The Sins of Israel

22 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “And you, son of man, will you judge, will you judge the bloody city? Then inform her of all her abominations. ³ And you shall say, ‘This is what the Lord ^[a]God says: “A city ^(A)shedding blood in her midst, so that her time is coming; and a city that makes idols, contrary to her own good, for defilement! ⁴ You have become ^(B)guilty by ^[b]the blood which you have shed, and you have become defiled by your idols which you have made. So you have brought your days closer and have come to your years; therefore I have made you a ^(C)disgrace to the nations, and an object of mocking to all the lands. ⁵ Those who are near and those who are far from you will make fun of you, you of ill repute, full of ^(D)turmoil.

⁶ “Behold, the ^(E)rulers of Israel, each according to his ^[c]power, have been among you for the purpose of shedding blood. ⁷ They have ^(F)treated father and mother with contempt among you. They have oppressed the ^(G)stranger in your midst; they have oppressed the ^(H)orphan and the widow among you. ⁸ You have ^(I)despised My holy things and ^(J)profaned My Sabbaths. ⁹ Slanderous men have been among you for the purpose of shedding blood, and among you they have eaten at the mountain shrines. In your midst they have ^(K)committed outrageous sin. ¹⁰ Among you ^[d]they have ^(L)uncovered their fathers’ nakedness; among you they have abused her who was ^(M)unclean in her menstruation. ¹¹ And one has committed abomination with his ^(N)neighbor’s wife, another has outrageously defiled his ^(O)daughter-in-law, and another among you has sexually ^(P)abused his sister, his father’s daughter. ¹² Among you they have ^(Q)taken bribes to shed blood; you have taken ^[e](R)interest, you have injured your neighbors by ^(S)oppression, and you have ^(T)forgotten Me,” declares the Lord God.

¹³ “Behold, then, I strike with My hand your ^(U)profit which you have made and ^[f]the bloodshed which is among you. ¹⁴ Can ^(V)your heart endure, or can your hands be strong for the days that I will deal with you? ^(W)I, the Lord, have spoken and will act. ¹⁵ And I will ^(X)scatter you among the nations and disperse you among the lands, and I will ^(Y)eliminate your uncleanness from you. ¹⁶ Then you will defile yourself in the sight of the nations, and you will ^(Z)know that I am the Lord.”’”

¹⁷ And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ¹⁸ “Son of man, the house of Israel has become ^[g](AA)waste metal to Me; all of them are ^(AB)bronze, tin, iron, and lead in the ^(AC)smelting furnace; they are the ^[h]waste metal of silver. ¹⁹ Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: ‘Because all of you have become ^[i]waste metal, therefore, behold, I am going to gather you into the midst of Jerusalem. ²⁰ As they gather silver, bronze, iron, lead, and tin into the ^(AD)smelting furnace to blow fire on it in order to melt it, so I will gather you in My anger and in My wrath, and I will place you there and melt you. ²¹ And I will gather you and blow on you with the fire of My wrath, and you will be melted in the midst of it. ²² As silver is melted in the furnace, so you will be melted in the midst of it; and you will know that I, the Lord, have ^(AE)poured out My wrath on you.’”

²³ And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ²⁴ “Son of man, say to her, ‘You are a land that is ^(AF)not clean or rained on in the day of indignation.’ ²⁵ There is a ^(AG)conspiracy of her prophets in her midst like a roaring lion tearing the prey. They have ^(AH)devoured lives; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many ^(AI)widows in the midst of her. ²⁶ Her ^(AJ)priests have done violence to My Law and have ^(AK)profaned My holy things; they have made no ^(AL)distinction between the holy and the ^[j]common, and they have not taught the difference between the ^(AM)unclean and the clean; and they have closed their eyes from My Sabbaths, and I am defiled among them. ²⁷ Her leaders within her are like wolves tearing the prey, by shedding blood and ^(AN)destroying lives in order to make ^(AO)dishonest profit. ²⁸ And her prophets have coated with whitewash for them, seeing ^(AP)false visions and divining lies for them, saying, ‘This is what the Lord God says,’ when the Lord has not spoken. ²⁹ The people of the land have practiced ^(AQ)extortion and committed robbery, and they have oppressed the poor and needy, and have ^(AR)oppressed the stranger without justice. ³⁰ I ^(AS)searched for a man among them who would ^(AT)build up a wall and ^(AU)stand in the gap before Me for the land, so that I would not destroy it; but I found ^[k]no one. ³¹ So I have poured out My ^(AV)indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath; I have brought ^(AW)their way upon their heads,” declares the Lord God.

Oholah and Oholibah’s Sin and Its Consequences

23 The word of the Lord came to me again, saying, ² “Son of man, there were ^(AX)two women, the daughters of one mother; ³ and they prostituted themselves in Egypt. They ^(AY)prostituted themselves in their youth; there their breasts were squeezed and there their virgin breasts were handled. ⁴ Their names were Oholah the elder and Oholibah her sister. And they became Mine, and they gave birth to sons and daughters. And as for their names, Samaria is Oholah and Jerusalem is Oholibah.

⁵ “Oholah prostituted herself ^[l]while she was Mine; and she lusted after her lovers, after the ^(AZ)Assyrians, her neighbors, ⁶ who were clothed in purple, ^(BA)governors and officials, all of them handsome young men, horsemen riding on horses. ⁷ She bestowed her ^[m]obscene practices on them, all of whom were the choicest ^[n]men of Assyria; and with all whom she lusted after, with all their idols she ^(BB)defiled herself. ⁸ She did not abandon her obscene practices ^(BC)from the time in Egypt; for in her youth ^[o]men had slept with her, and they handled her virgin breasts and poured out their obscene practice on her. ⁹ Therefore, I handed her over to her ^(BD)lovers, to the ^[p]Assyrians, after whom she lusted. ¹⁰ They ^(BE)uncovered her nakedness; they took her sons and her daughters, but they killed her with the sword. So she became a ^[q]subject of gossip among women, and they executed judgments on her.

¹¹ “Now her sister Oholibah saw this, yet she was ^(BF)more corrupt in her lust than she, and her obscene practices were ^[r]more than the prostitution of her sister. ¹² She lusted after the ^[s](BG)Assyrians, governors and officials, the ones near, opulently dressed, horsemen riding on horses, all of them handsome young men. ¹³ And I saw that she had defiled herself; they both took ^[t]the same way. ¹⁴ So she increased her obscene practices. And she saw men ^(BH)carved on the wall, images of the ^(BI)Chaldeans drawn in bright red, ¹⁵ wearing belts around their waists, with flowing turbans on their heads, all of them looking like officers, ^[u]like the ^[v]Babylonians in Chaldea, the land of their birth. ¹⁶ And ^[w]when she saw them she ^(BJ)lusted after them and sent messengers to them in Chaldea. ¹⁷ And the ^[x](BK)Babylonians came to her to the bed of love and defiled her with their obscene practice. And when she had been defiled by them, ^[y]she turned away from them in disgust. ¹⁸ She ^(BL)exposed her obscene practices and exposed her nakedness; then ^[z]I turned away from her in ^(BM)disgust, just as ^[aa]I had turned away from her ^(BN)sister in disgust. ¹⁹ Yet she multiplied her obscene practices, remembering the days of her youth, when she prostituted herself in the land of Egypt. ²⁰ She ^(BO)lusted after their lovers, whose flesh is like the flesh of donkeys and whose discharge is like the discharge of horses. ²¹ So you longed for the ^(BP)outrageous sin of your youth, when ^[ab]the Egyptians handled your breasts because of the breasts of your youth.

²² “Therefore, Oholibah, this is what the Lord ^[ac]God says: ‘Behold I am going to incite your lovers against you, from whom ^[ad]you turned away in disgust, and I will bring them against you from every side: ²³ the ^[ae](BQ)Babylonians and all the ^(BR)Chaldeans, ^(BS)Pekod and Shoa and Koa, and all the ^[af](BT)Assyrians with them; handsome young men, governors and officials all of them, officers and ^[ag]men of renown, all of them riding on horses. ²⁴ And they will come against you with weapons, ^(BU)chariots, and ^[ah]wagons, and with a contingent of peoples. They will attack you on every side with shield, ^[ai]buckler, and helmet; and I will commit the ^(BV)judgment to them, and they will judge you according to their customs. ²⁵ I will set My ^(BW)jealousy against you, so that they may deal with you in wrath. They will remove your nose and your ears; and your ^[aj]survivors will fall by the sword. They will take your ^(BX)sons and your daughters; and your ^[ak]survivors will be consumed by the fire. ²⁶ They will also ^(BY)strip you of your clothes and take away your ^(BZ)beautiful jewelry. ²⁷ So ^(CA)I will remove from you your outrageous sin and your prostitution that you brought from the land of Egypt, so that you will not raise your eyes to them or remember Egypt anymore.’ ²⁸ For this is what the Lord God says: ‘Behold, I am going to hand you over to those whom you ^(CB)hate, to those from whom ^[al]you turned away in disgust. ²⁹ They will ^(CC)deal with you in hatred, take all your property, and leave you naked and bare. And the nakedness of your prostitution will be exposed, both your outrageous sin and your obscene practices. ³⁰ These things will be done to you because you have ^(CD)adulterously pursued the nations, because you have defiled yourself with their idols. ³¹ You have walked in the way of your sister; therefore I will put ^(CE)her cup in your hand.’ ³² This is what the Lord God says:

for I have spoken,’ declares the Lord God. ³⁵ Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: ‘Because you have ^(CJ)forgotten Me and ^(CK)discarded Me behind your back, suffer on your own part the punishment for your outrageous sin and your obscene practices.’”

³⁶ Moreover, the Lord said to me, “Son of man, will you ^(CL)judge Oholah and Oholibah? Then ^(CM)declare to them their abominations. ³⁷ For they have committed adultery, and blood is on their hands. So they have committed adultery with their idols, and even made their sons, ^(CN)whom they bore to Me, pass through the fire to ^[an]them as food. ³⁸ Again, they have done this to Me: they have ^(CO)defiled My sanctuary on the same day, and have ^(CP)profaned My Sabbaths. ³⁹ For when they slaughtered their children for their idols, they entered My ^(CQ)sanctuary on the same day to profane it; and behold, this is what they did within My house.

⁴⁰ “Furthermore, ^[ao]they have even sent for men who come from a great distance, to whom a messenger was sent; and behold, they came—for whom you bathed, ^(CR)put makeup on your eyes, and ^(CS)adorned yourselves with jewelry; ⁴¹ and you sat on a splendid ^(CT)couch with a ^(CU)table arranged in front of it on which you had set My ^(CV)incense and My ^(CW)oil. ⁴² And the sound of a ^[ap](CX)carefree multitude was with her; and ^(CY)heavy drinkers were brought from the wilderness with people from the multitude of humanity. And they put ^(CZ)bracelets on ^[aq]the wrists of the women and beautiful crowns on their heads.

⁴³ “Then I said concerning her who was ^(DA)worn out by adulteries, ‘^[ar]Will they now commit adultery with her when she is like this?’ ^44 [as]But they went in to her as they would go in to a prostitute. This is how they went in to Oholah and to Oholibah, the lewd women. ⁴⁵ But they, righteous people, will ^(DB)judge them with the judgment of adulteresses and with the judgment of women who shed blood, because they are adulteresses and blood is on their hands.

⁴⁶ “For this is what the Lord God says: ‘Bring up a contingent against them and turn them over to ^(DC)terror and plunder. ⁴⁷ The contingent will ^(DD)stone them with stones and cut them down with their swords; they will kill their sons and their daughters and ^(DE)burn their houses with fire. ⁴⁸ So I will eliminate outrageous conduct from the land, so that all women will take warning and not commit ^[at]outrageous sin as you have done. ⁴⁹ Your outrageous conduct ^[au]will be ^(DF)repaid to you, and you will bear the guilt for your idols; so you will know that I am the Lord God.’”

A Living Hope and a Sure Salvation

1 ^(A)Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,

To those who reside as ^(B)strangers, ^(C)scattered throughout ^(D)Pontus, ^(E)Galatia, ^(F)Cappadocia, ^(G)Asia, and ^(H)Bithynia, ^(I)who are chosen ² according to the ^(J)foreknowledge of God the Father, ^(K)by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, ^[a]to ^(L)obey Jesus Christ and be ^(M)sprinkled with His blood: ^(N)May grace and peace be multiplied to you.

^3 (O)Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who ^(P)according to His great mercy ^(Q)has caused us to be born again to ^(R)a living hope through the ^(S)resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴ to obtain an ^(T)inheritance which is imperishable, undefiled, and ^(U)will not fade away, ^(V)reserved in heaven for you, ⁵ who are ^(W)protected by the power of God ^(X)through faith for ^(Y)a salvation ready ^(Z)to be revealed in the last time. ^6 (AA)In this you greatly rejoice, even though now ^(AB)for a little while, ^(AC)if necessary, you have been distressed by ^(AD)various ^[b]trials, ⁷ so that the ^[c](AE)proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which perishes ^(AF)though tested by fire, ^(AG)may be found to result in praise, glory, and honor at ^(AH)the revelation of Jesus Christ; ⁸ and ^(AI)though you have not seen Him, you ^(AJ)love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and ^[d]full of glory, ⁹ obtaining as ^(AK)the outcome of your faith, the salvation of ^[e]your souls.

^10 (AL)As to this salvation, the prophets who ^(AM)prophesied of the ^(AN)grace that would come to you made careful searches and inquiries, ^11 [f]seeking to know what person or time ^(AO)the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He ^(AP)predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories ^[g]to follow. ¹² It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been announced to you through those who ^(AQ)preached the gospel to you by ^(AR)the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things into which ^(AS)angels long to ^[h]look.

¹³ Therefore, ^[i](AT)prepare your minds for action, ^[j](AU)keep sober in spirit, set your ^(AV)hope completely on the ^(AW)grace to be brought to you at ^(AX)the revelation of Jesus Christ. ¹⁴ As ^[k](AY)obedient children, do not ^[l](AZ)be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ^(BA)ignorance, ¹⁵ but ^[m](BB)like the Holy One who called you, ^[n](BC)be holy yourselves also ^(BD)in all your behavior; ¹⁶ because it is written: “^(BE)You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

¹⁷ If you ^(BF)address as Father the One who ^(BG)impartially ^(BH)judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves ^(BI)in fear during the time of your ^(BJ)stay on earth; ¹⁸ knowing that you were not ^[o](BK)redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your ^(BL)futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, ¹⁹ but with precious ^(BM)blood, as of a ^(BN)lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ. ²⁰ For He was ^(BO)foreknown before ^(BP)the foundation of the world, but has ^(BQ)appeared ^[p]in these last times ^(BR)for the sake of you ²¹ who through Him are ^(BS)believers in God, who raised Him from the dead and ^(BT)gave Him glory, so that your faith and ^(BU)hope are in God.

²² Since you have ^(BV)purified your souls ^(BW)in obedience to the truth for a ^(BX)sincere love of the brothers and sisters, fervently love one another from ^[q]the heart, ²³ for you have been ^(BY)born again ^(BZ)not of seed which is perishable, but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring ^(CA)word of God. ²⁴ For,

And this is ^(CD)the word which was ^[r]preached to you.