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Ezekiel 13-16
Common English Bible

Against the prophets

13 The Lord’s word came to me: 2 Human one, prophesy to Israel’s prophets who prophesy from their own imaginations. Say, Hear the Lord’s word! 3 The Lord God proclaims: Doom to the foolish prophets who follow their own whims but see nothing. 4 Israel, your prophets have been like jackals among ruins. 5 You haven’t gone up into the breach or reinforced the wall of the house of Israel, so that it might withstand the battle on the day of the Lord. 6 They saw worthless visions and performed deceptive divinations. Even though the Lord didn’t send them, they said, “This is what the Lord says” and expected their word to stand. 7 Didn’t you see worthless visions? And didn’t you report deceptive divinations and say, “This is what the Lord says,” even though I didn’t speak?

8 Therefore, the Lord God proclaims: Because you spoke worthless things and had false visions, I’m against you. This is what the Lord God says! 9 I’ll wield my power against the prophets, those seers of nothingness and diviners of lies. They won’t be included in my people’s council, or recorded in the house of Israel’s official records, or enter Israel’s fertile land. Then you will know that I am the Lord.

10 Without a doubt, they led my people astray, saying “Peace” when there was no peace, and “He is building a wall” when they were the ones who laid on the plaster. 11 Say to those who laid on the plaster that it will fall. When the flooding rains appear and I send hailstones, it will collapse, and the storm winds will break it apart. 12 The wall will certainly fall. Won’t it be said about you, “Where is your plaster now?”

13 Therefore, the Lord God proclaims: In my fury I will make a storm wind break out, and in my anger there will be flooding rains and hailstones in consuming wrath. 14 I will tear down the wall on which you laid plaster. I will raze it to the ground and expose its foundation. When it falls, you will be destroyed with it, and you will know that I am the Lord. 15 I will exhaust my fury on the wall and on those who laid plaster on it. Then I will say to you, “Where is the wall?”[a] and “Where are those who plastered it, 16 those prophets of Israel who prophesied to Jerusalem and envisioned peace when there was no peace?” This is what the Lord God says!

17 You, human one, face the daughters of your people, those women who prophesy from their imaginations. Prophesy against them 18 and say, The Lord God proclaims: Doom to the women who sew bands on every wrist and make veils for heads of all sizes to entrap human lives. Will you ensnare my people’s lives but preserve your own? 19 When you degrade me to my people for handfuls of barley and bread crumbs, you mislead my gullible people, and you bring about the death of those who shouldn’t die and keep alive those who shouldn’t live.

20 Therefore, the Lord God proclaims: I’m against the bands that you use to trap human lives.[b] I will tear them from your arms, and I will set free the lives that you’ve trapped like birds. 21 I will tear off your veils and snatch my people out of your clutches. They will be prey in your clutches no longer. Then you will know that I am the Lord. 22 You hurt the righteous with slander—I didn’t wound them!—and you strengthened the hands of the wicked so that they survived without changing their evil ways! 23 Therefore, you will no longer see empty visions or perform divinations. I will rescue my people from your clutches, and you will know that I am the Lord.

False devotion

14 When some of the elders of the house of Israel came to sit in my presence, 2 the Lord’s word came to me: 3 Human one, these men decide on their own to set up their idols, so the cause of their downfall is right in front of them. Why should I allow them to ask me anything? 4 Therefore, speak to them and tell them, The Lord God proclaims: If anyone from the house of Israel decides on his own to set up his idols and puts the cause of his downfall right in front of him, but then comes to the prophet, I, the Lord, will require an answer from him through his many idols. 5 So I’ll seize the hearts of the house of Israel, whose idols have made them all strangers to me.

6 Therefore, say to the house of Israel, The Lord God proclaims: Come back! Turn away from your idols and from all your detestable practices. Turn away! 7 Or anyone of the house of Israel or any immigrant in Israel who becomes estranged from me by deciding on their own to set up their idols and puts the cause of their downfall right in front of them, but then comes to the prophet to ask me something through him, I, the Lord, will require an answer. 8 I will confront that one. I will set them up as a sign and an object lesson, and I will cut them off from my people. Then you will know that I am the Lord.

9 As for the prophet who was seduced into speaking a word, even though it was I, the Lord, who seduced that prophet, I will use my power against him and cut him off completely from my people Israel. 10 The prophet and the inquirer alike will bear their guilt, 11 so that the house of Israel won’t stray away from me again or make themselves impure with any of their sins. They will be my people, and I will be their God. This is what the Lord God says!

Failed request

12 The Lord’s word came to me: 13 Human one, suppose a land sins against me by acting faithlessly, so that I use my power against it, break off its food supply, let famine run rampant, and eliminate both humans and animals. 14 If these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, lived there, their lives alone would be saved because they were righteous. This is what the Lord God says. 15 Or suppose I allow wild animals to roam through the land, and it becomes so wild that no one can live there or even travel through it on account of the wild animals. 16 If these three men lived there, as surely as I live, proclaims the Lord God, they wouldn’t be able to rescue even their sons or daughters. They alone would be rescued, but the land would become a ruin. 17 Or suppose I bring a sword against that land and command the sword to pass through and eliminate both humans and animals. 18 If these three men lived there, as surely as I live, proclaims the Lord God, they wouldn’t be able to rescue even their sons or daughters. They alone would be rescued. 19 Or suppose I send a plague against that land and pour out my fury on it. With great bloodshed I would eliminate both humans and animals. 20 If Noah, Daniel, and Job lived there, as surely as I live, proclaims the Lord God, they wouldn’t be able to rescue either sons or daughters. But they would save their lives because they were righteous.

21 The Lord God proclaims: How much more if I send all four of these terrible acts of judgment—sword, famine, wild animals, and plague—against Jerusalem, to eliminate both humans and animals? 22 Yet a few survivors will be left. Sons and daughters will be brought out to you. When you see their ways and their deeds, you will be consoled for the evil that I inflicted on Jerusalem, for all that I brought against it. 23 Seeing their ways and their deeds will bring you some consolation, because then you will understand what I’ve done, and that I didn’t do any of these things without cause. This is what the Lord God says.

The vine’s wood

15 The Lord’s word came to me: 2 Human one, how is the vine’s wood better than the wood of all the trees in the forest? 3 Can you make anything useful from its wood? Can you make a peg from it and hang objects on it? 4 If not, can it be used as firewood? Fire would consume its two ends, but its middle part would only get charred. So is it useful for anything? 5 Look, even when it was whole, it was worthless. Now that the fire has consumed it, and it is charred, it’s even more useless.

6 Therefore, the Lord God proclaims: Of all the trees in the forest, I have decreed that the vine’s wood is destined to be consumed by fire. So also have I decreed for those who live in Jerusalem, 7 and I have confronted them. They may try to go out from the fire, but the fire will consume them. You will know that I am the Lord, because I confronted them. 8 I will turn the land into a ruin because they acted faithlessly, proclaims the Lord God.

Jerusalem’s unfaithfulness

16 The Lord’s word came to me: 2 Human one, show Jerusalem her detestable practices. 3 Say, The Lord God proclaims to Jerusalem: By origin and birth you are from the land of Canaan. Your father was an Amorite, your mother a Hittite. 4 This is how you were treated on the day you were born: Your umbilical cord wasn’t cut, you weren’t washed clean with water or rubbed with salt, and you weren’t wrapped in blankets. 5 No one took pity or cared enough to do any of these things for you. You were despised on the day of your birth and thrown out on the open field. 6 When I happened to come by, I saw you flailing about in your blood. I said to you while you were still bloody, “Live!” 7 I helped you to flourish like a young plant in the field, and you grew tall and became wonderfully endowed. Your breasts were firm, your hair beautifully thick. And you were completely naked.

8 When I passed by you, I realized that you were ready for love. So I spread my cloak over you and covered your nakedness. I made a solemn promise and entered into a covenant with you, and you became mine. This is what the Lord God says. 9 Then I washed you with water, rinsed off your blood, and poured oil on you. 10 I clothed you with colorful garments, put fine sandals on you, wrapped your head in linen, and covered you with jewels. 11 I adorned you with fine jewelry, and put bracelets on your wrists and a necklace around your neck. 12 I put a ring in your nose, earrings in your ears, and a beautiful crown on your head. 13 I adorned you with gold and silver, and your garments were made of the finest linen and brocade. You ate the finest flour, honey, and oil. You became very beautiful, fit for royalty. 14 Among the nations you were famous for your beauty. It was perfect because of the splendor that I had given you. This is what the Lord God says.

15 But you trusted in your beauty and traded on your fame. At every opportunity, you seduced all who came by. 16 You took some of your clothing to make colorful shrines and prostituted yourself in them. 17 You took the beautiful gold and silver jewelry that I had given to you, and you made male images for yourself and prostituted yourself with them. 18 You took your fine garments and clothed them. You set my oil and incense before them. 19 You set my food that I had given you to eat—fine wheat, oil, and honey—before them as a pleasing aroma. This is what the Lord God says. 20 You took your sons and daughters, which you had borne to me, and you sacrificed these to them so they could consume them. Was this promiscuity of yours a small thing? 21 You slaughtered my sons and placed them in the fire for them! 22 In all your detestable practices and promiscuities, you didn’t remember the days of your infancy when you lay completely naked, flailing about in your blood.

23 After all your wickedness—doom, doom to you, proclaims the Lord God— 24 you built a pavilion for yourself and set up platforms in every square. 25 At every crossroad you built your platform and degraded your beauty by spreading your legs to all comers. And so you encouraged even more promiscuity. 26 You prostituted yourself with the Egyptians, your neighbors with the large sexual organs, and as you added to your seductions, you provoked me to anger. 27 So I used my power against you, cut off your allowance, and gave you up to the passions of the Philistine women who had been confounded by your infamous ways and had rejected you. 28 Still not satisfied, you prostituted yourself to the Assyrians, but they weren’t enough for you either. 29 So you prostituted yourself with the Babylonians, the land of traders, but again you weren’t satisfied. 30 How sick was your heart—the Lord God proclaims—that you could do all these things, the deeds of a hardened prostitute. 31 But you weren’t like an ordinary prostitute! When you built your pavilion at the head of every street and made your platform in every square, you refused to be paid. 32 You are like an adulterous wife: you take in strangers instead of your husband. 33 Ordinary prostitutes are given gifts, but you gave your gifts to all your lovers. From every direction you even bribed them to come to you for your sexual favors. 34 As a prostitute, you were more perverse than other women. No one approached you for sexual favors, but you yourself gave gifts instead of receiving them. You are perversion itself! 35 Therefore, you prostitute, hear the Lord’s word!

36 The Lord God proclaims: You were in a constant state of arousal[c] and exposed yourself when you acted like a prostitute with your lovers and with the idols to which you gave your children’s blood. 37 Therefore, I will now gather all of your lovers whom you pleased, the ones you loved and the ones you rejected. I will gather them against you from all around, and I will expose you to them. They will see it all. 38 I will convict you of adultery and murder, and I will hand you over in bloody fury and zeal. 39 I will hand you over to them, and they will tear down your pavilion and destroy your platforms. They will strip you of your garments, take your beautiful jewels, and they will leave you completely naked. 40 They will bring an army against you, pelt you with stones, and slaughter you with their swords. 41 They will burn down your houses and execute judgments against you in the sight of many women. I will bring an end to your prostitution; indeed, you will never again give payment. 42 When I’ve satisfied my anger, and my rage has turned away from you, I will be calm and no longer angry. 43 Because you didn’t remember your youthful days, and infuriated me with all these things, I will hold you accountable for what you’ve done. This is what the Lord God says.

Have you not added bad reputation to all your detestable acts? 44 Now everyone who speaks in proverbs will say this about you: “Like mother, like daughter.” 45 You are your mother’s daughter! She loathed her husband and also her children. You are just like your sisters too! They also loathed their husbands and children. Your mother was a Hittite, and your father was an Amorite. 46 Your older sister is Samaria, who lives with her daughters in the north. Your younger sister is Sodom, who lives with her daughters in the south. 47 You didn’t follow in their ways or engage in their detestable practices in any small way. You were far more destructive. 48 As surely as I live, says the Lord God, not even your sister Sodom and her daughters did what you and your daughters have done! 49 This is the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were proud, had plenty to eat, and enjoyed peace and prosperity; but she didn’t help the poor and the needy. 50 They became haughty and did detestable things in front of me, and I turned away from them as soon as I saw it.

51 Samaria didn’t sin even half as much as you did. You’ve so outstripped her in multiplying your detestable practices, with all the detestable things you’ve done, that you’ve even made your sisters seem innocent. 52 Bear your disgrace, which has actually improved your sisters’ position. Because your sins and detestable acts were greater than theirs, they are now more righteous than you. Be ashamed, and bear the disgrace of making your sisters righteous! 53 I will improve the circumstances of Sodom and her daughters and the circumstances of Samaria and her daughters. And what’s left of your fortune will go to them, 54 so that you will bear your disgrace and be humiliated by all that you’ve done to make them feel better. 55 Then your sister Sodom and her daughters will return to their former state, and your sister Samaria and her daughters will return to their former state. You and your daughters will return to your former state, 56 but you will no longer talk about your sister Sodom as in your haughty days 57 before your wickedness was exposed. You are now the reproach of all the daughters of Edom[d] and all those around her, including the daughters of the Philistines. They mock you on every side. 58 You alone must bear your bad reputation and your detestable ways. This is what the Lord says.

59 The Lord God proclaims: I will do to you just as you have done, despising solemn pledges and breaking covenants. 60 Nevertheless, I will remember my covenant with you when you were young, and I will establish an everlasting covenant with you. 61 And you will remember your ways and be ashamed, when in spite of your covenant I[e] take your big sisters and little sisters from you and give them back to you as daughters. 62 I myself will establish my covenant with you, and you will know that I am the Lord. 63 Then you will remember and be ashamed, and you won’t even open your mouth because of your shame, after I’ve forgiven you for all that you’ve done. This is what the Lord God says.

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 13:15 Syr, cf 13:12; MT There is no wall.
  2. Ezekiel 13:20 LXX; MT adds like birds.
  3. Ezekiel 16:36 Heb uncertain
  4. Ezekiel 16:57 Syr; MT Aram
  5. Ezekiel 16:61 LXX; MT you
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Ezekiel 13-16
New International Version

False Prophets Condemned

13 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, prophesy against the prophets(A) of Israel who are now prophesying. Say to those who prophesy out of their own imagination:(B) ‘Hear the word of the Lord!(C) 3 This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Woe to the foolish[a] prophets(D) who follow their own spirit and have seen nothing!(E) 4 Your prophets, Israel, are like jackals among ruins. 5 You have not gone up to the breaches in the wall to repair(F) it for the people of Israel so that it will stand firm in the battle on the day of the Lord.(G) 6 Their visions are false(H) and their divinations a lie. Even though the Lord has not sent(I) them, they say, “The Lord declares,” and expect him to fulfill their words.(J) 7 Have you not seen false visions(K) and uttered lying divinations when you say, “The Lord declares,” though I have not spoken?

8 “‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because of your false words and lying visions, I am against you,(L) declares the Sovereign Lord. 9 My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and utter lying(M) divinations. They will not belong to the council of my people or be listed in the records(N) of Israel, nor will they enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Sovereign Lord.(O)

10 “‘Because they lead my people astray,(P) saying, “Peace,”(Q) when there is no peace, and because, when a flimsy wall is built, they cover it with whitewash,(R) 11 therefore tell those who cover it with whitewash that it is going to fall. Rain will come in torrents, and I will send hailstones(S) hurtling down,(T) and violent winds will burst forth.(U) 12 When the wall collapses, will people not ask you, “Where is the whitewash you covered it with?”

13 “‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: In my wrath I will unleash a violent wind, and in my anger hailstones(V) and torrents of rain(W) will fall with destructive fury.(X) 14 I will tear down the wall(Y) you have covered with whitewash and will level it to the ground so that its foundation(Z) will be laid bare. When it[b] falls,(AA) you will be destroyed in it; and you will know that I am the Lord. 15 So I will pour out my wrath against the wall and against those who covered it with whitewash. I will say to you, “The wall is gone and so are those who whitewashed it, 16 those prophets of Israel who prophesied to Jerusalem and saw visions of peace for her when there was no peace, declares the Sovereign Lord.(AB)”’

17 “Now, son of man, set your face(AC) against the daughters(AD) of your people who prophesy out of their own imagination. Prophesy against them(AE) 18 and say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Woe to the women who sew magic charms on all their wrists and make veils of various lengths for their heads in order to ensnare people. Will you ensnare the lives of my people but preserve your own? 19 You have profaned(AF) me among my people for a few handfuls of barley and scraps of bread.(AG) By lying to my people, who listen to lies, you have killed those who should not have died and have spared those who should not live.(AH)

20 “‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against your magic charms with which you ensnare people like birds and I will tear them from your arms; I will set free the people that you ensnare like birds.(AI) 21 I will tear off your veils and save my people from your hands, and they will no longer fall prey to your power. Then you will know that I am the Lord.(AJ) 22 Because you disheartened the righteous with your lies,(AK) when I had brought them no grief, and because you encouraged the wicked not to turn from their evil ways and so save their lives,(AL) 23 therefore you will no longer see false visions(AM) or practice divination.(AN) I will save(AO) my people from your hands. And then you will know that I am the Lord.(AP)’”

Idolaters Condemned

14 Some of the elders of Israel came to me and sat down in front of me.(AQ) 2 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 3 “Son of man, these men have set up idols in their hearts(AR) and put wicked stumbling blocks(AS) before their faces. Should I let them inquire of me at all?(AT) 4 Therefore speak to them and tell them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: When any of the Israelites set up idols in their hearts and put a wicked stumbling block before their faces and then go to a prophet, I the Lord will answer them myself in keeping with their great idolatry. 5 I will do this to recapture the hearts of the people of Israel, who have all deserted(AU) me for their idols.’(AV)

6 “Therefore say to the people of Israel, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Repent!(AW) Turn from your idols and renounce all your detestable practices!(AX)

7 “‘When any of the Israelites or any foreigner(AY) residing in Israel separate themselves from me and set up idols in their hearts and put a wicked stumbling block(AZ) before their faces and then go to a prophet to inquire(BA) of me, I the Lord will answer them myself. 8 I will set my face against(BB) them and make them an example(BC) and a byword.(BD) I will remove them from my people. Then you will know that I am the Lord.(BE)

9 “‘And if the prophet(BF) is enticed(BG) to utter a prophecy, I the Lord have enticed that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand against him and destroy him from among my people Israel.(BH) 10 They will bear their guilt—the prophet will be as guilty as the one who consults him. 11 Then the people of Israel will no longer stray(BI) from me, nor will they defile themselves anymore with all their sins. They will be my people,(BJ) and I will be their God, declares the Sovereign Lord.(BK)’”

Jerusalem’s Judgment Inescapable

12 The word of the Lord came to me: 13 “Son of man, if a country sins(BL) against me by being unfaithful and I stretch out my hand against it to cut off its food supply(BM) and send famine upon it and kill its people and their animals,(BN) 14 even if these three men—Noah,(BO) Daniel[c](BP) and Job(BQ)—were in it, they could save only themselves by their righteousness,(BR) declares the Sovereign Lord.

15 “Or if I send wild beasts(BS) through that country and they leave it childless and it becomes desolate so that no one can pass through it because of the beasts,(BT) 16 as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, even if these three men were in it, they could not save their own sons or daughters. They alone would be saved, but the land would be desolate.(BU)

17 “Or if I bring a sword(BV) against that country and say, ‘Let the sword pass throughout the land,’ and I kill its people and their animals,(BW) 18 as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, even if these three men were in it, they could not save their own sons or daughters. They alone would be saved.

19 “Or if I send a plague into that land and pour out my wrath(BX) on it through bloodshed,(BY) killing its people and their animals,(BZ) 20 as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, even if Noah, Daniel and Job were in it, they could save neither son nor daughter. They would save only themselves by their righteousness.(CA)

21 “For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: How much worse will it be when I send against Jerusalem my four dreadful judgments(CB)—sword(CC) and famine(CD) and wild beasts and plague(CE)—to kill its men and their animals!(CF) 22 Yet there will be some survivors(CG)—sons and daughters who will be brought out of it.(CH) They will come to you, and when you see their conduct(CI) and their actions, you will be consoled(CJ) regarding the disaster I have brought on Jerusalem—every disaster I have brought on it. 23 You will be consoled when you see their conduct and their actions, for you will know that I have done nothing in it without cause, declares the Sovereign Lord.(CK)”

Jerusalem as a Useless Vine

15 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, how is the wood of a vine(CL) different from that of a branch from any of the trees in the forest? 3 Is wood ever taken from it to make anything useful?(CM) Do they make pegs(CN) from it to hang things on? 4 And after it is thrown on the fire as fuel and the fire burns both ends and chars the middle, is it then useful for anything?(CO) 5 If it was not useful for anything when it was whole, how much less can it be made into something useful when the fire has burned it and it is charred?

6 “Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: As I have given the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest as fuel for the fire, so will I treat the people living in Jerusalem. 7 I will set my face against(CP) them. Although they have come out of the fire(CQ), the fire will yet consume them. And when I set my face against them, you will know that I am the Lord.(CR) 8 I will make the land desolate(CS) because they have been unfaithful,(CT) declares the Sovereign Lord.”

Jerusalem as an Adulterous Wife

16 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, confront(CU) Jerusalem with her detestable practices(CV) 3 and say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says to Jerusalem: Your ancestry(CW) and birth were in the land of the Canaanites; your father(CX) was an Amorite(CY) and your mother a Hittite.(CZ) 4 On the day you were born(DA) 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!”[d](DB) 7 I made you grow(DC) 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.(DD)

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(DE) over you and covered your naked body. I gave you my solemn oath and entered into a covenant(DF) with you, declares the Sovereign Lord, and you became mine.(DG)

9 “‘I bathed you with water and washed(DH) the blood from you and put ointments on you. 10 I clothed you with an embroidered(DI) dress and put sandals of fine leather on you. I dressed you in fine linen(DJ) and covered you with costly garments.(DK) 11 I adorned you with jewelry:(DL) I put bracelets(DM) on your arms and a necklace(DN) around your neck, 12 and I put a ring on your nose,(DO) earrings(DP) on your ears and a beautiful crown(DQ) on your head.(DR) 13 So you were adorned with gold and silver; your clothes(DS) were of fine linen and costly fabric and embroidered cloth. Your food was honey, olive oil(DT) and the finest flour. You became very beautiful and rose to be a queen.(DU) 14 And your fame(DV) spread among the nations on account of your beauty,(DW) because the splendor I had given you made your beauty perfect, declares the Sovereign Lord.(DX)

15 “‘But you trusted in your beauty and used your fame to become a prostitute. You lavished your favors on anyone who passed by(DY) and your beauty became his.(DZ) 16 You took some of your garments to make gaudy high places,(EA) where you carried on your prostitution.(EB) You went to him, and he possessed your beauty.[e] 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.(EC) 18 And you took your embroidered clothes to put on them, and you offered my oil and incense(ED) 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.(EE)

20 “‘And you took your sons and daughters(EF) whom you bore to me(EG) and sacrificed them as food to the idols. Was your prostitution not enough?(EH) 21 You slaughtered my children and sacrificed them to the idols.(EI) 22 In all your detestable practices and your prostitution you did not remember the days of your youth,(EJ) when you were naked and bare,(EK) kicking about in your blood.(EL)

23 “‘Woe!(EM) 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(EN) in every public square.(EO) 25 At every street corner(EP) you built your lofty shrines and degraded your beauty, spreading your legs with increasing promiscuity to anyone who passed by.(EQ) 26 You engaged in prostitution(ER) with the Egyptians,(ES) your neighbors with large genitals, and aroused my anger(ET) with your increasing promiscuity.(EU) 27 So I stretched out my hand(EV) against you and reduced your territory; I gave you over(EW) to the greed of your enemies, the daughters of the Philistines,(EX) who were shocked by your lewd conduct. 28 You engaged in prostitution with the Assyrians(EY) too, because you were insatiable; and even after that, you still were not satisfied.(EZ) 29 Then you increased your promiscuity to include Babylonia,[f](FA) a land of merchants, but even with this you were not satisfied.(FB)

30 “‘I am filled with fury against you,[g] declares the Sovereign Lord, when you do all these things, acting like a brazen prostitute!(FC) 31 When you built your mounds at every street corner and made your lofty shrines(FD) 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,(FE) but you give gifts(FF) to all your lovers, bribing them to come to you from everywhere for your illicit favors.(FG) 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,(FH) 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(FI) you in front of them, and they will see you stark naked.(FJ) 38 I will sentence you to the punishment of women who commit adultery and who shed blood;(FK) I will bring on you the blood vengeance of my wrath and jealous anger.(FL) 39 Then I will deliver you into the hands(FM) 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.(FN) 40 They will bring a mob against you, who will stone(FO) you and hack you to pieces with their swords. 41 They will burn down(FP) your houses and inflict punishment on you in the sight of many women.(FQ) I will put a stop(FR) 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.(FS)

43 “‘Because you did not remember(FT) the days of your youth but enraged me with all these things, I will surely bring down(FU) on your head what you have done, declares the Sovereign Lord. Did you not add lewdness to all your other detestable practices?(FV)

44 “‘Everyone who quotes proverbs(FW) will quote this proverb about you: “Like mother, like daughter.” 45 You are a true daughter of your mother, who despised(FX) her husband(FY) 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.(FZ) 46 Your older sister(GA) 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.(GB) 47 You not only followed their ways and copied their detestable practices, but in all your ways you soon became more depraved than they.(GC) 48 As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign(GD) Lord, your sister Sodom(GE) and her daughters never did what you and your daughters have done.(GF)

49 “‘Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom:(GG) She and her daughters were arrogant,(GH) overfed and unconcerned;(GI) they did not help the poor and needy.(GJ) 50 They were haughty(GK) and did detestable things before me. Therefore I did away with them as you have seen.(GL) 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.(GM) 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(GN) than you. So then, be ashamed and bear(GO) your disgrace, for you have made your sisters appear righteous.

53 “‘However, I will restore(GP) the fortunes of Sodom and her daughters and of Samaria and her daughters, and your fortunes along with them,(GQ) 54 so that you may bear your disgrace(GR) 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.(GS) 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(GT) by the daughters of Edom[h](GU) 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.(GV)

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.(GW) 60 Yet I will remember the covenant(GX) I made with you in the days of your youth,(GY) and I will establish an everlasting covenant(GZ) with you. 61 Then you will remember your ways and be ashamed(HA) 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,(HB) but not on the basis of my covenant with you. 62 So I will establish my covenant(HC) with you, and you will know that I am the Lord.(HD) 63 Then, when I make atonement(HE) for you for all you have done, you will remember and be ashamed(HF) and never again open your mouth(HG) because of your humiliation, declares the Sovereign Lord.(HH)’”

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 13:3 Or wicked
  2. Ezekiel 13:14 Or the city
  3. Ezekiel 14:14 Or Danel, a man of renown in ancient literature; also in verse 20
  4. 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!”
  5. Ezekiel 16:16 The meaning of the Hebrew for this sentence is uncertain.
  6. Ezekiel 16:29 Or Chaldea
  7. Ezekiel 16:30 Or How feverish is your heart,
  8. Ezekiel 16:57 Many Hebrew manuscripts and Syriac; most Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint and Vulgate Aram
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