“‘ “But you trusted in your beauty. You used your fame to become a prostitute. You offered your body freely to anyone who passed by. In fact, you gave yourself to anyone who wanted you.

“只是你仗着自己的美貌，又因你的名声就行邪淫。你纵情淫乱，使过路的任意而行。

“只是你仗着自己美貌，又凭着你的名声行淫。你向路人纵情淫乱，你的美貌就属于他的了。

“只是你仗着自己美貌，又凭着你的名声行淫。你向路人纵情淫乱，你的美貌就属于他的了。

“‘你却仗着自己的美貌和名声纵情淫乱，与所有过路的人苟合。

“‘可是你倚仗你的美丽，又凭着你的名声去行淫；你向每一个过路的人纵情淫乱（《马索拉文本》在本节最后有“而那便成了属他的”；现参照《七十士译本》和其他古译本的较短读文翻译）。

「只是你仗着自己的美貌，又因你的名聲就行邪淫。你縱情淫亂，使過路的任意而行。

「只是你仗着自己美貌，又憑着你的名聲行淫。你向路人縱情淫亂，你的美貌就屬於他的了。

「只是你仗着自己美貌，又憑着你的名聲行淫。你向路人縱情淫亂，你的美貌就屬於他的了。

「『你卻仗著自己的美貌和名聲縱情淫亂，與所有過路的人苟合。

“‘可是你倚仗你的美麗，又憑著你的名聲去行淫；你向每一個過路的人縱情淫亂（《馬索拉文本》在本節最後有“而那便成了屬他的”；現參照《七十士譯本》和其他古譯本的較短讀文翻譯）。

『但是你倚靠你的美麗，竟憑着你的名聲而行淫；你向任何過路人傾瀉出你的淫亂媚態，而那便成了屬他的。

惟爾恃己豔麗、名譽洋溢、遂縱淫欲、過者則與行淫、為其所有、

惟爾自恃其美、聲名洋溢、故縱私欲、無論何人、隨在與之行淫。

惟爾自恃爾美、因爾聲名徧揚、遂徇欲行淫、無論何人經過、爾即放縱嗜慾、與之苟合、爾之身即歸於彼、

“‘ But you trusted in your beauty and used your fame to become a prostitute. You lavished your favors on anyone who passed by and your beauty became his.

“ But you trusted in your beauty and played the whore because of your renown and lavished your whorings on any passerby; your beauty became his.

“ But you thought your fame and beauty were your own. So you gave yourself as a prostitute to every man who came along. Your beauty was theirs for the asking.

“‘ But you trusted in your beauty and acted like a prostitute because of your fame. You lavished your sexual favors on everyone who passed by. Your beauty became his.

“ But you trusted in your beauty and became unfaithful because of your fame, and you poured out your obscene practices on every passer by to whom it might be tempting.

“ But you trusted in your own beauty, played the harlot because of your fame, and poured out your harlotry on everyone passing by who would have it.

But thou didst trust in thy beauty, and playedst the harlot because of thy renown, and pouredst out thy whoredoms on every one that passed by; his it was.

“ But you were confident in your beauty and acted like a prostitute because of your fame. You lavished your sexual favors on everyone who passed by. Your beauty became his.

But thou didst trust in thine own beauty, and playedst the harlot because of thy renown, and pouredst out thy fornications on every one that passed by; his it was.

“‘ But you trusted in your beauty and capitalized on your fame by becoming a prostitute. You offered your sexual favors to every man who passed by so that your beauty became his.

“‘“ But you trusted in your beauty, and played the prostitute because of your renown, and poured out your prostitution on everyone who passed by. It was his.

“ Long ago you broke off the yoke I put on you. You tore off the ropes I tied you up with. You said,‘ I won’t serve you!’ In fact, on every high hill you lay down like a prostitute. You worshiped other gods under every green tree.

They set them up at every street corner. Jerusalem, you misused your beauty. You offered your body to anyone who passed by. You did it again and again.

You have set up statues to remind you of your gods. You have put them behind your doors and doorposts. You deserted me. You invited other lovers into your bed. You climbed into it and welcomed them. You made a deal with them. And you looked with desire at their naked bodies.

They became prostitutes in Egypt. They have been unfaithful to me since they were young. In that land they allowed their breasts to be touched. They permitted their virgin breasts to be kissed.

Do not trust in lies. Do not say,‘ This is the temple of the Lord! This is the temple of the Lord! This is the temple of the Lord!’

See how the faithful city of Jerusalem has become like a prostitute! Once it was full of people who treated others fairly. Those who did what was right used to live in it. But now murderers live there!

The Lord began to speak through Hosea. He said to him,“ Go. Marry a woman who has sex with anyone she wants. Have children with her. Do this because the people of the land are like that kind of wife. They have not been faithful to me.”

She started being a prostitute in Egypt. And she never stopped. When she was young, men had sex with her. They kissed her virgin breasts. They used up all their sinful desires on her.

“‘ “But they refused to obey me. They would not listen to me. They did not get rid of the evil gods they worshiped. And they did not turn away from Egypt’s gods. So I said I would pour out all my great anger on them in Egypt.

The name written on her forehead was a mystery. Here is what it said. the great city of babylon the mother of prostitutes the mother of everything on earth that god hates

So King Jeroboam asked for advice. Then he made two golden statues that looked like calves. He said to the people,“ It’s too hard for you to go up to Jerusalem. Israel, here are your gods who brought you up out of Egypt.”

Jerusalem, you have done many wrong things to me. But at that time you will not be put to shame anymore. That’s because I will remove from this city those who think so highly of themselves. You will never be proud again on my holy mountain of Zion.

The Lord and King says,“ You poured out your desire on your lovers. You took off your clothing and slept with them. You did it again and again. You worshiped other gods. I hate them. You even sacrificed your children to them.So I am going to gather together all the lovers you found pleasure with. They include those you loved and those you hated. I will gather them against you from everywhere. I will take your clothes off right in front of them. Then they will see you completely naked.

“ Her sister Oholibah saw it. But her evil desire for sexual sin was worse than her sister’s.She too longed for the men of Assyria. They included governors and commanders. They included soldiers who wore fancy uniforms. They also included men who rode horses. All of them were young and handsome.I saw that she too made herself impure. So both sisters did the same evil things.“ But Oholibah went even further with her sexual sins. She saw pictures of men drawn on a wall. They were figures of Babylonians drawn in red.They had belts around their waists. They wore flowing turbans on their heads. All of them looked like Babylonian chariot officers. They were from the land of the Chaldeans.As soon as she saw the pictures, she longed for the men. So she sent messengers to them in Babylon.Then the Babylonians came to her. They went to bed with her. They had sex with her. They made her impure when they had sex with her. After they did it, she became sick of them. So she turned away from them.She acted like a prostitute who had no shame at all. She openly showed her naked body. I became sick of what she was doing. So I turned away from her. I had also turned away from her sister.But Oholibah offered her body to her lovers again and again. She remembered the days when she was a young prostitute in Egypt.There she had longed for her lovers. Their private parts seemed as big as those of donkeys. And their flow of semen appeared to be as much as that of horses.So you wanted to return to the days when you were young. You longed for the time when you first became impure in Egypt. That was when you allowed your breasts to be kissed. And you permitted your young breasts to be touched.”

Solomon worshiped Ashtoreth. Ashtoreth was the female god of the Sidonians. He also worshiped Molek. Molek was the god of the Ammonites. The Lord hated that god.

Your judges take money from people who want special favors. Your priests teach only if they get paid for it. Your prophets won’t tell fortunes unless they receive money. But you still look for the Lord’ s help. You say,“ The Lord is with us. No trouble will come on us.”

All of this took place because the Israelites had sinned against the Lord their God. He had brought them up out of Egypt. He had brought them out from under the power of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. But they worshiped other gods.

People of Jacob, listen to me. You are called by the name of Israel. You come from the family line of Judah. You make promises in the name of the Lord. You pray to Israel’s God. But you aren’t honest. You don’t mean what you say.

Israel was staying in Shittim. The men of Israel began to commit sexual sins with the women of Moab.The women invited the men to feasts and sacrifices to honor their gods. The people ate the sacrifices and bowed down in front of the statues of those gods.

Once again the Israelites did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. They served gods that were named Baal. They served female gods that were named Ashtoreth. They worshiped the gods of Aram and Sidon. They served the gods of Moab and Ammon. They also worshiped the gods of the Philistines. The Israelites deserted the Lord. They didn’t serve him anymore.

“ My people will eat. But they will not have enough. They will have sex with prostitutes. But they will not have any children. That’s because they have deserted me. They have sex

They married the daughters of those people. They gave their own daughters to the sons of those people. And they served the gods of those people.

So the next day the people got up early. They sacrificed burnt offerings and brought friendship offerings. They sat down to eat and drink. Then they got up to dance wildly in front of their god.The Lord spoke to Moses. He said,“ Go down. Your people you brought up out of Egypt have become very sinful.They have quickly turned away from what I commanded them. They have made themselves a metal statue of a god in the shape of a calf. They have bowed down and sacrificed to it. And they have said,‘ Israel, here is your god who brought you up out of Egypt.’“ I have seen these people,” the Lord said to Moses.“ They are stubborn.Now leave me alone. I will destroy them because of my great anger. Then I will make you into a great nation.”But Moses asked the Lord his God to have mercy on the people.“ Lord,” he said,“ why should you destroy your people in anger? You used your great power and mighty hand to bring them out of Egypt.Why should the Egyptians say,‘ He brought them out to hurt them. He wanted to kill them in the mountains. He wanted to wipe them off the face of the earth’? Turn away from your great anger. Please take pity on your people. Don’t destroy them!Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel. You made a promise to them in your own name. You said,‘ I will make your children after you as many as the stars in the sky. I will give them all this land I promised them. It will belong to them forever.’ ”Then the Lord took pity on his people. He didn’t destroy them as he had said he would.Moses turned and went down the mountain. He had the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands. Words were written on both sides of the tablets, front and back.The tablets were the work of God. The words had been written by God. They had been carved on the tablets.Joshua heard the noise of the people shouting. So he said to Moses,“ It sounds like war in the camp.”Moses replied,“ It’s not the sound of winning. It’s not the sound of losing. It’s the sound of singing that I hear.”As Moses approached the camp, he saw the calf. He also saw the people dancing. So he was very angry. He threw the tablets out of his hands. They broke into pieces at the foot of the mountain.He took the calf the people had made. He burned it in the fire. Then he ground it into powder. He scattered it on the water. And he made the Israelites drink it.He said to Aaron,“ What did these people do to you? How did they make you lead them into such terrible sin?”“ Please don’t be angry,” Aaron answered.“ You know how these people like to do what is evil.They said to me,‘ Make us a god that will lead us. This fellow Moses brought us up out of Egypt. But we don’t know what has happened to him.’So I told them,‘ Anyone who has any gold jewelry, take it off.’ They gave me the gold. I threw it into the fire. And out came this calf!”Moses saw that the people were running wild. Aaron had let them get out of control. The people had become a joke to their enemies.Moses stood at the entrance to the camp. He said,“ Anyone on the Lord’ s side, come to me.” All the Levites joined him.Then he spoke to them. He said,“ The Lord, the God of Israel, says,‘ Each man must put on his sword. Then he must go back and forth through the camp from one end to the other. Each man must kill his brother and friend and neighbor.’ ”The Levites did as Moses commanded. About 3,000 of the people died that day.Then Moses said to the Levites,“ You have been set apart for the Lord today. You fought against your own sons and brothers. And he has blessed you this day.”The next day Moses said to the people,“ You have committed a terrible sin. But now I will go up to the Lord. Maybe if I pray to him, he will forgive your sin.”So Moses went back to the Lord. He said,“ These people have committed a terrible sin. They have made a god out of gold for themselves.Now please forgive their sin. But if you won’t, then erase my name out of the book you have written.”The Lord replied to Moses. The Lord said,“ I will erase out of my book only the names of those who have sinned against me.Now go. Lead the people to the place I spoke about. My angel will go ahead of you. But when the time comes for me to punish, I will punish them for their sin.”The Lord struck the people with a plague. That’s because of what they did with the calf Aaron had made.

They deserted the Lord, the God of their people. He had brought them out of Egypt. But now the Israelites served other gods and worshiped them. They served the gods of the nations that were around them. They made the Lord angry

Manasseh rebuilt the high places. His father Hezekiah had destroyed them. Manasseh also set up altars to the god named Baal. He made a pole used to worship the female god named Asherah. Ahab, the king of Israel, had done those same things. Manasseh even bowed down to all the stars. And he worshiped them.

Suppose I tell a godly person that they will live. And they trust in the fact that they used to do what is right. But now they do what is evil. Then I will not remember any of the right things they have done. They will die because they have done so many evil things.

Instead, they mixed with those nations and adopted their ways.

“ Suppose a man divorces his wife. What if she then marries another man? Should her first husband return to her again? If he does, won’t the land become completely‘ unclean’? People of Israel, you have lived like a prostitute. You have loved many other gods. So do you think you can return to me now?” announces the Lord.

When Israel grew fat, they became stubborn. When they were filled with food, they became fat and heavy. They left the God who made them. They turned away from the Rock who saved them.

Don’t think you can say to yourselves,‘ Abraham is our father.’ I tell you, God can raise up children for Abraham even from these stones.

It is located at the gateway to the Mediterranean Sea. It does business with nations on many coasts. Say to it,‘ The Lord and King says,“‘ “Tyre, you say,‘ I am perfect and beautiful.’