Ezekiel 16:15–43

15 “ ‘But you trusted in your beauty and acted like a prostitute because of your fame.l You lavished your sexual favors on everyone who passed by.m Your beauty became his.A 16 You took some of your clothing and made colorful high places for yourself, and you engaged in prostitution on them. These places should not have been built, and this should never have happened!A 17 You also took your beautiful jewelry made from the gold and silver I had given you, and you made male images so that you could engage in prostitution with them.n 18 Then you took your embroidered clothing to cover them and set my oil and incense before them. 19 The food that I gave you—the fine flour, oil, and honey that I fed you—you set it before them as a pleasing aroma.o That is what happened. This is the declaration of the Lord God.

20 “ ‘You even took your sons and daughters you bore to me and sacrificed them to these images as food.p Wasn’t your prostitution enough? 21 You slaughtered my children and gave them up when you passed them through the fireq to the images. 22 In all your detestable practices and acts of prostitution, you did not remember the days of your youthr when you were stark naked and thrashing around in your blood.

23 “ ‘Then after all your evil—Woe, woe to you!—the declaration of the Lord God—24 you built yourself a mound and made yourself an elevated place in every square.s 25 You built your elevated place at the head of every streett and turned your beauty into a detestable thing. You spread your legs to everyone who passed by and increased your prostitution. 26 You engaged in promiscuous acts with Egyptian men, your well-endowed neighbors, and increased your prostitutionu to anger me.

27 “ ‘Therefore, I stretched out my hand against you and reduced your provisions. I gave you over to the desire of those who hate you, the Philistine women,v who were embarrassed by your indecent conduct. 28 Then you engaged in prostitution with the Assyrian men because you were not satisfied.w Even though you did this with them, you were still not satisfied. 29 So you extended your prostitution to Chaldea,x the land of merchants, but you were not even satisfied with this!

30 “ ‘How your heart was inflamed with lustB—the declaration of the Lord God—when you did all these things, the acts of a brazen prostitute, 31 building your mound at the head of every street and making your elevated place in every square. But you were unlike a prostitute because you scorned payment.a 32 You adulterous wife, who receives strangers instead of her husband! 33 Men give gifts to all prostitutes, but you gave gifts to all your lovers. You bribed them to come to you from all around for your sexual favors. 34 So you were the opposite of other women in your acts of prostitution; no one solicited you. When you paid a fee instead of one being paid to you, you were the opposite.

35 “ ‘Therefore, you prostitute, hear the word of the Lord! 36 This is what the Lord God says: Because your lust was poured out and your nakedness exposed by your acts of prostitution with your lovers, and because of all your detestable idols and the blood of your children that you gave to them,b 37 I am therefore going to gather all the lovers you pleasedc —all those you loved as well as all those you hated. I will gather them against you from all around and expose your nakednessd to them so they see you completely naked. 38 I will judge you the way adulteresses and those who shed blood are judged.e Then I will bring about the shedding of your blood in jealous wrath.f 39 I will hand you over to them, and they will demolish your mounds and tear down your elevated places. They will strip off your clothes,g take your beautiful jewelry, and leave you stark naked. 40 They will bring a mob against youh to stone you and to cut you to pieces with their swords. 41 They will burn your houses and execute judgments against you in the sight of many women. I will stop you from being a prostitute,i and you will never again pay fees for lovers. 42 So I will satisfy my wrath against you,j and my jealousy will turn away from you. Then I will be calm and no longer angry. 43 Because you did not remember the daysk of your youth but enraged me with all these things, I will also bring your conduct down on your own head.l This is the declaration of the Lord God. Haven’t you committed depravity in addition to all your detestable practices?