Beginning
23 The Word of the LORD came again to me, saying:
2 “Son of man, there were two women, the daughters of one mother.
3 “And they committed fornication in Egypt. They committed fornication in their youth. There, their breasts were pressed, and there they bruised the teats of their virginity.
4 “And their names were Oholah (the elder) and Oholibah, her sister. And they were Mine. And they bore sons and daughters. These were their names: Samaria is Oholah and Jerusalem, Oholibah.
5 “And Oholah played the harlot when she was Mine. And she was set on fire with her lovers, with the Assyrians, her neighbors,
6 “who were clothed with blue silk, captains and princes. They were all pleasant young men, horsemen riding upon horses.
7 “Thus she committed her whoredom with them, with all of the chosen men of Assyria and with all after whom she lusted, defiling herself with all their idols.
8 “Nor has she left her fornications from the Egyptians. For in her youth, they lay with her, and they bruised the breasts of her virginity and poured their whoredom upon her.
9 “Therefore, I delivered her into the hands of her lovers, into the hands of the Assyrians, after whom she lusted.
10 “They uncovered her shame. They took away her sons and her daughters and killed her with the sword. And she became infamous among women, for they had executed judgment upon her.
11 “And when her sister Oholibah saw this, she corrupted herself with lust more than she, and with her fornications more than her sister’s fornications.
12 “She lusted after the Assyrians her neighbors, captains and princes clothed with diverse suits, horsemen riding upon horses. They were all pleasant young men.
13 “Then I saw that she was defiled, that they were both in the same way,
14 “and that she increased her fornications. For when she saw men painted upon the wall—the images of the Chaldeans painted with vermilion
15 “and girded with girdles upon their loins, and with dyed attire upon their heads (all looking like princes, after the manner of the Babylonians in Chaldea, the land of their nativity) —
16 “as soon, I say, as she saw them, she lusted after them, and sent messengers to them, into Chaldea.
17 “Now, when the Babylonians came to her, into the bed of love, they defiled her with their fornication. And she was polluted with them. And her lust departed from them.
18 “So she discovered her fornication and disclosed her shame. Then My Heart forsook her, just as My Heart had forsaken her sister.
19 “Still, she increased her whoredom more and called to remembrance the days of her youth in which she had played the harlot in the land of Egypt.
20 “For she lusted after their servants whose members are as the members of donkeys, and whose issue is like the issue of horses.
21 “You call to remembrance the wickedness of your youth, when your teats were bruised by the Egyptians. Therefore, the paps of your youth are thus.”
22 Therefore, O Oholibah, thus says the Lord GOD: “Behold, I will raise up your lovers against you, from whom your heart has departed. And I will bring them against you from every direction—
23 “the Babylonians, and all the Chaldeans, Pekod, Shoa, and Koa, and all the Assyrians with them. They were all pleasant young men, captains and princes. All of them were valiant and renowned, riding upon horses.
24 “Even they shall come against you with chariots, wagons, and wheels, and with a multitude of people, who shall set against you buckler and shield and helmet, all around. And I will leave the punishment to them, and they shall judge you according to their judgments.
25 “And I will lay My indignation upon you, and they shall deal cruelly with you. They shall cut off your nose and your ears. And your remnant shall fall by the sword. They shall carry away your sons and your daughters. And the rest of you shall be devoured by the fire.
26 “They shall also strip you out of your clothes and take away your fair jewels.
27 “Thus I will make your wickedness cease from you, and your fornication, out of the land of Egypt, so that you shall not lift up your eyes to them or remember Egypt anymore.”
28 For thus says the Lord GOD: “Behold, I will deliver you into the hand of those whom you hate, into the hands of those from whom your heart has departed.
29 “And they shall handle you hatefully, and shall take away all your property, and shall leave you naked and bare. And the shame of your fornications shall be uncovered, both your wickedness and your whoredom.
30 “I will do these things to you because you have gone whoring after the heathen, because you have been defiled with their idols.
31 “You have walked in the way of your sister. Therefore, I will put her cup into your hand.”
32 Thus says the Lord GOD: “You shall drink of your sister’s cup, deep and large. You shall be laughed to scorn and had in derision, because it contains much.
33 “You shall be filled with drunkenness and sorrow, with the cup of destruction and desolation, with the cup of your sister, Samaria.
34 “You shall drink it and wring it out, and you shall break its shards and tear your own breasts, for I have spoken it,” says the Lord GOD.
35 Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD: “Because you have forgotten Me, and cast Me behind your back, therefore you shall also bear your wickedness and your whoredom.”
36 Moreover, the LORD said to me: “Son of man, will you judge Oholah and Oholibah? And will you declare their abominations to them?
37 “For they have played the whores, and blood is on their hands. And they have committed adultery with their idols and have also caused their sons, whom they bore to Me, to pass through the fire to be its food.
38 “Moreover, they have done this to Me: They have defiled My Sanctuary and have profaned My Sabbaths on the same day.
39 “For after they had slain their children to their idols, they came into My Sanctuary on the same day to defile it. And lo, thus have they done in the midst of My House.
40 “Furthermore, they sent for men to come from afar, to whom a messenger was sent. And lo, they came. And you washed yourself and painted your eyes and adorned yourself with ornaments for them,
41 “and sat upon a costly bed (with a table prepared before it), upon which you have set My incense and My oil.
42 “And a voice of a carefree multitude was with her. And men of Saba (from the wilderness) were brought with the men, to make the company great, who put bracelets upon their hands and beautiful crowns upon their heads.
43 “Then I said to her who was old in adulteries, ‘Now she and her fornications shall come to an end.’
44 “And they went in to her. As they go to a common harlot, so went they to Oholah and Oholibah, the wicked women.
45 “And the righteous men shall judge them the same as harlots and the same as murderers. For they are harlots, and blood is on their hands.”
46 Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD: “I will bring a multitude upon them and will give them to the tumult and to the spoil.
47 “And the multitude shall stone them with stones and cut them with their swords. They shall slay their sons and their daughters and burn up their houses with fire.
48 “Thus I will cause wickedness to cease from the land, so that all women may be taught not to practice your wickedness.
49 “And they shall lay your wickedness upon you. And you shall bear the sins of your idols. And you shall know that I am the Lord GOD.”
24 Again, in the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, came the Word of the LORD to me, saying:
2 “Son of man, write the name of the day, of this same day. The king of Babel set himself against Jerusalem this same day.
3 “Therefore, speak a parable to the rebellious House, and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Prepare a pot. Prepare it, and also pour water into it.
4 “Gather pieces into it, every good piece, the thigh and the shoulder. Fill it with the choice bones.
5 “Take one of the best sheep, also, and burn the bones under it. Make it boil well and simmer its bones inside.”
6 ‘Because the Lord GOD says thus, “Woe to the bloody city, to the pot, whose scum is inside, and whose scum has not gone out of it. Bring it out, piece by piece. Let no lot fall upon it.
7 “For her blood is in the midst of her. She set it upon a high rock and did not pour it upon the ground to cover it with dust,
8 “so that it might cause wrath to arise and take vengeance. I have set her blood upon a high rock so that it would not be covered.”
9 ‘Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD: “Woe to the bloody city! For I will make the burning great.
10 “Heap on much wood! Kindle the fire! Consume the flesh and cast in spice! And let the bones be burnt!
11 “Then set it upon its coals empty, so that the bronze of it may be hot, and may burn, and that the filthiness of it may be molten in it, that the scum of it may be consumed.
12 “She has wearied herself with lies, and her great scum did not go out of her. Therefore, her scum shall be consumed with fire!
13 “Wickedness is in your filthiness. Because I would have purged you, and you were not purged, you shall not be purged from your filthiness until I have caused My wrath to light upon you.
14 “I, the LORD, have spoken it. It shall come to pass, and I will do it. I will not go back, nor will I spare, nor will I relent. According to your ways and according to your works shall they judge you,” says the LORD God.’”
15 Also the Word of the LORD came to me, saying:
16 “Son of man, behold, I take away the pleasure of your eyes from you with a plague. Still, you shall neither mourn nor weep, nor shall your tears run down.
17 “Cease from sighing. Make no mourning for the dead. Bind the turban upon your head and put your shoes on your feet. Do not cover your lips and do not eat the bread of men.”
18 So I spoke to the people in the morning. And in the evening, my wife died. And in the morning, I did as I was Commanded.
19 And the people said to me, “Will you not tell us what these things that you are doing mean for us?”
20 Then I answered them. The Word of the LORD came to me, saying:
21 “Speak to the House of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Behold, I will pollute My Sanctuary, the pride of your power, the pleasure of your eyes, and your heart’s desire. And your sons and your daughters whom you have left shall fall by the sword.
22 “And you shall do as I have done. You shall neither cover your lips nor shall you eat the bread of men.
23 “And your turban shall be upon your heads, and your shoes upon your feet. You shall neither mourn nor weep, but you shall pine away in your iniquities and mourn one toward another.
24 “Thus Ezekiel is a sign to you. According to all that he has done, you shall do. And when this comes, you shall know that I am the Lord GOD.”’
25 “As for you, son of man, shall it not be—on the day when I take their power from them, the joy of their honor, the pleasure of their eyes, and the desire of their heart, their sons and their daughters—
26 “that he who escapes on that day shall come to you with that which he has heard with his ears?
27 “On that day your mouth shall be opened to him who has escaped; and you shall speak and no longer be dumb. And you shall be a sign to them; and they shall know that I am the LORD.”
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