Final Warnings

13 This will be my third visit to you.(A) “Every matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.”[a](B) I already gave you a warning when I was with you the second time. I now repeat it while absent:(C) On my return I will not spare(D) those who sinned earlier(E) or any of the others, since you are demanding proof that Christ is speaking through me.(F) He is not weak in dealing with you, but is powerful among you. For to be sure, he was crucified in weakness,(G) yet he lives by God’s power.(H) Likewise, we are weak(I) in him, yet by God’s power we will live with him(J) in our dealing with you.

Examine yourselves(K) to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves.(L) Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you(M)—unless, of course, you fail the test? And I trust that you will discover that we have not failed the test. Now we pray to God that you will not do anything wrong—not so that people will see that we have stood the test but so that you will do what is right even though we may seem to have failed. For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth. We are glad whenever we are weak(N) but you are strong;(O) and our prayer is that you may be fully restored.(P) 10 This is why I write these things when I am absent, that when I come I may not have to be harsh(Q) in my use of authority—the authority the Lord gave me for building you up, not for tearing you down.(R)

Final Greetings

11 Finally, brothers and sisters,(S) rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace.(T) And the God of love(U) and peace(V) will be with you.

12 Greet one another with a holy kiss.(W) 13 All God’s people here send their greetings.(X)

14 May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ,(Y) and the love of God,(Z) and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit(AA) be with you all.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Corinthians 13:1 Deut. 19:15

13 This is the third time I am coming to you. In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established.

I told you before, and foretell you, as if I were present, the second time; and being absent now I write to them which heretofore have sinned, and to all other, that, if I come again, I will not spare:

Since ye seek a proof of Christ speaking in me, which to you-ward is not weak, but is mighty in you.

For though he was crucified through weakness, yet he liveth by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but we shall live with him by the power of God toward you.

Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?

But I trust that ye shall know that we are not reprobates.

Now I pray to God that ye do no evil; not that we should appear approved, but that ye should do that which is honest, though we be as reprobates.

For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth.

For we are glad, when we are weak, and ye are strong: and this also we wish, even your perfection.

10 Therefore I write these things being absent, lest being present I should use sharpness, according to the power which the Lord hath given me to edification, and not to destruction.

11 Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you.

12 Greet one another with an holy kiss.

13 All the saints salute you.

14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.

Psalm 133

A song of ascents. Of David.

How good and pleasant it is
    when God’s people live together(A) in unity!(B)

It is like precious oil poured on the head,(C)
    running down on the beard,
running down on Aaron’s beard,
    down on the collar of his robe.
It is as if the dew(D) of Hermon(E)
    were falling on Mount Zion.(F)
For there the Lord bestows his blessing,(G)
    even life forevermore.(H)

133 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!

It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments;

As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the Lord commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.

Remember, Lord, what has happened to us;
    look, and see our disgrace.(A)
Our inheritance(B) has been turned over to strangers,(C)
    our homes(D) to foreigners.(E)
We have become fatherless,
    our mothers are widows.(F)
We must buy the water we drink;(G)
    our wood can be had only at a price.(H)
Those who pursue us are at our heels;
    we are weary(I) and find no rest.(J)
We submitted to Egypt and Assyria(K)
    to get enough bread.
Our ancestors(L) sinned and are no more,
    and we bear their punishment.(M)
Slaves(N) rule over us,
    and there is no one to free us from their hands.(O)
We get our bread at the risk of our lives
    because of the sword in the desert.
10 Our skin is hot as an oven,
    feverish from hunger.(P)
11 Women have been violated(Q) in Zion,
    and virgins in the towns of Judah.
12 Princes have been hung up by their hands;
    elders(R) are shown no respect.(S)
13 Young men toil at the millstones;
    boys stagger under loads of wood.
14 The elders are gone from the city gate;
    the young men have stopped their music.(T)
15 Joy is gone from our hearts;
    our dancing has turned to mourning.(U)
16 The crown(V) has fallen from our head.(W)
    Woe to us, for we have sinned!(X)
17 Because of this our hearts(Y) are faint,(Z)
    because of these things our eyes(AA) grow dim(AB)
18 for Mount Zion,(AC) which lies desolate,(AD)
    with jackals prowling over it.

19 You, Lord, reign forever;(AE)
    your throne endures(AF) from generation to generation.
20 Why do you always forget us?(AG)
    Why do you forsake(AH) us so long?
21 Restore(AI) us to yourself, Lord, that we may return;
    renew our days as of old
22 unless you have utterly rejected us(AJ)
    and are angry with us beyond measure.(AK)

Remember, O Lord, what is come upon us: consider, and behold our reproach.

Our inheritance is turned to strangers, our houses to aliens.

We are orphans and fatherless, our mothers are as widows.

We have drunken our water for money; our wood is sold unto us.

Our necks are under persecution: we labour, and have no rest.

We have given the hand to the Egyptians, and to the Assyrians, to be satisfied with bread.

Our fathers have sinned, and are not; and we have borne their iniquities.

Servants have ruled over us: there is none that doth deliver us out of their hand.

We gat our bread with the peril of our lives because of the sword of the wilderness.

10 Our skin was black like an oven because of the terrible famine.

11 They ravished the women in Zion, and the maids in the cities of Judah.

12 Princes are hanged up by their hand: the faces of elders were not honoured.

13 They took the young men to grind, and the children fell under the wood.

14 The elders have ceased from the gate, the young men from their musick.

15 The joy of our heart is ceased; our dance is turned into mourning.

16 The crown is fallen from our head: woe unto us, that we have sinned!

17 For this our heart is faint; for these things our eyes are dim.

18 Because of the mountain of Zion, which is desolate, the foxes walk upon it.

19 Thou, O Lord, remainest for ever; thy throne from generation to generation.

20 Wherefore dost thou forget us for ever, and forsake us so long time?

21 Turn thou us unto thee, O Lord, and we shall be turned; renew our days as of old.

22 But thou hast utterly rejected us; thou art very wroth against us.

Jerusalem as a Useless Vine

15 The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, how is the wood of a vine(A) different from that of a branch from any of the trees in the forest? Is wood ever taken from it to make anything useful?(B) Do they make pegs(C) from it to hang things on? And after it is thrown on the fire as fuel and the fire burns both ends and chars the middle, is it then useful for anything?(D) If it was not useful for anything when it was whole, how much less can it be made into something useful when the fire has burned it and it is charred?

“Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: As I have given the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest as fuel for the fire, so will I treat the people living in Jerusalem. I will set my face against(E) them. Although they have come out of the fire(F), the fire will yet consume them. And when I set my face against them, you will know that I am the Lord.(G) I will make the land desolate(H) because they have been unfaithful,(I) declares the Sovereign Lord.”

Jerusalem as an Adulterous Wife

16 The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, confront(J) Jerusalem with her detestable practices(K) and say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says to Jerusalem: Your ancestry(L) and birth were in the land of the Canaanites; your father(M) was an Amorite(N) and your mother a Hittite.(O) On the day you were born(P) your cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water to make you clean, nor were you rubbed with salt or wrapped in cloths. No one looked on you with pity or had compassion enough to do any of these things for you. Rather, you were thrown out into the open field, for on the day you were born you were despised.

“‘Then I passed by and saw you kicking about in your blood, and as you lay there in your blood I said to you, “Live!”[a](Q) I made you grow(R) like a plant of the field. You grew and developed and entered puberty. Your breasts had formed and your hair had grown, yet you were stark naked.(S)

“‘Later I passed by, and when I looked at you and saw that you were old enough for love, I spread the corner of my garment(T) over you and covered your naked body. I gave you my solemn oath and entered into a covenant(U) with you, declares the Sovereign Lord, and you became mine.(V)

“‘I bathed you with water and washed(W) the blood from you and put ointments on you. 10 I clothed you with an embroidered(X) dress and put sandals of fine leather on you. I dressed you in fine linen(Y) and covered you with costly garments.(Z) 11 I adorned you with jewelry:(AA) I put bracelets(AB) on your arms and a necklace(AC) around your neck, 12 and I put a ring on your nose,(AD) earrings(AE) on your ears and a beautiful crown(AF) on your head.(AG) 13 So you were adorned with gold and silver; your clothes(AH) were of fine linen and costly fabric and embroidered cloth. Your food was honey, olive oil(AI) and the finest flour. You became very beautiful and rose to be a queen.(AJ) 14 And your fame(AK) spread among the nations on account of your beauty,(AL) because the splendor I had given you made your beauty perfect, declares the Sovereign Lord.(AM)

15 “‘But you trusted in your beauty and used your fame to become a prostitute. You lavished your favors on anyone who passed by(AN) and your beauty became his.(AO) 16 You took some of your garments to make gaudy high places,(AP) where you carried on your prostitution.(AQ) You went to him, and he possessed your beauty.[b] 17 You also took the fine jewelry I gave you, the jewelry made of my gold and silver, and you made for yourself male idols and engaged in prostitution with them.(AR) 18 And you took your embroidered clothes to put on them, and you offered my oil and incense(AS) before them. 19 Also the food I provided for you—the flour, olive oil and honey I gave you to eat—you offered as fragrant incense before them. That is what happened, declares the Sovereign Lord.(AT)

20 “‘And you took your sons and daughters(AU) whom you bore to me(AV) and sacrificed them as food to the idols. Was your prostitution not enough?(AW) 21 You slaughtered my children and sacrificed them to the idols.(AX) 22 In all your detestable practices and your prostitution you did not remember the days of your youth,(AY) when you were naked and bare,(AZ) kicking about in your blood.(BA)

23 “‘Woe!(BB) Woe to you, declares the Sovereign Lord. In addition to all your other wickedness, 24 you built a mound for yourself and made a lofty shrine(BC) in every public square.(BD) 25 At every street corner(BE) you built your lofty shrines and degraded your beauty, spreading your legs with increasing promiscuity to anyone who passed by.(BF) 26 You engaged in prostitution(BG) with the Egyptians,(BH) your neighbors with large genitals, and aroused my anger(BI) with your increasing promiscuity.(BJ) 27 So I stretched out my hand(BK) against you and reduced your territory; I gave you over(BL) to the greed of your enemies, the daughters of the Philistines,(BM) who were shocked by your lewd conduct. 28 You engaged in prostitution with the Assyrians(BN) too, because you were insatiable; and even after that, you still were not satisfied.(BO) 29 Then you increased your promiscuity to include Babylonia,[c](BP) a land of merchants, but even with this you were not satisfied.(BQ)

30 “‘I am filled with fury against you,[d] declares the Sovereign Lord, when you do all these things, acting like a brazen prostitute!(BR) 31 When you built your mounds at every street corner and made your lofty shrines(BS) in every public square, you were unlike a prostitute, because you scorned payment.

32 “‘You adulterous wife! You prefer strangers to your own husband! 33 All prostitutes receive gifts,(BT) but you give gifts(BU) to all your lovers, bribing them to come to you from everywhere for your illicit favors.(BV) 34 So in your prostitution you are the opposite of others; no one runs after you for your favors. You are the very opposite, for you give payment and none is given to you.

35 “‘Therefore, you prostitute, hear the word of the Lord! 36 This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because you poured out your lust and exposed your naked body in your promiscuity with your lovers, and because of all your detestable idols, and because you gave them your children’s blood,(BW) 37 therefore I am going to gather all your lovers, with whom you found pleasure, those you loved as well as those you hated. I will gather them against you from all around and will strip(BX) you in front of them, and they will see you stark naked.(BY) 38 I will sentence you to the punishment of women who commit adultery and who shed blood;(BZ) I will bring on you the blood vengeance of my wrath and jealous anger.(CA) 39 Then I will deliver you into the hands(CB) of your lovers, and they will tear down your mounds and destroy your lofty shrines. They will strip you of your clothes and take your fine jewelry and leave you stark naked.(CC) 40 They will bring a mob against you, who will stone(CD) you and hack you to pieces with their swords. 41 They will burn down(CE) your houses and inflict punishment on you in the sight of many women.(CF) I will put a stop(CG) to your prostitution, and you will no longer pay your lovers. 42 Then my wrath against you will subside and my jealous anger will turn away from you; I will be calm and no longer angry.(CH)

43 “‘Because you did not remember(CI) the days of your youth but enraged me with all these things, I will surely bring down(CJ) on your head what you have done, declares the Sovereign Lord. Did you not add lewdness to all your other detestable practices?(CK)

44 “‘Everyone who quotes proverbs(CL) will quote this proverb about you: “Like mother, like daughter.” 45 You are a true daughter of your mother, who despised(CM) her husband(CN) and her children; and you are a true sister of your sisters, who despised their husbands and their children. Your mother was a Hittite and your father an Amorite.(CO) 46 Your older sister(CP) was Samaria, who lived to the north of you with her daughters; and your younger sister, who lived to the south of you with her daughters, was Sodom.(CQ) 47 You not only followed their ways and copied their detestable practices, but in all your ways you soon became more depraved than they.(CR) 48 As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign(CS) Lord, your sister Sodom(CT) and her daughters never did what you and your daughters have done.(CU)

49 “‘Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom:(CV) She and her daughters were arrogant,(CW) overfed and unconcerned;(CX) they did not help the poor and needy.(CY) 50 They were haughty(CZ) and did detestable things before me. Therefore I did away with them as you have seen.(DA) 51 Samaria did not commit half the sins you did. You have done more detestable things than they, and have made your sisters seem righteous by all these things you have done.(DB) 52 Bear your disgrace, for you have furnished some justification for your sisters. Because your sins were more vile than theirs, they appear more righteous(DC) than you. So then, be ashamed and bear(DD) your disgrace, for you have made your sisters appear righteous.

53 “‘However, I will restore(DE) the fortunes of Sodom and her daughters and of Samaria and her daughters, and your fortunes along with them,(DF) 54 so that you may bear your disgrace(DG) and be ashamed of all you have done in giving them comfort. 55 And your sisters, Sodom with her daughters and Samaria with her daughters, will return to what they were before; and you and your daughters will return to what you were before.(DH) 56 You would not even mention your sister Sodom in the day of your pride, 57 before your wickedness was uncovered. Even so, you are now scorned(DI) by the daughters of Edom[e](DJ) and all her neighbors and the daughters of the Philistines—all those around you who despise you. 58 You will bear the consequences of your lewdness and your detestable practices, declares the Lord.(DK)

59 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will deal with you as you deserve, because you have despised my oath by breaking the covenant.(DL) 60 Yet I will remember the covenant(DM) I made with you in the days of your youth,(DN) and I will establish an everlasting covenant(DO) with you. 61 Then you will remember your ways and be ashamed(DP) when you receive your sisters, both those who are older than you and those who are younger. I will give them to you as daughters,(DQ) but not on the basis of my covenant with you. 62 So I will establish my covenant(DR) with you, and you will know that I am the Lord.(DS) 63 Then, when I make atonement(DT) for you for all you have done, you will remember and be ashamed(DU) and never again open your mouth(DV) because of your humiliation, declares the Sovereign Lord.(DW)’”

Two Eagles and a Vine

17 The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, set forth an allegory and tell it to the Israelites as a parable.(DX) Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: A great eagle(DY) with powerful wings, long feathers and full plumage of varied colors came to Lebanon.(DZ) Taking hold of the top of a cedar, he broke off(EA) its topmost shoot and carried it away to a land of merchants, where he planted it in a city of traders.

“‘He took one of the seedlings of the land and put it in fertile soil. He planted it like a willow by abundant water,(EB) and it sprouted and became a low, spreading vine. Its branches(EC) turned toward him, but its roots remained under it. So it became a vine and produced branches and put out leafy boughs.(ED)

“‘But there was another great eagle with powerful wings and full plumage. The vine now sent out its roots toward him from the plot where it was planted and stretched out its branches to him for water.(EE) It had been planted in good soil by abundant water so that it would produce branches,(EF) bear fruit and become a splendid vine.’

“Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Will it thrive? Will it not be uprooted and stripped of its fruit so that it withers? All its new growth will wither. It will not take a strong arm or many people to pull it up by the roots.(EG) 10 It has been planted,(EH) but will it thrive? Will it not wither completely when the east wind strikes it—wither away in the plot where it grew?(EI)’”

11 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 12 “Say to this rebellious people, ‘Do you not know what these things mean?(EJ)’ Say to them: ‘The king of Babylon went to Jerusalem and carried off her king and her nobles,(EK) bringing them back with him to Babylon.(EL) 13 Then he took a member of the royal family and made a treaty(EM) with him, putting him under oath.(EN) He also carried away the leading men(EO) of the land, 14 so that the kingdom would be brought low,(EP) unable to rise again, surviving only by keeping his treaty. 15 But the king rebelled(EQ) against him by sending his envoys to Egypt(ER) to get horses and a large army.(ES) Will he succeed? Will he who does such things escape? Will he break the treaty and yet escape?(ET)

16 “‘As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, he shall die(EU) in Babylon, in the land of the king who put him on the throne, whose oath he despised and whose treaty he broke.(EV) 17 Pharaoh(EW) with his mighty army and great horde will be of no help to him in war, when ramps(EX) are built and siege works erected to destroy many lives.(EY) 18 He despised the oath by breaking the covenant. Because he had given his hand in pledge(EZ) and yet did all these things, he shall not escape.

19 “‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: As surely as I live, I will repay him for despising my oath and breaking my covenant.(FA) 20 I will spread my net(FB) for him, and he will be caught in my snare. I will bring him to Babylon and execute judgment(FC) on him there because he was unfaithful(FD) to me. 21 All his choice troops will fall by the sword,(FE) and the survivors(FF) will be scattered to the winds.(FG) Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken.(FH)

22 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will take a shoot(FI) from the very top of a cedar and plant it; I will break off a tender sprig from its topmost shoots and plant it on a high and lofty mountain.(FJ) 23 On the mountain heights(FK) of Israel I will plant it; it will produce branches and bear fruit(FL) and become a splendid cedar. Birds of every kind will nest in it; they will find shelter in the shade of its branches.(FM) 24 All the trees of the forest(FN) will know that I the Lord bring down(FO) the tall tree and make the low tree grow tall. I dry up the green tree and make the dry tree flourish.(FP)

“‘I the Lord have spoken, and I will do it.(FQ)’”

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 16:6 A few Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint and Syriac; most Hebrew manuscripts repeat and as you lay there in your blood I said to you, “Live!”
  2. Ezekiel 16:16 The meaning of the Hebrew for this sentence is uncertain.
  3. Ezekiel 16:29 Or Chaldea
  4. Ezekiel 16:30 Or How feverish is your heart,
  5. Ezekiel 16:57 Many Hebrew manuscripts and Syriac; most Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint and Vulgate Aram

15 And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,

Son of man, what is the vine tree more than any tree, or than a branch which is among the trees of the forest?

Shall wood be taken thereof to do any work? or will men take a pin of it to hang any vessel thereon?

Behold, it is cast into the fire for fuel; the fire devoureth both the ends of it, and the midst of it is burned. Is it meet for any work?

Behold, when it was whole, it was meet for no work: how much less shall it be meet yet for any work, when the fire hath devoured it, and it is burned?

Therefore thus saith the Lord God; As the vine tree among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so will I give the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

And I will set my face against them; they shall go out from one fire, and another fire shall devour them; and ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I set my face against them.

And I will make the land desolate, because they have committed a trespass, saith the Lord God.

16 Again the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,

Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations,

And 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.

And 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.

None 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.

And 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.

I 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.

Now 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.

Then washed I thee with water; yea, I throughly washed away thy blood from thee, and I anointed thee with oil.

10 I 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.

11 I decked thee also with ornaments, and I put bracelets upon thy hands, and a chain on thy neck.

12 And I put a jewel on thy forehead, and earrings in thine ears, and a beautiful crown upon thine head.

13 Thus 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.

14 And 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.

15 But 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.

16 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.

17 Thou 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,

18 And tookest thy broidered garments, and coveredst them: and thou hast set mine oil and mine incense before them.

19 My 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.

20 Moreover 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,

21 That thou hast slain my children, and delivered them to cause them to pass through the fire for them?

22 And 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.

23 And it came to pass after all thy wickedness, (woe, woe unto thee! saith the Lord God;)

24 That thou hast also built unto thee an eminent place, and hast made thee an high place in every street.

25 Thou 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.

26 Thou hast also committed fornication with the Egyptians thy neighbours, great of flesh; and hast increased thy whoredoms, to provoke me to anger.

27 Behold, 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.

28 Thou 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.

29 Thou hast moreover multiplied thy fornication in the land of Canaan unto Chaldea; and yet thou wast not satisfied therewith.

30 How weak is thine heart, saith the Lord God, seeing thou doest all these things, the work of an imperious whorish woman;

31 In 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;

32 But as a wife that committeth adultery, which taketh strangers instead of her husband!

33 They 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.

34 And 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.

35 Wherefore, O harlot, hear the word of the Lord:

36 Thus 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;

37 Behold, 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.

38 And I will judge thee, as women that break wedlock and shed blood are judged; and I will give thee blood in fury and jealousy.

39 And 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.

40 They shall also bring up a company against thee, and they shall stone thee with stones, and thrust thee through with their swords.

41 And 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.

42 So 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.

43 Because 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.

44 Behold, every one that useth proverbs shall use this proverb against thee, saying, As is the mother, so is her daughter.

45 Thou 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.

46 And 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.

47 Yet 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.

48 As I live, saith the Lord God, Sodom thy sister hath not done, she nor her daughters, as thou hast done, thou and thy daughters.

49 Behold, 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.

50 And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good.

51 Neither 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.

52 Thou 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.

53 When 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:

54 That thou mayest bear thine own shame, and mayest be confounded in all that thou hast done, in that thou art a comfort unto them.

55 When 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.

56 For thy sister Sodom was not mentioned by thy mouth in the day of thy pride,

57 Before 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.

58 Thou hast borne thy lewdness and thine abominations, saith the Lord.

59 For thus saith the Lord God; I will even deal with thee as thou hast done, which hast despised the oath in breaking the covenant.

60 Nevertheless I will remember my covenant with thee in the days of thy youth, and I will establish unto thee an everlasting covenant.

61 Then 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.

62 And I will establish my covenant with thee; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord:

63 That 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.

17 And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,

Son of man, put forth a riddle, and speak a parable unto the house of Israel;

And say, Thus saith the Lord God; A great eagle with great wings, longwinged, full of feathers, which had divers colours, came unto Lebanon, and took the highest branch of the cedar:

He cropped off the top of his young twigs, and carried it into a land of traffick; he set it in a city of merchants.

He took also of the seed of the land, and planted it in a fruitful field; he placed it by great waters, and set it as a willow tree.

And it grew, and became a spreading vine of low stature, whose branches turned toward him, and the roots thereof were under him: so it became a vine, and brought forth branches, and shot forth sprigs.

There was also another great eagle with great wings and many feathers: and, behold, this vine did bend her roots toward him, and shot forth her branches toward him, that he might water it by the furrows of her plantation.

It was planted in a good soil by great waters, that it might bring forth branches, and that it might bear fruit, that it might be a goodly vine.

Say thou, Thus saith the Lord God; Shall it prosper? shall he not pull up the roots thereof, and cut off the fruit thereof, that it wither? it shall wither in all the leaves of her spring, even without great power or many people to pluck it up by the roots thereof.

10 Yea, behold, being planted, shall it prosper? shall it not utterly wither, when the east wind toucheth it? it shall wither in the furrows where it grew.

11 Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,

12 Say now to the rebellious house, Know ye not what these things mean? tell them, Behold, the king of Babylon is come to Jerusalem, and hath taken the king thereof, and the princes thereof, and led them with him to Babylon;

13 And hath taken of the king's seed, and made a covenant with him, and hath taken an oath of him: he hath also taken the mighty of the land:

14 That the kingdom might be base, that it might not lift itself up, but that by keeping of his covenant it might stand.

15 But he rebelled against him in sending his ambassadors into Egypt, that they might give him horses and much people. Shall he prosper? shall he escape that doeth such things? or shall he break the covenant, and be delivered?

16 As I live, saith the Lord God, surely in the place where the king dwelleth that made him king, whose oath he despised, and whose covenant he brake, even with him in the midst of Babylon he shall die.

17 Neither shall Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company make for him in the war, by casting up mounts, and building forts, to cut off many persons:

18 Seeing he despised the oath by breaking the covenant, when, lo, he had given his hand, and hath done all these things, he shall not escape.

19 Therefore thus saith the Lord God; As I live, surely mine oath that he hath despised, and my covenant that he hath broken, even it will I recompense upon his own head.

20 And I will spread my net upon him, and he shall be taken in my snare, and I will bring him to Babylon, and will plead with him there for his trespass that he hath trespassed against me.

21 And all his fugitives with all his bands shall fall by the sword, and they that remain shall be scattered toward all winds: and ye shall know that I the Lord have spoken it.

22 Thus saith the Lord God; I will also take of the highest branch of the high cedar, and will set it; I will crop off from the top of his young twigs a tender one, and will plant it upon an high mountain and eminent:

23 In the mountain of the height of Israel will I plant it: and it shall bring forth boughs, and bear fruit, and be a goodly cedar: and under it shall dwell all fowl of every wing; in the shadow of the branches thereof shall they dwell.

24 And all the trees of the field shall know that I the Lord have brought down the high tree, have exalted the low tree, have dried up the green tree, and have made the dry tree to flourish: I the Lord have spoken and have done it.