New Living Translation

New American Standard Bible 1995

1This message came to me from the LORD:

1The word of the LORD came to me again, saying,

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

2"Son of man, there were two women, the daughters of one mother;

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

3and they played the harlot in Egypt. They played the harlot in their youth; there their breasts were pressed and there their virgin bosom was handled.

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.

4"Their names were Oholah the elder and Oholibah her sister. And they became Mine, and they bore sons and daughters. And as for their names, Samaria is Oholah and Jerusalem is Oholibah.

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

5"Oholah played the harlot while she was Mine; and she lusted after her lovers, after the Assyrians, her neighbors,

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

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

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

7"She bestowed her harlotries on them, all of whom were the choicest men of Assyria; and with all whom she lusted after, with all their idols she defiled herself.

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.

8"She did not forsake her harlotries from the time in Egypt; for in her youth men had lain with her, and they handled her virgin bosom and poured out their lust on her.

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

9"Therefore, I gave her into the hand of her lovers, into the hand of the Assyrians, after whom she lusted.

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.

10"They uncovered her nakedness; they took her sons and her daughters, but they slew her with the sword. Thus she became a byword among women, and they executed judgments on her.

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.

11"Now her sister Oholibah saw this, yet she was more corrupt in her lust than she, and her harlotries were more than the harlotries of her sister.

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.

12"She lusted after the Assyrians, governors and officials, the ones near, magnificently dressed, horsemen riding on horses, all of them desirable young men.

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

13"I saw that she had defiled herself; they both took the same way.

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.

14"So she increased her harlotries. And she saw men portrayed on the wall, images of the Chaldeans portrayed with vermilion,

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

15girded with belts on their loins, with flowing turbans on their heads, all of them looking like officers, like the Babylonians in Chaldea, the land of their birth.

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.

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

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

17"The Babylonians came to her to the bed of love and defiled her with their harlotry. And when she had been defiled by them, she became disgusted with them.

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.

18"She uncovered her harlotries and uncovered her nakedness; then I became disgusted with her, as I had become disgusted with her sister.

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

19"Yet she multiplied her harlotries, remembering the days of her youth, when she played the harlot in the land of Egypt.

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

20"She lusted after their paramours, whose flesh is like the flesh of donkeys and whose issue is like the issue of horses.

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

21"Thus you longed for the lewdness of your youth, when the Egyptians handled your bosom because of the breasts of your youth.

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.

22"Therefore, O Oholibah, thus says the Lord GOD, 'Behold I will arouse your lovers against you, from whom you were alienated, and I will bring them against you from every side:

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.

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

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.

24'They will come against you with weapons, chariots and wagons, and with a company of peoples. They will set themselves against you on every side with buckler and shield and helmet; and I will commit the judgment to them, and they will judge you according to their customs.

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.

25'I will set My jealousy against you, that they may deal with you in wrath. They will remove your nose and your ears; and your survivors will fall by the sword. They will take your sons and your daughters; and your survivors will be consumed by the fire.

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

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

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.

27Thus I will make your lewdness and your harlotry brought from the land of Egypt to cease from you, so that you will not lift up your eyes to them or remember Egypt anymore.'

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.

28"For thus says the Lord GOD, 'Behold, I will give you into the hand of those whom you hate, into the hand of those from whom you were alienated.

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.

29'They will deal with you in hatred, take all your property, and leave you naked and bare. And the nakedness of your harlotries will be uncovered, both your lewdness and your harlotries.

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

30'These things will be done to you because you have played the harlot with the nations, because you have defiled yourself with their idols.

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

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

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.

32"Thus says the Lord GOD, 'You will drink your sister's cup, Which is deep and wide. You will be laughed at and held in derision; It contains much.

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.

33'You will be filled with drunkenness and sorrow, The cup of horror and desolation, The cup of your sister Samaria.

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!

34'You will drink it and drain it. Then you will gnaw its fragments And tear your breasts; for I have spoken,' declares the Lord GOD.

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

35"Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD, 'Because you have forgotten Me and cast Me behind your back, bear now the punishment of your lewdness and your harlotries.'"

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

36Moreover, the LORD said to me, "Son of man, will you judge Oholah and Oholibah? Then declare to them their abominations.

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

37"For they have committed adultery, and blood is on their hands. Thus they have committed adultery with their idols and even caused their sons, whom they bore to Me, to pass through the fire to them as food.

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

38"Again, they have done this to Me: they have defiled My sanctuary on the same day and have profaned My sabbaths.

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.

39"For when they had slaughtered their children for their idols, they entered My sanctuary on the same day to profane it; and lo, thus they did within My house.

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.

40"Furthermore, they have even sent for men who come from afar, to whom a messenger was sent; and lo, they came-- for whom you bathed, painted your eyes and decorated yourselves with ornaments;

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.

41and you sat on a splendid couch with a table arranged before it on which you had set My incense and My oil.

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.

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

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

43"Then I said concerning her who was worn out by adulteries, 'Will they now commit adultery with her when she is thus?'

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

44"But they went in to her as they would go in to a harlot. Thus they went in to Oholah and to Oholibah, the lewd women.

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

45"But they, righteous men, will judge them with the judgment of adulteresses and with the judgment of women who shed blood, because they are adulteresses and blood is on their hands.

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

46"For thus says the Lord GOD, 'Bring up a company against them and give them over to terror and plunder.

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

47'The company will stone them with stones and cut them down with their swords; they will slay their sons and their daughters and burn their houses with fire.

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.

48'Thus I will make lewdness cease from the land, that all women may be admonished and not commit lewdness as you have done.

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.”

49Your lewdness will be requited upon you, and you will bear the penalty of worshiping your idols; thus you will know that I am the Lord GOD.'"

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.

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