Judgment on Persistent Unfaithfulness

12 The word of the Lord came again to me, saying: 13 “Son of man, when a land sins against Me by persistent unfaithfulness, I will stretch out My hand against it; I will cut off its (A)supply of bread, send famine on it, and cut off man and beast from it. 14 (B)Even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver only themselves (C)by their righteousness,” says the Lord God.

15 “If I cause (D)wild beasts to pass through the land, and they [a]empty it, and make it so desolate that no man may pass through because of the beasts, 16 even (E)though these three men were [b]in it, as I live,” says the Lord God, “they would deliver neither sons nor daughters; only they would be delivered, and the land would be (F)desolate.

17 “Or if (G)I bring a sword on that land, and say, ‘Sword, go through the land,’ and I (H)cut off man and beast from it, 18 even (I)though these three men were in it, as I live,” says the Lord God, “they would deliver neither sons nor daughters, but only they themselves would be delivered.

19 “Or if I send (J)a pestilence into that land and (K)pour out My fury on it in blood, and cut off from it man and beast, 20 even (L)though Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live,” says the Lord God, “they would deliver neither son nor daughter; they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness.”

21 For thus says the Lord God: “How much more it shall be when (M)I send My four [c]severe judgments on Jerusalem—the sword and famine and wild beasts and pestilence—to cut off man and beast from it? 22 (N)Yet behold, there shall be left in it a remnant who will be (O)brought out, both sons and daughters; surely they will come out to you, and (P)you will see their ways and their doings. Then you will be comforted concerning the disaster that I have brought upon Jerusalem, all that I have brought upon it. 23 And they will comfort you, when you see their ways and their doings; and you shall know that I have done nothing (Q)without cause that I have done in it,” says the Lord God.

The Outcast Vine

15 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying: “Son of man, how is the wood of the vine better than any other wood, the vine branch which is among the trees of the forest? Is wood taken from it to make any object? Or can men make a peg from it to hang any vessel on? Instead, (R)it is thrown into the fire for fuel; the fire devours both ends of it, and its middle is burned. Is it useful for any work? Indeed, when it was whole, no object could be made from it. How much less will it be useful for any work when the fire has devoured it, and it is burned?

“Therefore thus says the Lord God: ‘Like the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so I will give up the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and (S)I will set My face against them. (T)They will go out from one fire, but another fire shall devour them. (U)Then you shall know that I am the Lord, when I set My face against them. Thus I will make the land desolate, because they have persisted in unfaithfulness,’ says the Lord God.”

God’s Love for Jerusalem

16 Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Son of man, (V)cause Jerusalem to know her abominations, and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God to Jerusalem: “Your [d]birth (W)and your nativity are from the land of Canaan; (X)your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite. As for your nativity, (Y)on 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. 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 [e]loathed on the day you were born.

“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!’ (Z)I made you [f]thrive 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.

“When I passed by you again and looked upon you, indeed your time was the time of love; (AA)so I spread [g]My wing over you and covered your nakedness. Yes, I (AB)swore an oath to you and entered into a (AC)covenant with you, and (AD)you became Mine,” says the Lord God.

“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 [h]badger skin; I clothed you with fine linen and covered you with silk. 11 I adorned you with ornaments, (AE)put bracelets on your wrists, (AF)and a chain on your neck. 12 And I put a [i]jewel 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. (AG)You ate pastry of fine flour, honey, and oil. You were exceedingly (AH)beautiful, and succeeded to royalty. 14 (AI)Your 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 (AJ)“But you trusted in your own beauty, (AK)played the harlot because of your fame, and poured out your harlotry on everyone passing by who would have it. 16 (AL)You took some of your garments and adorned multicolored [j]high 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 (AM)My food which I gave you—the pastry of fine flour, oil, and honey which I fed you—you set it before them as [k]sweet incense; and so it was,” says the Lord God.

20 (AN)“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 (AO)fire? 22 And in all your abominations and acts of harlotry you did not remember the days of your (AP)youth, (AQ)when you were naked and bare, struggling in your blood.

23 “Then it was so, after all your wickedness—‘Woe, woe to you!’ says the Lord God 24 that (AR)you also built for yourself a shrine, and (AS)made a [l]high place for yourself in every street. 25 You built your high places (AT)at the head of every road, and made your beauty to be abhorred. You offered yourself to everyone who passed by, and multiplied your acts of harlotry. 26 You also committed harlotry with (AU)the Egyptians, your very fleshly neighbors, and increased your acts of harlotry to (AV)provoke Me to anger.

27 “Behold, therefore, I stretched out My hand against you, diminished your [m]allotment, and gave you up to the will of those who hate you, (AW)the daughters of the Philistines, who were ashamed of your lewd behavior. 28 You also played the harlot with the (AX)Assyrians, because you were insatiable; indeed you played the harlot with them and still were not satisfied. 29 Moreover you multiplied your acts of harlotry as far as the land of the trader, (AY)Chaldea; and even then you were not satisfied.

30 “How degenerate is your heart!” says the Lord God, “seeing you do all these things, the deeds of a brazen harlot.

Jerusalem’s Adultery

31 (AZ)“You erected your shrine at the head of every road, and built your [n]high place in every street. Yet you were not like a harlot, because you scorned (BA)payment. 32 You are an adulterous wife, who takes strangers instead of her husband. 33 Men make payment to all harlots, but (BB)you made your payments to all your lovers, and [o]hired them to come to you from all around for your harlotry. 34 You are the opposite of other women in your harlotry, because no one solicited you to be a harlot. In that you gave payment but no payment was given you, therefore you are the opposite.”

Jerusalem’s Lovers Will Abuse Her

35 ‘Now then, O harlot, hear the word of the Lord! 36 Thus says the Lord God: “Because your filthiness was poured out and your nakedness uncovered in your harlotry with your lovers, and with all your abominable idols, and because of (BC)the blood of your children which you gave to them, 37 surely, therefore, (BD)I will gather all your lovers with whom you took pleasure, all those you loved, and all those you hated; I will gather them from all around against you and will uncover your nakedness to them, that they may see all your nakedness. 38 And I will judge you as (BE)women who break wedlock or (BF)shed blood are judged; I will bring blood upon you in fury and jealousy. 39 I will also give you into their hand, and they shall throw down your shrines and break down (BG)your [p]high places. (BH)They shall also strip you of your clothes, take your beautiful jewelry, and leave you naked and bare.

40 (BI)“They shall also bring up an assembly against you, (BJ)and they shall stone you with stones and thrust you through with their swords. 41 They shall (BK)burn your houses with fire, and (BL)execute judgments on you in the sight of many women; and I will make you (BM)cease playing the harlot, and you shall no longer hire lovers.

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 14:15 Lit. bereave it of children
  2. Ezekiel 14:16 Lit. in the midst of it
  3. Ezekiel 14:21 Lit. evil
  4. Ezekiel 16:3 origin and your birth
  5. Ezekiel 16:5 abhorred
  6. Ezekiel 16:7 Lit. a myriad
  7. Ezekiel 16:8 Or the corner of My garment
  8. Ezekiel 16:10 Or dolphin or dugong
  9. Ezekiel 16:12 Lit. ring
  10. Ezekiel 16:16 Places for pagan worship
  11. Ezekiel 16:19 Or a sweet aroma
  12. Ezekiel 16:24 Place for pagan worship
  13. Ezekiel 16:27 Allowance of food
  14. Ezekiel 16:31 Place for pagan worship
  15. Ezekiel 16:33 Or bribed
  16. Ezekiel 16:39 Places for pagan worship

Jerusalem’s Judgment Inescapable

12 The word of the Lord came to me: 13 “Son of man, if a country sins(A) against me by being unfaithful and I stretch out my hand against it to cut off its food supply(B) and send famine upon it and kill its people and their animals,(C) 14 even if these three men—Noah,(D) Daniel[a](E) and Job(F)—were in it, they could save only themselves by their righteousness,(G) declares the Sovereign Lord.

15 “Or if I send wild beasts(H) through that country and they leave it childless and it becomes desolate so that no one can pass through it because of the beasts,(I) 16 as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, even if these three men were in it, they could not save their own sons or daughters. They alone would be saved, but the land would be desolate.(J)

17 “Or if I bring a sword(K) against that country and say, ‘Let the sword pass throughout the land,’ and I kill its people and their animals,(L) 18 as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, even if these three men were in it, they could not save their own sons or daughters. They alone would be saved.

19 “Or if I send a plague into that land and pour out my wrath(M) on it through bloodshed,(N) killing its people and their animals,(O) 20 as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, even if Noah, Daniel and Job were in it, they could save neither son nor daughter. They would save only themselves by their righteousness.(P)

21 “For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: How much worse will it be when I send against Jerusalem my four dreadful judgments(Q)—sword(R) and famine(S) and wild beasts and plague(T)—to kill its men and their animals!(U) 22 Yet there will be some survivors(V)—sons and daughters who will be brought out of it.(W) They will come to you, and when you see their conduct(X) and their actions, you will be consoled(Y) regarding the disaster I have brought on Jerusalem—every disaster I have brought on it. 23 You will be consoled when you see their conduct and their actions, for you will know that I have done nothing in it without cause, declares the Sovereign Lord.(Z)

Jerusalem as a Useless Vine

15 The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, how is the wood of a vine(AA) different from that of a branch from any of the trees in the forest? Is wood ever taken from it to make anything useful?(AB) Do they make pegs(AC) from it to hang things on? And after it is thrown on the fire as fuel and the fire burns both ends and chars the middle, is it then useful for anything?(AD) If it was not useful for anything when it was whole, how much less can it be made into something useful when the fire has burned it and it is charred?

“Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: As I have given the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest as fuel for the fire, so will I treat the people living in Jerusalem. I will set my face against(AE) them. Although they have come out of the fire(AF), the fire will yet consume them. And when I set my face against them, you will know that I am the Lord.(AG) I will make the land desolate(AH) because they have been unfaithful,(AI) declares the Sovereign Lord.”

Jerusalem as an Adulterous Wife

16 The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, confront(AJ) Jerusalem with her detestable practices(AK) and say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says to Jerusalem: Your ancestry(AL) and birth were in the land of the Canaanites; your father(AM) was an Amorite(AN) and your mother a Hittite.(AO) On the day you were born(AP) 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. 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.

“‘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!”[b](AQ) I made you grow(AR) 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.(AS)

“‘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(AT) over you and covered your naked body. I gave you my solemn oath and entered into a covenant(AU) with you, declares the Sovereign Lord, and you became mine.(AV)

“‘I bathed you with water and washed(AW) the blood from you and put ointments on you. 10 I clothed you with an embroidered(AX) dress and put sandals of fine leather on you. I dressed you in fine linen(AY) and covered you with costly garments.(AZ) 11 I adorned you with jewelry:(BA) I put bracelets(BB) on your arms and a necklace(BC) around your neck, 12 and I put a ring on your nose,(BD) earrings(BE) on your ears and a beautiful crown(BF) on your head.(BG) 13 So you were adorned with gold and silver; your clothes(BH) were of fine linen and costly fabric and embroidered cloth. Your food was honey, olive oil(BI) and the finest flour. You became very beautiful and rose to be a queen.(BJ) 14 And your fame(BK) spread among the nations on account of your beauty,(BL) because the splendor I had given you made your beauty perfect, declares the Sovereign Lord.(BM)

15 “‘But you trusted in your beauty and used your fame to become a prostitute. You lavished your favors on anyone who passed by(BN) and your beauty became his.(BO) 16 You took some of your garments to make gaudy high places,(BP) where you carried on your prostitution.(BQ) You went to him, and he possessed your beauty.[c] 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.(BR) 18 And you took your embroidered clothes to put on them, and you offered my oil and incense(BS) 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.(BT)

20 “‘And you took your sons and daughters(BU) whom you bore to me(BV) and sacrificed them as food to the idols. Was your prostitution not enough?(BW) 21 You slaughtered my children and sacrificed them to the idols.(BX) 22 In all your detestable practices and your prostitution you did not remember the days of your youth,(BY) when you were naked and bare,(BZ) kicking about in your blood.(CA)

23 “‘Woe!(CB) 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 shrine(CC) in every public square.(CD) 25 At every street corner(CE) you built your lofty shrines and degraded your beauty, spreading your legs with increasing promiscuity to anyone who passed by.(CF) 26 You engaged in prostitution(CG) with the Egyptians,(CH) your neighbors with large genitals, and aroused my anger(CI) with your increasing promiscuity.(CJ) 27 So I stretched out my hand(CK) against you and reduced your territory; I gave you over(CL) to the greed of your enemies, the daughters of the Philistines,(CM) who were shocked by your lewd conduct. 28 You engaged in prostitution with the Assyrians(CN) too, because you were insatiable; and even after that, you still were not satisfied.(CO) 29 Then you increased your promiscuity to include Babylonia,[d](CP) a land of merchants, but even with this you were not satisfied.(CQ)

30 “‘I am filled with fury against you,[e] declares the Sovereign Lord, when you do all these things, acting like a brazen prostitute!(CR) 31 When you built your mounds at every street corner and made your lofty shrines(CS) 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,(CT) but you give gifts(CU) to all your lovers, bribing them to come to you from everywhere for your illicit favors.(CV) 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.

35 “‘Therefore, you prostitute, hear the word of the Lord! 36 This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because you poured out your lust and exposed your naked body in your promiscuity with your lovers, and because of all your detestable idols, and because you gave them your children’s blood,(CW) 37 therefore I am going to gather all your lovers, with whom you found pleasure, those you loved as well as those you hated. I will gather them against you from all around and will strip(CX) you in front of them, and they will see you stark naked.(CY) 38 I will sentence you to the punishment of women who commit adultery and who shed blood;(CZ) I will bring on you the blood vengeance of my wrath and jealous anger.(DA) 39 Then I will deliver you into the hands(DB) of your lovers, and they will tear down your mounds and destroy your lofty shrines. They will strip you of your clothes and take your fine jewelry and leave you stark naked.(DC) 40 They will bring a mob against you, who will stone(DD) you and hack you to pieces with their swords. 41 They will burn down(DE) your houses and inflict punishment on you in the sight of many women.(DF) I will put a stop(DG) to your prostitution, and you will no longer pay your lovers.

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 14:14 Or Danel, a man of renown in ancient literature; also in verse 20
  2. Ezekiel 16:6 A few Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint and Syriac; most Hebrew manuscripts repeat and as you lay there in your blood I said to you, “Live!”
  3. Ezekiel 16:16 The meaning of the Hebrew for this sentence is uncertain.
  4. Ezekiel 16:29 Or Chaldea
  5. Ezekiel 16:30 Or How feverish is your heart,