Jerusalem as an Adulterous Wife

16 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, confrontb Jerusalem with her detestable practicesc 3 and say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says to Jerusalem: Your ancestryd and birth were in the land of the Canaanites; your fathere was an Amoritef and your mother a Hittite.g 4 On the day you were bornh 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 i 7 I made you growj 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.k

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 garmentl over you and covered your naked body. I gave you my solemn oath and entered into a covenantm with you, declares the Sovereign Lord, and you became mine.n

9 “ ‘I bathed you with water and washedo the blood from you and put ointments on you. 10 I clothed you with an embroideredp dress and put sandals of fine leather on you. I dressed you in fine linenq and covered you with costly garments.r 11 I adorned you with jewelry:s I put braceletst on your arms and a necklaceu around your neck, 12 and I put a ring on your nose,v earringsw on your ears and a beautiful crownx on your head.y 13 So you were adorned with gold and silver; your clothesz were of fine linen and costly fabric and embroidered cloth. Your food was honey, olive oila and the finest flour. You became very beautiful and rose to be a queen.b 14 And your famec spread among the nations on account of your beauty,d because the splendor I had given you made your beauty perfect, declares the Sovereign Lord.e

15 “ ‘But you trusted in your beauty and used your fame to become a prostitute. You lavished your favors on anyone who passed byf and your beauty became his.g 16 You took some of your garments to make gaudy high places,h where you carried on your prostitution.i 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.j 18 And you took your embroidered clothes to put on them, and you offered my oil and incensek 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.l

20 “ ‘And you took your sons and daughtersm whom you bore to men and sacrificed them as food to the idols. Was your prostitution not enough?o 21 You slaughtered my children and sacrificed them to the idols.p 22 In all your detestable practices and your prostitution you did not remember the days of your youth,q when you were naked and bare,r kicking about in your blood.s

23 “ ‘Woe!t 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 shrineu in every public square.v 25 At every street cornerw you built your lofty shrines and degraded your beauty, spreading your legs with increasing promiscuity to anyone who passed by.x 26 You engaged in prostitutiony with the Egyptians,z your neighbors with large genitals, and aroused my angera with your increasing promiscuity.b 27 So I stretched out my handc against you and reduced your territory; I gave you overd to the greed of your enemies, the daughters of the Philistines,e who were shocked by your lewd conduct. 28 You engaged in prostitution with the Assyriansf too, because you were insatiable; and even after that, you still were not satisfied.g 29 Then you increased your promiscuity to include Babylonia,c h a land of merchants, but even with this you were not satisfied.i

30 “ ‘I am filled with fury against you,d declares the Sovereign Lord, when you do all these things, acting like a brazen prostitute!j 31 When you built your mounds at every street corner and made your lofty shrinesk 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,l but you give giftsm to all your lovers, bribing them to come to you from everywhere for your illicit favors.n 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.