1 ARST Yahweh gave me another message. He said, BSB BSB: Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
2 ARST “Son of man, inform the people of Jerusalem about their detestable behavior. BSB BSB: “Son of man, confront Jerusalem with her abominations
3 ARST Say to them,‘This is what Yahweh the Lord says to you people of Jerusalem: It is as though you are a woman whose father belonged to the Amor people group and your mother belonged to the Heth people group. BSB BSB: and tell her that this is what the Lord GOD says to Jerusalem: Your origin and your birth were in the land of the Canaanites. Your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite.
4 ARST It is as though on the day that you were born, your umbilical cord was not cut, and your body was not washed in water or rubbed with salt and wrapped in strips of cloth, like Israelite babies always are. BSB BSB: On the day of your birth your cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water for cleansing. You were not rubbed with salt or wrapped in cloths.
5 ARST No one pitied you or acted kindly toward you by doing those things for you. Instead, it was as though they hated you. As soon as you were born they threw you into a field to die. BSB BSB: No one cared enough for you to do even one of these things out of compassion for you. Instead, you were thrown out into the open field, because you were despised on the day of your birth.
6 ARST Then it was as though I passed by and saw you lying in your own blood and kicking. And while you lay there kicking in your own blood, I said to you,“I want you to remain alive!” BSB BSB: Then I passed by and saw you wallowing in your blood, and as you lay there in your blood I said to you, ‘Live!’ There I said to you, ‘Live!’
7 ARST It was as though I caused you to grow up, like plants in the field grow; you grew up and became tall and became like the most precious jewel of all. You developed into a beautiful woman, but you were still completely naked. BSB BSB: I made you thrive like a plant of the field. You grew up and matured and became very beautiful. Your breasts were formed and your hair grew, but you were naked and bare.
8 ARST When I saw you several years later, it was as though I spread the cloth of my robe over you to symbolize that I would marry you, with the result that you were no longer naked. I solemnly promised that I would marry you and made a marriage agreement with you, and you became my wife.’ That is what Yahweh the Lord says. BSB BSB: Then I passed by and saw you, and you were indeed old enough for love. So I spread My cloak over you and covered your nakedness. I pledged Myself to you, entered into a covenant with you, and you became Mine, declares the Lord GOD.
9 ARST And then it was as though I bathed you and washed the blood from you and put ointment on your body. BSB BSB: Then I bathed you with water, rinsed off your blood, and anointed you with oil.
10 ARST It was as though I put a fine linen robe on you and gave you expensive clothes. I put an embroidered dress on you and put leather sandals on your feet. BSB BSB: I clothed you in embroidered cloth and gave you sandals of fine leather. I wrapped you in fine linen and covered you with silk.
11 ARST It was as though I put bracelets on your arms and a necklace around your neck. Those things all had nice jewels fastened to them. BSB BSB: I adorned you with jewelry, and I put bracelets on your wrists and a chain around your neck.
12 ARST I put a gold ring in your nose and fastened earrings to your ears and put a beautiful crown on your head. BSB BSB: I put a ring in your nose, earrings on your ears, and a beautiful crown upon your head.
13 ARST So it was as though you wore gold and silver ornaments. You had clothes made from fine linen and other expensive fabrics, and an embroidered dress. You ate fine flour, honey, and oil. You were the most beautiful woman and I made you into a queen. BSB BSB: So you were adorned with gold and silver, and your clothing was made of fine linen, silk, and embroidered cloth. You ate fine flour, honey, and oil. You became very beautiful and rose to be queen.
14 ARST You were very beautiful, with the result that people in other nations heard about you, because they knew that I, Yahweh the Lord, am the one who had caused you to become very beautiful. BSB BSB: Your fame spread among the nations on account of your beauty, for it was perfect in the splendor I bestowed on you, declares the Lord GOD.
15 ARST But it was as though you forgot that I made you beautiful and started acting promiscuous with every man who came along, and they all enjoyed your beauty. BSB BSB: But because of your fame, you trusted in your beauty and played the harlot. You lavished your favors on everyone who passed by, and your beauty was theirs for the asking.
16 ARST It was as though you took some of your clothes to make beautifully decorated the high places, and that is where you slept with those men. Those things should certainly never occur! BSB BSB: You took some of your garments and made colorful high places for yourself, and on them you prostituted yourself. Such things should not have happened; never should they have occurred!
17 ARST You took the fine gold and silver jewelry that I gave you, and you made male idols for yourself, in order to sleep with them. BSB BSB: You also took the fine jewelry of gold and silver I had given you, and you made male idols with which to prostitute yourself.
18 ARST You took some of your embroidered clothes to put on those idols, and you burned oil and incense in front of them to honor them. BSB BSB: You took your embroidered garments to cover them, and you set My oil and incense before them.
19 ARST And the bread that was made from fine flour and the olive oil and honey that I gave to you to eat, you offered to be a fragrant sacrifice to those idols. I, Yahweh the Lord, declare that that is what happened. BSB BSB: And you set before them as a pleasing aroma the food I had given you—the fine flour, oil, and honey that I had fed you. That is what happened, declares the Lord GOD.
20 ARST And you even took your sons and daughters who were supposed to be committed to me and sacrificed and killed them as though they were less important than your becoming a prostitute. BSB BSB: You even took the sons and daughters you bore to Me and sacrificed them as food to idols. Was your prostitution not enough?
21 ARST You slaughtered those who were like my children, and offered them to be sacrifices to these false gods! BSB BSB: You slaughtered My children and delivered them up through the fire to idols.
22 ARST All during the time when you were acting like a prostitute and doing other detestable things, you did not think about the time when it was as though you were very young, naked, lying in your own blood and kicking in the field. BSB BSB: And in all your abominations and acts of prostitution, you did not remember the days of your youth when you were naked and bare, wallowing in your own blood.
23 ARST So I, Yahweh the Lord, declare that terrible things will happen to you. In addition to all the other wicked things that you did, BSB BSB: Woe! Woe to you, declares the Lord GOD. And in addition to all your other wickedness,
24 ARST you built yourself a tall building in which you worship idols and you built a place to worship idols in every city square. BSB BSB: you built yourself a mound and made yourself a lofty shrine in every public square.
25 ARST At the beginning of every street you built a tall building for the worship of idols, and showed people your beautiful body, offering it to sleep with every man who walked by, and so you were known as a prostitute and your fame for your immorality grew every day. BSB BSB: At the head of every street you built your lofty shrines and degraded your beauty. With increasing promiscuity, you spread your legs to all who passed by.
26 ARST It was as though you had slept with men from Egypt who were eager to sleep with you, men who lived near Israel. You caused me to become very angry because you became more eager to sleep with more and more of them. BSB BSB: You prostituted yourself with your lustful neighbors, the Egyptians, and increased your promiscuity to provoke Me to anger.
27 ARST So I punished you and caused your enemies to capture some of your country. I enabled your greedy enemies from Philistia to defeat you; and even they were shocked because of your disgraceful behavior. BSB BSB: Therefore I stretched out My hand against you and reduced your portion. I gave you over to the desire of those who hate you, the daughters of the Philistines, who were ashamed of your lewd conduct.
28 ARST It was as though you slept with soldiers from Assyria, too, because you always wanted to sleep with more men. And after that, you still were not satisfied. BSB BSB: Then you prostituted yourself with the Assyrians, because you were not yet satisfied. Even after that, you were still not satisfied.
29 ARST So you also slept with soldiers from Babylonia, a country full of merchants, but even that did not satisfy you. BSB BSB: So you extended your promiscuity to Chaldea, the land of merchants—but even with this you were not satisfied!
30 ARST I, Yahweh the Lord, declare that you are ruining your life! When you did all those things, you were acting like a prostitute who has no shame for all the things she does. BSB BSB: How weak-willed is your heart, declares the Lord GOD, while you do all these things, the acts of a shameless prostitute!
31 ARST But when you built the houses on the hills to worship idols in every city square, you were not really like a prostitute because prostitutes charge money. You refused to take money for what you did! BSB BSB: But when you built your mounds at the head of every street and made your lofty shrines in every public square, you were not even like a prostitute, because you scorned payment.
32 ARST You are like a woman who commits adultery: You prefer to sleep with strangers rather than with your husband. BSB BSB: You adulterous wife! You receive strangers instead of your own husband!
33 ARST Prostitutes are paid, but it is as though you give gifts to all your lovers; you bribe them to come to you from everywhere to sleep with you. BSB BSB: Men give gifts to all their prostitutes, but you gave gifts to all your lovers. You bribed them to come to you from everywhere for your illicit favors.
34 ARST So although you act like you are a prostitute, you are actually the opposite of other prostitutes! Instead of them giving any money to you, you give men money to sleep with you! BSB BSB: So your prostitution is the opposite of that of other women: No one solicited your favors, and you paid a fee instead of receiving one; so you are the very opposite!
35 ARST Therefore, you people of Jerusalem, you, who are like a prostitute, listen to what Yahweh the Lord is saying about you! BSB BSB: Therefore, O prostitute, hear the word of the LORD!
36 ARST He says that what you have done is as though you have lusted for everyone around you and had slept with them and with the male idols you made, so that you even made your own children to be sacrifices to them. BSB BSB: This is what the Lord GOD says: Because you poured out your wealth and exposed your nakedness in your promiscuity with your lovers and with all your detestable idols, and because of the blood of your children which you gave to them,
37 ARST So what I am going to do is as though I will gather those who you think have loved you and those whom you hated. I will gather them around you to attack you, and what I will do is as though I will strip your clothes off you, and they will see you when you are completely naked. BSB BSB: therefore I will surely gather all the lovers with whom you found pleasure, all those you loved and all those you hated. I will gather them against you from all around and expose you before them, and they will see you completely naked.
38 ARST I will punish you like women who commit adultery and who murder people are punished. I will get revenge on you and get rid of you because I am extremely angry with you. BSB BSB: And I will sentence you to the punishment of women who commit adultery and those who shed blood; so I will bring upon you the wrath of your bloodshed and jealousy.
39 ARST I will allow your enemies who you thought loved you break apart your high places of idol worship and pagan altars. They will strip you naked and keep your clothes and jewelry, and abandon you with nothing to cover yourself with. BSB BSB: Then I will deliver you into the hands of your lovers, and they will level your mounds and tear down your lofty shrines. They will strip off your clothes, take your fine jewelry, and leave you naked and bare.
40 ARST They will bring a mob to attack you, and that mob will throw stones at you and cut you to pieces with their swords. BSB BSB: They will bring a mob against you, who will stone you and cut you to pieces with their swords.
41 ARST They will burn down your houses and punish you while many women are watching. I will let them do this so that you will learn a lesson for acting so adulterously and for paying people to sleep with you. BSB BSB: Then they will burn down your houses and execute judgment against you in the sight of many women. I will put an end to your prostitution, and you will never again pay your lovers.
42 ARST Then I will no longer be angry with you. I will stop being jealous because your punishment will satisfy me. BSB BSB: So I will lay to rest My wrath against you, and My jealousy will turn away from you. Then I will be calm and no longer angry.
43 ARST You have forgotten the wonderful things that I did for you in previous years. You have caused me to become extremely angry because of all the evil things that you have done. In addition to all the other detestable things that you did, you committed many sexual sins. So I Yahweh the Lord declare that I will punish you for doing those things. BSB BSB: Because you did not remember the days of your youth, but enraged Me with all these things, I will surely bring your deeds down upon your own head, declares the Lord GOD. Have you not committed this lewdness on top of all your other abominations?
44 ARST People who like to quote proverbs will quote this proverb about you:‘Daughters behave like their mothers behave.’ BSB BSB: Behold, all who speak in proverbs will quote this proverb about you: ‘Like mother, like daughter.’
45 ARST You are like your mother; it was as though she detested her husband and her children. You are like your sisters, who also despised their husbands and their children. It was as though your father belonged to the Amor people group and your mother belonged to the Heth people group. BSB BSB: You are the daughter of your mother, who despised her husband and children. You are the sister of your sisters, who despised their husbands and children. Your mother was a Hittite and your father an Amorite.
46 ARST And it was as though your older sister was Samaria, and she and her daughters lived to the north of you, and it was as though your younger sister was Sodom, and her daughters lived to the south of you. BSB BSB: Your older sister was Samaria, who lived with her daughters to your north; and your younger sister was Sodom, who lived with her daughters to your south.
47 ARST You not only imitated all their detestable behavior, but you quickly became more sinful than they were. BSB BSB: And you not only walked in their ways and practiced their abominations, but soon you were more depraved than they were.
48 ARST I, Yahweh the Lord, solemnly declare that as surely as I am alive, the people who lived in Sodom and other nearby cities never did the detestable things that you people in Jerusalem and other places in Judah have done. BSB BSB: As surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, your sister Sodom and her daughters never did as you and your daughters have done.
49 ARST These are the sins of the people who lived in Sodom, who were like your sister people among them: they were prideful and did not think they would ever be punished. They ignored poor and hurting people around them. BSB BSB: Now this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed, and complacent; they did not help the poor and needy.
50 ARST The people of Sodom and nearby cities were proud and did detestable things in my presence, so I got rid of them when I saw what they had been doing. BSB BSB: Thus they were haughty and committed abominations before Me. Therefore I removed them, as you have seen.
51 ARST Also, the people of Samaria did not commit half as many sins as you commit. You have done more disgusting things than they have done. You cause the people of Samaria to appear to be good, compared to you. BSB BSB: Furthermore, Samaria did not commit half the sins you did. You have multiplied your abominations beyond theirs, and all the abominations you have committed have made your sisters appear righteous.
52 ARST Your sins are worse than their sins, so they seem to be less wicked than you are. So I will punish you more than I punished them. As a result, you will be ashamed and disgraced. BSB BSB: So now you must bear your disgrace, since you have brought justification for your sisters. For they appear more righteous than you, because your sins were more vile than theirs. So you too must bear your shame and disgrace, since you have made your sisters appear righteous.
53 ARST However, some day I will cause the people of Sodom and Samaria and the cities near to them to prosper again. And I will cause you to prosper again, too. BSB BSB: But I will restore Sodom and her daughters from captivity, as well as Samaria and her daughters. And I will restore you along with them.
54 ARST You will be very ashamed of the wicked things that you have done, and that will cause the people of those cities to be encouraged. BSB BSB: So you will bear your disgrace and be ashamed of all you did to comfort them.
55 ARST The people of Sodom and Samaria will prosper again, and you and the people in nearby cities will prosper also. BSB BSB: And your sisters, Sodom with her daughters and Samaria with her daughters, will return to their former state. You and your daughters will also return to your former state.
56 ARST You sneered at the people of Sodom when you were proud, BSB BSB: Did you not treat your sister Sodom as an object of scorn in the day of your pride,
57 ARST before it was revealed that you were more wicked than she was. And now the people of Edom and the people of Philistia all insult you and despise you. BSB BSB: before your wickedness was uncovered? Even so, you are now scorned by the daughters of Edom and all those around her, and by the daughters of the Philistines—all those around you who despise you.
58 ARST And you are being punished for all your immoral behavior and other detestable things that you do. This is what Yahweh is saying to you! BSB BSB: You will bear the consequences of your lewdness and your abominations, declares the LORD.
59 ARST This is what I, Yahweh the Lord, say: I will continue to punish you like you deserve to be punished, because by rejecting the agreement that I made with you, you have despised that solemn agreement that you promised to obey. BSB BSB: For this is what the Lord GOD says: I will deal with you according to your deeds, since you have despised the oath by breaking the covenant.
60 ARST But I will not forget the agreement that I made with you long ago and I will make an agreement with you that will endure forever. BSB BSB: But I will remember the covenant I made with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish an everlasting covenant with you.
61 ARST Then you will think about what you have done, and you will be ashamed about those things when you welcome the people of Sodom and Samaria, cities which are like your daughters, but they will not have the same agreement that I will make with you. BSB BSB: Then you will remember your ways and be ashamed when you receive your older and younger sisters. I will give them to you as daughters, but not because of My covenant with you.
62 ARST I will establish my agreement with you, and you will know that I, Yahweh, have the power to do what I say that I will do. BSB BSB: So I will establish My covenant with you, and you will know that I am the LORD,
63 ARST Then when I have forgiven you for all your sins, you will think about all the sins that you committed and you will be ashamed. You will never again boast about them, because you will be humiliated.” I, the Lord Yahweh, have said so!’ This is the Lord Yahweh’ s declaration.” BSB BSB: so that when I make atonement for all you have done, you will remember and be ashamed and never again open your mouth because of your disgrace, declares the Lord GOD.”
Select verses for actions: Enter goes to them and Escape comes back.