16:1 The word of the Lord came to me: 16:2 “Son of man, confront Jerusalem with her abominable practices, 16:3 and say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says to Jerusalem: Your origin and your birth were in the land of the Canaanites; your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite. 16:4 As for your birth, on the day you were born, your umbilical cord was not cut, nor were you washed in water; you were certainly not rubbed with salt, nor wrapped with clothes. 16:5 No eye took pity on you or had the compassion to do any of these things for you; you were thrown out into the open field because you were detested on the day you were born.
16:6 “‘I passed by you and saw you kicking around in your blood. I said to you as you lay there in your blood, “Live!” I said to you as you lay there in your blood, “Live!” 16:7 I made you grow like a plant in the field; you grew tall and arrived at the age where you should wear jewelry. Your breasts had formed and your hair had grown, but you were still naked and bare.
16:8 “‘Then I passed by you again and saw that you had reached the age for love. I spread my cloak over you and covered your nakedness. I swore a solemn oath to you and entered into a marriage covenant with you, declares the Sovereign Lord, and you became mine.
16:9 “‘Then I bathed you in water, washed away the blood on you, and anointed you with fragrant oil. 16:10 I dressed you in embroidered clothing and put sandals made of fine leather on your feet. I clothed you with fine linen and covered you with silk. 16:11 I adorned you with jewelry — I put bracelets on your hands, a necklace around your neck, 16:12 a ring in your nose, earrings on your ears, and a beautiful crown on your head. 16:13 You were adorned with gold and silver, while your clothing was of fine linen, silk, and embroidery. You ate the finest flour, honey, and olive oil. You became extremely beautiful and attained the position of queen. 16:14 Your fame spread among the nations because of your beauty; your beauty was perfect because of the splendor which I bestowed on you, declares the Sovereign Lord.
16:15 “‘But you trusted in your beauty and capitalized on your fame by becoming a prostitute. You offered your sexual favors to every passer-by — your beauty became his! 16:16 You took some of your clothing and made for yourself brightly colored high places; you engaged in prostitution on them. Such things should have never happened nor should they ever happen again! 16:17 You also took your beautiful jewels, some of my gold and my silver I had given to you, and made for yourself male images and engaged in prostitution with them. 16:18 You took your embroidered clothing and used it to cover them; you offered my oil and my incense to them. 16:19 As for the food that I gave you — the fine flour, olive oil, and honey I fed you — you placed it before them as a soothing aroma. That is exactly what happened, declares the Sovereign Lord.
16:20 “‘You took your sons and your daughters whom you bore to me and you sacrificed them as food for the idols to eat. As if your prostitution was not enough, 16:21 you slaughtered my sons and sacrificed them to the idols. 16:22 But with all your abominable practices and acts of prostitution you did not remember the days of your youth, when you were naked and bare, kicking around in your blood.
16:23 “‘After all of your evil — Woe! Woe to you declares the Sovereign Lord — 16:24 you built yourself a platform and made for yourself a lofty place in every public square. 16:25 At the head of every street you built your lofty place and you made your beauty disgusting when you spread your legs to every passerby, adding to your promiscuity. 16:26 You engaged in prostitution with the Egyptians, your sexually aroused neighbors, adding to your promiscuity and provoking me to anger. 16:27 So I have stretched out my hand against you and cut off your rations. I have delivered you into the power of those who hate you, the daughters of the Philistines, who were shocked by your obscene conduct. 16:28 You engaged in prostitution with the Assyrians because your sexual desires were insatiable; you prostituted yourself with them and yet you were still not satisfied. 16:29 Then you extended your promiscuity to the land of merchants, Chaldea, but you were not satisfied there either.
16:30 “‘How sick is your heart, declares the Sovereign Lord, when you perform all of these acts, the deeds of an arrogant prostitute. 16:31 When you built your platform at the head of every street and made your lofty place at every public square, you were not like a prostitute, because you scoffed at payment.
16:32 “‘Adulterous wife, who prefers strangers instead of her own husband! 16:33 All prostitutes receive payment, but instead you paid all your lovers, bribing them to come to you from all around for your sexual favors. 16:34 You were different from other prostitutes because no one solicited you — you gave payment and no payment was given to you — yes, you were different!
16:35 “‘Therefore O prostitute, hear the word of the Lord: 16:36 This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because your lust was poured out and your nakedness was uncovered in your prostitution with your lovers, and because of all your detestable idols, and because of the blood of your sons you have given to them, 16:37 therefore, I am gathering all your lovers whom you enjoyed and all whom you loved and all whom you have hated. I will gather them against you from all around, and I will expose your nakedness to them, and they will see all your nakedness. 16:38 I will punish as an adulteress and murderer deserves. I will avenge your bloody deeds with furious rage. 16:39 I will give you into their hands and they will destroy your platforms and tear down your lofty places. They will strip you of your clothing and take your beautiful jewelry and leave you naked and bare. 16:40 They will summon a mob who will stone you and hack you in pieces with their swords. 16:41 They will burn down your houses and execute judgments on you in front of many women. I will put a stop to your prostitution, and you will no longer pay your clients. 16:42 I will vent my rage on you; then my fury will turn from you. I will calm down and no longer be angry.
16:43 “‘Because you did not remember the days of your youth and enraged me by all these deeds, I will repay you for what you have done.” declares the Sovereign Lord. Have you not engaged in prostitution on top of all your other abominable practices?
16:44 “‘Now everyone who quotes proverbs will quote this proverb about you: “Like mother, like daughter.” 16:45 You are the daughter of your mother, who detested her husband and her sons; and you are the sister of your sisters who detested their husbands and their sons. Your mother was a Hittite and your father an Amorite. 16:46 Your older sister was Samaria, who lived north of you with her daughters; and your younger sister, who lived south of you, was Sodom with her daughters. 16:47 You not only copied their behavior and practiced their abominable deeds, but in a short time you became even more depraved in all your conduct than they were. 16:48 As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, your sister Sodom and her daughters never behaved as wickedly as you and your daughters.
16:49 “‘This was the sin of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters were proud, had abundance of food, and enjoyed carefree ease, but they did not help the poor and needy. 16:50 They were haughty and committed abominable crimes before me. So, when I saw it, I removed them. 16:51 Samaria has not committed half the sins you have; you have done more abominable deeds than they did. You have made your sisters appear righteous by all the abominable things you have done. 16:52 So now, bear your disgrace, because you have given your sisters reason to justify their behavior. Because the sins you have committed were more abominable than those of your sisters; they have become more righteous than you. So now, be ashamed and bear the disgrace of making your sisters appear righteous.
16:53 “‘I will restore their fortunes, the fortunes of Sodom and her daughters, and the fortunes of Samaria and her daughters (along with your fortunes among them), 16:54 so that you may bear your disgrace and be ashamed of all you have done when you gave them reason to be self-assured. 16:55 As for your sisters, Sodom and her daughters will be restored to their former status, Samaria and her daughters will be restored to their former status, and you and your daughters will be restored to your former status. 16:56 In your days of pride, was not Sodom your sister a byword in your mouth, 16:57 before your evil was exposed? Now you have become an object of scorn to the daughters of Aram and all those around her and to the daughters of the Philistines — those all around you who despise you. 16:58 You must bear your punishment for your obscene conduct and your abominable practices, declares the Lord.
16:59 “‘For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will deal with you according to what you have done when you despised your oath by breaking your covenant. 16:60 Yet I will remember the covenant I made with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish a lasting covenant with you. 16:61 Then you will remember your conduct, and be ashamed when you receive your older sisters and younger sisters. I will give them to you as daughters, but not on account of my covenant with you. 16:62 I will establish my covenant with you, and then you will know that I am the Lord. 16:63 Then when I make atonement for all you have done, you will remember, be ashamed, and in your shame remain silent, declares the Sovereign Lord.’”