Old/New Testament

The Sins of Jerusalem

22 The Lord spoke his word to me. He said: ² “And you, human being, will you judge? Will you judge the city of murderers? Then tell her about all her hated acts. ³ You will say: ‘This is what the Lord God says: You are a city that kills those who come to live there. You make yourself unclean by making idols. ⁴ You have become guilty of murder. And you have become unclean by your idols which you have made. So you have brought your time of punishment near. You have come to the end of your years. So I have made you a thing of shame to the nations. All lands will laugh at you. ⁵ Those near and those far away will laugh at you. You will have a bad name. You will be full of confusion.

⁶ “‘Jerusalem, see how each ruler of Israel in you has been trying to kill people. ⁷ The people in you hate their fathers and mothers. They mistreat the foreigners in you. They wrong the orphans and widows in you. ⁸ You hate my holy things. You dishonor my Sabbaths. ⁹ The men in you tell lies to cause the death of others. The people in you eat food offered to idols at the mountain places of worship. They do sexual sins in you. ¹⁰ The people in you sin sexually with their fathers’ wives. The men in you have physical relations with women who are unclean, during their time of monthly bleeding. ¹¹ One person in you does a hated act with his neighbor’s wife. Another has shamefully violated his daughter-in-law. And another rapes his half sister. ¹² The people in you take money to kill people. You take unfair interest and profits. You make profits by mistreating your neighbor. And you have forgotten me, says the Lord God.

¹³ “‘So with my fists I will hit you who have stolen money and you who have murdered people. ¹⁴ Will you still be brave and strong when I punish you? I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will act. ¹⁵ I will scatter you among the nations. I will spread you through the countries. I will get rid of your uncleanness. ¹⁶ But you, yourself, will be dishonored in the sight of the nations. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”

Israel Is Worthless

¹⁷ The Lord spoke his word to me. He said: ¹⁸ “Human being, the people of Israel have become useless like scum to me. They are like the copper, tin, iron and lead left in the furnace. These are left when silver is purified by melting. ¹⁹ So this is what the Lord God says: ‘You have become useless like scum. I am going to gather you into Jerusalem. ²⁰ People gather silver, copper, iron, lead and tin into a furnace. Then they melt it in a blazing fire. In the same way I will gather you in my hot anger. I will put you in Jerusalem and melt you. ²¹ I will gather you. And I will make you feel the heat of my anger. You will be melted in the fire. ²² Silver is melted in the furnace. In the same way you will be melted in the city. Then you will know that I, the Lord, have poured out my anger against you.’”

Sins of the People

²³ The Lord spoke his word to me. He said: ²⁴ “Human being, say to the land, ‘You are a land that has not had rain or showers in a day of anger.’ ²⁵ Israel’s rulers make evil plans. They are like a roaring lion that tears the animal it has caught. They have destroyed lives. They have taken treasure and valuable things. They have caused many women to become widows. ²⁶ Israel’s priests do cruel things to my teachings. They do not honor my holy things. They make no difference between holy and unholy things. They teach there is no difference between clean and unclean things. They do not remember my Sabbaths. So I am dishonored by them. ²⁷ Jerusalem’s leaders are like wolves tearing a dead animal. They have killed people for profit. ²⁸ And the prophets try to cover this up by false visions and by lying. They say, ‘This is what the Lord God says’ when the Lord has not spoken. ²⁹ The people cheat others. They steal. They hurt people who are poor and needy. They cheat foreigners and don’t treat them fairly.

³⁰ “I looked for someone to build up the walls. I looked for someone to stand before me where the walls are broken to defend these people. Then I would not have to destroy them. But I did not find anyone. ³¹ So I will let them see my anger. I will destroy them with an anger that is like fire. This is because of all the things they have done, says the Lord God.”

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:

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.”

Encouragement for Suffering Christians

1 From Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ.

To God’s chosen people who are away from their homes. You are scattered all around Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. ² God the Father planned long ago to choose you by making you his holy people. Making you holy is the Spirit’s work. God wanted you to obey him and to be made clean by the blood of the death of Jesus Christ. Grace and peace be yours more and more.

A Living Hope

³ Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God has great mercy, and because of his mercy he gave us a new life. He gave us a living hope because Jesus Christ rose from death. ⁴ Now we hope for the blessings God has for his children. These blessings are kept for you in heaven. They cannot be destroyed or be spoiled or lose their beauty. ⁵ God’s power protects you through your faith, and it keeps you safe until your salvation comes. That salvation is ready to be given to you at the end of time. ⁶ This makes you very happy. But now for a short time different kinds of troubles may make you sad. ⁷ These troubles come to prove that your faith is pure. This purity of faith is worth more than gold. Gold can be proved to be pure by fire, but gold can be destroyed. But the purity of your faith will bring you praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ comes again. ⁸ You have not seen Christ, but still you love him. You cannot see him now, but you believe in him. You are filled with a joy that cannot be explained. And that joy is full of glory. ⁹ Your faith has a goal, to save your souls. And you are receiving that goal—your salvation.

¹⁰ The prophets searched carefully and tried to learn about this salvation. They spoke about the grace that was coming to you. ¹¹ The Spirit of Christ was in the prophets. And the Spirit was telling about the sufferings that would happen to Christ and about the glory that would come after those sufferings. The prophets tried to learn about what the Spirit was showing them. They tried to learn when those things would happen and what the world would be like at that time. ¹² It was shown to them that their service was not for themselves. It was for you. They were serving you when they told about the truths you have now heard. The men who preached the Good News to you told you those things. They did it with the help of the Holy Spirit that was sent from heaven. These are truths that even the angels want very much to know about.

A Call to Holy Living

¹³ So prepare your minds for service and have self-control. All your hope should be for the gift of grace that will be yours when Jesus Christ comes again. ¹⁴ In the past you did not understand, so you did the evil things you wanted. But now you are children of God who obey. So do not live as you lived in the past. ¹⁵ But be holy in all that you do, just as God is holy. God is the One who called you. ¹⁶ It is written in the Scriptures: “You must be holy, because I am holy.”^[a]

¹⁷ You pray to God and call him Father. And this Father judges each man’s work equally. So while you are here on earth, you should live with respect for God. ¹⁸ You know that in the past you were living in a worthless way. You got that way of living from the people who lived before you. But you were saved from that useless life. You were bought, but not with something that ruins like gold or silver. ¹⁹ You were bought with the precious blood of the death of Christ, who was like a pure and perfect lamb. ²⁰ Christ was chosen before the world was made. But he was shown to the world in these last times for you. ²¹ You believe in God through Christ. God raised Christ from death and gave him glory. So your faith and your hope are in God.

²² Now you have made yourselves pure by obeying the truth. Now you can have true love for your brothers. So love each other deeply with all your heart. ²³ You have been born again. This new life did not come from something that dies, but from something that cannot die. You were born again through God’s living message that continues forever. ²⁴ The Scripture says,

And this is the word that was preached to you.