Old Testament · Prophets
Ezekiel chapter 16
Press Space to select this verse for copying or sharing. Up and down arrows move between verses.
The word of came to me:“, confront Jerusalem with her and say: This is what Yahweh, the , says to Jerusalem — Your origin and your birth are from the land of the . Your father was an and your mother was a .As for what happened when you were born — on the day you were delivered, your cord was not cut, you were not washed clean with water, you were not , and you were not wrapped in cloths.No eye pitied you enough to do any of these things for you out of compassion. Instead, you were , because you were despised on the day you were born.Then I passed by you and saw you kicking around in your own , and I said to you there in your blood, ‘’ Yes, I said to you there in your blood, ‘Live!’I made you . You grew up and matured and became stunningly beautiful. Your breasts developed and your hair grew full, but you were still .Then I passed by you again and looked at you, and you had reached . So I and covered your nakedness. I made a solemn vow to you and entered into a with you, declares Yahweh, the Sovereign God, and you became mine.I bathed you with water, washed the blood off you, and .I dressed you in , gave you sandals of , wrapped you in linen, and covered you in silk.I adorned you with jewelry: bracelets on your arms and a necklace around your neck.I put a , earrings on your ears, and a beautiful on your head.So you were adorned with gold and silver, and your clothing was linen, silk, and embroidered cloth. You ate the finest flour, honey, and olive oil. You became and rose to be a .Your fame spread among the nations on account of your beauty, because it was perfect — owing to the I had bestowed on you, declares Yahweh, the Sovereign God.But you trusted in your beauty and to every passerby . It was theirs for the taking.You took some of your garments and made yourself colorful , and you prostituted yourself on them. This should never have happened — it should never exist.You also took the beautiful jewelry made of my gold and my silver, which I had given you, and you made for yourself and prostituted yourself with them.You took your embroidered garments and covered them, and you set before them.And the food I had given you — the fine flour, oil, and honey I fed you — you set it before them as a . That is exactly what happened, declares Yahweh, the Sovereign God.And you took your sons and daughters — the children you had borne to me — and to these to be devoured. Was your prostitution not enough?You slaughtered my children and handed them over by making them .And through all your disgusting practices and your prostitution, you never once remembered the days of your youth — when you were naked and bare, kicking around in your own blood.Then — , what sorrow! declares Yahweh, the Sovereign God — after all your wickedness,you built yourself a and made yourself a in every public square.At the head of every street you built your raised platform and , spreading your legs to every passerby, multiplying your prostitution.You gave yourself to the , your oversized neighbors, and multiplied your prostitution to provoke me to anger.So I stretched out my hand against you, reduced your territory, and handed you over to the will of those who hate you — the , who were shocked by your shameless conduct.Then you gave yourself to the because you still were not satisfied — you gave yourself to them and still were not satisfied.You multiplied your prostitution even further, reaching out to the , to — and even then you were not satisfied., declares Yahweh, the Sovereign God, that you do all these things — the acts of a brazen prostitute!When you built your mound at the head of every street and made your raised platform in every public square, you were not even like a real prostitute — because you refused payment!You ! You prefer strangers over your own husband!Every prostitute receives payment — but you! You gave your gifts to all your lovers, bribing them to come to you from every direction for your acts of prostitution.You are the opposite of other prostitutes: no one solicited you, and instead of receiving payment, you gave payment. You are the reverse of the norm.Therefore, prostitute — hear the word of Yahweh!This is what Yahweh, the Sovereign God, says: Because you and exposed your nakedness through your prostitution with your lovers, and because of all your disgusting idols, and because of the blood of your children that you gave to them —therefore I am going to gather all the lovers you found so pleasurable — all those you loved and all those you hated. I will gather them against you from every direction and strip you naked in front of them, and they will see you completely exposed.I will sentence you to the punishment that adulteresses and murderers receive. I will bring on you the bloodshed of fury and .I will hand you over to your lovers, and they will tear down your mounds and demolish your raised platforms. They will strip you of your clothes, take your beautiful jewelry, and leave you naked and bare.They will bring a mob against you, , and with their swords.They will burn your houses and on you in the sight of many women. I will put a stop to your prostitution, and you will no longer pay your lovers.Then my against you will subside, and my jealousy will turn away from you. I will be calm and no longer angry.Because you did not remember the days of your youth but enraged me with all these things, I will bring down on your own head what you have done, declares Yahweh, the Sovereign God. Did you not add to all your other disgusting practices?Everyone who quotes proverbs will quote this one about you: ‘.’You are truly your mother’s daughter — she despised her husband and her children. You are truly your sisters’ sister — they despised their husbands and their children. Your mother was a Hittite and your father was an Amorite.Your older sister is , who lives to your north with her daughters. Your younger sister is , who lives to your south with her daughters.You did not merely walk in their ways and copy their disgusting practices. No — as if that were too little — you acted more corruptly than they did in everything you did., declares Yahweh, the Sovereign God, your sister Sodom and her daughters never did what you and your daughters have done.Now this was the of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and , but she .They became arrogant and committed disgusting acts before me. So I removed them when I saw it.Samaria did not commit even half of your failures. You have multiplied your disgusting practices beyond theirs, and by all the disgusting things you have done, you have by comparison.Bear your own , you who have furnished an excuse for your sisters. Because your failures were more vile than theirs, they appear more upright than you. So be ashamed and bear your disgrace — you have made your sisters look upright.But I will — the fortunes of Sodom and her daughters, the fortunes of Samaria and her daughters — and your fortunes along with theirs,so that you may bear your disgrace and feel the weight of everything you have done, which actually ends up being a comfort to them.Your sisters, 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.Was not your sister Sodom a byword in your mouth in the days of your pride,before your own wickedness was exposed? Even so, you are now an object of scorn to the daughters of and all her neighbors, and to the daughters of the Philistines — all those around you who despise you.You will bear the consequences of your obscenity and your disgusting practices, declares Yahweh.This is what Yahweh, the Sovereign God, says: I will deal with you according to what you have done, because you by breaking the covenant.But I — I will remember the covenant I made with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish an with you.Then you will remember your ways and be ashamed when you receive your sisters — both the older and the younger — and I give them to you , though not on the basis of your covenant.I will establish my covenant with you, and ,so that you will remember and be so ashamed that you will , because of your disgrace — when I for you for everything you have done, declares Yahweh, the Sovereign God.