The Two Adulterous Sisters

1And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2Son of man, there were two women, daughters of one mother: 3and they went a-whoring in Egypt in their youth: there their breasts fell, there they lost their virginity. 4And their names were Oola the elder, and Ooliba her sister: and they were mine, and bore sons and daughters: and as for their names, Samaria was Oola, and Jerusalem was Ooliba.

5And Oola went a-whoring from me, and doted on her lovers, on the Assyrians that were her neighbors, 6clothed with purple, princes and captains; they were young men and choice, all horseman riding on horses. 7And she bestowed her fornication upon them; all were choice sons of the Assyrians: and on whomsoever she doted herself, with them she defiled herself in all their devices. 8And she forsook not her fornication with the Egyptians: for in her youth they committed fornication with her, and they deflowered her, and poured out their fornication upon her. 9Therefore I delivered her into the hands of her lovers, into the hands of the children of the Assyrians, on whom she doted. 10They uncovered her shame: they took her sons and daughters, and slew her with the sword: and she became a byword among women: and they wrought vengeance in her for the sake of the daughters.

11And her sister Ooliba saw it, and she indulged in her fondness more corruptly than she, and in her fornication more than the fornication of her sister. 12She doted upon the sons of the Assyrian, princes and captains, her neighbours, clothed with fine linen, horsemen riding on horses; they were all choice young men. 13And I saw that they were defiled, that the two had one way. 14And she increased her fornication, and she saw men painted on the wall, likenesses of the Chaldeans painted with a pencil, 15having variegated girdles on their loins, having also richly dyed attire upon their heads; all had a princely appearance, the likeness of the children of the Chaldeans, of their native land. 16And she doted upon them as soon as she saw them, and sent forth messengers to them into the land of the Chaldeans. 17And the sons of Babylon came to her, into the bed of rest, and they defiled her in her fornication, and she was defiled by them, and her soul was alienated from them. 18And she exposed her fornication, and exposed her shame: and my soul was alienated from her, even as my soul was alienated from her sister. 19And thou didst multiply thy fornication, so as to call to remembrance the days of thy youth, wherein thou didst commit whoredom in Egypt, 20and thou didst dote upon the Chaldeans, whose flesh is as the flesh of the asses, and their members as the members of horses. 21And thou didst look upon the iniquity of thy youth, the things which thou wroughtest in Egypt in thy lodgings, where were the breasts of thy youth.

Oholibah to Be Plagued

22Therefore, Ooliba, thus saith the Lord; Behold, I will stir up thy lovers against thee, from whom thy soul is alienated, and I will bring them upon thee round about, 23the children of Babylon, and all the Chaldeans, Phacuc, and Sue, and Hychue, and all the sons of the Assyrians with them; choice young men, governors and captains, all princes and renowned, riding on horses. 24And they all shall come upon thee from the north, chariots and wheels, with a multitude of nations, shields and targets; and the enemy shall set a watch against thee round about: and I will set judgement before them, and they shall take vengeance on thee with their judgements. 25And I will bring upon thee my jealousy, and they shall deal with thee in great wrath: they shall take away thy nose and thine ears; and shall cast down thy remnant with the sword: they shall take thy sons and thy daughters; and thy remnant fire shall devour. 26And they shall strip thee of thy raiment, and take away thine ornaments. 27So I will turn back thine ungodliness from thee, and thy fornication from the land of Egypt: and thou shalt not lift up thine eyes upon them, and shalt no more remember Egypt. 28Wherefore thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will deliver thee into the hands of those whom thou hatest, from whom thy soul is alienated. 29And they shall deal with thee in hatred, and shall take all the fruits of thy labours and thy toils, and thou shalt be naked and bare: and the shame of thy fornication shall be exposed: and thy ungodliness and thy fornication 30brought this upon thee, in that thou wentest a-whoring after the nations, and didst defile thyself with their devices. 31Thou didst walk in the way of thy sister; and I will put her cup into thine hands.

32Thus saith the Lord; Drink thy sister's cup, deep and large, and full, to cause complete drunkenness.

33And thou shalt be thoroughly weakened; and the cup of destruction, the cup of thy sister Samaria,

34drink thou it, and I will take away her feasts and her new moons: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord.

35Therefore thus saith the Lord; Because thou has forgotten me, and cast me behind thy back, therefore receive thou the reward of thine ungodliness and thy fornication.

Judgment on Both Sisters

36And the Lord said to me, Son of man wilt thou not judge Oola and Ooliba? and declare to them their iniquities? 37For they have committed adultery, and blood was in their hands, they committed adultery with their devices, and they passed through the fire to them their children which they bore to me. 38So long too as they did these things to me, they defiled my sanctuary, and profaned my sabbaths. 39And when they sacrificed their children to their idols, they also went into my sanctuary to profane it: and whereas they did thus in the midst of my house;

40and whereas they did thus to the men that came from afar, to whom they sent messengers, and as soon as they came, immediately thou didst wash thyself, and didst paint thine eyes and adorn thyself with ornaments, 41and satest on a prepared bed, and before it there was a table set out, and as for mine incense and mine oil, they rejoiced in them, 42and they raised a sound of music, and that with men coming from the wilderness out of a multitude of men, and they put bracelets on their hands, and a crown of glory on their heads;

43Therefore I said, Do they not commit adultery with these? and has she also gone a-whoring after the manner of a harlot? 44And they went in to her, as men go in to a harlot; so they went in to Oola and to Ooliba to work iniquity. 45And they are just men, and shall take vengeance on them with the judgement of an adulteress and the judgement of blood: for they are adulteresses, land blood is in their hands.

46Thus saith the Lord God, Bring up a multitude upon them, and send trouble and plunder into the midst of them. 47And stone them with the stones of a multitude, and pierce them with their swords: they shall slay their sons and their daughters, and shall burn up their houses. 48And I will remove ungodliness out of the land, and all the women shall be instructed, and shall not do according to their ungodliness. 49And your ungodliness shall be recompensed upon you, and ye shall bear the guilt of your devices: and ye shall know that I am the Lord.