Ezekiel

A Love Story

The word of the Lord came to me in these words:

“Son of man, make known to Jerusalem its sins.

You say on my behalf: Your beginning was in Canaan; there you were born. Your father was an Amorite, and your mother was a Hittite.

When you were born, your cord was not cut; you were not bathed in water to make you clean; you were not rubbed with salt, nor were you wrapped in cloth.

There was no one to look at you with pity; no one compassionate enough to give you any of these cares. You were left exposed in the open fields because you were seen with disgust on the day you were born.

But I passed by and saw you, immersed in your blood. I said to you, in the midst of your blood, “Live!”

I made you grow like a plant in the field.

You grew up, became tall, and was coming of marriageable age. Your breasts were formed and your hair had grown, but you were naked and exposed. Later, I passed by and saw you at the age of love; I spread part of my garment over you to cover your nudity. I made a covenant with you with an oath—word of the Lord—and you were mine.

Then I bathed you in water;I cleansed you of your blood and anointed you with oil.

I clothed you with embroidered cloth and put soft leather sandals on your feet. I dressed you in fine linen and covered you with silk.

I adorned you with jewelry, putting bracelets on your arms, a necklace around your neck

and a ring in your nose.

I gave you earrings and a magnificent crown for your head. You were adorned with gold and silver; your clothing was fine linen, silk and embroidered cloth. You were fed on the finest flour, honey, and oil; you became very beautiful and rose to be queen.

Your beauty was perfect; and your renown spread through the nations because of the splendorI had given you—word of the Lord.

But you relied on your beauty; you trusted in your fame; and you began to give yourself to every passerby, like a prostitute.

With some of your garments, you made your high places, where you played the harlot (the like has never been and never will be).

With my silver and my gold, and with the ornaments that were your splendor, and which I had given you, you formed male idols and gave yourself to them.

With your embroidered garments, you covered them; and before them, you placed my oil and my incense.

My bread, which I gave you—the fine flour, the oil, and the honey with which I fed you—was offered as fragrant incense before them, says the Lord.

You took the sons and daughters you bore for me and sacrificed them as food to the idols. Was it not enough to prostitute yourself?

Did you have to slaughter my children as an offering to your idols?

You revel in your abominations and prostitution, forgetting the days of your youth when you were naked and exposed, lying in your blood.

Woe, woe to you—declares the Lord—for all this wickedness!

You built your mounds and made your high places at every crossroad.

At the entrance to every road, you built your lofty shrines; you defiled your beauty, giving yourself to every passerby, and always increasing your harlotry.

You gave yourself to the Egyptians, your large-limbed neighbors,and provoked my anger with your growing promiscuity.

And I stretched out my hand against you, reduced your territory, and handed you over to the mercy of your enemies, the daughters of the Philistines, who were appalledby your filthy ways.

You played the harlot with the Assyrians as well, because you were never satisfied. Yes, you played the harlot with them, but you remained insatiable.

Then you multiplied your acts of prostitution in a land of merchants, Chaldea, and yet you were still not satisfied.

Ah! How my anger rose against you, word of the Lord, as you did all that—the work of an accomplished harlot—

when you built your mounds at the entrance of every road and your shrines in every square! You were not like a prostitute because you scorned payments.

Adulterous wife! You prefer strangers to your husband.

All prostitutes receive fees, but you give gifts to your lovers, bribing them to come to you for your favors.

In your prostitution, you have been different from other women; no one approaches you, and you offer payment; no one gives you anything. You are completely different.

Therefore, harlot, listen to the word of the Lord.

This is what the Lord says: “For having exposed yourself, uncovering your nakedness to your lovers and your detestable idols, and because you have offered them the blood of your children,

I will gather all the lovers who found pleasure in you, along with those you loved and hated; I will assemble them from all around to come against you. I will strip you before them, and they will see your nakedness.

I will judge you the way adulterous women are judged, and as those who shed blood are judged; I will bring upon you the blood vengeance fueled by anger and jealousy.

I will hand you over to them; they will tear down your mounds and shrines. They will strip you of your clothes, taking away the ornaments that were your glory, leaving you naked and exposed.

They will bring a troop against you to stone you and cut you with swords.

Your houses will be burned by fire. A sentence will be passed on you in front of many women. I will put an end to your prostitution; and you will no longer be hired.

But once I have exhausted my fury against you, my jealousy will leave you. I will be calm and no longer angry.

Because you forgot the days of your youth and angered me with all these things, I will hold you accountable for everything you have done, says the Lord. Have you not added even more detestable acts to all your other abominations?

Every maker of proverbs will say of you: “Like mother, like daughter!”

You are the daughter of your mother, who loathed her husband and her children; and you are the sister of your sisters, who loathed their husbands and their children. Your mother was a Hittite, and your father was an Amorite.

Your elder sister is Samaria, who, with her daughters, lives on your left; and your younger sister, on your right, is Sodom, with her daughters.

You have followed their ways blindly and given yourself to the same abominations. You have been more corrupt than they are in every way.

As I live, declares the Lord, Sodom, your sister, and her daughters have not done as you have done.

The sins of Sodom, your sister, were pride, overindulgence in food, complacency, and indifference to the poor and needy.

They were arrogant and committed disgusting acts in my sight. For that reason, I destroyed them, As you have seen.

As for Samaria, she has not committed a fraction of your sins. Your abominations surpass hers, and compared to you, your sisters look righteous.

So accept your shame, you who have committed such detestable sins, providing excuses for your sisters! They seem more righteous than you. Be ashamed and accept your disgrace, since your sisters appear holy In comparison to you.

When I restore the fortunes of Sodom and her daughters, I will restore your own fortunes among them,

so that you may bear your shame and confusion, because they now feel they are better than you.

When your sister Sodom and her daughters, and Samaria with hers, return to what they were before, you and your daughters will also return to what you once were.

Had not Sodom, your sister, become a byword for you when you felt proud

before your wickedness was known? But now, you have become the subject of mockery by the daughters of Edom and all her neighbors, as well as by the daughters of the Philistines, who all around show their disgust for you.

You will bear the consequences of your foul behavior and abominations, word of the Lord.

For thus says the Lord: “I will treat you as you deserve; you, who despised the oath and broke the Covenant.

But I will remember my Covenant with you in the days of your youth and will establish an everlasting Covenant in your favor.

You will reflect on your ways and feel shame when I take your sisters, both the elder and the younger, and give them to you as daughters, without violating my covenant with you.

For I will uphold my covenant with you, and you will recognize that I am the Lord.

Then you will remember, feel ashamed, and never again open your mouth because of your humiliation, when I have forgiven you for all you have done,” says the Lord.