God’s Love for Jerusalem

16 Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, acause Jerusalem to know her abominations, 3 and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God to Jerusalem: “Your 1birth band your nativity are from the land of Canaan; cyour father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite. 4 As for your nativity, don the day you were born your navel cord was not cut, nor were you washed in water to cleanse you; you were not rubbed with salt nor wrapped in swaddling cloths. 5 No eye pitied you, to do any of these things for you, to have compassion on you; but you were thrown out into the open field, when you yourself were 2loathed on the day you were born.

6 “And when I passed by you and saw you struggling in your own blood, I said to you in your blood, ‘Live!’ Yes, I said to you in your blood, ‘Live!’ 7 eI made you 3thrive like a plant in the field; and you grew, matured, and became very beautiful. Your breasts were formed, your hair grew, but you were naked and bare.

8 “When I passed by you again and looked upon you, indeed your time was the time of love; fso I spread 4My wing over you and covered your nakedness. Yes, I gswore an oath to you and entered into a hcovenant with you, and iyou became Mine,” says the Lord God.

9 “Then I washed you in water; yes, I thoroughly washed off your blood, and I anointed you with oil. 10 I clothed you in embroidered cloth and gave you sandals of 5badger skin; I clothed you with fine linen and covered you with silk. 11 I adorned you with ornaments, jput bracelets on your wrists, kand a chain on your neck. 12 And I put a 6jewel in your nose, earrings in your ears, and a beautiful crown on your head. 13 Thus you were adorned with gold and silver, and your clothing was of fine linen, silk, and embroidered cloth. lYou ate pastry of fine flour, honey, and oil. You were exceedingly mbeautiful, and succeeded to royalty. 14 nYour fame went out among the nations because of your beauty, for it was perfect through My splendor which I had bestowed on you,” says the Lord God.

Jerusalem’s Harlotry

15 o“But you trusted in your own beauty, pplayed the harlot because of your fame, and poured out your harlotry on everyone passing by who would have it. 16 qYou took some of your garments and adorned multicolored 7high places for yourself, and played the harlot on them. Such things should not happen, nor be. 17 You have also taken your beautiful jewelry from My gold and My silver, which I had given you, and made for yourself male images and played the harlot with them. 18 You took your embroidered garments and covered them, and you set My oil and My incense before them. 19 Also rMy food which I gave you—the pastry of fine flour, oil, and honey which I fed you—you set it before them as 8sweet incense; and so it was,” says the Lord God.

20 s“Moreover you took your sons and your daughters, whom you bore to Me, and these you sacrificed to them to be devoured. Were your acts of harlotry a small matter, 21 that you have slain My children and offered them up to them by causing them to pass through the tfire? 22 And in all your abominations and acts of harlotry you did not remember the days of your uyouth, vwhen you were naked and bare, struggling in your blood.