Chapter 16

God’s Grace to Unfaithful Jerusalem

1 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

2 “Son of man, amake known to Jerusalem her abominations

3 and say, ‘Thus says the Lord 1God to Jerusalem, “Your origin and your birth are from the land of the Canaanite, your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite.

4 “As for your birth, aon the day you were born your navel cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water for cleansing; you were not rubbed with salt or even wrapped in cloths.

5 “No eye looked with pity on you to do any of these things for you, to have compassion on you. Rather you were thrown out into the 1aopen field, 2for you were abhorred on the day you were born.

6 “When I passed by you and saw you squirming in your blood, I said to you while you were in your blood, ‘Live!’ Yes, I said to you while you were in your blood, ‘Live!’

7 “I amade you 1numerous like plants of the field. Then you grew up, became tall and reached the age for fine ornaments; your breasts were formed and your hair had grown. Yet you were naked and bare.

8 “Then I passed by you and saw you, and behold, 1you were at the time for love; so I aspread My skirt over you and covered your nakedness. I also bswore to you and centered into a covenant with you so that you dbecame Mine,” declares the Lord God.

9 “Then I bathed you with water, washed off your blood from you and aanointed you with oil.

10 “I also clothed you with aembroidered cloth and put sandals of porpoise skin on your feet; and I wrapped you with fine linen and covered you with silk.

11 “I adorned you with ornaments, put abracelets on your hands and a bnecklace around your neck.

12 “I also put a aring in your nostril, earrings in your ears and a bbeautiful crown on your head.

13 “Thus you were adorned with agold and silver, and your dress was of fine linen, silk and embroidered cloth. You ate fine flour, honey and oil; so you were exceedingly beautiful and advanced to broyalty.

14 “Then your afame went forth among the nations on account of your beauty, for it was bperfect because of My splendor which I bestowed on you,” declares the Lord God.

15 “But you atrusted in your beauty and bplayed the harlot because of your fame, and you poured out your harlotries on every passer-by 1who might be willing.

16 “You took some of your clothes, made for yourself high places of various colors and played the harlot on them, 1which should never come about nor happen.

17 “You also took your beautiful 1ajewels made of My gold and of My silver, which I had given you, and made for yourself male images that you might play the harlot with them.

18 “Then you took your embroidered cloth and covered them, and offered My oil and My incense before them.

19 “Also aMy bread which I gave you, fine flour, oil and honey with which I fed you, 1you would offer before them for a soothing aroma; so it happened,” declares the Lord God.

20 “Moreover, you took your sons and daughters whom you had borne to aMe and bsacrificed them to 1idols to be devoured. Were your harlotries so small a matter?

21 “You slaughtered aMy children and offered them up to 1idols by bcausing them to pass through the fire.

22 “Besides all your abominations and harlotries you did not remember the days of ayour youth, when you were naked and bare and squirming in your blood.

23 “Then it came about after all your wickedness (‘Woe, woe to you!’ declares the Lord God),

24 that you built yourself a ashrine and made yourself a bhigh place in every square.

25 “You built yourself a high place at the top of aevery street and made your beauty abominable, and you spread your legs to every passer-by to multiply your harlotry.

26 “You also played the harlot with the Egyptians, your 1lustful neighbors, and multiplied your harlotry to amake Me angry.

27 “Behold now, I have stretched out My hand against you and diminished your rations. And I delivered you up to the desire of those who hate you, the adaughters of the Philistines, who are ashamed of your lewd conduct.

28 “Moreover, you played the harlot with the aAssyrians because you were not satisfied; you played the harlot with them and still were not satisfied.

29 “You also multiplied your harlotry with the land of merchants, Chaldea, yet even with this you were not satisfied.” ’ ”

30 “How alanguishing is your heart,” declares the Lord God, “while you do all these things, the actions of a 1bbold-faced harlot.

31 “When you built your shrine at the beginning of every street and made your high place in every square, in adisdaining money, you were not like a harlot.

32 “You adulteress wife, who takes strangers instead of her husband!

33 “1Men give gifts to all harlots, but you agive your gifts to all your lovers to bribe them to come to you from every direction for your harlotries.

34 “Thus you are different from those women in your harlotries, in that no one plays the harlot 1as you do, because you give money and no money is given you; thus you are different.”

35 Therefore, O harlot, hear the word of the Lord.

36 Thus says the Lord God, “Because your lewdness was poured out and your nakedness uncovered through your harlotries with your lovers and with all your detestable aidols, and because of the blood of your sons which you gave to 1idols,

37 therefore, behold, I will agather all your lovers with whom you took pleasure, even all those whom you loved and all those whom you bhated. So I will gather them against you from every direction and cexpose your nakedness to them that they may see all your nakedness.

38 “Thus I will ajudge you like women who commit adultery or shed blood are judged; and I will bring on you the blood of bwrath and jealousy.

39 “I will also give you into 1the hands of your lovers, and they will tear down your shrines, demolish your high places, astrip you of your clothing, take away your 2jewels, and will leave you naked and bare.

40 “They will 1incite a acrowd against you and they will stone you and cut you to pieces with their swords.

41 “They will aburn your houses with fire and execute judgments on you in the sight of many women. Then I will bstop you from playing the harlot, and you will also no longer pay 1your lovers.

42 “So I awill calm My fury against you and My jealousy will depart from you, and I will be pacified and angry bno more.

43 “Because you have anot remembered the days of your youth but 1have benraged Me by all these things, behold, I in turn will cbring your conduct down on your own head,” declares the Lord God, “so that you will not commit this lewdness on top of all your other abominations.

44 “Behold, everyone who quotes aproverbs will quote this proverb concerning you, saying, ‘1Like mother, 1like daughter.’

45 “You are the daughter of your mother, who loathed her husband and children. You are also the asister of your sisters, who bloathed their husbands and children. Your mother was a Hittite and your father an Amorite.

46 “Now your aolder sister is Samaria, who lives 1north of you with her 2daughters; and your younger sister, who lives 3south of you, is bSodom with her 2daughters.

47 “Yet you have not merely walked in their ways or done according to their abominations; but, as if that were atoo little, you acted bmore corruptly in all your conduct than they.

48 “As I live,” declares the Lord God, “Sodom, your sister and her daughters have anot done as you and your daughters have done.

49 “Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had aarrogance, babundant food and ccareless ease, but she did not 1help the dpoor and needy.

50 “Thus they were haughty and committed aabominations before Me. Therefore I bremoved them 1when I saw it.

51 “Furthermore, Samaria did not commit half of your sins, for you have multiplied your abominations more than they. Thus you have made your sisters appear arighteous by all your abominations which you have committed.

52 “Also bear your disgrace in that you have 1made judgment favorable for your sisters. Because of your sins in which you acted amore abominably than they, they are more in the right than you. Yes, be also ashamed and bear your disgrace, in that you made your sisters appear righteous.

53 “Nevertheless, I will restore their captivity, the captivity of Sodom and her daughters, the captivity of Samaria and her daughters, and 1along with them 2your own captivity,

54 in order that you may bear your humiliation and feel aashamed for all that you have done when you become ba consolation to them.

55 “Your sisters, Sodom with her daughters and Samaria with her daughters, 1will return to their former state, and you with your daughters will also return to your former state.

56 “As the name of your sister Sodom was not heard from your lips in your day of pride,

57 before your awickedness was uncovered, 1so now you have become the breproach of the daughters of 2Edom and of all who are around her, of the daughters of the Philistines—those surrounding you who despise you.

58 “You have aborne the penalty of your lewdness and abominations,” the Lord declares.

59 For thus says the Lord God, “I will also do with you as you have done, you who have adespised the oath by breaking the covenant.

The Covenant Remembered

60 “Nevertheless, I will remember My covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish an aeverlasting covenant with you.

61 “Then you will aremember your ways and be ashamed when you receive your sisters, both your older and your younger; and I will give them to you as daughters, but not because of your covenant.

62 “Thus I will aestablish My covenant with you, and you shall bknow that I am the Lord,

63 so that you may aremember and be ashamed and bnever open your mouth anymore because of your humiliation, when I have cforgiven you for all that you have done,” the Lord God declares.