Two Harlot Sisters
The word of the Lord came again to me, saying:
2 “Son of man, there were atwo women,
The daughters of one mother.
3 aThey committed harlotry in Egypt,
They committed harlotry in btheir youth;
Their breasts were there embraced,
Their virgin bosom was there pressed.
4 Their names: Oholah the elder and Oholibah aher sister;
bThey were Mine,
And they bore sons and daughters.
As for their names,
Samaria is Oholah, and Jerusalem is Oholibah.
The Older Sister, Samaria
5 “Oholah played the harlot even though she was Mine;
And she lusted for her lovers, the neighboring aAssyrians,
6 Who were clothed in purple,
Captains and rulers,
All of them desirable young men,
Horsemen riding on horses.
7 Thus she committed her harlotry with them,
All of them choice men of Assyria;
And with all for whom she lusted,
With all their idols, she defiled herself.
8 She has never given up her harlotry brought afrom Egypt,
For in her youth they had lain with her,
Pressed her virgin bosom,
And poured out their immorality upon her.
9 “Therefore I have delivered her
Into the hand of her lovers,
Into the hand of the aAssyrians,
For whom she lusted.
10 They uncovered her nakedness,
Took away her sons and daughters,
And slew her with the sword;
She became a byword among women,
For they had executed judgment on her.
The Younger Sister, Jerusalem
11 “Now aalthough her sister Oholibah saw this, bshe became more corrupt in her lust than she, and in her harlotry more corrupt than her sister’s harlotry.
12 “She lusted for the neighboring aAssyrians,
bCaptains and rulers,
Clothed most gorgeously,
Horsemen riding on horses,
All of them desirable young men.
13 Then I saw that she was defiled;
Both took the same way.
14 But she increased her harlotry;
She looked at men portrayed on the wall,
Images of aChaldeans portrayed in vermilion,
15 Girded with belts around their waists,
Flowing turbans on their heads,
All of them looking like captains,
In the manner of the Babylonians of Chaldea,
The land of their nativity.
16 aAs soon as her eyes saw them,
She lusted for them
And sent bmessengers to them in Chaldea.
17 “Then the Babylonians came to her, into the bed of love,
And they defiled her with their immorality;
So she was defiled by them, aand alienated herself from them.
18 She revealed her harlotry and uncovered her nakedness.
Then aI balienated Myself from her,
As I had alienated Myself from her sister.
19 “Yet she multiplied her harlotry
In calling to remembrance the days of her youth,
aWhen she had played the harlot in the land of Egypt.
20 For she lusted for her paramours,
Whose flesh is like the flesh of donkeys,
And whose issue is like the issue of horses.
21 Thus you called to remembrance the lewdness of your youth,
When the aEgyptians pressed your bosom
Because of your youthful breasts.
Judgment on Jerusalem
22 “Therefore, Oholibah, thus says the Lord God:
a‘Behold, I will stir up your lovers against you,
From whom you have alienated yourself,
And I will bring them against you from every side:
23 The Babylonians,
All the Chaldeans,
aPekod, Shoa, Koa,
bAll the Assyrians with them,
All of them desirable young men,
Governors and rulers,
Captains and men of renown,
All of them riding on horses.
24 And they shall come against you
With chariots, wagons, and war‑horses,
With a horde of people.
They shall array against you
Buckler, shield, and helmet all around.
‘I will delegate judgment to them,
And they shall judge you according to their judgments.
25 I will set My ajealousy against you,
And they shall deal furiously with you;
They shall remove your nose and your ears,
And your remnant shall fall by the sword;
They shall take your sons and your daughters,
And your remnant shall be devoured by fire.
26 aThey shall also strip you of your clothes
And take away your beautiful jewelry.
27 ‘Thus aI will make you cease your lewdness and your bharlotry
Brought from the land of Egypt,
So that you will not lift your eyes to them,
Nor remember Egypt anymore.’
28 “For thus says the Lord God: ‘Surely I will deliver you into the hand of athose you hate, into the hand of those bfrom whom you alienated yourself. 29 aThey will deal hatefully with you, take away all you have worked for, and bleave you naked and bare. The nakedness of your harlotry shall be uncovered, both your lewdness and your harlotry. 30 I will do these things to you because you have agone as a harlot after the Gentiles, because you have become defiled by their idols. 31 You have walked in the way of your sister; therefore I will put her acup in your hand.’
32 “Thus says the Lord God:
‘You shall drink of your sister’s cup,
The deep and wide one;
aYou shall be laughed to scorn
And held in derision;
It contains much.
33 You will be filled with drunkenness and sorrow,
The cup of horror and desolation,
The cup of your sister Samaria.
34 You shall adrink and drain it,
You shall break its shards,
And tear at your own breasts;
For I have spoken,’
Says the Lord God.
35 “Therefore thus says the Lord God:
‘Because you ahave forgotten Me and bcast Me behind your back,
Therefore you shall bear the penalty
Of your lewdness and your harlotry.’ ”
Both Sisters Judged
36 The Lord also 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 ablood is on their hands. They have committed adultery with their idols, and even sacrificed their sons bwhom they bore to Me, passing them through the fire, to devour them. 38 Moreover they have done this to Me: They have adefiled My sanctuary on the same day and bprofaned My Sabbaths. 39 For after they had slain their children for their idols, on the same day they came into My sanctuary to profane it; and indeed athus they have done in the midst of My house.
40 “Furthermore you sent for men to come from afar, ato whom a messenger was sent; and there they came. And you bwashed yourself for them, cpainted your eyes, and adorned yourself with ornaments. 41 You sat on a stately acouch, with a table prepared before it, bon which you had set My incense and My oil. 42 The sound of a carefree multitude was with her, and Sabeans were brought from the wilderness with men of the common sort, who put bracelets on their wrists and beautiful crowns on their heads. 43 Then I said concerning her who had grown old in adulteries, ‘Will they commit harlotry with her now, and she with them?’ 44 Yet they went in to her, as men go in to a woman who plays the harlot; thus they went in to Oholah and Oholibah, the lewd women. 45 But righteous men will ajudge them after the manner of adulteresses, and after the manner of women who shed blood, because they are adulteresses, and bblood is on their hands.
46 “For thus says the Lord God: a‘Bring up an assembly against them, give them up to trouble and plunder. 47 aThe assembly shall stone them with stones and execute them with their swords; bthey shall slay their sons and their daughters, and burn their houses with fire. 48 Thus aI will cause lewdness to cease from the land, bthat all women may be taught not to practice your lewdness. 49 They shall repay you for your lewdness, and you shall apay for your idolatrous sins. bThen you shall know that I am the Lord God.’ ” The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson.
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