Ezekiel 16
16
God’s Covenant Grace to Unfaithful and Rebellious Israel
1And the word of Yahweh came#Literally “was” to me, saying,#Literally “to say” 2“Son of man,#Or “mortal,” or “son of humankind” make known to Jerusalem its detestable things, 3and you must say, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh to Jerusalem: Your origin and your birth were from the land of the Canaanites,#Hebrew “Canaanite” your father was an Amorite, and your mother was a Hittite. 4And as for your birth, on the day you were born#Literally “on the day of being born you” your umbilical cord was not cut, and you were not thoroughly washed clean with water,#Literally “with water not you were cleansed for cleansing” and you were not thoroughly rubbed with salt,#Literally “being rubbed with salt you were not rubbed with salt” and you were not carefully wrapped in strips of cloth.#Literally “being wrapped in strips of cloth not you were wrapped in strips of cloth” 5No eye took pity on you#Literally “not took pity on you an eye” to do to you one of these things to show compassion for you, and you were thrown into the open field#Literally “to the face of the field” in their despising of you on the day you were born.#Literally “on the day of being born you”
6“ ‘And I passed by you, and I saw you kicking about in your blood, and I said to you in your blood, “Live! 7Grow up;#Or “A myriad I have made you” I will make you like a plant of the field.” And you grew up, and you became tall and reached full womanhood.#Literally “ornament of ornaments” Your breasts were formed, and your hair had grown, but you were naked and bare.
8“ ‘And I passed by you, and I saw you, and look, your time of lovemaking had come,#Literally “your time was the time of lovemaking” and so I spread out my hem over you, and I covered your nakedness, and I swore to you, and I entered into#Hebrew “in” a covenant with you,’ declares#Literally “declaration of” the Lord Yahweh, ‘and you became mine.#Literally “and you were to me” 9And I washed you with water, and I rinsed off your blood from on you, and I anointed you with oil. 10And I clothed you with beautiful finished cloth, and I put sandals on you of fine leather, and I bound you in fine linen, and I covered you with costly fabric. 11And I adorned you with ornaments,#Hebrew “ornament” and I put a bracelet on your arms and a necklace on your neck. 12And I put an ornamental ring on your nose and earrings on your ears and a beautiful crown#Literally “a crown of splendor” on your head. 13And you adorned yourself with gold and silver, and your clothing was fine linen and costly fabric and beautiful finished cloth; you ate finely milled flour and honey and olive oil, and you became exceedingly beautiful; you were fit to be a queen.#Literally “you could succeed to queenship” 14And a name went out for you among the nations because of your beauty, for it was perfect because of my majesty that I bestowed on you,’ declares#Literally “declaration of” the Lord Yahweh. 15‘And you trusted in your beauty, and you prostituted on account of your name, and you poured out your fornication on every one passing by, saying, “Let it be his.” 16And you took from your clothes and you made for yourself colorful#Or “gaudy” shrines, and you prostituted on them; this had not happened before,#Literally “Not were happening” and it will not continue to happen.#Literally “and not it will be”; Hebrew text unclear 17And you took your beautiful jewelry#Literally “the jewelry of splendor” made from my gold and from my silver that I had given to you, and you made for yourself male images,#Literally “images of a male” and you prostituted with them. 18And you took the clothes of your beautiful finished cloth, and you covered them and my oil and my incense you set before them.#Literally “to the face of them” 19And my bread that I gave to you, finely milled flour and oil and honey with which I fed you, then you set it before them#Literally “to the face of them” as a pleasing odor,#Literally “a scent of an incense” and so it was,’ declares#Literally “declaration of” the Lord Yahweh. 20‘And you took your sons and your daughters whom you had borne for me, and you sacrificed them to them to be eaten,#Or “consumed” as if your whorings were not enough.#Literally “it was too little from your whorings” 21And you slaughtered my children, and you gave them to be sacrificed to them.#Literally “to cause them to cross over to them” 22And in all of your detestable things and your fornication you did not remember the days of your childhood when you were naked and bare,#Literally “at your being naked and bare” when you were kicking about in your blood.
23“ ‘And then after all of your evil! Woe, woe, to you!’ declares#Literally “declaration of” the Lord Yahweh. 24‘And then you built for yourself a mound, and you made for yourself a high place in every public square. 25At the head of every street you built your high place and you disgraced your beauty and you spread your feet for every passerby, and you increased your whoring. 26And you prostituted with the Egyptians,#Literally “sons/children of Egypt” your neighbors who were sexually aroused,#Literally “those being great of flesh” and you increased your fornication to provoke me. 27And look! I stretched out my hand against you, and I reduced your portion, and I gave you into#Hebrew “in” the desire of your haters, the daughters of the Philistines, who were ashamed because of your lewd conduct.#Literally “your way of life” 28And you prostituted with the Assyrians#Literally “sons/children of Assyria” on account of your insatiable lust,#Literally “of no your satisfaction” and you prostituted with them, and still you were not satisfied. 29And you increased your fornication to the land of traders,#Hebrew “trader” to Chaldea, and even with this you were not satisfied. 30How hot with fever was your heart!’ declares#Literally “declaration of” the Lord Yahweh. ‘When you did#Literally “at/in you to do” all of these actions of a headstrong female prostitute,#Literally “deeds of a woman prostituting domineering” 31when you built#Literally “at/in building your” your mound at the head of every street and your high place you made on every street, yet#Hebrew “and” you were#According to the reading tradition (Qere) not like a prostitute, as you were scorning your harlot’s wages. 32O, adulterous woman! In the place of her husband she received strangers. 33To all prostitutes they give a fee, but you, you gave your gifts to all of your lovers, and you bribed them to come to you from all around in your whorings! 34And it was the opposite with you from the other women in your whorings; no one solicited you as a prostitute.#Literally “and after you not he solicited a prostitute” You gave#Literally “And at your giving” a harlot’s wages, and a harlot’s wages were not given to you, and so it was just the opposite.
35“ ‘Therefore, prostitute, hear the word of Yahweh. 36Thus says the Lord Yahweh: Because of the pouring out of your shame and because your nakedness was revealed in your whoring with your lovers, and on account of all of the idols of your detestable things, and according to the blood of your children whom you gave to them, 37therefore, look! I am gathering all of your lovers whom you were pleased about,#Literally “whom you were pleased about them” and all of whom you loved in addition to all of whom you hated, and I will gather them against you from everywhere,#Literally “all around” and I will uncover your nakedness to them, and they will see all of your nakedness. 38And I will judge you with the judgment of women committing adultery and shedding blood, and I will give you the blood of rage and jealousy. 39And I will give you into their hand, and they will demolish your mound, and they will break down your high places, and they will strip you of your clothes, and they will take your beautiful jewelry,#Literally “the objects of your splendor” and they will leave you naked and bare. 40And they will bring up against you a crowd, and they will stone you with stones,#Hebrew “stone” and they will cut you to pieces with their swords. 41And they will burn your houses with fire, and they will execute against you judgments before#Literally “to the eyes of” many women, and I will stop you from prostitution, and also a harlot’s wages you will not give#Or “pay” again. 42And I will satisfy my rage on you, and my jealousy will turn away from you, and I will be calm, and I will not be angry any longer. 43Because#Literally “because that” you did not remember#According to the reading tradition (Qere) with BHS the days of your childhood and you made me angry with all of these. And in turn I, look, I will return your way upon your head,’ declares#Literally “declaration of” the Lord Yahweh, ‘and did#According to the reading tradition (Qere); cf. BHS you not do wickedness#Literally “the wickedness” in addition to all of your detestable things? 44Look! Everyone quoting a proverb#Literally “proverbing a proverb” against you, he will quote, saying,#Literally “to say” ‘Like her mother is her daughter!’ 45You are a daughter of your mother who abhorred her husband and her children, and you are a sister of your sisters who abhorred their husbands and their children. Your mother was a Hittite, and your father was an Amorite. 46And your elder sister, she is Samaria, and her daughters, who are dwelling on your north, and your younger sister is the one dwelling on your south; she is Sodom and her daughters. 47And you have not only gone in their ways, but#Or “and” you also did according to their detestable things. In such a short time#Literally “as few little and” you behaved more corruptly than they in all of your ways. 48As surely as I live,’#Literally “live I” declares#Literally “declaration of” the Lord Yahweh, ‘surely your sister Sodom and her daughters did not do as#Hebrew “as that” you and your daughters did. 49Look! This was the iniquity of Sodom, your sister: Pride, abundance of food, and prosperous ease#Literally “and ease of granting relief” was to her and to her daughters, and she did not sustain the needy and the poor.#Literally “And the hand of the needy and the poor not she did take hold of” 50And they were proud, and they did a detestable thing before me,#Literally “to the face of me” and I removed them because#Literally “as that” I saw it. 51And Samaria did not sin according to even half of your sins,#Literally “about/as/like the half of sins your not did she sin” and you caused your detestable things to increase more than they, and you made your sister righteous in comparison with all of your detestable things that you did.#According to the reading tradition (Qere); cf. BHS 52Also,#Or “indeed” you bear your disgrace, by which you furnished justification to your sisters#Hebrew “sister” through your sins by which you acted more abominably than they; they were more righteous than you, and also,#Or “indeed” you be ashamed and bear your disgrace through your making your sister righteous.
53And I will restore their fortune, the fortunes of Sodom and her daughters, and the fortunes of Samaria and her daughters, and even the fortunes of your captivity in the midst of them, 54in order that you may bear your disgrace and you may be put to shame because of all that you did at your consoling them. 55And as for your sisters, Sodom and her daughters, they will return to their former state, and Samaria and her daughters, they will return to their former state, and you and your daughters will return to your former state. 56And was not Sodom, your sister, a byword in your mouth in the day of your pride 57before#Literally “at not yet” your evil was uncovered? It was like the time of the scorn of the daughters of Aram and all those around her, and of the daughters of the Philistines, those all around who are despising you. 58Your wickedness and your detestable things, you, you must bear them,’ declares#Literally “declaration of” Yahweh. 59‘For thus says the Lord Yahweh: And I will do it#According to the reading tradition (Qere) to you according to what you have done,#Literally “as that you have done” who despised the oath to break covenant. 60And I, I will remember my covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish with you an everlasting covenant.#Literally “a covenant of eternity” 61And you will remember your ways, and you will be ashamed when you take your sisters, both the older and the younger,#Literally “the older from you to the younger from you” and I give them to you as daughters, but not on account of your covenant. 62And I, I will establish my covenant with you, and you will know that I am Yahweh, 63in order that you will remember, and you will be ashamed, and you will not open your mouth again#Literally “and not it will be again an opening of mouth” because of#Literally “from the face of” your disgrace when I forgive you for all that you have done!’ ” declares#Literally “declaration of” the Lord Yahweh.
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Ezekiel 16: LEB
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Ezekiel 16
16
1And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying, 2Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations, 3and say, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah unto Jerusalem: Thy birth and thy nativity is of the land of the Canaanite: thy father was an Amorite, and thy mother a Hittite. 4And as for thy nativity, in the day thou wast born thy navel was not cut, neither wast thou washed in water for cleansing; thou wast not rubbed with salt at all, nor swaddled at all. 5No eye pitied thee, to do any of these unto thee, to have compassion upon thee; but thou wast cast out in the open field, from abhorrence of thy person, in the day that thou wast born.
6And I passed by thee, and saw thee weltering in thy blood, and I said unto thee, in thy blood, Live! yea, I said unto thee, in thy blood, Live! 7I caused thee to multiply, as the bud of the field; and thou didst increase and grow great, and thou camest to fulness of beauty; thy breasts were fashioned, and thy hair grew: but thou wast naked and bare. 8And I passed by thee, and looked upon thee, and behold, thy time was the time of love; and I spread my skirt over thee, and covered thy nakedness; and I swore unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord Jehovah, and thou becamest mine. 9And I washed thee with water, and thoroughly washed away thy blood from thee, and I anointed thee with oil; 10and I clothed thee with embroidered work, and shod thee with badgers' skin, and I bound thee about with byssus, and covered thee with silk. 11And I decked thee with ornaments, and I put bracelets upon thy hands, and a chain on thy neck; 12and I put a ring on thy nose, and earrings in thine ears, and a beautiful crown upon thy head. 13Thus wast thou decked with gold and silver, and thy raiment was byssus, and silk, and embroidered work. Thou didst eat fine flour, and honey, and oil; and thou becamest exceedingly beautiful, and thou didst prosper into a kingdom. 14And thy fame went forth among the nations for thy beauty; for it was perfect through my magnificence, which I had put upon thee, saith the Lord Jehovah.
15But thou didst confide in thy beauty, and playedst the harlot because of thy renown, and pouredst out thy whoredoms on every one that passed by: his it was. 16And of thy garments thou didst take, and madest for thyself high places decked with divers colours, and didst play the harlot thereupon: the like hath not come to pass, and shall be no more. 17And thou didst take thy fair jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given thee, and madest to thyself images of males, and didst commit fornication with them. 18And thou tookest thine embroidered garments, and coveredst them; and thou didst set mine oil and mine incense before them. 19And my bread which I had given thee, the fine flour and the oil and the honey wherewith I fed thee, thou didst even set it before them for a sweet savour: thus it was, saith the Lord Jehovah. 20And thou didst take thy sons and thy daughters, whom thou hadst borne unto me, and these didst thou sacrifice unto them, to be devoured. Were thy whoredoms a small matter, 21that thou didst slay my children and give them up in passing them over to them? 22And in all thine abominations and thy whoredoms thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, when thou wast naked and bare, when thou wast weltering in thy blood. 23And it came to pass after all thy wickedness (woe, woe unto thee! saith the Lord Jehovah), 24that thou didst also build unto thee a place of debauchery, and didst make thee a high place in every street: 25thou didst build thy high place at every head of the way, and madest thy beauty to be abhorred, and thou didst open thy feet to every one that passed by, and multiply thy whoredom. 26And thou didst commit fornication with the Egyptians thy neighbours, great of flesh; and didst multiply thy whoredom to provoke me to anger. 27And behold, I stretched out my hand over thee, and diminished thine appointed portion; and I gave thee over unto the will of them that hate thee, the daughters of the Philistines, who were confounded at thy lewd way. 28And thou didst commit fornication with the Assyrians, because thou wast insatiable; yea, thou didst commit fornication with them, and yet couldest not be satisfied. 29And thou didst multiply thy whoredom with the land of merchants, Chaldea, and yet thou wast not satisfied herewith. 30How weak is thy heart, saith the Lord Jehovah, seeing thou doest all these things, the work of a whorish woman, under no restraint; 31in that thou buildest thy place of debauchery at the head of every way, and makest thy high place in every street! And thou hast not been as a harlot, in that thou scornest reward, 32O adulterous wife, that taketh strangers instead of her husband. 33They give rewards to all harlots; but thou gavest thy rewards to all thy lovers, and rewardedst them, that they might come unto thee on every side for thy whoredoms. 34And in thee is the contrary from other women, in thy whoredoms, in that none followeth thee to commit fornication; and whereas thou givest a reward, and no reward is given unto thee, so art thou contrary.
35Therefore, O harlot, hear the word of Jehovah. 36Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Because thy money hath been poured out, and thy nakedness discovered through thy fornications with thy lovers, and with all the idols of thine abominations, and because of the blood of thy children which thou didst give unto them; 37therefore, behold, I will gather all thy lovers with whom thou hast taken pleasure, and all that thou hast loved, with all that thou hast hated, — I will even gather them round about against thee, and will discover thy nakedness unto them, that they may see all thy nakedness. 38And I will judge thee with the judgments of women that commit adultery and shed blood; and I will give thee up to the blood of fury and jealousy; 39and I will give thee into their hand, and they shall throw down thy place of debauchery, and shall break down thy high places; and they shall strip thee of thy garments, and shall take thy fair jewels, and leave thee naked and bare. 40And they shall bring up an assemblage against thee, and they shall stone thee with stones, and thrust thee through with their swords. 41And they shall burn thy houses with fire, and execute judgments upon thee in the sight of many women; and I will cause thee to cease from being a harlot, and thou also shalt give no more any reward. 42And I will appease my fury against thee, and my jealousy shall depart from thee; and I will be quiet, and will be no more angry. 43Because thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, but hast raged against me in all these things, behold, therefore, I also will recompense thy way upon thy head, saith the Lord Jehovah, and thou shalt not commit this lewdness besides all thine abominations.
44Behold, every one that useth proverbs shall speak in a proverb against thee, saying, As the mother, so is her daughter! 45Thou art the daughter of thy mother that loathed her husband and her children; and thou art the sister of thy sisters, who loathed their husbands and their children. Your mother was a Hittite, and your father an Amorite. 46And thine elder sister is Samaria that dwelleth at thy left hand, she and her daughters; and thy younger sister, that dwelleth at thy right hand, is Sodom and her daughters. 47And thou hast not walked in their ways, nor done according to their abominations; but as though that were a very little, thou hast been more corrupt than they in all thy ways. 48As I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, Sodom thy sister hath not done, she nor her daughters, as thou hast done, thou and thy daughters! 49Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom: pride, fulness of bread, and careless ease was in her and in her daughters, but she did not strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. 50And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me, and I took them away when I saw it. 51And Samaria hath not sinned according to the half of thy sins; but thou hast multiplied thine abominations more than they, and hast justified thy sisters by all thine abominations which thou hast done. 52Thou also, who hast judged thy sisters, bear thine own confusion, because of thy sins in which thou hast acted more abominably than they: they are more righteous than thou. So be thou ashamed also, and bear thy confusion, in that thou hast justified thy sisters. 53And I will bring again their captivity, the captivity of Sodom and her daughters, and the captivity of Samaria and her daughters, and the captivity of thy captives in the midst of them; 54that thou mayest bear thy confusion, and mayest be confounded for all that thou hast done, in that thou comfortest them. 55And thy sisters, Sodom and her daughters, shall return to their former estate, and Samaria and her daughters shall return to their former estate; thou also and thy daughters, ye shall return to your former estate. 56Yea, Sodom thy sister was not mentioned by thy mouth in the day of thy pride, 57before thy wickedness was discovered, as at the time of the reproach of the daughters of Syria, and of all that are round about her, the daughters of the Philistines, who despise thee on every side. 58Thy lewdness and thine abominations, thou bearest them, saith Jehovah. 59For thus saith the Lord Jehovah: I will even deal with thee as thou hast done, who hast despised the oath, and broken the covenant.
60Nevertheless I will remember my covenant with thee in the days of thy youth, and I will establish unto thee an everlasting covenant. 61And thou shalt remember thy ways, and be confounded, when thou shalt receive thy sisters who are older than thou, together with those who are younger than thou; for I will give them unto thee for daughters, but not by virtue of thy covenant. 62And I will establish my covenant with thee, and thou shalt know that I am Jehovah; 63that thou mayest remember, and be ashamed, and no more open thy mouth because of thy confusion, when I forgive thee all that thou hast done, saith the Lord Jehovah.
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First published in 1890. This edition is maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.