Eze 16 | ABEn | STEP | And [ 3 came 1 the word 2 of the lord ] to me, saying,

Ezekiel 16

CHAPTER 16 The Origins of Jerusalem

1 And [³came ¹the word ²of the lord] to me, saying, 2 O son of man, testify to Jerusalem of her lawless deeds! 3 And you shall say, Thus says Adonai the lord to Jerusalem; Your root and your birth are of the land of Canaan. Your father was an Amorite, and your mother a Hittite. 4 And concerning your birth in which day you were born, [²was not ³severed ¹your naval], and [³in ⁴water ¹you were not ²bathed] for safety, nor [²with salt ¹were you salted], and [³with swaddling-cloths ¹you were not ²swaddled], 5 nor [²spare ³over ⁴you ¹did my eye] to do for you one of all of these things, to suffer anything for you; and you were thrown away upon the face of the plain because of the deformity of your life in the day you were birthed. 6 And I went unto you, and I beheld you being befouled in your blood. And I said to you from out of your blood -- Live! Even I said to you with your blood -- Life. 7 Be multiplied! [³as ⁴the ⁵rising ⁶of the ⁷field ¹I have made ²you]. And you were multiplied, and magnified, and entered into cities of cities. Your breasts erected, and your hair rose up; but you were naked and indecent. 8 And I went by you, and beheld you. And behold, it was your time, and a time of resting up. And I opened and spread out my wings over you, and I covered your indecency, and I swore an oath to you, and entered into a covenant with you, says Adonai the lord, and you became mine. 9 And I bathed you in water, and washed your blood from you, and anointed you with oil. 10 And I clothed you in colored garments, and tied on you blue cloth; and I tied [²around ³you ¹linen], and put around you a braided belt, 11 and adorned you with ornamentation, and put bracelets around your hands, and a necklace around your neck. 12 And I gave a ring for your nose, and disks for your ears, and a crown of boasting for your head. 13 And you were adorned in gold and silver, and your wraps were fine linen, and braids, and colored garments. [²fine flour ³and ⁴olive oil ⁵and ⁶honey ¹You ate], and you became [³good ¹very ²vehemently]. And you prospered for royalty. 14 And [³went forth ¹your ²name] among the nations in your beauty; because it was being completed with attractiveness, in the beauty which I ordered up for you, says Adonai the lord. 15 And you relied in your beauty, and you committed harlotry because of your name; and you poured out your harlotry upon all in the byway -- it was to him.

Jerusalem Plays the Harlot

16 And you took from your garments, and you made for yourself idols strung together. And you fornicated upon them. And in no way should you enter nor should it be. 17 And you took the items of your boasting from my gold, and from my silver of which I gave you; and you made for yourself [²images ¹male], and you fornicated with them. 18 And you took [³clothes ²colored ¹your], and covered them. And my oil and my incense you put before their face. 19 And my bread loaves which I gave to you, fine flour and olive oil and honey, which I fed you -- even you put them before their face for a scent of pleasant aroma. Yes, it became so, says Adonai the lord. 20 And you took your sons and your daughters whom you bore, and sacrificed these to them unto consumption, as [²a little ¹you fornicated]. 21 And you slew your children, and gave them up in your pacifying them to them. 22 This is beyond all your harlotry, and your abominations. And you did not remember the days of your infancy, when you were naked and indecent, being befouled in your blood, and you lived. 23 And it came to pass after all your evils -- woe, woe to you, says Adonai the lord, 24 that you built for yourself a building for a harlot; and you made for yourself a public notice in every square. 25 And upon every corner of the way you built your places of harlotry, and laid waste your beauty. And [³led through ⁴your legs ¹every one ²passing by], and you multiplied your harlotry.

Jerusalem Fornicates with the Nations

26 And you fornicated after the sons of Egypt, of the ones adjoining you, the fleshy ones. And in many ways you fornicated to provoke me to anger. 27 And behold, I stretch out my hand against you, and I will lift away your laws, and deliver you up to the souls detesting you, daughters of Philistines, the ones turning aside from out of your way, of which you were impious. 28 And you fornicated with the sons of Assyria, and neither thus were you satisfied. Yes, you fornicated, and you were not satisfied. 29 And you multiplied your harlotries with the land of Canaan, and to the Chaldeans; and not even in these were you satisfied. 30 What shall I do to your heart, says Adonai the lord, while you do all these things, works of a woman harlot speaking openly. And you fornicated thrice among your daughters -- 31 in your building your place of harlotry at the top of every street; and [²your base ¹you made] in every square; and you became not even as a harlot bringing together hires. 32 The wife committing adultery is likened to you, the one [³from ⁴her husband ¹taking ²wages], 33 and to all the ones fornicating with her she gave [²in addition ¹wages]. And you have given wages to all your lovers; and you loaded them to come to you round about in your harlotry. 34 And became in you a perverseness beyond the other women in the harlotry of your harlotry, and with you, which they shall commit harlotry. For in your giving [²in addition ¹wages], (and wages were not given to you,) [²has taken place ³in ⁴you ¹a perverseness]. 35 On account of this, O harlot, hear the word of the lord!

The LORD's Judgment on Jerusalem

36 Thus says Adonai the lord; Because you poured out your brass money, therefore [²shall be uncovered ¹your shame] in your harlotry with your lovers, and into all the thoughts of your lawlessnesses, and in the blood of your children which you have given to them. 37 On account of this, behold, I [²against ³you ¹will gather] all your lovers in which you intermixed with them, and all whom you loved, with all the ones whom you detested. And I will bring them together against you round about. And I will uncover your evils to them, and they shall see all your shame. 38 And I will punish you with the punishment of adulterous one, and one pouring out of blood. And I will appoint you for blood of rage and zeal. 39 And I will deliver you into their hands. And they shall raze your place of harlotry, and demolish your base, and take off your garments, and take the items of your boasting, and shall leave you naked and indecent. 40 And they shall lead [²against ³you ¹multitudes], and shall stone you with stones, and shall butcher you with their swords. 41 And they shall burn your houses by fire, and they shall execute among you acts of vengeance before [²women ¹many]. And I will turn you from harlotry, and [³for wages ¹in no way ²will I give you up] any longer. 42 And I will slacken my rage against you, and [²shall be removed ¹my jealousy] from you. And I will rest, and in no way will I be anxious any longer. 43 Because you did not remember the day of your infancy, and you caused me to fret in all these things; and behold, I [²your ways ³upon ⁴your head ¹have imputed], says Adonai the lord; and so you shall not commit impiety above all your lawless deeds. 44 These are all as much as they spoke against you in a parable, saying, As the mother, so also the daughter. 45 [³the ⁴daughter ⁵of your mother ¹you ²are], the one thrusting away her husband, and her children; and sister of your brethren, of the ones thrusting away their husbands and their children. Your mother was a Hittite, and your father an Amorite.

Jerusalem is Compared to Samaria and Sodom

46 [³sister ¹Your ²older], she is Samaria, even her daughters dwelling on your left. And [³sister ¹your ²younger], the one dwelling on your right is Sodom and her daughters. 47 And neither as in their ways were you gone, nor according to their lawless deeds acted even a little, but you take precedence over them in all your ways. 48 As I live, says Adonai the lord, Has [³done ¹Sodom ²your sister], she and her daughters, in which manner you did, you and your daughters? 49 Besides this, the violation of Sodom your sister -- pride; in fullness of bread and in prosperity they lived extravagantly, she and her daughters; this existed in her and her daughters, and [³the hand ⁴of the poor ⁵and ⁶needy ¹they did not ²assist]. 50 And they bragged, and committed violations of the law before me. And I removed them as you saw. 51 And Samaria [³according to ⁴the ⁵halves ⁶of your sins ¹did not ²sin]. But you multiplied your lawless deeds above them, and justified your sisters in all your lawless deeds which you did. 52 And you, carry your torment! by which you corrupted your sisters in your sins which you acted lawlessly above them, and justified them above yourself. And you, be ashamed and take your dishonor! in that you justified your sisters. 53 And I will return their rejection, the rejection of Sodom and her daughters; and I will return the rejection of Samaria and her daughters; and I will return your rejection in the midst of them; 54 so that you should carry your torment, and be disgraced from all which you did in your provoking me to anger. 55 And your sister Sodom and her daughters shall be restored as they were from the beginning. And Samaria and her daughters shall be restored as they were from the beginning. And you and your daughters shall be restored as you were from the beginning. 56 And was not Sodom your sister for a report in your mouth in the days of your pride, 57 before the uncovering of your evils, in which manner [²now ³the scorn ¹you are] of the daughters of Syria, and all the ones round about you, even the daughters of the Philistines, of the ones compassing you round about? 58 As for your impious and your lawless deeds, you have carried them, says the lord. 59 Thus says Adonai the lord; And I will do among you as you did, as you disgraced this oath to violate my covenant. 60 And I will remember my covenant, of the one with you in the days of your infancy. And I will reestablish with you [²covenant ¹an everlasting]. 61 And you shall remember your way, and you shall be despised in your taking up your sisters, your older ones with your younger ones; and I will give them to you for edifying, but not out of your covenant. 62 And I will reestablish my covenant with you, and you shall realize that I am the lord; 63 so that you should remember and should be ashamed, and it might not be for you still to open your mouth because of the face of your dishonor in my atoning you according to all as much as you did, says Adonai the lord.