22Now this message came to me from the Lord:H1697H3068H559 2“Son of man, are you ready to judge Jerusalem? Are you ready to judge this city of murderers? Publicly denounce her detestable sins,H1121H120H8199H8199H1818H5892H3045H8441 3and give her this message from the Sovereign Lord: O city of murderers, doomed and damned—city of idols①, filthy and foul—/ ①The Hebrew term (literally round things) probably alludes to dung; also in 22.4.H559H559H136H3069H5892H8210H1818H8432H6256H935H6213H1544H2930 4you are guilty because of the blood you have shed. You are defiled because of the idols you have made. Your day of destruction has come! You have reached the end of your years. I will make you an object of mockery throughout the world.H816H1818H8210H2930H1544H6213H3117H7126H935H8141H5414H2781H1471H7048H776 5O infamous city, filled with confusion, you will be mocked by people far and near.H7138H7350H7046H2931H8034H7227H4103 6“Every leader in Israel who lives within your walls is bent on murder.H5387H3478H376H2220H8210H1818 7Fathers and mothers are treated with contempt. Foreigners are forced to pay for protection. Orphans and widows are wronged and oppressed among you.H7043H1H517H8432H6213H6233H1616H3238H3490H490 8You despise my holy things and violate my Sabbath days of rest.H959H6944H2490H7676 9People accuse others falsely and send them to their death. You are filled with idol worshipers and people who do obscene things.H582H7400H8210H1818H398H2022H8432H6213H2154 10Men sleep with their fathers’ wives and have intercourse with women who are menstruating.H1540H1H6172H6031H5079H2931 11Within your walls live men who commit adultery with their neighbors’ wives, who defile their daughters-in-law, or who rape their own sisters.H376H6213H8441H7453H802H376H2154H2930H3618H376H6031H269H1H1323 12There are hired murderers, loan racketeers, and extortioners everywhere. They never even think of me and my commands, says the Sovereign Lord.H3947H7810H8210H1818H3947H5392H8636H1214H7453H6233H7911H5002H136H3069 13“But now I clap my hands in indignation over your dishonest gain and bloodshed.H5221H3709H1215H6213H1818H8432 14How strong and courageous will you be in my day of reckoning? I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will do what I said.H3820H5975H3027H2388H3117H6213H3068H1696H6213 15I will scatter you among the nations and purge you of your wickedness.H6327H1471H2219H776H8552H2932 16And when I have been dishonored among the nations because of you, you will know that I am the Lord.”H2490H5157H5869H1471H3045H3068 17Then this message came to me from the Lord:H1697H3068H559 18“Son of man, the people of Israel are the worthless slag that remains after silver is smelted. They are the dross that is left over—a useless mixture of copper, tin, iron, and lead.H1121H120H1004H3478H5509H5178H913H1270H5777H8432H3564H5509H3701 19So tell them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because you are all worthless slag, I will bring you to my crucible in Jerusalem.H559H136H3069H5509H6908H8432H3389 20Just as copper, iron, lead, and tin are melted down in a furnace, I will melt you down in the heat of my fury.H6910H3701H5178H1270H5777H913H8432H3564H5301H784H5413H6908H639H2534H3240H5413 21I will gather you together and blow the fire of my anger upon you,H3664H5301H784H5678H5413H8432 22and you will melt like silver in fierce heat. Then you will know that I, the Lord, have poured out my fury on you.’”H3701H2046H8432H3564H5413H8432H3045H3068H8210H2534 23Again a message came to me from the Lord:H1697H3068H559 24“Son of man, give the people of Israel this message: In the day of my indignation, you will be like a polluted land, a land without rain.H1121H120H559H776H2891H1656H3117H2195 25Your princes plot conspiracies just as lions stalk their prey. They devour innocent people, seizing treasures and extorting wealth. They make many widows in the land.H7195H5030H8432H7580H738H2963H2964H398H5315H3947H2633H3366H7235H490H8432 26Your priests have violated my instructions and defiled my holy things. They make no distinction between what is holy and what is not. And they do not teach my people the difference between what is ceremonially clean and unclean. They disregard my Sabbath days so that I am dishonored among them.H3548H2554H8451H2490H6944H914H6944H2455H3045H2931H2889H5956H5869H7676H2490H8432 27Your leaders are like wolves who tear apart their victims. They actually destroy people’s lives for money!H8269H7130H2061H2963H2964H8210H1818H6H5315H1214H1215 28And your prophets cover up for them by announcing false visions and making lying predictions. They say, ‘My message is from the Sovereign Lord,’ when the Lord hasn’t spoken a single word to them.H5030H2902H8602H2374H7723H7080H3577H559H559H136H3069H3068H1696 29Even common people oppress the poor, rob the needy, and deprive foreigners of justice.H5971H776H6231H6233H1497H1498H3238H6041H34H6231H1616H4941 30“I looked for someone who might rebuild the wall of righteousness that guards the land. I searched for someone to stand in the gap in the wall so I wouldn’t have to destroy the land, but I found no one.H1245H376H1443H1447H5975H6556H6440H776H7843H4672 31So now I will pour out my fury on them, consuming them with the fire of my anger. I will heap on their heads the full penalty for all their sins. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!”H8210H2195H3615H784H5678H1870H5414H7218H5002H136H3069
23This message came to me from the Lord:H1697H3068H559 2“Son of man, once there were two sisters who were daughters of the same mother.H1121H120H8147H802H1323H259H517 3They became prostitutes in Egypt. Even as young girls, they allowed men to fondle their breasts.H2181H4714H2181H5271H7699H4600H6213H1717H1331 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.H8034H170H1419H172H269H3205H1121H1323H8034H8111H170H3389H172 5“Then Oholah lusted after other lovers instead of me, and she gave her love to the Assyrian officers.H170H2181H8478H5689H157H804H7138 6They were all attractive young men, captains and commanders dressed in handsome blue, charioteers driving their horses.H3847H8504H6346H5461H2531H970H6571H7392H5483 7And so she prostituted herself with the most desirable men of Assyria, worshiping their idols and defiling herself.H5414H8457H4005H1121H804H5689H1544H2930 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.H5800H8457H4714H5271H7901H6213H1717H1331H8210H8457 9“And so I handed her over to her Assyrian lovers, whom she desired so much.H5414H3027H157H3027H1121H804H5689 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.H1540H6172H3947H1121H1323H2026H2719H8034H802H6213H8196 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.H269H172H7200H7843H5691H8457H269H2183 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.H5689H1121H804H7138H6346H5461H3847H4358H6571H7392H5483H2531H970 13I saw the way she was going, defiling herself just like her older sister.H7200H2930H8147H259H1870 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.H3254H8457H7200H582H2707H7023H6754H3778H2710H8350 15Handsome belts encircled their waists, and flowing turbans crowned their heads. They were dressed like chariot officers from the land of Babylonia.H2289H232H4975H5628H2871H7218H7991H4758H1823H1121H894H3778H776H4138 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.H4758H5869H5689H7971H4397H3778 17So they came and committed adultery with her, defiling her in the bed of love. After being defiled, however, she rejected them in disgust.H1121H894H935H4904H1730H2930H8457H2930H5315H3363 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.H1540H8457H1540H6172H5315H3363H5315H5361H269 19Yet she turned to even greater prostitution, remembering her youth when she was a prostitute in Egypt.H7235H8457H2142H3117H5271H2181H776H4714 20She lusted after lovers with genitals as large as a donkey’s and emissions like those of a horse.H5689H6370H1320H1320H2543H2231H2231H5483 21And so, Oholibah, you relived your former days as a young girl in Egypt, when you first allowed your breasts to be fondled.H6485H2154H5271H6213H1717H4714H7699H5271 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.H172H559H136H3069H5782H157H5315H5361H935H5439 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.H1121H894H3778H6489H7772H6970H1121H804H2531H970H6346H5461H7991H7121H7392H5483 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.H935H2021H7393H1534H6951H5971H7760H6793H4043H6959H5439H5414H4941H6440H8199H4941 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.H5414H7068H6213H2534H5493H639H241H319H5307H2719H3947H1121H1323H319H398H784 26They will strip you of your beautiful clothes and jewels.H6584H899H3947H8597H3627 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.H2154H7673H2184H776H4714H5375H5869H2142H4714 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.H559H136H3069H5414H3027H8130H3027H5315H5361 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.H6213H8135H3947H3018H5800H5903H6181H6172H2183H1540H2154H8457 30You brought all this on yourself by prostituting yourself to other nations, defiling yourself with all their idols.H6213H2181H310H1471H2930H1544 31Because you have followed in your sister’s footsteps, I will force you to drink the same cup of terror she drank.H1980H1870H269H5414H3563H3027 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.H559H136H3069H8354H269H3563H6013H7342H6712H3933H3557H4767 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.H4390H7943H3015H3563H8047H8077H3563H269H8111 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!H8354H4680H1633H2789H5423H7699H1696H5002H136H3069 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.”H559H136H3069H7911H7993H310H1458H5375H2154H8457 36The Lord said to me, “Son of man, you must accuse Oholah and Oholibah of all their detestable sins.H3068H559H1121H120H8199H170H172H5046H8441 37They have committed both adultery and murder—adultery by worshiping idols and murder by burning as sacrifices the children they bore to me.H5003H1818H3027H1544H5003H1121H3205H5674H402 38Furthermore, they have defiled my Temple and violated my Sabbath day!H6213H2930H4720H3117H2490H7676 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.H7819H1121H1544H935H3117H4720H2490H6213H8432H1004 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.H637H7971H582H935H4801H4397H7971H935H7364H3583H5869H5710H5716 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.H3427H3520H4296H7979H6186H6440H7760H7004H8081 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.H6963H1995H7961H582H7230H120H935H5436H5433H4057H5414H6781H3027H8597H5850H7218 43Then I said, ‘If they really want to have sex with old worn-out prostitutes like these, let them!’H559H1087H5004H2181H8457 44And that is what they did. They had sex with Oholah and Oholibah, these shameless prostitutes.H935H935H802H2181H935H170H172H2154H802 45But righteous people will judge these sister cities for what they really are—adulterers and murderers.H6662H582H8199H4941H5003H4941H8210H1818H5003H1818H3027 46“Now this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Bring an army against them and hand them over to be terrorized and plundered.H559H136H3069H5927H6951H5414H2189H957 47For their enemies will stone them and kill them with swords. They will butcher their sons and daughters and burn their homes.H6951H7275H68H1254H2719H2026H1121H1323H8313H1004H784 48In this way, I will put an end to lewdness and idolatry in the land, and my judgment will be a warning to others not to follow their wicked example.H2154H7673H776H802H3256H6213H2154 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.”H5414H2154H5375H2399H1544H3045H136H3069
Dublin, OH
, you will know that I am the Lord.”H2490
