Jezekiel

23

1 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

2 Son of man, there were two women, daughters of one mother:

3 and they went a-whoring in Egypt in their youth: there their breasts fell, there they lost their virginity.

4 And 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.

5 And Oola went a-whoring from me, and doted on her lovers, on the Assyrians that were her neighbours,

6 clothed with purple, princes and captains; they were young men and choice, all horsemen riding on horses.

7 And 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.

8 And 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.

9 Therefore I delivered her into the hands of her lovers, into the hands of the children of the Assyrians, on whom she doted.

10 They 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.

11 And 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.

12 She doted upon the sons of the Assyrians, princes and captains, her neighbours, clothed with fine linen, horsemen riding on horses; they were all choice young men.

13 And I saw that they were defiled, that the two had one way.

14 And she increased her fornication, and she saw men painted on the wall, likenesses of the Chaldeans painted with a pencil,

15 having 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.

16 And she doted upon them as soon as she saw them, and sent forth messengers to them into the land of the Chaldeans.

17 And 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.

18 And she exposed her fornication, and exposed her shame: and my soul was alienated from her, even as my soul was alienated from her sister.

19 And thou didst multiply thy fornication, so as to call to remembrance the days of thy youth, wherein thou didst commit whoredom in Egypt,

20 and thou didst dote upon the Chaldeans, whose flesh is as the flesh of asses, and their members as the members of horses.

21 And thou didst look upon the iniquity of thy youth, the things which thou wroughtest in Egypt in thy lodging, where were the breasts of thy youth.

22 Therefore, 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,

23 the 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.

24 And 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 judgment before them, and they shall take vengeance on thee with their judgments.

25 And 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.

26 And they shall strip thee of thy raiment, and take away thine ornaments.

27 So 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.

28 Wherefore thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will deliver thee into the hands of those whom thou hatest, from whom thy soul is alienated.

29 And 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

30 brought this upon thee, in that thou wentest a-whoring after the nations, and didst defile thyself with their devices.

31 Thou didst walk in the way of thy sister; and I will put her cup into thine hands.

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

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

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

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

36 And the Lord said to me; Son of man, wilt thou not judge Oola and Ooliba? and declare to them their iniquities?

37 For 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.

38 So long too as they did these things to me, they defiled my sanctuary, and profaned my sabbaths.

39 And 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;