1The word of Jehovah came again unto me , saying , 2Son of man , there were two women , the daughters of one mother: 3and they played the harlot in Egypt ; they played the harlot in their youth ; there were their breasts pressed , and there was handled the bosom of their virginity . 4And the names of them were Oholah the elder , and Oholibah her sister: and they became mine, and they bare sons and daughters . And as for their names , Samaria is Oholah, and Jerusalem Oholibah. 5And Oholah played the harlot when she was mine ; and she doted on her lovers , on the Assyrians her neighbors , 6who were clothed with blue , governors and rulers , all of them desirable young men , horsemen riding upon horses . 7And she bestowed her whoredoms upon them , the choicest men of Assyria all of them ; and on whomsoever she doted , with all their idols she defiled herself . 8Neither hath she left her whoredoms since the days of Egypt ; for in her youth they lay with her , and they handled the bosom of her virginity ; and they poured out their whoredom upon her . 9Wherefore I delivered her into the hand of her lovers , into the hand of the Assyrians , upon whom she doted . 10These uncovered her nakedness ; they took her sons and her daughters ; and her they slew with the sword : and she became a byword among women ; for they executed judgments upon her .
The Judgment on the Sisters
11And her sister Oholibah saw this , yet was she more corrupt in her doting than she, and in her whoredoms which were more than the whoredoms of her sister. 12She doted upon the Assyrians , governors and rulers , her neighbors , clothed most gorgeously , horsemen riding upon horses , all of them desirable young men . 13And I saw that she was defiled ; they both took one way . 14And she increased her whoredoms ; for she saw men portrayed upon the wall , the images of the Chaldeans portrayed with vermilion , 15girded with girdles upon their loins , with flowing turbans upon their heads , all of them princes to look upon , after the likeness of the Babylonians in Chaldea , the land of their nativity . 16And as soon as she saw them she doted upon them , and sent messengers unto them into Chaldea . 17And 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 soul was alienated from them . 18So she uncovered her whoredoms , and uncovered her nakedness : then my soul was alienated from her , like as my soul was alienated from her sister. 19Yet she multiplied her whoredoms , remembering the days of her youth , wherein she had played the harlot in the land of Egypt . 20And she doted upon their paramours , whose flesh is as the flesh of asses , and whose issue is like the issue of horses . 21Thus thou calledst to remembrance the lewdness of thy youth , in the handling of thy bosom by the Egyptians for the breasts of thy youth .
The Decrees of Destruction
22Therefore , O Oholibah, thus saith the Lord Jehovah : Behold , I will raise up thy lovers against thee, from whom thy soul is alienated , and I will bring them against thee on every side : 23the Babylonians and all the Chaldeans , Pekod and Shoa and Koa , and all the Assyrians with them ; desirable young men , governors and rulers all of them , princes and men of renown , all of them riding upon horses . 24And they shall come against thee with weapons , chariots , and wagons , and with a company of peoples ; they shall set themselves against thee with buckler and shield and helmet round about : and I will commit the judgment unto them , and they shall judge thee according to their judgments . 25And I will set my jealousy against thee , and they shall deal with thee in fury ; they shall take away thy nose and thine ears; and thy residue shall fall by the sword : they shall take thy sons and thy daughters ; and thy residue shall be devoured by the fire. 26They shall also strip thee of thy clothes, and take away thy fair jewels . 27Thus 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 . 28For thus saith the Lord Jehovah : Behold , I will deliver thee into the hand of them whom thou hatest , into the hand of them from whom thy soul is alienated ; 29and they shall deal with thee in hatred , and shall take away all thy labor , and shall leave thee naked and bare ; and the nakedness of thy whoredoms shall be uncovered , both thy lewdness and thy whoredoms . 30These things shall be done unto thee , for that thou hast played the harlot after the nations , and because thou art polluted with their idols . 31Thou hast walked in the way of thy sister; therefore will I give her cup into thy hand . 32Thus saith the Lord Jehovah : Thou shalt drink of thy sister’s cup , which is deep and large ; thou shalt be laughed to scorn and had in derision ; it containeth much . 33Thou shalt be filled with drunkenness and sorrow , with the cup of astonishment and desolation , with the cup of thy sister Samaria . 34Thou shalt even drink it and drain it out , and thou shalt gnaw the sherds thereof, and shalt tear thy breasts ; for I have spoken it , saith the Lord Jehovah . 35Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah : Because thou hast forgotten me , and cast me behind thy back , therefore bear thou also thy lewdness and thy whoredoms .
The Call to Repentance
36Jehovah said moreover unto me : Son of man , wilt thou judge Oholah and Oholibah? then declare unto them their abominations . 37For they have committed adultery , and blood is in their hands ; and with their idols have they committed adultery ; and they have also caused their sons , whom they bare unto me , to pass through the fire unto them to be devoured. 38Moreover this they have done unto me : they have defiled my sanctuary in the same day , and have profaned my sabbaths . 39For 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 my house . 40And furthermore ye have sent for men that come from far , unto whom a messenger was sent , and , lo , they came ; for whom thou didst wash thyself, paint thine eyes , and deck thyself with ornaments , 41and sit upon a stately bed , with a table prepared before it , whereupon thou didst set mine incense and mine oil . 42And the voice of a multitude being at ease was with her : and with men of the common sort were brought drunkards from the wilderness ; and they put bracelets upon the hands of them twain , and beautiful crowns upon their heads . 43Then said I of her that was old in adulteries , Now will they play the harlot with her , and she with them . 44And they went in unto her , as they go in unto a harlot : so went they in unto Oholah and unto Oholibah, the lewd women. 45And righteous men , they shall judge them with the judgment of adulteresses , and with the judgment of women that shed blood ; because they are adulteresses , and blood is in their hands . 46For thus saith the Lord Jehovah : I will bring up a company against them , and will give them to be tossed to and fro and robbed. 47And the company shall stone them with stones, and despatch them with their swords ; they shall slay their sons and their daughters , and burn up their houses with fire. 48Thus will I cause lewdness to cease out of the land, that all women may be taught not to do after your lewdness . 49And 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 Jehovah .