The Abominations of the Fathers of Israel
Now it happened in the seventh year, in the fifth month, on the tenth of the month, that some of the aelders of Israel came to inquire of Yahweh and sat before me. 2 And the word of Yahweh came to me saying, 3 “Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel and say to them, ‘Thus says Lord Yahweh, “Do you come to inquire of Me? As I live,” declares Lord Yahweh, “aI will not be inquired of by you.”’ 4 Will you judge them, will you judge them, son of man? aMake them know the abominations of their fathers 5 and say to them, ‘Thus says Lord Yahweh, “On the day when I achose Israel and swore to the seed of the house of Jacob and made Myself known to them in the land of Egypt, when I swore to them, saying, bI am Yahweh your God, 6 on that day I swore to them, ato bring them out from the land of Egypt into a land that I had selected for them, bflowing with milk and honey, which is cthe glory of all lands. 7 I said to them, ‘aCast away, each of you, the detestable things of his eyes, and bdo not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt; cI am Yahweh your God.’ 8 But they arebelled against Me and were not willing to listen to Me; each one did not cast away the detestable things of their eyes, nor did they forsake the bidols of Egypt.
Then I said I would cpour out My wrath on them, to spend My anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt. 9 But I acted afor the sake of My name, that it should bnot be profaned 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. 10 So I took them out of the land of Egypt and brought them into the awilderness. 11 I gave them My astatutes and made them know My judgments, bwhich, if a man does them, he will live by them. 12 And I also gave them My sabbaths to be a asign between Me and them, that they might know that I am Yahweh who sanctifies them. 13 But the house of Israel arebelled against Me in the wilderness. They did not walk in My statutes, and they rejected My judgments, bwhich, if a man does them, he will live by them; and My csabbaths they greatly profaned. Then I said I would dpour out My wrath on them in the wilderness, to completely destroy them. 14 But I acted for the sake of My name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, before whose sight I had brought them out. 15 Also aI 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 lands, 16 because they rejected My judgments, and as for My statutes, they did not walk in them; they even profaned My sabbaths, for their aheart continually walked after their idols. 17 Yet My eye had pity on them rather than bringing them to ruin, and I did not make of them a acomplete destruction in the wilderness.
18 “I said to their achildren in the wilderness, ‘bDo not walk in the statutes of your fathers and do not keep their judgments and do not defile yourselves with their idols. 19 aI am Yahweh your God; bwalk in My statutes and keep My judgments and do them. 20 aKeep My sabbaths holy; and they shall be a sign between Me and you, that you may know that I am Yahweh your God.’ 21 But the achildren rebelled against Me; they did not walk in My statutes, nor were they careful to do My judgments, which, if a man does them, he will live by them; they profaned My sabbaths. So I said I would pour out My wrath on them, to spend My anger against them in the wilderness. 22 But I aturned back My hand and acted bfor the sake of My name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations in whose sight I had brought them out. 23 Also I swore to them in the wilderness that I would ascatter them among the nations and disperse them among the lands 24 because they had not done My judgments, but had rejected My statutes and had profaned My sabbaths, and atheir eyes were going after the idols of their fathers. 25 And I also gave them statutes that were anot good and judgments by which they could not live; 26 and I pronounced them aunclean because of their gifts, in that they bcaused all their firstborn to pass through the fire so that I might make them desolate, in order that they might cknow that I am Yahweh.”’
27 “Therefore, son of man, aspeak to the house of Israel and say to them, ‘Thus says Lord Yahweh, “Yet in this your fathers have bblasphemed Me by cacting unfaithfully against Me. 28 Indeed, I abrought them into the land which I swore to give to them, and they saw every bhigh hill and every leafy tree, and they offered there their sacrifices, and there they gave the provocation of their offering. There also they made their soothing aroma, and there they poured out their drink offerings. 29 Then I said to them, ‘What is the high place to which you are going?’ So its name is called Bamah to this day.”’ 30 Therefore, say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says Lord Yahweh, “Will you defile yourselves in the way of your afathers and play the harlot after their detestable things? 31 And when you offer your gifts, when you acause your sons to pass through the fire, you are defiling yourselves with all your idols to this day. And shall I be inquired of by you, O house of Israel? As I live,” declares Lord Yahweh, “I will not be inquired of by you. 32 And what acomes upon your spirit will not happen, when you say: ‘We will be like the nations, like the families of the lands, bto minister to wood and stone.’
Yahweh Judges His People
33 “As I live,” declares Lord Yahweh, “surely with a strong hand and with an aoutstretched arm and with wrath poured out, I shall be bking over you. 34 And I will abring you out from the peoples and gather you from the lands where you are scattered, with a strong hand and with an outstretched arm and with bwrath poured out; 35 and I will bring you into the awilderness of the peoples, and there I will enter into judgment with you face to face. 36 As I aentered into judgment with your fathers in the bwilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will enter into judgment with you,” declares Lord Yahweh. 37 “And I will make you apass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant; 38 and I will apurge from you the rebels and those who transgress against Me; I will bring them out of the land where they sojourn, but they will bnot enter the land of Israel. Thus you will know that I am Yahweh.
39 “As for you, O house of Israel,” thus says Lord Yahweh, “aGo, serve everyone his idols; but after this you will surely listen to Me, and My holy name you will bprofane no longer with your gifts and with your idols. 40 For on My holy mountain, on the high mountain of Israel,” declares Lord Yahweh, “there the whole house of Israel, aall of them, will serve Me in the land; there I will baccept them, and there I will seek your contributions and the choicest of your gifts, with all your holy things. 41 As a soothing aroma I will accept you when I abring you out from the peoples and gather you from the lands where you are scattered; and I will prove Myself bholy among you in the sight of the nations. 42 And ayou will know that I am Yahweh, bwhen I bring you onto the ground of Israel, into the cland which I swore to give to your fathers. 43 And there you will aremember your ways and all your deeds with which you have defiled yourselves; and you will bloathe yourselves to your own faces for all the evil things that you have done. 44 Then ayou will know that I am Yahweh when I have dealt with you bfor My name’s sake, not according to your evil ways or according to your corrupt deeds, O house of Israel,” declares Lord Yahweh.’”
45 Now the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, 46 “Son of man, set your face toward Teman and speak, dripping out words, against the asouth and bprophesy against the cforest land of the Negev 47 and say to the forest of the Negev, ‘Hear the word of Yahweh: thus says Lord Yahweh, “Behold, I am about to akindle a fire in you, and it will consume every green tree in you, as well as every dry tree; the blazing flame will not be quenched, and bthe whole surface from south to north will be scorched by it. 48 And all flesh will see that I, Yahweh, have made it burn; it shall anot be quenched.”’” 49 Then I said, “Ah Lord Yahweh! They are saying of me, ‘Is he not just speaking aparables?’”
The Prophecy of Yahweh’s Sword
And the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, aset your face toward Jerusalem and bspeak, dripping out words against the sanctuaries and prophesy against the land of Israel 3 and say to the land of Israel, ‘Thus says Yahweh, “Behold, aI am against you; and I will bring out My sword from its sheath and cut off from you the brighteous and the wicked. 4 Because I will cut off from you the righteous and the wicked, therefore My sword will go out from its sheath against aall flesh from south to north. 5 Thus all flesh will know that I, Yahweh, have brought out My sword from its sheath. It will anot return to its sheath again.”’ 6 Now as for you, son of man, groan with breaking heart and bitter grief, groan in their sight. 7 And it will be that when they say to you, ‘Why do you groan?’ you shall say, ‘Because of the areport that is coming; and bevery heart will melt, all hands will fall limp, every spirit will faint, and all knees will be weak as water. Behold, it is coming, and it will happen,’ declares Lord Yahweh.”
8 Again the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, 9 “Son of man, prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the Lord.’ Say,
‘aA sword, a sword sharpened
And also polished!
10 Sharpened to make a aslaughter,
Polished to flash like lightning!’
Or shall we rejoice in the scepter of My son? The sword bdespises every tree. 11 It is given to be polished, that it may be seized by the hand; the sword is sharpened and polished, to give it into the hand of the one who kills. 12 aCry out and wail, son of man; for it is against My people; it is against all the bprinces of Israel. They are delivered over to the sword with My people; therefore slap your thigh. 13 For there is a testing; and what if even the scepter which the sword despises will be no more?” declares Lord Yahweh.
14 “You therefore, son of man, prophesy and strike your hands together; and let the sword be adoubled the third time, the sword for the slain. It is the sword for the great one slain, which surrounds them, 15 that their ahearts may melt, and many will be bstumbling blocks at all their cgates. I have given the glittering sword. Ah! It is made for striking like lightning, it is wrapped up in readiness for slaughter. 16 Show yourself sharp, go to the right; set yourself; go to the left, wherever your edge is appointed. 17 And I will also strike My hands together, and I will acause My wrath to be at rest; I, Yahweh, have spoken.”
A Sword for Slaughter
18 And the word of Yahweh came to me saying, 19 “Now as for you, son of man, amake 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. 20 You shall mark a way for the sword to come to aRabbah of the sons of Ammon and to Judah into bfortified Jerusalem. 21 For the king of Babylon stands at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use adivination; he bshakes the arrows; he asks the chousehold idols; he looks at the liver. 22 Into his right hand came the divination, ‘Jerusalem,’ to aset battering rams, to open the mouth for killing, to lift up the voice with a shout of war, to set battering rams against the gates, to cast up ramps, to build a siege wall. 23 And it will be to them like a worthless divination in their eyes; athey have sworn solemn oaths. But he bbrings iniquity to remembrance, that they may be seized.
24 “Therefore, thus says Lord Yahweh, ‘Because you have made your iniquity to be remembered, in that your transgressions are uncovered, so that in all your deeds your sins appear—because you have come to remembrance, you will be seized with the hand. 25 And you, O slain, wicked one, the prince of Israel, whose aday has come, in the time of the iniquity of the end,’ 26 thus says Lord Yahweh, ‘Remove the turban and take off the acrown; this will no longer be the same. bMake high that which is low and make low that which is high. 27 aA ruin, a ruin, a ruin, I will make it. This also will be no more until bHe comes to whom the legal judgment belongs, and I will give it to Him.’
28 “Now as for you, son of man, prophesy and say, ‘Thus says Lord Yahweh concerning the sons of Ammon and concerning their areproach,’ and say: ‘A sword, a sword is drawn, polished for the slaughter, to cause it to bconsume, that it may be like lightning— 29 while they behold for you aworthless visions, while they divine lies for you—to place you on the necks of the wicked who are slain, whose day has come, in the btime of the iniquity of the end. 30 aReturn it to its sheath. In the bplace where you were created, in the land of your origin, I will judge you. 31 And I will apour out My indignation on you; I will bblow on you with the fire of My fury, and I will give you into the hand of brutal men, ccraftsmen of destruction. 32 You will be afuel for the fire; your blood will be in the midst of the land. You will bnot be remembered, for I, Yahweh, have spoken.’”
The Abominations of Israel
Then the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, 2 “Now as for you, son of man, will you judge, will you judge the city of blood? Then you shall cause her to know all her abominations. 3 And you shall say, ‘Thus says Lord Yahweh, “A city ashedding blood in her midst, so that her time will come; and she makes idols against herself for defilement! 4 You have become aguilty by the blood which you have shed, and defiled by your idols which you have made. Thus you have brought your day near and have come to your years; therefore I have made you a breproach to the nations and a mocking to all the lands. 5 Those who are near and those who are far from you will mock you, you of unclean name, full of aturmoil.
6 “Behold, the aprinces of Israel, each according to his power, have been in you for the purpose of shedding blood. 7 They have atreated father and mother with contempt within you. The bsojourner they have oppressed in your midst; the cfatherless and the widow they have mistreated in you. 8 You have adespised My holy things and bprofaned My sabbaths. 9 Slanderous men have been in you for the purpose of shedding blood, and in you they have eaten at the mountain shrines. In your midst they have adone acts of lewdness. 10 In you they have auncovered their fathers’ nakedness; in you they have humbled her who was bunclean in her menstrual impurity. 11 One has also done what is an abomination with his aneighbor’s wife, and another has lewdly defiled his bdaughter-in-law. And another in you has cviolated his sister, his father’s daughter. 12 In you they have ataken bribes for the purpose of shedding blood; you have taken binterest and profits, and you have injured your neighbors for gain by coppression, and you have dforgotten Me,” declares Lord Yahweh.
13 “Now behold, I have struck My hand at your agreedy gain which you have acquired and at the bloodshed which is among you. 14 Can ayour heart stand, or can your hands be strong in the days that I will act against you? bI, Yahweh, have spoken and will act. 15 I will ascatter you among the nations, and I will disperse you through the lands, and I will bput an end to your uncleanness from you. 16 You will profane yourself in the sight of the nations, and you will aknow that I am Yahweh.”’”
17 And the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, 18 “Son of man, the house of Israel has become adross to Me; all of them are bbronze and tin and iron and lead in the cfurnace; they are the dross of silver. 19 Therefore, thus says Lord Yahweh, ‘Because all of you have become dross, therefore, behold, I am going to gather you into the midst of Jerusalem. 20 As they gather silver and bronze and iron and lead and tin into the afurnace 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 lay you there and melt you. 21 And I will collect you together and blow on you with the fire of My fury, and you will be melted in the midst of it. 22 As silver is melted in the furnace, so you will be melted in the midst of it; and you will know that I, Yahweh, have apoured out My wrath on you.’”
23 And the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, 24 “Son of man, say to her, ‘You are a land that is anot cleansed or rained on in the day of indignation.’ 25 There is a aconspiracy of her prophets in her midst like a roaring lion tearing the prey. They have bdevoured lives; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many cwidows in the midst of her. 26 Her apriests have done violence to My law and have bprofaned My holy things; they have made no cseparation between the holy and the profane, and they have not made known the difference between the dunclean and the clean; and they hide their eyes from My sabbaths, and I am profaned among them. 27 Her princes within her are like wolves tearing the prey by shedding blood and adestroying lives in order to get bgreedy gain. 28 And her prophets have smeared whitewash for them, beholding aworthless visions and divining lies for them, saying, ‘Thus says Lord Yahweh,’ when Yahweh has not spoken. 29 The people of the land have practiced aoppression and committed robbery, and they have mistreated the afflicted and needy and have boppressed the sojourner without justice. 30 And I asearched for a man among them who would bbuild up the wall and cstand in the breach before Me for the land, so that I would not bring it to ruin; but I found no one. 31 Thus I have poured out My aindignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of My fury; btheir way I have brought upon their heads,” declares Lord Yahweh.
The Harlotries of Oholah and Oholibah
The word of Yahweh came to me again, saying, 2 “Son of man, there were atwo women, the daughters of one mother; 3 and they played the harlot in Egypt. They aplayed the harlot in their youth; there their breasts were pressed, and there their virgin bosom was handled. 4 Their names were Oholah the elder and Oholibah her sister. And they became Mine, and they bore sons and daughters. And as for their names, Samaria is Oholah and Jerusalem is Oholibah.
5 “Oholah played the harlot while she was Mine; and she lusted after her lovers, after the aAssyrians, her neighbors, 6 who were clothed in purple, agovernors and officials, all of them desirable young men, horsemen riding on horses. 7 She gave her harlotries to them, all of them the choicest men of Assyria; and with all whom she lusted after, with all their idols she adefiled herself. 8 She did not forsake her harlotries afrom the time in Egypt; for in her youth men had lain with her, and they handled her virgin bosom and poured out their harlotry on her. 9 Therefore, I gave her into the hand of her alovers, into the hand of the Assyrians, after whom she lusted. 10 They auncovered her nakedness; they took her sons and her daughters, but they killed her with the sword. Thus she became a despised name among women, and they executed judgments on her.
11 “Now her sister Oholibah saw this, yet she was amore corrupt in her lust than she, and her harlotries were more than the harlotries of her sister. 12 She lusted after the aAssyrians, governors and officials, the ones near, magnificently dressed, horsemen riding on horses, all of them desirable choice men. 13 And I saw that she had defiled herself; they both took the same way. 14 So she increased her harlotries. And she saw men aportrayed on the wall, images of the bChaldeans portrayed with vermilion, 15 girded with belts on their loins, with flowing turbans on their heads, all of them looking like officers, in the likeness of the Babylonians in Chaldea, the land of their birth. 16 And she saw them and alusted after them and sent messengers to them in Chaldea. 17 So the aBabylonians came to her to the bed of love and defiled her with their harlotry. Then she became defiled by them, and her soul became disgusted with them. 18 And she auncovered her harlotries and uncovered her nakedness; then My soul became bdisgusted with her, as My soul had become disgusted with her csister. 19 Yet she multiplied her harlotries, remembering the days of her youth, when she played the harlot in the land of Egypt. 20 She alusted after their paramours, whose flesh is like the flesh of donkeys and whose issue is like the issue of horses. 21 Thus you longed for the alewdness of your youth, when the Egyptians handled your bosom because of the breasts of your youth.
22 “Therefore, O Oholibah, thus says Lord Yahweh, ‘Behold, I will arouse your lovers against you, those with whom your soul was disgusted, and I will bring them against you from every side: 23 the aBabylonians and all the bChaldeans, cPekod and Shoa and Koa, and all the dAssyrians with them; desirable choice men, governors and officials, all of them, officers and men of renown, all of them riding on horses. 24 They will come against you with weapons, achariots and wagons, and with an assembly of peoples. They will set themselves against you on every side with large shield and shield and helmet; and I will give the bjudgment to them, and they will judge you according to their judgments. 25 And I will set My ajealousy against you, that they may deal with you in wrath. They will remove your nose and your ears; and your survivors will fall by the sword. They will take your bsons and your daughters; and your survivors will be consumed by the fire. 26 They will also astrip you of your clothes and take away your bbeautiful jewelry. 27 Thus aI will make your lewdness and your harlotry brought from the land of Egypt to cease from you, so that you will not lift up your eyes to them or remember Egypt anymore.’ 28 For thus says Lord Yahweh, ‘Behold, I will give you into the hand of those whom you ahate, into the hand of those with whom your soul was disgusted. 29 They will adeal with you in hatred, take all the fruit of your labor, and leave you naked and bare. And the nakedness of your harlotries will be uncovered, both your lewdness and your harlotries. 30 These things will be done to you because you have aplayed the harlot with the nations, because you have defiled yourself with their idols. 31 You have walked in the way of your sister; therefore I will give aher cup into your hand.’ 32 Thus says Lord Yahweh,
‘You will adrink your sister’s cup,
Which is deep and wide.
You will be blaughed at and held in derision;
It contains much.
33 You will be filled with adrunkenness and sorrow,
The cup of horror and desolation,
The cup of your sister Samaria.
34 You will adrink it and drain it.
Then you will gnaw its fragments
And tear your breasts;
for I have spoken,’ declares Lord Yahweh. 35 Therefore, thus says Lord Yahweh, ‘Because you have aforgotten Me and bcast Me behind your back, bear now the punishment of your lewdness and your harlotries.’”
36 Moreover, Yahweh said to me, “Son of man, will you ajudge Oholah and Oholibah? Then bdeclare to them their abominations. 37 For they have committed adultery, and blood is on their hands. Thus they have committed adultery with their idols and even caused their sons, awhom they bore to Me, to pass through the fire to them as food. 38 Again, they have done this to Me: they have adefiled My sanctuary on the same day and have bprofaned My sabbaths. 39 For when they had slaughtered their children for their idols, they entered My asanctuary on the same day to profane it; and behold, thus they did within My house.
40 “Furthermore, they have even sent for men who come from afar, to whom a messenger was sent; and behold, they came—for whom you bathed, apainted your eyes, and bdecorated yourselves with ornaments; 41 and you sat on a splendid acouch with a btable arranged before it on which you had set My cincense and My coil. 42 The sound of a multitude aat ease was with her; and bdrunkards were brought from the wilderness with men of the common sort. And they put cbracelets on the hands of the women and beautiful crowns on their heads.
43 “Then I said concerning her who was aworn out by adulteries, ‘Will they now commit harlotry with her when she is thus?’ 44 But they went in to her as they would go in to a harlot. Thus they went in to Oholah and to Oholibah, the lewd women. 45 But they, righteous men, will ajudge 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 thus says Lord Yahweh, ‘Bring up an assembly against them and give them over to aterror and plunder. 47 The assembly will astone them with stones and cut them down with their swords; they will kill their sons and their daughters and bburn their houses with fire. 48 Thus I will make lewdness cease from the land, that all women may be chastised and not commit lewdness as you have done. 49 Your lewdness will be arequited upon you, and you will bear the sin of worshiping your idols; thus you will know that I am Lord Yahweh.’”