Beginning
Samaria and Jerusalem
23 The Lord spoke his word to me. He said: 2 “Human being, a woman had two daughters. 3 While they were young, they went to Egypt and became prostitutes. They let men touch and hold their breasts. 4 The older girl was named Oholah, and her sister was named Oholibah. They were mine and had sons and daughters. Oholah is Samaria, and Oholibah is Jerusalem.
5 “Samaria left me. She went to her lover, Assyria. The Assyrians were warriors. 6 They wore blue uniforms. And all of them—governors, commanders and horsemen—were handsome. 7 Samaria became a prostitute for all the important men in Assyria. And she made herself unclean with all the idols of everyone she desired. 8 She continued the prostitution she began in Egypt. When she was young, she slept with men. They touched her breasts and sinned sexually with her.
9 “So I gave her to her lovers, the Assyrians, that she wanted so badly. 10 They stripped her naked and took away her sons and daughters. Then they killed her with a sword. Women everywhere began talking about how she had been punished.
11 “Her sister Jerusalem saw what happened to Samaria. And so Jerusalem became worse than her sister in her sexual desire and prostitution. 12 She also desired the Assyrians. All of them—governors, commanders, warriors dressed in uniform, and horsemen—were handsome. 13 I saw that both girls were alike. Both of them were prostitutes.
14 “But Jerusalem went even further. She saw carvings of Babylonian men on a wall. They wore red 15 and had belts around their waists. They wore turbans on their heads. They all looked like chariot officers born in Babylonia. 16 When she saw them, she lusted after them. So she sent messengers to them in Babylonia. 17 So these Babylonian men came and had sinful physical relations with her. They made her unclean. After that, she became sick of them. 18 But she continued her prostitution so that everyone knew about it. And I finally became sick of her, as I had her sister. 19 But she remembered how she was a young prostitute in Egypt. So she took part in even more prostitution. 20 She wanted men who behaved like animals in their sexual desire. 21 In the same way you desired to do the sinful things you had done in Egypt. There men touched and held your young breasts.
God’s Judgment on Jerusalem
22 “So, Jerusalem, this is what the Lord God says: You have tired of your lovers. So now I will make them angry with you. And they will surround you. 23 Men from Babylon and all Babylonia and men from Pekod, Shoa and Koa will come against you. All the Assyrians will come against you. They are governors, commanders, chariot drivers and important men, all riding horses. 24 Those men will come with great armies. They will come with their weapons, chariots and wagons. They will surround you with large and small shields and with helmets. And I will hand you over to them for punishment. And they will punish you with their own kind of punishment. 25 Then you will see how strong my anger can be. They will punish you in their anger. They will cut off your noses and ears. They will take away your sons and daughters. Those who are left will be burned. 26 They will take off your clothes and steal your jewelry. 27 I will put a stop to the sinful life you began when you were in Egypt. You will not desire these things anymore. And you will not remember Egypt anymore.
28 “This is what the Lord God says: You became sick of your lovers. But I am giving you to those men you now hate. 29 They will treat you with hate and take away everything you worked for. They will leave you empty and naked. Everyone will know about the sinful things you did. Your sexual sins 30 have brought this on you. You have made yourselves unclean by worshiping their idols. 31 You did the same things your sister did. So you will get the same punishment.
32 “This is what the Lord God says:
You will drink the same cup your sister did.
And that cup is deep and wide.
Everyone will make fun of you,
because the cup is full.
33 It will make you miserable and drunk.
It is the cup of fear and ruin.
It is the cup of your sister Samaria.
34 You will drink everything in it.
Then you will smash it
and tear at your breasts.
I have spoken, says the Lord God.
35 “So this is what the Lord God says: You have forgotten me and turned your back on me. So you will be punished for your sexual sins.”
Judgment on Samaria and Jerusalem
36 The Lord said to me: “Human being, will you judge Samaria and Jerusalem? Then show them their hated acts. 37 They are guilty of adultery and murder. They have taken part in adultery with their idols. They even offered their children as sacrifices in the fire. They were to be food for these idols. 38 They have also done this to me: They made my Temple unclean at the same time they dishonored my Sabbaths. 39 They offered their children to their idols. Then they entered my Temple at that very time to dishonor it. That is what they did inside my Temple.
40 “They even sent for men from far away. A messenger was sent to them, and they came. The two sisters bathed themselves for them, painted their eyes and put on jewelry. 41 They sat on a fine bed with a table set before it. They put my incense and my oil on the table.
42 “There was the noise of a reckless crowd in the city. Common people gathered, and drunkards were brought from the desert. They put bracelets on the hands of the two sisters. And they put beautiful crowns on their heads. 43 Then I said about the one who was worn out by her acts of adultery, ‘Let them continue their sexual sins with her. She is nothing but a prostitute.’ 44 They kept going to her as they would go to a prostitute. So they continued to go to Oholah, which was Samaria, and Oholibah, which was Jerusalem. These were the shameful women. 45 But men who do right will judge them as they judge women who take part in adultery. And they will judge them as they judge women who murder people. This is because Samaria and Jerusalem are guilty of adultery and murder.
46 “This is what the Lord God says: Bring together a mob against Samaria and Jerusalem. And hand them over to be frightened and robbed. 47 Let the mob kill them by throwing stones at them. Let the mob cut them down with their swords. Let them kill their sons and daughters and burn their houses with fire.
48 “So I will put an end to sexual sins in the land. Then all women will be warned. And they will not do the sexual sins you have done. 49 You will be punished for your sexual sins and the sin of worshiping idols. Then you will know that I am the Lord God.”
The Pot and the Meat
24 The Lord spoke his word to me. It was in the ninth year, in the tenth month of our captivity. It was on the tenth day of the month. He said: 2 “Human being, write for yourself this date, this very date. The king of Babylon has surrounded Jerusalem this very day. 3 And tell a story to the people who refuse to obey me. Say to them: ‘This is what the Lord God says:
Put on the pot. Put it on
and pour water in it.
4 Put in the pieces of meat.
Put in the best pieces—the legs and the shoulders.
Fill it with the best bones.
5 Take the best of the flock.
Pile wood under the pot.
Boil the pieces of meat
until even the bones are cooked.
6 “‘This is what the Lord God says:
How terrible it will be for the city of murderers!
How terrible it will be for the rusty pot!
Its rust will not go away!
Take the meat out of it, piece by piece.
Don’t choose any special piece.
7 “‘The blood from her killings is still in the city.
She poured the blood on the bare rock.
She did not pour it on the ground
where dust would cover it.
8 To stir up my anger and revenge,
I put the blood she spilled on the bare rock.
So it will not be covered.
9 “‘So this is what the Lord God says:
How terrible it will be for the city of murderers!
I will also pile the wood high for burning.
10 Pile up the wood
and light the fire.
Finish cooking the meat.
Mix in the spices.
And let the bones burn.
11 Then set the empty pot on the coals.
It will become hot, and its copper sides will glow.
The dirty scum stuck inside it may then melt
and its rust burn away.
12 But efforts to clean the pot have failed.
Its heavy rust cannot be removed,
even in the fire.
13 “‘In your sinful action there is shame. I wanted to cleanse you, but you are still unclean. You will never be cleansed from your sin until my anger against you is carried out.
14 “‘I, the Lord, have spoken. The time has come for me to act. I will not hold back punishment. I will not feel pity. I will judge you by your ways and actions, says the Lord God.’”
The Death of Ezekiel’s Wife
15 Then the Lord spoke his word to me. He said: 16 “Human being, I am going to take your wife from you. She is the desire of your eyes. She will die suddenly. But you must not be sad or cry loudly for her. You must not shed any tears. 17 Groan silently. Do not cry loudly for the dead. Tie on your turban, and put your sandals on your feet. Do not cover your face. And do not eat the food people eat when they are sad about a death.”
18 So I spoke to the people in the morning. Then my wife died in the evening. The next morning I did as I had been commanded.
19 Then the people asked me, “Tell us, what do the things you are doing mean for us?”
20 Then I said to them, “The Lord spoke his word to me. He said, 21 ‘Say to the people of Israel, This is what the Lord God says: I am going to dishonor my Temple. You think it gives you strength. You are proud of it. You love to look at it. It makes you happy. But your sons and daughters that you left behind in Jerusalem will fall dead by the sword. 22 And you will do as I have done. You will not cover your face. You will not eat the food people eat when they are sad about a death. 23 Your turbans will be on your heads. And your sandals will be on your feet. You will not cry loudly. But you will rot away in your sins. You will groan to each other. 24 So Ezekiel will be a sign for you. You will do all the same things he did. When it happens, you will know that I am the Lord God.’
25 “And as for you, human being, this is how it will be. I will take away the Temple that gives them strength. It makes them happy and proud. They love to look at it. It makes them happy. And I will take away their sons and daughters also. 26 At that time the person who escapes will come to you. He will have information for you to hear. 27 At that time your mouth will be opened. You will speak and be silent no more. So you will be a sign for them. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.