Ezekiel 16:1–11

Jerusalem as an Adulterous Wife

16The word of the Lord came to me: ²“Son of man, confront^b Jerusalem with her detestable practices^{c 3}and say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says to Jerusalem: Your ancestry^d and birth were in the land of the Canaanites; your father^e was an Amorite^f and your mother a Hittite.^{g 4}On the day you were born^h 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. ⁵No 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!”^{ai 7}I made you grow^j 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 garment^l over you and covered your naked body. I gave you my solemn oath and entered into a covenant^m with you, declares the Sovereign Lord, and you became mine.ⁿ

⁹“ ‘I bathed you with water and washed^o the blood from you and put ointments on you. ¹⁰I clothed you with an embroidered^p dress and put sandals of fine leather on you. I dressed you in fine linen^q and covered you with costly garments.^{r 11}I adorned you with jewelry:^s I put bracelets^t on your arms and a necklace^u around your neck,