Ezekiel 16

Jerusalem’s Humble Beginnings

1 The word of the LORD came to me, saying,

2 “Son of man, make Jerusalem know her disgusting acts.

3 Say, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says to Jerusalem: Your roots and your birth are from the land of the Canaanites. Your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite.

4 As for your birth, on the day you were born your umbilical cord was not cut, you were not washed with water to clean you, you were not rubbed with salt, and you were not wrapped in cloths.

5 No one looked at you with pity or did any of these things for you out of compassion. You were thrown out into the open field, because people could not stand the sight of you on the day you were born.

6 When I passed by you and saw you kicking around in your blood, I said to you while you were lying there in your blood, ‘Live!’ Yes, I said to you while you were in your blood, ‘Live!’

7 I made you grow like a plant in the field. You grew up and became tall, and you reached full beauty. Your breasts formed and your hair grew, yet you were naked and bare.

The Lord’s Covenant Love

8 Then I passed by you again and saw you, and look, you were at the age for love. I spread the corner of My garment over you and covered your nakedness. I swore an oath to you and entered into a covenant with you,” declares the Lord GOD, “and you became Mine.

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

10 I clothed you with embroidered cloth, put sandals of fine leather on your feet, wrapped you in fine linen, and covered you with silk.

11 I put jewelry on you, bracelets on your wrists and a chain around your neck.

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

13 So you were adorned with gold and silver. Your clothing was fine linen, silk, and embroidered cloth. You ate fine flour, honey, and oil. You became extremely beautiful and rose to be a queen.

14 Your fame spread among the nations because of your beauty, because it was perfect through the splendor I placed on you,” declares the Lord GOD.

Jerusalem’s Unfaithfulness

15 “But you trusted in your beauty and played the prostitute because of your fame. You poured out your sexual acts on every passerby. Your beauty was theirs for the taking.

16 You took some of your clothes and made colorful high places for yourself and played the prostitute on them, things like this should never happen.

17 You took your beautiful jewelry made from My gold and My silver that I had given you, and you made male images and played the prostitute with them.

18 You took your embroidered clothes and covered them, and you set My oil and My incense before them.

19 Also My bread that I gave you, fine flour, oil, and honey that I fed you, you offered before them as a soothing aroma. That is exactly what happened,” declares the Lord GOD.

20 “You took your sons and daughters whom you bore to Me and sacrificed them to idols to be eaten. Was your prostitution not enough,

21 You slaughtered My children and offered them up when you made them pass through the fire for them.

22 In all your disgusting acts and prostitution, you did not remember the days of your youth, when you were naked and bare, kicking around in your blood.

Judgment for Spiritual Prostitution

23 “Then after all your evil, woe, woe to you,” declares the Lord GOD.

24 “You built yourself a shrine and made a high place in every public square.

25 At every street corner you built your high place and made your beauty disgusting. You spread your legs to every passerby and multiplied your prostitution.

26 You played the prostitute with the Egyptians, your lustful neighbors, and multiplied your prostitution to provoke Me to anger.

27 So I stretched out My hand against you and reduced your portion. I handed you over to the desire of those who hated you, the daughters of the Philistines, who were ashamed of your shameless behavior.

28 You also played the prostitute with the Assyrians because you were never satisfied. Even after that, you were still not satisfied.

29 You multiplied your prostitution with the land of merchants, Chaldea, but even with this you were not satisfied.

30 How weak your heart is,” declares the Lord GOD, “when you do all these things, the actions of a brazen prostitute.

31 When you built your shrine at every street corner and made your high place in every public square, you were not like a prostitute who looks for payment, you scorned the money.

32 “You adulterous wife, who takes strangers instead of her husband!

33 Men give gifts to all prostitutes, but you gave your gifts to all your lovers and bribed them to come to you from every direction for your prostitution.

34 You were the opposite of other women in your prostitution. No one asked you to be a prostitute. You paid them instead of them paying you, so you were completely backward.

The Sentence Pronounced

35 “Therefore, prostitute, hear the word of the LORD.

36 This is what the Lord GOD says: Because you poured out your lust and exposed your nakedness in your prostitution with your lovers and with all your disgusting idols, and because of the blood of your children that you gave to them,

37 I am about to gather all your lovers, everyone you pleased, everyone you loved, and everyone you hated. I will gather them against you from all around and expose your nakedness to them so they can see it all.

38 I will judge you like women who commit adultery or shed blood are judged. I will bring bloodshed on you in jealous rage.

39 I will hand you over to them, and they will tear down your shrines and smash your high places. They will strip you of your clothes, take your beautiful jewelry, and leave you naked and bare.

40 They will bring a crowd against you, stone you, and cut you to pieces with their swords.

41 They will burn your houses with fire and carry out judgments against you in front of many women. I will stop you from playing the prostitute, and you will no longer pay your lovers.

42 Then My wrath against you will subside, My jealousy will turn away, and I will be calm and no longer angry.

43 Because you did not remember the days of your youth but enraged Me with all these things, I will bring your actions down on your own head,” declares the Lord GOD. “Have you not committed this lewdness on top of all your disgusting acts,

Jerusalem Compared to Her Sisters

44 “Everyone who uses proverbs will say about you, ‘Like mother, like daughter.’

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

46 Your older sister is Samaria, who lives to the north with her daughters. Your younger sister, who lives to the south, is Sodom with her daughters.

47 Yet you did not just walk in their ways or do their disgusting acts, you quickly became more corrupt than they were in everything you did.

48 As I live,” declares the Lord GOD, “your sister Sodom and her daughters have not done as you and your daughters have done.

49 Look, this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were proud, had plenty of food, and careless ease, but she did not help the poor and needy.

50 They were arrogant and committed disgusting acts before Me, so I removed them when I saw it.

51 Samaria did not commit half of your sins. You multiplied your disgusting acts more than they did and made your sisters look righteous compared to you.

Restoration Promised

52 “Now you must bear your disgrace, because you have made judgment favorable for your sisters. Because your sins were more disgusting than theirs, they appear more righteous than you. So be ashamed and bear your disgrace, because you have made your sisters look righteous.

53 I will restore their fortunes, the fortunes of Sodom and her daughters, the fortunes of Samaria and her daughters, along with your fortunes among them,

54 so you may bear your disgrace and be ashamed of everything you have done, giving them comfort.

55 Your sister Sodom and her daughters will return to their former state, Samaria and her daughters will return to their former state, and you and your daughters will return to your former state.

56 Was not your sister Sodom a joke on your lips in the day of your pride,

57 before your wickedness was uncovered, So now you have become an insult to the daughters of Edom and all those around her, and to the daughters of the Philistines, those all around who despise you.

58 You will bear the consequences of your lewdness and disgusting acts,” declares the LORD.

Everlasting Covenant Remembered

59 “For this is what the Lord GOD says: I will deal with you as you have done, you who despised the oath by breaking the covenant.

60 But I will remember My covenant with you from the days of your youth, and I will establish an everlasting covenant with you.

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

62 I will establish My covenant with you, and you will know that I am the LORD,

63 so you may remember and be ashamed and never open your mouth again because of your disgrace, when I make atonement for you for all that you have done,” declares the Lord GOD.