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Ezekiel 16

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Again the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,

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Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations,

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And say, Thus saith the Lord God unto Jerusalem; Thy birth and thy nativity is of the land of Canaan; thy father was an Amorite, and thy mother an Hittite.

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And as for thy nativity, in the day thou wast born thy navel was not cut, neither wast thou washed in water to supple thee; thou wast not salted at all, nor swaddled at all.

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None eye pitied thee, to do any of these unto thee, to have compassion upon thee; but thou wast cast out in the open field, to the lothing of thy person, in the day that thou wast born.

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And when I passed by thee, and saw thee polluted in thine own blood, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live; yea, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live.

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I have caused thee to multiply as the bud of the field, and thou hast increased and waxen great, and thou art come to excellent ornaments: thy breasts are fashioned, and thine hair is grown, whereas thou wast naked and bare.

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Now when I passed by thee, and looked upon thee, behold, thy time was the time of love; and I spread my skirt over thee, and covered thy nakedness: yea, I sware unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord God, and thou becamest mine.

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Then washed I thee with water; yea, I throughly washed away thy blood from thee, and I anointed thee with oil.

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I clothed thee also with broidered work, and shod thee with badgers’ skin, and I girded thee about with fine linen, and I covered thee with silk.

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I decked thee also with ornaments, and I put bracelets upon thy hands, and a chain on thy neck.

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And I put a jewel on thy forehead, and earrings in thine ears, and a beautiful crown upon thine head.

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Thus wast thou decked with gold and silver; and thy raiment was of fine linen, and silk, and broidered work; thou didst eat fine flour, and honey, and oil: and thou wast exceeding beautiful, and thou didst prosper into a kingdom.

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And thy renown went forth among the heathen for thy beauty: for it was perfect through my comeliness, which I had put upon thee, saith the Lord God.

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But thou didst trust in thine own beauty, and playedst the harlot because of thy renown, and pouredst out thy fornications on every one that passed by; his it was.

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And of thy garments thou didst take, and deckedst thy high places with divers colours, and playedst the harlot thereupon: the like things shall not come, neither shall it be so.

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Thou hast also taken thy fair jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given thee, and madest to thyself images of men, and didst commit whoredom with them,

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And tookest thy broidered garments, and coveredst them: and thou hast set mine oil and mine incense before them.

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My meat also which I gave thee, fine flour, and oil, and honey, wherewith I fed thee, thou hast even set it before them for a sweet savour: and thus it was, saith the Lord God.

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Moreover thou hast taken thy sons and thy daughters, whom thou hast borne unto me, and these hast thou sacrificed unto them to be devoured. Is this of thy whoredoms a small matter,

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That thou hast slain my children, and delivered them to cause them to pass through the fire for them?

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And in all thine abominations and thy whoredoms thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, when thou wast naked and bare, and wast polluted in thy blood.

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

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

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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.

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

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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.

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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.

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

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

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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;

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

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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.

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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.

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

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Thus saith the Lord God; Because thy filthiness was poured out, and thy nakedness discovered through thy whoredoms with thy lovers, and with all the idols of thy abominations, and by the blood of thy children, which thou didst give unto them;

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Behold, therefore I will gather all thy lovers, with whom thou hast taken pleasure, and all them that thou hast loved, with all them that thou hast hated; I will even gather them round about against thee, and will discover thy nakedness unto them, that they may see all thy nakedness.

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And I will judge thee, as women that break wedlock and shed blood are judged; and I will give thee blood in fury and jealousy.

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And I will also give thee into their hand, and they shall throw down thine eminent place, and shall break down thy high places: they shall strip thee also of thy clothes, and shall take thy fair jewels, and leave thee naked and bare.

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They shall also bring up a company against thee, and they shall stone thee with stones, and thrust thee through with their swords.

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And they shall burn thine houses with fire, and execute judgments upon thee in the sight of many women: and I will cause thee to cease from playing the harlot, and thou also shalt give no hire any more.

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So will I make my fury toward thee to rest, and my jealousy shall depart from thee, and I will be quiet, and will be no more angry.

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Because thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, but hast fretted me in all these things; behold, therefore I also will recompense thy way upon thine head, saith the Lord God: and thou shalt not commit this lewdness above all thine abominations.

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Behold, every one that useth proverbs shall use this proverb against thee, saying, As is the mother, so is her daughter.

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Thou art thy mother’s daughter, that lotheth her husband and her children; and thou art the sister of thy sisters, which lothed their husbands and their children: your mother was an Hittite, and your father an Amorite.

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And thine elder sister is Samaria, she and her daughters that dwell at thy left hand: and thy younger sister, that dwelleth at thy right hand, is Sodom and her daughters.

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Yet hast thou not walked after their ways, nor done after their abominations: but, as if that were a very little thing, thou wast corrupted more than they in all thy ways.

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As I live, saith the Lord God, Sodom thy sister hath not done, she nor her daughters, as thou hast done, thou and thy daughters.

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Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.

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And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good.

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Neither hath Samaria committed half of thy sins; but thou hast multiplied thine abominations more than they, and hast justified thy sisters in all thine abominations which thou hast done.

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Thou also, which hast judged thy sisters, bear thine own shame for thy sins that thou hast committed more abominable than they: they are more righteous than thou: yea, be thou confounded also, and bear thy shame, in that thou hast justified thy sisters.

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When I shall bring again their captivity, the captivity of Sodom and her daughters, and the captivity of Samaria and her daughters, then will I bring again the captivity of thy captives in the midst of them:

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That thou mayest bear thine own shame, and mayest be confounded in all that thou hast done, in that thou art a comfort unto them.

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When thy sisters, Sodom and her daughters, shall return to their former estate, and Samaria and her daughters shall return to their former estate, then thou and thy daughters shall return to your former estate.

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For thy sister Sodom was not mentioned by thy mouth in the day of thy pride,

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Before thy wickedness was discovered, as at the time of thy reproach of the daughters of Syria, and all that are round about her, the daughters of the Philistines, which despise thee round about.

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Thou hast borne thy lewdness and thine abominations, saith the Lord.

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For thus saith the Lord God; I will even deal with thee as thou hast done, which hast despised the oath in breaking the covenant.

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Nevertheless I will remember my covenant with thee in the days of thy youth, and I will establish unto thee an everlasting covenant.

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Then thou shalt remember thy ways, and be ashamed, when thou shalt receive thy sisters, thine elder and thy younger: and I will give them unto thee for daughters, but not by thy covenant.

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And I will establish my covenant with thee; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord:

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That thou mayest remember, and be confounded, and never open thy mouth any more because of thy shame, when I am pacified toward thee for all that thou hast done, saith the Lord God.

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Ezekiel 16

God presents Jerusalem as an abandoned orphan girl rescued and elevated to royalty through divine care, adorned with luxurious gifts and married in covenant, yet who became a harlot prostituting herself with numerous lovers and even paying them to approach her. This extended allegory of marital infidelity represents the covenant relationship as intimate partnership, with Israel's idolatry portrayed as sexual betrayal violating the exclusive bond established through covenant. The graphic condemnation of sexual promiscuity and the description of naked public exposure and stoning represent the humiliation and judgment awaiting the unfaithful bride. Yet even within condemnation, God remembers the covenant and promises ultimate restoration, establishing that covenant commitment transcends violation and judgment. The comparison to Sodom and Gomorrah establishes Jerusalem's moral equivalence with historical exemplars of divine judgment; the city has become as wicked as paradigmatic sinful cities. The metaphor of paying lovers to approach represents the absurdity and degradation of idolatry: the people actively court divine judgment through spiritual prostitution. This chapter's sexual imagery creates visceral revulsion at infidelity, making moral failure physically concrete. The redemptive conclusion—God remembering covenant despite betrayal—establishes the theological basis for restoration; covenant is not conditional on human faithfulness alone but rooted in God's nature and purpose. This chapter consolidates judgment theology while opening restoration possibility.

Ezekiel 16:60

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

Ezekiel 16:61

Then you will remember your ways and be ashamed when I take your sisters, both the greater and the lesser, and give them to you as daughters, though not on the basis of your covenant.

Ezekiel 16:54

That you may bear your shame and be ashamed of all that you have done, becoming a comfort to them.

Ezekiel 16:53

I will restore their fortunes, the fortunes of Sodom and her daughters, and the fortunes of Samaria and her daughters, and I will restore your fortunes in the midst of them,

Ezekiel 16:55

And your sisters, Sodom and her daughters, shall return to their former state; and Samaria and her daughters shall return to their former state; and you and your daughters shall return to your former state.

Ezekiel 16:56

Was not your sister Sodom a byword in your mouth in the day of your pride,

Ezekiel 16:57

Before your wickedness was uncovered? Now you have become like her—an object of reproach for the daughters of Edom and all her neighbors.

Ezekiel 16:58

You have borne your lewdness and your abominations, declares the Lord.

Ezekiel 16:62

And I will establish My covenant with you, and you will know that I am the Lord,

Ezekiel 16:59

For thus says the Lord God: I will deal with you as you have dealt, since you have despised the oath by breaking the covenant.

Ezekiel 16:63

That you may remember and be ashamed, and never open your mouth again because of your shame, when I have forgiven all that you have done, declares the Lord God.

Ezekiel 16:10

I clothed you also with embroidered cloth and shod you with fine leather, and I bound you with fine linen and covered you with silk.

Ezekiel 16:11

And I adorned you with ornaments and put bracelets on your wrists and a chain on your neck.

Ezekiel 16:12

And I put a ring in your nose and earrings in your ears and a beautiful crown on your head.

Ezekiel 16:13

Thus you were adorned with gold and silver, and your clothing was of fine linen, silk, and embroidered cloth; you ate fine flour and honey and oil; you grew exceedingly beautiful and advanced to royal status.

Ezekiel 16:14

And your fame went out among the nations because of your beauty, for it was perfect because of the splendor that I had bestowed on you, declares the Lord God.

Ezekiel 16:15

But you trusted in your beauty and played the harlot because of your fame, and you lavished your whoredoms on every passer-by whose it became.

Ezekiel 16:16

And you took some of your garments and made for yourself high places decorated with various colors, and on them played the harlot—something that should never have happened or come to be.

Ezekiel 16:17

You also took your beautiful jewels of My gold and My silver, which I had given you, and made for yourself male images, and played the harlot with them.

Ezekiel 16:18

And you took your embroidered garments and covered them, and set My oil and My incense before them.

Ezekiel 16:19

And My bread which I had given you, the fine flour and oil and honey with which I fed you, you set before them as a pleasing aroma; thus it became, declares the Lord God.

Ezekiel 16:20

And you took your sons and your daughters, whom you had borne to Me, and these you sacrificed to them to be devoured. Were your whoredoms so small a matter?

Ezekiel 16:21

That you slaughtered My children and delivered them up, causing them to pass through the fire to them?

Ezekiel 16:22

And in all your abominations and your whoredoms, you did not remember the days of your youth, when you were naked and bare, flailing about in your blood.

Ezekiel 16:23

Woe to you! Declares the Lord God. In addition to all your wickedness—

Ezekiel 16:24

You have built yourself a vaulted chamber and made yourself a lofty place in every street.

Ezekiel 16:25

At the head of every street you have built your lofty place and degraded your beauty, offering yourself to any passer-by, and multiplying your whoredoms.

Ezekiel 16:26

You have multiplied your whoredoms with the Egyptians, your lustful neighbors, and increased your whoredoms to provoke Me to anger.

Ezekiel 16:27

Behold, therefore, I have stretched out My hand against you and diminished your portion and delivered you to the appetite of those who hate you, the daughters of the Philistines, who were ashamed of your lewd conduct.

Ezekiel 16:28

You have played the harlot also with the Assyrians, because you were not satisfied; yes, you have multiplied your whoredoms to the land of merchants, even to Babylon, and you still were not satisfied.

Ezekiel 16:29

Behold, you have multiplied your whoredoms with the land of Canaan to Babylon; and even with this you were not satisfied.

Ezekiel 16:30

How sick is your heart, declares the Lord God, that you do all these things, the deeds of a brazen harlot;

Ezekiel 16:31

In that you build your vaulted chambers at the head of every street, and make your lofty places in every square, yet you were not like a harlot in that you scorned payment; you were a wife who receives payments but gives herself to every lover.

Ezekiel 16:32

O adulterous wife, who receives strangers instead of her husband!

Ezekiel 16:33

Men give gifts to all harlots; but you give your gifts to all your lovers, bribing them to come to you from every side for your whoredoms.

Ezekiel 16:34

So you are different from other women in your whoredoms in that no one solicits you to play the harlot; and in that you give payment, whereas no payment is given to you, thus you are different.

Ezekiel 16:35

Therefore, O harlot, hear the word of the Lord: Thus says the Lord God, Because your lust was poured out and your nakedness uncovered in your whoredoms with your lovers and with all your abominable idols, and because of the blood of your children that you gave to them,

Ezekiel 16:36

Therefore, behold, I will gather all your lovers with whom you have taken pleasure, and all those whom you have loved along with all those whom you have hated; I will gather them against you from every side and will expose your nakedness to them, that they may see all your nakedness.

Ezekiel 16:37

I will judge you as women who break wedlock and shed blood are judged; and I will bring upon you the blood of wrath and jealousy.

Ezekiel 16:39

They will also burn your houses with fire and execute judgments upon you in the sight of many women; and I will make you stop playing the harlot, and you will also no longer give payment to your lovers.

Ezekiel 16:40

And I will bring you up a company against you, and they will stone you with stones and thrust you through with their swords.

Ezekiel 16:41

And they will burn your houses with fire and execute judgments upon you in the sight of many women; thus I will make you stop playing the harlot, and you will also no longer give payment to your lovers.

Ezekiel 16:42

Thus I will satisfy My wrath on you, and My jealousy shall depart from you; I will be calm and will no longer be angry.

Ezekiel 16:43

Because you have not remembered the days of your youth but have enraged Me in all these ways, therefore, behold, I also will bring your way upon your head, declares the Lord God. And you will not add any more to all your abominations because of the lewdness that you have committed.

Ezekiel 16:44

Behold, everyone who uses proverbs will use this proverb about you: 'Like mother, like daughter.'

Ezekiel 16:45

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 an Amorite.

Ezekiel 16:47

Yet you have not walked in their ways or done according to their abominations; but, as if that were too little, you have become more corrupt than they in all your ways.

Ezekiel 16:48

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

Ezekiel 16:49

Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy.

Ezekiel 16:50

And they were haughty and committed abominations before Me; therefore I removed them when I saw it.

Ezekiel 16:51

Samaria has not committed half of your sins; you have committed more abominations than they, and have made your sisters appear righteous by all the abominations that you have committed.

Ezekiel 16:52

Therefore, bear your shame, you who have judged your sisters; for by your sins in which you acted more abominably than they, they are more righteous than you; so be ashamed, and bear your shame, because you have made your sisters appear righteous.

Ezekiel 16:46

Your elder sister is Samaria, who lived with her daughters to the north of you; and your younger sister, who lives to the south of you, is Sodom with her daughters.

Ezekiel 16:3

As for your birth, when you were born, your umbilical cord was not cut, and you were not washed with water to cleanse you, and you were not rubbed with salt, and you were not wrapped in swaddling clothes.

Ezekiel 16:4

No eye pitied you to do any of these things to you to have compassion on you; but you were cast out on the open field, for you were loathsome on the day you were born.

Ezekiel 16:38

And I will deliver you into their hands, and they will tear down your vaulted chambers and break down your lofty places; they will strip you of your clothes and take your beautiful jewels, and leave you naked and bare.

Ezekiel 16:1

The word of the Lord comes to Ezekiel, commanding him to make known to Jerusalem her abominations. This opening establishes that the chapter will reveal Jerusalem's sins and unfaithfulness in stark terms. The command to Ezekiel to act as messenger emphasizes the prophet's role in confronting the city with its failures. The word "abominations" indicates that Jerusalem's sins are not merely failures of obedience but actions of revulsion deserving God's judgment. This verse introduces what will become one of Ezekiel's most extended and graphic metaphors.

Ezekiel 16:2

Say, 'Thus says the Lord God to Jerusalem: Your origin and your birth are of the land of the Canaanites; your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite.'

Ezekiel 16:5

And as for your birth, on the day you were born you were cast out on the open field, for you were loathsome; and no one had any compassion for you to do any of these things for you, to have compassion on you; but you were cast out on the open field on the day you were born.

Ezekiel 16:6

And I passed by you and saw you flailing about in your blood, and I said to you, 'Live!' Yes, I said to you, 'Live!' even in your blood.

Ezekiel 16:7

I made you flourish like a plant of the field; and you grew up and became tall and arrived at full adornment, your breasts were formed and your hair had grown; yet you were naked and bare.

Ezekiel 16:8

Then I passed by you again and looked upon you, and behold, you were at the age of love; and I spread My skirt over you and covered your nakedness, and I swore an oath to you and entered into a covenant with you, declares the Lord God, and you became Mine.

Ezekiel 16:9

Then I washed you with water and cleansed you of your blood, and I anointed you with oil.