Atlas Biblica

    Ezekiel · 63 verses

    Ezekiel 16

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    The chapter

    What happens here

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    Jerusalem is found as an abandoned newborn, raised into a queen, and then spends the rest of the chapter making a spectacularly poor use of the wardrobe.

    Found in the blood, dressed as a queenvv. 1–14

    The LORD tells Ezekiel to confront Jerusalem, whose origin is placed in Canaan: an Amorite father, a Hittite mother, and a birth attended by absolutely no one. The child is thrown into the open field, still bloody and unwashed, until the LORD passes by and says, twice, “Live!” Jerusalem grows, is covered, washed, anointed, dressed in embroidered cloth and silk, loaded with jewellery, fed with fine flour, honey, and oil, and raised to be queen. Her beauty becomes famous among the nations, though the chapter is careful to say whose splendour made it so.

    The queen spends the inheritancevv. 15–43

    Fame turns Jerusalem’s head. She trusts in her beauty, gives her garments to high places, turns the fine jewellery into idols, places the LORD’s oil, incense, and food before them, and even sacrifices the sons and daughters she bore to Him. Her appetite for lovers stretches from Egypt to Assyria and Chaldea, yet satisfaction never arrives; indeed, Jerusalem pays gifts to those who come, which gives the chapter’s indictment an especially bleak accounting department. The response is exposure and ruin: lovers gather against her, strip her, tear down her shrines, bring a mob, burn her houses, and put an end to the prostitution.

    The sisters returnvv. 44–63

    Jerusalem is compared with her older sister Samaria and younger sister Sodom, and manages to surpass them both. Sodom’s named sins are arrogance, overfeeding, complacency, and failure to help the poor and needy; Samaria, astonishingly, has committed not half as many sins as Jerusalem. Yet the final movement bends toward restoration: Sodom and Samaria will return from captivity, Jerusalem will return with them, and the LORD will remember the covenant made in her youth and establish an everlasting covenant. Jerusalem will receive her sisters as daughters, remember her ways, be ashamed, and fall silent beneath the weight of her disgrace.

    The text

    Read it

    Berean Standard Bible, public domain. Names the Hebrew and Greek put in the verse link to the person, place or people they name; the address beside each verse is a link to that verse, which is what a reader copies and shares.

    1. Ezek 16:1Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

    2. Ezek 16:2“Son of man, confront Jerusalem with her abominations

    3. Ezek 16:3and tell her that this is what the Lord GOD 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.

    4. Ezek 16:4On the day of your birth your cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water for cleansing. You were not rubbed with salt or wrapped in cloths.

    5. Ezek 16:5No one cared enough for you to do even one of these things out of compassion for you. Instead, you were thrown out into the open field, because you were despised on the day of your birth.

    6. Ezek 16:6Then I passed by and saw you wallowing in your blood, and as you lay there in your blood I said to you, ‘Live!’ There I said to you, ‘Live!’

    7. Ezek 16:7I made you thrive like a plant of the field. You grew up and matured and became very beautiful. Your breasts were formed and your hair grew, but you were naked and bare.

    8. Ezek 16:8Then I passed by and saw you, and you were indeed old enough for love. So I spread My cloak over you and covered your nakedness. I pledged Myself to you, entered into a covenant with you, and you became Mine, declares the Lord GOD.

    9. Ezek 16:9Then I bathed you with water, rinsed off your blood, and anointed you with oil.

    10. Ezek 16:10I clothed you in embroidered cloth and gave you sandals of fine leather. I wrapped you in fine linen and covered you with silk.

    11. Ezek 16:11I adorned you with jewelry, and I put bracelets on your wrists and a chain around your neck.

    12. Ezek 16:12I put a ring in your nose, earrings on your ears, and a beautiful crown upon your head.

    13. Ezek 16:13So you were adorned with gold and silver, and your clothing was made of fine linen, silk, and embroidered cloth. You ate fine flour, honey, and oil. You became very beautiful and rose to be queen.

    14. Ezek 16:14Your fame spread among the nations on account of your beauty, for it was perfect in the splendor I bestowed on you, declares the Lord GOD.

    15. Ezek 16:15But because of your fame, you trusted in your beauty and played the harlot. You lavished your favors on everyone who passed by, and your beauty was theirs for the asking.

    16. Ezek 16:16You took some of your garments and made colorful high places for yourself, and on them you prostituted yourself. Such things should not have happened; never should they have occurred!

    17. Ezek 16:17You also took the fine jewelry of gold and silver I had given you, and you made male idols with which to prostitute yourself.

    18. Ezek 16:18You took your embroidered garments to cover them, and you set My oil and incense before them.

    19. Ezek 16:19And you set before them as a pleasing aroma the food I had given you—the fine flour, oil, and honey that I had fed you. That is what happened, declares the Lord GOD.

    20. Ezek 16:20You even took the sons and daughters you bore to Me and sacrificed them as food to idols. Was your prostitution not enough?

    21. Ezek 16:21You slaughtered My children and delivered them up through the fire to idols.

    22. Ezek 16:22And in all your abominations and acts of prostitution, you did not remember the days of your youth when you were naked and bare, wallowing in your own blood.

    23. Ezek 16:23Woe! Woe to you, declares the Lord GOD. And in addition to all your other wickedness,

    24. Ezek 16:24you built yourself a mound and made yourself a lofty shrine in every public square.

    25. Ezek 16:25At the head of every street you built your lofty shrines and degraded your beauty. With increasing promiscuity, you spread your legs to all who passed by.

    26. Ezek 16:26You prostituted yourself with your lustful neighbors, the Egyptians, and increased your promiscuity to provoke Me to anger.

    27. Ezek 16:27Therefore I stretched out My hand against you and reduced your portion. I gave you over to the desire of those who hate you, the daughters of the Philistines, who were ashamed of your lewd conduct.

    28. Ezek 16:28Then you prostituted yourself with the Assyrians, because you were not yet satisfied. Even after that, you were still not satisfied.

    29. Ezek 16:29So you extended your promiscuity to Chaldea, the land of merchants—but even with this you were not satisfied!

    30. Ezek 16:30How weak-willed is your heart, declares the Lord GOD, while you do all these things, the acts of a shameless prostitute!

    31. Ezek 16:31But when you built your mounds at the head of every street and made your lofty shrines in every public square, you were not even like a prostitute, because you scorned payment.

    32. Ezek 16:32You adulterous wife! You receive strangers instead of your own husband!

    33. Ezek 16:33Men give gifts to all their prostitutes, but you gave gifts to all your lovers. You bribed them to come to you from everywhere for your illicit favors.

    34. Ezek 16:34So your prostitution is the opposite of that of other women: No one solicited your favors, and you paid a fee instead of receiving one; so you are the very opposite!

    35. Ezek 16:35Therefore, O prostitute, hear the word of the LORD!

    36. Ezek 16:36This is what the Lord GOD says: Because you poured out your wealth and exposed your nakedness in your promiscuity with your lovers and with all your detestable idols, and because of the blood of your children which you gave to them,

    37. Ezek 16:37therefore I will surely gather all the lovers with whom you found pleasure, all those you loved and all those you hated. I will gather them against you from all around and expose you before them, and they will see you completely naked.

    38. Ezek 16:38And I will sentence you to the punishment of women who commit adultery and those who shed blood; so I will bring upon you the wrath of your bloodshed and jealousy.

    39. Ezek 16:39Then I will deliver you into the hands of your lovers, and they will level your mounds and tear down your lofty shrines. They will strip off your clothes, take your fine jewelry, and leave you naked and bare.

    40. Ezek 16:40They will bring a mob against you, who will stone you and cut you to pieces with their swords.

    41. Ezek 16:41Then they will burn down your houses and execute judgment against you in the sight of many women. I will put an end to your prostitution, and you will never again pay your lovers.

    42. Ezek 16:42So I will lay to rest My wrath against you, and My jealousy will turn away from you. Then I will be calm and no longer angry.

    43. Ezek 16:43Because you did not remember the days of your youth, but enraged Me with all these things, I will surely bring your deeds down upon your own head, declares the Lord GOD. Have you not committed this lewdness on top of all your other abominations?

    44. Ezek 16:44Behold, all who speak in proverbs will quote this proverb about you: ‘Like mother, like daughter.’

    45. Ezek 16:45You are the daughter of your mother, who despised her husband and children. You are the sister of your sisters, who despised their husbands and children. Your mother was a Hittite and your father an Amorite.

    46. Ezek 16:46Your older sister was Samaria, who lived with her daughters to your north; and your younger sister was Sodom, who lived with her daughters to your south.

    47. Ezek 16:47And you not only walked in their ways and practiced their abominations, but soon you were more depraved than they were.

    48. Ezek 16:48As surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, your sister Sodom and her daughters never did as you and your daughters have done.

    49. Ezek 16:49Now this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed, and complacent; they did not help the poor and needy.

    50. Ezek 16:50Thus they were haughty and committed abominations before Me. Therefore I removed them, as you have seen.

    51. Ezek 16:51Furthermore, Samaria did not commit half the sins you did. You have multiplied your abominations beyond theirs, and all the abominations you have committed have made your sisters appear righteous.

    52. Ezek 16:52So now you must bear your disgrace, since you have brought justification for your sisters. For they appear more righteous than you, because your sins were more vile than theirs. So you too must bear your shame and disgrace, since you have made your sisters appear righteous.

    53. Ezek 16:53But I will restore Sodom and her daughters from captivity, as well as Samaria and her daughters. And I will restore you along with them.

    54. Ezek 16:54So you will bear your disgrace and be ashamed of all you did to comfort them.

    55. Ezek 16:55And your sisters, Sodom with her daughters and Samaria with her daughters, will return to their former state. You and your daughters will also return to your former state.

    56. Ezek 16:56Did you not treat your sister Sodom as an object of scorn in the day of your pride,

    57. Ezek 16:57before your wickedness was uncovered? Even so, you are now scorned by the daughters of Edom and all those around her, and by the daughters of the Philistines—all those around you who despise you.

    58. Ezek 16:58You will bear the consequences of your lewdness and your abominations, declares the LORD.

    59. Ezek 16:59For this is what the Lord GOD says: I will deal with you according to your deeds, since you have despised the oath by breaking the covenant.

    60. Ezek 16:60But I will remember the covenant I made with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish an everlasting covenant with you.

    61. Ezek 16:61Then you will remember your ways and be ashamed when you receive your older and younger sisters. I will give them to you as daughters, but not because of My covenant with you.

    62. Ezek 16:62So I will establish My covenant with you, and you will know that I am the LORD,

    63. Ezek 16:63so that when I make atonement for all you have done, you will remember and be ashamed and never again open your mouth because of your disgrace, declares the Lord GOD.”

    01 — Also here

    Who else the chapter reaches

    Names written in the English are linked in the text above. These are the ones that are not: an entity the Hebrew or Greek names under a spelling the translation does not use, or one reached only by an assertion about a verse of this chapter.

    Named in the Hebrew or Greek somewhere in this chapter, under a form the English renders differently — the registry's Ludim against the translation's Ludites — so there is no word in the sentence to hang the link on.

    Reached by an assertion Atlas extracted from a verse of this chapter rather than by a name written in it — a pronoun, a title, or a participant the sentence carries without naming. This layer is model-read and measured at 88.6–90.3% precision, and it is kept separate from the names above for that reason.

    02 — Read alongside

    Where this is echoed

    Readers' own connections, from OpenBible's crowd-voted cross-references — agreement about relevance, and not scholarly confidence. 827 passages were voted onto 60 verses of this chapter; the 16 shown lead on votes, and each is listed at the verse it was voted onto most strongly.

    • 8Ruth 3:9“Who are you?” he asked. “I am your servant Ruth,” she replied. “Spread the corner of your garment over me, for you are a kinsman-redeemer.”
    • 8Jeremiah 2:2–3“Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem that this is what the LORD says: ‘I remember the devotion of your youth, your love as a bride, how you followed Me in the wilderness, in a land not sown.
    • 6Ephesians 2:4–5But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy,
    • 8Romans 5:8But God proves His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
    • 8Isaiah 43:4Because you are precious and honored in My sight, and because I love you, I will give men in exchange for you and nations in place of your life.
    • 3Ezekiel 16:45You are the daughter of your mother, who despised her husband and children. You are the sister of your sisters, who despised their husbands and children. Your mother was a Hittite and your father an Amorite.
    • 6John 5:25Truly, truly, I tell you, the hour is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.
    • 6Titus 3:3–7For at one time we too were foolish, disobedient, misled, and enslaved to all sorts of desires and pleasures—living in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another.
    • 8Exodus 32:13Remember Your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, to whom You swore by Your very self when You declared, ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky, and I will give your descendants all this land that I have promised, and it shall be their inheritance forever.’”
    • 11Genesis 24:22And after the camels had finished drinking, he took out a gold ring weighing a beka, and two gold bracelets for her wrists weighing ten shekels.
    • 6Acts 7:34I have indeed seen the oppression of My people in Egypt. I have heard their groaning and have come down to deliver them. Now come, I will send you back to Egypt.’
    • 8Deuteronomy 4:31For the LORD your God is a merciful God; He will not abandon you or destroy you or forget the covenant with your fathers, which He swore to them by oath.
    • 8Hosea 11:1When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called My son.
    • 81 Samuel 12:22Indeed, for the sake of His great name, the LORD will not abandon His people, because He was pleased to make you His own.
    • 8Exodus 19:4–8‘You have seen for yourselves what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself.
    • 8Deuteronomy 7:6–8For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for His prized possession out of all peoples on the face of the earth.

    Onward

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    Next chapterEzekiel 1724 verses.Named hereCanaanEverything the graph connects to this name.BookEzekielAll 48 chapters.Every bookThe Bible66 books, 1,189 chapters.