New Living Translation NLT
The Message Bible MSG
1 Then another message came to me from the LORD :
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God's Message came to me:
2 “Son of man, confront Jerusalem with her detestable sins.
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"Son of man, confront Jerusalem with her outrageous violations.
3 Give her this message from the Sovereign LORD : You are nothing but a Canaanite! Your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite.
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Say this: 'The Message of God, the Master, to Jerusalem: You were born and bred among Canaanites. Your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite.
4 On the day you were born, no one cared about you. Your umbilical cord was not cut, and you were never washed, rubbed with salt, and wrapped in cloth.
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"'On the day you were born your umbilical cord was not cut, you weren't bathed and cleaned up, you weren't rubbed with salt, you weren't wrapped in a baby blanket.
5 No one had the slightest interest in you; no one pitied you or cared for you. On the day you were born, you were unwanted, dumped in a field and left to die.
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No one cared a fig for you. No one did one thing to care for you tenderly in these ways. You were thrown out into a vacant lot and left there, dirty and unwashed - a newborn nobody wanted.
6 “But I came by and saw you there, helplessly kicking about in your own blood. As you lay there, I said, ‘Live!’
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"'And then I came by. I saw you all miserable and bloody. Yes, I said to you, lying there helpless and filthy, "Live!
7 And I helped you to thrive like a plant in the field. You grew up and became a beautiful jewel. Your breasts became full, and your body hair grew, but you were still naked.
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Grow up like a plant in the field!" And you did. You grew up. You grew tall and matured as a woman, full-breasted, with flowing hair. But you were naked and vulnerable, fragile and exposed.
8 And when I passed by again, I saw that you were old enough for love. So I wrapped my cloak around you to cover your nakedness and declared my marriage vows. I made a covenant with you, says the Sovereign LORD, and you became mine.
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"'I came by again and saw you, saw that you were ready for love and a lover. I took care of you, dressed you and protected you. I promised you my love and entered the covenant of marriage with you. I, God, the Master, gave my word. You became mine.
9 “Then I bathed you and washed off your blood, and I rubbed fragrant oils into your skin.
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I gave you a good bath, washing off all that old blood, and anointed you with aromatic oils.
10 I gave you expensive clothing of fine linen and silk, beautifully embroidered, and sandals made of fine goatskin leather.
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I dressed you in a colorful gown and put leather sandals on your feet. I gave you linen blouses and a fashionable wardrobe of expensive clothing.
11 I gave you lovely jewelry, bracelets, beautiful necklaces,
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I adorned you with jewelry: I placed bracelets on your wrists, fitted you out with a necklace,
12 a ring for your nose, earrings for your ears, and a lovely crown for your head.
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emerald rings, sapphire earrings, and a diamond tiara.
13 And so you were adorned with gold and silver. Your clothes were made of fine linen and costly fabric and were beautifully embroidered. You ate the finest foods—choice flour, honey, and olive oil—and became more beautiful than ever. You looked like a queen, and so you were!
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You were provided with everything precious and beautiful: with exquisite clothes and elegant food, garnished with honey and oil. You were absolutely stunning. You were a queen!
14 Your fame soon spread throughout the world because of your beauty. I dressed you in my splendor and perfected your beauty, says the Sovereign LORD .
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You became world-famous, a legendary beauty brought to perfection by my adornments. Decree of God, the Master.
15 “But you thought your fame and beauty were your own. So you gave yourself as a prostitute to every man who came along. Your beauty was theirs for the asking.
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"'But your beauty went to your head and you became a common whore, grabbing anyone coming down the street and taking him into your bed.
16 You used the lovely things I gave you to make shrines for idols, where you played the prostitute. Unbelievable! How could such a thing ever happen?
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You took your fine dresses and made "tents" of them, using them as brothels in which you practiced your trade. This kind of thing should never happen, never. What a Sick Soul!
17 You took the very jewels and gold and silver ornaments I had given you and made statues of men and worshiped them. This is adultery against me!
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"'And then you took all that fine jewelry I gave you, my gold and my silver, and made pornographic images of them for your brothels.
18 You used the beautifully embroidered clothes I gave you to dress your idols. Then you used my special oil and my incense to worship them.
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You decorated your beds with fashionable silks and cottons, and perfumed them with my aromatic oils and incense.
19 Imagine it! You set before them as a sacrifice the choice flour, olive oil, and honey I had given you, says the Sovereign LORD .
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And then you set out the wonderful foods I provided - the fresh breads and fruits, with fine herbs and spices, which were my gifts to you - and you served them as delicacies in your whorehouses. That's what happened, says God, the Master.
20 “Then you took your sons and daughters—the children you had borne to me—and sacrificed them to your gods. Was your prostitution not enough?
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"'And then you took your sons and your daughters, whom you had given birth to as my children, and you killed them, sacrificing them to idols. Wasn't it bad enough that you had become a whore?
21 Must you also slaughter my children by sacrificing them to idols?
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And now you're a murderer, killing my children and sacrificing them to idols.
22 In all your years of adultery and detestable sin, you have not once remembered the days long ago when you lay naked in a field, kicking about in your own blood.
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"'Not once during these years of outrageous obscenities and whorings did you remember your infancy, when you were naked and exposed, a blood-smeared newborn.
23 “What sorrow awaits you, says the Sovereign LORD . In addition to all your other wickedness,
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"'And then to top off all your evil acts, you built your bold brothels in every town square. Doom! Doom to you, says God, the Master!
24 you built a pagan shrine and put altars to idols in every town square.
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At every major intersection you built your bold brothels and exposed your sluttish sex, spreading your legs for everyone who passed by.
25 On every street corner you defiled your beauty, offering your body to every passerby in an endless stream of prostitution.
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"'And then you went international with your whoring.
26 Then you added lustful Egypt to your lovers, provoking my anger with your increasing promiscuity.
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You fornicated with the Egyptians, seeking them out in their sex orgies. The more promiscuous you became, the angrier I got.
27 That is why I struck you with my fist and reduced your boundaries. I handed you over to your enemies, the Philistines, and even they were shocked by your lewd conduct.
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Finally, I intervened, reduced your borders and turned you over to the rapacity of your enemies. Even the Philistine women - can you believe it? - were shocked at your sluttish life.
28 You have prostituted yourself with the Assyrians, too. It seems you can never find enough new lovers! And after your prostitution there, you still were not satisfied.
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"'You went on to fornicate with the Assyrians. Your appetite was insatiable. But still you weren't satisfied.
29 You added to your lovers by embracing Babylonia, the land of merchants, but you still weren’t satisfied.
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You took on the Babylonians, a country of businessmen, and still you weren't satisfied.
30 “What a sick heart you have, says the Sovereign LORD, to do such things as these, acting like a shameless prostitute.
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"'What a sick soul! Doing all this stuff - the champion whore!
31 You build your pagan shrines on every street corner and your altars to idols in every square. In fact, you have been worse than a prostitute, so eager for sin that you have not even demanded payment.
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You built your bold brothels at every major intersection, opened up your whorehouses in every neighborhood, but you were different from regular whores in that you wouldn't accept a fee.
32 Yes, you are an adulterous wife who takes in strangers instead of her own husband.
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"'Wives who are unfaithful to their husbands accept gifts from their lovers.
33 Prostitutes charge for their services—but not you! You give gifts to your lovers, bribing them to come and have sex with you.
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And men commonly pay their whores. But you pay your lovers! You bribe men from all over to come to bed with you!
34 So you are the opposite of other prostitutes. You pay your lovers instead of their paying you!
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You're just the opposite of the regular whores who get paid for sex. Instead, you pay men for their favors! You even pervert whoredom!
35 “Therefore, you prostitute, listen to this message from the LORD !
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"'Therefore, whore, listen to God's Message:
36 This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Because you have poured out your lust and exposed yourself in prostitution to all your lovers, and because you have worshiped detestable idols, and because you have slaughtered your children as sacrifices to your gods,
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I, God, the Master, say, Because you've been unrestrained in your promiscuity, stripped down for every lover, flaunting your sex, and because of your pornographic idols and all the slaughtered children you offered to them,
37 this is what I am going to do. I will gather together all your allies—the lovers with whom you have sinned, both those you loved and those you hated—and I will strip you naked in front of them so they can stare at you.
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therefore, because of all this, I'm going to get all your lovers together, all those you've used for your own pleasure, the ones you loved and the ones you loathed. I'll assemble them as a courtroom of spectators around you. In broad daylight I'll strip you naked before them - they'll see what you really look like.
38 I will punish you for your murder and adultery. I will cover you with blood in my jealous fury.
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Then I'll sentence you to the punishment for an adulterous woman and a murderous woman. I'll give you a taste of my wrath!
39 Then I will give you to these many nations who are your lovers, and they will destroy you. They will knock down your pagan shrines and the altars to your idols. They will strip you and take your beautiful jewels, leaving you stark naked.
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"'I'll gather all your lovers around you and turn you over to them. They'll tear down your bold brothels and sex shrines. They'll rip off your clothes, take your jewels, and leave you naked and exposed. Then
40 They will band together in a mob to stone you and cut you up with swords.
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they'll call for a mass meeting. The mob will stone you and hack you to pieces with their swords.
41 They will burn your homes and punish you in front of many women. I will stop your prostitution and end your payments to your many lovers.
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They'll burn down your houses. A massive judgment - with all the women watching!
42 “Then at last my fury against you will be spent, and my jealous anger will subside. I will be calm and will not be angry with you anymore.
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By then my anger will be played out. My jealousy will subside.
43 But first, because you have not remembered your youth but have angered me by doing all these evil things, I will fully repay you for all of your sins, says the Sovereign LORD . For you have added lewd acts to all your detestable sins.
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"'Because you didn't remember what happened when you were young but made me angry with all this behavior, I'll make you pay for your waywardness. Didn't you just exponentially compound your outrageous obscenities with all your sluttish ways?
44 Everyone who makes up proverbs will say of you, ‘Like mother, like daughter.’
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"'Everyone who likes to use proverbs will use this one: "Like mother, like daughter."
45 For your mother loathed her husband and her children, and so do you. And you are exactly like your sisters, for they despised their husbands and their children. Truly your mother was a Hittite and your father an Amorite.
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You're the daughter of your mother, who couldn't stand her husband and children. And you're a true sister of your sisters, who couldn't stand their husbands and children. Your mother was a Hittite and your father an Amorite.
46 “Your older sister was Samaria, who lived with her daughters in the north. Your younger sister was Sodom, who lived with her daughters in the south.
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"'Your older sister is Samaria. She lived to the north of you with her daughters. Your younger sister is Sodom, who lived to the south of you with her daughters.
47 But you have not merely sinned as they did. You quickly surpassed them in corruption.
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Haven't you lived just like they did? Haven't you engaged in outrageous obscenities just like they did? In fact, it didn't take you long to catch up and pass them!
48 As surely as I live, says the Sovereign LORD, Sodom and her daughters were never as wicked as you and your daughters.
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As sure as I am the living God! - Decree of God, the Master - your sister Sodom and her daughters never even came close to what you and your daughters have done.
49 Sodom’s sins were pride, gluttony, and laziness, while the poor and needy suffered outside her door.
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"'The sin of your sister Sodom was this: She lived with her daughters in the lap of luxury - proud, gluttonous, and lazy. They ignored the oppressed and the poor.
50 She was proud and committed detestable sins, so I wiped her out, as you have seen.
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They put on airs and lived obscene lives. And you know what happened: I did away with them.
51 “Even Samaria did not commit half your sins. You have done far more detestable things than your sisters ever did. They seem righteous compared to you.
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"'And Samaria. Samaria didn't sin half as much as you. You've committed far more obscenities than she ever did. Why, you make your two sisters look good in comparison with what you've done!
52 Shame on you! Your sins are so terrible that you make your sisters seem righteous, even virtuous.
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Face it, your sisters look mighty good compared with you. Because you've outsinned them so completely, you've actually made them look righteous. Aren't you ashamed? But you're going to have to live with it. What a reputation to carry into history: outsinning your two sisters!
53 “But someday I will restore the fortunes of Sodom and Samaria, and I will restore you, too.
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"'But I'm going to reverse their fortunes, the fortunes of Sodom and her daughters and the fortunes of Samaria and her daughters. And - get this - your fortunes right along with them!
54 Then you will be truly ashamed of everything you have done, for your sins make them feel good in comparison.
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Still, you're going to have to live with your shame. And by facing and accepting your shame, you're going to provide some comfort to your two sisters.
55 Yes, your sisters, Sodom and Samaria, and all their people will be restored, and at that time you also will be restored.
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Your sisters, Sodom with her daughters and Samaria with her daughters, will become what they were before, and you will become what you were before.
56 In your proud days you held Sodom in contempt.
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Remember the days when you were putting on airs, acting so high and mighty, looking down on sister Sodom?
57 But now your greater wickedness has been exposed to all the world, and you are the one who is scorned—by Edom and all her neighbors and by Philistia.
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That was before your evil ways were exposed. And now you're the butt of contempt, despised by the Edomite women, the Philistine women, and everybody else around.
58 This is your punishment for all your lewdness and detestable sins, says the LORD .
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But you have to face it, to accept the shame of your obscene and vile life. Decree of God, the Master.
59 “Now this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will give you what you deserve, for you have taken your solemn vows lightly by breaking your covenant.
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"'God, the Master, says, I'll do to you just as you have already done, you who have treated my oath with contempt and broken the covenant.
60 Yet I will remember the covenant I made with you when you were young, and I will establish an everlasting covenant with you.
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All the same, I'll remember the covenant I made with you when you were young and I'll make a new covenant with you that will last forever.
61 Then you will remember with shame all the evil you have done. I will make your sisters, Samaria and Sodom, to be your daughters, even though they are not part of our covenant.
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You'll remember your sorry past and be properly contrite when you receive back your sisters, both the older and the younger. I'll give them to you as daughters, but not as participants in your covenant.
62 And I will reaffirm my covenant with you, and you will know that I am the LORD .
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I'll firmly establish my covenant with you and you'll know that I am God.
63 You will remember your sins and cover your mouth in silent shame when I forgive you of all that you have done. I, the Sovereign LORD, have spoken!”
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You'll remember your past life and face the shame of it, but when I make atonement for you, make everything right after all you've done, it will leave you speechless.'" Decree of God, the Master.
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by
Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.