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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

10 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.

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

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

13 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.

14 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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On the day you were born(A) your cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water to make you clean, nor were you rubbed with salt or wrapped in cloths. No one looked on you with pity or had compassion enough to do any of these things for you. Rather, you were thrown out into the open field, for on the day you were born you were despised.

“‘Then I passed by and saw you kicking about in your blood, and as you lay there in your blood I said to you, “Live!”[a](B) I made you grow(C) like a plant of the field. You grew and developed and entered puberty. Your breasts had formed and your hair had grown, yet you were stark naked.(D)

“‘Later I passed by, and when I looked at you and saw that you were old enough for love, I spread the corner of my garment(E) over you and covered your naked body. I gave you my solemn oath and entered into a covenant(F) with you, declares the Sovereign Lord, and you became mine.(G)

“‘I bathed you with water and washed(H) the blood from you and put ointments on you. 10 I clothed you with an embroidered(I) dress and put sandals of fine leather on you. I dressed you in fine linen(J) and covered you with costly garments.(K) 11 I adorned you with jewelry:(L) I put bracelets(M) on your arms and a necklace(N) around your neck, 12 and I put a ring on your nose,(O) earrings(P) on your ears and a beautiful crown(Q) on your head.(R) 13 So you were adorned with gold and silver; your clothes(S) were of fine linen and costly fabric and embroidered cloth. Your food was honey, olive oil(T) and the finest flour. You became very beautiful and rose to be a queen.(U) 14 And your fame(V) spread among the nations on account of your beauty,(W) because the splendor I had given you made your beauty perfect, declares the Sovereign Lord.(X)

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Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 16:6 A few Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint and Syriac; most Hebrew manuscripts repeat and as you lay there in your blood I said to you, “Live!”