The Scriptures (ISR 1998) 1And the word of יהוה came to me, saying, 2“Son of man, there were two women, daughters of one mother. 3“And they whored in Mitsrayim, they whored in their youth. There their breasts were handled, and there their maiden nipples were squeezed. 4“And their names were: Oholah the elder and Oholiḇah her sister. And they were Mine, and they bore sons and daughters. And their names: Shomeron is Oholah, and Yerushalayim is Oholiḇah. 5“And Oholah whored while she was Mine. And she lusted for her lovers, the neighbouring Ashshurians, 6dressed in purple, officers and rulers, all of them desirable young men, horsemen riding on horses. 7“So she gave her whorings on them, all of them choice sons of Ashshur. And with all for whom she lusted, with all their idols, she defiled herself. 8“And she did not forsake her whorings from Mitsrayim, for in her youth they had lain with her, and they squeezed her maiden nipples, and poured out their whorings on her. 9“Therefore I have given her into the hand of her lovers, into the hand of the Ashshurians, for whom she lusted. 10“They uncovered her nakedness, they took away her sons and daughters, and slew her with the sword. And she became a byword among women, and they executed judgments on her. 11“And her sister Oholiḇah saw this, yet she became more corrupt in her lust than she, and in her whorings more corrupt than her sister’s whorings. 12“She lusted for the sons of Ashshur, officers and rulers, the ones near, perfectly dressed, horsemen riding on horses, all of them desirable young men. 13“And I saw that she was defiled, they both took the same way. 14“But she increased her whorings, and she looked at men carved on the wall, images of Chaldeans portrayed in red, 15girded with belts around their loins, flowing turbans on their heads, all of them looking like officers, like the Baḇelians of Chaldea, the land of their birth. 16“As soon as her eyes saw them, she lusted for them and sent messengers to them in Chaldea. 17“And the Baḇelians came to her, into the bed of love, and they defiled her with their whorings. And she was defiled by them, and her being turned from them in disgust. 18“And she uncovered her whorings and uncovered her nakedness. Then I turned My being from her in disgust, as My being had turned from her sister in disgust. 19“And she increased her whorings, remembering the days of her youth, when she whored in the land of Mitsrayim. 20“And she lusted after her lovers, whose flesh is like the flesh of donkeys, and whose emission is like the emission of horses. 21“Thus you longed for the wickedness of your youth, when the Mitsrites squeezed your nipples because of the breasts of your youth. 22“Therefore, Oholiḇah, thus said the Master יהוה, ‘See, I am stirring up your lovers against you, from whom your being turned in disgust, and shall bring them against you from every side: 23the Baḇelians, and all the Chaldeans, Peqoḏ, and Showa, and Qowa, all the sons of Ashshur with them, all of them desirable young men, governors and rulers, officers and men of name, all of them riding on horses. 24‘And they shall come against you with battle-axe, chariots, and vehicles, and with an assembly of peoples. They shall set against you armour, and shield, and helmet all around. And I shall commit the judgment to them, and they shall judge you according to their rulings. 25‘And I shall set My jealousy against you and they shall deal heatedly with you. They shall cut off your nose and your ears, while the rest of you fall by the sword. Your sons and your daughters they shall take away, while the rest of you shall be consumed by fire. 26‘And they shall strip you of your garments and shall take your pretty jewels. 27‘And I shall put an end to your wickedness and to your whorings from the land of Mitsrayim, so that you do not lift your eyes to them neither remember Mitsrayim any more.’ 28“For thus said the Master יהוה, ‘See, I am giving you into the hand of those whom you hate, into the hand of those from whom your being turned in disgust. 29‘And they shall deal with you in hatred, and they shall take away all you have worked for, and they shall leave you naked and bare. And the nakedness of your whorings shall be uncovered, and the wickedness of your whorings. 30‘I do this to you because of your whoring after the gentiles, because you have been defiled by their idols. 31‘You have walked in the way of your sister, and I shall give her cup into your hand.’ 32“Thus said the Master יהוה, ‘Drink of your sister’s cup, the deep and wide one – you being laughed at and mocked at – for it holds much. 33‘Be filled with drunkenness and sorrow, the cup of astonishment and ruin, the cup of your sister Shomeron. 34‘And you shall drink it and shall drain it, and gnaw its shards, and tear at your own breasts. For I have spoken,’ declares the Master יהוה. 35“Therefore thus said the Master יהוה, ‘Because you have forgotten Me and cast Me behind your back, therefore you shall bear your wickedness and your whorings.’ ” 36And יהוה said to me, “Son of man, judge Oholah and Oholiḇah! And declare to them their abominations. 37“For they have committed adultery, and blood is on their hands. And they have committed adultery with their idols, and even offered their sons whom they bore to Me, passing them through the fire, to devour. 38“They also did this to Me: They have defiled My set-apart place on the same day, and they have profaned My Sabbaths. 39“For when they had slain their children for their idols, on the same day they came into My set-apart place to profane it. And see, that is what they did in the midst of My House. 40“And they even sent for men to come from afar, to whom a messenger was sent. And see, they came – for whom you washed yourself, painted your eyes, and adorned yourself with ornaments. 41“And you sat on a splendid couch, with a table prepared before it, on which you had set My incense and My oil. 42“And the sound of a crowd at ease was with her, and drunkards were brought from the wilderness with men of the commonest sort. And they put bracelets on their wrists and pretty crowns on their heads. 43“Then I said concerning the one worn out in adulteries, ‘Now let them commit her whorings, even hers!’ 44“And they went in to her, as men go in to a woman who is a whore. Thus they went in to Oholah and Oholiḇah, the wicked women. 45“But let righteous men judge them with the judgment of adulteresses, and the judgment of women who shed blood, for they are adulteresses, and blood is on their hands. 46“For thus said the Master יהוה, ‘Bring up an assembly against them, give them up to maltreatment and plunder. 47‘And the assembly shall stone them with stones and cut them with their swords. They shall slay their sons and their daughters, and burn their houses with fire. 48‘And I shall put an end to wickedness in the land, and all the women shall be instructed not to commit wickedness as you have done. 49‘And they shall put your wickedness on you, and you shall bear the sins of your idols. And you shall know that I am the Master יהוה.’ ” |