Jerusalem's Infidelity: Shame, Judgment, and Vindication (part 1)
Ezekiel 16:1-44
1The word of the LORD came to me, saying,2Son of man, make known to Jerusalem her abominations.3Say therefore, Thus said the Lord GOD to Jerusalem: Your origins and your relatives come from the land of the Canaanite; your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite.4As for your relatives, on the day you were born your umbilical cord was not cut, you were not washed with water to be cleansed, you were not salted with salt, and you were not wrapped in bands.5No eye had compassion on you to do any one of these things for you or to spare you, but you were cast out on the open land in loathing of your own soul on the day you were born.6I passed by you and saw you struggling in your blood, and I said to you, Live in your blood; and I said to you, Live in your blood.7I made you as numerous as the vegetation of the land; you grew and became tall and came into beautiful ornaments; your breasts were formed and your hair grew long, yet you were naked and bare.8I passed by you again and saw you; behold, your time had come, the time of love, so I spread my garment over you, covered your nakedness, swore an oath to you, and entered into covenant with you, declares the Lord GOD, and you became mine.9I washed you with water, rinsed your blood from you, and anointed you with oil.10I clothed you with embroidered cloth, put leather sandals on your feet, wrapped you in fine linen, and covered you with silk.11I adorned you with jewelry, placed bracelets on your wrists and a necklace around your neck.12I put a ring in your nose, earrings in your ears, and a beautiful crown on your head.13You were adorned with gold and silver; your clothing was fine linen, silk, and embroidery; you ate fine flour, honey, and oil; you became very beautiful and rose to royalty.14Your fame spread among the nations because of your beauty, for it was perfect through the splendor I had placed upon you, declares the Lord GOD.15You trusted in your beauty and played the harlot because of your fame; you lavished your harlotry on every passerby, and it happened.16You took some of your garments and made for yourself high places of various colors and played the harlot on them; such things should not happen and will not happen.17You took your beautiful articles made from my gold and my silver, which I had given you, and made for yourself male images and played the harlot with them.18You took your embroidered garments and covered the images with them; you set my oil and my incense before them.19You also set before them the food I had given you, fine flour, oil, and honey, which I had fed you, as a pleasing aroma, declares the Lord GOD.20You took your sons and your daughters whom you had borne to me and sacrificed them to the images to be devoured; this was part of your harlotry.21You slaughtered my sons and offered them by making them pass through the fire to the images.22You did not remember the days of your youth when you were naked and bare, struggling in your blood.23After all your evil, woe, woe to you, declares the Lord GOD.24You built a platform for yourself and made a high place for yourself in every public square.25At the corner of every street you built your high places, loathed your own beauty, opened your feet to every passerby, and multiplied your harlotry.26And you fornicated to the sons of Egypt your neighbors, growing flesh, and multiplied your fornication to provoke me.27Therefore I stretched out my hand against you, reduced your allowance, and gave you over to the desire of your enemies, the daughters of the Philistines, who were ashamed of your lewd behavior.28You played the harlot with the Assyrians because you were not satisfied; you played the harlot with them and still were not satisfied.29You multiplied your harlotry as far as the land of merchants, Canaan and Chaldea, yet even with this you were not satisfied.30How weak is your heart, declares the Lord GOD, when you do all these things, the deeds of a domineering prostitute.31When you built your platform at the head of every street and made your high places in every square, you were not like a prostitute who mocks at payment.32The adulterous wife receives strangers instead of her husband.33Men give gifts to all prostitutes, but you gave your gifts to all your lovers and bribed them to come to you from every side in your harlotries.34Thus you were the opposite of other women in your harlotries; after you no one played the harlot, and because you gave payment, no payment was given to you; you were indeed the opposite.35Therefore, O prostitute, hear the word of the LORD.36Thus said the Lord GOD: Because you poured out your lust and your nakedness was uncovered in your harlotries with your lovers and with all your abominable idols, and because of the blood of your sons whom you gave to them,37therefore I will gather all your lovers with whom you found pleasure, and all those you loved along with all those you hated, and I will gather them against you from every side and will uncover your nakedness to them so that they may see all your nakedness.38I will judge you with the judgments due to adulteresses and to women who shed blood, and I will bring upon you blood of fury and jealousy.39I will hand you over to them; they will tear down your platform and break down your high places; they will strip you of your clothes, take your beautiful articles, and leave you naked and bare.40They will bring an assembly against you, and they will stone you and cut you to pieces with their swords.41They will burn your houses with fire and execute judgments upon you in the sight of many women; I will stop your harlotry and you will no longer give payment.42I will satisfy my fury on you, and my jealousy will depart from you; I will be quiet and will be angry no more.43Because you did not remember the days of your youth but enraged me with all these things, therefore I also have placed your conduct on your head, declares the Lord GOD; you have not committed this wickedness in addition to all your abominations.44Behold, everyone who uses proverbs will use this proverb about you, saying, Like mother, like daughter.