The Two Adulterous Sisters

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

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

³and they played in Egypt, prostituting themselves from their youth. Their breasts were fondled there, and their virgin bosoms caressed.

⁴The older was named Oholah,and her sister was named Oholibah.They became Mine and gave birth to sons and daughters. As for their identities, Oholah is Samaria, and Oholibah is Jerusalem.

⁵Oholah prostituted herself while she was still Mine. She lusted after her lovers, the Assyrians—warriors

⁶clothed in blue, governors and commanders, all desirable young men, horsemen mounted on steeds.

⁷She offered sexual favors to all the elite of Assyria. She defiled herself with all the idols of those for whom she lusted.

⁸She did not give up the prostitution she began in Egypt, when men slept with her in her youth, caressed her virgin bosom, and poured out their lust upon her.

⁹Therefore I delivered her into the hands of her lovers, the Assyrians for whom she lusted.

¹⁰They exposed her nakedness, seized her sons and daughters, and put her to the sword. Thus she became a byword among women, and they executed judgment against her.

¹¹Her sister Oholibah saw this, yet in her lust and prostitution she was more depraved than her sister.

¹²She too lusted after the Assyrians—governors and commanders, warriors dressed in splendor, horsemen riding on steeds, all desirable young men.

¹³And I saw that she too had defiled herself; both of them had taken the same path.

¹⁴But Oholibah carried her prostitution even further. She saw the men portrayed on the wall, images of the Chaldeans,engraved in vermilion,

¹⁵wearing belts on their waists and flowing turbans on their heads; all of them looked like officers of the Babylonians in Chaldea,the land of their birth.

¹⁶At the sight of them, she lusted for them and sent messengers to them in Chaldea.

¹⁷Then the Babylonians came to her, to the bed of love, and in their lust they defiled her. But after she had been defiled by them, she turned away in disgust.

¹⁸When Oholibah openly prostituted herself and exposed her nakedness, I turned away from her in disgust, just as I had turned away from her sister.

¹⁹Yet she multiplied her promiscuity, remembering the days of her youth, when she had prostituted herself in the land of Egypt

²⁰and lusted after their lovers, whose genitals were like those of donkeys and whose emission was like that of stallions.

²¹So you revisited the indecency of your youth, when the Egyptians caressed your bosom and pressed your young breasts.

Oholibah to Be Plagued

²²Therefore, Oholibah, this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘I will incite your lovers against you, those from whom you turned away in disgust. And I will bring them against you from every side—

²³the Babylonians and all the Chaldeans, the men of Pekod, Shoa, and Koa, and all the Assyrians with them—all desirable young men, governors and commanders, officers and men of renown, mounted on horses.

²⁴They will come against you with a host of peoples,with weapons, chariots, and wagons. They will array themselves against you on every side with buckler and shield and helmet. I will delegate judgment to them, and they will punish you according to their own standards.

²⁵And I will set My jealous rage against you, and they will deal with you in fury. They will cut off your noses and ears, and your survivors will fall by the sword. They will seize your sons and daughters, and your remnant will be consumed by fire.

²⁶They will strip off your clothes and take your fine jewelry.

²⁷So I will put an end to your indecency and prostitution, which began in the land of Egypt, and you will not lift your eyes to them or remember Egypt anymore.’

²⁸For this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Surely I will deliver you into the hands of those you hate, from whom you turned away in disgust.

²⁹They will treat you with hatred, take all for which you have worked, and leave you naked and bare, so that the shame of your prostitution will be exposed. Your indecency and promiscuity

³⁰have brought these things upon you, because you have prostituted yourself with the nations and defiled yourself with their idols.

³¹Because you have followed the path of your sister, I will put her cup into your hand.’

³²This is what the Lord GOD says:‘You will drink your sister’s cup,a cup deep and wide.It will bring scorn and derision,for it holds so much.

³³You will be filled with drunkenness and grief,with a cup of devastation and desolation,the cup of your sister Samaria.

³⁴You will drink it and drain it;you will dash it to pieces,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 have cast Me behind your back, you must bear the consequences of your indecency and prostitution.’”

Judgment on Both Sisters

³⁶Then the LORD said to me: “Son of man, will you pass judgment against Oholah and Oholibah? Then declare to them their abominations.

³⁷For they have committed adultery, and blood is on their hands. They have committed adultery with their idols. They have even sacrificed their children, whom they bore to Me, in the fireas food for their idols.

³⁸They have also done this to Me: On that very same day, they defiled My sanctuary and profaned My Sabbaths.

³⁹On the very day they slaughtered their children for their idols, they entered My sanctuary to profane it. Yes, they did this inside My house.

⁴⁰Furthermore, you sisters sentmessengers for men who came from afar; and behold, when they arrived, you bathed for them, painted your eyes, and adorned yourself with jewelry.

⁴¹You sat on a couch of luxury with a table spread before it, on which you had set My incense and My oil,

⁴²accompanied by the sound of a carefree crowd. Drunkardswere brought in from the desert along with men from the rabble, who put bracelets on your wrists and beautiful crowns on your head.

⁴³Then I said of her who had grown old in adulteries: ‘Now let them use her as a prostitute, for that is all she is!’

⁴⁴And they slept with her as with a prostitute; they slept with Oholah and Oholibah, those lewd women.

⁴⁵But righteous men will sentence them to the punishment of those who commit adultery and bloodshed, because they are adulteresses with blood on their hands.

⁴⁶This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Bring a mob against them and consign them to terror and plunder.

⁴⁷The mob will stone them and cut them down with their swords. They will kill their sons and daughters and burn down their houses.

⁴⁸So I will put an end to indecency in the land, and all the women will be admonished not to imitate your behavior.

⁴⁹They will repay you for your indecency, and you will bear the consequences of your sins of idolatry. Then you will know that I am the Lord GOD.’”

The Parable of the Cooking Pot

¹In the ninth year, on the tenth day of the tenth month, the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

²“Son of man, write down today’s date, for on this very day the king of Babylon has laid siege to Jerusalem.

³Now speak a parable to this rebellious house and tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says:‘Put the pot on the fire;put it on and pour in the water.

⁴Put in the pieces of meat,every good piece—thigh and shoulder—fill it with choice bones.

⁵Take the choicest of the flockand pile the fuel beneath it.Bring it to a boiland cook the bones in it.’

⁶Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says:‘Woe to the city of bloodshed,to the pot now rusted,whose rust will not come off!Empty it piece by piece;cast no lots for its contents.

⁷For the blood she shed is still within her;she poured it out on the bare rock;she did not pour it on the groundto cover it with dust.

⁸In order to stir up wrathand take vengeance,I have placed her blood on the bare rock,so that it would not be covered.’

⁹Yes, this is what the Lord GOD says:‘Woe to the city of bloodshed!I, too, will pile the kindling high.

¹⁰Pile on the logs and kindle the fire;cook the meat welland mix in the spices;let the bones be burned.

¹¹Set the empty pot on its coalsuntil it becomes hot and its copper glows.Then its impurity will melt within;its rust will be consumed.

¹²It has frustrated every effort;its thick rust has not been removed,even by the fire.

¹³Because of the indecency of your uncleannessI tried to cleanse you,but you would not be purifiedfrom your filthiness.You will not be pure againuntil My wrath against you has subsided.

¹⁴I, the LORD, have spoken;the time is coming, and I will act.I will not refrain or show pity,nor will I relent.I will judge youaccording to your ways and deeds,’declares the Lord GOD.”

Ezekiel’s Wife Dies

¹⁵Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

¹⁶“Son of man, behold, I am about to take away the desire of your eyes with a fatal blow. But you must not mourn or weep or let your tears flow.

¹⁷Groan quietly; do not mourn for the dead. Put on your turban and strap your sandals on your feet; do not cover your lips or eat the bread of mourners.”

¹⁸So I spoke to the people in the morning, and in the evening my wife died. And the next morning I did as I had been commanded.

¹⁹Then the people asked me, “Won’t you tell us what these things you are doing mean to us?”

²⁰So I answered them, “The word of the LORD came to me, saying:

²¹Tell the house of Israel that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘I am about to desecrate My sanctuary, the pride of your power, the desire of your eyes, and the delight of your soul. And the sons and daughters you left behind will fall by the sword.’

²²Then you will do as I have done: You will not cover your lips or eat the bread of mourners.

²³Your turbans will remain on your heads and your sandals on your feet. You will not mourn or weep, but you will waste away because of your sins, and you will groan among yourselves.

²⁴‘Thus Ezekiel will be a sign for you; you will do everything that he has done. When this happens, you will know that I am the Lord GOD.’

²⁵And you, son of man, know that on the day I take away their stronghold, their pride and joy—the desire of their eyes which uplifted their souls—and their sons and daughters as well,

²⁶on that day a fugitive will come and tell you the news.

²⁷On that day your mouth will be opened to him who has escaped; you will speak and no longer be mute. So you will be a sign to them, and they will know that I am the LORD.”

Ezekiel Eats the Scroll

¹“Son of man,” He said to me, “eat what you find here. Eat this scroll, then go and speak to the house of Israel.”

²So I opened my mouth, and He fed me the scroll.

³“Son of man,” He said to me, “eat and fill your stomach with this scroll I am giving you.”So I ate, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth.

⁴Then He said to me, “Son of man, go now to the house of Israel and speak My words to them.

⁵For you are not being sent to a people of unfamiliar speech or difficult language, but to the house of Israel—

⁶not to the many peoples of unfamiliar speech and difficult language whose words you cannot understand. Surely if I had sent you to them, they would have listened to you.

⁷But the house of Israel will be unwilling to listen to you, since they are unwilling to listen to Me. For the whole house of Israel is hard-headed and hard-hearted.

⁸Behold, I will make your face as hard as their faces, and your forehead as hard as their foreheads.

⁹I will make your forehead like a diamond, harder than flint. Do not be afraid of them or dismayed at their presence, even though they are a rebellious house.”

¹⁰“Son of man,” He added, “listen carefully to all the words I speak to you, and take them to heart.

¹¹Go to your people, the exiles; speak to them and tell them, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says,’ whether they listen or refuse to listen.”

¹²Then the Spiritlifted me up, and I heard a great rumbling sound behind me: “Blessed be the glory of the LORD in His dwelling place!”

¹³It was the sound of the wings of the living creatures brushing against one another and the sound of the wheels beside them, a great rumbling sound.

¹⁴So the Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness and in the anger of my spirit, with the strong hand of the LORD upon me.

¹⁵I came to the exiles at Tel-abib who dwelt by the River Kebar. And for seven days I sat where they sat and remained there among them, overwhelmed.

A Watchman for Israel

¹⁶At the end of seven days the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

¹⁷“Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from My mouth, give them a warning from Me.

¹⁸If I say to the wicked man, ‘You will surely die,’ but you do not warn him or speak out to warn him from his wicked way to save his life, that wicked man will die in his iniquity,and I will hold you responsible for his blood.

¹⁹But if you warn a wicked man and he does not turn from his wickedness and his wicked way, he will die in his iniquity, but you will have saved yourself.

²⁰Now if a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and I put a stumbling block before him, he will die. If you did not warn him, he will die in his sin,and the righteous acts he did will not be remembered. And I will hold you responsible for his blood.

²¹But if you warn the righteous man not to sin, and he does not sin, he will indeed live because he heeded your warning, and you will have saved yourself.”

²²And there the hand of the LORD was upon me, and He said to me, “Get up, go out to the plain, and there I will speak with you.”

²³So I got up and went out to the plain, and behold, the glory of the LORD was present there, like the glory I had seen by the River Kebar, and I fell facedown.

²⁴Then the Spirit entered me and set me on my feet. He spoke with me and said, “Go, shut yourself inside your house.

²⁵And you, son of man, they will tie with ropes, and you will be bound so that you cannot go out among the people.

²⁶I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth, and you will be silent and unable to rebuke them, though they are a rebellious house.

²⁷But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you are to tell them, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says.’ Whoever listens, let him listen; and whoever refuses, let him refuse, for they are a rebellious house.

Give Thanks to the LORD, for He Is Good

¹Hallelujah!Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good;His loving devotion endures forever.

²Who can describe the mighty acts of the LORDor fully proclaim His praise?

³Blessed are those who uphold justice,who practice righteousness at all times.

⁴Remember me, O LORD, in Your favor to Your people;visit me with Your salvation,

⁵that I may see the prosperity of Your chosen ones,and rejoice in the gladness of Your nation,and give glory with Your inheritance.

⁶We have sinned like our fathers;we have done wrong and acted wickedly.

⁷Our fathers in Egypt did not grasp Your wondersor remember Your abundant kindness;but they rebelled by the sea,there at the Red Sea.

⁸Yet He saved them for the sake of His name,to make His power known.

⁹He rebuked the Red Sea, and it dried up;He led them through the depths as through a desert.

¹⁰He saved them from the hand that hated them;He redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.

¹¹The waters covered their foes;not one of them remained.

¹²Then they believed His promisesand sang His praise.

¹³Yet they soon forgot His worksand failed to wait for His counsel.

¹⁴They craved intensely in the wildernessand tested God in the desert.

¹⁵So He granted their request,but sent a wasting disease upon them.

¹⁶In the camp they envied Moses,as well as Aaron, the holy one of the LORD.

¹⁷The earth opened up and swallowed Dathan;it covered the assembly of Abiram.

¹⁸Then fire blazed through their company;flames consumed the wicked.

¹⁹At Horebthey made a calfand worshiped a molten image.

²⁰They exchanged their Gloryfor the image of a grass-eating ox.

²¹They forgot God their Savior,who did great things in Egypt,

²²wondrous works in the land of Ham,and awesome deeds by the Red Sea.

²³So He said He would destroy them—had not Moses His chosen onestood before Him in the breachto divert His wrath from destroying them.

²⁴They despised the pleasant land;they did not believe His promise.

²⁵They grumbled in their tentsand did not listen to the voice of the LORD.

²⁶So He raised His hand and sworeto cast them down in the wilderness,

²⁷to dispersetheir offspring among the nationsand scatter them throughout the lands.

²⁸They yoked themselves to Baal of Peorand ate sacrifices offered to lifeless gods.

²⁹So they provoked the LORD to anger with their deeds,and a plague broke out among them.

³⁰But Phinehas stood and intervened,and the plague was restrained.

³¹It was credited to him as righteousnessfor endless generations to come.

³²At the waters of Meribahthey angered the LORD,and trouble came to Moses because of them.

³³For they rebelled against His Spirit,and Moses spoke rashly with his lips.

³⁴They did not destroy the peoplesas the LORD had commanded them,

³⁵but they mingled with the nationsand adopted their customs.

³⁶They worshiped their idols,which became a snare to them.

³⁷They sacrificed their sonsand their daughters to demons.

³⁸They shed innocent blood—the blood of their sons and daughters,whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan,and the land was polluted with blood.

³⁹They defiled themselves by their actionsand prostituted themselves by their deeds.

⁴⁰So the anger of the LORD burned against His people,and He abhorred His own inheritance.

⁴¹He delivered them into the hand of the nations,and those who hated them ruled over them.

⁴²Their enemies oppressed themand subdued them under their hand.

⁴³Many times He rescued them,but they were bent on rebellionand sank down in their iniquity.

⁴⁴Nevertheless He heard their cry;He took note of their distress.

⁴⁵And He remembered His covenant with them,and relented by the abundance of His loving devotion.

⁴⁶He made them objects of compassionto all who held them captive.

⁴⁷Save us, O LORD our God,and gather us from the nations,that we may give thanks to Your holy name,that we may glory in Your praise.

⁴⁸Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel,from everlasting to everlasting.Let all the people say, “Amen!”Hallelujah!