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16 Again the Devar Hashem came unto me, saying,

Ben adam, cause Yerushalayim to know her to’avot (abominations),

And say, Thus saith Adonoi Hashem unto Yerushalayim: Thy origin and thy birth are from Eretz HaKena’ani; avicha was HaEmori (the Amorite) and your em Chittit (a Hittite).

And as for thy moledot (birth), in the day thou wast born thy navel cord was not cut, neither wast thou washed in mayim to cleanse thee; thou wast not salted at all, nor swaddled at all.

None eye pitied thee, to do any of these unto thee, to have compassion upon thee; but thou wast cast out into the open sadeh, when thou thyself were loathed, in your yom huledet (day of birth).

And when I passed by thee, and saw thee flailing about in thine own dahm, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy dahm, Chayi! (live!) Indeed, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy dahm, Chayi!

I have caused thee to multiply as the tzemach of the sadeh, and thou hast increased and matured, and thou art come to excellent beauty; thy breasts are fashioned, and thine hair is grown, whereas thou wast erom (naked) and bare.

Now when I passed by thee, and looked upon thee, hinei, thy time was the time of dodim (love); and I spread My kanaf (wing, corner of garment) over thee, and covered thy ervah (nakedness); indeed, I swore an oath unto thee, and entered into a brit with thee, saith Adonoi Hashem, and thou becamest Mine.

Then washed I thee with mayim; indeed, I thoroughly washed away thy dahm from thee, and I anointed thee with shemen.

10 I clothed thee also with embroidered cloth, and shod thee with tachash leather, and I girded thee about with fine linen, and I covered thee with silk.

11 I decked thee also with jewelry, and I put tzemidim (bracelets) upon thy hands, and a necklace chain on thy neck.

12 And I put a nezem (ring) in thy nose, and earrings in thine oznayim, and an ateret tiferet upon thine rosh.

13 Thus wast thou decked with zahav and kesef; and thy raiment was of fine linen, and silk, and embroidered cloth; thou didst eat fine flour, and devash, and shemen; and thou wast exceeding beautiful, and thou didst become fit for royalty.

14 And thy shem (name, renown) went forth among the Goyim on account of thy beauty; for it was perfect, through My hadar (splendor) which I had set upon thee, saith Adonoi Hashem.

15 But thou didst trust in thine own beauty, and playedst the zonah because of thy renown, and pouredst out thy harlotry on every one that passed by; his it became.

16 And of thy begadim thou didst take, and adorned thy bamot te’lu’ot (gaudy high places, cult prostitution brilliantly colored harlot "beds"), and playedst the zonah thereupon; such things should not come, neither should they be.

17 Thou hast also taken thy fair jewels of My zahav and of My kesef, which I had given thee, and madest to thyself tzelamim (images) of zakhar (male, i.e., phallic symbols), and didst play the zonah with them,

18 And tookest thy embroidered garments, and coveredst them [the idols]; and thou hast set Mine shemen and Mine ketoret before them [the idols].

19 My lechem also which I gave thee, solet (fine flour), and shemen, and devash, wherewith I fed thee, thou hast even set it before them [the idols] for a re’ach hannichoach; and it was thus, saith Adonoi Hashem.

20 Moreover thou hast taken thy banim and thy banot, whom thou hast borne unto Me, and these hast thou sacrificed unto them [the idols] to be devoured. Was this thy zonah harlotry not enough,

21 That thou hast slaughtered My banim, and offered them to cause them to pass through the eish for them [the idols]?

22 And in all thine to’avot and thy zonah harlotry thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, when thou wast erom (naked) and bare, and wast flailing about in thy dahm.

23 And it came to pass after all thy ra’ah (wickedness)‖Oy, oy unto thee! saith Adonoi Hashem.

24 That thou hast also built unto thee a gev (eminent place, cult prostitution shrine), and hast made thee a ramah (platform) in every rechov (public square).

25 Thou hast built thy ramah at rosh derech (crossroad), and hast made thy beauty to be abhorred, and hast spread open thy raglayim to every one that passed by, and multiplied thy zonah harlotry.

26 Thou hast also played the zonah fornicator with the Mitzrayim, thy very fleshy neighbors; and hast increased thy zonah harlotry, to provoke Me to anger.

27 Hinei, therefore I have stretched out My yad against thee, and have diminished thine food ration, and delivered thee unto the nefesh (passionate desire) of them that hate thee, the banot Pelishtim (daughters of the Philistines), which are ashamed of thy derech zimmah (lewd deportment).

28 Thou hast played the zonah also with Ashur, because thou wast insatiable; indeed, thou hast played the zonah with them, and yet couldest not be satisfied.

29 Thou hast moreover multiplied thy zenut to eretz Kena’an unto Chaldea; and yet thou wast not satisfied therewith.

30 How degenerate is thine lev, saith Adonoi Hashem, seeing thou doest all these things, the work of a brazen isha zonah;

31 In that thou buildest thine gev in rosh kol derech, and makest thine ramah in every rechov; and hast not been as a zonah, in that thou scornest hire;

32 But as the isha (wife) the mena’efet (one that commiteth adultery), which taketh zarim instead of her ish!

33 They give nedeh (gifts) to all zonot; but thou givest thy nadan (gift) to all thy lovers, and hirest them, that they may come unto thee on every side for thy zenut.

34 And the opposite is in thee from other nashim in thy zonah harlotry, whereas none doth solicit thee to commit zonah harlotry: and in that thou givest an etnan (payment), and no etnan is given unto thee, therefore thou art opposite.

35 Therefore, O zonah, hear the Devar Hashem.

36 Thus saith Adonoi Hashem: Because thy passion was poured out, and thy ervah uncovered through thy zonah harlotry with thy lovers, and with all the gillulim (idols) of thy to’avot, and by the dahm of thy banim, which thou didst give unto them;

37 Hineni, 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 around about against thee, and will uncover thy ervah (nakedness) unto them, that they may see all thy ervah (nakedness, pudenda).

38 And I will judge thee, as nashim that are guilty of no’afot (acts of adulteresses, breaking wedlock) and shefach dahm are judged; and I will bring dahm upon thee in chemah (wrath) and kina (jealousy).

39 And I will also give thee into their yad, and they shall throw down thine gev, and shall break down thy ramot (high places, cult prostitution sites of pagan worship); they shall strip thee also of thy clothes, and shall take thy fair jewels, and leave thee erom (naked) and bare.

40 They shall also bring up a kahal against thee, and they shall stone thee with stones, and hack thee to bits with their charavot (swords).

41 And they shall burn thine batim (houses) with eish, and execute shefatim (judgments) upon thee in the sight of many nashim; and I will cause thee to cease from playing the zonah, and thou also shalt give no etnan (payment) any more.

42 So will I make My chemah (wrath) toward thee to rest, and My kina (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 provoked Me in all these things; therefore surely I also will repay thy derech upon thine rosh, saith Adonoi Hashem; and thou shalt not commit this zimmah (lewdness) in addition to all thine to’avot.

44 Hinei, every one that useth proverbs shall use this mashal against thee, saying, As is the imma (mother), so is her bat (daughter).

45 Thou art bat of thy em, that despised her ish and her banim; and thou art the achot (sister) of thy akhayot, which despised their anashim and their banim; your em was a Chittit (Hittite), and your av an Emori (Amorite).

46 And thine elder achot (sister) is Shomron, she and her banot that dwell to thy north; and thy younger achot, that dwelleth to thy south, is Sodom and her banot.

47 Yet hast thou not walked after their drakhim, nor done after their to’avot; but, as if that were too little a thing, thou wast corrupted more than they in all thy drakhim.

48 As I live, saith Adonoi Hashem, Sodom thy achot (sister) hath not done, she nor her banot, as thou hast done, thou and thy banot.

49 Hinei, this was the avon Sodom thy achot; ga’on (pride), over fullness of lechem, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her banot, neither did she strengthen the yad of the oni (poor) and evyon (needy).

50 And they were haughty, and committed to’evah before Me; therefore I took them away as I saw.

51 Neither hath Shomron committed half of thy chattot (sins); but thou hast multiplied thine to’avot more than they, and hast made thy akhayot (sisters) seem righteous in all thine to’avot which thou hast done.

52 Thou also, which hast judged thy akhayot (sisters), bear thine own shame for thy chattot (sins) that thou hast committed more abominable than theirs; they are more righteous than thou; indeed, be thou disgraced also, and bear thy shame, in that thou hast made thy akhayot (sisters) seem righteous.

53 When I shall restore their fortunes, the fortunes of Sodom and her banot, and the fortunes of Shomron and her banot, then will I restore the fortunes of thy fortune among them:

54 That thou mayest bear thine own shame, and mayest be disgraced in all that thou hast done, in that thou art a comfort unto them.

55 When thy akhayot (sisters), Sodom and her banot, shall return to their former state, and Shomron and her banot shall return to their former state, then thou and thy banot shall return to your former state.

56 For thy achot (sister) Sodom was not mentioned by thy mouth in the day of thy ga’on (pride),

57 Before thy ra’ah (wickedness) was uncovered, as at the time of the cherpah (disgrace) of the banot Aram (Syria), and all that are around her, the banot of the Pelishtim (Philistines), which despise thee all around.

58 Thou hast borne [the penalty of] thy zimmah (lewdness) and thine to’avot, saith Hashem.

59 For thus saith Adonoi Hashem: I will even deal with thee as thou hast done, which hast despised the oath in breaking the brit (covenant).

60 Nevertheless I will remember My Brit (covenant) with thee in the days of thy youth, and I will establish unto thee a Brit Olam.

61 Then thou shalt remember thy drakhim, and be ashamed, when thou shalt receive thy akhayot (sisters), thine elder and thy younger; and I will give them unto thee for banot, but not because of thy brit (convenant) [i.e., Sodom and Shomron had no covenant with Hashem].

62 And I will establish My Brit (covenant) with thee; and thou shalt know that I am Hashem;

63 That thou mayest remember, and be ashamed, and never open thy mouth any more because of thy shame, when I have made kapporah (atonement, i.e., when I am pacified, appeased) toward thee for all that thou hast done, saith Adonoi Hashem.

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