Bible in 90 Days Plan

¹Now the Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the east gate of the LORD’S house which faced eastward. And behold, there were twenty-five men at the entrance of the gate, and among them I saw Jaazaniah son of Azzur and Pelatiah son of Benaiah, leaders of the people.

²Then He said to me, “Son of man, these are the men who devise wrongdoing and give evil advice in this city,

³who say, ‘The time is not near to build houses. This city is the pot and we are the meat.’

⁴Therefore, prophesy against them, prophesy, son of man!”

⁵Then the Spirit of the LORD fell upon me, and He said to me, “Say, ‘This is what the LORD says: “This is how you think, house of Israel, for I know your thoughts.

⁶You have multiplied your slain in this city, and filled its streets with them.”

⁷Therefore, this is what the Lord GOD says: “Your slain whom you have laid in the midst of the city are the meat and this city is the pot; but I will bring you out of it.

⁸You have feared a sword; so I will bring a sword upon you,” the Lord GOD declares.

⁹“And I will bring you out of the midst of the city, and hand you over to strangers, and execute judgments against you.

¹⁰You will fall by the sword. I will judge you to the border of Israel; so you shall know that I am the LORD.

¹¹This city will not be a pot for you, nor will you be meat in the midst of it; I will judge you to the border of Israel.

¹²So you will know that I am the LORD; for you have not walked in My statutes, nor have you executed My ordinances, but you have acted in accordance with the ordinances of the nations around you.” ’ ”

¹³Now it came about, as I prophesied, that Pelatiah son of Benaiah died. Then I fell on my face and cried out with a loud voice, and said, “Oh, Lord GOD! Will You bring the remnant of Israel to a complete destruction?”

¹⁴Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

¹⁵“Son of man, your brothers, your relatives, your fellow exiles, and the entire house of Israel, all of them, are those to whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, ‘Keep far from the LORD; this land has been given to us as a possession.’

¹⁶Therefore say, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says: “Though I had removed them far away among the nations, and though I had scattered them among the countries, yet I was a sanctuary for them for a little while in the countries where they had gone.” ’

¹⁷Therefore say, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says: “I will gather you from the peoples and assemble you from the countries among which you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.” ’

¹⁸When they come there, they will remove all its detestable things and all its abominations from it.

¹⁹And I will give them one heart, and put a new spirit within them. And I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh,

²⁰so that they may walk in My statutes, and keep My ordinances and do them. Then they will be My people, and I shall be their God.

²¹But as for those whose hearts go after their detestable things and abominations, I will bring their conduct down on their heads,” declares the Lord GOD.

²²Then the cherubim lifted up their wings with the wheels beside them, and the glory of the God of Israel hovered over them.

²³The glory of the LORD went up from the midst of the city and stood over the mountain which is east of the city.

²⁴And the Spirit lifted me up and brought me in a vision by the Spirit of God to Chaldea, to the exiles. Then the vision that I had seen left me.

²⁵And I told the exiles all the things that the LORD had shown me.

¹Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

²“Son of man, you live in the midst of the rebellious house, who have eyes to see but do not see, ears to hear but do not hear; for they are a rebellious house.

³So as for you, son of man, prepare for yourself baggage for exile and go into exile by day in their sight; that is, go into exile from your place to another place in their sight. Perhaps they will understand, though they are a rebellious house.

⁴Bring your baggage out by day in their sight, as baggage for exile. Then you shall go out at evening in their sight, as those who are going into exile.

⁵Dig a hole through the wall in their sight and go out through it.

⁶Load the baggage on your shoulder in their sight and carry it out in the dark. You shall cover your face so that you cannot see the land, for I have set you as a sign to the house of Israel.”

⁷Then I did so, just as I had been commanded. By day I brought out my baggage like the baggage of an exile. Then in the evening I dug through the wall with my hands; I went out in the dark and carried the baggage on my shoulder in their sight.

⁸And in the morning the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

⁹“Son of man, has the house of Israel, the rebellious house, not said to you, ‘What are you doing?’

¹⁰Say to them, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says: “This pronouncement concerns the prince in Jerusalem as well as all the house of Israel who are in it.” ’

¹¹Say, ‘I am a sign to you. Just as I have done, so it will be done to them; they will go into exile, into captivity.’

¹²The prince who is among them will load his baggage on his shoulder in the dark and go out. They will dig a hole through the wall to bring it out through it. He will cover his face so that he cannot see the land with his eyes.

¹³I will also spread My net over him, and he will be caught in My net. And I will bring him to Babylon in the land of the Chaldeans; yet he will not see it, though he will die there.

¹⁴And I will scatter to every wind all who are around him, his helpers and all his troops; and I will draw out a sword after them.

¹⁵So they will know that I am the LORD, when I disperse them among the nations and scatter them among the countries.

¹⁶But I will spare a few of them from the sword, the famine, and plague so that they may tell of all their abominations among the nations where they go, and may know that I am the LORD.”

¹⁷Moreover, the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

¹⁸“Son of man, eat your bread with trembling, and drink your water with quivering and anxiety.

¹⁹Then say to the people of the land, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says concerning the inhabitants of Jerusalem in the land of Israel: “They will eat their bread with anxiety and drink their water with horror, because their land will be stripped of its fullness on account of the violence of all who live in it.

²⁰The inhabited cities will be in ruins, and the land will be a desolation. So you will know that I am the LORD.” ’ ”

²¹Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

²²“Son of man, what is this proverb you people have about the land of Israel, saying, ‘The days are long, and every vision fails’?

²³Therefore say to them, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says: “I will put an end to this proverb so that they will no longer use it as a proverb in Israel.” But tell them, “The days are approaching as well as the fulfillment of every vision.

²⁴For there will no longer be any false vision or deceptive divination within the house of Israel.

²⁵For I the LORD will speak whatever word I speak, and it will be performed. It will no longer be delayed, for in your days, you rebellious house, I will speak the word and perform it,” declares the Lord GOD.’ ”

²⁶Furthermore, the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

²⁷“Son of man, behold, the house of Israel is saying, ‘The vision that he sees is for many years from now, and he prophesies of times far off.’

²⁸Therefore say to them, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says: “None of My words will be delayed any longer. Whatever word I speak will be performed,” ’ ” declares the Lord GOD.

¹Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

²“Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who prophesy, and say to those who prophesy from their own inspiration, ‘Listen to the word of the LORD!

³This is what the Lord GOD says: “Woe to the foolish prophets who are following their own spirit and have seen nothing!

⁴Israel, your prophets have been like jackals among ruins.

⁵You have not gone up into the breaches, nor did you build up a stone wall around the house of Israel to stand in the battle on the day of the LORD.

⁶They see deceit and lying divination, those who are saying, ‘The LORD declares,’ when the LORD has not sent them; yet they wait for the fulfillment of their word!

⁷Did you not see a false vision and tell a lying divination when you said, ‘The LORD declares,’ but it is not I who have spoken?” ’ ”

⁸Therefore, this is what the Lord GOD says: “Because you have spoken deceit and have seen a lie, therefore behold, I am against you,” declares the Lord GOD.

⁹“So My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and utter lying divinations. They will have no place in the council of My people, nor will they be written down in the register of the house of Israel, nor will they enter the land of Israel, so that you may know that I am the Lord GOD.

¹⁰It is definitely because they have misled My people by saying, ‘Peace!’ when there is no peace. And when anyone builds a wall, behold, they plaster it over with whitewash;

¹¹so tell those who plaster it over with whitewash, that it will fall. A flooding rain will come, and you, hailstones, will fall, and a violent wind will break out.

¹²Behold, when the wall has fallen, will you not be asked, ‘Where is the plaster with which you plastered it?’ ”

¹³Therefore, this is what the Lord GOD says: “I will make a violent wind break out in My wrath. There will also be in My anger a flooding rain and hailstones to consume it in wrath.

¹⁴So I will tear down the wall which you plastered over with whitewash and hurl it down to the ground, so that its foundation is exposed; and when it falls, you will perish in its midst. And you will know that I am the LORD.

¹⁵So I will expend My wrath on the wall and on those who have plastered it over with whitewash; and I will say to you, ‘The wall is gone and those who plastered it are gone,

¹⁶along with the prophets of Israel who prophesy to Jerusalem, and who see a vision of peace for her when there is no peace,’ declares the Lord GOD.

¹⁷“Now you, son of man, set your face against the daughters of your people who are talking like prophets from their own imagination. Prophesy against them

¹⁸and say, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says: “Woe to the women who sew magic bands on all wrists and make veils for the heads of persons of every stature to capture souls! Will you capture the souls of My people, but keep the souls of others alive for yourselves?

¹⁹For handfuls of barley and pieces of bread, you have profaned Me to My people, to put to death some who should not die, and to keep others alive who should not live, by your lying to My people who listen to lies.” ’ ”

²⁰Therefore, this is what the Lord GOD says: “Behold, I am against your magic bands by which you capture souls there as birds, and I will tear them from your arms; and I will let them go, those souls whom you capture as birds.

²¹I will also tear off your veils and save My people from your hands, and they will no longer be in your hands as prey; and you will know that I am the LORD.

²²Because you disheartened the righteous with falsehood when I did not cause him pain, but you have encouraged the wicked not to turn from his wicked way to keep him alive,

²³therefore you women will no longer see deceitful visions or practice divination, and I will save My people from your hands. So you will know that I am the LORD.”

¹Then some elders of Israel came to me and sat down before me.

²And the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

³“Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their hearts and have put in front of their faces the stumbling block of their wrongdoing. Should I let Myself be consulted by them at all?

⁴Therefore speak to them and tell them, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says: “Anyone of the house of Israel who sets up his idols in his heart, puts in front of his face the stumbling block of his wrongdoing, and then comes to the prophet, I the LORD will let Myself answer him in the matter in view of the multitude of his idols,

⁵in order to take hold of the hearts of the house of Israel who have turned away from Me due to all their idols.” ’

⁶“Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says: “Repent and turn away from your idols, and turn your faces away from all your abominations.

⁷For anyone of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who reside in Israel, who deserts Me, sets up his idols in his heart, puts in front of his face the stumbling block of his wrongdoing, and then comes to the prophet to request something of Me for himself, I the LORD will let Myself answer him Myself.

⁸I will set My face against that person and make him a sign and a proverb, and I will eliminate him from among My people. So you will know that I am the LORD.

⁹“But if the prophet is persuaded so that he speaks a word, it is I, the LORD, who have persuaded that prophet; and I will stretch out My hand against him and eliminate him from among My people Israel.

¹⁰And they will bear the punishment for their wrongdoing; as the wrongdoing of the inquirer is, so the wrongdoing of the prophet will be,

¹¹in order that the house of Israel may no longer stray from Me and no longer defile themselves with all their offenses. So they will be My people, and I shall be their God,” ’ declares the Lord GOD.”

¹²Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

¹³“Son of man, if a country sins against Me by being unfaithful, and I stretch out My hand against it, destroy its supply of bread, send famine against it, and eliminate from it both human and animal life,

¹⁴even though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job were in its midst, by their own righteousness they could only save themselves,” declares the Lord GOD.

¹⁵“If I were to cause vicious animals to pass through the land and they depopulated it, and it became desolate so that no one would pass through it because of the animals,

¹⁶though these three men were in its midst, as I live,” declares the Lord GOD, “they could not save either their sons or their daughters. They alone would be saved, but the country would be desolate.

¹⁷Or if I were to bring a sword on that country and say, ‘A sword is to pass through the country,’ and I eliminated human and animal life from it,

¹⁸even though these three men were in its midst, as I live,” declares the Lord GOD, “they could not save either their sons or their daughters, but they alone would be saved.

¹⁹Or if I were to send a plague against that country and pour out My wrath on it in blood to eliminate man and animal from it,

²⁰even though Noah, Daniel, and Job were in its midst, as I live,” declares the Lord GOD, “they could not save either their son or their daughter. They would save only themselves by their righteousness.”

²¹For this is what the Lord GOD says: “How much more when I send My four severe judgments against Jerusalem: sword, famine, vicious animals, and plague to eliminate human and animal life from it!

²²Yet, behold, survivors will be left in it who will be brought out, both sons and daughters. Behold, they are going to come out to you, and you will see their conduct and actions; then you will be comforted for the disaster which I have brought against Jerusalem for everything which I have brought upon it.

²³Then they will comfort you when you see their conduct and actions, for you will know that I have not done without reason whatever I did to it,” declares the Lord GOD.

¹Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

²“Son of man, how is the wood of the vine better than any wood of a branch which is among the trees of the forest?

³Can wood be taken from it to make anything, or can even a peg be taken from it on which to hang any utensil?

⁴If it has been put into the fire for fuel, and the fire has consumed both of its ends and its middle part has been charred, is it then good for anything?

⁵Behold, while it is intact, it is not made into anything. How much less, when the fire has consumed it and it is charred, can it still be made into anything!

⁶Therefore, this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘As the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so have I given up the inhabitants of Jerusalem;

⁷and I set My face against them. Though they have come out of the fire, yet the fire will consume them. Then you will know that I am the LORD, when I set My face against them.

⁸So I will make the land desolate, because they have acted unfaithfully,’ ” declares the Lord GOD.

¹Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

²“Son of man, make known to Jerusalem her abominations,

³and say, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says to Jerusalem: “Your origin and your birth are from the land of the Canaanite; your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite.

⁴As for your birth, on the day you were born your navel cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water for cleansing; you were not rubbed with salt or even wrapped in cloths.

⁵No eye looked with pity on you to do any of these things for you, to have compassion on you. Rather you were thrown out into the open field, for you were abhorred on the day you were born.

⁶“When I passed by you and saw you squirming in your blood, I said to you while you were in your blood, ‘Live!’ Yes, I said to you while you were in your blood, ‘Live!’

⁷I made you very numerous, like plants of the field. Then you grew up, became tall and reached the age for fine jewelry; your breasts were formed and your hair had grown. Yet you were naked and bare.

⁸“Then I passed by you and saw you, and behold, you were at the time for love; so I spread My garment over you and covered your nakedness. I also swore an oath to you and entered into a covenant with you so that you became Mine,” declares the Lord GOD.

⁹“Then I bathed you with water, washed off your blood from you, and anointed you with oil.

¹⁰I also clothed you with colorfully woven cloth and put sandals of fine leather on your feet; and I wrapped you with fine linen and covered you with silk.

¹¹I adorned you with jewelry, put bracelets on your wrists, and a necklace around your neck.

¹²I also put a ring in your nose, earrings in your ears, and a beautiful crown on your head.

¹³So you were adorned with gold and silver, and your dress was of fine linen, silk, and colorfully woven cloth. You ate fine flour, honey, and oil; so you were exceedingly beautiful and advanced to royalty.

¹⁴Then your fame spread among the nations on account of your beauty, for it was perfect because of My splendor which I bestowed on you,” declares the Lord GOD.

¹⁵“But you trusted in your beauty and became unfaithful because of your fame, and you poured out your obscene practices on every passer-by to whom it might be tempting.

¹⁶You took some of your clothes, made for yourself high places of various colors, and committed prostitution on them, which should not come about nor happen.

¹⁷You also took your beautiful jewels made of My gold and of My silver, which I had given you, and made for yourself male images so that you might commit prostitution with them.

¹⁸Then you took your colorfully woven cloth and covered them, and offered My oil and My incense before them.

¹⁹Also My bread which I gave you, fine flour, oil, and honey with which I fed you, you would offer before them for a soothing aroma; so it happened,” declares the Lord GOD.

²⁰“Furthermore, you took your sons and daughters whom you had borne to Me and sacrificed them to idols to be devoured. Were your obscene practices a trivial matter?

²¹You slaughtered My children and offered them to idols by making them pass through the fire.

²²And besides all your abominations and obscene practices, you did not remember the days of your youth, when you were naked and bare and squirming in your blood.

²³“Then it came about after all your wickedness (‘Woe, woe to you!’ declares the Lord GOD),

²⁴that you built yourself a shrine and made yourself a high place in every public square.

²⁵You built yourself a high place at the beginning of every street and made your beauty abominable, and you spread your legs to every passer-by and multiplied your obscene practice.

²⁶You also committed prostitution with the Egyptians, your lustful neighbors, and multiplied your obscene practice to provoke Me to anger.

²⁷So behold, I have stretched out My hand against you and cut back your rations. And I turned you over to the desire of those who hate you, the daughters of the Philistines, who are ashamed of your outrageous conduct.

²⁸Moreover, you committed prostitution with the Assyrians because you were not satisfied; you committed prostitution with them and still were not satisfied.

²⁹You also multiplied your obscene practice with the land of merchants, Chaldea; yet even with this you were not satisfied.” ’ ”

³⁰“How feverish is your heart,” declares the Lord GOD, “while you do all these things, the action of a bold prostitute!

³¹When you built your shrine at the beginning of every street and made your high place in every public square, in spurning a prostitute’s fee, you were not like a prostitute.

³²You adulteress wife, who takes strangers instead of her husband!

³³Men give gifts to all prostitutes, but you give your gifts to all your lovers and lavish favors on them so that they will come to you from every direction for your obscene practices.

³⁴So it is the opposite for you from those women in your obscene practices, in that you are not approached for prostitution, and in the fact that you pay a prostitute’s fee, and no fee is paid to you; so you are the opposite.”

³⁵Therefore, you prostitute, hear the word of the LORD.

³⁶This is what the Lord GOD says: “Because your lewdness was poured out and your nakedness uncovered through your obscene practices with your lovers and with all your detestable idols, and because of the blood of your sons that you gave to idols,

³⁷therefore, behold, I am going to gather all your lovers whom you pleased, all those whom you loved as well as all those whom you hated. So I will gather them against you from every direction and expose your nakedness to them so that they may see all your nakedness.

³⁸So I will judge you as women who commit adultery or shed blood are judged; and I will bring on you the blood of wrath and jealousy.

³⁹I will also hand you over to your lovers, and they will tear down your shrines, demolish your high places, strip you of your clothing, take away your jewels, and will leave you naked and bare.

⁴⁰They will incite a crowd against you, and they will stone you and cut you to pieces with their swords.

⁴¹And they will burn your houses with fire and execute judgments against you in the sight of many women. Then I will put an end to your prostitution, and you will also no longer pay your lovers.

⁴²So I will satisfy My fury against you and My jealousy will leave you, and I will be pacified and no longer be angry.

⁴³Since you have not remembered the days of your youth but have caused Me unrest by all these things, behold, I in turn will bring your conduct down on your own head,” declares the Lord GOD, “so that you will not commit this outrageous sin in addition to all your other abominations.

⁴⁴“Behold, everyone who quotes proverbs will quote this proverb about you, saying, ‘Like mother, like daughter.’

⁴⁵You are the daughter of your mother, who loathed her husband and children. You are also the sister of your sisters, who loathed their husbands and children. Your mother was a Hittite and your father an Amorite.

⁴⁶Now your older sister is Samaria, who lives north of you with her daughters; and your younger sister, who lives south of you, is Sodom with her daughters.

⁴⁷Yet you have not merely walked in their ways and committed their abominations; but, as if that were too little, you also acted more corruptly in all your conduct than they.

⁴⁸As I live,” declares the Lord GOD, “Sodom, your sister and her daughters have not done as you and your daughters have done!

⁴⁹Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had arrogance, plenty of food, and carefree ease, but she did not help the poor and needy.

⁵⁰So they were haughty and committed abominations before Me. Therefore I removed them when I saw it.

⁵¹Furthermore, Samaria did not commit half of your sins, for you have multiplied your abominations more than they. So you have made your sisters appear innocent by all your abominations which you have committed.

⁵²Also, bear your disgrace in that you have made judgment favorable for your sisters. Because of your sins in which you acted more abominably than they, they are more in the right than you. Yes, be also ashamed and bear your disgrace, in that you made your sisters appear innocent.

⁵³“Nevertheless, I will restore their fortunes, the fortunes of Sodom and her daughters, the fortunes of Samaria and her daughters, and along with them your own fortunes,

⁵⁴so that you will bear your disgrace and feel ashamed for all that you have done when you become a consolation to them.

⁵⁵Your sisters, Sodom with her daughters and Samaria with her daughters, will return to their former state, and you with your daughters will also return to your former state.

⁵⁶As the name of your sister Sodom was not heard from your lips in your day of pride,

⁵⁷before your wickedness was uncovered, so now you have become the disgrace of the daughters of Edom and of all who are around her, of the daughters of the Philistines—those surrounding you who despise you.

⁵⁸You have suffered the penalty of your outrageous sin and abominations,” the LORD declares.

⁵⁹For this is what the Lord GOD says: “I will also do with you as you have done, you who have despised the oath by breaking the covenant.

⁶⁰“Nevertheless, I will remember My covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish an everlasting covenant with you.

⁶¹Then you will remember your ways and be ashamed when you receive your sisters, both your older and your younger; and I will give them to you as daughters, but not because of your covenant.

⁶²So I will establish My covenant with you, and you shall know that I am the LORD,

⁶³so that you may remember and be ashamed, and not open your mouth again because of your disgrace, when I have forgiven you for all that you have done,” the Lord GOD declares.

¹Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

²“Son of man, ask a riddle and present a parable to the house of Israel,

³saying, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says: “A great eagle with great wings, long pinions, and a full plumage of many colors came to Lebanon and took away the top of the cedar.

⁴He broke off the topmost of its young twigs and brought it to a land of merchants; he set it in a city of traders.

⁵He also took from the seed of the land and planted it in fertile soil, a meadow beside abundant waters; he set it like a willow.

⁶Then it sprouted and became a low, spreading vine with its branches turned toward him, but its roots remained under it. So it became a vine and produced shoots and sent out branches.

⁷“But there was another great eagle with great wings and much plumage; and behold, this vine turned its roots toward him and sent out its branches toward him from the beds where it was planted, so that he might water it.

⁸It was planted in good soil beside abundant waters, so that it would produce branches and bear fruit, and become a splendid vine.” ’

⁹Say, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says: “Will it thrive? Will he not pull up its roots and cut off its fruit, so that it withers—so that all its sprouting shoots wither? And neither by great strength nor by many people can it be raised from its roots again.

¹⁰Behold, though it is planted, will it thrive? Will it not completely wither as soon as the east wind strikes it—wither on the beds where it grew?” ’ ”

¹¹Moreover, the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

¹²“Say now to the rebellious house, ‘Do you not know what these things mean?’ Say, ‘Behold, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, took its king and leaders, and brought them to him in Babylon.

¹³Then he took one of the royal family and made a covenant with him, putting him under oath. He also took away the mighty of the land,

¹⁴so that the kingdom would be humbled, not exalting itself, but keeping his covenant so that it might continue.

¹⁵But he revolted against him by sending his messengers to Egypt so that they might give him horses and many troops. Will he succeed? Will he who does these things escape? Can he indeed break the covenant and escape?

¹⁶As I live,’ declares the Lord GOD, ‘In the country of the king who put him on the throne, whose oath he despised and whose covenant he broke, in Babylon he shall certainly die.

¹⁷Pharaoh with his mighty army and great contingent will not help him in the war, when they pile up assault ramps and build siege walls to eliminate many lives.

¹⁸Now he despised the oath by breaking the covenant, and behold, he pledged his allegiance, yet did all these things; he shall not escape.’ ”

¹⁹Therefore, this is what the Lord GOD says: “As I live, My oath which he despised and My covenant which he broke, I will certainly inflict on his head.

²⁰And I will spread My net over him, and he will be caught in My net. Then I will bring him to Babylon and enter into judgment with him there regarding the unfaithful act which he has committed against Me.

²¹All the choice men in all his troops will fall by the sword, and the survivors will be scattered to every wind; and you will know that I, the LORD, have spoken.”

²²This is what the Lord GOD says: “I will also take a sprig from the lofty top of the cedar and set it out; I will break off from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one, and I will plant it on a high and lofty mountain.

²³On the high mountain of Israel I will plant it, so that it may bring forth branches and bear fruit, and become a stately cedar. And birds of every kind will nest under it; they will nest in the shade of its branches.

²⁴All the trees of the field will know that I am the LORD; I bring down the high tree, exalt the low tree, dry up the green tree, and make the dry tree flourish. I am the LORD; I have spoken, and I will perform it.”

¹Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

²“What do you people mean by using this proverb about the land of Israel, saying, ‘The fathers eat sour grapes, But it is the children’s teeth that have become blunt’?

³As I live,” declares the Lord GOD, “you certainly are not going to use this proverb in Israel anymore.

⁴Behold, all souls are Mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is Mine. The soul who sins will die.

⁵“But if a man is righteous and practices justice and righteousness,

⁶if he does not eat at the mountain shrines or raise his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, or defile his neighbor’s wife or approach a woman during her menstrual period—

⁷and if a man does not oppress anyone, but restores to the debtor his pledge, does not commit robbery, but gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with clothing,

⁸and if he does not lend money at interest or take interest, if he keeps his hand from injustice and executes true justice between one person and another,

⁹if he walks in My statutes and keeps My ordinances so as to deal faithfully—he is righteous and will certainly live,” declares the Lord GOD.

¹⁰“However, he may father a violent son who sheds blood, and does any one of these things to a brother

¹¹(though he himself did not do any of these things), that is, he even eats at the mountain shrines, and defiles his neighbor’s wife,

¹²oppresses the poor and needy, commits robbery, does not restore a pledge, but raises his eyes to the idols and commits abomination,

¹³lends money at interest and takes interest; will he live? He will not live! He has committed all these abominations, he shall certainly be put to death; his blood will be on himself.

¹⁴“Now behold, he has fathered a son who saw all his father’s sins which he committed, but he has seen them and does not do likewise.

¹⁵He does not eat at the mountain shrines or raise his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel; he has not defiled his neighbor’s wife,

¹⁶nor oppressed anyone, nor retained a pledge, nor committed robbery; instead, he gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with clothing,

¹⁷he keeps his hand from the poor, does not take any kind of interest on loans, but executes My ordinances, and walks in My statutes; he will not die for his father’s guilt, he will certainly live.

¹⁸As for his father, because he practiced extortion, robbed his brother, and did what was not good among his people, behold, he will die for his guilt.

¹⁹“Yet you say, ‘Why should the son not suffer the punishment for the father’s guilt?’ When the son has practiced justice and righteousness and has kept all My statutes and done them, he shall certainly live.

²⁰The person who sins will die. A son will not suffer the punishment for the father’s guilt, nor will a father suffer the punishment for the son’s guilt; the righteousness of the righteous will be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked will be upon himself.

²¹“But if the wicked person turns from all his sins which he has committed and keeps all My statutes and practices justice and righteousness, he shall certainly live; he shall not die.

²²All his offenses which he has committed will not be remembered against him; because of his righteousness which he has practiced, he will live.

²³Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked,” declares the Lord GOD, “rather than that he would turn from his ways and live?

²⁴“But when a righteous person turns away from his righteousness, commits injustice and does according to all the abominations that the wicked person does, will he live? All his righteous deeds which he has done will not be remembered for his treachery which he has committed and his sin which he has committed; for them he will die.

²⁵Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not right.’ Hear now, house of Israel! Is My way not right? Is it not your ways that are not right?

²⁶When a righteous person turns away from his righteousness, commits injustice and dies because of it, for his injustice which he has committed he dies.

²⁷But when a wicked person turns away from his wickedness which he has committed and practices justice and righteousness, he will save his life.

²⁸Since he understood and turned away from all his offenses which he had committed, he shall certainly live; he shall not die.

²⁹But the house of Israel says, ‘The way of the Lord is not right.’ Are My ways not right, house of Israel? Is it not your ways that are not right?

³⁰“Therefore I will judge you, house of Israel, each according to his conduct,” declares the Lord GOD. “Repent and turn away from all your offenses, so that wrongdoing does not become a stumbling block to you.

³¹Hurl away from you all your offenses which you have committed and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! For why should you die, house of Israel?

³²For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies,” declares the Lord GOD. “Therefore, repent and live!”

¹“As for you, take up a song of mourning for the leaders of Israel

²and say, ‘What was your mother? A lioness among lions! She lay down among young lions, She raised her cubs.

³When she brought up one of her cubs, He became a young lion, And he learned to tear his prey; He devoured people.

⁴Then nations heard about him; He was caught in their trap, And they brought him with hooks To the land of Egypt.

⁵When she saw, as she waited, That her hope was lost, She took another of her cubs And made him a young lion.

⁶And he walked about among the lions, He became a young lion; He learned to tear his prey; He devoured people.

⁷He destroyed their palaces And laid waste their cities; And the land and its fullness were appalled Because of the sound of his roaring.

⁸Then nations set against him On every side from their provinces, And they spread their net over him; He was caught in their trap.

⁹They put him in a wooden collar with hooks And brought him to the king of Babylon; They brought him in hunting nets So that his voice would no longer be heard On the mountains of Israel.

¹⁰Your mother was like a vine in your vineyard, Planted by the waters; It was fruitful and thick with branches Because of abundant waters.

¹¹And it had strong stems fit for scepters of rulers, And its height was raised above the clouds So that it was seen in its height with the mass of its branches.

¹²But it was uprooted in fury; It was thrown down to the ground; And the east wind dried up its fruit. Its strong stem was torn out So that it withered; The fire consumed it.

¹³And now it is planted in the wilderness, In a dry and thirsty land.

¹⁴And fire has gone out from its stem; It has consumed its shoots and fruit, So that there is no strong stem in it, A scepter to rule.’ ” This is a song of mourning, and has become a song of mourning.

¹Now in the seventh year, in the fifth month, on the tenth of the month, men from the elders of Israel came to inquire of the LORD, and they sat before me.

²Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

³“Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel and say to them, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says: “Do you yourselves come to inquire of Me? As I live,” declares the Lord GOD, “I certainly will not be inquired of by you.” ’

⁴Will you judge them, will you judge them, son of man? Make known to them the abominations of their fathers;

⁵and say to them, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says: “On the day when I chose Israel and swore to the descendants of the house of Jacob and made Myself known to them in the land of Egypt, when I swore to them, saying, I am the LORD your God,

⁶on that day I swore to them, to bring them out from the land of Egypt into a land that I had selected for them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all the lands.

⁷And I said to them, ‘Throw away, each of you, the detestable things of his eyes, and do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt; I am the LORD your God.’

⁸But they rebelled against Me and were not willing to listen to Me; they did not throw away, each of them, the detestable things of their eyes, nor did they abandon the idols of Egypt. “Then I resolved to pour out My wrath on them, to use up My anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt.

⁹But I acted for the sake of My name, that it would not be defiled in the sight of the nations among whom they lived, in whose sight I made Myself known to them by bringing them out of the land of Egypt.

¹⁰So I took them out of the land of Egypt and brought them into the wilderness.

¹¹I gave them My statutes and informed them of My ordinances, which, if a person follows them, then he will live by them.

¹²Also I gave them My Sabbaths to be a sign between Me and them, so that they might know that I am the LORD who sanctifies them.

¹³But the house of Israel rebelled against Me in the wilderness. They did not walk in My statutes and they rejected My ordinances, which, if a person follows them, then he will live by them; and they greatly profaned My Sabbaths. Then I resolved to pour out My wrath on them in the wilderness, to annihilate them.

¹⁴But I acted for the sake of My name, so that it would not be defiled before the eyes of the nations, before whose eyes I had brought them out.

¹⁵Also I swore to them in the wilderness that I would not bring them into the land which I had given them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all the lands,

¹⁶because they rejected My ordinances, and as for My statutes, they did not walk in them; they also profaned My Sabbaths, because their heart continually followed their idols.

¹⁷Yet My eye spared them rather than destroying them, and I did not bring about their annihilation in the wilderness.

¹⁸“Instead, I said to their children in the wilderness, ‘Do not walk in the statutes of your fathers or keep their ordinances or defile yourselves with their idols.

¹⁹I am the LORD your God; walk in My statutes and keep My ordinances and follow them.

²⁰Sanctify My Sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between Me and you, so that you may know that I am the LORD your God.’

²¹But the children rebelled against Me; they did not walk in My statutes, nor were they careful to follow My ordinances which, if a person follows them, then he will live by them; they profaned My Sabbaths. So I resolved to pour out My wrath on them, to use up My anger against them in the wilderness.

²²But I withdrew My hand and acted for the sake of My name, so that it would not be defiled in the sight of the nations in whose sight I had brought them out.

²³Also I swore to them in the wilderness that I would scatter them among the nations and disperse them among the lands,

²⁴because they had not complied with My ordinances, but had rejected My statutes and had profaned My Sabbaths, and their eyes were on the idols of their fathers.

²⁵I also gave them statutes that were not good, and ordinances by which they could not live;

²⁶and I pronounced them unclean because of their gifts, in that they made all their firstborn pass through the fire so that I might make them desolate, in order that they might know that I am the LORD.” ’

²⁷“Therefore speak to the house of Israel, son of man, and say to them, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says: “Again, in this your fathers have blasphemed Me by being disloyal to Me.

²⁸When I had brought them into the land which I swore to give to them, then they saw every high hill and every tree thick with branches, and there they offered their sacrifices and there they presented the provocation of their offering. There also they made their soothing aroma and there they poured out their drink offerings.

²⁹Then I said to them, ‘What is the high place to which you go?’ So its name is called Bamah to this day.” ’

³⁰Therefore, say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says: “Will you defile yourselves in the way of your fathers and adulterously pursue their detestable things?

³¹And when you offer your gifts, when you make your sons pass through the fire, you are defiling yourselves with all your idols to this day. So shall I be inquired of by you, house of Israel? As I live,” declares the Lord GOD, “I certainly will not be inquired of by you.

³²And whatever comes into your mind certainly will not come about, when you say: ‘We will be like the nations, like the families of the lands, serving wood and stone.’

³³“As I live,” declares the Lord GOD, “with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm and with wrath poured out, I assuredly shall be king over you.

³⁴I will bring you out from the peoples and gather you from the lands where you are scattered, with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm and with wrath poured out;

³⁵and I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and there I will enter into judgment with you face to face.

³⁶Just as I entered into judgment with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will enter into judgment with you,” declares the Lord GOD.

³⁷“I will make you pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant;

³⁸and I will purge from you the rebels and those who revolt against Me; I will bring them out of the land where they reside, but they will not enter the land of Israel. So you will know that I am the LORD.

³⁹“As for you, house of Israel,” this is what the Lord GOD says: “Go, serve, everyone of you his idols; but later you will certainly listen to Me, and My holy name you will no longer defile with your gifts and your idols.

⁴⁰For on My holy mountain, on the high mountain of Israel,” declares the Lord GOD, “there the entire house of Israel, all of them, will serve Me in the land; there I will accept them and there I will demand your contributions and the choicest of your gifts, with all your holy things.

⁴¹As a soothing aroma I will accept you when I bring you out from the peoples and gather you from the lands where you are scattered; and I will show Myself to be holy among you in the sight of the nations.

⁴²And you will know that I am the LORD, when I bring you into the land of Israel, into the land which I swore to give to your forefathers.

⁴³And there you will remember your ways and all your deeds by which you have defiled yourselves; and you will loathe yourselves in your own sight for all the evil things that you have done.

⁴⁴Then you will know that I am the LORD, when I have dealt with you in behalf of My name, not according to your evil ways or according to your corrupt deeds, house of Israel,” declares the Lord GOD.’ ”

⁴⁵Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

⁴⁶“Son of man, set your face toward the south, and speak prophetically against the south and prophesy against the forest land of the Negev,

⁴⁷and say to the forest of the Negev, ‘Hear the word of the LORD: this is what the Lord GOD says: “Behold, I am going to kindle a fire in you, and it will consume every green tree in you, as well as every dry tree; the blazing flame will not go out and the entire surface from south to north will be scorched by it.

⁴⁸And all mankind will see that I, the LORD, have kindled it; it will not go out.” ’ ”

⁴⁹Then I said, “Oh, Lord GOD! They are saying of me, ‘Is he not just speaking in riddles?’ ”

¹And the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

²“Son of man, set your face against Jerusalem, and speak prophetically against the sanctuaries and prophesy against the land of Israel;

³and say to the land of Israel, ‘This is what the LORD says: “Behold, I am against you; and I will draw My sword from its sheath and cut off from you the righteous and the wicked.

⁴Because I will cut off from you the righteous and the wicked, therefore My sword will go out from its sheath against humanity from south to north.

⁵So humanity will know that I, the LORD, have drawn My sword from its sheath. It will not return to its sheath again.” ’

⁶As for you, son of man, groan with a breaking heart and bitter grief; you shall groan in their sight.

⁷And when they say to you, ‘Why are you groaning?’ you shall say, ‘Because of the news, for it is coming; and every heart will melt, all hands will go limp, every spirit will be disheartened, and all knees will drip with water. Behold, it is coming and it will happen,’ declares the Lord GOD.”

⁸And the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

⁹“Son of man, prophesy and say, ‘This is what the LORD says:’ Say, ‘A sword, a sword sharpened And also polished!

¹⁰Sharpened to make a slaughter, Polished to flash like lightning!’ Or shall we rejoice, the rod of My son despising every tree?

¹¹And it is given to be polished, so that it may be handled; the sword is sharpened and polished, to hand it over to the slaughterer.

¹²Cry out and wail, son of man; for it is against My people, it is against all the officials of Israel. They are turned over to the sword with My people, therefore slap your thigh.

¹³For there is a testing; and what if even the rod which despises will cease to be?” declares the Lord GOD.

¹⁴“You therefore, son of man, prophesy and clap your hands; and let the sword be doubled the third time, the sword for the slain. It is the sword for the great one slain, which surrounds them,

¹⁵so that their hearts will waver, and many fall at all their gates. I have granted the slaughter of the sword. Oh! It is made for striking like lightning, it is sharpened in readiness for slaughter.

¹⁶Prove yourself sharp, go to the right; set yourself; go to the left, wherever your edge is ordered.

¹⁷I will also clap My hands, and I will satisfy My wrath; I, the LORD, have spoken.”

¹⁸And the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

¹⁹“Now as for you, son of man, make two ways for the sword of the king of Babylon to come; both of them will go out of one land. And make a signpost; make it at the head of the way to the city.

²⁰You shall mark a way for the sword to come to Rabbah of the sons of Ammon, and to Judah into fortified Jerusalem.

²¹For the king of Babylon stands at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination; he shakes the arrows, he consults the household idols, he looks at the liver.

²²Into his right hand came the divination, ‘Jerusalem,’ to set up battering rams, to open the mouth for slaughter, to raise the voice with a battle cry, to set up battering rams against the gates, to pile up assault ramps, to build a siege wall.

²³And it will be to them like a false divination in their eyes; they have sworn solemn oaths. But he makes guilt known, so that they may be seized.

²⁴“Therefore, this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Because you have made your guilt known, in that your offenses are uncovered, so that in all your deeds your sins are seen—because you have come to mind, you will be seized by the hand.

²⁵And you, slain, wicked one, the prince of Israel, whose day has come, in the time of the punishment of the end,’

²⁶this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Remove the turban and take off the crown; this will no longer be the same. Exalt that which is low, and humble that which is high.

²⁷Ruins, ruins, ruins, I will make it! This also will be no longer until He comes whose right it is, and I will give it to Him.’

²⁸“And you, son of man, prophesy and say, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says concerning the sons of Ammon and their taunting,’ and say: ‘A sword, a sword is drawn, sharpened for the slaughter, to make it consume, so that it may be like lightning—

²⁹while they see false visions for you, while they divine lies for you—to place you on the necks of the wicked who are killed, whose day has come, in the time of the punishment of the end.

³⁰Return it to its sheath. In the place where you were created, in the land of your origin, I will judge you.

³¹I will pour out My indignation on you; I will blow on you with the fire of My wrath, and I will hand you over to brutal men, craftsmen of destruction.

³²You will be fuel for the fire; your blood will be in the midst of the land. You will not be remembered, for I, the LORD, have spoken.’ ”

¹Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

²“And you, son of man, will you judge, will you judge the bloody city? Then inform her of all her abominations.

³And you shall say, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says: “A city shedding blood in her midst, so that her time is coming; and a city that makes idols, contrary to her own good, for defilement!

⁴You have become guilty by the blood which you have shed, and you have become defiled by your idols which you have made. So you have brought your days closer and have come to your years; therefore I have made you a disgrace to the nations, and an object of mocking to all the lands.

⁵Those who are near and those who are far from you will make fun of you, you of ill repute, full of turmoil.

⁶“Behold, the rulers of Israel, each according to his power, have been among you for the purpose of shedding blood.

⁷They have treated father and mother with contempt among you. They have oppressed the stranger in your midst; they have oppressed the orphan and the widow among you.

⁸You have despised My holy things and profaned My Sabbaths.

⁹Slanderous men have been among you for the purpose of shedding blood, and among you they have eaten at the mountain shrines. In your midst they have committed outrageous sin.

¹⁰Among you they have uncovered their fathers’ nakedness; among you they have abused her who was unclean in her menstruation.

¹¹And one has committed abomination with his neighbor’s wife, another has outrageously defiled his daughter-in-law, and another among you has sexually abused his sister, his father’s daughter.

¹²Among you they have taken bribes to shed blood; you have taken interest, you have injured your neighbors by oppression, and you have forgotten Me,” declares the Lord GOD.

¹³“Behold, then, I strike with My hand your profit which you have made and the bloodshed which is among you.

¹⁴Can your heart endure, or can your hands be strong for the days that I will deal with you? I, the LORD, have spoken and will act.

¹⁵And I will scatter you among the nations and disperse you among the lands, and I will eliminate your uncleanness from you.

¹⁶Then you will defile yourself in the sight of the nations, and you will know that I am the LORD.” ’ ”

¹⁷And the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

¹⁸“Son of man, the house of Israel has become waste metal to Me; all of them are bronze, tin, iron, and lead in the smelting furnace; they are the waste metal of silver.

¹⁹Therefore, this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Because all of you have become waste metal, therefore, behold, I am going to gather you into the midst of Jerusalem.

²⁰As they gather silver, bronze, iron, lead, and tin into the smelting furnace to blow fire on it in order to melt it, so I will gather you in My anger and in My wrath, and I will place you there and melt you.

²¹And I will gather you and blow on you with the fire of My wrath, and you will be melted in the midst of it.

²²As silver is melted in the furnace, so you will be melted in the midst of it; and you will know that I, the LORD, have poured out My wrath on you.’ ”

²³And the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

²⁴“Son of man, say to her, ‘You are a land that is not clean or rained on in the day of indignation.’

²⁵There is a conspiracy of her prophets in her midst like a roaring lion tearing the prey. They have devoured lives; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many widows in the midst of her.

²⁶Her priests have done violence to My Law and have profaned My holy things; they have made no distinction between the holy and the common, and they have not taught the difference between the unclean and the clean; and they have closed their eyes from My Sabbaths, and I am defiled among them.

²⁷Her leaders within her are like wolves tearing the prey, by shedding blood and destroying lives in order to make dishonest profit.

²⁸And her prophets have coated with whitewash for them, seeing false visions and divining lies for them, saying, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says,’ when the LORD has not spoken.

²⁹The people of the land have practiced extortion and committed robbery, and they have oppressed the poor and needy, and have oppressed the stranger without justice.

³⁰I searched for a man among them who would build up a wall and stand in the gap before Me for the land, so that I would not destroy it; but I found no one.

³¹So I have poured out My indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath; I have brought their way upon their heads,” declares the Lord GOD.

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

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

³and they prostituted themselves in Egypt. They prostituted themselves in their youth; there their breasts were squeezed and there their virgin breasts were handled.

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

⁵“Oholah prostituted herself while she was Mine; and she lusted after her lovers, after the Assyrians, her neighbors,

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

⁷She bestowed her obscene practices 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.

⁸She did not abandon her obscene practices from the time in Egypt; for in her youth men had slept with her, and they handled her virgin breasts and poured out their obscene practice on her.

⁹Therefore, I handed her over to her lovers, to the Assyrians, after whom she lusted.

¹⁰They uncovered her nakedness; they took her sons and her daughters, but they killed her with the sword. So she became a subject of gossip among women, and they executed judgments on her.

¹¹“Now her sister Oholibah saw this, yet she was more corrupt in her lust than she, and her obscene practices were more than the prostitution of her sister.

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

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

¹⁴So she increased her obscene practices. And she saw men carved on the wall, images of the Chaldeans drawn in bright red,

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

¹⁶And when she saw them she lusted after them and sent messengers to them in Chaldea.

¹⁷And the Babylonians came to her to the bed of love and defiled her with their obscene practice. And when she had been defiled by them, she turned away from them in disgust.

¹⁸She exposed her obscene practices and exposed her nakedness; then I turned away from her in disgust, just as I had turned away from her sister in disgust.

¹⁹Yet she multiplied her obscene practices, remembering the days of her youth, when she prostituted herself in the land of Egypt.

²⁰She lusted after their lovers, whose flesh is like the flesh of donkeys and whose discharge is like the discharge of horses.

²¹So you longed for the outrageous sin of your youth, when the Egyptians handled your breasts because of the breasts of your youth.

²²“Therefore, Oholibah, this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Behold I am going to incite your lovers against you, from whom you turned away in disgust, and I will bring them against you from every side:

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

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

²⁵I will set My jealousy against you, so 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 also strip you of your clothes and take away your beautiful jewelry.

²⁷So I will remove from you your outrageous sin and your prostitution that you brought from the land of Egypt, so that you will not raise your eyes to them or remember Egypt anymore.’

²⁸For this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Behold, I am going to hand you over to those whom you hate, to those from whom you turned away in disgust.

²⁹They will deal with you in hatred, take all your property, and leave you naked and bare. And the nakedness of your prostitution will be exposed, both your outrageous sin and your obscene practices.

³⁰These things will be done to you because you have adulterously pursued the nations, because you have defiled yourself with their idols.

³¹You have walked in the way of your sister; therefore I will put her cup in your hand.’

³²This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘You will drink your sister’s cup, Which is deep and wide. You will be laughed at and held in derision; Because it contains much.

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

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

³⁵Therefore, this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Because you have forgotten Me and discarded Me behind your back, suffer on your own part the punishment for your outrageous sin and your obscene practices.’ ”

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

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

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

³⁹For when they slaughtered their children for their idols, they entered My sanctuary on the same day to profane it; and behold, this is what they did within My house.

⁴⁰“Furthermore, they have even sent for men who come from a great distance, to whom a messenger was sent; and behold, they came—for whom you bathed, put makeup on your eyes, and adorned yourselves with jewelry;

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

⁴²And the sound of a carefree multitude was with her; and heavy drinkers were brought from the wilderness with people from the multitude of humanity. And they put bracelets on the wrists of the women and beautiful crowns on their heads.

⁴³“Then I said concerning her who was worn out by adulteries, ‘Will they now commit adultery with her when she is like this?’

⁴⁴But they went in to her as they would go in to a prostitute. This is how they went in to Oholah and to Oholibah, the lewd women.

⁴⁵But they, righteous people, 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“For this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Bring up a contingent against them and turn them over to terror and plunder.

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

⁴⁸So I will eliminate outrageous conduct from the land, so that all women will take warning and not commit outrageous sin as you have done.

⁴⁹Your outrageous conduct will be repaid to you, and you will bear the guilt for your idols; so you will know that I am the Lord GOD.’ ”