| Again, the word of the Lord spake unto me, saying: Thou son of man, show the city of Jerusalem their abominations, and say: thus saith the Lord God unto Jerusalem: Thy progeny and kindred came out of the land of Canaan, thy father was an Amorite, thy mother an Cethite. In the day of thy birth when thou wast born, the string of thy navel was not cut off: , thou wast not bathed in water to make thee clean: thou wast neither rubbed with salt, nor swaddled in clouts: No man regarded that so much, as to do any of these things for thee, or to show thee such favor, but thou was utterly cast out upon the field, yee despised wast thou in the day of thy birth.
Then came I by thee, and saw thee trodden down in thine own blood, and said unto thee: thou shalt be purged from thine own blood, from thine own blood ( I say ) shalt thou be cleansed. So I planted thee, as the blossom of the field: thou art grown up, and waxen great: thou hast gotten a marvelous pleasant beauty, thy breasts are come up, thy hair is goodly grown, where as thou was naked and bare afore.
Now when I went by thee, and looked upon thee: behold, thy time was come, yee even the time to vow thee. Then spread I my clothes over thee, to cover thy dishonesty: yee I made an oath unto thee, and married myself with thee ( sayeth the Lord God ) and so thou becamest mine own. Then washed I thee with water, and purged thy blood from thee, I anointed thee with oil, I gave thee change of rayments, I made thee shoes of Tarus leather: I girded thee about with white silk, I clothed thee with kerchues, I decked thee with costly apparel, I put rings upon thy fingers: and chain about thy neck, spangles on thy forehead, earrings upon thine ears, and set a beautiful crown upon thine head. Thus wast thou decked with silver and gold, and thy raiment was of fine white silk, of needle work and diverse colors.
Thou didst eat nothing but simnels, honey and oil: marvelous goodly wast thou and beautiful, yee even a very Queen wast thou. In so much, that thy beauty was spoken of among the Heathen, for thou was excellent in my beauty, which I put upon thee sayeth the Lord God. But thou hast put confidence in thine own beauty, and played the harlot, when thou haddest gotten thee a name. Thou hast committed whoredom, with all that went by thee, and hast fulfilled their desires: yee thou hast taken thy garments of diverse colors, and decked thine alters therewith, where upon thou mightest fulfill thine whoredom, of such a fashion, as never was done, nor shall be. The goodly ornaments and Jewels which I gave thee of mine own gold and silver, hast thou taken, and made thee mens images thereof, and committed whoredom withal.
Thy garments of diverse colors hast thou taken, and decked them therewith: mine oil and incense hast thou set before them. My meat which I gave thee, as fimnels, oil and honey: ( to feed thee withal ) that hast thou set before them, for a sweet savior. And this also came to pass, sayeth the Lord God: Thou hast taken thine own sons and daughters, whom thou hast begotten unto me: and these hast thou offered up to them, to be their meat. Is this but a small whoredom of thine ( thinkest thou ) that thou slayest my children, and givest them over, to be burnt unto them? And yet in all thy abominations and whoredom, thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, how naked and bare thou wast at that time and trodden down in thine own blood. After all these thy wickednesses ( woe, woe unto thee, sayeth the Lord ) thou hast builded up thy*stewes and *brodel houses in every place: yee at the head of every street thou hast *builded an alter. Thou hast made thy beauty to be abhorred, thou hast layed out thy legs to every one that came by, and multiplied thy whoredoms. Thou hast committed fornication with the Egyptians thy neighbors, which had much flesh: and thus hast thou used thine whoredoms, to anger me.
Behold, I will stretched out my hand over thee, and minished thy store of food, and deliver thee over into the wiles of the Philistines thine enemies, which are ashamed of thy abominable way. Thou hast played the whore also with the Assirians, which might not satisfy thee: Yee, thou hast played the harlot, and not had enough. Thus hast thou committed thy fornication from the land of Canaan unto the Caldees, and yet thy lust not satisfied. Now should I circumcise thine heart ( saith the Lord God) seeing thou doest all these things, thou precious whore: building thy stewes at the head of street, and thy brodel houses in all places? Thou hast not been as another whore, that maketh boast of her winning but as a wife that breaketh wedlock, and taketh other instead of her husband. Gifts are given to all other whores, but thou givest rewards unto all thy lovers: and offerest them gifts, to come unto thee out of all places, and to committee fornication with thee. It is come to pass with thee in thy whoredoms contrary to the use of |
