¹³ “Behold, ^(A)I strike my hand at ^(B)the dishonest gain that you have made, and at ^(C)the blood that has been in your midst. ^14 (D)Can your courage endure, or can your hands be strong, in the days that I shall deal with you? ^(E)I the Lord have spoken, and I will do it. ^15 (F)I will scatter you among the nations and disperse you through the countries, and ^(G)I will consume your uncleanness out of you. ¹⁶ And ^(H)you shall be profaned by your own doing ^(I)in the sight of the nations, ^(J)and you shall know that I am the Lord.”

¹⁷ And the word of the Lord came to me: ^18 (K)“Son of man, the house of Israel has become ^(L)dross to me; all of them are ^(M)bronze and tin and iron and lead in the furnace; they are ^(N)dross of silver. ¹⁹ Therefore thus says the Lord God: Because you have all become dross, therefore, behold, I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem. ²⁰ As one gathers silver and bronze and iron and lead and tin into a furnace, ^(O)to blow the fire on it in order to melt it, so I will gather you ^(P)in my anger and in my wrath, and I will put you in and melt you. ²¹ I will gather you and blow on you with the fire of my wrath, and you shall be melted in the midst of it. ²² As silver is melted in a furnace, so you shall be melted in the midst of it, and you shall know that I am the Lord; ^(Q)I have poured out my wrath upon you.”

²³ And the word of the Lord came to me: ²⁴ “Son of man, say to her, You are a land that is ^(R)not cleansed ^(S)or rained upon in the day of indignation. ^25 (T)The conspiracy of her prophets in her midst is ^(U)like a roaring lion ^(V)tearing the prey; they have devoured human lives; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many widows in her midst. ^26 (W)Her priests ^(X)have done violence to my law and ^(Y)have profaned my holy things. ^(Z)They have made no distinction between the holy and the common, neither have they taught the difference between the unclean and the clean, and ^(AA)they have disregarded my Sabbaths, ^(AB)so that I am profaned among them. ^27 (AC)Her princes in her midst are like wolves ^(AD)tearing the prey, ^(AE)shedding blood, destroying lives to get dishonest gain. ²⁸ And ^(AF)her prophets have smeared whitewash for them, ^(AG)seeing false visions and divining lies for them, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord God,’ when the Lord has not spoken. ²⁹ The people of the land ^(AH)have practiced extortion and committed robbery. They have oppressed the poor and needy, and ^(AI)have extorted from the sojourner without justice. ^30 (AJ)And I sought for a man among them ^(AK)who should build up the wall ^(AL)and stand in the breach before me for the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found none. ³¹ Therefore ^(AM)I have poured out my indignation upon them. I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath. I have returned ^(AN)their way upon their heads, declares the Lord God.”

Oholah and Oholibah

23 The word of the Lord came to me: ^2 (AO)“Son of man, there were ^(AP)two women, the daughters of one mother. ^3 (AQ)They played the whore in Egypt; ^(AR)they played the whore ^(AS)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. ^(AT)They became mine, and they ^(AU)bore sons and daughters. As for their names, Oholah is ^(AV)Samaria, and Oholibah is Jerusalem.

⁵ “Oholah played the whore ^(AW)while she was mine, and ^(AX)she lusted after her lovers ^(AY)the Assyrians, warriors ⁶ clothed in purple, ^(AZ)governors and commanders, ^(BA)all of them desirable young men, ^(BB)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 ^(BC)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 ^(BD)I delivered her into the hands of her lovers, into the hands of the Assyrians, after whom she lusted. ^10 (BE)These uncovered her nakedness; ^(BF)they seized her sons and her daughters; and as for her, they killed her with the sword; and she became ^(BG)a byword among women, ^(BH)when judgment had been executed on her.

The Lord Has Chosen Zion

A Song of ^(A)Ascents.

Warning to the Rich

5 Come now, ^(A)you rich, weep and howl for the ^(B)miseries that are coming upon you. ^2 (C)Your riches have rotted and ^(D)your garments are moth-eaten. ³ Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. ^(E)You have laid up treasure ^(F)in the last days. ⁴ Behold, ^(G)the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and ^(H)the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of ^(I)the Lord of hosts. ^5 (J)You have lived on the earth in luxury and ^(K)in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in ^(L)a day of slaughter. ⁶ You have condemned and ^(M)murdered ^(N)the righteous person. He does not resist you.

Patience in Suffering

⁷ Be patient, therefore, brothers,^[a] until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives ^(O)the early and the late rains. ⁸ You also, be patient. ^(P)Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord ^(Q)is at hand. ⁹ Do not grumble against one another, brothers, ^(R)so that you may not be judged; behold, ^(S)the Judge is standing ^(T)at the door. ¹⁰ As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take ^(U)the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. ¹¹ Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of ^(V)the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen ^(W)the purpose of the Lord, how ^(X)the Lord is compassionate and merciful.