1Yahweh's word came to me again, saying,
2"Son of man, there were two women, daughters of the same mother.
3They acted like prostitutes in Egypt. They acted like prostitutes in their youth. There, their breasts were fondled, and their young nipples were caressed.
4Their names were Oholah, the older sister, and Oholibah, her sister. They became mine, and they had sons and daughters. Regarding their names: Samaria is Oholah, and Jerusalem is Oholibah.
5"Oholah acted like a prostitute while she was mine. She was obsessed with her lovers, the Assyrians, her neighbors,
6who were dressed in blue, governors and rulers, all of them desirable young men, horsemen riding on horses.
7She gave herself to them like a prostitute, to the finest men of Assyria, all of them. She defiled herself with the idols of everyone she lusted after.
8She continued her prostitution from the time she left Egypt; for in her youth they had sex with her. They caressed her young breasts, and they lavished their prostitution on her.
9"Therefore, I handed her over to her lovers, to the Assyrians, whom she adored.
10They stripped her naked. They took her sons and her daughters and killed her with a sword. She became a warning among women, because they carried out judgments against her.
11"Her sister Oholibah saw this, yet she was even more corrupt in her cravings than Oholah, and in her prostitution she was more depraved than her sister's prostitution.
12She lusted after the Assyrians, governors and rulers, her neighbors, dressed in magnificent clothing, horsemen riding on horses, all of them desirable young men.
13I saw that she was defiled. They both followed the same path.
14"She intensified her prostitution, because she saw images of men portrayed on a wall, pictures of the Chaldeans painted in red,
15wearing sashes around their waists and elaborate turbans on their heads, all of them looking like princes, resembling the Babylonians in Chaldea, the land where they were born.
16As soon as she saw them, she lusted after them and sent messengers to them in Chaldea.
17The Babylonians came to her for sex, and they defiled her with their prostitution. She became corrupted by them, and her soul turned away from them.
18So she exposed her prostitution and revealed her nakedness. Then my soul turned away from her, just as my soul had turned away from her sister."
19Yet she continued to commit prostitution, remembering her youth, when she acted like a prostitute in Egypt.
20She desired their lovers, whose bodies were like those of donkeys, and whose semen was like that of horses.
21So you brought back memories of your youthful sexual immorality, when Egyptians caressed your nipples and fondled your young breasts.
22“Therefore, Oholibah, this is what the Lord Yahweh says: ‘Look, I will stir up your lovers against you, those you have turned away from, and I will bring them against you from every side:
23the Babylonians and all the Chaldeans, Pekod, Shoa, Koa, and all the Assyrians with them; desirable young men, all of them governors and rulers, princes and famous people, all of them riding on horses.
24They will come against you with weapons, chariots, and wagons, and with a large army. They will surround you with shields, bucklers, and helmets. I will let them judge you, and they will judge you by their own laws.
25I will direct my anger against you, and they will deal with you furiously; they will cut off your nose and your ears; and those of you who are left will die by the sword. They will take your sons and your daughters; and whatever is left of you will be burned up.
26They will also strip off your clothes and take away your beautiful jewelry.
27In this way, I will make your sexual immorality stop, and remove your prostitution from the land of Egypt; so you will no longer look to them, or remember Egypt anymore.’
28“For this is what the Lord Yahweh says: ‘Look, I will hand you over to those you hate, to those you have turned away from.
29They will treat you with hatred, and will take away all you have worked for, and leave you naked and bare. Your promiscuity will be exposed, both your immorality and your prostitution.
30These things will happen to you because you have acted like a prostitute with foreign nations, and because you have become impure with their idols.
31You have followed the path of your sister; therefore I will put her cup in your hand.’
32“This is what the Lord Yahweh says: ‘You will drink from your sister’s cup, which is deep and large. You will be mocked and ridiculed. It holds a great deal.
33You will become drunk and sorrowful, with a cup of horror and ruin, the cup of your sister Samaria.
34You will even drink it and drain it dry. You will gnaw on its broken pieces, and tear at your breasts; for I have spoken it,’ says the Lord Yahweh.
35“Therefore this is what the Lord Yahweh says: ‘Because you have forgotten me, and turned your back on me, you also must bear the consequences of your immorality and your prostitution.’”
36Yahweh also said to me: “Son of man, will you judge Oholah and Oholibah? Then explain their detestable acts to them.
37For they have committed adultery, and there is blood on their hands. They have committed adultery with their idols. They have also made their sons, whom they bore for me, pass through the fire to be sacrificed to their idols.
38Furthermore, they have done this to me: they defiled my holy place on the same day, and dishonored my Sabbaths.
39After they had sacrificed their children to their idols, they came into my sanctuary on the very same day to dishonor it. Look, that is what they did right in my house.
40“What’s more, you sisters sent for men who came from far away. A messenger was sent to them, and look, they came. You washed yourselves for them, painted your eyes, and put on your jewelry.
41You sat on a grand bed with a table set before it, on which you placed my incense and my oil.
42The sound of a carefree crowd was with her. Drunkards from the wilderness were brought in with men of common standing. They put bracelets on their hands and beautiful crowns on their heads.
43Then I said about her who was old in her unfaithfulness, ‘Now they will sleep with her, and she with them.’
44They went in to her, just as one goes in to a prostitute. That is how they went in to Oholah and Oholibah, the promiscuous women.
45Righteous men will judge them according to the judgment given to unfaithful wives and to women who have shed blood, because they are unfaithful and have blood on their hands.
46“This is what the Lord Yahweh says: ‘I will bring an army against them, and will give them over to be tossed around and robbed.’
47‘The army will stone them and kill them with their swords. They will kill their sons and daughters and burn their houses with fire.’
48“‘This is how I will stop promiscuity in the land, so that all women may be taught not to be promiscuous like you.
49Your promiscuity will be punished, and you will bear the sins of worshiping your idols. Then you will know that I am the Lord Yahweh.’”