Old/New Testament
The Sins of Jerusalem
22 The ·Lord spoke his word [L word of the Lord came] to me, saying: 2 “And you, ·human [T son of man; 2:1], will you judge? Will you judge the city of ·murderers [bloodshed; C Jerusalem]? Then tell her about all her ·hateful [detestable; abominable] acts. 3 You are to say: ‘This is what the Lord God says: You are a city that ·kills those who come to live there [L sheds blood in her midst]. You ·make yourself unclean [defile yourself; C ritually] by making idols. 4 You have become guilty of ·murder [bloodshed] and have become ·unclean [defiled] by your idols which you have made. So you have brought your ·time of punishment [L days] near; you have come to the end of your years. That is why I have made you a ·shame [object of scorn] to the nations and ·why all lands laugh at you [L a mockery/laughingstock to all lands]. 5 Those near and those far away ·laugh at [mock] you with your ·bad [defiled] name, you city full of ·confusion [turmoil].
6 “‘See how each ·ruler [prince; leader] of Israel in you [C Jerusalem; v. 2] has been trying to ·kill people [shed blood]. 7 The people in you ·hate [treat with contempt] their fathers and mothers. They ·mistreat [oppress] the foreigners in you and wrong the ·orphans [fatherless] and widows in you. 8 You ·hate [despise] my holy things and ·dishonor [desecrate; profane; C ritually] my Sabbaths. 9 The ·lying [slanderous] men in you ·cause the death of others [shed blood]. The people in you eat ·food offered to idols at the mountain places of worship [L on the mountains], and they take part in ·sexual sins [L lewd/obscene acts among you]. 10 The men in you ·have sexual relations with their fathers’ wives [L uncover their father’s nakedness] and ·with [L violate] women who are unclean [C ritually], during their time of ·monthly bleeding [L impurity]. 11 One man in you does a ·hateful [detestable; abominable] act with his neighbor’s wife, while another has shamefully ·made his daughter-in-law unclean sexually [L defiled his daughter-in-law; C ritually]. And another ·forces his half sister to have sexual relations [L violates his father’s daughter] with him [C all forbidden in the Law; Lev. 18:9, 15, 20]. 12 The people in you take ·money [bribes] to ·kill others [shed blood; Deut. 27:25]. You take ·interest [usury; 18:13, 17; Lev. 25:36] and profits and make profits by ·mistreating [extorting] your neighbor. And you have forgotten me, says the Lord God.
13 “‘·So, Jerusalem, [L Look; T Behold] I will ·shake my fist [L strike my hand] at you for ·stealing money [your dishonest gain] and for ·murdering people [bloodshed]. 14 Will ·you still be brave [L your heart stand] and ·strong [L your hands be strong] when I ·punish [deal with] you? I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will act. 15 I will scatter you among the nations and spread you through the countries. ·That is how I will get rid of [L I will remove] your uncleanness [C ritually]. 16 But you, yourself, will be ·dishonored [defiled; profaned; C ritually] in the ·sight [eyes] of the nations. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”
Israel Is Worthless
17 The ·Lord spoke his word [L word of the Lord came] to me, saying: 18 “·Human [T Son of man; 2:1], the ·people [L house] of Israel have become ·scum [dross; C useless] to me. They are like the ·copper [or bronze], tin, iron, and lead left in the furnace when silver is purified. 19 So this is what the Lord God says: ‘Because you have become ·scum [dross], I am going to bring you together inside Jerusalem. 20 Just as people put silver, ·copper [or bronze], iron, lead, and tin together inside a furnace to melt them down in a blazing fire, so I will gather you in my hot anger and put you together in Jerusalem and melt you down. 21 I will ·put [gather] you together and ·make you feel [L blow on you with] the ·heat [fire] of my ·anger [fury; wrath]. You will be melted down ·inside Jerusalem [L in the midst of it]. 22 As silver is melted in a furnace, you will be melted inside ·the city [L it]. Then you will know that I, the Lord, have poured out my ·anger [wrath] on you.’”
Sins of the People
23 The ·Lord spoke his word [L word of the Lord came] to me, saying: 24 “·Human [T Son of man; 2:1], say to the land, ‘You are a land that ·has not had rain or [or is not cleansed with] showers ·when God is angry [L in the day of wrath/indignation].’ 25 Like a roaring lion that tears ·the animal it has caught [its prey], Israel’s ·rulers[a] [princes] ·make evil plans [conspire]. They have ·destroyed [devoured] lives and have taken treasure and ·valuable [precious] things. They have caused many women to become widows. 26 ·Israel’s [L Her; Its] priests do ·cruel things [violence] to my ·teachings [laws; instructions; L Torah] and ·do not honor [profane; C ritually] my holy things. They make no difference between holy and ·unholy [common; profane; C ritually] things, and they teach there is no difference between clean and unclean things [C ritually]. They ·do not remember [disregard; L close their eyes to] my Sabbaths, so I am ·dishonored by [profaned among; C ritually] them. 27 Like wolves tearing ·a dead animal [their prey], ·Jerusalem’s leaders [L her princes/officials] have ·killed people [L shed blood and destroy lives] for profit. 28 And the prophets ·try to cover this up by [whitewash their actions with; 13:10–15] false visions and by lying ·messages [divinations]. They say, ‘This is what the Lord God says’ when the Lord has not spoken. 29 The people of the land ·cheat others [practice extortion] and ·steal [commit robbery]. They ·hurt [oppress] the poor and needy. They ·cheat [mistreat; extort] foreigners and ·do not treat them fairly [deny them justice].
30 “I looked for someone to ·build up [repair; 13:5] the walls and to stand before me ·where the walls are broken [in the gap/breach] ·to defend these people [L on behalf of the land] so I would not have to destroy them. But I could not find anyone. 31 So I ·let them see [poured out] my ·anger [wrath]. I destroyed them with an anger that was like fire ·because of all the things [L bringing down on their heads all] they have done, says the Lord God.”
Samaria and Jerusalem
23 The ·Lord spoke his word [L word of the Lord came] to me, saying: 2 “·Human [T Son of man; 2:1], a woman had two daughters. 3 While they were young, they went to Egypt and became prostitutes. They let men ·touch [fondle] and hold their virgin breasts. 4 The older girl was named Oholah, and her sister was named Oholibah. They became my wives and had sons and daughters. Oholah is Samaria, and Oholibah is Jerusalem [C both names are related to the Hebrew word for “tent,” and refer to the two kingdoms of Israel and Judah].
5 “While ·still my wife [L she was mine], ·Samaria [L Oholah] ·had sexual relations with other men [engaged in prostitution]. She ·had great sexual desire for [lusted after] her lovers, men from Assyria. The Assyrians were warriors ·and 6 wore blue uniforms [clothed in blue]. They were all ·handsome [desirable] young men, ·captains [or governors] and ·lieutenants [commanders] riding on horseback. 7 ·Samaria [L She] became a prostitute for all the ·important [elite] men in Assyria and ·made herself unclean [defiled herself] with all the idols of everyone she desired. 8 She ·continued [did not give up] the prostitution she began in Egypt. When she was young, she had slept with men, and they ·touched [fondled] her virgin breasts and ·had sexual relations with [L poured out their lust on] her.
9 “So I handed her over to her lovers, the Assyrians, ·that she wanted so badly [for whom she lusted]. 10 They ·stripped her naked [L uncovered her nakedness; 16:37] and took away her sons and daughters. Then they killed her with a sword [C referring to the fall of Samaria to the Assyrians in 722–721 bc]. ·Women everywhere began talking [It became notorious/a byword among women] about how she had been punished.
11 “Her sister ·Jerusalem [L Oholibah; v. 4] saw what happened, but she became ·worse [more depraved/corrupt] than her sister in her sexual ·desire [lust] and prostitution. 12 She also desired the Assyrians, who were all soldiers in ·beautiful uniforms [full dress; or full armor]—·handsome [desirable] young ·captains [or governors] and ·lieutenants [commanders] riding horses. 13 I saw that both girls were alike; both were ·prostitutes [defiled; C ritually].
14 “But ·Jerusalem went [L she increased her prostitution] even further. She saw carvings of ·Babylonian [L Chaldean] men on a wall. They wore red [Jer. 22:14] 15 and had belts around their waists and turbans on their heads. They all looked like chariot officers ·born in Babylonia [L the image of sons of Babel, natives of Chaldea]. 16 When she saw them, she ·wanted to have sexual relations with [lusted after] them and sent messengers to them in ·Babylonia [L Chaldea; C depicting Judah’s attempt at alliances with Babylon; 2 Kin. 20:12–15; 23:34—24:1]. 17 So these Babylonian men came ·and had sexual relations with her [to her bed of love] and ·made her unclean [L defiled her with their lust; C ritually]. After that, she ·became sick of them [turned away in disgust]. 18 But she ·continued her prostitution so openly that everyone knew about it [L uncovered her prostitution and uncovered her nakedness]. And I ·finally became sick of her [turned away from her in disgust], 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 [lusted after lovers] ·who behaved like animals in their sexual desire [or whose genitals/L flesh were the size/L flesh of donkeys and seminal emission like that of horses]. 21 In the same way you ·desired to do the sinful things you had done [longed for the lewdness of your youth] in Egypt. There men ·touched [fondled] and ·held [caressed] your young breasts.
God’s Judgment on Jerusalem
22 “So, ·Jerusalem [L Oholibah; v. 4], this is what the Lord God says: You ·are tired of [turned in disgust from] your lovers. So [L look; T behold] now I will ·make them angry with [L stir them up against] you and ·have them attack [L bring them against] you from all sides [C a description of the siege of Jerusalem]. 23 Men from Babylon and all ·Babylonia [L the Chaldeans] and men from Pekod, Shoa, and Koa attack you [C people groups from the Mesopotamian region]. All the Assyrians will attack you: ·handsome [desirable] young ·captains [or governors] and ·lieutenants [commanders], all of them ·important men [officers and nobles] and all riding horses. 24 Those men will attack with ·great armies [a host of people/nations] and with their weapons, chariots, and wagons. They will ·surround you [L take up positions against you on every side] with large and small shields and with helmets. And I will ·give them the right to punish you [L assign judgment to them], and they will ·give you their own kind of punishment [or judge you by their own standards]. 25 Then ·you will see how strong my anger can be [or I will direct my jealous anger against you] when they ·punish [deal with] you in their anger. They will cut off your noses and ears [C acts of torture and humiliation]. They will ·take away [seize] your sons and daughters, and those who are left will be ·burned [consumed/devoured by fire]. 26 They will ·take [strip] off your clothes and steal your beautiful jewelry. 27 I will put a stop to the ·sinful life [lewd/obscene behavior] you began when you were in Egypt so that you will not ·desire it [or seek their help; L lift up your eyes to them] or remember Egypt anymore.
28 “This is what the Lord God says: You became ·tired of [disgusted with] your lovers, but I am going to hand you over to those men you now hate. 29 They will treat you with hate and take away everything you worked for, leaving you empty and naked. ·Everyone will know about the sinful things you did [L The nakedness of your prostitution will be uncovered]. Your ·sexual sins [lewdness and promiscuity] 30 have brought this on you. You have ·had sexual relations with [prostituted yourself with] the nations and ·made yourselves unclean [defiled yourself] by worshiping their idols. 31 You ·did the same things your sister did [L went the way of your sister; vv. 9–10], so ·you will get the same punishment, like a bitter cup to drink [L I will put her cup in your hand].
32 “This is what the Lord God says:
You will drink the same cup your sister did,
and that cup is deep and wide [C the cup of judgment; Jer. 25:15–29].
·Everyone will make fun of you [You will be mocked and derided],
because the cup ·is full [holds much].
33 It will ·make you miserable and drunk [L fill you with drunkenness and sorrow].
It is the cup of ·fear [horror; or ruin] and ·ruin [devastation].
It is the cup of your sister Samaria.
34 You will drink ·everything in [L and drain] it,
and then you will ·smash it [or chew on its pieces]
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 [L cast me behind your back]. So you ·will be punished [must bear the consequences] for your ·sexual sins [L lewdness and prostitution].”
Judgment on Samaria and Jerusalem
36 The Lord said to me: “·Human [T Son of man; 2:1], will you judge ·Samaria [L Oholah] and ·Jerusalem [L Oholibah], ·showing [declaring to] them their ·hateful [detestable; abominable] acts? 37 They are guilty of adultery and ·murder [L blood is on their hands]. They have taken part in adultery with their idols. They even offered ·our children [L the children they bore to me] as sacrifices in the fire to be food for these idols. 38 They have also done this to me: They ·made my Temple unclean [defiled my sanctuary; C ritually] at the same time they ·dishonored [defiled; profaned; C ritually] my Sabbaths. 39 They ·sacrificed [slaughtered] their children to their idols. Then they entered my Temple at that very time to ·dishonor [desecrate; profane; C ritually] it. That is what they did inside my ·Temple [L house]!
40 “They even sent for men from far away, who came after a messenger was sent to them. You bathed yourselves for them, painted your eyes, and put on jewelry [2 Kin. 9:30; Jer. 4:30]. 41 You sat on a ·fine bed [luxurious couch] with a table set before it, on which you put my incense and my oil.
42 “There was the noise of a ·reckless [or carefree] crowd in the city. Common people gathered, and ·drunkards [or Sabaeans; C inhabitants of Sheba, in present-day Yemen] were brought from the ·desert [wilderness]. They put bracelets on the wrists of the two sisters and 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 [prostitution] with her. ·She is nothing but a prostitute [L …even her].’ 44 They kept going to her as they would go to a prostitute. So they continued to go to ·Samaria [L Oholah] and ·Jerusalem [L Oholibah; v. 4], these ·shameful [lewd; obscene] women. 45 But men who ·do right [are righteous] will ·punish them as they punish [judge them with the judgment against] women who take part in adultery and who ·murder people [shed blood], because they are guilty of adultery and ·murder [L blood is on their hands].
46 “This is what the Lord God says: Bring together a mob against ·Samaria and Jerusalem [L them] and hand them over to ·be frightened and robbed [terror and plunder]. 47 Let the ·mob [army; host] stone them, and let them cut them down with their swords. Let them kill their sons and daughters and burn their houses down.
48 “So I will put an end to ·sexual sins [lewdness; obscenity] in the land. Then all women will be warned, and they will not ·do the sexual sins you have done [practice the same wickedness]. 49 ·You will be punished [L They will repay you] for your ·sexual sins [lewdness; obscenity] and the sin of worshiping idols. Then you will know that I am the Lord God.”
1 From Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ. To God’s ·chosen [elect] people who are ·away from their homes [exiles; temporary residents; refugees; foreigners] ·and are scattered [L of the Diaspora/Dispersion; C an analogy to the Jewish people scattered around the known world since the Babylonian exile] all around Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia [C all located in Asia Minor, present-day Turkey]. 2 God the Father ·planned long ago to choose you [L chose you according to his foreknowledge] ·by making you his holy people, which is the Spirit’s work [or by the sanctifying/purifying work of the Spirit; or by setting you apart by means of the Spirit]. God wanted you to obey him and to be ·made clean [L sprinkled] by the blood of the death of Jesus Christ. [C In the OT blood from animal sacrifices was sprinkled on persons and objects to indicate purification or forgiveness of sins; Ex. 24:3–8.]
Grace and peace be ·yours more and more [L multiplied to you].
We Have a Living Hope
3 ·Praise be to [L Blessed be] the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. In God’s ·great [abundant] mercy he has caused us to be born ·again [anew; John 3:5–8] into a living hope, ·because Jesus Christ rose [or by means of the resurrection of Jesus Christ] from the dead. 4 ·Now we hope for [or This new birth provides us with] ·the blessings God has for his children [L an inheritance]. ·These blessings [or This inheritance], which cannot be destroyed or be ·spoiled [corrupted; defiled] or lose their beauty, ·are [is] kept in heaven for you [Matt. 6:19–21; Luke 12:33]. 5 God’s power protects you through your faith until ·salvation is shown to you [or the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed] ·at the end of [in the last] time. 6 ·This makes you very happy [or Rejoice in this], even though now for a short time ·different kinds of troubles may make you sad [you have had to suffer various kinds of trials/testings]. 7 These ·troubles [trials; testings] come ·to prove that your faith is pure [to test and prove the authenticity of your faith; C a test that proves the genuineness of a valuable metal]. This ·purity of faith [or tested and proven authenticity] is ·worth more [more precious; more valuable] than gold, which can be ·proved to be pure [tested and proven authentic] by fire [Ps. 66:10; Prov. 17:3; 27:21; Zech. 13:9; Mal. 3:3] but ·can [or will] be destroyed. But the ·purity [tested and proven authenticity] of your faith will bring you praise and glory and honor ·when Jesus Christ is shown to you [L at the revelation of Jesus Christ]. 8 You have not seen ·Christ [L him], but still you love him. You cannot see him now, but you believe in him. So you ·are filled [rejoice] with ·a joy that cannot be explained, a joy full of glory [an inexpressible and glorious joy]. 9 ·And you are receiving [or …because you are receiving] the ·goal [outcome; purpose] of your faith—the salvation of your souls.
10 The prophets [C of the Old Testament] searched carefully and ·tried to learn [diligently inquired/investigated] about this salvation. They prophesied about the grace that was coming to you. 11 The Spirit of Christ was in the prophets, ·telling [witnessing; testifying] in advance about the sufferings of Christ and about the glory that would follow those sufferings [Luke 24:25–27, 45–49]. The prophets ·tried to learn [inquired; investigated] about what the Spirit was showing them, ·when those things would happen, and what the world would be like at that time [about the circumstances and time; or about the person and time]. 12 It was ·shown [revealed to] them that their service was not for themselves but for you, when they ·told about [announced] the truths [L things] you have now heard. Those who preached the ·Good News [Gospel] to you ·told you [announced] those things with the help of the Holy Spirit who was sent from heaven—things into which angels desire to look.
A Call to Holy Living
13 ·So [Therefore; For this reason] ·prepare your minds for service [prepare your minds for action; or, be alert; L gird the loins of your mind] and ·have self-control [be disciplined]. ·All your hope should be for [Focus all your hope on] the gift of grace that will be ·yours [brought/given to you] ·when Jesus Christ is shown to you [L at the revelation of Jesus Christ]. 14 ·Now that you are [As; or Like] obedient ·children of God [L children] ·do not live as you did in the past. You did not understand, so you did the evil things you wanted [L do not be shaped by the desires/lusts of your former ignorance]. 15 But be holy in all ·you do [your behavior/conduct], just as ·God, the One [L the One] who called you, is holy. 16 [L For; Because] It is written in the Scriptures: “You must be holy, because I am holy [Lev. 11:45; 19:2; 20:7].”
17 ·You pray to God and call him Father, and he [L Since you address as Father the one who] judges each person’s ·work [deeds] ·equally [impartially; without prejudice]. So while you are ·here on earth [living as exiles/strangers/sojourners], you should live with ·respect [fear] for God [Prov. 1:7]. 18 [L For] You know that in the past you were living in a ·worthless [meaningless; futile; vain; Eccl. 1:2] way, a way passed down from ·the people who lived before you [your ancestors]. But you were saved [ransomed; redeemed] from that useless life. You were ·bought [ransomed; redeemed; C like a slave whose freedom was purchased by a payment], not with something that ·ruins [perishes; spoils] like silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ [Is. 52:3], who was like ·a pure and perfect lamb [a lamb without defect or blemish; Lev. 1:3]. 20 Christ was ·chosen [destined; L foreknown] before ·the world was made [L the foundation/creation of the world], but he was ·shown to the world [revealed] in these last times for your sake. 21 Through Christ you ·believe [have faith/trust] in God, who raised Christ from the dead and gave him glory. So your faith and your hope are in God.
22 Now that your obedience to the truth has purified your ·souls [or lives], you can have ·true [genuine; sincere] love for your Christian brothers and sisters. So love each other ·deeply [earnestly] ·with all your [L from the] heart.[a] 23 You have been born ·again [or anew], and this new life did not come from ·something that dies [L a perishable seed], but from ·something that cannot die [L an imperishable seed]. You were born ·again [or anew] through ·God’s living message that continues forever [L the living and abiding/enduring word of God]. 24 ·The Scripture says [L For; Therefore],
“All ·people are [T flesh is] like the grass,
and all their glory is like the flowers of the ·field [L grass].
The grass ·dies [withers] and the flowers ·fall [drop off],
25 but the word of the Lord ·will live [remains; abides; endures] forever [Is. 40:6–8].”
And this is the word that was ·preached [or proclaimed as Good News/Gospel] to you.
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