Ezekiel 16 Comparison: Wycliffe Bible (1395) vs King James Version
Ezekiel 16
1And the word of the Lord was maad to me,
2and he seide, Sone of man, make thou knowun to Jerusalem her abhomynaciouns; and thou schalt seie,
3The Lord God seith these thingis. A! thou Jerusalem, thi rote and thi generacioun is of the lond of Canaan; thi fadir is Amorrei, and thi moder is Cetei.
4And whanne thou were borun, thi nawle was not kit awei in the dai of thi birthe, and thou were not waischun in watir in to helthe, nethir saltid with salt, nether wlappid in clothis.
5An iye sparide not on thee, that it hauynge merci on thee, dide to thee oon of these thingis; but thou were cast forth on the face of erthe, in the castynge out of thi soule, in the dai in which thou were borun.
6Forsothe Y passide bi thee, and Y siy thee defoulid in thi blood; and Y seide to thee, whanne thou were in thi blood, Lyue thou; sotheli Y seide to thee in thi blood, Lyue thou.
7Y yaf thee multiplied as the seed of a feeld, and thou were multiplied, and maad greet; and thou entridist, and camest fulli to wymmens ournyng; thi tetis wexiden greet, and thin heer wexide; and thou were nakid, and ful of schenschipe.
8And Y passide bi thee, and Y siy thee, and lo! thi tyme, the tyme of louyeris; and Y spredde abrood my clothing on thee, and Y hilide thi schenschipe. And Y swoor to thee, and Y made a couenaunt with thee, seith the Lord God, and thou were maad a wijf to me.
9And Y waischide thee in water, and Y clenside awei thi blood fro thee, and Y anoyntide thee with oile.
10And Y clothide thee with clothis of dyuerse colours, and Y schodde thee in iacynct, and Y girde thee with biys;
11and Y clothide thee with sutil thingis, and Y ournede thee with ournement.
12And Y yaf bies in thin hondis, and a wrethe aboute thi necke; and Y yaf a ryng on thi mouth, and cerclis to thin eeris, and a coroun of fairnesse in thin heed.
13And thou were ourned with gold and siluer, and thou were clothid with biys and ray cloth with rounde ymagis, and many colours. Thou etist cleene flour of wheete, and hony, and oile, and thou were maad fair ful greetli; and thou encreessidist in to a rewme,
14and thi name yede out in to hethene men for thi fairnesse; for thou were perfit in my fairnesse which Y hadde sett on thee, seith the Lord God.
15And thou haddist trist in thi fairnesse, and didist fornicacioun in thi name; and thou settidist forth thi fornicacioun to ech that passide forth, that thou schuldist be maad his.
16And thou tokist of my clothis, and madist to thee hiy thingis set aboute on ech side; and thou didist fornycacioun on tho, as it was not don, nether schal be don.
17And thou tokist the vessels of thi fairnesse, of my gold and of my siluer, which Y yaf to thee; and thou madist to thee ymagis of men, and didist fornycacioun in tho.
18And thou tokist thi clothis of many colours, and thou were clothid in tho; and thou settidist myn oile and myn encence in the siyt of tho.
19And thou settidist my breed, which Y yaf to thee, flour of wheete, and oile, and hony, bi whiche Y nurschide thee, in the siyt of tho, in to odour of swetnesse; and it was don, seith the Lord God.
20And thou tokist thi sones and thi douytris, whiche thou gendridist to me, and offridist to tho, for to be deuourid. Whether thi fornicacioun is litil?
21Thou offridist my sones, and yauest hem, and halewidist to tho.
22And aftir alle thin abhomynaciouns and fornicaciouns, thou bithouytist not on the daies of thi yong wexynge age, whanne thou were nakid, and ful of schenschipe, and were defoulid in thi blood.
23And after al thi malice, wo, wo bifelle to thee, seith the Lord God.
24And thou bildidist to thee a bordel hous, and madist to thee a place of hordom in alle stretis.
25At ech heed of the weie thou bildidist a signe of thin hordom, and madist thi fairnesse abhomynable; and thou departidist thi feet to ech man passynge forth, and multepliedist thi fornicaciouns.
26And thou didist fornicacioun with the sones of Egipt, thi neiyboris of grete fleischis, and thou multepliedist thi fornicacioun, to terre me to wraththe.
27Lo! Y schal stretch forth myn hond on thee, and Y schal take awei thi iustifiyng; and Y schal yyue thee in to the soulis of hem that haten thee, of the douytris of Palestyns, that ben aschamed in thi weie ful of greet trespas.
28And thou didist fornicacioun with the sones of Assiriens, for thou were not fillid yit; and after that thou didist fornicacioun, nether so thou were fillid.
29And thou multipliedist thi fornycacioun in the lond of Canaan with Caldeis, and nether so thou were fillid.
30In what thing schal Y clense thin herte, seith the Lord God, whanne thou doist alle these werkis of a womman an hoore, and gredi axere?
31For thou madist thi bordel hous in `the heed of ech weie, and thou madist thin hiy place in ech street; and thou were not maad as an hoore ful of anoiyng,
32encreessynge prijs, but as a womman auowtresse, that bryngith in aliens on hir hosebonde.
33Hiris ben youun to alle hooris, but thou hast youe hire to alle thi louyeris; and thou yauest to hem, that thei schulden entre to thee on ech side, to do fornycacioun with thee.
34And it was don in thee ayens the custom of wymmen in thi fornycaciouns, and fornicacioun schal not be after thee; for in that that thou yauest hiris, and tokist not hiris, the contrarie was don in thee.
35Therfor, thou hoore, here the word of the Lord.
36The Lord God seith these thingis, For thi riches is sched out, and thi schenschipe is schewid in thi fornicaciouns on thi louyeris, and on the idols of thin abhomynaciouns, in the blood of thi sones, whiche thou yauest to hem; lo!
37Y schal gadere to gidere alle thi louyeris, with whiche thou were meddlid, and alle men whiche thou louedist, with alle men whiche thou hatidist; and Y schal gadere hem on thee on ech side, and Y schal make nakid thi schenschipe bifore hem, and thei schulen se al thi filthe.
38And Y schal deme thee bi the domes of auoutressis, and schedinge out blood;
39and Y schal yyue thee in to the blood of strong veniaunce, and of feruour. And Y schal yyue thee in to the hondis of hem, and thei schulen destrie thi bordel hous, and thei schulen destrie the place of thin hordom; and thei schulen make thee nakid of thi clothis, and thei schulen take awei the vessels of thi fairnesse, and thei schulen forsake thee nakid, and ful of schenschipe.
40And thei schulen bringe on thee a multitude, and thei schulen stoon thee with stoonys, and thei schulen sle thee with her swerdis.
41And thei schulen brenne thin housis with fier, and thei schulen make domes in thee, bifor the iyen of ful many wymmen; and thou schalt ceese to do fornicacioun, and thou schalt no more yyue hiris.
42And myn indignacioun schal reste in thee, and my feruent loue schal be takun awei fro thee; and Y schal reste, and Y schal no more be wrooth,
43for thou haddist not mynde on the daies of thi yong wexynge age, and thou terridist me to ire in alle these thingis. Wherfor and Y yaf thi weies in thin heed, seith the Lord God, and Y dide not aftir thi grete trespassis, in alle these thin abhomynaciouns.
44Lo! ech man that seith a prouerbe comynli, schal take it in thee,
45and schal seie, As the modir, so and the douytir of hir. Thou art the douyter of thi modir, that castide awey hir hosebonde and hir sones; and thou art the sister of thi sistris, that castiden a wei her hosebondis and her sones. Thi modir is Cetei, and thi fadir is Ammorrei;
46and thi gretter sister is Samarie, sche and hir douytris, that dwellen at thi left side; but thi sistir lesse than thou, that dwellith at thi riyt side, is Sodom, and hir douytris.
47But thou yedist not in the weies of hem, nethir thou didist aftir the grete trespassis of hem; hast thou do almest a litil lesse cursidere dedis than thei, in alle thi weies?
48Y lyue, seith the Lord God, for Sodom, thi sister, did not, sche and hir douytris, as thou didist, and thi douytris.
49Lo! this was the wickidnesse of Sodom, thi sister, pride, fulnesse of breed, and habundaunce, and idilnesse of hir, and of hir douytris; and thei puttiden not hond to a nedi man and pore.
50And thei weren enhaunsid, and diden other abhominaciouns bifore me; and Y took hem awei, as thou hast seyn.
51And Samarie synnede not the half of thi synnes, but thou hast ouercome hem in thi grete trespassis; and thou hast iustified thi sistris in alle thin abhomynaciouns, whiche thou wrouytist.
52Therfor and thou bere thi schenschipe, that hast ouercome thi sistris with thi synnes, and didist more cursidli than thei; for thei ben iustified of thee. Therfor and be thou schent, and bere thi schenschipe, which hast iustified thi sistris.
53And Y schal conuerte and restore hem by the conuersioun of Sodom with hir douytris, and bi the conuersioun of Samarie and of hir douytris; and Y schal conuerte thi turnyng ayen in the myddis of hem,
54that thou bere thi schenschipe, and be aschamed in alle thingis whiche thou didist, coumfortynge hem.
55And thi sister Sodom and hir doytris schulen turne ayen to her eldnesse; and Samarie and hir douytris shulen turne ayen to her eeldnesse; and thou and thi douytris turne ayen to youre eldnesse.
56Forsothe Sodom, thi sister, was not herd in thi mouth, in the dai of thi pride,
57bifore that thi malice was schewid, as in this tyme, in to schenschipe of the douytris of Sirie, and of alle douytris in thi cumpas, of the douytris of Palestyn that ben aboute thee bi cumpas.
58Thou hast bore thi greet trespas, and thi schenschipe, seith the Lord God.
59For the Lord God seith these thingis, And Y schal do to thee as thou dispisidist the ooth, that thou schuldist make voide the couenaunt;
60and Y schal haue mynde on my couenaunt with thee in the daies of thi yongthe, and Y schal reise to thee a couenaunt euerlastynge.
61And thou schalt haue mynde on thi weies, and schalt be aschamed, whanne thou schalt resseyue thi sistris grettere than thou, with thi lesse sistris; and Y schal yyue hem in to douytris to thee, but not of thi couenaunt.
62And Y schal reise my couenaunt with thee, and thou schalt wite, that Y am the Lord, that thou haue mynde, and be aschamed;
63and that it be no more to thee to opene the mouth for thi schame, whanne Y schal be plesid to thee in alle thingis whiche thou didist, seith the Lord God.
Ezekiel 16
1Again the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
2Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations,
3And 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.
4And 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.
5None 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.
6And 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.
7I 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.
8Now 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.
9Then washed I thee with water; yea, I throughly washed away thy blood from thee, and I anointed thee with oil.
10I 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.
11I decked thee also with ornaments, and I put bracelets upon thy hands, and a chain on thy neck.
12And I put a jewel on thy forehead, and earrings in thine ears, and a beautiful crown upon thine head.
13Thus 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.
14And 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.
15But 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.
16And 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.
17Thou 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,
18And tookest thy broidered garments, and coveredst them: and thou hast set mine oil and mine incense before them.
19My 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.
20Moreover 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,
21That thou hast slain my children, and delivered them to cause them to pass through the fire for them?
22And 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.
23And it came to pass after all thy wickedness, (woe, woe unto thee! saith the Lord God;)
24That thou hast also built unto thee an eminent place, and hast made thee an high place in every street.
25Thou 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.
26Thou hast also committed fornication with the Egyptians thy neighbours, great of flesh; and hast increased thy whoredoms, to provoke me to anger.
27Behold, 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.
28Thou 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.
29Thou hast moreover multiplied thy fornication in the land of Canaan unto Chaldea; and yet thou wast not satisfied herewith.
30How weak is thine heart, saith the Lord God, seeing thou doest all these things, the work of an imperious whorish woman;
31In 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;
32But as a wife that committeth adultery, which taketh strangers instead of her husband!
33They 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.
34And 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.
35Wherefore, O harlot, hear the word of the Lord:
36Thus 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;
37Behold, 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.
38And I will judge thee, as women that break wedlock and shed blood are judged; and I will give thee blood in fury and jealousy.
39And 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.
40They shall also bring up a company against thee, and they shall stone thee with stones, and thrust thee through with their swords.
41And 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.
42So 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.
43Because 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.
44Behold, every one that useth proverbs shall use this proverb against thee, saying, As is the mother, so is her daughter.
45Thou 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.
46And 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.
47Yet 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.
48As I live, saith the Lord God, Sodom thy sister hath not done, she nor her daughters, as thou hast done, thou and thy daughters.
49Behold, 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.
50And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good.
51Neither 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.
52Thou 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.
53When 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:
54That thou mayest bear thine own shame, and mayest be confounded in all that thou hast done, in that thou art a comfort unto them.
55When 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.
56For thy sister Sodom was not mentioned by thy mouth in the day of thy pride,
57Before 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.
58Thou hast borne thy lewdness and thine abominations, saith the Lord.
59For thus saith the Lord God; I will even deal with thee as thou hast done, which hast despised the oath in breaking the covenant.
60Nevertheless I will remember my covenant with thee in the days of thy youth, and I will establish unto thee an everlasting covenant.
61Then 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.
62And I will establish my covenant with thee; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord:
63That 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.
Understanding Wycliffe Bible (1395) vs King James Version in Ezekiel 16
Wycliffe Bible (1395) (Wycliffe)
The first complete English translation of the Bible (1395) by John Wycliffe and his followers. Translated from the Latin Vulgate. A landmark in English history and the Reformation.
King James Version (KJV)
The classic 1611 English translation known for its majestic prose and literary influence. Ideal for traditional study and memorization thanks to its formal style. A foundational English Bible used for centuries.
You are viewing a side-by-side comparison of Ezekiel 16 in the Wycliffe Bible (1395) and King James Version. Comparing these two versions can help shed light on the nuances of the original text.
Key Comparison: Ezekiel 16:16
"And thou tokist of my clothis, and madist to thee hiy thingis set aboute on ech side; and thou didist fornycacioun on tho, as it was not don, nether schal be don."
"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."





