Ezekiel 16

God’s Grace to Unfaithful Jerusalem

1Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2“Son of man, 1make known to Jerusalem her abominations, 3and say, ‘This is what the Lord 2God says to Jerusalem: “Your origin and your birth are from the land of the Canaanite; your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite. 4As for your birth, 3on the day you were born your navel cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water for cleansing; you were not rubbed with salt or even wrapped in cloths. 5No eye looked with pity on you to do any of these things for you, to have compassion on you. Rather you were thrown out into the 45open field, 6for you were abhorred on the day you were born.

6“When I passed by you and saw you squirming in your blood, I said to you while you were in your blood, ‘Live!’ Yes, I said to you while you were in your blood, ‘Live!’ 7I 7made you 8very numerous, like plants of the field. Then you grew up, became tall and reached the age for fine jewelry; your breasts were formed and your hair had grown. Yet you were naked and bare.

8“Then I passed by you and saw you, and behold, 9you were at the time for love; so I 10spread My 11garment over you and covered your nakedness. I also 12swore an oath to you and 13entered into a covenant with you so that you 14became Mine,” declares the Lord God. 9“Then I bathed you with water, washed off your blood from you, and 15anointed you with oil. 10I also clothed you with 16colorfully woven cloth and put sandals of 17fine leather on your feet; and I wrapped you with fine linen and covered you with silk. 11I adorned you with jewelry, put 18bracelets on your wrists, and a 19necklace around your neck. 12I also put a 20ring in your nose, earrings in your ears, and a 21beautiful crown on your head. 13So you were adorned with 22gold and silver, and your dress was of fine linen, silk, and colorfully woven cloth. You ate fine flour, honey, and oil; so you were exceedingly beautiful and advanced to 23royalty. 14Then your 24fame spread among the nations on account of your beauty, for it was 25perfect because of My splendor which I bestowed on you,” declares the Lord God.

15“But you 26trusted in your beauty and 27became unfaithful because of your fame, and you poured out your 28obscene practices on every passer-by to whom it might be tempting. 16You took some of your clothes, made for yourself 29high places of various colors, and committed prostitution on them, which should not come about nor happen. 17You also took your beautiful 3031jewels made of My gold and of My silver, which I had given you, and made for yourself male images so that you might commit prostitution with them. 18Then you took your colorfully woven cloth and covered them, and offered My oil and My incense before them. 19Also 32My bread which I gave you, fine flour, oil, and honey with which I fed you, 33you would offer before them for a soothing aroma; so it happened,” declares the Lord God. 20“Furthermore, you took your sons and daughters whom you had borne to 34Me and 35sacrificed them to 36idols to be devoured. Were your obscene practices a trivial matter? 21You slaughtered 37My children and offered them to 38idols by 39making them pass through the fire. 22And besides all your abominations and obscene practices, you did not remember the days of 40your youth, when you were naked and bare and squirming in your blood.

23“Then it came about after all your wickedness (‘Woe, woe to you!’ declares the Lord God), 24that you built yourself a 41shrine and made yourself a 42high place in every public square. 25You built yourself a high place at the beginning of 43every street and made your beauty abominable, and you spread your legs to every passer-by and multiplied your obscene practice. 26You also committed prostitution with the Egyptians, your 44lustful neighbors, and multiplied your obscene practice to 45provoke Me to anger. 27So behold, I have stretched out My hand against you and cut back your rations. And I turned you over to the desire of those who hate you, the 46daughters of the Philistines, who are ashamed of your outrageous conduct. 28Moreover, you committed prostitution with the 47Assyrians because you were not satisfied; you committed prostitution with them and still were not satisfied. 29You also multiplied your obscene practice with the land of merchants, Chaldea; yet even with this you were not satisfied.”’”

30“How 48feverish is your heart,” declares the Lord God, “while you do all these things, the action of a 4950bold prostitute! 31When you built your shrine at the beginning of every street and made your high place in every public square, in 51spurning a prostitute’s fee, you were not like a prostitute. 32You adulteress wife, who takes strangers instead of her husband! 33Men give gifts to all prostitutes, but you 52give your gifts to all your lovers and lavish favors on them so that they will come to you from every direction for your obscene practices. 34So it is the opposite for you from those women in your obscene practices, in that you are not approached for prostitution, and in the fact that you pay a prostitute’s fee, and no fee is paid to you; so you are the opposite.”

35Therefore, you prostitute, hear the word of the Lord. 36This is what the Lord God says: “Because your lewdness was poured out and your nakedness uncovered through your obscene practices with your lovers and with all your detestable 53idols, and because of the blood of your sons that you gave to 54idols, 37therefore, behold, I am going to 55gather all your lovers whom you pleased, all those whom you loved as well as all those whom you 56hated. So I will gather them against you from every direction and 57expose your nakedness to them so that they may see all your nakedness. 38So I will 58judge you as women who commit adultery or shed blood are judged; and I will bring on you the blood of 59wrath and jealousy. 39I will also hand you over to 60your lovers, and they will tear down your shrines, demolish your high places, 61strip you of your clothing, take away your 62jewels, and will leave you naked and bare. 40They will 63incite a 64crowd against you, and they will stone you and cut you to pieces with their swords. 41And they will 65burn your houses with fire and execute judgments against you in the sight of many women. Then I will 66put an end to your prostitution, and you will also no longer pay 67your lovers. 42So I 68will satisfy My fury against you and My jealousy will leave you, and I will be pacified and 69no longer be angry. 43Since you have 70not remembered the days of your youth but 71have 72caused Me unrest by all these things, behold, I in turn will 73bring your conduct down on your own head,” declares the Lord God, “so that you will not commit this outrageous sin in addition to all your other abominations.

44“Behold, everyone who quotes 74proverbs will quote this proverb about you, saying, ‘Like 75mother, like daughter.’ 45You are the daughter of your mother, who loathed her husband and children. You are also the 76sister of your sisters, who 77loathed their husbands and children. Your mother was a Hittite and your father an Amorite. 46Now your 78older sister is Samaria, who lives 79north of you with her 80daughters; and your younger sister, who lives 81south of you, is 82Sodom with her 83daughters. 47Yet you have not merely walked in their ways and 84committed their abominations; but, as if that were 85too little, you also acted 86more corruptly in all your conduct than they. 48As I live,” declares the Lord God, “Sodom, your sister and her daughters have 87not done as you and your daughters have done! 49Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had 88arrogance, 89plenty of food, and 90carefree ease, but she did not 91help the 92poor and needy. 50So they were haughty and committed 93abominations before Me. Therefore I 94removed them 95when I saw it. 51Furthermore, Samaria did not commit half of your sins, for you have multiplied your abominations more than they. So you have made your sisters appear 96innocent by all your abominations which you have committed. 52Also, bear your disgrace in that you have 97made judgment favorable for your sisters. Because of your sins in which you acted 98more abominably than they, they are more in the right than you. Yes, be also ashamed and bear your disgrace, in that you made your sisters appear innocent.

53“Nevertheless, I will restore their fortunes, the fortunes of Sodom and her daughters, the fortunes of Samaria and her daughters, and 99along with them your own fortunes, 54so that you will bear your disgrace and feel 100ashamed for all that you have done when you become 101a consolation to them. 55Your sisters, Sodom with her daughters and Samaria with her daughters, 102will return to their former state, and you with your daughters will also return to your former state. 56As the name of your sister Sodom was not heard from your lips in your day of pride, 57before your 103wickedness was uncovered, 104so now you have become the 105disgrace of the daughters of 106Edom and of all who are around her, of the daughters of the Philistines--those surrounding you who despise you. 58You have 107suffered the penalty of your outrageous sin and abominations,” the Lord declares. 59For this is what the Lord God says: “I will also do with you as you have done, you who have 108despised the oath by breaking the covenant.

The Covenant Remembered

60“Nevertheless, I will remember My covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish an 109everlasting covenant with you. 61Then you will 110remember your ways and be ashamed when you receive your sisters, both your older and your younger; and I will give them to you as daughters, but not because of your covenant. 62So I will 111establish My covenant with you, and you shall 112know that I am the Lord, 63so that you may 113remember and be ashamed, and 114not open your mouth again because of your disgrace, when I have 115116forgiven you for all that you have done,” the Lord God declares.