Study Desk

But Jerusalem, you will become unclean. And the other nations will see all these things happen. Then you will know that I am the Lord .'"

"Son of man, bronze, iron, lead, and tin are important metals, but when a worker melts silver to make it pure, those metals are poured off as waste. Israel has become like that waste to me.

"The prophets don't warn the people—they cover up the truth. They are like workers who don't really repair a wall—they only put plaster over the holes. They only see lies. They do their magic to learn the future, but they only tell lies. They say, ‘This is what the Lord God said.' But they are only lying—the Lord did not speak to them!

"I asked the people to change their lives and protect their country. I asked people to fix the walls. I wanted them to stand by those holes in the wall and fight to protect their city. But no one came to help!

"Her younger sister Oholibah saw all these things happen. But Oholibah sinned more than her sister did! She was more unfaithful than Oholah.

But Oholibah thought about her time as a prostitute in Egypt when she was young, and she turned to even more prostitution.

So Oholibah, this is what the Lord God says: ‘You became disgusted with your lovers, but I will bring them here, and they will surround you.

They committed the sin of adultery. They are guilty of murder. They acted like prostitutes—they left me to be with their filthy idols. They had my children, but they forced them to pass through fire. They did this to give food to their filthy idols.

But they kept going to her as they would go to a prostitute. Yes, they went again and again to Oholah and Oholibah, those wicked women.

"But good men will judge them guilty of adultery and murder, because Oholah and Oholibah committed adultery and their hands are covered with blood!"

"‘Jerusalem might work hard to scrub away her stains. But that ‘rust' will not go away! Only the fire of punishment will remove it.

"‘You sinned against me and became stained with sin. I wanted to wash you and make you clean, but the stains would not come out. I will not try washing you again until my hot anger is finished with you!

"Son of man, you love your wife very much, but I am going to take her away from you. Your wife will die suddenly, but you must not show your sadness. You must not cry loudly. You will cry and your tears will fall,

but you must mourn quietly. Dress as you normally do; wear your turban and sandals; don't cover your mustache, and don't eat the food people normally eat when someone dies."

to speak to the family of Israel. The Lord God said, ‘Look, I will destroy my holy place. You are proud of that place and sing songs of praise about it. You love to see it. You really love that place. But I will destroy it, and your children that you left behind will be killed in battle.

But you will do the same things that I have done about my dead wife. You will not cover your mustache or eat the food people normally eat when someone dies.

You will wear your turbans and your sandals. You will not show your sadness publicly or cry publicly, but you will waste away with guilt and talk to each other quietly about your grief.

The Lord said, "Son of man, I will take away the place that makes the people feel safe—Jerusalem, that beautiful city that makes them so happy. They really love that place. They love to look at it. But I will take it away from them, and I will also take their children. On that day one of the survivors will come to you with the bad news about Jerusalem.

They will sing this sad song about you: "‘Tyre, you were a famous city. People came from across the sea to live in you. You were famous, but now you are gone! You were strong on the sea, and so were the people who lived in you. You made all who live on the mainland afraid of you.

Other people will be afraid about what happened to you. You will be finished. People will look for you, but they will never find you again." That is what the Lord God says.