account of these things you will show your shame; you will be humiliated because of everything that you have done, and in this way you will be a comfort to them.

55 [The people of] Sodom and Samaria will prosper again, and you and the people in nearby cities will prosper also.

So your sister Sodom and her daughters will be restored to their former condition, and Samaria and her daughters will be restored to their former estate. Then you and your daughters will be restored to your former condition.

56 You (sneered at/despised) [the people of] Sodom when you were proud,

Sodom your sister was not even mentioned by your mouth in the days when you were proud,

57 before it was revealed that you were very wicked. And now [the people of] Edom and [the people of] Philistia all insult you and despise you.

before your wickedness was revealed. But now you are an object of scorn to the daughters of Edom and to all the daughters of the Philistines around her. People all about despise you.

58 And you are being punished for all your immoral behavior and other detestable things that you do.

You will show your shame and your disgusting actions!—this is Yahweh's declaration!

59 This is what I, Yahweh the Lord, say: I will continue to punish you like you deserve to be punished, because by rejecting the agreement that I made with you, you have despised that solemn agreement that you promised to obey.

The Lord Yahweh says this: I will deal with you as you deserve, you who have despised your oath by breaking the covenant.

60 But I will not forget the agreement that I made with you long ago [MET], and I will make an agreement with you that will endure forever.

But I myself will call to mind my covenant with you made in the days of your youth, and I will establish an everlasting covenant with you.

61 Then you will think about what you have done, and you will be ashamed about those things when you welcome [the people of] Sodom and Samaria, cities which are like [MET] older and younger sisters to you people of Jerusalem. I will [put them under your control by] causing them to become like [MET] your daughters, but they will not have the same agreement that I will make with you.

Then you will call to mind your ways and be ashamed when you receive your older sisters and your younger sisters. I will give them to you as daughters, but not because of your covenant.

62 I will establish my agreement with you, and you will know that I, Yahweh, [have the power to do what I say that I will do].

I myself will establish my covenant with you, and you will know that I am Yahweh.

63 Then when I have forgiven you for all your sins, you will think about all the sins that you committed and you will be ashamed, and you will never again [boast about them], because you will be humiliated.’”

Because of these things, you will call everything to mind and be ashamed, so you will no longer open your mouth to speak because of your shame, when I have forgiven you for all that you have done—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration.'”