How can you protest,“ I am not defiled; I have not followed the Baals”? Look at your behavior in the valley; acknowledge what you have done. You are a swift young camel twisting and turning on her way,

你怎能说：‘我没有玷污、没有随从众巴力’？你看你谷中的路，就知道你所行的如何。你是快行的独峰驼，狂奔乱走。

你怎能说：‘我没有玷污，没有随从巴力’？看看你在谷中所做的，思想你自己的所作所为；你是快行的独峰驼，狂奔乱闯。

你怎能说：‘我没有玷污，没有随从巴力’？看看你在谷中所做的，思想你自己的所作所为；你是快行的独峰驼，狂奔乱闯。

“你怎能说，‘我没有玷污自己，也没有随从巴力’？看看你在山谷中干的勾当，想想你的所作所为。你是一只发情的母骆驼，烦躁不安，跑来跑去。

“你怎么能说：‘我没有玷污自己，未曾跟从过巴力’呢？看看你在谷中的行径，想想你所作过的！简直像快捷的小雌驼，在路上乱闯；

你怎能說：我沒有玷污、沒有隨從眾巴力？你看你谷中的路，就知道你所行的如何。你是快行的獨峯駝，狂奔亂走。

你怎能說：『我沒有玷污，沒有隨從巴力』？看看你在谷中所做的，思想你自己的所作所為；你是快行的獨峯駝，狂奔亂闖。

你怎能說：『我沒有玷污，沒有隨從巴力』？看看你在谷中所做的，思想你自己的所作所為；你是快行的獨峯駝，狂奔亂闖。

「你怎能說，『我沒有玷污自己，也沒有隨從巴力』？看看你在山谷中幹的勾當，想想你的所作所為。你是一隻發情的母駱駝，煩躁不安，跑來跑去。

“你怎麼能說：‘我沒有玷污自己，未曾跟從過巴力’呢？看看你在谷中的行徑，想想你所作過的！簡直像快捷的小雌駝，在路上亂闖；

你怎能說：「我沒有被沾污，我沒有隨從眾巴力」呢？看你的路在平谷中，就知道你所作的是甚麼——嘿，一隻迅速輕快的獨峰駝！狂奔亂闖，跑道交錯！

爾安得曰、我未染污衊、未從巴力乎、觀爾在谷之途、則知爾之所為、爾若捷足孤峯之駝、馳行其路、

爾豈得曰、不染污衊、未從巴力乎。爾於谷中所行、爾自知之、如牝駱駝、相誘以風、馳逐遠去。

爾豈可曰、我不染污穢、未從巴力、惟觀爾於谷中所行、當自知所為、爾若足疾之牝駝、狂奔亂馳、

“ How can you say,‘ I am not defiled; I have not run after the Baals’? See how you behaved in the valley; consider what you have done. You are a swift she-camel running here and there,

“ You say,‘ I am“ clean.” I haven’t followed the gods that are named Baal.’ How can you say that? Remember how you acted in the valley. Consider what you have done. You are like a female camel running quickly here and there.

How can you say,‘ I am not unclean, I have not gone after the Baals’? Look at your way in the valley; know what you have done— a restless young camel running here and there,

“ You say,‘ That’s not true! I haven’t worshiped the images of Baal!’ But how can you say that? Go and look in any valley in the land! Face the awful sins you have done. You are like a restless female camel desperately searching for a mate.

“ How can you say,‘ I am not defiled, I have not gone after the Baals’? Look at your way in the valley! Know what you have done! You are a swift young camel running about senselessly on her ways,

“ How can you say,‘ I am not polluted, I have not gone after the Baals’? See your way in the valley; Know what you have done: You are a swift dromedary breaking loose in her ways,

How canst thou say, I am not defiled, I have not gone after the Baalim? see thy way in the valley, know what thou hast done: thou art a swift dromedary traversing her ways;

How can you protest,“ I am not defiled; I have not followed the Baals”? Look at your behavior in the valley; acknowledge what you have done. You are a swift young camel twisting and turning on her way,

How canst thou say, I am not polluted, I have not gone after Baalim? see thy way in the valley, know what thou hast done:[ thou art] a swift dromedary traversing her ways;

“ How can you say,‘ I have not made myself unclean. I have not paid allegiance to the gods called Baal.’ Just look at the way you have behaved in the Valley of Hinnom! Think about the things you have done there! You are like a flighty, young female camel that rushes here and there, crisscrossing its path.

“ How can you say,‘ I am not defiled. I have not gone after the Baals’? See your way in the valley. Know what you have done. You are a swift dromedary traversing her ways,

They have built the high places of Topheth in Ben Hinnom Valley in order to burn their sons and daughters in the fire, a thing I did not command; I never entertained the thought.

There is a generation that is pure in its own eyes, yet is not washed from its filth.

Instead, they followed the stubbornness of their hearts and followed the Baals as their ancestors taught them.”

The man replied,“ The woman you gave to be with me— she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate.”So the LORD God asked the woman,“ What have you done?” And the woman said,“ The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

How skillfully you pursue love; you also teach evil women your ways.Moreover, your skirts are stained with the blood of the innocent poor. You did not catch them breaking and entering. But in spite of all these thingsyou claim,“ I am innocent. His anger is sure to turn away from me.” But I will certainly judge you because you have said,“ I have not sinned.”

But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus,“ And who is my neighbor?”

Look to the barren heights and see. Where have you not been immoral? You sat waiting for them beside the highways like a nomad in the desert. You have defiled the land with your prostitution and wickedness.

For you say,‘ I’m rich; I have become wealthy and need nothing,’ and you don’t realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked.I advise you to buy from me gold refined in the fire so that you may be rich, white clothes so that you may be dressed and your shameful nakedness not be exposed, and ointment to spread on your eyes so that you may see.

When Samuel came to him, Saul said,“ May the LORD bless you. I have carried out the LORD’s instructions.”Samuel replied,“ Then what is this sound of sheep, goats, and cattle I hear?”

The word of the LORD came to me again:“ Son of man, there were two women, daughters of the same mother,who acted like prostitutes in Egypt, behaving promiscuously in their youth. Their breasts were fondled there, and their virgin nipples caressed.The older one was named Oholah, and her sister was Oholibah. They became mine and gave birth to sons and daughters. As for their names, Oholah represents Samaria and Oholibah represents Jerusalem.“ Oholah acted like a prostitute even though she was mine. She lusted after her lovers, the Assyrians: warriorsdressed in blue, governors and prefects, all of them desirable young men, horsemen riding on steeds.She offered her sexual favors to them; all of them were the elite of Assyria. She defiled herself with all those she lusted after and with all their idols.She didn’t give up her promiscuity that began in Egypt, when men slept with her in her youth, caressed her virgin nipples, and poured out their lust on her.Therefore, I handed her over to her lovers, the Assyrians she lusted for.They exposed her nakedness, seized her sons and daughters, and killed her with the sword. Since they executed judgment against her, she became notorious among women.“ Now her sister Oholibah saw this, but she was even more depraved in her lust than Oholah, and made her promiscuous acts worse than those of her sister.She lusted after the Assyrians: governors and prefects, warriors splendidly dressed, horsemen riding on steeds, all of them desirable young men.And I saw that she had defiled herself; both of them had taken the same path.But she increased her promiscuity when she saw male figures carved on the wall, images of the Chaldeans, engraved in bright red,wearing belts on their waists and flowing turbans on their heads; all of them looked like officers, a depiction of the Babylonians in Chaldea, their native land.At the sight of them she lusted after them and sent messengers to them in Chaldea.Then the Babylonians came to her, to the bed of love, and defiled her with their lust. But after she was defiled by them, she turned away from them in disgust.When she flaunted her promiscuity and exposed her nakedness, I turned away from her in disgust just as I turned away from her sister.Yet she multiplied her acts of promiscuity, remembering the days of her youth when she acted like a prostitute in the land of Egyptand lusted after their lovers, whose sexual members were like those of donkeys and whose emission was like that of stallions.So you revisited the depravity of your youth, when the Egyptians caressed your nipples to enjoy your youthful breasts.“ Therefore, Oholibah, this is what the Lord GOD says: I am going to incite your lovers against you, those you turned away from in disgust. I will bring them against you from every side:the Babylonians and all the Chaldeans; Pekod, Shoa, and Koa; and all the Assyrians with them— desirable young men, all of them governors and prefects, officers and administrators, all of them riding on steeds.They will come against you with an assembly of peoples and with weapons, chariots, and wagons. They will set themselves against you on every side with large and small shields and helmets. I will delegate judgment to them, and they will judge you by their own standards.When I vent my jealous fury on you, they will deal with you in wrath. They will cut off your nose and ears, and the rest of you will fall by the sword. They will seize your sons and daughters, and the rest of you will be consumed by fire.They will strip off your clothes and take your beautiful jewelry.So I will put an end to your depravity and sexual immorality, which began in the land of Egypt, and you will not look longingly at them or remember Egypt anymore.“ For this is what the Lord GOD says: I am going to hand you over to those you hate, to those you turned away from in disgust.They will treat you with hatred, take all you have worked for, and leave you stark naked, so that the shame of your debauchery will be exposed, both your depravity and promiscuity.These things will be done to you because you acted like a prostitute with the nations, defiling yourself with their idols.You have followed the path of your sister, so I will put her cup in your hand.”This is what the Lord GOD says:“ You will drink your sister’s cup, which is deep and wide. You will be an object of ridicule and scorn, for it holds so much.You will be filled with drunkenness and grief, with a cup of devastation and desolation, the cup of your sister Samaria.You will drink it and drain it; then you will gnaw its broken pieces, and tear your breasts. For I have spoken.” This is the declaration of the Lord GOD.Therefore, this is what the Lord GOD says:“ Because you have forgotten me and cast me behind your back, you must bear the consequences of your indecency and promiscuity.”Then the LORD said to me,“ Son of man, will you pass judgment against Oholah and Oholibah? Then declare their detestable practices to them.For they have committed adultery, and blood is on their hands; they have committed adultery with their idols. And the children they bore to me they have sacrificed in the fire as food for the idols.They also did this to me: they defiled my sanctuary on that same day and profaned my Sabbaths.On the same day they slaughtered their children for their idols, they entered my sanctuary to profane it. Yes, that is what they did inside my house.“ In addition, they sent for men who came from far away when a messenger was dispatched to them. And look how they came! You bathed, painted your eyes, and adorned yourself with jewelry for them.You sat on a luxurious couch with a table spread before it, on which you had set my incense and oil.The sound of a carefree crowd was there. Drunkards from the desert were brought in, along with common men. They put bracelets on the women’s hands and beautiful tiaras on their heads.Then I said concerning this woman worn out by adultery: Will they now have illicit sex with her, even her?Yet they had sex with her as one does with a prostitute. This is how they had sex with Oholah and Oholibah, those depraved women.But righteous men will judge them the way adulteresses and those who shed blood are judged, for they are adulteresses and blood is on their hands.“ This is what the Lord GOD says: Summon an assembly against them and consign them to terror and plunder.The assembly will stone them and cut them down with their swords. They will kill their sons and daughters and burn their houses.So I will put an end to depravity in the land, and all the women will be admonished not to imitate your depraved behavior.They will punish you for your depravity, and you will bear the consequences for your sins of idolatry. Then you will know that I am the Lord GOD.”

For with his flattering opinion of himself, he does not discover and hate his iniquity.

who burn with lust among the oaks, under every green tree, who slaughter children in the wadis below the clefts of the rocks?Your portion is among the smooth stones of the wadi; indeed, they are your lot. You have even poured out a drink offering to them; you have offered a grain offering; should I be satisfied with these?

The one who conceals his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them will find mercy.

How long will you turn here and there, faithless daughter? For the LORD creates something new in the land— a female will shelter a man.

You have done these things, and I kept silent; you thought I was just like you. But I will rebuke you and lay out the case before you.

The word of the LORD came to me again:“ Son of man, confront Jerusalem with her detestable practices.You are to say,‘ This is what the Lord GOD says to Jerusalem: Your origin and your birth were in the land of the Canaanites. Your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hethite.As for your birth, your umbilical cord wasn’t cut on the day you were born, and you weren’t washed clean with water. You were not rubbed with salt or wrapped in cloths.No one cared enough about you to do even one of these things out of compassion for you. But you were thrown out into the open field because you were despised on the day you were born.“‘ I passed by you and saw you thrashing around in your blood, and I said to you as you lay in your blood,“ Live!” Yes, I said to you as you lay in your blood,“ Live!”I made you thrive like plants of the field. You grew up and matured and became very beautiful. Your breasts were formed and your hair grew, but you were stark naked.“‘ Then I passed by you and saw you, and you were indeed at the age for love. So I spread the edge of my garment over you and covered your nakedness. I pledged myself to you, entered into a covenant with you— this is the declaration of the Lord GOD— and you became mine.I washed you with water, rinsed off your blood, and anointed you with oil.I clothed you in embroidered cloth and provided you with fine leather sandals. I also wrapped you in fine linen and covered you with silk.I adorned you with jewelry, putting bracelets on your wrists and a necklace around your neck.I put a ring in your nose, earrings on your ears, and a beautiful crown on your head.So you were adorned with gold and silver, and your clothing was made of fine linen, silk, and embroidered cloth. You ate fine flour, honey, and oil. You became extremely beautiful and attained royalty.Your fame spread among the nations because of your beauty, for it was perfect through my splendor, which I had bestowed on you. This is the declaration of the Lord GOD.“‘ 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.You took some of your clothing and made colorful high places for yourself, and you engaged in prostitution on them. These places should not have been built, and this should never have happened!You also took your beautiful jewelry made from the gold and silver I had given you, and you made male images so that you could engage in prostitution with them.Then you took your embroidered clothing to cover them and set my oil and incense before them.The food that I gave you— the fine flour, oil, and honey that I fed you— you set it before them as a pleasing aroma. That is what happened. This is the declaration of the Lord GOD.“‘ You even took your sons and daughters you bore to me and sacrificed them to these images as food. Wasn’t your prostitution enough?You slaughtered my children and gave them up when you passed them through the fire to the images.In all your detestable practices and acts of prostitution, you did not remember the days of your youth when you were stark naked and thrashing around in your blood.“‘ Then after all your evil— Woe, woe to you!— the declaration of the Lord GOD—you built yourself a mound and made yourself an elevated place in every square.You built your elevated place at the head of every street and turned your beauty into a detestable thing. You spread your legs to everyone who passed by and increased your prostitution.You engaged in promiscuous acts with Egyptian men, your well-endowed neighbors, and increased your prostitution to anger me.“‘ Therefore, I stretched out my hand against you and reduced your provisions. I gave you over to the desire of those who hate you, the Philistine women, who were embarrassed by your indecent conduct.Then you engaged in prostitution with the Assyrian men because you were not satisfied. Even though you did this with them, you were still not satisfied.So you extended your prostitution to Chaldea, the land of merchants, but you were not even satisfied with this!“‘ How your heart was inflamed with lust— the declaration of the Lord GOD— when you did all these things, the acts of a brazen prostitute,building your mound at the head of every street and making your elevated place in every square. But you were unlike a prostitute because you scorned payment.You adulterous wife, who receives strangers instead of her husband!Men give gifts to all prostitutes, but you gave gifts to all your lovers. You bribed them to come to you from all around for your sexual favors.So you were the opposite of other women in your acts of prostitution; no one solicited you. When you paid a fee instead of one being paid to you, you were the opposite.“‘ Therefore, you prostitute, hear the word of the LORD!This is what the Lord GOD says: Because your lust was poured out and your nakedness exposed by your acts of prostitution with your lovers, and because of all your detestable idols and the blood of your children that you gave to them,I am therefore going to gather all the lovers you pleased— all those you loved as well as all those you hated. I will gather them against you from all around and expose your nakedness to them so they see you completely naked.I will judge you the way adulteresses and those who shed blood are judged. Then I will bring about the shedding of your blood in jealous wrath.I will hand you over to them, and they will demolish your mounds and tear down your elevated places. They will strip off your clothes, take your beautiful jewelry, and leave you stark naked.They will bring a mob against you to stone you and to cut you to pieces with their swords.They will burn your houses and execute judgments against you in the sight of many women. I will stop you from being a prostitute, and you will never again pay fees for lovers.So I will satisfy my wrath against you, and my jealousy will turn away from you. Then I will be calm and no longer angry.Because you did not remember the days of your youth but enraged me with all these things, I will also bring your conduct down on your own head. This is the declaration of the Lord GOD. Haven’t you committed depravity in addition to all your detestable practices?“‘ Look, everyone who uses proverbs will quote this proverb about you:“ Like mother, like daughter.”You are the daughter of your mother, who despised her husband and children. You are the sister of your sisters, who despised their husbands and children. Your mother was a Hethite and your father an Amorite.Your older sister was Samaria, who lived with her daughters to the north of you, and your younger sister was Sodom, who lived with her daughters to the south of you.Didn’t you walk in their ways and do their detestable practices? It was only a short time before all your ways were more corrupt than theirs.“‘ As I live— the declaration of the Lord GOD— your sister Sodom and her daughters have not behaved as you and your daughters have.Now this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters had pride, plenty of food, and comfortable security, but didn’t support the poor and needy.They were haughty and did detestable acts before me, so I removed them when I saw this.But Samaria did not commit even half your sins. You have multiplied your detestable practices beyond theirs and made your sisters appear righteous by all the detestable acts you have committed.You must also bear your disgrace, since you have helped your sisters out. For they appear more righteous than you because of your sins, which you committed more detestably than they did. So you also, be ashamed and bear your disgrace, since you have made your sisters appear righteous.“‘ I will restore their fortunes, the fortunes of Sodom and her daughters and those of Samaria and her daughters. I will also restore your fortunes among them,so you will bear your disgrace and be ashamed of all you did when you comforted them.As for your sisters, Sodom and her daughters and Samaria and her daughters will return to their former state. You and your daughters will also return to your former state.Didn’t you treat your sister Sodom as an object of scorn when you were proud,before your wickedness was exposed? It was like the time you were scorned by the daughters of Aram and all those around her, and by the daughters of the Philistines— those who treated you with contempt from every side.You yourself must bear the consequences of your depravity and detestable practices— this is the LORD’s declaration.“‘ For this is what the Lord GOD says: I will deal with you according to what you have done, since you have despised the oath by breaking the covenant.But I will remember the covenant I made with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish a permanent covenant with you.Then you will remember your ways and be ashamed when you receive your older and younger sisters. I will give them to you as daughters, but not because of your covenant.I will establish my covenant with you, and you will know that I am the LORD,so that when I make atonement for all you have done, you will remember and be ashamed, and never open your mouth again because of your disgrace. This is the declaration of the Lord GOD.’”

This is the way of an adulteress: she eats and wipes her mouth and says,“ I’ve done nothing wrong.”

Now we know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are subject to the law, so that every mouth may be shut and the whole world may become subject to God’s judgment.

and the Jews celebrated with gladness, joy, and honor.