⁷ This occurred because the people of Israel had sinned against the Lord their God, who had brought them up out of the land of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. They had worshiped other gods^(A)

¹⁶ If you transgress the covenant of the Lord your God, which he enjoined on you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them, then the anger of the Lord will be kindled against you, and you shall perish quickly from the good land that he has given to you.”

²⁶ “Nevertheless, they were disobedient and rebelled against you and cast your law behind their backs and killed your prophets, who had warned them in order to turn them back to you, and they committed great blasphemies.^(A)

² “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery;^(A)

God Accuses Israel

² Mortal, there were two women, the daughters of one mother; ³ they prostituted themselves in Egypt; they prostituted themselves in their youth; their breasts were caressed there, and their virgin bosoms were fondled.^{(A) 4} Oholah was the name of the older and Oholibah the name of her sister. They became mine, and they bore sons and daughters. As for their names, Oholah is Samaria, and Oholibah is Jerusalem.^(B)

⁵ Oholah prostituted herself while she was mine; she lusted after her lovers the Assyrians, warriors^{[a](C) 6} clothed in blue, governors and commanders, all of them handsome young men, mounted horsemen. ⁷ She bestowed her sexual favors upon them, the choicest men of Assyria all of them, and she defiled herself with all the idols of everyone for whom she lusted.^{(D) 8} She did not give up her prostitutions that she had practiced since Egypt, for in her youth men had lain with her and fondled her virgin bosom and poured out their lust upon her.^{(E) 9} Therefore I delivered her into the hands of her lovers, into the hands of the Assyrians, for whom she lusted.^{(F) 10} These uncovered her nakedness; they seized her sons and her daughters, and they killed her with the sword. Judgment was executed upon her, and she became a byword among women.^(G)

¹¹ Her sister Oholibah saw this, yet she was more corrupt than she in her lusting and in her prostitutions, which were worse than those of her sister.^{(H) 12} She lusted after the Assyrians, governors and commanders, warriors^[b] clothed in full armor, mounted horsemen, all of them handsome young men.^{(I) 13} And I saw that she was defiled; they both took the same way. ¹⁴ But she carried her prostitutions further; she saw male figures carved on the wall, images of the Chaldeans portrayed in vermilion,^{(J) 15} with belts around their waists, with flowing turbans on their heads, all of them looking like officers—a picture of Babylonians whose native land was Chaldea. ¹⁶ When she saw them she lusted after them and sent messengers to them in Chaldea.