²⁶ “If you ever take your neighbor’s cloak as collateral, return it to him before sunset.

Safeguarding Life

⁶ “Do not take a pair of millstones or an upper millstone as security for a debt, because that is like taking a life as security.

¹⁷ Do not deny justice to a foreigner or fatherless child, and do not take a widow’s garment as security.

Ezekiel Dramatizes the Exile

12 The word of the Lord came to me: ² “Son of man, you are living among a rebellious house.^(A) They have eyes to see but do not see, and ears to hear but do not hear,^(B) for they are a rebellious house.^(C)

³ “Son of man, get your bags ready for exile and go into exile in their sight during the day. You will go into exile from your place to another place while they watch; perhaps they will understand, though they are a rebellious house. ⁴ During the day, bring out your bags like an exile’s bags while they look on. Then in the evening go out in their sight like those going into exile. ⁵ As they watch, dig through the wall and take the bags out through it. ⁶ And while they look on, lift the bags to your shoulder and take them out in the dark; cover your face so that you cannot see the land. For I have made you a sign to the house of Israel.”^(D)

⁷ So I did just as I was commanded. In the daytime I brought out my bags like an exile’s bags. In the evening I dug through the wall by hand; I took them out in the dark, carrying them on my shoulder in their sight.

⁸ Then the word of the Lord came to me in the morning: ⁹ “Son of man, hasn’t the house of Israel, that rebellious house,^(E) asked you, ‘What are you doing?’^{(F) 10} Say to them: This is what the Lord God says: This oracle is about the prince^[a] in Jerusalem and all the house of Israel who are living there.^{[b] 11} You are to say, ‘I am a sign for you. Just as I have done, so it will be done to them; they will go into exile,^(G) into captivity.’ ¹² The prince who is among^(H) them will lift his bags to his shoulder in the dark and go out. They^[c] will dig through the wall to bring him out through it. He will cover his face so he cannot see the land with his eyes. ¹³ But I will spread My net over him, and he will be caught in My snare. I will bring him to Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans, yet he will not see it,^(I) and he will die there. ¹⁴ I will also scatter all the attendants who surround him and all his troops to every direction of the wind,^(J) and I will draw a sword to chase after them. ¹⁵ They will know that I am Yahweh^(K) when I disperse them among the nations and scatter them among the countries.^{(L) 16} But I will spare a few of them from the sword,^(M) famine, and plague so they can tell about all their detestable practices among the nations where they go. Then they will know that I am Yahweh.”

Ezekiel Dramatizes Israel’s Anxiety

¹⁷ The word of the Lord came to me: ¹⁸ “Son of man, eat your bread with^(N) trembling and drink your water with shaking and anxiety. ¹⁹ Then say to the people of the land: This is what the Lord God says about the residents of Jerusalem in the land of Israel: They will eat their bread with anxiety and drink their water in dread, for their^[d][e] land will be stripped of everything^(O) in it because of the violence of all who live there. ²⁰ The inhabited cities will be destroyed, and the land will become a desolation. Then you will know that I am Yahweh.”

A Deceptive Proverb Stopped

²¹ Again the word of the Lord came to me: ²² “Son of man, what is this proverb you people have about the land of Israel,^(P) which goes:

²³ Therefore say to them: This is what the Lord God says: I will put a stop to this proverb, and they will not use it again in Israel.^(R) But say to them: The days draw near,^(S) as well as the fulfillment of every vision. ²⁴ For there will no longer be any false vision or flattering divination^(T) within the house of Israel. ²⁵ But I, Yahweh, will speak whatever message I will speak, and it will be done.^(U) It will no longer be delayed.^(V) For in your days, rebellious house, I will speak a message and bring it to pass.” This is the declaration of the Lord God.

²⁶ The word of the Lord came to me: ²⁷ “Son of man, notice that the house of Israel is saying, ‘The vision that he sees concerns many years from now;^(W) he prophesies about distant times.’ ²⁸ Therefore say to them: This is what the Lord God says: None of My words will be delayed any longer. The message I speak will be fulfilled.” This is the declaration of the Lord God.

Parable of God’s Adulterous Wife

16 The word of the Lord came to me again: ² “Son of man, explain Jerusalem’s detestable practices to her.^{(A) 3} You are to say: 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.^{(B) 4} As for your birth, your umbilical cord wasn’t cut on the day you were born,^(C) and you weren’t washed clean^[a] with water. You were not rubbed with salt or wrapped in cloths.^{(D) 5} No one cared enough about you to do even one of these things out of compassion for you. But you were thrown out into the open field because you were despised on the day you were born.

⁶ “I passed by you and saw you lying in your blood, and I said to you as you lay in your blood: Live! Yes, I said to you as you lay in your blood: Live!^{[b] 7} I made you thrive^[c] like plants of the field.^(E) You grew up and matured and became very beautiful.^[d] Your breasts were formed and your hair grew, but you were stark naked.

⁸ “Then I passed by you and saw you, and you were indeed at the age for love. So I spread the edge of My garment over you and covered your nakedness.^(F) I pledged Myself to you,^(G) entered into a covenant with you, and you became Mine.”^(H) This is the declaration of the Lord God. ⁹ “I washed you with water, rinsed off your blood, and anointed you with oil. ¹⁰ I clothed you in embroidered cloth and provided you with leather sandals. I also wrapped you in fine linen and covered you with silk. ¹¹ I adorned you with jewelry, putting bracelets on your wrists and a chain around your neck. ¹² I put a ring in your nose,^(I) earrings on your ears, and a beautiful tiara on your head. ¹³ So you were adorned with gold and silver,^(J) and your clothing was made of fine linen, silk, and embroidered cloth. You ate fine flour, honey, and oil. You became extremely beautiful and attained royalty. ¹⁴ Your fame spread among the nations because of your beauty, for it was perfect through My splendor,^(K) which I had bestowed on you.” This is the declaration of the Lord God.

¹⁵ “But you were confident in your beauty and acted like a prostitute because of your fame.^(L) You lavished your sexual favors on everyone who passed by.^(M) Your beauty became his.^{[e] 16} You took some of your garments and made colorful high places for yourself, and you engaged in prostitution on them. These places should not have been built, and this should never have happened!^{[f] 17} You also took your beautiful jewelry made from the gold and silver I had given you,^(N) and you made male images so that you could engage in prostitution with them. ¹⁸ Then you took your embroidered garments to cover them, and set My oil and incense before them. ¹⁹ You also set before them as a pleasing aroma the food I gave you—the fine flour, oil, and honey that I fed you.^(O) That is what happened.” This is the declaration of the Lord God.

²⁰ “You even took your sons and daughters you bore to Me and sacrificed them to these images as food.^(P) Wasn’t your prostitution enough? ²¹ You slaughtered My children and gave them up when you passed them through the fire^(Q) to the images. ²² In all your detestable practices and acts of prostitution, you did not remember the days of your youth^(R) when you were stark naked and lying in your blood.

²³ “Then after all your evil—Woe, woe to you!”—the declaration of the Lord God— ²⁴ “you built yourself a mound and made yourself an elevated place in every square.^{(S) 25} You built your elevated place at the head of every street^(T) and turned your beauty into a detestable thing. You spread your legs to everyone who passed by and increased your prostitution. ²⁶ You engaged in promiscuous acts with Egyptian men, your well-endowed neighbors, and increased your prostitution^(U) to provoke Me to anger.

²⁷ “Therefore, I stretched out My hand against you and reduced your provisions. I gave you over to the desire of those who hate you, the Philistine women,^(V) who were embarrassed by your indecent behavior. ²⁸ Then you engaged in prostitution with the Assyrian men because you were not satisfied.^(W) Even though you did this with them, you were still not satisfied. ²⁹ So you extended your prostitution to Chaldea,^(X) the land of merchants, but you were not even satisfied with this!

³⁰ “How your heart was inflamed with lust”—the declaration of the Lord God—“when you did all these things, the acts of a brazen prostitute, ³¹ building your mound at the head of every street and making your elevated place in every square. But you were unlike a prostitute because you scorned payment.^{(Y) 32} You adulterous wife, who receives strangers instead of her husband! ³³ Men give gifts to all prostitutes, but you gave gifts to all your lovers. You bribed them to come to you from all around for your sexual favors. ³⁴ So you were the opposite of other women in your acts of prostitution; no one solicited you. When you paid a fee instead of one being paid to you, you were the opposite.

³⁵ “Therefore, you prostitute, hear the word of the Lord! ³⁶ This is what the Lord God says: Because your lust was poured out and your nakedness exposed by your acts of prostitution with your lovers, and because of all your detestable idols and the blood of your children that you gave to them,^{(Z) 37} I am therefore going to gather all the lovers you pleased^(AA)—all those you loved as well as all those you hated. I will gather them against you from all around and expose your nakedness^(AB) to them so they see you completely naked. ³⁸ I will judge you the way adulteresses and those who shed blood are judged.^(AC) Then I will bring about your bloodshed in wrath and jealousy.^{(AD) 39} I will hand you over to them, and they will level your mounds and tear down your elevated places. They will strip off your clothes,^(AE) take your beautiful jewelry, and leave you stark naked. ⁴⁰ They will bring a mob against you^(AF) to stone you and cut you to pieces with their swords. ⁴¹ Then they will burn down your houses and execute judgments against you in the sight of many women. I will stop you from being a prostitute,^(AG) and you will never again pay fees for lovers. ⁴² So I will satisfy My wrath against you,^(AH) and My jealousy will turn away from you. Then I will be silent and no longer angry. ⁴³ Because you did not remember the days^(AI) of your youth but enraged Me with all these things, I will also bring your actions down on your own head.”^(AJ) This is the declaration of the Lord God. “Haven’t you committed immoral acts in addition to all your detestable practices?

⁴⁴ “Look, everyone who uses proverbs will say this proverb about you:

⁴⁵ You are the daughter of your mother, who despised her husband and children. You are the sister of your sisters,^(AK) who despised their husbands and children. Your mother was a Hittite and your father an Amorite.^{(AL) 46} Your older sister was Samaria,^(AM) who lived with her daughters to the north of you, and your younger sister was Sodom, who lived with her daughters to the south of you. ⁴⁷ Didn’t you walk in their ways and do their detestable practices? It was only a short time before you behaved more corruptly than they did.^[g](AN)

⁴⁸ “As I live”—the declaration of the Lord God—“your sister Sodom and her daughters have not behaved as you and your daughters have.^{(AO) 49} Now this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, plenty of food,^(AP) and comfortable security, but didn’t support the poor and needy. ⁵⁰ They were haughty and did detestable things before Me, so I removed them when I saw this.^{[h](AQ) 51} But Samaria did not commit even half your sins. You have multiplied your detestable practices beyond theirs and made your sisters appear righteous by all the detestable things you have committed. ⁵² You must also bear your disgrace, since you have been an advocate for your sisters. For they appear more righteous than you because of your sins, which you committed more abhorrently than they did. So you also, be ashamed and bear your disgrace, since you have made your sisters appear righteous.

⁵³ “I will restore their fortunes,^(AR) the fortunes of Sodom and her daughters and those of Samaria and her daughters. I will also restore^[i] your fortunes among them,^{(AS) 54} so you will bear your disgrace and be ashamed of all you did when you comforted them.^{(AT) 55} As for your sisters, Sodom and her daughters and Samaria and her daughters will return to their former state. You and your daughters will also return to your former state. ⁵⁶ Didn’t you treat your sister Sodom as an object of scorn when you were proud, ⁵⁷ before your wickedness was exposed? It was like the time you were scorned by the daughters of Aram^[j](AU) and all those around her, and by the daughters of the Philistines—those who treated you with contempt from every side. ⁵⁸ You yourself must bear the consequences of your indecency and detestable practices”^(AV)—this is the Lord’s declaration.

⁵⁹ “For this is what the Lord God says: I will deal with you according to what you have done, since you have despised the oath by breaking the covenant.^{(AW) 60} 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.^{(AX) 61} Then you will remember your ways^(AY) and be ashamed when you^[k] receive your older and younger sisters. I will give them to you as daughters, but not because of your covenant. ⁶² I will establish My covenant with you,^(AZ) and you will know that I am Yahweh, ⁶³ so that when I make atonement for all you have done, you will remember and be ashamed,^(BA) and never open your mouth again because of your disgrace.”^(BB) This is the declaration of the Lord God.