Study Desk

"But their children, too, rebelled against me. They refused to keep my decrees and follow my regulations, even though obedience would have given them life. And they also violated my Sabbath days. So again I threatened to pour out my fury on them in the wilderness.

I let them pollute themselves with the very gifts I had given them, and I allowed them to give their firstborn children as offerings to their gods—so I might devastate them and remind them that I alone am the Lord .

"Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Again and again you remind me of your sin and your guilt. You don't even try to hide it! In everything you do, your sins are obvious for all to see. So now the time of your punishment has come!

So tell them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because you are all worthless slag, I will bring you to my crucible in Jerusalem.

Your priests have violated my instructions and defiled my holy things. They make no distinction between what is holy and what is not. And they do not teach my people the difference between what is ceremonially clean and unclean. They disregard my Sabbath days so that I am dishonored among them.

"I looked for someone who might rebuild the wall of righteousness that guards the land. I searched for someone to stand in the gap in the wall so I wouldn't have to destroy the land, but I found no one.

So now I will pour out my fury on them, consuming them with the fire of my anger. I will heap on their heads the full penalty for all their sins. I, the Sovereign Lord , have spoken!"

And so she prostituted herself with the most desirable men of Assyria, worshiping their idols and defiling herself.

"And so I handed her over to her Assyrian lovers, whom she desired so much.

When she saw these paintings, she longed to give herself to them, so she sent messengers to Babylonia to invite them to come to her.

So they came and committed adultery with her, defiling her in the bed of love. After being defiled, however, she rejected them in disgust.

And so, Oholibah, you relived your former days as a young girl in Egypt, when you first allowed your breasts to be fondled.

They will all come against you from the north with chariots, wagons, and a great army prepared for attack. They will take up positions on every side, surrounding you with men armed with shields and helmets. And I will hand you over to them for punishment so they can do with you as they please.

So I will splash her blood on a rock for all to see, an expression of my anger and vengeance against her.

But it's hopeless; the corruption can't be cleaned out. So throw it into the fire.

Your impurity is your lewdness and the corruption of your idolatry. I tried to cleanse you, but you refused. So now you will remain in your filth until my fury against you has been satisfied.

So I proclaimed this to the people the next morning, and in the evening my wife died. The next morning I did everything I had been told to do.

So I said to them, "A message came to me from the Lord ,

And when he arrives, your voice will suddenly return so you can talk to him, and you will be a symbol for these people. Then they will know that I am the Lord ."

Your rich commerce led you to violence, and you sinned. So I banished you in disgrace from the mountain of God. I expelled you, O mighty guardian, from your place among the stones of fire.