English Standard Version

New Living Translation

1The word of the LORD came to me:

1This message came to me from the LORD:

2“Son of man, there were two women, the daughters of one mother.

2“Son of man, once there were two sisters who were daughters of the same mother.

3They played the whore in Egypt; they played the whore in their youth; there their breasts were pressed and their virgin bosoms handled.

3They became prostitutes in Egypt. Even as young girls, they allowed men to fondle their breasts.

4Oholah was the name of the elder and Oholibah the name of her sister. They became mine, and they bore sons and daughters. As for their names, Oholah is Samaria, and Oholibah is Jerusalem.

4The older girl was named Oholah, and her sister was Oholibah. I married them, and they bore me sons and daughters. I am speaking of Samaria and Jerusalem, for Oholah is Samaria and Oholibah is Jerusalem.

5“Oholah played the whore while she was mine, and she lusted after her lovers the Assyrians, warriors

5“Then Oholah lusted after other lovers instead of me, and she gave her love to the Assyrian officers.

6clothed in purple, governors and commanders, all of them desirable young men, horsemen riding on horses.

6They were all attractive young men, captains and commanders dressed in handsome blue, charioteers driving their horses.

7She bestowed her whoring upon them, the choicest men of Assyria all of them, and she defiled herself with all the idols of everyone after whom she lusted.

7And so she prostituted herself with the most desirable men of Assyria, worshiping their idols and defiling herself.

8She did not give up her whoring that she had begun in Egypt; for in her youth men had lain with her and handled her virgin bosom and poured out their whoring lust upon her.

8For when she left Egypt, she did not leave her spirit of prostitution behind. She was still as lewd as in her youth, when the Egyptians slept with her, fondled her breasts, and used her as a prostitute.

9Therefore I delivered her into the hands of her lovers, into the hands of the Assyrians, after whom she lusted.

9“And so I handed her over to her Assyrian lovers, whom she desired so much.

10These uncovered her nakedness; they seized her sons and her daughters; and as for her, they killed her with the sword; and she became a byword among women, when judgment had been executed on her.

10They stripped her, took away her children as their slaves, and then killed her. After she received her punishment, her reputation was known to every woman in the land.

11“Her sister Oholibah saw this, and she became more corrupt than her sister in her lust and in her whoring, which was worse than that of her sister.

11“Yet even though Oholibah saw what had happened to Oholah, her sister, she followed right in her footsteps. And she was even more depraved, abandoning herself to her lust and prostitution.

12She lusted after the Assyrians, governors and commanders, warriors clothed in full armor, horsemen riding on horses, all of them desirable young men.

12She fawned over all the Assyrian officers—those captains and commanders in handsome uniforms, those charioteers driving their horses—all of them attractive young men.

13And I saw that she was defiled; they both took the same way.

13I saw the way she was going, defiling herself just like her older sister.

14But she carried her whoring further. She saw men portrayed on the wall, the images of the Chaldeans portrayed in vermilion,

14“Then she carried her prostitution even further. She fell in love with pictures that were painted on a wall—pictures of Babylonian military officers, outfitted in striking red uniforms.

15wearing belts on their waists, with flowing turbans on their heads, all of them having the appearance of officers, a likeness of Babylonians whose native land was Chaldea.

15Handsome belts encircled their waists, and flowing turbans crowned their heads. They were dressed like chariot officers from the land of Babylonia.

16When she saw them, she lusted after them and sent messengers to them in Chaldea.

16When she saw these paintings, she longed to give herself to them, so she sent messengers to Babylonia to invite them to come to her.

17And the Babylonians came to her into the bed of love, and they defiled her with their whoring lust. And after she was defiled by them, she turned from them in disgust.

17So they came and committed adultery with her, defiling her in the bed of love. After being defiled, however, she rejected them in disgust.

18When she carried on her whoring so openly and flaunted her nakedness, I turned in disgust from her, as I had turned in disgust from her sister.

18“In the same way, I became disgusted with Oholibah and rejected her, just as I had rejected her sister, because she flaunted herself before them and gave herself to satisfy their lusts.

19Yet she increased her whoring, remembering the days of her youth, when she played the whore in the land of Egypt

19Yet she turned to even greater prostitution, remembering her youth when she was a prostitute in Egypt.

20and lusted after her lovers there, whose members were like those of donkeys, and whose issue was like that of horses.

20She lusted after lovers with genitals as large as a donkey’s and emissions like those of a horse.

21Thus you longed for the lewdness of your youth, when the Egyptians handled your bosom and pressed your young breasts.”

21And so, Oholibah, you relived your former days as a young girl in Egypt, when you first allowed your breasts to be fondled. The LORD’s Judgment of Oholibah

22Therefore, O Oholibah, thus says the Lord GOD: “Behold, I will stir up against you your lovers from whom you turned in disgust, and I will bring them against you from every side:

22“Therefore, Oholibah, this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will send your lovers against you from every direction—those very nations from which you turned away in disgust.

23the Babylonians and all the Chaldeans, Pekod and Shoa and Koa, and all the Assyrians with them, desirable young men, governors and commanders all of them, officers and men of renown, all of them riding on horses.

23For the Babylonians will come with all the Chaldeans from Pekod and Shoa and Koa. And all the Assyrians will come with them—handsome young captains, commanders, chariot officers, and other high-ranking officers, all riding their horses.

24And they shall come against you from the north with chariots and wagons and a host of peoples. They shall set themselves against you on every side with buckler, shield, and helmet; and I will commit the judgment to them, and they shall judge you according to their judgments.

24They will all come against you from the north with chariots, wagons, and a great army prepared for attack. They will take up positions on every side, surrounding you with men armed with shields and helmets. And I will hand you over to them for punishment so they can do with you as they please.

25And I will direct my jealousy against you, that they may deal with you in fury. They shall cut off your nose and your ears, and your survivors shall fall by the sword. They shall seize your sons and your daughters, and your survivors shall be devoured by fire.

25I will turn my jealous anger against you, and they will deal harshly with you. They will cut off your nose and ears, and any survivors will then be slaughtered by the sword. Your children will be taken away as captives, and everything that is left will be burned.

26They shall also strip you of your clothes and take away your beautiful jewels.

26They will strip you of your beautiful clothes and jewels.

27Thus I will put an end to your lewdness and your whoring begun in the land of Egypt, so that you shall not lift up your eyes to them or remember Egypt anymore.

27In this way, I will put a stop to the lewdness and prostitution you brought from Egypt. You will never again cast longing eyes on those things or fondly remember your time in Egypt.

28“For thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will deliver you into the hands of those whom you hate, into the hands of those from whom you turned in disgust,

28“For this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will surely hand you over to your enemies, to those you loathe, those you rejected.

29and they shall deal with you in hatred and take away all the fruit of your labor and leave you naked and bare, and the nakedness of your whoring shall be uncovered. Your lewdness and your whoring

29They will treat you with hatred and rob you of all you own, leaving you stark naked. The shame of your prostitution will be exposed to all the world.

30have brought this upon you, because you played the whore with the nations and defiled yourself with their idols.

30You brought all this on yourself by prostituting yourself to other nations, defiling yourself with all their idols.

31You have gone the way of your sister; therefore I will give her cup into your hand.

31Because you have followed in your sister’s footsteps, I will force you to drink the same cup of terror she drank.

32Thus says the Lord GOD: “You shall drink your sister’s cup that is deep and large; you shall be laughed at and held in derision, for it contains much;

32“Yes, this is what the Sovereign LORD says: “You will drink from your sister’s cup of terror, a cup that is large and deep. It is filled to the brim with scorn and derision.

33you will be filled with drunkenness and sorrow. A cup of horror and desolation, the cup of your sister Samaria;

33Drunkenness and anguish will fill you, for your cup is filled to the brim with distress and desolation, the same cup your sister Samaria drank.

34you shall drink it and drain it out, and gnaw its shards, and tear your breasts; for I have spoken, declares the Lord GOD.

34You will drain that cup of terror to the very bottom. Then you will smash it to pieces and beat your breast in anguish. I, the Sovereign LORD, have spoken!

35Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Because you have forgotten me and cast me behind your back, you yourself must bear the consequences of your lewdness and whoring.”

35“And because you have forgotten me and turned your back on me, this is what the Sovereign LORD says: You must bear the consequences of all your lewdness and prostitution.” The LORD’s Judgment on Both Sisters

36The LORD said to me: “Son of man, will you judge Oholah and Oholibah? Declare to them their abominations.

36The LORD said to me, “Son of man, you must accuse Oholah and Oholibah of all their detestable sins.

37For they have committed adultery, and blood is on their hands. With their idols they have committed adultery, and they have even offered up to them for food the children whom they had borne to me.

37They have committed both adultery and murder—adultery by worshiping idols and murder by burning as sacrifices the children they bore to me.

38Moreover, this they have done to me: they have defiled my sanctuary on the same day and profaned my Sabbaths.

38Furthermore, they have defiled my Temple and violated my Sabbath day!

39For when they had slaughtered their children in sacrifice to their idols, on the same day they came into my sanctuary to profane it. And behold, this is what they did in my house.

39On the very day that they sacrificed their children to their idols, they boldly came into my Temple to worship! They came in and defiled my house.

40They even sent for men to come from afar, to whom a messenger was sent; and behold, they came. For them you bathed yourself, painted your eyes, and adorned yourself with ornaments.

40“You sisters sent messengers to distant lands to get men. Then when they arrived, you bathed yourselves, painted your eyelids, and put on your finest jewels for them.

41You sat on a stately couch, with a table spread before it on which you had placed my incense and my oil.

41You sat with them on a beautifully embroidered couch and put my incense and my special oil on a table that was spread before you.

42The sound of a carefree multitude was with her; and with men of the common sort, drunkards were brought from the wilderness; and they put bracelets on the hands of the women, and beautiful crowns on their heads.

42From your room came the sound of many men carousing. They were lustful men and drunkards from the wilderness, who put bracelets on your wrists and beautiful crowns on your heads.

43“Then I said of her who was worn out by adultery, ‘Now they will continue to use her for a whore, even her!’

43Then I said, ‘If they really want to have sex with old worn-out prostitutes like these, let them!’

44For they have gone in to her, as men go in to a prostitute. Thus they went in to Oholah and to Oholibah, lewd women!

44And that is what they did. They had sex with Oholah and Oholibah, these shameless prostitutes.

45But righteous men shall pass judgment on them with the sentence of adulteresses, and with the sentence of women who shed blood, because they are adulteresses, and blood is on their hands.”

45But righteous people will judge these sister cities for what they really are—adulterers and murderers.

46For thus says the Lord GOD: “Bring up a vast host against them, and make them an object of terror and a plunder.

46“Now this is what the Sovereign LORD says: Bring an army against them and hand them over to be terrorized and plundered.

47And the host shall stone them and cut them down with their swords. They shall kill their sons and their daughters, and burn up their houses.

47For their enemies will stone them and kill them with swords. They will butcher their sons and daughters and burn their homes.

48Thus will I put an end to lewdness in the land, that all women may take warning and not commit lewdness as you have done.

48In this way, I will put an end to lewdness and idolatry in the land, and my judgment will be a warning to all women not to follow your wicked example.

49And they shall return your lewdness upon you, and you shall bear the penalty for your sinful idolatry, and you shall know that I am the Lord GOD.”

49You will be fully repaid for all your prostitution—your worship of idols. Yes, you will suffer the full penalty. Then you will know that I am the Sovereign LORD.”

ESV Text Edition: 2016. The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved.

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.