CINXE.COM

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "//www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="//www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1"><title>Ezekiel 16 CEV</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="/chapnew2.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="../spec.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /></head><body><div id="fx"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx2"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="30" scrolling="no" src="../cmenus/ezekiel/16.htm" align="left" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div><div id="blnk"></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable"><tr><td><div id="fx5"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx6"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="245" scrolling="no" src="../topmenuchap/ezekiel/16-1.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable3"><tr><td><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" id="announce"><tr><td><div id="l1"><div id="breadcrumbs"><a href="//biblehub.com">Bible</a> > <a href="../">CEV</a> > Ezekiel 16</div><div id="anc"><iframe src="/anc.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><div id="anc2"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/anc2.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></td></tr></table><div id="movebox2"><table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div id="topheading"><a href="../ezekiel/15.htm" title="Ezekiel 15">◄</a> Ezekiel 16 <a href="../ezekiel/17.htm" title="Ezekiel 17">►</a></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="vheading">Contemporary English Version</div><div class="chap"><h3 class="s1">Jerusalem Is Unfaithful</h3><p class="par"><span class="v26_16_1"><span class="reftext" id="Ezek.16.1" class="v26_16_1">1</span>The <span class="nd">Lord</span> said:</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v26_16_2"><span class="reftext" id="Ezek.16.2" class="v26_16_2">2</span>Ezekiel, son of man, remind the people of Jerusalem of their disgusting sins </span><span class="v26_16_3"><span class="reftext" id="Ezek.16.3" class="v26_16_3">3</span>and tell them that I, the <span class="nd">Lord</span> God, am saying:</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v26_16_3">Jerusalem, you were born in the country where Canaanites lived. Your father was an Amorite, and your mother was a Hittite.<a href="#fn" id="link_Ezek.16.3!f.1" class="notelink f-link"><span>+</span></a> </span><span class="v26_16_4"><span class="reftext" id="Ezek.16.4" class="v26_16_4">4</span>When you were born, no one cut you loose from your mother or washed your body. No one rubbed your skin with salt and olive oil,<a href="#fn" id="link_Ezek.16.4!f.1" class="notelink f-link"><span>+</span></a> and wrapped you in warm blankets. </span><span class="v26_16_5"><span class="reftext" id="Ezek.16.5" class="v26_16_5">5</span>Not one person loved you enough to do any of these things, and no one even felt sorry for you. You were despised, thrown into a field, and forgotten.</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v26_16_6"><span class="reftext" id="Ezek.16.6" class="v26_16_6">6</span>I saw you lying there, rolling around in your own blood, and I couldn't let you die. </span><span class="v26_16_7"><span class="reftext" id="Ezek.16.7" class="v26_16_7">7</span>I took care of you, like someone caring for a tender, young plant. You grew up to be a beautiful young woman with mature breasts and hair, but you were still naked.</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v26_16_8"><span class="reftext" id="Ezek.16.8" class="v26_16_8">8</span>When I saw you again, you were old enough to have sex. So I covered your naked body with my own robe.<a href="#fn" id="link_Ezek.16.8!f.1" class="notelink f-link"><span>+</span></a> Then I solemnly promised that you would belong to me and that I, the <span class="nd">Lord</span> God, would take care of you.</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v26_16_9"><span class="reftext" id="Ezek.16.9" class="v26_16_9">9</span>I washed the blood off you and rubbed your skin with olive oil. </span><span class="v26_16_10"><span class="reftext" id="Ezek.16.10" class="v26_16_10">10</span>I gave you the finest clothes and the most expensive robes,<a href="#fn" id="link_Ezek.16.10!f.1" class="notelink f-link"><span>+</span></a> as well as sandals made from the best leather. </span><span class="v26_16_11"><span class="reftext" id="Ezek.16.11" class="v26_16_11">11</span>I gave you bracelets, a necklace, </span><span class="v26_16_12"><span class="reftext" id="Ezek.16.12" class="v26_16_12">12</span>a ring for your nose, some earrings, and a beautiful crown. </span><span class="v26_16_13"><span class="reftext" id="Ezek.16.13" class="v26_16_13">13</span>Your jewelry was gold and silver, and your clothes were made of only the finest material and embroidered linen. Your bread was baked from fine flour, and you ate honey and olive oil. You were as beautiful as a queen, </span><span class="v26_16_14"><span class="reftext" id="Ezek.16.14" class="v26_16_14">14</span>and everyone on earth knew it. I, the <span class="nd">Lord</span> God, had helped you become a lovely young woman.</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v26_16_15"><span class="reftext" id="Ezek.16.15" class="v26_16_15">15</span>You learned that you were attractive enough to have any man you wanted, so you offered yourself to every passerby.<a href="#fn" id="link_Ezek.16.15!f.1" class="notelink f-link"><span>+</span></a> </span><span class="v26_16_16"><span class="reftext" id="Ezek.16.16" class="v26_16_16">16</span>You made shrines for yourself and decorated them with some of your clothes. That's where you took your visitors to have sex with them. These things should never have happened!<a href="#fn" id="link_Ezek.16.16!f.1" class="notelink f-link"><span>+</span></a> </span><span class="v26_16_17"><span class="reftext" id="Ezek.16.17" class="v26_16_17">17</span>You made idols out of the gold and silver jewelry I gave you, then you sinned by worshiping those idols. </span><span class="v26_16_18"><span class="reftext" id="Ezek.16.18" class="v26_16_18">18</span>You dressed them in the clothes you got from me, and you offered them the olive oil and incense I gave you. </span><span class="v26_16_19"><span class="reftext" id="Ezek.16.19" class="v26_16_19">19</span>I supplied you with fine flour, olive oil, and honey, but you sacrificed it all as offerings to please those idols. I, the <span class="nd">Lord</span> God, watched this happen.</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v26_16_20"><span class="reftext" id="Ezek.16.20" class="v26_16_20">20</span>But you did something even worse than that—you sacrificed your own children to those idols! </span><span class="v26_16_21"><span class="reftext" id="Ezek.16.21" class="v26_16_21">21</span>You slaughtered my children, so you could offer them as sacrifices. </span><span class="v26_16_22"><span class="reftext" id="Ezek.16.22" class="v26_16_22">22</span>You were so busy sinning and being a prostitute that you refused to think about the days when you were young and were rolling around naked in your own blood.</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v26_16_23"><span class="reftext" id="Ezek.16.23" class="v26_16_23">23</span>Now I, the <span class="nd">Lord</span> God, say you are doomed! Not only did you do these evil things, </span><span class="v26_16_24"><span class="reftext" id="Ezek.16.24" class="v26_16_24">24</span>but you also built places on every street corner </span><span class="v26_16_25"><span class="reftext" id="Ezek.16.25" class="v26_16_25">25</span>where you disgraced yourself by having sex with anyone who walked by. And you did that more and more every day! </span><span class="v26_16_26"><span class="reftext" id="Ezek.16.26" class="v26_16_26">26</span>To make me angry, you even offered yourself to Egyptians, who were always ready to sleep with you.</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v26_16_27"><span class="reftext" id="Ezek.16.27" class="v26_16_27">27</span>So I punished you by letting those greedy Philistine enemies take over some of your territory. But even they were offended by your repulsive behavior.</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v26_16_28"><span class="reftext" id="Ezek.16.28" class="v26_16_28">28</span>You couldn't get enough sex, so you chased after Assyrians and slept with them. You still weren't satisfied, </span><span class="v26_16_29"><span class="reftext" id="Ezek.16.29" class="v26_16_29">29</span>so you went after Babylonians. But those merchants could not satisfy you either.</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v26_16_30"><span class="reftext" id="Ezek.16.30" class="v26_16_30">30</span>I, the <span class="nd">Lord</span> God, say that you were so disgusting that you would have done anything to get what you wanted.<a href="#fn" id="link_Ezek.16.30!f.1" class="notelink f-link"><span>+</span></a> </span><span class="v26_16_31"><span class="reftext" id="Ezek.16.31" class="v26_16_31">31</span>You had sex on every street corner, and when you finished, you refused to accept money. That's worse than being a prostitute! </span><span class="v26_16_32"><span class="reftext" id="Ezek.16.32" class="v26_16_32">32</span>You are nothing but an unfaithful wife who would rather have sex with strangers than with your own husband. </span><span class="v26_16_33"><span class="reftext" id="Ezek.16.33" class="v26_16_33">33</span>Prostitutes accept money for having sex, but you bribe men from everywhere to have sex with you. </span><span class="v26_16_34"><span class="reftext" id="Ezek.16.34" class="v26_16_34">34</span>You're not like other prostitutes. Men don't ask you for sex—you offer to pay them!</span></p><h3 class="s1">Jerusalem Must Be Punished</h3><h5 class="sp">The <span class="nd">Lord</span> said:</h5><p class="par"><span class="v26_16_35"><span class="reftext" id="Ezek.16.35" class="v26_16_35">35</span>Jerusalem, you prostitute, listen to me. </span><span class="v26_16_36"><span class="reftext" id="Ezek.16.36" class="v26_16_36">36</span>You chased after lovers, then took off your clothes and had sex. You even worshiped disgusting idols and sacrificed your own children as offerings to them. </span><span class="v26_16_37"><span class="reftext" id="Ezek.16.37" class="v26_16_37">37</span>So I, the <span class="nd">Lord</span> God, will gather every one of your lovers, those you liked and those you hated. They will stand around you, and I will rip off your clothes and let all of those lovers stare at your nakedness. </span><span class="v26_16_38"><span class="reftext" id="Ezek.16.38" class="v26_16_38">38</span>I will find you guilty of being an unfaithful wife and a murderer, and in my fierce anger I will sentence you to a violent death! </span><span class="v26_16_39"><span class="reftext" id="Ezek.16.39" class="v26_16_39">39</span>Then I will hand you over to your lovers, who will tear down the places where you had sex. They will take your clothes and jewelry, leaving you naked and empty-handed.</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v26_16_40"><span class="reftext" id="Ezek.16.40" class="v26_16_40">40</span>Your lovers and an angry mob will stone you to death; they will cut your dead body into pieces </span><span class="v26_16_41"><span class="reftext" id="Ezek.16.41" class="v26_16_41">41</span>and burn down your houses. Other women will watch these terrible things happen to you. I promise to stop you from being a prostitute and paying your lovers for sex.</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v26_16_42"><span class="reftext" id="Ezek.16.42" class="v26_16_42">42</span>Only then will I calm down and stop being angry and jealous. </span><span class="v26_16_43"><span class="reftext" id="Ezek.16.43" class="v26_16_43">43</span>You made me furious by doing all these disgusting things and by forgetting how I took care of you when you were young. Then you made things worse by acting like a prostitute. You must be punished! I, the <span class="nd">Lord</span> God, have spoken.</span></p><h3 class="s1">Jerusalem's Two Sisters</h3><h5 class="sp">The <span class="nd">Lord</span> said:</h5><p class="par"><span class="v26_16_44"><span class="reftext" id="Ezek.16.44" class="v26_16_44">44</span>People will use this saying about you, Jerusalem: “If the mother is bad, so is her daughter.” </span><span class="v26_16_45"><span class="reftext" id="Ezek.16.45" class="v26_16_45">45</span>You are just like your mother, who hated her husband and her own children. You are also like your sisters, who hated their husbands and children. Your father was an Amorite, and your mother was a Hittite.<a href="#fn" id="link_Ezek.16.45!f.1" class="notelink f-link"><span>+</span></a> </span><span class="v26_16_46"><span class="reftext" id="Ezek.16.46" class="v26_16_46">46</span>Your older sister was Samaria, that city to your north with her nearby villages. Your younger sister was Sodom, that city to your south with her nearby villages. </span><span class="v26_16_47"><span class="reftext" id="Ezek.16.47" class="v26_16_47">47</span>You followed their way of life and their wicked customs, and soon you were more repulsive than they were.</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v26_16_48"><span class="reftext" id="Ezek.16.48" class="v26_16_48">48</span>As surely as I am the living <span class="nd">Lord</span> God, the people of Sodom and its nearby villages were never as sinful as you. </span><span class="v26_16_49"><span class="reftext" id="Ezek.16.49" class="v26_16_49">49</span>They were arrogant and spoiled; they had everything they needed and still refused to help the poor and needy. </span><span class="v26_16_50"><span class="reftext" id="Ezek.16.50" class="v26_16_50">50</span>They thought they were better than everyone else, and they did things I hate. And so I destroyed them.</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v26_16_51"><span class="reftext" id="Ezek.16.51" class="v26_16_51">51</span>You people of Jerusalem have sinned twice as much as the people of Samaria. In fact, your evil ways have made both Sodom and Samaria look innocent. </span><span class="v26_16_52"><span class="reftext" id="Ezek.16.52" class="v26_16_52">52</span>So their punishment will seem light compared to yours. You will be disgraced and put to shame because of your disgusting sins.</span></p><h3 class="s1">Jerusalem Will Be Ashamed</h3><h5 class="sp">The <span class="nd">Lord</span> said to Jerusalem:</h5><p class="par"><span class="v26_16_53"><span class="reftext" id="Ezek.16.53" class="v26_16_53">53</span>Someday I will bless Sodom and Samaria and their nearby villages. I will also bless you, Jerusalem. </span><span class="v26_16_54"><span class="reftext" id="Ezek.16.54" class="v26_16_54">54</span>Then you will be ashamed of how you've acted, and Sodom and Samaria will be relieved that they weren't as sinful as you. </span><span class="v26_16_55"><span class="reftext" id="Ezek.16.55" class="v26_16_55">55</span>When that day comes, you and Sodom and Samaria will once again be well-off, and all nearby villages will be restored.</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v26_16_56"><span class="reftext" id="Ezek.16.56" class="v26_16_56">56</span>Jerusalem, you were so arrogant that you sneered at Sodom. </span><span class="v26_16_57"><span class="reftext" id="Ezek.16.57" class="v26_16_57">57</span>But now everyone has learned how wicked you really are. The countries of Syria and Philistia, as well as your other neighbors, hate you and make insulting remarks. </span><span class="v26_16_58"><span class="reftext" id="Ezek.16.58" class="v26_16_58">58</span>You must pay for all the vulgar and disgusting things you have done. I, the <span class="nd">Lord</span>, have spoken.</span></p><h3 class="s1">The <span class="nd">Lord</span> Makes a Promise to Jerusalem</h3><h5 class="sp">The <span class="nd">Lord</span> said:</h5><p class="par"><span class="v26_16_59"><span class="reftext" id="Ezek.16.59" class="v26_16_59">59</span>Jerusalem, you deserve to be punished, because you broke your promises and ignored our agreement. </span><span class="v26_16_60"><span class="reftext" id="Ezek.16.60" class="v26_16_60">60</span>But I remember the agreement I made with you when you were young,<a href="#fn" id="link_Ezek.16.60!f.1" class="notelink f-link"><span>+</span></a> and so I will make you a promise that will last forever. </span><span class="v26_16_61"><span class="reftext" id="Ezek.16.61" class="v26_16_61">61</span>When you think about how you acted, you will be ashamed, especially when I return your sisters<a href="#fn" id="link_Ezek.16.61!f.1" class="notelink f-link"><span>+</span></a> to you as daughters, even though this was not part of our agreement.<a href="#fn" id="link_Ezek.16.61!f.2" class="notelink f-link"><span>+</span></a> </span><span class="v26_16_62"><span class="reftext" id="Ezek.16.62" class="v26_16_62">62</span>I will keep this solemn promise, and you will know that I am the <span class="nd">Lord</span>. </span><span class="v26_16_63"><span class="reftext" id="Ezek.16.63" class="v26_16_63">63</span>I will forgive you, but you will think about your sins and be too ashamed to say a word. I, the <span class="nd">Lord</span> God, have spoken.</span></p></div> </div> <a name="fn"></a><br /><br /><br /><b>Footnotes:<br /><br /><note caller="+" style="f"><char style="fr" closed="false">16.3 </char><char style="fq" closed="false">Amorite … Hittite: </char><char style="ft" closed="false">People who lived in Canaan before the Israelites and who worshiped idols.</char></note><br /><note caller="+" style="f"><char style="fr" closed="false">16.4 </char><char style="fq" closed="false">rubbed your skin with salt and olive oil: </char><char style="ft" closed="false">People believed this toughened the skin of the babies.</char></note><br /><note caller="+" style="f"><char style="fr" closed="false">16.8 </char><char style="fq" closed="false">I covered your naked body with my own robe: </char><char style="ft" closed="false">To show that he would protect and take care of her.</char></note><br /><note caller="+" style="f"><char style="fr" closed="false">16.10 </char><char style="fq" closed="false">most expensive robes: </char><char style="ft" closed="false">One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.</char></note><br /><note caller="+" style="f"><char style="fr" closed="false">16.15 </char><char style="fq" closed="false">so you offered yourself to every passerby: </char><char style="ft" closed="false">One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.</char></note><br /><note caller="+" style="f"><char style="fr" closed="false">16.16 </char><char style="fq" closed="false">These things should never have happened: </char><char style="ft" closed="false">One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.</char></note><br /><note caller="+" style="f"><char style="fr" closed="false">16.30 </char><char style="fq" closed="false">wanted: </char><char style="ft" closed="false">One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 30.</char></note><br /><note caller="+" style="f"><char style="fr" closed="false">16.45 </char><char style="fq" closed="false">Amorite … Hittite: </char><char style="ft" closed="false">See the note at 16.3.</char></note><br /><note caller="+" style="f"><char style="fr" closed="false">16.60 </char><char style="fq" closed="false">the agreement … when you were young: </char><char style="ft" closed="false">See verse 8.</char></note><br /><note caller="+" style="f"><char style="fr" closed="false">16.61 </char><char style="fq" closed="false">sisters: </char><char style="ft" closed="false">Sodom and Samaria (see verses 44-52).</char></note><br /><note caller="+" style="f"><char style="fr" closed="false">16.61 </char><char style="fq" closed="false">even though this was not part of our agreement: </char><char style="ft" closed="false">One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.</char></note></div></div><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><div align="center"><p><span style="font-size:11pt;">Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt;">© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt;">Bible text from the Contemporary English Version 2nd Edition (CEV®) is not to be reproduced in copies or otherwise by any means except as permitted in writing by American Bible Society, 101 North Independence Mall East, Floor 8, Philadelphia, PA 19106-2155 (<a href="http://www.americanbible.org">www.americanbible.org</a>). Learn more at <a href="http://www.cev.bible">www.cev.bible</a>. Discover .BIBLE resources for your ministry at <a href="http://www.get.bible/cev">www.get.bible/cev</a></span></p><br /><br /><a href="/">Bible Hub</a><br /><br /><br /></div></div></td></tr></table></div><div id="left"><a href="../ezekiel/15.htm" onmouseover='lft.src="/leftgif.png"' onmouseout='lft.src="/left.png"' title="Ezekiel 15"><img src="/left.png" name="lft" border="0" alt="Ezekiel 15" /></a></div><div id="right"><a href="../ezekiel/17.htm" onmouseover='rght.src="/rightgif.png"' onmouseout='rght.src="/right.png"' title="Ezekiel 17"><img src="/right.png" name="rght" border="0" alt="Ezekiel 17" /></a></div><div id="botleft"><a href="#" onmouseover='botleft.src="/botleftgif.png"' onmouseout='botleft.src="/botleft.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botleft.png" name="botleft" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="botright"><a href="#" onmouseover='botright.src="/botrightgif.png"' onmouseout='botright.src="/botright.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botright.png" name="botright" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="rightbox"><div class="padright"><div id="pic"><iframe width="100%" height="860" scrolling="no" src="//biblescan.com/mpc/ezekiel/16-1.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></div></div></div><div id="rightbox4"><div class="padright2"><div id="spons1"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"><tr><td class="sp1"><iframe width="122" height="860" scrolling="no" src="../sidemenu.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></div><div id="bot"><iframe width="100%" height="1500" scrolling="no" src="/botmenubhchapnoad.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></div></td></tr></table></div></body></html>