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God’s Covenant Grace to Unfaithful and Rebellious Israel

16 And the word of Yahweh came[a] to me, saying,[b] “Son of man,[c] make known to Jerusalem its detestable things, and you must say, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh to Jerusalem: Your origin and your birth were from the land of the Canaanites,[d] your father was an Amorite, and your mother was a Hittite. And as for your birth, on the day you were born[e] your umbilical cord was not cut, and you were not thoroughly washed clean with water,[f] and you were not thoroughly rubbed with salt,[g] and you were not carefully wrapped in strips of cloth.[h] No eye took pity on you[i] to do to you one of these things to show compassion for you, and you were thrown into the open field[j] in their despising of you on the day you were born.[k]

“‘And I passed by you, and I saw you kicking about in your blood, and I said to you in your blood, “Live! Grow up;[l] I will make you like a plant of the field.” And you grew up, and you became tall and reached full womanhood.[m] Your breasts were formed, and your hair had grown, but you were naked and bare.

“‘And I passed by you, and I saw you, and look, your time of lovemaking had come,[n] and so I spread out my hem over you, and I covered your nakedness, and I swore to you, and I entered into[o] a covenant with you,’ declares[p] the Lord Yahweh, ‘and you became mine.[q] And I washed you with water, and I rinsed off your blood from on you, and I anointed you with oil. 10 And 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. 11 And I adorned you with ornaments,[r] and I put a bracelet on your arms and a necklace on your neck. 12 And I put an ornamental ring on your nose and earrings on your ears and a beautiful crown[s] on your head. 13 And 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.[t] 14 And 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[u] 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.” 16 And you took from your clothes and you made for yourself colorful[v] shrines, and you prostituted on them; this had not happened before,[w] and it will not continue to happen.[x] 17 And you took your beautiful jewelry[y] made from my gold and from my silver that I had given to you, and you made for yourself male images,[z] and you prostituted with them. 18 And you took the clothes of your beautiful finished cloth, and you covered them and my oil and my incense you set before them.[aa] 19 And 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[ab] as a pleasing odor,[ac] and so it was,’ declares[ad] 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,[ae] as if your whorings were not enough.[af] 21 And you slaughtered my children, and you gave them to be sacrificed to them.[ag] 22 And in all of your detestable things and your fornication you did not remember the days of your childhood when you were naked and bare,[ah] when you were kicking about in your blood.

23 “‘And then after all of your evil! Woe, woe, to you!’ declares[ai] the Lord Yahweh. 24 ‘And then you built for yourself a mound, and you made for yourself a high place in every public square. 25 At 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. 26 And you prostituted with the Egyptians,[aj] your neighbors who were sexually aroused,[ak] and you increased your fornication to provoke me. 27 And look! I stretched out my hand against you, and I reduced your portion, and I gave you into[al] the desire of your haters, the daughters of the Philistines, who were ashamed because of your lewd conduct.[am] 28 And you prostituted with the Assyrians[an] on account of your insatiable lust,[ao] and you prostituted with them, and still you were not satisfied. 29 And you increased your fornication to the land of traders,[ap] to Chaldea, and even with this you were not satisfied. 30 How hot with fever was your heart!’ declares[aq] the Lord Yahweh. ‘When you did[ar] all of these actions of a headstrong female prostitute,[as] 31 when you built[at] your mound at the head of every street and your high place you made on every street, yet[au] you were[av] not like a prostitute, as you were scorning your harlot’s wages. 32 O, adulterous woman! In the place of her husband she received strangers. 33 To 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! 34 And it was the opposite with you from the other women in your whorings; no one solicited you as a prostitute.[aw] You gave[ax] 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. 36 Thus 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, 37 therefore, look! I am gathering all of your lovers whom you were pleased about,[ay] and all of whom you loved in addition to all of whom you hated, and I will gather them against you from everywhere,[az] and I will uncover your nakedness to them, and they will see all of your nakedness. 38 And 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. 39 And 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,[ba] and they will leave you naked and bare. 40 And they will bring up against you a crowd, and they will stone you with stones,[bb] and they will cut you to pieces with their swords. 41 And they will burn your houses with fire, and they will execute against you judgments before[bc] many women, and I will stop you from prostitution, and also a harlot’s wages you will not give[bd] again. 42 And 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. 43 Because[be] you did not remember[bf] 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[bg] the Lord Yahweh, ‘and did[bh] you not do wickedness[bi] in addition to all of your detestable things? 44 Look! Everyone quoting a proverb[bj] against you, he will quote, saying,[bk] ‘Like her mother is her daughter!’ 45 You 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. 46 And 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. 47 And you have not only gone in their ways, but[bl] you also did according to their detestable things. In such a short time[bm] you behaved more corruptly than they in all of your ways. 48 As surely as I live,’[bn] declares[bo] the Lord Yahweh, ‘surely your sister Sodom and her daughters did not do as[bp] you and your daughters did. 49 Look! This was the iniquity of Sodom, your sister: Pride, abundance of food, and prosperous ease[bq] was to her and to her daughters, and she did not sustain the needy and the poor.[br] 50 And they were proud, and they did a detestable thing before me,[bs] and I removed them because[bt] I saw it. 51 And Samaria did not sin according to even half of your sins,[bu] 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.[bv] 52 Also,[bw] you bear your disgrace, by which you furnished justification to your sisters[bx] through your sins by which you acted more abominably than they; they were more righteous than you, and also,[by] you be ashamed and bear your disgrace through your making your sister righteous.

53 And 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, 54 in order that you may bear your disgrace and you may be put to shame because of all that you did at your consoling them. 55 And 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. 56 And was not Sodom, your sister, a byword in your mouth in the day of your pride 57 before[bz] 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. 58 Your wickedness and your detestable things, you, you must bear them,’ declares[ca] Yahweh. 59 ‘For thus says the Lord Yahweh: And I will do it[cb] to you according to what you have done,[cc] who despised the oath to break covenant. 60 And I, I will remember my covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish with you an everlasting covenant.[cd] 61 And you will remember your ways, and you will be ashamed when you take your sisters, both the older and the younger,[ce] and I give them to you as daughters, but not on account of your covenant. 62 And I, I will establish my covenant with you, and you will know that I am Yahweh, 63 in order that you will remember, and you will be ashamed, and you will not open your mouth again[cf] because of[cg] your disgrace when I forgive you for all that you have done!’” declares[ch] the Lord Yahweh.

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 16:1 Literally “was”
  2. Ezekiel 16:1 Literally “to say”
  3. Ezekiel 16:2 Or “mortal,” or “son of humankind”
  4. Ezekiel 16:3 Hebrew “Canaanite”
  5. Ezekiel 16:4 Literally “on the day of being born you”
  6. Ezekiel 16:4 Literally “with water not you were cleansed for cleansing”
  7. Ezekiel 16:4 Literally “being rubbed with salt you were not rubbed with salt”
  8. Ezekiel 16:4 Literally “being wrapped in strips of cloth not you were wrapped in strips of cloth”
  9. Ezekiel 16:5 Literally “not took pity on you an eye”
  10. Ezekiel 16:5 Literally “to the face of the field”
  11. Ezekiel 16:5 Literally “on the day of being born you”
  12. Ezekiel 16:7 Or “A myriad I have made you
  13. Ezekiel 16:7 Literally “ornament of ornaments”
  14. Ezekiel 16:8 Literally “your time was the time of lovemaking”
  15. Ezekiel 16:8 Hebrew “in”
  16. Ezekiel 16:8 Literally “declaration of”
  17. Ezekiel 16:8 Literally “and you were to me”
  18. Ezekiel 16:11 Hebrew “ornament”
  19. Ezekiel 16:12 Literally “a crown of splendor”
  20. Ezekiel 16:13 Literally “you could succeed to queenship”
  21. Ezekiel 16:14 Literally “declaration of”
  22. Ezekiel 16:16 Or “gaudy”
  23. Ezekiel 16:16 Literally “Not were happening”
  24. Ezekiel 16:16 Literally “and not it will be”; Hebrew text unclear
  25. Ezekiel 16:17 Literally “the jewelry of splendor”
  26. Ezekiel 16:17 Literally “images of a male”
  27. Ezekiel 16:18 Literally “to the face of them”
  28. Ezekiel 16:19 Literally “to the face of them”
  29. Ezekiel 16:19 Literally “a scent of an incense”
  30. Ezekiel 16:19 Literally “declaration of”
  31. Ezekiel 16:20 Or “consumed”
  32. Ezekiel 16:20 Literally “it was too little from your whorings”
  33. Ezekiel 16:21 Literally “to cause them to cross over to them”
  34. Ezekiel 16:22 Literally “at your being naked and bare”
  35. Ezekiel 16:23 Literally “declaration of”
  36. Ezekiel 16:26 Literally “sons/children of Egypt”
  37. Ezekiel 16:26 Literally “those being great of flesh”
  38. Ezekiel 16:27 Hebrew “in”
  39. Ezekiel 16:27 Literally “your way of life
  40. Ezekiel 16:28 Literally “sons/children of Assyria”
  41. Ezekiel 16:28 Literally “of no your satisfaction”
  42. Ezekiel 16:29 Hebrew “trader”
  43. Ezekiel 16:30 Literally “declaration of”
  44. Ezekiel 16:30 Literally “at/in you to do”
  45. Ezekiel 16:30 Literally “deeds of a woman prostituting domineering”
  46. Ezekiel 16:31 Literally “at/in building your”
  47. Ezekiel 16:31 Hebrew “and”
  48. Ezekiel 16:31 According to the reading tradition (Qere)
  49. Ezekiel 16:34 Literally “and after you not he solicited a prostitute”
  50. Ezekiel 16:34 Literally “And at your giving”
  51. Ezekiel 16:37 Literally “whom you were pleased about them”
  52. Ezekiel 16:37 Literally “all around”
  53. Ezekiel 16:39 Literally “the objects of your splendor”
  54. Ezekiel 16:40 Hebrew “stone”
  55. Ezekiel 16:41 Literally “to the eyes of”
  56. Ezekiel 16:41 Or “pay”
  57. Ezekiel 16:43 Literally “because that”
  58. Ezekiel 16:43 According to the reading tradition (Qere) with BHS
  59. Ezekiel 16:43 Literally “declaration of”
  60. Ezekiel 16:43 According to the reading tradition (Qere); cf. BHS
  61. Ezekiel 16:43 Literally “the wickedness”
  62. Ezekiel 16:44 Literally “proverbing a proverb”
  63. Ezekiel 16:44 Literally “to say”
  64. Ezekiel 16:47 Or “and”
  65. Ezekiel 16:47 Literally “as few little and”
  66. Ezekiel 16:48 Literally “live I”
  67. Ezekiel 16:48 Literally “declaration of”
  68. Ezekiel 16:48 Hebrew “as that”
  69. Ezekiel 16:49 Literally “and ease of granting relief”
  70. Ezekiel 16:49 Literally “And the hand of the needy and the poor not she did take hold of”
  71. Ezekiel 16:50 Literally “to the face of me”
  72. Ezekiel 16:50 Literally “as that”
  73. Ezekiel 16:51 Literally “about/as/like the half of sins your not did she sin”
  74. Ezekiel 16:51 According to the reading tradition (Qere); cf. BHS
  75. Ezekiel 16:52 Or “indeed”
  76. Ezekiel 16:52 Hebrew “sister”
  77. Ezekiel 16:52 Or “indeed”
  78. Ezekiel 16:57 Literally “at not yet”
  79. Ezekiel 16:58 Literally “declaration of”
  80. Ezekiel 16:59 According to the reading tradition (Qere)
  81. Ezekiel 16:59 Literally “as that you have done”
  82. Ezekiel 16:60 Literally “a covenant of eternity”
  83. Ezekiel 16:61 Literally “the older from you to the younger from you”
  84. Ezekiel 16:63 Literally “and not it will be again an opening of mouth”
  85. Ezekiel 16:63 Literally “from the face of”
  86. Ezekiel 16:63 Literally “declaration of”

Jerusalem as an Adulterous Wife

16 The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, confront(A) Jerusalem with her detestable practices(B) and say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says to Jerusalem: Your ancestry(C) and birth were in the land of the Canaanites; your father(D) was an Amorite(E) and your mother a Hittite.(F) On the day you were born(G) your cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water to make you clean, nor were you rubbed with salt or wrapped in cloths. No one looked on you with pity or had compassion enough to do any of these things for you. Rather, you were thrown out into the open field, for on the day you were born you were despised.

“‘Then I passed by and saw you kicking about in your blood, and as you lay there in your blood I said to you, “Live!”[a](H) I made you grow(I) like a plant of the field. You grew and developed and entered puberty. Your breasts had formed and your hair had grown, yet you were stark naked.(J)

“‘Later I passed by, and when I looked at you and saw that you were old enough for love, I spread the corner of my garment(K) over you and covered your naked body. I gave you my solemn oath and entered into a covenant(L) with you, declares the Sovereign Lord, and you became mine.(M)

“‘I bathed you with water and washed(N) the blood from you and put ointments on you. 10 I clothed you with an embroidered(O) dress and put sandals of fine leather on you. I dressed you in fine linen(P) and covered you with costly garments.(Q) 11 I adorned you with jewelry:(R) I put bracelets(S) on your arms and a necklace(T) around your neck, 12 and I put a ring on your nose,(U) earrings(V) on your ears and a beautiful crown(W) on your head.(X) 13 So you were adorned with gold and silver; your clothes(Y) were of fine linen and costly fabric and embroidered cloth. Your food was honey, olive oil(Z) and the finest flour. You became very beautiful and rose to be a queen.(AA) 14 And your fame(AB) spread among the nations on account of your beauty,(AC) because the splendor I had given you made your beauty perfect, declares the Sovereign Lord.(AD)

15 “‘But you trusted in your beauty and used your fame to become a prostitute. You lavished your favors on anyone who passed by(AE) and your beauty became his.(AF) 16 You took some of your garments to make gaudy high places,(AG) where you carried on your prostitution.(AH) You went to him, and he possessed your beauty.[b] 17 You also took the fine jewelry I gave you, the jewelry made of my gold and silver, and you made for yourself male idols and engaged in prostitution with them.(AI) 18 And you took your embroidered clothes to put on them, and you offered my oil and incense(AJ) before them. 19 Also the food I provided for you—the flour, olive oil and honey I gave you to eat—you offered as fragrant incense before them. That is what happened, declares the Sovereign Lord.(AK)

20 “‘And you took your sons and daughters(AL) whom you bore to me(AM) and sacrificed them as food to the idols. Was your prostitution not enough?(AN) 21 You slaughtered my children and sacrificed them to the idols.(AO) 22 In all your detestable practices and your prostitution you did not remember the days of your youth,(AP) when you were naked and bare,(AQ) kicking about in your blood.(AR)

23 “‘Woe!(AS) Woe to you, declares the Sovereign Lord. In addition to all your other wickedness, 24 you built a mound for yourself and made a lofty shrine(AT) in every public square.(AU) 25 At every street corner(AV) you built your lofty shrines and degraded your beauty, spreading your legs with increasing promiscuity to anyone who passed by.(AW) 26 You engaged in prostitution(AX) with the Egyptians,(AY) your neighbors with large genitals, and aroused my anger(AZ) with your increasing promiscuity.(BA) 27 So I stretched out my hand(BB) against you and reduced your territory; I gave you over(BC) to the greed of your enemies, the daughters of the Philistines,(BD) who were shocked by your lewd conduct. 28 You engaged in prostitution with the Assyrians(BE) too, because you were insatiable; and even after that, you still were not satisfied.(BF) 29 Then you increased your promiscuity to include Babylonia,[c](BG) a land of merchants, but even with this you were not satisfied.(BH)

30 “‘I am filled with fury against you,[d] declares the Sovereign Lord, when you do all these things, acting like a brazen prostitute!(BI) 31 When you built your mounds at every street corner and made your lofty shrines(BJ) in every public square, you were unlike a prostitute, because you scorned payment.

32 “‘You adulterous wife! You prefer strangers to your own husband! 33 All prostitutes receive gifts,(BK) but you give gifts(BL) to all your lovers, bribing them to come to you from everywhere for your illicit favors.(BM) 34 So in your prostitution you are the opposite of others; no one runs after you for your favors. You are the very opposite, for you give payment and none is given to you.

35 “‘Therefore, you prostitute, hear the word of the Lord! 36 This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because you poured out your lust and exposed your naked body in your promiscuity with your lovers, and because of all your detestable idols, and because you gave them your children’s blood,(BN) 37 therefore I am going to gather all your lovers, with whom you found pleasure, those you loved as well as those you hated. I will gather them against you from all around and will strip(BO) you in front of them, and they will see you stark naked.(BP) 38 I will sentence you to the punishment of women who commit adultery and who shed blood;(BQ) I will bring on you the blood vengeance of my wrath and jealous anger.(BR) 39 Then I will deliver you into the hands(BS) of your lovers, and they will tear down your mounds and destroy your lofty shrines. They will strip you of your clothes and take your fine jewelry and leave you stark naked.(BT) 40 They will bring a mob against you, who will stone(BU) you and hack you to pieces with their swords. 41 They will burn down(BV) your houses and inflict punishment on you in the sight of many women.(BW) I will put a stop(BX) to your prostitution, and you will no longer pay your lovers. 42 Then my wrath against you will subside and my jealous anger will turn away from you; I will be calm and no longer angry.(BY)

43 “‘Because you did not remember(BZ) the days of your youth but enraged me with all these things, I will surely bring down(CA) on your head what you have done, declares the Sovereign Lord. Did you not add lewdness to all your other detestable practices?(CB)

44 “‘Everyone who quotes proverbs(CC) will quote this proverb about you: “Like mother, like daughter.” 45 You are a true daughter of your mother, who despised(CD) her husband(CE) and her children; and you are a true sister of your sisters, who despised their husbands and their children. Your mother was a Hittite and your father an Amorite.(CF) 46 Your older sister(CG) was Samaria, who lived to the north of you with her daughters; and your younger sister, who lived to the south of you with her daughters, was Sodom.(CH) 47 You not only followed their ways and copied their detestable practices, but in all your ways you soon became more depraved than they.(CI) 48 As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign(CJ) Lord, your sister Sodom(CK) and her daughters never did what you and your daughters have done.(CL)

49 “‘Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom:(CM) She and her daughters were arrogant,(CN) overfed and unconcerned;(CO) they did not help the poor and needy.(CP) 50 They were haughty(CQ) and did detestable things before me. Therefore I did away with them as you have seen.(CR) 51 Samaria did not commit half the sins you did. You have done more detestable things than they, and have made your sisters seem righteous by all these things you have done.(CS) 52 Bear your disgrace, for you have furnished some justification for your sisters. Because your sins were more vile than theirs, they appear more righteous(CT) than you. So then, be ashamed and bear(CU) your disgrace, for you have made your sisters appear righteous.

53 “‘However, I will restore(CV) the fortunes of Sodom and her daughters and of Samaria and her daughters, and your fortunes along with them,(CW) 54 so that you may bear your disgrace(CX) and be ashamed of all you have done in giving them comfort. 55 And your sisters, Sodom with her daughters and Samaria with her daughters, will return to what they were before; and you and your daughters will return to what you were before.(CY) 56 You would not even mention your sister Sodom in the day of your pride, 57 before your wickedness was uncovered. Even so, you are now scorned(CZ) by the daughters of Edom[e](DA) and all her neighbors and the daughters of the Philistines—all those around you who despise you. 58 You will bear the consequences of your lewdness and your detestable practices, declares the Lord.(DB)

59 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will deal with you as you deserve, because you have despised my oath by breaking the covenant.(DC) 60 Yet I will remember the covenant(DD) I made with you in the days of your youth,(DE) and I will establish an everlasting covenant(DF) with you. 61 Then you will remember your ways and be ashamed(DG) when you receive your sisters, both those who are older than you and those who are younger. I will give them to you as daughters,(DH) but not on the basis of my covenant with you. 62 So I will establish my covenant(DI) with you, and you will know that I am the Lord.(DJ) 63 Then, when I make atonement(DK) for you for all you have done, you will remember and be ashamed(DL) and never again open your mouth(DM) because of your humiliation, declares the Sovereign Lord.(DN)’”

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 16:6 A few Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint and Syriac; most Hebrew manuscripts repeat and as you lay there in your blood I said to you, “Live!”
  2. Ezekiel 16:16 The meaning of the Hebrew for this sentence is uncertain.
  3. Ezekiel 16:29 Or Chaldea
  4. Ezekiel 16:30 Or How feverish is your heart,
  5. Ezekiel 16:57 Many Hebrew manuscripts and Syriac; most Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint and Vulgate Aram