Ezekiel 16:1–11

God’s Faithless Bride

¹⁶The word of the Lord came to me: ²Mortal, make known to Jerusalem her abominations^{* 3}and say: Thus says the Lord God to Jerusalem: Your origin and your birth were in the land of the Canaanites; your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite.^{* 4}As for your birth, on the day you were born your navel cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water to cleanse you, nor rubbed with salt, nor wrapped in cloths.^{* 5}No eye pitied you to do any of these things for you out of compassion for you, but you were thrown out in the open field, for you were abhorred on the day you were born.^*

⁶I passed by you and saw you flailing about in your blood. As you lay in your blood, I said to you, “Live!^{* 7}and grow up^p like a plant of the field.” You grew up and became tall and arrived at full womanhood;^q your breasts were formed, and your hair had grown, yet you were naked and bare.^*

⁸I passed by you again and looked on you; you were at the age for love. I spread the edge of my cloak over you and covered your nakedness: I pledged myself to you and entered into a covenant with you, says the Lord God, and you became mine.^{* 9}Then I bathed you with water and washed off the blood from you and anointed you with oil. ¹⁰I clothed you with embroidered cloth and with sandals of fine leather; I bound you in fine linen and covered you with rich fabric.^{r 11}I adorned you with ornaments: I put bracelets on your arms, a chain on your neck,^*