Samaria and Jerusalem Acted Like Prostitutes

23 The Lord spoke his word to me. He said, ² “Son of man, there were once two women, daughters of the same mother. ³ They became prostitutes in Egypt when they were young. There men fondled and caressed their breasts.

⁴ “The older girl was named Oholah, and the younger girl was named Oholibah. I married them, and they gave birth to sons and daughters. Oholah represents Samaria, and Oholibah represents Jerusalem. ⁵ Oholah acted like a prostitute, although she was my wife. She lusted after her Assyrian lovers who lived nearby. ⁶ They were governors and commanders clothed in purple. They were all handsome young men who rode on horses. ⁷ She became a prostitute for all the important men in Assyria. She dishonored herself with the idols of all those with whom she fell in love. ⁸ She continued the prostitution that she started in Egypt. When she was young, men went to bed with her, caressed her breasts, and treated her like a prostitute.

⁹ “That is why I handed her over to her lovers, to the Assyrians whom she lusted after. ¹⁰ They stripped her naked, took away her sons and daughters, and killed her with a sword. Women gossiped about how she was punished.

¹¹ “Even though her younger sister Oholibah saw this, Oholibah lusted after men more than her sister did. Oholibah’s prostitution became worse than her sister’s prostitution. ¹² She lusted after the Assyrians who were nearby. They were governors and commanders in full dress. They were mounted horsemen, all of them desirable young men. ¹³ I saw that she was dishonoring herself. Both sisters acted the same way. ¹⁴ Yet, she carried her prostitution even further. She saw pictures of men carved on walls. They were figures of Babylonian men, painted in bright red. ¹⁵ The men had belts around their waists and flowing turbans on their heads. All of them looked like Babylonian officers who were born in Babylon. ¹⁶ She fell in love with them at first sight and sent messengers to them in Babylonia. ¹⁷ So these men came from Babylon, went to bed with her, and dishonored her with their lust. After they had dishonored her, she turned away from them in disgust.

¹⁸ “She carried out her prostitution openly, and she lay around naked. I turned away from her in disgust as I had turned away from her sister. ¹⁹ She remembered how she had been a prostitute in Egypt when she was young. So she took part in even more prostitution. ²⁰ She lusted after her lovers, whose genitals were like those of donkeys and whose semen was like that of horses. ²¹ So she longed to do the sinful things she did when she was young in Egypt, when young men caressed and fondled her breasts.

²² “Oholibah, this is what the Almighty Lord says: I’m going to stir up your lovers against you. They are the lovers you turned away from in disgust. I will bring them against you from every side. ²³ I will bring men from Babylon and from all Babylonia, men from Pekod, Shoa, and Koa, as well as all the Assyrians. They are desirable young men, governors and commanders, military officers and important men. All of them ride on horses. ²⁴ They will attack you from the north, with chariots and wagons and with a large number of troops. They will attack you from all around with small and large shields and with helmets. I have handed you over to them for punishment. They will punish you with their own kind of punishment. ²⁵ I will direct my burning anger against you so that they will deal with you in anger. They will cut off your nose and ears and kill everyone who remains. They will take your sons and your daughters and burn down whatever is left. ²⁶ They will rip off your clothes and take away your beautiful jewels. ²⁷ I will put a stop to your sinning and to your prostitution, which you began in Egypt. You won’t desire these things anymore or remember Egypt anymore.

²⁸ “This is what the Almighty Lord says: I’m going to hand you over to those you hate and to those you turned away from in disgust. ²⁹ They will treat you hatefully and take away everything that you have worked for. They will leave you naked and bare. The shame of your prostitution will be revealed. ³⁰ Your sinning and your prostitution have done this to you, because you lusted after the nations and dishonored yourself with their idols. ³¹ You’ve acted the same way as your sister. That is why I will put her cup in your hand. ³² This is what the Almighty Lord says:

³⁵ “This is what the Almighty Lord says: You have forgotten me and turned your back on me. So you will be punished for your sinning and prostitution.”

³⁶ The Lord said to me, “Son of man, will you judge Oholah and Oholibah and tell them about their disgusting practices? ³⁷ They have committed adultery. Their hands are covered with blood. They commit adultery with their idols. They have sacrificed the children they gave birth to for me as burnt offerings to idols. ³⁸ They have also done this to me: They have polluted my holy places when they do these things and dishonored the days to worship me. ³⁹ When they sacrificed their children to their idols, they came into my holy place and dishonored it. That is what they’ve done in my temple.

⁴⁰ “They even sent messengers to invite men to come from far away. When the men arrived, they washed themselves for the men, painted their eyes, and put on their jewels. ⁴¹ They sat on their fine couches with tables in front of them. They put my incense and my olive oil on their tables.

⁴² “I heard the noise from a carefree crowd. A large number of people came from the desert, and they put bracelets on the women’s wrists and beautiful crowns on their heads. ⁴³ Then I said, ‘She is worn out from her acts of adultery.’ Yet, men continued to have sex with her. ⁴⁴ Men slept with her. They slept with those sinful women, Oholah and Oholibah just as they slept with a prostitute. ⁴⁵ Righteous people will punish these women for adultery and for murder, because these women have committed adultery and their hands are covered with blood.

⁴⁶ “This is what the Almighty Lord says: Bring together a mob ⌞against the people of Samaria and Jerusalem⌟. Hand them over to terror and looting. ⁴⁷ Then the mob will stone them and kill them with swords. The mob will kill their sons and daughters and burn their homes. ⁴⁸ So I will put a stop to the sinning in the land, and all the women will be warned not to sin as they do. ⁴⁹ They will be punished for their sins, and they will pay for their sin of idolatry. Then they will know that I am the Almighty Lord.”