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,

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.

“ 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 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 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,

And they have built the high places of Topheth, which is in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire, which I did not command, nor did it come into my mind.

There are those who are clean in their own eyes but are not washed of their filth.

but have stubbornly followed their own hearts and have gone after the Baals, as their fathers taught them.

The man said,“ The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.”Then the Lord God said to the woman,“ What is this that you have done?” The woman said,“ The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

“ How well you direct your course to seek love! So that even to wicked women you have taught your ways.Also on your skirts is found the lifeblood of the guiltless poor; you did not find them breaking in. Yet in spite of all these thingsyou say,‘ I am innocent; surely his anger has turned from me.’ Behold, I will bring you to judgment for saying,‘ I have not sinned.’

But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus,“ And who is my neighbor?”

Lift up your eyes to the bare heights, and see! Where have you not been ravished? By the waysides you have sat awaiting lovers like an Arab in the wilderness. You have polluted the land with your vile whoredom.

For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see.

And Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said to him,“ Blessed be you to the Lord. I have performed the commandment of the Lord.”And Samuel said,“ What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears and the lowing of the oxen that I hear?”

The word of the Lord came to me:“ Son of man, there were two women, the daughters of one mother.They played the whore in Egypt; they played the whore in their youth; there their breasts were pressed and their virgin bosoms handled.Oholah was the name of the elder and Oholibah the name of her sister. They became mine, and they bore sons and daughters. As for their names, Oholah is Samaria, and Oholibah is Jerusalem.“ Oholah played the whore while she was mine, and she lusted after her lovers the Assyrians, warriorsclothed in purple, governors and commanders, all of them desirable young men, horsemen riding on horses.She bestowed her whoring upon them, the choicest men of Assyria all of them, and she defiled herself with all the idols of everyone after whom she lusted.She did not give up her whoring that she had begun in Egypt; for in her youth men had lain with her and handled her virgin bosom and poured out their whoring lust upon her.Therefore I delivered her into the hands of her lovers, into the hands of the Assyrians, after whom she lusted.These uncovered her nakedness; they seized her sons and her daughters; and as for her, they killed her with the sword; and she became a byword among women, when judgment had been executed on her.“ Her sister Oholibah saw this, and she became more corrupt than her sister in her lust and in her whoring, which was worse than that of her sister.She lusted after the Assyrians, governors and commanders, warriors clothed in full armor, horsemen riding on horses, all of them desirable young men.And I saw that she was defiled; they both took the same way.But she carried her whoring further. She saw men portrayed on the wall, the images of the Chaldeans portrayed in vermilion,wearing belts on their waists, with flowing turbans on their heads, all of them having the appearance of officers, a likeness of Babylonians whose native land was Chaldea.When she saw them, she lusted after them and sent messengers to them in Chaldea.And the Babylonians came to her into the bed of love, and they defiled her with their whoring lust. And after she was defiled by them, she turned from them in disgust.When she carried on her whoring so openly and flaunted her nakedness, I turned in disgust from her, as I had turned in disgust from her sister.Yet she increased her whoring, remembering the days of her youth, when she played the whore in the land of Egyptand lusted after her lovers there, whose members were like those of donkeys, and whose issue was like that of horses.Thus you longed for the lewdness of your youth, when the Egyptians handled your bosom and pressed your young breasts.”Therefore, O Oholibah, thus says the Lord God:“ Behold, I will stir up against you your lovers from whom you turned in disgust, and I will bring them against you from every side:the Babylonians and all the Chaldeans, Pekod and Shoa and Koa, and all the Assyrians with them, desirable young men, governors and commanders all of them, officers and men of renown, all of them riding on horses.And they shall come against you from the north with chariots and wagons and a host of peoples. They shall set themselves against you on every side with buckler, shield, and helmet; and I will commit the judgment to them, and they shall judge you according to their judgments.And I will direct my jealousy against you, that they may deal with you in fury. They shall cut off your nose and your ears, and your survivors shall fall by the sword. They shall seize your sons and your daughters, and your survivors shall be devoured by fire.They shall also strip you of your clothes and take away your beautiful jewels.Thus I will put an end to your lewdness and your whoring begun in the land of Egypt, so that you shall not lift up your eyes to them or remember Egypt anymore.“ For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will deliver you into the hands of those whom you hate, into the hands of those from whom you turned in disgust,and they shall deal with you in hatred and take away all the fruit of your labor and leave you naked and bare, and the nakedness of your whoring shall be uncovered. Your lewdness and your whoringhave brought this upon you, because you played the whore with the nations and defiled yourself with their idols.You have gone the way of your sister; therefore I will give her cup into your hand.Thus says the Lord God:“ You shall drink your sister’s cup that is deep and large; you shall be laughed at and held in derision, for it contains much;you will be filled with drunkenness and sorrow. A cup of horror and desolation, the cup of your sister Samaria;you shall drink it and drain it out, and gnaw its shards, and tear your breasts; for I have spoken, declares the Lord God.Therefore thus says the Lord God: Because you have forgotten me and cast me behind your back, you yourself must bear the consequences of your lewdness and whoring.”The Lord said to me:“ Son of man, will you judge Oholah and Oholibah? Declare to them their abominations.For they have committed adultery, and blood is on their hands. With their idols they have committed adultery, and they have even offered up to them for food the children whom they had borne to me.Moreover, this they have done to me: they have defiled my sanctuary on the same day and profaned my Sabbaths.For when they had slaughtered their children in sacrifice to their idols, on the same day they came into my sanctuary to profane it. And behold, this is what they did in my house.They even sent for men to come from afar, to whom a messenger was sent; and behold, they came. For them you bathed yourself, painted your eyes, and adorned yourself with ornaments.You sat on a stately couch, with a table spread before it on which you had placed my incense and my oil.The sound of a carefree multitude was with her; and with men of the common sort, drunkards were brought from the wilderness; and they put bracelets on the hands of the women, and beautiful crowns on their heads.“ Then I said of her who was worn out by adultery,‘ Now they will continue to use her for a whore, even her!’For they have gone in to her, as men go in to a prostitute. Thus they went in to Oholah and to Oholibah, lewd women!But righteous men shall pass judgment on them with the sentence of adulteresses, and with the sentence of women who shed blood, because they are adulteresses, and blood is on their hands.”For thus says the Lord God:“ Bring up a vast host against them, and make them an object of terror and a plunder.And the host shall stone them and cut them down with their swords. They shall kill their sons and their daughters, and burn up their houses.Thus will I put an end to lewdness in the land, that all women may take warning and not commit lewdness as you have done.And they shall return your lewdness upon you, and you shall bear the penalty for your sinful idolatry, and you shall know that I am the Lord God.”

For he flatters himself in his own eyes that his iniquity cannot be found out and hated.

you who burn with lust among the oaks, under every green tree, who slaughter your children in the valleys, under the clefts of the rocks?Among the smooth stones of the valley is your portion; they, they, are your lot; to them you have poured out a drink offering, you have brought a grain offering. Shall I relent for these things?

Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.

How long will you waver, O faithless daughter? For the Lord has created a new thing on the earth: a woman encircles a man.”

These things you have done, and I have been silent; you thought that I was one like yourself. But now I rebuke you and lay the charge before you.

Again the word of the Lord came to me:“ Son of man, make known to Jerusalem her abominations,and say, Thus says the Lord God to Jerusalem: Your origin and your birth are of the land of the Canaanites; your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite.And as for your birth, on the day you were born your cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water to cleanse you, nor rubbed with salt, nor wrapped in swaddling cloths.No eye pitied you, to do any of these things to you out of compassion for you, but you were cast out on the open field, for you were abhorred, on the day that you were born.“ And when I passed by you and saw you wallowing in your blood, I said to you in your blood,‘ Live!’ I said to you in your blood,‘ Live!’I made you flourish like a plant of the field. And you grew up and became tall and arrived at full adornment. Your breasts were formed, and your hair had grown; yet you were naked and bare.“ When I passed by you again and saw you, behold, you were at the age for love, and I spread the corner of my garment over you and covered your nakedness; I made my vow to you and entered into a covenant with you, declares the Lord God, and you became mine.Then I bathed you with water and washed off your blood from you and anointed you with oil.I clothed you also with embroidered cloth and shod you with fine leather. I wrapped you in fine linen and covered you with silk.And I adorned you with ornaments and put bracelets on your wrists and a chain on your neck.And I put a ring on your nose and earrings in your ears and a beautiful crown on your head.Thus you were adorned with gold and silver, and your clothing was of fine linen and silk and embroidered cloth. You ate fine flour and honey and oil. You grew exceedingly beautiful and advanced to royalty.And your renown went forth among the nations because of your beauty, for it was perfect through the splendor that I had bestowed on you, declares the Lord God.“ 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.You took some of your garments and made for yourself colorful shrines, and on them played the whore. The like has never been, nor ever shall be.You also took your beautiful jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given you, and made for yourself images of men, and with them played the whore.And you took your embroidered garments to cover them, and set my oil and my incense before them.Also my bread that I gave you— I fed you with fine flour and oil and honey— you set before them for a pleasing aroma; and so it was, declares the Lord God.And you took your sons and your daughters, whom you had borne to me, and these you sacrificed to them to be devoured. Were your whorings so small a matterthat you slaughtered my children and delivered them up as an offering by fire to them?And in all your abominations and your whorings you did not remember the days of your youth, when you were naked and bare, wallowing in your blood.“ And after all your wickedness( woe, woe to you! declares the Lord God),you built yourself a vaulted chamber and made yourself a lofty place in every square.At the head of every street you built your lofty place and made your beauty an abomination, offering yourself to any passerby and multiplying your whoring.You also played the whore with the Egyptians, your lustful neighbors, multiplying your whoring, to provoke me to anger.Behold, therefore, I stretched out my hand against you and diminished your allotted portion and delivered you to the greed of your enemies, the daughters of the Philistines, who were ashamed of your lewd behavior.You played the whore also with the Assyrians, because you were not satisfied; yes, you played the whore with them, and still you were not satisfied.You multiplied your whoring also with the trading land of Chaldea, and even with this you were not satisfied.“ How sick is your heart, declares the Lord God, because you did all these things, the deeds of a brazen prostitute,building your vaulted chamber at the head of every street, and making your lofty place in every square. Yet you were not like a prostitute, because you scorned payment.Adulterous wife, who receives strangers instead of her husband!Men give gifts to all prostitutes, but you gave your gifts to all your lovers, bribing them to come to you from every side with your whorings.So you were different from other women in your whorings. No one solicited you to play the whore, and you gave payment, while no payment was given to you; therefore you were different.“ Therefore, O prostitute, hear the word of the Lord:Thus says the Lord God, Because your lust was poured out and your nakedness uncovered in your whorings with your lovers, and with all your abominable idols, and because of the blood of your children that you gave to them,therefore, behold, I will gather all your lovers with whom you took pleasure, all those you loved and all those you hated. I will gather them against you from every side and will uncover your nakedness to them, that they may see all your nakedness.And I will judge you as women who commit adultery and shed blood are judged, and bring upon you the blood of wrath and jealousy.And I will give you into their hands, and they shall throw down your vaulted chamber and break down your lofty places. They shall strip you of your clothes and take your beautiful jewels and leave you naked and bare.They shall bring up a crowd against you, and they shall stone you and cut you to pieces with their swords.And they shall burn your houses and execute judgments upon you in the sight of many women. I will make you stop playing the whore, and you shall also give payment no more.So will I satisfy my wrath on you, and my jealousy shall depart from you. I will be calm and will no more be angry.Because you have not remembered the days of your youth, but have enraged me with all these things, therefore, behold, I have returned your deeds upon your head, declares the Lord God. Have you not committed lewdness in addition to all your abominations?“ Behold, everyone who uses proverbs will use this proverb about you:‘ Like mother, like daughter.’You are the daughter of your mother, who loathed her husband and her children; and you are the sister of your sisters, who loathed their husbands and their children. Your mother was a Hittite and your father an Amorite.And your elder sister is Samaria, who lived with her daughters to the north of you; and your younger sister, who lived to the south of you, is Sodom with her daughters.Not only did you walk in their ways and do according to their abominations; within a very little time you were more corrupt than they in all your ways.As I live, declares the Lord God, your sister Sodom and her daughters have not done as you and your daughters have done.Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy.They were haughty and did an abomination before me. So I removed them, when I saw it.Samaria has not committed half your sins. You have committed more abominations than they, and have made your sisters appear righteous by all the abominations that you have committed.Bear your disgrace, you also, for you have intervened on behalf of your sisters. Because of your sins in which you acted more abominably than they, they are more in the right than you. So be ashamed, you also, and bear your disgrace, for you have made your sisters appear righteous.“ I will restore their fortunes, both the fortunes of Sodom and her daughters, and the fortunes of Samaria and her daughters, and I will restore your own fortunes in their midst,that you may bear your disgrace and be ashamed of all that you have done, becoming a consolation to them.As for your sisters, Sodom and her daughters shall return to their former state, and Samaria and her daughters shall return to their former state, and you and your daughters shall return to your former state.Was not your sister Sodom a byword in your mouth in the day of your pride,before your wickedness was uncovered? Now you have become an object of reproach for the daughters of Syria and all those around her, and for the daughters of the Philistines, those all around who despise you.You bear the penalty of your lewdness and your abominations, declares the Lord.“ For thus says the Lord God: I will deal with you as you have done, you who have despised the oath in breaking the covenant,yet I will remember my covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish for you an everlasting covenant.Then you will remember your ways and be ashamed when you take your sisters, both your elder and your younger, and I give them to you as daughters, but not on account of the covenant with you.I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall know that I am the Lord,that you may remember and be confounded, and never open your mouth again because of your shame, when I atone for you for all that you have done, declares the Lord God.”

This is the way of an adulteress: she eats and wipes her mouth and says,“ I have done no wrong.”

Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God.

The Jews had light and gladness and joy and honor.