| New Living Translation | NET Bible |
| 1This message came to me from the LORD: | 1The word of the LORD came to me: |
| 2“Son of man, once there were two sisters who were daughters of the same mother. | 2"Son of man, there were two women who were daughters of the same mother. |
| 3They became prostitutes in Egypt. Even as young girls, they allowed men to fondle their breasts. | 3They engaged in prostitution in Egypt; in their youth they engaged in prostitution. Their breasts were squeezed there; lovers fondled their virgin nipples there. |
| 4The older girl was named Oholah, and her sister was Oholibah. I married them, and they bore me sons and daughters. I am speaking of Samaria and Jerusalem, for Oholah is Samaria and Oholibah is Jerusalem. | 4Oholah was the name of the older and Oholibah the name of her younger sister. They became mine, and gave birth to sons and daughters. Oholah is Samaria and Oholibah is Jerusalem. |
| 5“Then Oholah lusted after other lovers instead of me, and she gave her love to the Assyrian officers. | 5"Oholah engaged in prostitution while she was mine. She lusted after her lovers, the Assyrians--warriors |
| 6They were all attractive young men, captains and commanders dressed in handsome blue, charioteers driving their horses. | 6clothed in blue, governors and officials, all of them desirable young men, horsemen riding on horses. |
| 7And so she prostituted herself with the most desirable men of Assyria, worshiping their idols and defiling herself. | 7She bestowed her sexual favors on them; all of them were the choicest young men of Assyria. She defiled herself with all whom she desired--with all their idols. |
| 8For when she left Egypt, she did not leave her spirit of prostitution behind. She was still as lewd as in her youth, when the Egyptians slept with her, fondled her breasts, and used her as a prostitute. | 8She did not abandon the prostitution she had practiced in Egypt; for in her youth men had sex with her, fondled her virgin breasts, and ravished her. |
| 9“And so I handed her over to her Assyrian lovers, whom she desired so much. | 9Therefore I handed her over to her lovers, the Assyrians for whom she lusted. |
| 10They stripped her, took away her children as their slaves, and then killed her. After she received her punishment, her reputation was known to every woman in the land. | 10They exposed her nakedness, seized her sons and daughters, and killed her with the sword. She became notorious among women, and they executed judgments against her. |
| 11“Yet even though Oholibah saw what had happened to Oholah, her sister, she followed right in her footsteps. And she was even more depraved, abandoning herself to her lust and prostitution. | 11"Her sister Oholibah watched this, but she became more corrupt in her lust than her sister had been, and her acts of prostitution were more numerous than those of her sister. |
| 12She fawned over all the Assyrian officers—those captains and commanders in handsome uniforms, those charioteers driving their horses—all of them attractive young men. | 12She lusted after the Assyrians--governors and officials, warriors in full armor, horsemen riding on horses, all of them desirable young men. |
| 13I saw the way she was going, defiling herself just like her older sister. | 13I saw that she was defiled; both of them followed the same path. |
| 14“Then she carried her prostitution even further. She fell in love with pictures that were painted on a wall—pictures of Babylonian military officers, outfitted in striking red uniforms. | 14But she increased her prostitution. She saw men carved on the wall, images of the Chaldeans carved in bright red, |
| 15Handsome belts encircled their waists, and flowing turbans crowned their heads. They were dressed like chariot officers from the land of Babylonia. | 15wearing belts on their waists and flowing turbans on their heads, all of them looking like officers, the image of Babylonians whose native land is Chaldea. |
| 16When she saw these paintings, she longed to give herself to them, so she sent messengers to Babylonia to invite them to come to her. | 16When she saw them, she lusted after them and sent messengers to them in Chaldea. |
| 17So they came and committed adultery with her, defiling her in the bed of love. After being defiled, however, she rejected them in disgust. | 17The Babylonians crawled into bed with her. They defiled her with their lust; after she was defiled by them, she became disgusted with them. |
| 18“In the same way, I became disgusted with Oholibah and rejected her, just as I had rejected her sister, because she flaunted herself before them and gave herself to satisfy their lusts. | 18When she lustfully exposed her nakedness, I was disgusted with her, just as I had been disgusted with her sister. |
| 19Yet she turned to even greater prostitution, remembering her youth when she was a prostitute in Egypt. | 19Yet she increased her prostitution, remembering the days of her youth when she engaged in prostitution in the land of Egypt. |
| 20She lusted after lovers with genitals as large as a donkey’s and emissions like those of a horse. | 20She lusted after their genitals--as large as those of donkeys, and their seminal emission was as strong as that of stallions. |
| 21And so, Oholibah, you relived your former days as a young girl in Egypt, when you first allowed your breasts to be fondled. The LORD’s Judgment of Oholibah | 21This is how you assessed the obscene conduct of your youth, when the Egyptians fondled your nipples and squeezed your young breasts. |
| 22“Therefore, Oholibah, this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will send your lovers against you from every direction—those very nations from which you turned away in disgust. | 22"Therefore, Oholibah, this is what the sovereign LORD says: Look here, I am about to stir up against you the lovers with whom you were disgusted; I will bring them against you from every side: |
| 23For the Babylonians will come with all the Chaldeans from Pekod and Shoa and Koa. And all the Assyrians will come with them—handsome young captains, commanders, chariot officers, and other high-ranking officers, all riding their horses. | 23the Babylonians and all the Chaldeans, Pekod, Shoa, and Koa, and all the Assyrians with them, desirable young men, all of them governors and officials, officers and nobles, all of them riding on horses. |
| 24They will all come against you from the north with chariots, wagons, and a great army prepared for attack. They will take up positions on every side, surrounding you with men armed with shields and helmets. And I will hand you over to them for punishment so they can do with you as they please. | 24They will attack you with weapons, chariots, wagons, and with a huge army; they will array themselves against you on every side with large shields, small shields, and helmets. I will assign them the task of judgment; they will punish you according to their laws. |
| 25I will turn my jealous anger against you, and they will deal harshly with you. They will cut off your nose and ears, and any survivors will then be slaughtered by the sword. Your children will be taken away as captives, and everything that is left will be burned. | 25I will direct my jealous anger against you, and they will deal with you in rage. They will cut off your nose and your ears, and your survivors will die by the sword. They will seize your sons and daughters, and your survivors will be consumed by fire. |
| 26They will strip you of your beautiful clothes and jewels. | 26They will strip your clothes off you and take away your beautiful jewelry. |
| 27In this way, I will put a stop to the lewdness and prostitution you brought from Egypt. You will never again cast longing eyes on those things or fondly remember your time in Egypt. | 27So I will put an end to your obscene conduct and your prostitution which you have practiced in the land of Egypt. You will not seek their help or remember Egypt anymore. |
| 28“For this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will surely hand you over to your enemies, to those you loathe, those you rejected. | 28"For this is what the sovereign LORD says: Look here, I am about to deliver you over to those whom you hate, to those with whom you were disgusted. |
| 29They will treat you with hatred and rob you of all you own, leaving you stark naked. The shame of your prostitution will be exposed to all the world. | 29They will treat you with hatred, take away all you have labored for, and leave you naked and bare. Your nakedness will be exposed, just as when you engaged in prostitution and obscene conduct. |
| 30You brought all this on yourself by prostituting yourself to other nations, defiling yourself with all their idols. | 30I will do these things to you because you engaged in prostitution with the nations, polluting yourself with their idols. |
| 31Because you have followed in your sister’s footsteps, I will force you to drink the same cup of terror she drank. | 31You have followed the ways of your sister, so I will place her cup of judgment in your hand. |
| 32“Yes, this is what the Sovereign LORD says: “You will drink from your sister’s cup of terror, a cup that is large and deep. It is filled to the brim with scorn and derision. | 32"This is what the sovereign LORD says: "You will drink your sister's deep and wide cup; you will be scorned and derided, for it holds a great deal. |
| 33Drunkenness and anguish will fill you, for your cup is filled to the brim with distress and desolation, the same cup your sister Samaria drank. | 33You will be overcome by drunkenness and sorrow. The cup of your sister Samaria is a cup of horror and desolation. |
| 34You will drain that cup of terror to the very bottom. Then you will smash it to pieces and beat your breast in anguish. I, the Sovereign LORD, have spoken! | 34You will drain it dry, gnaw its pieces, and tear out your breasts, for I have spoken, declares the sovereign LORD. |
| 35“And because you have forgotten me and turned your back on me, this is what the Sovereign LORD says: You must bear the consequences of all your lewdness and prostitution.” The LORD’s Judgment on Both Sisters | 35"Therefore this is what the sovereign LORD says: Because you have forgotten me and completely disregarded me, you must bear now the punishment for your obscene conduct and prostitution." |
| 36The LORD said to me, “Son of man, you must accuse Oholah and Oholibah of all their detestable sins. | 36The LORD said to me: "Son of man, are you willing to pronounce judgment on Oholah and Oholibah? Then declare to them their abominable deeds! |
| 37They have committed both adultery and murder—adultery by worshiping idols and murder by burning as sacrifices the children they bore to me. | 37For they have committed adultery and blood is on their hands. They have committed adultery with their idols, and their sons, whom they bore to me, they have passed through the fire as food to their idols. |
| 38Furthermore, they have defiled my Temple and violated my Sabbath day! | 38Moreover, they have done this to me: In the very same day they desecrated my sanctuary and profaned my Sabbaths. |
| 39On the very day that they sacrificed their children to their idols, they boldly came into my Temple to worship! They came in and defiled my house. | 39On the same day they slaughtered their sons for their idols, they came to my sanctuary to desecrate it. This is what they have done in the middle of my house. |
| 40“You sisters sent messengers to distant lands to get men. Then when they arrived, you bathed yourselves, painted your eyelids, and put on your finest jewels for them. | 40"They even sent for men from far away; when the messenger arrived, those men set out. For them you bathed, painted your eyes, and decorated yourself with jewelry. |
| 41You sat with them on a beautifully embroidered couch and put my incense and my special oil on a table that was spread before you. | 41You sat on a magnificent couch, with a table arranged in front of it where you placed my incense and my olive oil. |
| 42From your room came the sound of many men carousing. They were lustful men and drunkards from the wilderness, who put bracelets on your wrists and beautiful crowns on your heads. | 42The sound of a carefree crowd accompanied her, including all kinds of men; even Sabeans were brought from the desert. The sisters put bracelets on their wrists and beautiful crowns on their heads. |
| 43Then I said, ‘If they really want to have sex with old worn-out prostitutes like these, let them!’ | 43Then I said about the one worn out by adultery, 'Now they will commit immoral acts with her.' |
| 44And that is what they did. They had sex with Oholah and Oholibah, these shameless prostitutes. | 44They had sex with her as one does with a prostitute. In this way they had sex with Oholah and Oholibah, promiscuous women. |
| 45But righteous people will judge these sister cities for what they really are—adulterers and murderers. | 45But upright men will punish them appropriately for their adultery and bloodshed, because they are adulteresses and blood is on their hands. |
| 46“Now this is what the Sovereign LORD says: Bring an army against them and hand them over to be terrorized and plundered. | 46"For this is what the sovereign LORD says: Bring up an army against them and subject them to terror and plunder. |
| 47For their enemies will stone them and kill them with swords. They will butcher their sons and daughters and burn their homes. | 47That army will pelt them with stones and slash them with their swords; they will kill their sons and daughters and burn their houses. |
| 48In this way, I will put an end to lewdness and idolatry in the land, and my judgment will be a warning to all women not to follow your wicked example. | 48I will put an end to the obscene conduct in the land; all the women will learn a lesson from this and not engage in obscene conduct. |
| 49You will be fully repaid for all your prostitution—your worship of idols. Yes, you will suffer the full penalty. Then you will know that I am the Sovereign LORD.” | 49They will repay you for your obscene conduct, and you will be punished for idol worship. Then you will know that I am the sovereign LORD." |
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