²⁴ Therefore thus says the Lord God: Because you have brought your guilt to remembrance, in that your transgressions are uncovered, so that in all your deeds your sins appear—because you have come to remembrance, you shall be taken in hand.^[a]

The Destruction of Israel

9 I saw the Lord standing beside^[a] the altar, and he said:

⁵ Oholah prostituted herself while she was mine; she lusted after her lovers the Assyrians, warriors^{[a](A) 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.^{(B) 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.^{(C) 9} Therefore I delivered her into the hands of her lovers, into the hands of the Assyrians, for whom she lusted.^{(D) 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.^(E)

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.^{(F) 12} She lusted after the Assyrians, governors and commanders, warriors^[b] clothed in full armor, mounted horsemen, all of them handsome young men.^{(G) 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,^{(H) 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. ¹⁷ And the Babylonians came to her into the bed of love, and they defiled her with their lust, and after she defiled herself with them, she turned from them in disgust. ¹⁸ When she carried on her prostitutions so openly and flaunted her nakedness, I turned in disgust from her, as I had turned from her sister.^{(I) 19} Yet she increased her prostitutions, remembering the days of her youth, when she prostituted herself in the land of Egypt ²⁰ and lusted after her paramours there, whose members were like those of donkeys and whose emission was like that of stallions.^{(J) 21} Thus you longed for the lewdness of your youth, when the Egyptians^[c] fondled your bosom and caressed^[d] your young breasts.^(K)

²⁴ Mortal, say to it: You are a land that is not cleansed, not rained upon in the day of indignation. ²⁵ Its princes^[a] within it are like a roaring lion tearing the prey; they have devoured human lives; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many widows within it.^{(A) 26} Its priests have done violence to my teaching and have profaned my holy things; they have made no distinction between the holy and the common, neither have they taught the difference between the unclean and the clean, and they have disregarded my Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them.^{(B) 27} Its officials within it are like wolves tearing the prey, shedding blood, destroying lives to get dishonest gain.^{(C) 28} Its prophets have smeared whitewash on their behalf, seeing false visions and divining lies for them, saying, “Thus says the Lord God,” when the Lord has not spoken.^{(D) 29} The people of the land have practiced extortion and committed robbery; they have oppressed the poor and needy and have extorted from the alien without justice.^{(E) 30} And I sought for anyone among them who would repair the wall and stand in the breach before me on behalf of the land, so that I would not destroy it, but I found no one.^{(F) 31} Therefore I have poured out my indignation upon them; I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath; I have returned their conduct upon their heads, says the Lord God.^(G)

³ You shall say: Thus says the Lord God: A city! Shedding blood within itself; its time has come; making its idols, defiling itself. ⁴ You have become guilty by the blood that you have shed and defiled by the idols that you have made; you have brought your days near; the appointed time of your years has come. Therefore I have made you a disgrace before the nations and a mockery to all the countries. ⁵ Those who are near and those who are far from you will mock you, you infamous one, full of tumult.

⁶ The princes of Israel in you, everyone according to his power, have been bent on shedding blood.^{(A) 7} Father and mother are treated with contempt in you; the alien residing within you suffers extortion; the orphan and the widow are wronged in you.^{(B) 8} You have despised my holy things and profaned my Sabbaths.^{(C) 9} In you are those who slander to shed blood, those in you who eat upon the mountains, who commit lewdness in your midst.^{(D) 10} In you they uncover their fathers’ nakedness; in you they violate women during their menstrual periods.^{(E) 11} One commits abomination with his neighbor’s wife; another lewdly defiles his daughter-in-law; another in you defiles his sister, his father’s daughter.^{(F) 12} In you, they take bribes to shed blood; you take both advance interest and accrued interest and make gain of your neighbors by extortion, and you have forgotten me, says the Lord God.^(G)

¹⁶ You took some of your garments and made for yourself colorful high places and on them prostituted yourself; nothing like this has ever been or ever shall be.^{[a](A) 17} You also took your beautiful jewels of my gold and my silver that I had given you and made for yourself male images and with them prostituted yourself,^{(B) 18} and you took your embroidered garments to cover them and set my oil and my incense before them. ¹⁹ Also my bread that I gave you—I fed you with choice flour and oil and honey—you set it before them as a pleasing odor, and so it was, says the Lord God. ²⁰ You took your sons and your daughters, whom you had borne to me, and these you sacrificed to them to be devoured. As if your prostitutions were not enough!^{(C) 21} You slaughtered my children and delivered them up as an offering to them.^{(D) 22} And in all your abominations and your prostitutions you did not remember the days of your youth, when you were naked and bare, flailing about in your blood.^(E)