He said,“ Son of man, I am sending you to the people of Israel. That nation has refused to obey me. They have turned against me. They and their people of long ago have been against me to this day.

他对我说：“人子啊，我差你往悖逆的国民以色列人那里去。他们是悖逆我的，他们和他们的列祖违背我，直到今日。

他对我说：“人子啊，我差你往悖逆我的国家，以色列人那里去，他们是悖逆我的。他们和他们的祖先违背我，直到今日。

他对我说：“人子啊，我差你往悖逆我的国家，以色列人那里去，他们是悖逆我的。他们和他们的祖先违背我，直到今日。

“人子啊，我派你去那背叛我的以色列人那里。他们和他们的祖先至今仍背叛我。

他对我说：“人子啊！我差派你到以色列人那里去，就是到那背叛我的叛逆国民那里去！他们和他们的列祖都得罪了我，直到今日。

他對我說：「人子啊，我差你往悖逆的國民以色列人那裏去。他們是悖逆我的，他們和他們的列祖違背我，直到今日。

他對我說：「人子啊，我差你往悖逆我的國家，以色列人那裏去，他們是悖逆我的。他們和他們的祖先違背我，直到今日。

他對我說：「人子啊，我差你往悖逆我的國家，以色列人那裏去，他們是悖逆我的。他們和他們的祖先違背我，直到今日。

「人子啊，我派你去那背叛我的以色列人那裡。他們和他們的祖先至今仍背叛我。

他對我說：“人子啊！我差派你到以色列人那裡去，就是到那背叛我的叛逆國民那裡去！他們和他們的列祖都得罪了我，直到今日。

他對我說：『人子啊，我差遣你去找背叛之國以色列人，就是背叛我的：他們和他們的列祖都悖逆了我、直到今天這日子。

人子歟、我遣爾詣以色列人、彼乃悖逆之邦、悖逆乎我、彼與列祖、獲罪於我、迄至今日、

曰、人子、我遣汝至以色列族、彼所行忤逆、自列祖迄今、干犯罪戾、

諭我曰、人子、我遣爾就以色列人、即悖逆之族、悖逆我者、彼與其列祖獲罪於我、迄於今日、

He said:“ Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against me; they and their ancestors have been in revolt against me to this very day.

And he said to me,“ Son of man, I send you to the people of Israel, to nations of rebels, who have rebelled against me. They and their fathers have transgressed against me to this very day.

“ Son of man,” he said,“ I am sending you to the nation of Israel, a rebellious nation that has rebelled against me. They and their ancestors have been rebelling against me to this very day.

He said to me,“ Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, to the rebellious pagans who have rebelled against me. The Israelites and their ancestors have transgressed against me to this day.

Then He said to me,“ Son of man, I am sending you to the sons of Israel, to a rebellious people who have rebelled against Me; they and their fathers have revolted against Me to this very day.

And He said to me:“ Son of man, I am sending you to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against Me; they and their fathers have transgressed against Me to this very day.

And he said unto me, Son of man, I send thee to the children of Israel, to nations that are rebellious, which have rebelled against me: they and their fathers have transgressed against me even unto this very day.

He said to me:“ Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, to the rebellious pagans who have rebelled against Me. The Israelites and their ancestors have transgressed against Me to this day.

And he said unto me, Son of man, I send thee to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that hath rebelled against me: they and their fathers have transgressed against me,[ even] unto this very day.

He said to me,“ Son of man, I am sending you to the house of Israel, to rebellious nations who have rebelled against me; both they and their fathers have revolted against me to this very day.

He said to me,“ Son of man, I send you to the children of Israel, to a nation of rebels who have rebelled against me. They and their fathers have transgressed against me even to this very day.

Let us lie down in our shame. Let our dishonor cover us. You are the Lord our God. But we have sinned against you. We and our people of long ago have sinned. We haven’t obeyed you from our earliest years until now.”

The Lord told him,“ Listen to everything the people are saying to you. You are not the one they have turned their backs on. I am the one they do not want as their king.They are doing just as they have always done. They have deserted me and served other gods. They have done that from the time I brought them up out of Egypt until this day. Now they are deserting you too.

You have been refusing to obey the Lord as long as I’ve known you.

We have sinned and done what is wrong. We have been evil. We have refused to obey you. We have turned away from your commands and laws.We haven’t listened to your servants the prophets. They spoke in your name to our kings, our princes and our people of long ago. They also brought your message to all our people in the land.“ Lord, you always do what is right. But we are covered with shame today. We are the people of Judah and Jerusalem. All of us are Israelites, no matter where we live. We are now living in many countries. You scattered us among the nations because we weren’t faithful to you.Lord, we are covered with shame. So are our kings and princes, and our people of long ago. We have sinned against you.You are the Lord our God. You show us your tender love. You forgive us. But we have turned against you.You are the Lord our God. But we haven’t obeyed you. We haven’t kept the laws you gave us through your servants the prophets.All the people of Israel have broken your law and turned away from it. They have refused to obey you.“ Curses and warnings are written down in the Law of Moses. He was your servant. Those curses have been poured out on us. That’s because we have sinned against you.The warnings you gave us and our rulers have come true. You have brought great trouble on us. Nothing like what has been done to Jerusalem has ever happened anywhere else on earth.The curses that are written in the Law of Moses have fallen on us. We have received nothing but trouble. You are the Lord our God. But we haven’t asked for your favor. We haven’t turned away from our sins. We’ve refused to pay attention to the laws you gave us.

Then I heard the voice of the Lord. He said,“ Who will I send? Who will go for us?” I said,“ Here I am. Send me!”So he said,“ Go and speak to these people. Tell them,“‘ You will hear but never understand. You will see but never know what you are seeing.’Make the hearts of these people stubborn. Plug up their ears. Close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes. They might hear with their ears. They might understand with their hearts. And they might turn to me and be healed.”

A message from the Lord came to me. The Lord said,“ Son of man, once there were two women. They had the same mother.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.The older sister was named Oholah. The younger one was Oholibah. They belonged to me. Sons and daughters were born to them. Oholah stands for Samaria. And Oholibah stands for Jerusalem.“ Oholah was unfaithful to me even while she still belonged to me. She longed for her Assyrian lovers. They included soldierswho wore blue uniforms. They also included governors and commanders. All of them were young and handsome. They rode horses.She gave herself as a prostitute to all Assyria’s finest warriors. She made herself impure with the statues of the gods of everyone she longed for.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.“ So I handed her over to her Assyrian lovers. She longed for them.They stripped her naked. They took away her sons and daughters. And they killed her with their swords. Other women laughed when that happened. I was the one who had punished her.“ 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.”So the Lord and King says,“ Oholibah, I will stir up your lovers against you. You became sick of them. You turned away from them. But I will bring them against you from every side.They include the Babylonians and all the Chaldeans. They include the men from Pekod, Shoa and Koa. They also include all the Assyrians. They are young and handsome. Some of them are governors and commanders. Others are chariot officers. Still others are very high officials. All of them ride horses.So a huge army will come against you with weapons, chariots and wagons. They will take up positions against you on every side. They will carry large and small shields. They will wear helmets. I will turn you over to them to be punished. They will punish you in their own way.I will pour out my jealous anger on you. And the army’s anger will burn against you. They will cut off your noses and ears. Some of you who are left will be killed by swords. They will take away your sons and daughters. Others of you who are left will be burned up.The army will also strip off your clothes. They will take your fine jewelry away from you.You became an impure prostitute in Egypt. But I will put a stop to all of that. You will no longer want to do any of it. You will not remember Egypt anymore.”The Lord and King says,“ I am about to hand you over to people you hate. You became sick of them. You turned away from them.They will punish you because they hate you so much. They will take away from you everything you have worked for. They will leave you completely naked. Then everyone will see that you are a prostitute who has no shame at all. You were impure. You offered your body to your lovers again and again.That is why you will be punished. You longed for lovers in other nations. You made yourself impure by worshiping their gods.You did the same things your sister Oholah did. So I will put her cup in your hand. It is filled with the wine of my anger.”The Lord and King says to Oholibah,“ You will drink from your sister’s cup. It is large and deep. It is filled with the wine of my anger. So others will laugh at you. They will make fun of you.You will become drunk and sad. The cup of my anger will completely destroy you. It is the same cup your sister Samaria drank from.You will drink from it until it is empty. Then you will chew on its pieces. And you will claw at your breasts. I have spoken,” announces the Lord and King.So the Lord and King says,“ You have forgotten me. You have turned your back on me. You have been impure. You have acted like a prostitute. So I will punish you.”The Lord said to me,“ Son of man, are you going to judge Oholah and Oholibah? Then tell them they have done many evil things. I hate those things.They have committed adultery. Their hands are covered with the blood of the people they have murdered. They have worshiped other gods. They have not been faithful to me. They have even sacrificed their children as food to other gods. Those children belonged to me.Here are some other things the sisters have done to me. They have made my temple‘ unclean.’ They have misused my Sabbath days.They have sacrificed their children to their gods. On that same day they entered my temple and made it‘ unclean.’ That is what they have done in my house.“ They even sent messengers to bring men from far away. When the men arrived, Oholibah took a bath. She put makeup on her eyes. She put her jewelry on.She sat down on a beautiful couch. A table was in front of it. There she put the incense and olive oil that belonged to me.“ The noise of a carefree crowd was all around her. Men who drink too much were brought from the desert. Other men were brought along with them. They put bracelets on the wrists of the two sisters. They put beautiful crowns on their heads.Then I spoke about Oholibah. She was worn out by adultery. I said,‘ Let them use her as a prostitute. After all, that is what she is.’So they slept with her. In fact, they slept with both of these impure women, Oholah and Oholibah. They slept with them just as men sleep with prostitutes.But judges who are right with God will sentence the sisters to be punished. They will be punished in the same way as women who commit adultery and murder. After all, they have committed adultery. And their hands are covered with the blood of the people they have murdered.”The Lord and King says,“ Bring an angry crowd against the sisters. Hand them over to those who will terrify them and steal everything they have.The crowd will kill them by throwing stones at them. They will use swords to cut them down. They will kill their sons and daughters. And they will burn down their houses.“ So I will put an end to impurity in the land. Then all its women will be warned. They will not want to be like the sisters.Those sisters will be punished because of the impure things they have done. They will be judged because they have worshiped other gods. Then they will know that I am the Lord and King.”

The Lord became very angry with Israel. He made them wander around in the desert for 40 years. They wandered until all the people who had done evil in his sight had died.“ Now here you are, you bunch of sinners! You have taken the place of your fathers. And you are making the Lord even angrier with Israel.

Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Forgive the Israelites for being so stubborn. Don’t judge them for the evil and sinful things they’ve done.

They joined in worshiping the Baal that was worshiped at Peor. They ate food that had been offered to gods that aren’t even alive.

Then he said to me,“ Son of man, go to the people of Israel. Give them my message.I am not sending you to people who speak another language that is hard to learn. Instead, I am sending you to the people of Israel.You are not being sent to many nations whose people speak other languages that are hard to learn. You would not be able to understand them. Suppose I had sent you to them. Then they certainly would have listened to you.But the people of Israel do not want to listen to you. That is because they do not want to listen to me. All the Israelites are very stubborn.But I will make you just as stubborn as they are.

The Lord said to Jeremiah,“ Stand in the courtyard of my house. Speak to the people of the towns in Judah. Speak to all those who come to worship in my house. Tell them everything I command you. Do not leave out a single word.Perhaps they will listen. Maybe they will turn from their evil ways. Then I will not do what I said I would. I will not bring trouble on them. I had planned to punish them because of the evil things they had done.Tell them,‘ The Lord says,“ Listen to me. Obey my law that I gave you.And listen to the words my servants the prophets are speaking. I have sent them to you again and again. But you have not listened to them.So I will make this house like Shiloh. All the nations on earth will use the name of this city in a curse.” ’ ”

“ But our people before us became proud and stubborn. They didn’t obey your commands.They refused to listen to you. They forgot the miracles you had done among them. So they became stubborn. When they refused to obey you, they appointed a leader for themselves. They wanted to go back to being slaves in Egypt. But you are a God who forgives. You are gracious. You are tender and kind. You are slow to get angry. You are full of love. So you didn’t desert them.They made for themselves a metal statue of a god that looked like a calf. They said to one another,‘ Here is your god. He brought you up out of Egypt.’ And they did evil things that dishonored you. But you still didn’t desert them.

He and Aaron gathered the people together in front of the rock. Moses said to them,“ Listen, you who refuse to obey! Do we have to bring water out of this rock for you?”

And how can anyone preach without being sent? It is written,“ How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”( Isaiah 52:7)

We are filled with it. It has been like that ever since the days of our people who lived long ago. Kings of other countries have killed many of us and our kings and priests with their swords. They’ve forced others to leave their own land. They’ve taken them away as prisoners. They’ve robbed others. They’ve made still others feel ashamed and dishonored. All these things have happened to us because we’ve committed so many sins. And that’s how things still are to this day.

His followers will preach in his name. They will tell others to turn away from their sins and be forgiven. People from every nation will hear it, beginning at Jerusalem.You have seen these things with your own eyes.

At harvest time he sent a servant to the renters. He told the servant to collect from them some of the fruit of the vineyard.But they grabbed the servant and beat him up. Then they sent him away with nothing.So the man sent another servant to the renters. They hit this one on the head and treated him badly.The man sent still another servant. The renters killed him. The man sent many others. The renters beat up some of them. They killed the others.

“ You stubborn people! You won’t obey! You won’t listen! You are just like your people of long ago! You always oppose the Holy Spirit!

“ Get a scroll. Write on it all the words I have spoken to you. Write down what I have said about Israel, Judah and all the other nations. Write what I have said to you from the time of King Josiah until now.

Again Jesus said,“ May peace be with you! The Father has sent me. So now I am sending you.”He then breathed on them. He said,“ Receive the Holy Spirit.

The Lord, the God of Israel, sent word to his people through his messengers. He sent it to them again and again. He took pity on his people. He also took pity on the temple where he lived.But God’s people made fun of his messengers. They hated his words. They laughed at his prophets. Finally the Lord’ s great anger was stirred up against his people. Nothing could save them.

In spite of everything that has happened to us, you have been fair. You have been faithful in what you have done. But we did what was evil.Our kings and leaders didn’t follow your law. Our priests and our people before us didn’t follow it either. They didn’t pay any attention to your commands or rules that you warned them to keep.They didn’t serve you. They didn’t turn from their evil ways. They didn’t obey you even when they had a kingdom. You were very good to them. And they enjoyed it. You gave them a rich land. It had plenty of room in it. But they still didn’t serve you.

By the waters of Meribah the Lord’ s people made him angry. Moses got in trouble because of them.They refused to obey the Spirit of God. So Moses spoke without thinking.They didn’t destroy the nations in Canaan as the Lord had commanded them.Instead, they mixed with those nations and adopted their ways.They worshiped statues of their gods. That became a trap for them.They sacrificed their sons and daughters as offerings to false gods.They killed those who weren’t guilty of doing anything wrong. They killed their own sons and daughters. They sacrificed them as offerings to statues of the gods of Canaan. The land became“ unclean” because of the blood of their children.The people made themselves impure by what they had done. They weren’t faithful to the Lord.So the Lord became angry with his people. He turned away from his own children.

In their camp some of them became jealous of Moses and Aaron. Aaron had been set apart to serve the Lord.The ground opened up and swallowed Dathan. It buried Abiram and his followers.Fire blazed among all of them. Flames destroyed those evil people.At Mount Horeb they made a metal statue of a bull calf. They worshiped that statue of a god.They traded their glorious God for a statue of a bull that eats grass.They forgot the God who saved them. They forgot the God who had done great things in Egypt.

When they say this, here is what you should tell them.‘ I did it because your people of long ago deserted me,’ announces the Lord.‘ They followed other gods. They served them and worshiped them. They deserted me. They did not obey my law.But you have done more evil things than they did. All of you are doing what your stubborn and evil hearts want you to do. You are not obeying me.

“ But they didn’t obey you. Instead, they turned against you. They turned their backs on your law. They killed your prophets. The prophets had warned them to return to you. But they did very evil things that dishonored you.

But the Lord said to me,“ Do not say,‘ I’m too young.’ You must go to everyone I send you to. You must say everything I command you to say.

“ For 23 years the Lord’ s messages have been coming to me. They began to come in the 13th year that Josiah was king of Judah. He was the son of Amon. The Lord’ s messages still come to me today. I’ve spoken to you people again and again. But you haven’t listened to me.“ The Lord has sent all his servants the prophets to you. They’ve come to you again and again. But you haven’t listened. You haven’t paid any attention to them.They said,‘ Each of you must turn from your evil ways and practices. Then you can stay in the land forever. It’s the land the Lord gave you and your people of long ago.Don’t follow other gods. Don’t serve them or worship them. Don’t make the Lord angry with the gods your own hands have made. Then he won’t harm you.’“‘ But you did not listen to me,’ announces the Lord.‘ You have made me very angry with the gods your hands have made. And you have brought harm on yourselves.’

A message from the Lord came to me. The Lord said,“ Son of man, tell the people of Jerusalem the evil things they have done. I hate those things.Tell them,‘ The Lord and King speaks to Jerusalem. He says,“ Your history in the land of Canaan goes back a long way. Your father was an Amorite. Your mother was a Hittite.On the day you were born your cord was not cut. You were not washed with water to clean you up. You were not rubbed with salt. And you were not wrapped in large strips of cloth.No one took pity on you. No one was concerned enough to do any of these things for you. Instead, you were thrown out into an open field. You were hated on the day you were born.“‘ “I was passing by. I saw you kicking around in your blood. As you were lying there, I said to you,‘ Live!’I made you grow like a plant in a field. Soon you had grown up. You became a young adult. Your breasts had formed. Your hair had grown. But you were completely naked.“‘ “Later, I was passing by again. I looked at you. I saw that you were old enough for love. So I married you and took good care of you. I covered your naked body. I made a firm promise to you. I entered into a covenant with you. And you became mine,” announces the Lord and King.“‘ “I bathed you with water. I washed the blood off you. And I put lotions on you.I put a beautiful dress on you. I gave you sandals made out of fine leather. I dressed you in fine linen. I covered you with expensive clothes.I decorated you with jewelry. I put bracelets on your arms. I gave you a necklace for your neck.I put rings on your nose and ears. And I gave you a beautiful crown for your head.So you were decorated with gold and silver. Your clothes were made out of fine linen. They were made out of expensive and beautiful cloth. Your food was made out of honey, olive oil and the finest flour. You became very beautiful. You became a queen.You were so beautiful that your fame spread among the nations. The glory I had given you made your beauty perfect,” announces the Lord and King.“‘ “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.You used some of your clothes to make high places colorful. That is where people worshiped other gods. You were a prostitute there. You went to your lover and he took your beauty.I had given you fine jewelry. It was made out of gold and silver. You used it to make for yourself statues of male gods. You worshiped those gods. You were not faithful to me.You put your beautiful clothes on them. You offered my oil and incense to them.You also offered them food. It was made out of olive oil, honey and the finest flour. I had given it to you to eat. You offered it as sweet- smelling incense to them. That is what you did,” announces the Lord and King.“‘ “Then you took your sons and daughters who belonged to me. And you sacrificed them as food to other gods. Wasn’t it enough for you to be a prostitute?You killed my children. You sacrificed them to other gods.You did not remember the days when you were young. At that time you were completely naked. You were kicking around in your blood. But now you have done evil things. I hate them. You have worshiped other gods. You have not been faithful to me.“‘ “How terrible it will be for you!” announces the Lord and King.“ How terrible for you! You continued to sin against me.Your people built up mounds for themselves in every market. They put little places of worship on them.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 committed shameful acts with the people of Egypt. They were your neighbors who were ready to have sex with you. You offered yourself to them again and again. That made me very angry.So I reached out my powerful hand against you. I made your territory smaller. I handed you over to your Philistine enemies. The people in their towns were shocked by your impure conduct.You also committed shameful acts with the people of Assyria. Nothing ever seemed to satisfy you. You could never get enough.Then you offered yourself to the people of Babylon. But that did not satisfy you either. There are many traders in the land of Babylon.“‘ “I am filled with great anger against you,” announces the Lord and King.“ Just look at all the things you are doing! You are acting like a prostitute who has no shame at all.Your people built up mounds at every street corner. You put little places of worship on them in every market. But you did not really act like a prostitute. That’s because you refused to let your lovers pay you anything.“‘ “You unfaithful wife! You would rather be with strangers than with your own husband!Every prostitute receives gifts. Instead, you give gifts to all your lovers. You offer them money to come to you from everywhere. You want them to sleep with you. You are not faithful to me.As a prostitute, you are the opposite of others. No one runs after you to sleep with you. You are exactly the opposite. You pay them. They do not pay you.” ’ ”You prostitute, listen to the Lord’ s message.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.I will hand down my sentence against you. You will be punished like women who commit adultery and sacrifice their children to other gods. I am so angry with you. So I will sentence you to death for everything you have done.Then I will hand you over to your lovers. They will tear down those mounds you built. They will destroy the little places of worship you put on them. They will take your clothes off. They will remove your fine jewelry. And they will leave you completely naked.They will bring a crowd against you. The crowd will put you to death by throwing stones at you. And they will chop you to pieces with their swords.They will burn down your houses and punish you. Many women will see it. I will not let you be a prostitute anymore. You will no longer pay your lovers.Then my great anger against you will die down. My jealous anger will turn away from you. I will be calm. I will not be angry anymore.“ You did not remember the days when you were young. The things you did made me very angry. So anything that happens to you will be your own fault,” announces the Lord and King.“ You added impure conduct to all the other evil things you did. I hate all those things.“ All those who use proverbs will use this one about you. They will say,‘ Like mother, like daughter.’You are a true daughter of your mother. She hated her husband and children. And you are a true sister of your sisters. They hated their husbands and children. Your mother was a Hittite. Your father was an Amorite.Your older sister was Samaria. She lived north of you with her daughters. Your younger sister was Sodom. She lived south of you with her daughters.You lived exactly the way they did. You copied their evil practices. I hate those practices. Everything you did was so sinful that you soon became even worse than they were.Your sister Sodom and her daughters never did what you and your daughters have done. And that is just as sure as I am alive,” announces the Lord and King.“ Here is the sin your sister Sodom committed. She and her daughters were proud. They ate too much. They were not concerned about others. They did not help those who were poor and in need.They were very proud. They did many things that were evil in my eyes. I hated those things. So I got rid of Sodom and her daughters, just as you have seen.Samaria did not commit half the sins you did. You sinned even more than they did. I hate those sins. Compared to what you did, you made your sisters seem godly.So you will be dishonored. You have given your sisters an excuse for what they did. Your sins were far worse than theirs. In fact, your sisters appear to be more godly than you. So then, be ashamed. You will be dishonored. You have made them appear to be godly.“ I will not only give you back what you had before. I will also do the same thing for Sodom and her daughters. And I will do the same for Samaria and her daughters.That will make you feel dishonored. You will be ashamed of everything you have done. You have made them feel better because you sinned more and were punished more than they were.Your sisters Sodom and Samaria and their daughters will return to what they were before. And you and your daughters will return to what you were before.In the past you would not even mention your sister Sodom. You were proud at that time.That was before your sin was uncovered. Now the daughters of Edom make fun of you. So do all her neighbors and the daughters of the Philistines. Everyone who lives around you hates you.You will be punished for your impure conduct. I will also punish you for the other evil things you have done. I hate all those things,” announces the Lord.The Lord and King says,“ I will punish you in keeping with what you have done. I sealed with a promise the covenant I made with you. You hated that promise. And you broke my covenant.But I will remember my covenant with you. I made it with you when you were young. Now I will make a new covenant with you. It will last forever.Then you will remember how you have lived. You will be ashamed when I give you Samaria and Sodom. Samaria is your older sister. Sodom is your younger one. I will give them and their daughters to you as daughters. That can’t happen based on my old covenant with you.So I will make my new covenant with you. Then you will know that I am the Lord.I will pay for all the sins you have committed. Then you will remember what you have done. You will be ashamed of it. Because of your shame, you will never speak against me again,” announces the Lord and King.

“ Stand at the gate of my house. Announce my message to the people there. Say,“‘ Listen to the Lord’ s message, all you people of Judah. You always come through these gates to worship the Lord.

“ Didn’t the Lord know you were burning incense in the towns of Judah? Didn’t he care that you were also doing it in the streets of Jerusalem? You and your people of long ago were doing it. Your kings and officials were doing it too. So were the rest of the people in the land.

They sacrificed their sons and daughters in the fire. They practiced all kinds of evil magic. They gave up following God’s rules. They did only what was evil in the eyes of the Lord. All these things made him very angry.So the Lord was very angry with Israel. He removed them from his land. Only the tribe of Judah was left.And even Judah didn’t obey the commands of the Lord their God. They followed the practices Israel had started.So the Lord turned his back on all the people of Israel. He made them suffer. He handed them over to people who stole everything they had. And finally he threw them out of his land.

It was the seventh year since King Jehoiachin had been brought to Babylon as a prisoner. On the tenth day of the fifth month, some of the elders of Israel came to ask the Lord for advice. They sat down with me.Then a message from the Lord came to me. The Lord said,“ Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel. Tell them,‘ The Lord and King says,“ Have you come to ask me for advice? I will not let you do that,” announces the Lord and King.“ And that is just as sure as I am alive.” ’“ Are you going to judge them, son of man? Will you judge them? Tell them the evil things done by their people of long ago. I hate those things.Tell them,‘ The Lord and King says,“ I chose Israel. On that day I raised my hand and made a promise. I made a promise to the members of Jacob’s family line. I made myself known to them in Egypt. I raised my hand and told them,‘ I am the Lord your God.’On that day I promised I would bring them out of Egypt. I told them I would take them to a land I had found for them. It had plenty of milk and honey. It was the most beautiful land of all.I said to them,‘ Each of you must get rid of the statues of the evil gods you worship. Do not make yourselves“ unclean” by worshiping the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.’“‘ “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.I wanted my name to be honored. So I brought my people out of Egypt. I did it to keep my name from being treated as if it were not holy. I didn’t want this to happen in front of the nations around my people. I had made myself known to Israel in the sight of those nations.So I led them out of Egypt. I brought them into the Desert of Sinai.I gave them my rules. I made my laws known to them. The person who obeys them will live by them.I also told them to observe my Sabbath days. That is the sign of the covenant I made with them. I wanted them to know that I made them holy. I am the Lord.“‘ “But in the desert the people of Israel refused to obey me. They did not follow my rules. They turned their backs on my laws. The person who obeys them will live by them. They totally misused my Sabbath days. So I said I would pour out my great anger on them. I would destroy them in the desert.But I wanted my name to be honored. I kept it from being treated as if it were not holy. I did not want that to happen in front of the nations. They had seen me bring Israel out of Egypt.I also raised my hand and made a promise in the desert. I told my people I would not bring them into the land I had given them. It had plenty of milk and honey. It was the most beautiful land of all.But they turned their backs on my laws. They did not obey my rules. They misused my Sabbath days. Their hearts were committed to worshiping the statues of their gods.Then I felt sorry for them. So I did not destroy them. I did not put an end to them in the desert.I spoke to their children there. I said,‘ Do not follow the rules your parents gave you. Do not obey their laws. Do not make yourselves“ unclean” by worshiping their gods.I am the Lord your God. So follow my rules. Be careful to obey my laws.Keep my Sabbath days holy. That is the sign of the covenant I made with you. You will know that I am the Lord your God.’“‘ “But their children refused to obey me. They did not follow my rules. They were not careful to keep my laws. The person who obeys them will live by them. They misused my Sabbath days. So I said I would pour out all my great anger on them in the desert.But I kept myself from punishing them at that time. I wanted my name to be honored. So I kept it from being treated as if it were not holy. I did not want that to happen in front of the nations. They had seen me bring Israel out of Egypt.I also raised my hand and made a promise in the desert. I told my people I would scatter them among the nations. I would send them to other countries.They had not obeyed my laws. They had turned their backs on my rules. They had misused my Sabbath days. They only wanted to worship the statues of their parents’ gods.So I let them follow other rules. Those other rules were not good. I let them have laws they could not live by.I let them become‘ unclean’ by offering sacrifices to other gods. They even sacrificed the first male child born in each family. I wanted to fill them with horror. Then they would know that I am the Lord.” ’“ Son of man, speak to the people of Israel. Tell them,‘ The Lord and King says,“ Your people spoke evil things against me long ago. They were unfaithful to me.But I brought them into the land. I had promised to give the land to them. Then they offered sacrifices that made me very angry. They did it on every high hill and under every green tree. There they brought their sweet- smelling incense. And there they poured out their drink offerings.Then I said to them,‘ What is this high place you go to?’ ” ’ ” That high place is called Bamah to this day.The Lord said to me,“ Speak to the Israelites. Tell them,‘ Here is what the Lord and King says.“ Are you going to make yourselves‘ unclean’ the way your people of long ago did? Are you also going to want to worship the statues of their evil gods?You make yourselves‘ unclean’ by offering sacrifices to other gods. You even sacrifice your children in the fire. You continue to do these things to this day. People of Israel, should I let you ask me for advice? I will not let you do that,” announces the Lord and King.“ And that is just as sure as I am alive.“‘ “You say,‘ We want to be like the other nations. We want to be like all the other people in the world. They serve gods made out of wood and stone.’ But what you have in mind will never happen.I will rule over you by reaching out my mighty hand and powerful arm. I will pour my great anger out on you,” announces the Lord and King.“ And that is just as sure as I am alive.I will bring you back from the nations. I will gather you together from the countries where you have been scattered. I will reach out my mighty hand and powerful arm. I will pour my great anger out on you.I will send you among the nations. There I will judge you face to face. It will be as if I were judging you in the desert again.Long ago, I judged your people in the desert of Egypt. In the same way, I will judge you,” announces the Lord and King.“ I will take note of you as you pass under my shepherd’s stick. I will separate those who obey me from those who do not. And I will give the blessings of the covenant to those of you who obey me.I will get rid of those among you who turn against me. They refuse to obey me. I will bring them out of the land where they are living. But they will not enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord.“‘ “People of Israel, the Lord and King says,‘ Go, every one of you! Serve your gods. But later you will listen to me. You will no longer treat my name as if it were not holy. You will not offer sacrifices to other gods anymore.People of Israel, you will all serve me,’ announces the Lord and King.‘ You will serve me on my high and holy mountain in Jerusalem. There I will accept you. I will require your offerings and your finest gifts. I want you to bring them along with all your other holy sacrifices.I will bring you back from the nations. I will gather you together from the countries where you have been scattered. Then I will accept you as if you were sweet- smelling incense. I will show that I am holy among you. The nations will see it.I will bring you into the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord. Long ago I raised my hand and made a promise. I promised to give that land to your people of long ago.There you will remember your conduct. You will think about everything you did that made you“ unclean.” And you will hate yourselves because of all the evil things you have done.People of Israel, I will deal with you for the honor of my name. I will not deal with you based on your evil conduct and sinful practices. Then you will know that I am the Lord,’ announces the Lord and King.” ’ ”A message from the Lord came to me. The Lord said,“ Son of man, turn your attention to Judah in the south. Preach against it. Prophesy against its forests.Tell them,‘ Listen to the Lord’ s message. The Lord and King says,“ I am about to set you on fire. The fire will destroy all your trees. It will burn down green trees and dry trees alike. The blazing flame will not be put out. The faces of everyone from south to north will be burned by it.Everyone will see that I started the fire. It will not be put out. I am the Lord.” ’ ”Then I said,“ Lord and King, people are talking about me. They are saying,‘ Isn’t he just telling stories?’ ”