Ezekiel 16

NEW JERUSALEM	DOUAI-RHEIMS
1 The word of Yahweh was addressed to me as follows,	1 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:
2 'Son of man, confront Jerusalem with her loathsome practices!	2 Son of man, make known to Jerusalem her abominations.
3 Say, "The Lord Yahweh says this: By origin and birth you belong to the land of Canaan. Your fatherwas an Amorite and your mother a Hittite.	3 And thou shalt say: Thus saith the Lord God to Jerusalem: Thy root, and thy nativity is of the land of Chanaan, thy father was an Amorrhite, and thy mother a Cethite.
4 At birth, the very day you were born, there was no one to cut your navel-string, or wash you in water toclean you, or rub you with salt, or wrap you in swaddling clothes.	4 And when thou wast born, in the day of thy nativity thy navel wits not cut, neither wast thou washed with water for thy health, nor salted with salt, nor swaddled with clouts.
5 No one looked at you with pity enough to do any of these things out of sympathy for you. You wereexposed in the open fields in your own dirt on the day you were born.	5 No eye had pity on thee to do any of these things for thee, out of compassion to thee: but thou wast cast out upon the face of the earth in the abjection of thy soul, in the day that thou wast born.
6 "I saw you kicking on the ground in your blood as I was passing, and I said to you as you lay in yourblood: Live!	6 And passing by thee, I saw that thou wast trodden under foot in thy own blood. and I said to thee when thou wast in thy blood: Live: I have said to thee: Live in thy blood.
7 and I made you grow like the grass of the fields. You developed, you grew, you reached marriageableage. Your breasts became firm and your hair grew richly, but you were stark naked.	7 I caused thee to multiply as the bud of the field: and thou didst increase and grow great, and advancedst, and camest to woman's ornament: thy breasts were fashioned, and thy hair grew: and thou wast naked, and full of confusion.
8 Then I saw you as I was passing. Your time had come, the time for love. I spread my cloak over youand covered your nakedness; I gave you my oath, I made a covenant with you -- declares the Lord Yahweh --and you became mine.	8 And I passed by thee, and saw thee: and behold thy time was the time of lovers : and I spread my garment over thee, and covered thy ignominy. And I swore to thee, and I entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord God: and thou becamest mine.
9 I bathed you in water, I washed the blood off you, I anointed you with oil.	9 And I washed thee with water, and cleansed away thy blood from thee: and I anointed thee with oil.
10 I gave you embroidered dresses, fine leather shoes, a linen headband and a cloak of silk.	10 And I clothed thee with embroidery, and shed thee with violet coloured shoes : and I girded thee about with fine linen, and clothed thee with fine garments.
11 I loaded you with jewels, gave you bracelets for your wrists and a necklace for your throat.	11 I decked thee also with ornaments, and put bracelets on thy hands, and a chain about thy neck.
12 I gave you nose-ring and earrings; I put a beautiful diadem on your head.	12 And I put a jewel upon thy forehead and earrings in thy ears, and a beautiful crown upon thy head.
13 You were loaded with gold and silver and dressed in linen and silk and brocade. Your food was thefinest flour, honey and oil. You grew more and more beautiful; and you rose to be queen.	13 And thou wast adorned with gold, and silver, and wast clothed with fine linen, and embroidered work, and many colours: thou didst eat fine hour, and honey, and oil, and wast made exceeding beautiful: and wast advanced to be a queen.
14 The fame of your beauty spread through the nations, since it was perfect, because I had clothed youwith my own splendour -- declares the Lord Yahweh.	14 And thy renown went forth among the nations for thy beauty: for thou wast perfect through my beauty, which I had put upon thee, saith the Lord God.
15 "But you became infatuated with your own beauty and used your fame to play the whore, lavishingyour debauchery on al comers.	15 But trusting in thy beauty, thou playedst the harlot because of thy renown, and thou hast prostituted thyself to every passenger, to be his.
16 You took some of your clothes to make for yourself high places bright with colours and there youplayed the whore.	16 And taking of thy garments thou hast made thee high places sewed together on each side: and hast played the harlot upon them, as hath not been done before, nor shall be hereafter.
17 You also took your jewel ery, made with my gold and silver which I had given you, and made yourselfmale images to serve your whorings.	17 And thou tookest thy beautiful vessels, of my gold, and my silver, which I gave thee, and thou madest thee images of men, and hast committed fornication with them.
18 You took your embroidered clothes and used these to dress them up, and you offered them my oiland my incense.	18 And thou tookest thy garments of divers colours, and coveredst them : and settest my oil and my sweet incense before them.
19 And the bread I gave you, the finest flour, the oil and honey with which I fed you, you offered them asa pleasing smel . "What is more -- declares the Lord Yahweh-	19 And my bread which I gave thee, the fine flour, and oil, and honey, wherewith I fed thee, thou hast set before them for a sweet odour; and it was done, saith the Lord God.
20 you took the sons and daughters you had borne me and sacrificed them as food to the images. Wasnot your whoring enough in itself,	20 And thou hast taken thy sons, and thy daughters, whom thou hast borne to me: and best sacrificed the same to them to be devoured. Is thy fornication small?
21 for you to slaughter my children and hand them over to be burnt in their honour?	21 Thou hast sacrificed and given my children to them, consecrating them by fire.
22 And in al your loathsome practices and your whorings you never cal ed your early days to mind,when you were stark naked, kicking on the ground in your own blood.	22 And after all thy abominations, and fornications, thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, when thou wast naked, and full of confusion, trodden under foot in thy own blood.
23 "To crown your wickedness -- disaster upon you, disaster! declares the Lord Yahweh-	23 And it came to pass after all thy wickedness (woe, woe to thee, saith the Lord God)
24 you built yourself a mound and made yourself a high place in every open space.	24 That thou didst also build thee a common stew, and madest thee a brothel house in every street.
25 At the entry to every al ey you made yourself a high place, defiling your beauty and opening your legsto al comers in countless acts of fornication.	25 At every head of the way thou hast set up a sign of thy prostitution: and hast made thy beauty to be abominable: and hast prostituted thyself to every one that passed by, and hast multiplied thy fornications.
26 You have also fornicated with your big-membered neighbours, the Egyptians, provoking my angerwith further acts of fornication.	26 And thou hast committed fornication with the Egyptians thy neighbours, men of large bodies, and hast multiplied thy fornications to provoke me.
27 So now I have raised my hand against you, I have cut down on your food, I have put you at themercy of your enemies, the Philistine women, who blush at your lewd behaviour.	27 Behold, I will stretch out my hand upon thee, and will take away thy justification: and I will deliver thee up to the will of the daughters of the Philistines that hate thee, that are ashamed of thy wicked way.
28 Stil unsatisfied, you prostituted yourself to the Assyrians; you played the whore with them, but werenot satisfied even then.	28 Thou hast also committed fornication with the Assyrians, because thou wast not yet satisfied: and after thou hadst played the harlot with them, even so thou wast not contented.
29 You committed further acts of fornication in the country of merchants, with the Chaldaeans, andthese did not satisfy you either.	29 Thou hast also multiplied thy fornications in the land of Chanaan with the Chaldeans: and neither so wast then satisfied.
30 "How simple-minded you are!-declares the Lord Yahweh -- for although you do all the things that aprofessional prostitute would,	30 Wherein shall I cleanse thy heart, saith the Lord God: seeing thou dost all these the works of a shameless prostitute?
31 in building a mound and making yourself a high place in every street, you do not act like a properprostitute because you disdain to take a fee.	31 Because thou hast built thy brothel house at the head of every way, and thou hast made thy high place in every street: and wast not as a harlot that by disdain enhanceth her price,
32 An adulteress welcomes strangers instead of her husband.	32 But as an adulteress, that bringeth in strangers over her husband.
33 Al prostitutes accept presents, but you give presents to all your lovers, you bribe them to come fromal over the place to fornicate with you!	33 Gifts are given to all harlots: but thou hast given hire to all thy lovers, and thou hast given them gifts to come to thee from every side, to commit fornication with thee.
34 In fornicating, you are the opposite of other women, since no one runs after you to fornicate with you;since you give the fee and do not get one, you are the very opposite!	34 And it hath happened in thee contrary to the custom of women in thy fornications, and after thee there shall be no such fornication: for in that thou gavest rewards, and didst not take rewards, the contrary hath been done in thee.
35 "Very wel , whore, hear the word of Yahweh!	35 Therefore, O harlot, hear the word of the Lord.
36 The Lord Yahweh says this: For having squandered your money and let yourself be seen nakedwhile whoring with your lovers and all the foul idols of your loathsome practices and for giving them yourchildren's blood-	36 Thus saith the Lord God: Because thy money hath been poured out, and thy shame discovered through thy fornications with thy lovers, and with the idols of thy abominations, by the blood of thy children whom thou gavest them:
37 for al this, I shal assemble all the lovers to whom you have given pleasure, al the ones you likedand also al the ones you disliked; yes, I shal assemble them round you and strip you naked in front of them,and let them see you naked from head to foot.	37 Behold, I will gather together all thy lovers with whom thou hast taken pleasure, and all whom thou hast loved, with all whom thou hast hated: and I will gather them together against thee on every side, and will discover thy shame in their sight, and they shall see all thy nakedness.
38 I shal pass on you the sentence that adulteresses and murderesses receive; I shall hand you over totheir jealous fury;	38 And I will judge thee as adulteresses, and they that shed blood are judged: and I will give thee blood in fury and jealousy.
39 I shal hand you over to them; they wil destroy your mound and pul down your high place; they wiltear off your clothes, take away your jewels and leave you stark naked.	39 And I will deliver thee into their hands, and they shall destroy thy brothel house, and throw down thy stews: and they shall strip thee of thy garments, and shall take away the vessels of thy beauty: and leave thee naked, and full of disgrace.
40 Then they wil call an assembly of citizens to deal with you, who wil stone you to death and hack youto pieces with their swords,	40 And they shall bring upon thee a multitude, and they shall stone thee with stones, and shall slay thee with their swords.
41 and burn down your premises and execute justice on you, while many other women look on; and Ishall put an end to your whoring: no more paid lovers for you!	41 ,41And they shall burn thy houses with fire, and shall execute judgments upon thee in the sight of many women: and thou shalt cease from fornication, and shalt give no hire any more.
42 Once my fury is exhausted with you, then my jealousy wil leave you; I shal be calm and not angryany more.	42 And my indignation shall rest in thee: and my jealousy shall depart from thee, and I will cease and be angry no more.
43 Since you never cal ed to mind your early days and have done nothing but provoke me, now I in myturn shall bring your conduct down on your own head -- declares the Lord Yahweh! "Have you not added thislewd behaviour to your other loathsome practices?	43 Because thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, but hast provoked me in all these things: wherefore I also have turned thy ways upon thy head, saith the Lord God, and I have not done according to thy wicked deeds in all thy abominations.
44 So now al dealers in proverbs will apply this one to you: Like mother, like daughter.	44 Behold every one that useth a common proverb, shall use this against thee, saying: As the mother was, so also is her daughter.
45 Yes; you are a true daughter of your mother, who hated her husband and her children; you are a truesister of your sisters, who hated their husbands and their children. Your mother was a Hittite and your father anAmorite.	45 Thou art thy mother's daughter, that cast off her husband, and her children: and thou art the sister of thy sisters, who cast off their husbands, and their children: your mother was a Cethite, and your father an Amorrhite.
46 Your elder sister is Samaria, who lives to the north of you with her daughters. Your younger sister isSodom, who lives to the south of you with her daughters.	46 And thy elder sister is Samaria, she and her daughters that dwell at thy left hand: and thy younger sister that dwelleth at thy right hand is Sodom, and her daughters.
47 You never failed to imitate their behaviour and copy their loathsome practices, and soon yourbehaviour was more corrupt than theirs was.	47 But neither hast thou walked in their ways, nor hast thou done a little less than they according to their wickednesses: thou hast done almost more wicked things than they in all thy ways
48 As I live -- declares the Lord Yahweh -- your sister Sodom and her daughters never did what you andyour daughters have done.	48 as I live, saith the Lord God, thy sister Sodom herself, and her daughters, have not done as thou hast done, and thy daughters.
49 The crime of your sister Sodom was pride, gluttony, calm complacency; such were hers and herdaughters' crimes. They never helped the poor and needy;	49 Behold this was the iniquity of Sodom thy sister, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance, and the idleness of her, and of her daughters: and they did not put forth their hand to the needy, and to the poor.
50 they were proud, and engaged in loathsome practices before me, and so I swept them away as youhave seen.	50 And they were lifted up, and committed abominations before me: and I took them away as thou hast seen.
51 And yet Samaria never committed half the crimes that you have. "You have done more loathsomethings than they have. By al your loathsome practices you have made your sisters seem innocent,	51 And Samaria committed not half thy sins: but thou hast surpassed them with thy crimes, and hast justified thy sisters by all thy abominations which thou hast done.
52 and now you bear the shame of which you have freed your sisters; since the sins which you havecommitted are more revolting than theirs, they are more upright than you are. So now, bear the disgrace andshame of having put your sisters in the right.	52 Therefore do thou also bear thy confusion, thou that hast surpassed thy sisters with thy sine, doing more wickedly than they: for they are justified above thee, therefore be thou also confounded, and bear thy shame, thou that hast justified thy sisters.
53 "I shal restore their fortunes, I shal restore Sodom and her daughters, I shal re- store Samaria andher daughters, and then I shal restore your fortune with theirs,	53 And I will bring back and restore them by bringing back Sodom, with her daughters, and by bringing back Samaria, and her daughters: and I will bring those that return of thee in the midst of them.
54 so that you can bear your shame and disgrace for al you have done, and so console them.	54 That thou mayest bear thy shame, and mayest be confounded in all that thou hast done, comforting them.
55 When your sisters, Sodom and her daughters, are restored to what they were, and Samaria and herdaughters are restored to what they were, then you too and your daughters wil be restored to what you were.	55 And thy sister Sodom and her daughters shall return to their ancient state: and Samaria and her daughters shall return to their ancient state: and thou and thy daughters shall return to your ancient state.
56 Did you not gloat over your sister Sodom when you were so proud,	56 And Sodom thy sister was not heard of in thy mouth, in the day of thy pride,
57 before you were stripped naked? Like her, you are now the laughing-stock of the women of Edom, ofal the women round, of the women of Philistia, who pour out their contempt on you.	57 Before thy malice was laid open: as it is at this time, making thee a reproach of the daughters of Syria, and of all the daughters of Palestine round about thee, that encompass thee on all sides.
58 You have brought this on yourself, with your lewdness and your loathsome practices -- declares theLord Yahweh.	58 Thou hast borne thy wickedness, and thy disgrace, saith the Lord God.
59 "For the Lord Yahweh says this: I shal treat you as you have deserved for making light of an oathand breaking a covenant,	59 For thus saith the Lord God: I will deal with thee, as thou hast despised the oath, in breaking the covenant:
60 but I shal remember my covenant with you when you were a girl and shal conclude a covenant withyou that wil last for ever.	60 And I will remember my covenant with thee in the days of thy youth: and I will establish with thee an everlasting covenant.
61 And you for your part wil remember your behaviour and feel ashamed of it when you receive yourelder and younger sisters and I make them your daughters, although this is not included in my covenant withyou.	61 And thou shalt remember thy ways, and be ashamed: when thou shalt receive thy sisters, thy elder and thy younger: and I will give them to thee for daughters, but not by thy covenant.
62 I shal renew my covenant with you; and you wil know that I am Yahweh,	62 And I will establish my covenant with thee: and thou shalt know that I am the Lord,
63 and so remember and feel ashamed and in your confusion be reduced to silence, when I forgive youfor everything you have done -- declares the Lord Yahweh." '	63 That thou mayest remember, and be confounded, and mayest no more open thy mouth because of thy confusion, when I shall be pacified toward thee for all that thou hast done, saith the Lord God.