23 “‘Woe!(A) Woe to you, declares the Sovereign Lord. In addition to all your other wickedness, 24 you built a mound for yourself and made a lofty shrine(B) in every public square.(C) 25 At every street corner(D) you built your lofty shrines and degraded your beauty, spreading your legs with increasing promiscuity to anyone who passed by.(E) 26 You engaged in prostitution(F) with the Egyptians,(G) your neighbors with large genitals, and aroused my anger(H) with your increasing promiscuity.(I) 27 So I stretched out my hand(J) against you and reduced your territory; I gave you over(K) to the greed of your enemies, the daughters of the Philistines,(L) who were shocked by your lewd conduct. 28 You engaged in prostitution with the Assyrians(M) too, because you were insatiable; and even after that, you still were not satisfied.(N) 29 Then you increased your promiscuity to include Babylonia,[a](O) a land of merchants, but even with this you were not satisfied.(P)

30 “‘I am filled with fury against you,[b] declares the Sovereign Lord, when you do all these things, acting like a brazen prostitute!(Q) 31 When you built your mounds at every street corner and made your lofty shrines(R) in every public square, you were unlike a prostitute, because you scorned payment.

32 “‘You adulterous wife! You prefer strangers to your own husband! 33 All prostitutes receive gifts,(S) but you give gifts(T) to all your lovers, bribing them to come to you from everywhere for your illicit favors.(U) 34 So in your prostitution you are the opposite of others; no one runs after you for your favors. You are the very opposite, for you give payment and none is given to you.

35 “‘Therefore, you prostitute, hear the word of the Lord!

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Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 16:29 Or Chaldea
  2. Ezekiel 16:30 Or How feverish is your heart,

23 And it came to pass after all thy wickedness, (woe, woe unto thee! saith the Lord God;)

24 That thou hast also built unto thee an eminent place, and hast made thee an high place in every street.

25 Thou hast built thy high place at every head of the way, and hast made thy beauty to be abhorred, and hast opened thy feet to every one that passed by, and multiplied thy whoredoms.

26 Thou hast also committed fornication with the Egyptians thy neighbours, great of flesh; and hast increased thy whoredoms, to provoke me to anger.

27 Behold, therefore I have stretched out my hand over thee, and have diminished thine ordinary food, and delivered thee unto the will of them that hate thee, the daughters of the Philistines, which are ashamed of thy lewd way.

28 Thou hast played the whore also with the Assyrians, because thou wast unsatiable; yea, thou hast played the harlot with them, and yet couldest not be satisfied.

29 Thou hast moreover multiplied thy fornication in the land of Canaan unto Chaldea; and yet thou wast not satisfied therewith.

30 How weak is thine heart, saith the Lord God, seeing thou doest all these things, the work of an imperious whorish woman;

31 In that thou buildest thine eminent place in the head of every way, and makest thine high place in every street; and hast not been as an harlot, in that thou scornest hire;

32 But as a wife that committeth adultery, which taketh strangers instead of her husband!

33 They give gifts to all whores: but thou givest thy gifts to all thy lovers, and hirest them, that they may come unto thee on every side for thy whoredom.

34 And the contrary is in thee from other women in thy whoredoms, whereas none followeth thee to commit whoredoms: and in that thou givest a reward, and no reward is given unto thee, therefore thou art contrary.

35 Wherefore, O harlot, hear the word of the Lord:

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23 “Then it was so, after all your wickedness—‘Woe, woe to you!’ says the Lord God 24 that (A)you also built for yourself a shrine, and (B)made a [a]high place for yourself in every street. 25 You built your high places (C)at the head of every road, and made your beauty to be abhorred. You offered yourself to everyone who passed by, and multiplied your acts of harlotry. 26 You also committed harlotry with (D)the Egyptians, your very fleshly neighbors, and increased your acts of harlotry to (E)provoke Me to anger.

27 “Behold, therefore, I stretched out My hand against you, diminished your [b]allotment, and gave you up to the will of those who hate you, (F)the daughters of the Philistines, who were ashamed of your lewd behavior. 28 You also played the harlot with the (G)Assyrians, because you were insatiable; indeed you played the harlot with them and still were not satisfied. 29 Moreover you multiplied your acts of harlotry as far as the land of the trader, (H)Chaldea; and even then you were not satisfied.

30 “How degenerate is your heart!” says the Lord God, “seeing you do all these things, the deeds of a brazen harlot.

Jerusalem’s Adultery

31 (I)“You erected your shrine at the head of every road, and built your [c]high place in every street. Yet you were not like a harlot, because you scorned (J)payment. 32 You are an adulterous wife, who takes strangers instead of her husband. 33 Men make payment to all harlots, but (K)you made your payments to all your lovers, and [d]hired them to come to you from all around for your harlotry. 34 You are the opposite of other women in your harlotry, because no one solicited you to be a harlot. In that you gave payment but no payment was given you, therefore you are the opposite.”

Jerusalem’s Lovers Will Abuse Her

35 ‘Now then, O harlot, hear the word of the Lord!

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Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 16:24 Place for pagan worship
  2. Ezekiel 16:27 Allowance of food
  3. Ezekiel 16:31 Place for pagan worship
  4. Ezekiel 16:33 Or bribed