Oholah and Oholibah

23 The word of the Lord came to me: ^2 (A)“Son of man, there were ^(B)two women, the daughters of one mother. ^3 (C)They played the whore in Egypt; ^(D)they played the whore ^(E)in their youth; there their breasts were pressed and their virgin bosoms^[a] handled. ⁴ Oholah was the name of the elder and Oholibah the name of her sister. ^(F)They became mine, and they ^(G)bore sons and daughters. As for their names, Oholah is ^(H)Samaria, and Oholibah is Jerusalem.

⁵ “Oholah played the whore ^(I)while she was mine, and ^(J)she lusted after her lovers ^(K)the Assyrians, warriors ⁶ clothed in purple, ^(L)governors and commanders, ^(M)all of them desirable young men, ^(N)horsemen riding on horses. ⁷ She bestowed her whoring upon them, the choicest men of Assyria all of them, and she defiled herself with all the idols of everyone after whom she lusted. ⁸ She did not give up her whoring ^(O)that she had begun in Egypt; for in her youth men had lain with her and handled her virgin bosom and poured out their whoring lust upon her. ⁹ Therefore ^(P)I delivered her into the hands of her lovers, into the hands of the Assyrians, after whom she lusted. ^10 (Q)These uncovered her nakedness; ^(R)they seized her sons and her daughters; and as for her, they killed her with the sword; and she became ^(S)a byword among women, ^(T)when judgment had been executed on her.

^11 (U)“Her sister Oholibah saw this, and she became ^(V)more corrupt than her sister^[b] in her lust and in her whoring, which was worse than that of her sister. ¹² She lusted after the Assyrians, governors and commanders, warriors clothed in full armor, horsemen riding on horses, ^(W)all of them desirable young men. ¹³ And I saw that she was defiled; they both took the same way. ¹⁴ But she carried her whoring further. She saw men ^(X)portrayed on the wall, the ^(Y)images of ^(Z)the Chaldeans portrayed in vermilion, ¹⁵ wearing belts on their waists, with flowing turbans on their heads, all of them having the appearance of officers, a likeness of Babylonians whose native land was Chaldea. ¹⁶ When she saw them, she lusted after them and ^(AA)sent messengers to them ^(AB)in Chaldea. ¹⁷ And the Babylonians came to her ^(AC)into the bed of love, and they defiled her with their whoring lust. And after she was defiled by them, ^(AD)she turned from them in disgust. ¹⁸ When she carried on her whoring so openly and flaunted her nakedness, I turned in disgust from her, as I had turned in disgust from her sister. ¹⁹ Yet she increased her whoring, ^(AE)remembering the days of her youth, when she played the whore in the land of Egypt ²⁰ and lusted after her lovers there, whose members were like those of donkeys, and whose issue was like that of horses. ²¹ Thus you longed for the lewdness of your youth, when the Egyptians handled your bosom and pressed^[c] your young breasts.”

²² Therefore, O Oholibah, thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I will stir up against you your lovers ^(AF)from whom you turned in disgust, ^(AG)and I will bring them against you from every side: ²³ the Babylonians and all the Chaldeans, ^(AH)Pekod and Shoa and Koa, and all the Assyrians with them, ^(AI)desirable young men, ^(AJ)governors and commanders all of them, officers and men of renown, all of them riding on horses. ²⁴ And they shall come against you from the north^[d] with chariots and wagons and a host of peoples. ^(AK)They shall set themselves against you on every side with buckler, shield, and helmet; and ^(AL)I will commit the judgment to them, and ^(AM)they shall judge you according to their judgments. ²⁵ And I will direct my jealousy against you, ^(AN)that they may deal with you in fury. They shall cut off your nose and your ears, and your survivors shall fall by the sword. ^(AO)They shall seize your sons and your daughters, and your survivors shall be devoured by fire. ^26 (AP)They shall also strip you of your clothes and take away your beautiful jewels. ^27 (AQ)Thus I will put an end to your lewdness and ^(AR)your whoring begun in the land of Egypt, so that you shall not lift up your eyes to them or remember Egypt anymore.

²⁸ “For thus says the Lord God: ^(AS)Behold, I will deliver you into the hands of those whom you hate, ^(AT)into the hands of those from whom you turned in disgust, ²⁹ and ^(AU)they shall deal with you in hatred and take away all the fruit of your labor ^(AV)and leave you naked and bare, and ^(AW)the nakedness of your whoring shall be uncovered. Your lewdness and your whoring ³⁰ have brought this upon you, because ^(AX)you played the whore with the nations and defiled yourself with their idols. ³¹ You have gone the way of your sister; ^(AY)therefore I will give ^(AZ)her cup into your hand. ³² Thus says the Lord God:

for I have spoken, declares the Lord God. ³⁵ Therefore thus says the Lord God: Because ^(BE)you have forgotten me and ^(BF)cast me behind your back, you yourself ^(BG)must bear the consequences of your lewdness and whoring.”

³⁶ The Lord said to me: ^(BH)“Son of man, ^(BI)will you judge Oholah and Oholibah? Declare to them their abominations. ³⁷ For ^(BJ)they have committed adultery, ^(BK)and blood is on their hands. With their idols they have committed adultery, and they have even ^(BL)offered up^[e] to them for food the children whom they had borne to me. ³⁸ Moreover, this they have done to me: ^(BM)they have defiled my sanctuary on the same day and ^(BN)profaned my Sabbaths. ³⁹ For when ^(BO)they had slaughtered their children in sacrifice to their idols, on the same day ^(BP)they came into my sanctuary to profane it. And behold, ^(BQ)this is what they did in my house. ⁴⁰ They even sent for men to come from afar, ^(BR)to whom a messenger was sent; and behold, they came. For them you bathed yourself, ^(BS)painted your eyes, ^(BT)and adorned yourself with ornaments. ⁴¹ You sat on ^(BU)a stately couch, with a table spread before it ^(BV)on which you had placed my incense and ^(BW)my oil. ⁴² The ^(BX)sound of a carefree multitude was with her; and with men of the common sort, drunkards^[f] were brought from the wilderness; and they put ^(BY)bracelets on the hands of the women, and ^(BZ)beautiful crowns on their heads.

⁴³ “Then I said of her who was worn out by adultery, ‘Now they will continue to use her for a whore, even her!’^{[g] 44} For they have gone in to her, as men go in to a prostitute. Thus they went in to Oholah and to Oholibah, lewd women! ⁴⁵ But righteous men ^(CA)shall pass judgment on them with the sentence of adulteresses, and with the sentence of women who shed blood, because they are adulteresses, and blood is on their hands.”

⁴⁶ For thus says the Lord God: ^(CB)“Bring up a vast host against them, and make them ^(CC)an object of terror and ^(CD)a plunder. ^47 (CE)And the host shall stone them and cut them down with their swords. ^(CF)They shall kill their sons and their daughters, and ^(CG)burn up their houses. ^48 (CH)Thus will I put an end to lewdness in the land, that all women may take warning and not commit lewdness as you have done. ⁴⁹ And they shall return your lewdness upon you, and ^(CI)you shall bear the penalty for your sinful idolatry, and ^(CJ)you shall know that I am the Lord God.”

The Siege of Jerusalem

24 ^(CK)In the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: ^2 (CL)“Son of man, write down the name of this day, this very day. The king of Babylon has laid siege to Jerusalem this very day. ³ And ^(CM)utter a parable to ^(CN)the rebellious house and say to them, Thus says the Lord God:

⁶ “Therefore thus says the Lord God: ^(CQ)Woe to the bloody city, to ^(CR)the pot whose corrosion is in it, and whose corrosion has not gone out of it! Take out of it piece after piece, without making any choice.^{[i] 7} For the blood she has shed is in her midst; she put it on ^(CS)the bare rock; ^(CT)she did not pour it out on the ground to cover it with dust. ⁸ To rouse my wrath, to take vengeance, I have set on the bare rock the blood she has shed, that it may not be covered. ⁹ Therefore thus says the Lord God: Woe to the bloody city! ^(CU)I also will make the pile great. ¹⁰ Heap on the logs, kindle the fire, boil the meat well, mix in the spices,^[j] and let the bones be burned up. ¹¹ Then set it empty upon the coals, that it may become hot, and its copper may burn, ^(CV)that its uncleanness may be melted in it, its corrosion consumed. ^12 (CW)She has wearied herself with toil;^[k] its abundant corrosion does not go out of it. Into the fire with its corrosion! ¹³ On account of your unclean lewdness, because I would have cleansed you and you were not cleansed from your uncleanness, ^(CX)you shall not be cleansed anymore till ^(CY)I have satisfied my fury upon you. ^14 (CZ)I am the Lord. I have spoken; it shall come to pass; I will do it. I will not go back; ^(DA)I will not spare; ^(DB)I will not relent; ^(DC)according to your ways and your deeds you will be judged, declares the Lord God.”

Ezekiel's Wife Dies

¹⁵ The word of the Lord came to me: ^16 (DD)“Son of man, behold, I am about to take the delight of your eyes away from you at a stroke; yet you shall not mourn or weep, nor shall your tears run down. ¹⁷ Sigh, but not aloud; make no mourning for the dead. ^(DE)Bind on your turban, and ^(DF)put your shoes on your feet; do not cover your lips, ^(DG)nor eat the bread of men.” ¹⁸ So I spoke to the people in the morning, and ^(DH)at evening my wife died. And on the next morning I did ^(DI)as I was commanded.

¹⁹ And ^(DJ)the people said to me, “Will you not tell us what these things mean for us, that you are acting thus?” ²⁰ Then I said to them, “The word of the Lord came to me: ²¹ ‘Say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: ^(DK)Behold, I will profane my sanctuary, the pride of your power, the delight of your eyes, and the yearning of your soul, and ^(DL)your sons and your daughters whom you left behind shall fall by the sword. ²² And ^(DM)you shall do as I have done; ^(DN)you shall not cover your lips, ^(DO)nor eat the bread of men. ^23 (DP)Your turbans shall be on your heads and your shoes on your feet; you shall not mourn or weep, but ^(DQ)you shall rot away in your iniquities and groan to one another. ²⁴ Thus shall Ezekiel be to you ^(DR)a sign; ^(DS)according to all that he has done you shall do. When this comes, then ^(DT)you will know that I am the Lord God.’

²⁵ “As for you, ^(DU)son of man, surely on the day when I take from them ^(DV)their stronghold, their joy and glory, the delight of their eyes and their soul's desire, and also their sons and daughters, ^26 (DW)on that day a fugitive will come to you to report to you the news. ²⁷ On that day your mouth ^(DX)will be opened to the fugitive, and you shall speak and be no longer mute. ^(DY)So you will be a sign to them, and ^(DZ)they will know that I am the Lord.”

The Resurrection

28 ^(A)Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and ^(B)the other Mary went to see the tomb. ² And behold, there was a great earthquake, for ^(C)an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. ^3 (D)His appearance was like lightning, and ^(E)his clothing white as snow. ⁴ And for fear of him the guards trembled and ^(F)became like dead men. ⁵ But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. ⁶ He is not here, for he has risen, ^(G)as he said. Come, see the place where he^[a] lay. ⁷ Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, ^(H)he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.” ⁸ So they departed quickly from the tomb ^(I)with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. ⁹ And behold, Jesus ^(J)met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and ^(K)took hold of his feet and ^(L)worshiped him. ¹⁰ Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; ^(M)go and tell ^(N)my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”

The Report of the Guard

¹¹ While they were going, behold, some of ^(O)the guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had taken place. ¹² And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers ¹³ and said, “Tell people, ^(P)‘His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ ¹⁴ And if this comes to ^(Q)the governor's ears, we will ^(R)satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” ¹⁵ So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this story has been spread among the Jews ^(S)to this day.

The Great Commission

¹⁶ Now the eleven disciples ^(T)went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. ¹⁷ And when they saw him they ^(U)worshiped him, but some doubted. ¹⁸ And Jesus came and said to them, ^(V)“All authority ^(W)in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ^19 (X)Go therefore and ^(Y)make disciples of ^(Z)all nations, ^(AA)baptizing them ^(AB)in^{[b] (AC)}the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them ^(AD)to observe all that ^(AE)I have commanded you. And behold, ^(AF)I am with you always, to ^(AG)the end of the age.”

The Lord Is My Strength and My Shield

Of David.