16 The Lord gave this message to me: 2 ‘Son of man, warn Jerusalem's people about the disgusting things that they do. 3 Say to them, “This is what the Almighty Lord says to Jerusalem's people: You were born in the land of Canaan. That is where you came from. Your father was an Amorite and your mother was a Hittite. [ a ] 4 They did not take proper care of you on the day that you were born. They did not wash you properly. They did not cut your cord. They did not put salt or oil on your skin. They did not put cloths around you. [ b ] 5 Nobody was kind enough to do any of these things for you. Instead, they threw you out into a field. Nobody loved you on the day that you were born.
6 Then I saw you as I went that way. You were lying there on the ground in your blood. You were trying to move. While you lay there, I said to you, ‘Stay alive.’ 7 I made you grow well, like the plants in a field. You became tall and beautiful, like a bright jewel. Your breasts grew and your hair became long. But you still had no clothes to cover your bare body.
8 Later, I saw you again as I went that way. I saw that you had become a woman who was old enough to marry. So I covered your bare body with my coat. I promised to marry you. I made a covenant with you so that you became my wife. That is what the Almighty Lord says.
9 Then I washed your body with water. I washed away the blood and I put sweet oil on your body. 10 I put a beautiful dress on you. I put the best leather shoes on your feet. I dressed you with clothes made from linen and other expensive cloths. 11 I put beautiful jewels on you. I put rings on your hands and a necklace around your neck. 12 I put a gold ring in your nose. I put rings in your ears. And I put a beautiful crown on your head. 13 I used gold and silver to make you beautiful. I gave you expensive clothes that were made of linen and other pretty cloth. I gave you good food to eat, flour, honey and olive oil. You became a very beautiful woman. You even became a queen. 14 The people of other nations heard news about your beauty. That was because of all the good things that I had given you to make you very beautiful. That is what the Almighty Lord says.
15 But you trusted your beauty to give you what you wanted. Because you were famous, you lived like a prostitute. You had sex with any man that you liked. They all enjoyed your beautiful body. 16 You used some of your clothes to give honour to idols. You made their altars beautiful. You had sex with those men there on your beautiful cloths. Those things should never happen! 17 You took your beautiful gold and silver rings and your jewels. You used them to make images of male idols for yourself. You worshipped them instead of me. 18 You put your beautiful clothes on them. You gave them my oil and my incense as an offering. 19 You also offered to those idols the food that I had given to you, the good flour, the olive oil and the honey. You wanted to please your idols with sweet smells. Yes, that is what happened! That is what the Almighty Lord says.
20 You also offered your sons and your daughters as sacrifices to those idols. They were my children too! But you offered them as food to your idols. Like a prostitute, you were not faithful to me. 21 But you did an even worse thing. You killed my children. You offered them as sacrifices to idols! 22 You forgot what you were like when I first found you. At that time you had no clothes to cover your bare body. You lay on the ground in your own blood. You did not remember this. Instead, you chose to do disgusting things and live as a prostitute.
23 Terrible trouble will come to you! That is what the Almighty Lord says. You did even more wicked things than these. 24 In the public places of every town you built huts to worship your idols. 25 You built these high places at the end of every street. There you made your beauty a disgusting thing. You offered your body to anyone who went past. Everyone knew that you were a prostitute. 26 You had sex with the Egyptians, who lived near to you. They were ready to have sex with you at any time. So you lived as a prostitute more and more and you made me very angry.
27 So I decided to punish you. I took from you things that belonged to you. I gave your enemies, the Philistines, power over you. Even they were ashamed because of the disgusting things that you were doing. 28 You has sex with the Assyrians, too. You wanted more and more sex! You sold yourself to them, but you still wanted more 29 You also had sex with the traders from Babylon. Like a prostitute, you sold yourself to more and more people. But they could still not make you happy. [ c ]
30 The Almighty Lord says this: Your mind no longer knows what is right. You do disgusting things, like a prostitute who is not ashamed. 31 You built places to worship your idols on every street. You offered yourself to people, like a prostitute. But you did not want them to pay you anything, as a prostitute would do.
32 You are like a wife who is not faithful. You want to have sex with strangers more than with your own husband! 33 Prostitutes receive money when they have sex with someone. Instead, you give gifts to all the men who have sex with you. You pay them to come from many different places to have sex with you. 34 Those men did not come and ask you to have sex with them. So you are different from other prostitutes. You paid money to those men. They did not pay money to you. So you are very different from those other women!
35 So listen to Lord 's message, you prostitute! 36 This is what the Almighty Lord says: You wanted to have sex with many men. You offered your bare body to them, like a prostitute. You have worshipped disgusting idols. You have killed your own children as sacrifices to those idols. 37 So listen to me! I will bring all those men that you had sex with. You liked some of them and you hated others. I will bring all of them to stand around you. Then I will remove all your clothes and they will all see your completely bare body. 38 I will punish you as you deserve, because you are an adulteress and a murderer. I am very angry with you because you have not been faithful to me. So my punishment will destroy you. 39 I will put you under the power of those men that you gave yourself to. They will destroy the places that you built for your idols. They will remove all your clothes. They will take your beautiful jewels. Then they will leave you with nothing, completely bare. 40 They will bring a crowd of people to attack you. They will throw stones at you. They will cut you in pieces with their swords. 41 They will use fire to destroy your houses. Many women will watch while those people punish you. I will stop you from having sex as a prostitute. You will no longer pay men to have sex with you. 42 I will continue to punish you until I am no longer angry with you. I will not be upset or angry any more.
43 The Almighty Lord says this: I am punishing you as you deserve for all the things that you have done. You have forgotten how I helped you when you were young. You have done many disgusting things and you have also lived like a prostitute.
44 Look! Everyone says that this proverb is true about you: A daughter will do the same things that her mother does. 45 Yes, you are a true daughter of your mother! Your mother hated her husband and her children. And you are the same as your sisters too. They also hated their husbands and their children. Your mother was a Hittite and your father was an Amorite. [ d ] 46 Your older sister was Samaria. She and her daughters lived north of you. Your younger sister was Sodom. She and her daughters lived south of you. 47 You lived like them and you did all the same disgusting things that they did. But you quickly became even worse than them. 48 Your sister Sodom and her daughters never did such wicked things as you and your daughters have done. That is true as surely as I live, says the Almighty Lord . [ e ]
49 Listen to me! This is the wicked thing that your sister Sodom did: She and her daughters were very proud. They had plenty of food to eat and they enjoyed life. But they did not help people who were poor and weak. 50 They were proud and they did whatever they wanted to do. When I saw the disgusting things that they were doing, I removed them. [ f ] 51 Samaria's people did less than half as many sins as you have done. You have done many more disgusting things than they did. The many wicked things that you have done make your sisters seem righteous!
52 So now you must accept that you are guilty. You have done such wicked things that your sisters think that they are good people. You have done much worse things than they ever did. I must punish you even more than I punished them. So you should be ashamed and you should accept your punishment. You have made your sisters seem to be righteous.
53 But one day I will cause Sodom and her daughters to enjoy life again. I will also cause Samaria and her daughters to enjoy life again. And I will also do that for you, Jerusalem. 54 You will be sorry and ashamed that you did such wicked things. Your sisters will be happy that their punishment was less than yours. 55 Sodom and her daughters will become as happy as they were before. Samaria and her daughters will become as happy as they were before. And you and your daughters will also become as happy as you were before.
56 In the days when you were proud of yourselves, you did not respect your sister Sodom. 57 But now everyone can see how wicked you are. So the other nations around you laugh at you. The people of Syria and Philistia and the nations near to them all insult you. 58 You must accept your punishment because of the disgusting things that you have done. You have not been faithful to me. That is what the Almighty Lord says.
59 This is what the Almighty Lord says: You have not done the things that you promised to do when I made a covenant with you. So I will punish you as you deserve. 60 But I will remember the covenant that I made with you when you were still young. I will make that covenant strong and it will continue for ever. 61 Then you will remember the wicked things that you have done and you will be ashamed. You will welcome again your sisters, Sodom and Samaria. I will make them like daughters for you. But they will not share in the same covenant that I make with you. 62 I will cause the covenant that I make with you to be strong. Then you will know that I am the Lord . 63 I will forgive you for your sins so that you are no longer guilty. Then you will remember your sins. You will be too ashamed to say anything. That is what the Almighty Lord says.” ’
16 Then the word of the Lord came to me. He said, 2 “Son of man, tell the people of Jerusalem about the terrible things they have done. 3 You must say, ‘This is what the Lord God says to Jerusalem: Look at your history. You were born in Canaan. Your father was an Amorite. Your mother was a Hittite. 4 Jerusalem, on the day you were born, there was no one to cut your navel cord. No one put salt on you and washed you to make you clean. No one wrapped you in cloth. 5 No one felt sorry for you or took care of you. On the day you were born, your parents threw you out into the field, because no one wanted you.
6 “‘Then I passed by. I saw you lying there, kicking in the blood. You were covered with blood, but I said, “Please live!” Yes, you were covered with blood, but I said, “Please live!” 7 I helped you grow like a plant in the field. You grew and grew. You became a young woman: your periods began, your breasts grew, and your hair began to grow. But you were still bare and naked. 8 I looked you over. I saw you were ready for love, so I spread my clothes over you [ a ] and covered your nakedness. I promised to marry you. I made the agreement [ b ] with you, and you became mine.’” This is what the Lord God said.
9 “‘I washed you in water. I poured water over you to wash away the blood that was on you, and then I put oil on your skin. 10 [ c ] I gave you a nice dress and soft leather sandals, a linen headband, and a silk scarf. 11 I also gave you some jewelry. I put bracelets on your arms and a necklace around your neck. 12 I gave you a nose ring, earrings, and a beautiful crown to wear. 13 You were beautiful in your gold and silver jewelry, and your linen, silk, and embroidered material. You ate the best foods. You were very, very beautiful, and you became the queen! 14 You became famous for your beauty, all because I made you so lovely!’” This is what the Lord God said.
15 “But you began to trust in your beauty. You used the good name you had and became unfaithful to me. You acted like a prostitute with every man who passed by. You gave yourself to them all! 16 You took your beautiful clothes and used them to decorate your places for worship. [ d ] And you acted like a prostitute there. You gave yourself to every man who came by! 17 Then you took your beautiful jewelry that I gave you, and you used the gold and silver to make statues of men, and you had sex with them too! 18 Then you took the beautiful cloth and made clothes for those statues. You took the perfume and incense I gave you and put it in front of those idols. 19 I gave you bread, honey, and oil, but you gave that food to your idols. You offered them as a sweet smell to please your false gods. You acted like a prostitute with those false gods!” This is what the Lord God said.
20 “You and I had children together, but you took our children. You killed them and gave them to those false gods! But that is only some of the evil things you did when you were unfaithful to me and went to those false gods. 21 You slaughtered [ e ] my sons and then passed them through the fire to those false gods. 22 You left me and did all those terrible things. You never remembered what happened when you were young. You did not remember that you were naked and kicking in blood when I found you.
23 “After all these evil things, … it will be very bad for you!” The Lord God said all these things. 24 “After all those things, you made a mound for worshiping that false god. You built those places for worshiping false gods on every street corner. 25 You built your mounds at the head of every road. Then you degraded your beauty. You used it to catch every man who walked by. You raised your skirt so that they could see your legs, and you acted like a prostitute with those men. 26 Then you went to Egypt, your neighbor that is always ready for sex. With more and more sexual sin, you made me angry. 27 So I punished you! I took away part of your land. I let your enemies, the daughters of the Philistines, do what they wanted to you. Even they were shocked at the evil things you did. 28 Then you went to have sex with Assyria. You could not get enough. You were never satisfied. 29 So you turned to Canaan, and then to Babylonia, and still you were not satisfied. 30 You are so weak. You let all those men cause you to sin. You acted just like a prostitute who wants to be the one in control.” This is what the Lord God said.
31 God said, “But you were not exactly like a prostitute. You built your mounds at the head of every road, and you built your places for worship at every street corner. You had sex with all those men, but you did not ask them to pay you the way a prostitute does. 32 You are a woman guilty of adultery. You would rather have sex with strangers than with your own husband. 33 Most prostitutes force men to pay them for sex, but you gave money to your many lovers. You paid all the men around to come in to have sex with you. 34 You are just the opposite of most prostitutes who force men to pay them, because you pay the men to have sex with you.”
35 Prostitute, listen to the message from the Lord . 36 This is what the Lord God says: “You have spent your money [ f ] and let your lovers and filthy gods see your naked body and have sex with you. You have killed your children and poured out their blood. This was your gift to those false gods. 37 So I am bringing all of your lovers together. I will bring all the men you loved and all the men you hated. I will bring them all together and let them see you naked. [ g ] They will see you completely naked. 38 Then I will punish you. I will punish you as a murderer and a woman who committed the sin of adultery. You will be punished as if by an angry and jealous husband. 39 I will let those lovers have you. They will destroy your mounds. They will burn your places for worship. They will tear off your clothes and take your beautiful jewelry. They will leave you bare and naked as you were when I found you . 40 They will bring a crowd of people and throw rocks at you to kill you. Then they will cut you into pieces with their swords. 41 They will burn your house. They will punish you so that all the other women can see. I will stop you from living like a prostitute. I will stop you from paying money to your lovers. 42 Then I will stop being angry and jealous. I will calm down. I will not be angry anymore. 43 Why will all these things happen? Because you did not remember what happened when you were young. You did all those bad things and made me angry. So I had to punish you for doing them, but you planned even more terrible things.” This is what the Lord God said.
44 “All the people who talk about you will now have one more thing to say. They will say, ‘Like mother, like daughter.’ 45 You are your mother’s daughter. You don’t care about your husband or your children. You are like your sister. Both of you hated your husband and your children. You are like your parents. Your mother was a Hittite and your father was an Amorite. 46 Your older sister was Samaria. She lived to the north of you with her daughters. Your younger sister was Sodom. [ h ] She lived to the south of you with her daughters. 47 You did all the terrible things they did, but you also did much worse! 48 I am the Lord God . As I live, I swear that your sister Sodom and her daughters never did as many bad things as you and your daughters.
49 “Your sister Sodom and her daughters were proud. They had too much to eat and too much time on their hands, and they did not help poor, helpless people. 50 Sodom and her daughters became too proud and began to do terrible things in front of me. So I punished them!
51 “And Samaria did only half as many bad things as you did. You did many more terrible things than Samaria! You have done so many more terrible things than your sisters have done. Sodom and Samaria seem good compared to you. 52 So you must bear your shame. You have made your sisters look good compared to you. You have done terrible things, so you should be ashamed.
53 “I destroyed Sodom and the towns around it, and I destroyed Samaria and the towns around it. And I will destroy you too, Jerusalem. But I will build those cities again, and I will rebuild you too. 54 I will comfort you. Then you will remember the terrible things you did, and you will be ashamed. 55 So you and your sisters will be rebuilt. Sodom and the towns around her, Samaria and the towns around her, and you and the towns around you will all be rebuilt.
56 “In the past, you were proud and made fun of your sister Sodom. But you will not do that again. 57 You did that before you were punished, before your neighbors started making fun of you. The daughters of Edom [ i ] and Philistia are making fun of you now. 58 Now you must suffer for the terrible things you did.” This is what the Lord said.
59 This is what the Lord God said: “I will treat you like you treated me! You broke your marriage promise. You did not respect our agreement. 60 But I will remember the agreement we made when you were young. I made an agreement with you that will continue forever! 61 I will bring your sisters to you, and I will make them your daughters. That was not in our agreement, but I will do that for you. Then you will remember the terrible things you did, and you will be ashamed. 62 So I will make my agreement with you, and you will know that I am the Lord . 63 You will remember me, and you will be so ashamed of the evil things you did that you will not be able to say anything. But I will make you pure, and you will never be ashamed again!” This is what the Lord God said.
16 Again the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations,
3 And say, Thus saith the Lord God unto Jerusalem; Thy birth and thy nativity is of the land of Canaan; thy father was an Amorite, and thy mother an Hittite.
4 And as for thy nativity, in the day thou wast born thy navel was not cut, neither wast thou washed in water to supple thee; thou wast not salted at all, nor swaddled at all.
5 None eye pitied thee, to do any of these unto thee, to have compassion upon thee; but thou wast cast out in the open field, to the lothing of thy person, in the day that thou wast born.
6 And when I passed by thee, and saw thee polluted in thine own blood, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live; yea, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live.
7 I have caused thee to multiply as the bud of the field, and thou hast increased and waxen great, and thou art come to excellent ornaments: thy breasts are fashioned, and thine hair is grown, whereas thou wast naked and bare.
8 Now when I passed by thee, and looked upon thee, behold, thy time was the time of love; and I spread my skirt over thee, and covered thy nakedness: yea, I sware unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord God , and thou becamest mine.
9 Then washed I thee with water; yea, I throughly washed away thy blood from thee, and I anointed thee with oil.
10 I clothed thee also with broidered work, and shod thee with badgers' skin, and I girded thee about with fine linen, and I covered thee with silk.
11 I decked thee also with ornaments, and I put bracelets upon thy hands, and a chain on thy neck.
12 And I put a jewel on thy forehead, and earrings in thine ears, and a beautiful crown upon thine head.
13 Thus wast thou decked with gold and silver; and thy raiment was of fine linen, and silk, and broidered work; thou didst eat fine flour, and honey, and oil: and thou wast exceeding beautiful, and thou didst prosper into a kingdom.
14 And thy renown went forth among the heathen for thy beauty: for it was perfect through my comeliness, which I had put upon thee, saith the Lord God .
15 But thou didst trust in thine own beauty, and playedst the harlot because of thy renown, and pouredst out thy fornications on every one that passed by; his it was.
16 And of thy garments thou didst take, and deckedst thy high places with divers colours, and playedst the harlot thereupon: the like things shall not come, neither shall it be so.
17 Thou hast also taken thy fair jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given thee, and madest to thyself images of men, and didst commit whoredom with them,
18 And tookest thy broidered garments, and coveredst them: and thou hast set mine oil and mine incense before them.
19 My meat also which I gave thee, fine flour, and oil, and honey, wherewith I fed thee, thou hast even set it before them for a sweet savour: and thus it was, saith the Lord God .
20 Moreover thou hast taken thy sons and thy daughters, whom thou hast borne unto me, and these hast thou sacrificed unto them to be devoured. Is this of thy whoredoms a small matter,
21 That thou hast slain my children, and delivered them to cause them to pass through the fire for them?
22 And in all thine abominations and thy whoredoms thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, when thou wast naked and bare, and wast polluted in thy blood.
23 And it came to pass after all thy wickedness, (woe, woe unto thee! saith the Lord God ;)
24 That thou hast also built unto thee an eminent place, and hast made thee an high place in every street.
25 Thou hast built thy high place at every head of the way, and hast made thy beauty to be abhorred, and hast opened thy feet to every one that passed by, and multiplied thy whoredoms.
26 Thou hast also committed fornication with the Egyptians thy neighbours, great of flesh; and hast increased thy whoredoms, to provoke me to anger.
27 Behold, therefore I have stretched out my hand over thee, and have diminished thine ordinary food, and delivered thee unto the will of them that hate thee, the daughters of the Philistines, which are ashamed of thy lewd way.
28 Thou hast played the whore also with the Assyrians, because thou wast unsatiable; yea, thou hast played the harlot with them, and yet couldest not be satisfied.
29 Thou hast moreover multiplied thy fornication in the land of Canaan unto Chaldea; and yet thou wast not satisfied therewith.
30 How weak is thine heart, saith the Lord God , seeing thou doest all these things, the work of an imperious whorish woman;
31 In that thou buildest thine eminent place in the head of every way, and makest thine high place in every street; and hast not been as an harlot, in that thou scornest hire;
32 But as a wife that committeth adultery, which taketh strangers instead of her husband!
33 They give gifts to all whores: but thou givest thy gifts to all thy lovers, and hirest them, that they may come unto thee on every side for thy whoredom.
34 And the contrary is in thee from other women in thy whoredoms, whereas none followeth thee to commit whoredoms: and in that thou givest a reward, and no reward is given unto thee, therefore thou art contrary.
35 Wherefore, O harlot, hear the word of the Lord :
36 Thus saith the Lord God ; Because thy filthiness was poured out, and thy nakedness discovered through thy whoredoms with thy lovers, and with all the idols of thy abominations, and by the blood of thy children, which thou didst give unto them;
37 Behold, therefore I will gather all thy lovers, with whom thou hast taken pleasure, and all them that thou hast loved, with all them that thou hast hated; I will even gather them round about against thee, and will discover thy nakedness unto them, that they may see all thy nakedness.
38 And I will judge thee, as women that break wedlock and shed blood are judged; and I will give thee blood in fury and jealousy.
39 And I will also give thee into their hand, and they shall throw down thine eminent place, and shall break down thy high places: they shall strip thee also of thy clothes, and shall take thy fair jewels, and leave thee naked and bare.
40 They shall also bring up a company against thee, and they shall stone thee with stones, and thrust thee through with their swords.
41 And they shall burn thine houses with fire, and execute judgments upon thee in the sight of many women: and I will cause thee to cease from playing the harlot, and thou also shalt give no hire any more.
42 So will I make my fury toward thee to rest, and my jealousy shall depart from thee, and I will be quiet, and will be no more angry.
43 Because thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, but hast fretted me in all these things; behold, therefore I also will recompense thy way upon thine head, saith the Lord God : and thou shalt not commit this lewdness above all thine abominations.
44 Behold, every one that useth proverbs shall use this proverb against thee, saying, As is the mother, so is her daughter.
45 Thou art thy mother's daughter, that lotheth her husband and her children; and thou art the sister of thy sisters, which lothed their husbands and their children: your mother was an Hittite, and your father an Amorite.
46 And thine elder sister is Samaria, she and her daughters that dwell at thy left hand: and thy younger sister, that dwelleth at thy right hand, is Sodom and her daughters.
47 Yet hast thou not walked after their ways, nor done after their abominations: but, as if that were a very little thing, thou wast corrupted more than they in all thy ways.
48 As I live, saith the Lord God , Sodom thy sister hath not done, she nor her daughters, as thou hast done, thou and thy daughters.
49 Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.
50 And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good.
51 Neither hath Samaria committed half of thy sins; but thou hast multiplied thine abominations more than they, and hast justified thy sisters in all thine abominations which thou hast done.
52 Thou also, which hast judged thy sisters, bear thine own shame for thy sins that thou hast committed more abominable than they: they are more righteous than thou: yea, be thou confounded also, and bear thy shame, in that thou hast justified thy sisters.
53 When I shall bring again their captivity, the captivity of Sodom and her daughters, and the captivity of Samaria and her daughters, then will I bring again the captivity of thy captives in the midst of them:
54 That thou mayest bear thine own shame, and mayest be confounded in all that thou hast done, in that thou art a comfort unto them.
55 When thy sisters, Sodom and her daughters, shall return to their former estate, and Samaria and her daughters shall return to their former estate, then thou and thy daughters shall return to your former estate.
56 For thy sister Sodom was not mentioned by thy mouth in the day of thy pride,
57 Before thy wickedness was discovered, as at the time of thy reproach of the daughters of Syria, and all that are round about her, the daughters of the Philistines, which despise thee round about.
58 Thou hast borne thy lewdness and thine abominations, saith the Lord .
59 For thus saith the Lord God ; I will even deal with thee as thou hast done, which hast despised the oath in breaking the covenant.
60 Nevertheless I will remember my covenant with thee in the days of thy youth, and I will establish unto thee an everlasting covenant.
61 Then thou shalt remember thy ways, and be ashamed, when thou shalt receive thy sisters, thine elder and thy younger: and I will give them unto thee for daughters, but not by thy covenant.
62 And I will establish my covenant with thee; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord :
63 That thou mayest remember, and be confounded, and never open thy mouth any more because of thy shame, when I am pacified toward thee for all that thou hast done, saith the Lord God .
16 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, ( A ) make known to Jerusalem her abominations, 3 and say, ‘This is what the Lord [ a ] God 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. 4 As for your birth, ( B ) on 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. 5 No 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 [ b ] ( C ) open field, [ c ] for 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!’ 7 I ( D ) made you [ d ] very 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, [ e ] you were at the time for love; so I ( E ) spread My [ f ] garment over you and covered your nakedness. I also ( F ) swore an oath to you and ( G ) entered into a covenant with you so that you ( H ) became Mine,” declares the Lord God . 9 “Then I bathed you with water, washed off your blood from you, and ( I ) anointed you with oil. 10 I also clothed you with ( J ) colorfully woven cloth and put sandals of [ g ] fine leather on your feet; and I wrapped you with fine linen and covered you with silk. 11 I adorned you with jewelry, put ( K ) bracelets on your wrists, and a ( L ) necklace around your neck. 12 I also put a ( M ) ring in your nose, earrings in your ears, and a ( N ) beautiful crown on your head. 13 So you were adorned with ( O ) gold 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 ( P ) royalty. 14 Then your ( Q ) fame spread among the nations on account of your beauty, for it was ( R ) perfect because of My splendor which I bestowed on you,” declares the Lord God .
15 “But you ( S ) trusted in your beauty and ( T ) became unfaithful because of your fame, and you poured out your [ h ] obscene practices on every passer-by to whom it might be tempting . 16 You took some of your clothes, made for yourself [ i ] high places of various colors, and committed prostitution on them, which should not come about nor happen. 17 You also took your beautiful [ j ] ( U ) jewels 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. 18 Then you took your colorfully woven cloth and covered them, and offered My oil and My incense before them. 19 Also ( V ) My bread which I gave you, fine flour, oil, and honey with which I fed you, [ k ] you 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 ( W ) Me and ( X ) sacrificed them to [ l ] idols to be devoured. Were your obscene practices a trivial matter? 21 You slaughtered ( Y ) My children and offered them to [ m ] idols by ( Z ) making them pass through the fire . 22 And besides all your abominations and obscene practices, you did not remember the days of ( AA ) your 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 ), 24 that you built yourself a ( AB ) shrine and made yourself a ( AC ) high place in every public square. 25 You built yourself a high place at the beginning of ( AD ) every street and made your beauty abominable, and you spread your legs to every passer-by and multiplied your obscene practice. 26 You also committed prostitution with the Egyptians, your [ n ] lustful neighbors, and multiplied your obscene practice to ( AE ) provoke Me to anger. 27 So 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 ( AF ) daughters of the Philistines, who are ashamed of your outrageous conduct. 28 Moreover, you committed prostitution with the ( AG ) Assyrians because you were not satisfied; you committed prostitution with them and still were not satisfied. 29 You also multiplied your obscene practice with the land of merchants, Chaldea; yet even with this you were not satisfied.”’”
30 “How ( AH ) feverish is your heart,” declares the Lord God , “while you do all these things, the action of a [ o ] ( AI ) bold prostitute! 31 When you built your shrine at the beginning of every street and made your high place in every public square, in ( AJ ) spurning a prostitute’s fee, you were not like a prostitute. 32 You adulteress wife, who takes strangers instead of her husband! 33 Men give gifts to all prostitutes, but you ( AK ) give 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. 34 So 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.”
35 Therefore, you prostitute, hear the word of the Lord . 36 This 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 ( AL ) idols, and because of the blood of your sons that you gave to [ p ] idols, 37 therefore, behold, I am going to ( AM ) gather all your lovers whom you pleased, all those whom you loved as well as all those whom you ( AN ) hated. So I will gather them against you from every direction and ( AO ) expose your nakedness to them so that they may see all your nakedness. 38 So I will ( AP ) judge you as women who commit adultery or shed blood are judged; and I will bring on you the blood of ( AQ ) wrath and jealousy. 39 I will also hand you over to [ q ] your lovers, and they will tear down your shrines, demolish your high places, ( AR ) strip you of your clothing, take away your [ r ] jewels, and will leave you naked and bare. 40 They will [ s ] incite a ( AS ) crowd against you, and they will stone you and cut you to pieces with their swords. 41 And they will ( AT ) burn your houses with fire and execute judgments against you in the sight of many women. Then I will ( AU ) put an end to your prostitution, and you will also no longer pay [ t ] your lovers. 42 So I ( AV ) will satisfy My fury against you and My jealousy will leave you, and I will be pacified and ( AW ) no longer be angry. 43 Since you have ( AX ) not remembered the days of your youth but [ u ] have ( AY ) caused Me unrest by all these things, behold, I in turn will ( AZ ) bring 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 ( BA ) proverbs will quote this proverb about you, saying, ‘Like [ v ] mother, like daughter.’ 45 You are the daughter of your mother, who loathed her husband and children. You are also the ( BB ) sister of your sisters, who ( BC ) loathed their husbands and children. Your mother was a Hittite and your father an Amorite. 46 Now your ( BD ) older sister is Samaria, who lives [ w ] north of you with her [ x ] daughters; and your younger sister, who lives [ y ] south of you, is ( BE ) Sodom with her [ z ] daughters. 47 Yet you have not merely walked in their ways and [ aa ] committed their abominations; but , as if that were ( BF ) too little, you also acted ( BG ) more corruptly in all your conduct than they. 48 As I live,” declares the Lord God , “Sodom, your sister and her daughters have ( BH ) not done as you and your daughters have done! 49 Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had ( BI ) arrogance, ( BJ ) plenty of food, and ( BK ) carefree ease, but she did not [ ab ] help the ( BL ) poor and needy. 50 So they were haughty and committed ( BM ) abominations before Me. Therefore I ( BN ) removed them [ ac ] when I saw it . 51 Furthermore, Samaria did not commit half of your sins, for you have multiplied your abominations more than they. So you have made your sisters appear ( BO ) innocent by all your abominations which you have committed. 52 Also, bear your disgrace in that you have [ ad ] made judgment favorable for your sisters. Because of your sins in which you acted ( BP ) more 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 [ ae ] along with them your own fortunes, 54 so that you will bear your disgrace and feel ( BQ ) ashamed for all that you have done when you become ( BR ) a consolation to them. 55 Your sisters, Sodom with her daughters and Samaria with her daughters, [ af ] will return to their former state, and you with your daughters will also return to your former state. 56 As the name of your sister Sodom was not heard from your lips in your day of pride, 57 before your ( BS ) wickedness was uncovered, [ ag ] so now you have become the ( BT ) disgrace of the daughters of [ ah ] Edom and of all who are around her, of the daughters of the Philistines—those surrounding you who despise you. 58 You have ( BU ) suffered the penalty of your outrageous sin and abominations,” the Lord declares. 59 For this is what the Lord God says: “I will also do with you as you have done, you who have ( BV ) despised the oath by breaking the covenant.
60 “Nevertheless, I will remember My covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish an ( BW ) everlasting covenant with you. 61 Then you will ( BX ) remember 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. 62 So I will ( BY ) establish My covenant with you, and you shall ( BZ ) know that I am the Lord , 63 so that you may ( CA ) remember and be ashamed, and ( CB ) not open your mouth again because of your disgrace, when I have [ ai ] ( CC ) forgiven you for all that you have done,” the Lord God declares.
16 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, confront ( A ) Jerusalem with her detestable practices ( B ) 3 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 ) 4 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. 5 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.
6 “‘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 ) 7 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 )
8 “‘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 )
9 “‘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 ) ’”
