1 T he word of the Lord came again unto me, saying,

The Word of the Lord came to me saying,

2 S on of man, there were two women, the daughters of one mother:

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

3 A nd they committed whoredoms in Egypt; they committed whoredoms in their youth: there were their breasts pressed, and there they bruised the teats of their virginity.

They sold the use of their bodies in Egypt, and did so when they were young. Their breasts were lain upon in that land. Their breasts, which had never before been held by a man, were held.

4 A nd the names of them were Aholah the elder, and Aholibah her sister: and they were mine, and they bare sons and daughters. Thus were their names; Samaria is Aholah, and Jerusalem Aholibah.

The name of the older sister was Oholah, and her younger sister was Oholibah. They became Mine and gave birth to sons and daughters. Oholah is Samaria, and Oholibah is Jerusalem. The Older Sister—Samaria

5 A nd Aholah played the harlot when she was mine; and she doted on her lovers, on the Assyrians her neighbours,

“Oholah sold the use of her body while she was Mine. She was full of desire for her lovers, the Assyrians who lived near her

6 W hich were clothed with blue, captains and rulers, all of them desirable young men, horsemen riding upon horses.

who were dressed in purple. They were rulers and leaders, all of them good-looking young men who rode on horses.

7 T hus she committed her whoredoms with them, with all them that were the chosen men of Assyria, and with all on whom she doted: with all their idols she defiled herself.

She gave her body to them for sex. They were all the best men of Assyria. And she also sinned by worshiping the false gods of all the men she desired.

8 N either left she her whoredoms brought from Egypt: for in her youth they lay with her, and they bruised the breasts of her virginity, and poured their whoredom upon her.

She did not turn away from her sex sins she had begun in Egypt. Men had lain with her since she was young. They had held her young breasts and used her to fill their desire.

9 W herefore I have delivered her into the hand of her lovers, into the hand of the Assyrians, upon whom she doted.

So I gave her over to her lovers the Assyrians whom she desired.

10 T hese discovered her nakedness: they took her sons and her daughters, and slew her with the sword: and she became famous among women; for they had executed judgment upon her.

They took off her clothes. They took her sons and daughters. But they killed her with the sword. So she became a saying among women, because she was punished. The Younger Sister—Jerusalem

11 A nd when her sister Aholibah saw this, she was more corrupt in her inordinate love than she, and in her whoredoms more than her sister in her whoredoms.

“Her sister Oholibah saw this, but she was more sinful in her desire for sex than Oholah. Her sex sins were worse than those of her sister.

12 S he doted upon the Assyrians her neighbours, captains and rulers clothed most gorgeously, horsemen riding upon horses, all of them desirable young men.

She wanted to have the Assyrians, rulers and leaders, men who were well dressed, those who rode on horses, all those good looking young men.

13 T hen I saw that she was defiled, that they took both one way,

And I saw that she was sinful. Both sisters went the same way.

14 A nd that she increased her whoredoms: for when she saw men pourtrayed upon the wall, the images of the Chaldeans pourtrayed with vermilion,

But she did even more sex sins. She saw pictures of men on the wall, pictures of Babylonians drawn in bright red.

15 G irded with girdles upon their loins, exceeding in dyed attire upon their heads, all of them princes to look to, after the manner of the Babylonians of Chaldea, the land of their nativity:

They had belts around them, and flowing head-coverings. All of them looked like Babylonian captains who were born in Chaldea.

16 A nd as soon as she saw them with her eyes, she doted upon them, and sent messengers unto them into Chaldea.

And when she saw them, she had a desire for sex with them, and sent word to them in Chaldea.

17 A nd the Babylonians came to her into the bed of love, and they defiled her with their whoredom, and she was polluted with them, and her mind was alienated from them.

The Babylonians came to her, to the bed of love. They made her sinful with their desire. And after she had had sex with them, she became sick of them.

18 S o she discovered her whoredoms, and discovered her nakedness: then my mind was alienated from her, like as my mind was alienated from her sister.

When she let her sins and her body be seen, I turned away from her in anger, as I had turned from her sister.

19 Y et she multiplied her whoredoms, in calling to remembrance the days of her youth, wherein she had played the harlot in the land of Egypt.

Yet she did even more sex sins. She remembered when she was young, when she sold the use of her body in the land of Egypt.

20 F or she doted upon their paramours, whose flesh is as the flesh of asses, and whose issue is like the issue of horses.

She was full of desire for lovers whose flesh was like those of donkeys, and whose flow was like that of horses.

21 T hus thou calledst to remembrance the lewdness of thy youth, in bruising thy teats by the Egyptians for the paps of thy youth.

Oholibah, you were filled with desire for the sex sins you did when you were young, when the Egyptians held your breasts. Jerusalem Is Judged

22 T herefore, O Aholibah, thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will raise up thy lovers against thee, from whom thy mind is alienated, and I will bring them against thee on every side;

“So, Oholibah, the Lord God says, ‘I will bring your lovers against you, those you turned away from. I will bring them against you from every side:

23 T he Babylonians, and all the Chaldeans, Pekod, and Shoa, and Koa, and all the Assyrians with them: all of them desirable young men, captains and rulers, great lords and renowned, all of them riding upon horses.

Babylonians and all the Chaldeans, Pekod, Shoa, Koa, and all the Assyrians with them, good looking young men, all of them rulers, leaders, captains, and men who are well-known, all of them riding on horses.

24 A nd they shall come against thee with chariots, wagons, and wheels, and with an assembly of people, which shall set against thee buckler and shield and helmet round about: and I will set judgment before them, and they shall judge thee according to their judgments.

They will come against you from the north, with war-wagons and an army of people. They will come against you on every side with battlecoverings and head-coverings. And I will let them punish you. They will punish you in their own way.

25 A nd I will set my jealousy against thee, and they shall deal furiously with thee: they shall take away thy nose and thine ears; and thy remnant shall fall by the sword: they shall take thy sons and thy daughters; and thy residue shall be devoured by the fire.

Because of My jealous anger, I will let them act toward you in anger. They will cut off your nose and ears, and any people who are left will be killed by the sword. They will take your sons and daughters, and any yet left will be burned in the fire.

26 T hey shall also strip thee out of thy clothes, and take away thy fair jewels.

They will take away your clothes and take away the beautiful objects you wear.

27 T hus will I make thy lewdness to cease from thee, and thy whoredom brought from the land of Egypt: so that thou shalt not lift up thine eyes unto them, nor remember Egypt any more.

So I will put an end to the sex sins you brought from the land of Egypt. You will never again look at these things with desire or remember Egypt.’

28 F or thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will deliver thee into the hand of them whom thou hatest, into the hand of them from whom thy mind is alienated:

For the Lord God says, ‘I will give you over to those you hate, to the men you turned away from.

29 A nd they shall deal with thee hatefully, and shall take away all thy labour, and shall leave thee naked and bare: and the nakedness of thy whoredoms shall be discovered, both thy lewdness and thy whoredoms.

And because they hate you, they will take away everything you own and leave you without clothing. Then your body without clothes will be seen as a sinful woman.

30 I will do these things unto thee, because thou hast gone a whoring after the heathen, and because thou art polluted with their idols.

These things will be done to you because you have sold the use of your body to the nations, and because you have made yourself sinful with their false gods.

31 T hou hast walked in the way of thy sister; therefore will I give her cup into thine hand.

You have followed the way of your sister, so I will give you the same cup of punishment to drink.’

32 T hus saith the Lord God; Thou shalt drink of thy sister's cup deep and large: thou shalt be laughed to scorn and had in derision; it containeth much.

The Lord God says, ‘You will drink your sister’s cup, which is deep and wide. You will be laughed at and made fun of, for it holds much.

33 T hou shalt be filled with drunkenness and sorrow, with the cup of astonishment and desolation, with the cup of thy sister Samaria.

You will become drunk and filled with sorrow, with the cup of fear and waste, with the cup of your sister Samaria.

34 T hou shalt even drink it and suck it out, and thou shalt break the sherds thereof, and pluck off thine own breasts: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord God.

You will drink it until it is empty. Then you will chew its pieces and tear your breasts, for I have spoken,’ says the Lord God.

35 T herefore thus saith the Lord God; Because thou hast forgotten me, and cast me behind thy back, therefore bear thou also thy lewdness and thy whoredoms.

So the Lord God says, ‘Because you have forgotten Me and put Me behind your back, now suffer the punishment of your sex sins.’” Both Sisters Are Judged

36 T he Lord said moreover unto me; Son of man, wilt thou judge Aholah and Aholibah? yea, declare unto them their abominations;

The Lord said to me, “Son of man, will you judge Oholah and Oholibah? Make them know their sinful acts.

37 T hat they have committed adultery, and blood is in their hands, and with their idols have they committed adultery, and have also caused their sons, whom they bare unto me, to pass for them through the fire, to devour them.

For they have not been faithful to Me, and blood is on their hands. They have left Me for their false gods. And they gave their sons to these false gods as burnt gifts, the sons they had given to Me at birth.

38 M oreover this they have done unto me: they have defiled my sanctuary in the same day, and have profaned my sabbaths.

That is not all they did. At that same time they have not kept My holy place and My Days of Rest holy.

39 F or when they had slain their children to their idols, then they came the same day into my sanctuary to profane it; and, lo, thus have they done in the midst of mine house.

When they had killed their children for their false gods, they went into My holy place on the same day to make it unclean. This is what they did within My house.

40 A nd furthermore, that ye have sent for men to come from far, unto whom a messenger was sent; and, lo, they came: for whom thou didst wash thyself, paintedst thy eyes, and deckedst thyself with ornaments,

They even sent for men who came from far away. And when they came, you washed yourselves, colored your eyes, and put on beautiful objects for them.

41 A nd satest upon a stately bed, and a table prepared before it, whereupon thou hast set mine incense and mine oil.

You sat on a beautiful seat with a table made ready in front of it on which you had set My special perfume and My oil.

42 A nd a voice of a multitude being at ease was with her: and with the men of the common sort were brought Sabeans from the wilderness, which put bracelets upon their hands, and beautiful crowns upon their heads.

The sound of a group free of care was around you. Men who drank too much were brought from the desert with men who were not important. They put beautiful objects on the women’s hands and beautiful crowns on their heads.

43 T hen said I unto her that was old in adulteries, Will they now commit whoredoms with her, and she with them?

Then I said about the one who was worn out by sex sins, ‘Will they now lie with her when she is this way?’

44 Y et they went in unto her, as they go in unto a woman that playeth the harlot: so went they in unto Aholah and unto Aholibah, the lewd women.

But they went in to her as they would go in to a woman who sells the use of her body. So they went in to Oholah and Oholibah, the sinful women.

45 A nd the righteous men, they shall judge them after the manner of adulteresses, and after the manner of women that shed blood; because they are adulteresses, and blood is in their hands.

But men who are right and good will punish them as women are punished who do sex sins and kill, because they are sinful women and blood is on their hands.

46 F or thus saith the Lord God; I will bring up a company upon them, and will give them to be removed and spoiled.

“The Lord God says, ‘Bring up a group against them to fill them with fear and to rob them.

47 A nd the company shall stone them with stones, and dispatch them with their swords; they shall slay their sons and their daughters, and burn up their houses with fire.

The group will kill them with stones and with swords. They will kill their sons and daughters and burn down their houses.

48 T hus will I cause lewdness to cease out of the land, that all women may be taught not to do after your lewdness.

So I will put an end to sex sins in the land, that all women will learn of the danger and not sin as you have done.

49 A nd they shall recompense your lewdness upon you, and ye shall bear the sins of your idols: and ye shall know that I am the Lord God.

You will suffer the penalty for your sex sins and for worshiping your false gods. Then you will know that I am the Lord God.’”