AGAIN the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

2 '' Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations,

3 ''And say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD to Jerusalem: "Your birth and your nativity are from the land of Cannan; your father was Amorite and your mother is Hatite.

4 ''As for your nativity, on the day you were born your naval cord was not cut, nor were you washed in water to cleanse you; you were not rubbed with salt nor wrapped in swaddling cloths.

5 ''No eye pitied you, to do any of these things for you, to have compassion on you; but you were thrown out into the open field, when you yourself were loathed on the day you were born.

6 ''And when I passed by you and saw you struggling in your own blood, I said to you in your blood, 'Live! 'Yes I live in your blood,'Live!'

7 "I made you thrive like a plant in the field; and you grew, matured, and became very beautiful.Your breasts were formed, your hair grew, but you were naked and bare.

8 'When I passed by you again and looked upon you, indeed your time was the time of love; so I spread My wing over you and covered your nakedness.Yes, I swore an oath to you and entered into covenant with you, and you became Mine, "says the Lord GOD

9 ''Then I washed you in water; yes, I throughly washed off your blood, and I anointed you with oil.

10 ''I clothed you in embroided cloth and gave you sandals of badger skin; I clothed you with fine linen and covered you with silk.

11 ''I adorn you with ornaments, put bracelets on your wrist, and a chain on your neck.

12 ''And I put a jewel in your nose, earring in your ears, and a beautiful crown on your head.

13 ''Thus you were adorn with gold and silver, and your clothing was of fine linen silk, and embroidered cloth.You ate pastery of fine flour, honey, and oil.You were exceedingly beautiful, and suceeded to royalty.

14 ''Your fame went out among nations because of your beauty, for it was perfect through My spendeor which I had bestowed on you,"says the Lord GOD.

15 ''But you trusted in your own beauty, played the harlot because of your fame, and poured out your harlotry on everyone passing by who would have it.

16 ''You took some of your garment and adorned multicolored high places for yourself, and played the harlot on them. Such things should not hapen, nor be.

17 ''You have also taken your beautiful jewelery from My gold and My silver, which I had given you, and made for yourself male images and played harlot with them.

18 ''You took your embroidered garments and covered them, and you set My oil and My incense before them.

19 ''Also My food which I gave you - the pastry of fine floor, oil, and honey which I fed you - you set it before them as sweet incense; and so it was, "says the Lord GOD.

20 ''Morever you took your sons and your daughters, whom you bore to Me, and these you sacrificeed to them to be devoured. Were your acts of harlotry a small matter,

21 ''That you have slain My childern and offered them up to them by causing them to pass through fire?

22 ''And in all your abominations and acts of harlotry you did not remember the days of your youth, when you were naked and bare, struggling in your blood.

23 ''Then it was so, after all your wickedness - 'Woe, woe to you!' says the Lord GOD -

24 ''That you also built for yourself a shrine, and made a high place for yourself in every street.

25 ''You built your high places 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 the Egyptians, your very fleshly neighbors, and increased your act of harlotry to provoke Me to anger.

27 ''Behold, therefore, I stretched out My hand against you, diminish your allotment, and gave you up to the will of those who hate you, the daughter of the Philistines, who were ashamed of your lewd behavior.

28 ''You also played the harlot with the Assyrians, because you were insatiable; indeed you played the harlot with them and still were satisfied.

29 "Morever you multiplied your acts of harlotry as far as the land of the trador, 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.

31 "You erected your shrine at the head of every road, and built your high place in every street. Yet you were not like a harlot, because you scorned payment.

32 ''You are adulterous wife, who takes strangers instead of her husband.

33 ''Men make payment to all harlots, you made your payments to all your lovers, and hired them to come to you from all around for your harlotry.

34 ''You are the opposite of other woman 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."

35 'Now then, O harlot, hear the word of the LORD!

36 Thus says the Lord GOD; "Because your filthness was poured out and your nakedness uncovered in your harlotry with your lovers, and with all your abominationable idols, and because of the blood of your children which you gave to them.

37 ''Surely, therefore, I will gather all your lovers with whom you took pleasure, all those you loved, and all those you hated; I will gather them from all around against you and will uncover your nakedness to them, that they may see all your nakedness.

38 ''And I will judge you as women who break wedlock or shed blood are judged; I will bring blood upon you in fury and jealousy.

39 ''I will also give you into their hand, and they shall throw down your shrines and break down your high places.They shall also strip you of your clothes, take your brautiful jewelry, and leave you naked and bare.

40 ''They shall also bring up an assembly against you, and they shall stone you with stones and thrust you through with their swords.

41 ''They shall burn your houses with fire, and execute judgments on you in the sight of many women; and I will make you cease playing the harlot, and you shall no longer hire lovers.

42 ''So I will lay to rest My fury toward, and My jealousy shall depart from you. I will be quiet, and be angry no more.

43 ''Because you did not remember the days of your youth, but agitated Me with all these things, surely I will also recompense your deeds on your own head, "says the Lord GOD. "And you shall not commit lewdness in addition to all your abominations.

44 ''Indeed everyone who quotes proverbs will use this proverb against you: 'Like mother, like daughter!'

45 ''You are your mother`s daughter, loathing husband and childern; and you are the sister of your sisters, who loathed their their husbands and children; your mother was Hatite and your father an Amorite.

46 ''Your elder sister is Samaria, who dwells with her daughters to the north of you; and your younger sister, who dwell to the south of you, is Sodom and her daughters.

47 ''You did not walk in their ways nor act according to their abomination; but, as if that were too little, you became more corrupt then they they in all your days

48 ''As I love,"says the Lord GOD, "neither your sister Sodom nor her daughter have done as you and your daughters have done.

49 ''Look, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: She and her daughter had pride, fullness of food, and abundance of idleness; neither did she strenghten the hand of the poor and needy.

50 '''And they were haughty and committed abomination before I took them away as I saw fit.

51 ''Samaria did not commit half of your sins; but you have multiplied your abominations more than hey, and have justified your sister by all the abominations which you have done.

52 ''You who judged your sisters, bear your own shame also, because the sins which you committed were more abominable then their; they are more rithteous than you. Yes, be disgraced also, and bear your own shame, because you justified your sisters.

53 ''When I bring back their captives, the captives of Sodom and her daughters, and the captives of Samaria and her daughters, then I will also bring back the captives of your captivity among them.

54 ''That you may bear your own shame and be disgraced by all that you did when you comforted them.

55 ''When your sisters, Sodom and her daughter, return to their former state, and Samaria and her daughter return to their former state, then you and your daughters will return to your former state.

56 ''For your sister Sodom was not a byword in your mouth in the days of your pride,

57 ''Before your wickedness was uncovered.It was like the time of the reproach of the daughter of Syria and all those around her,and of daughters of the Philistines, who despise your everwhere.

58 ''You have paid for your lewdness and your abominations, "says the LORD.

59 'For thus says the Lord GOD: "I will deal with you as you have done, who despised the oath by breaking the covenant.

60 ''Nevertheless I will remember My covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I establish an everlasting covenant with you.

61 ''Then you will remember your ways and be ashamed, when you recieve your older and younger sister; for I will give them to your daughters, because of My covenant with you.

62 "And I will establish My covenant with you.Then you shall know that I am the LORD.

63 ''That you may remember and be ashamed, and never open mouth anymore because of your shame, when I provide you an atonement for all have done,"says the Lord GOD. EZEKIEL 16