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Chapter 14

Idolatry and Unfaithfulness. Some elders of Israel came and sat down before me.(A) Then the word of the Lord came to me: Son of man, these men keep the memory of their idols alive in their hearts, setting the stumbling block of their sin before them. Should I allow myself to be consulted by them? Therefore say to them: Thus says the Lord God: If any of the house of Israel who keep the memory of their idols in their hearts, setting the stumbling block of their sin before them, come to a prophet, I the Lord will answer in person because of their many idols, in order to catch the hearts of the house of Israel, estranged from me because of all their idols.

Therefore say to the house of Israel: Thus says the Lord God: Return, turn away from your idols; from all your abominations, turn your faces.(B) For if anyone of the house of Israel or any alien residing in Israel who are estranged from me and who keep their idols in their hearts, setting the stumbling block of their sin before them, come to ask a prophet to consult me on their behalf, I the Lord will answer them in person. I will set my face against them and make them a sign and a byword, and cut them off from the midst of my people. Thus you shall know that I am the Lord.

(C)As for the prophet, if he speaks a deceiving word, I the Lord am the one who deceives that prophet.[a] I will stretch out my hand against him and destroy him from the midst of my people Israel. 10 They will be punished for their own sins, the inquirer and the prophet alike, 11 so that the house of Israel may no longer stray from me, no longer defile themselves by all their sins. Then they shall be my people, and I shall be their God—oracle of the Lord God.

Just Cause.[b] 12 The word of the Lord came to me: 13 (D)Son of man, if a land sins against me by breaking faith, and I stretch out my hand against it, breaking its staff of bread and setting famine loose upon it, cutting off from it human being and beast alike— 14 even if these three were in it, Noah, Daniel, and Job,[c] they could only save themselves by their righteousness—oracle of the Lord God.(E) 15 If I summoned wild beasts to prowl the land, depopulating it so that it became a wasteland which no one would cross because of the wild beasts,(F) 16 and these three were in it, as I live—oracle of the Lord God—I swear they could save neither sons nor daughters; they alone would be saved, but the land would become a wasteland.(G) 17 Or if I bring the sword upon this land, commanding the sword to pass through the land cutting off from it human being and beast alike,(H) 18 and these three were in it, as I live—oracle of the Lord God—they could save neither sons nor daughters; they alone would be saved. 19 Or if I send plague into this land, pouring out upon it my bloody wrath, cutting off from it human being and beast alike, 20 even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live—oracle of the Lord God—they could save neither son nor daughter; they would save only themselves by their righteousness.

21 Thus says the Lord God: Even though I send against Jerusalem my four evil punishments—sword, famine, wild beasts, and plague—to cut off from it human being and beast alike,(I) 22 there will still be some survivors in it who will bring out sons and daughters. When they come out to you and you see their ways and their deeds, you shall be consoled regarding the evil I brought on Jerusalem, everything I brought upon it. 23 They shall console you when you see their ways and their deeds, and you shall know that not without reason did I do to it everything I did—oracle of the Lord God.(J)

Chapter 15

Parable of the Vine. [d]The word of the Lord came to me:

Son of man,
    what makes the wood of the vine
Better than the wood of branches
    found on the trees in the forest?(K)
Can wood be taken from it
    to make something useful?
Can someone make even a peg out of it
    on which to hang a vessel?
Of course not! If it is fed to the fire for fuel,
    and the fire devours both ends of it,
Leaving the middle charred,
    is it useful for anything then?
Even when it is whole
    it cannot be used for anything;
So when fire has devoured and charred it,
    how useful can it be?
Therefore, thus says the Lord God:
Like vine wood among forest trees,
    which I have given as fuel for fire,
So I will give the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
I will set my face against them:
Although they have escaped the fire,
    the fire will still devour them;
You shall know that I am the Lord,
    when I set my face against them.(L)
Yes, I will make the land desolate,
    because they are so unfaithful—
    oracle of the Lord God.

Chapter 16

A Parable of Infidelity. The word of the Lord came to me: Son of man, make known to Jerusalem her abominations.(M) You shall say, Thus says the Lord God to Jerusalem: By origin and birth you belong to the land of the Canaanites; your father was an Amorite, your mother a Hittite.[e](N) [f]As for your birth, on the day you were born your navel cord was not cut; you were not washed with water or anointed; you were not rubbed with salt or wrapped in swaddling clothes.(O) No eye looked on you with pity or compassion to do any of these things for you. Rather, on the day you were born you were left out in the field, rejected.

Then I passed by and saw you struggling in your blood, and I said to you in your blood, “Live!” I helped you grow up like a field plant, so that you grew, maturing into a woman with breasts developed and hair grown; but still you were stark naked. I passed by you again and saw that you were now old enough for love. So I spread the corner of my cloak[g] over you to cover your nakedness; I swore an oath to you and entered into covenant with you—oracle of the Lord God—and you became mine.(P) Then I bathed you with water, washed away your blood, and anointed you with oil.(Q) 10 I clothed you with an embroidered gown, put leather sandals on your feet; I gave you a fine linen sash and silk robes to wear.(R) 11 I adorned you with jewelry, putting bracelets on your arms, a necklace about your neck,(S) 12 a ring in your nose, earrings in your ears, and a beautiful crown on your head. 13 Thus you were adorned with gold and silver; your garments made of fine linen, silk, and embroidered cloth. Fine flour, honey, and olive oil were your food. You were very, very beautiful, fit for royalty.(T) 14 You were renowned among the nations for your beauty, perfected by the splendor I showered on you—oracle of the Lord God.

15 But you trusted in your own beauty and used your renown to serve as a prostitute. You poured out your prostitution on every passerby—let it be his.(U) 16 [h]You took some of your garments and made for yourself gaudy high places, where you served as a prostitute. It has never happened before, nor will it happen again!(V) 17 You took the splendid gold and silver ornaments that I had given you and made for yourself male images and served as a prostitute with them. 18 You took your embroidered garments to cover them; my oil and my incense you set before them; 19 the food I had given you, the fine flour, the oil, and the honey with which I fed you, you set before them as a pleasant odor, says the Lord God.(W) 20 [i](X)The sons and daughters you bore for me you took and offered as sacrifices for them to devour! Was it not enough that you had become a prostitute? 21 (Y)You slaughtered and immolated my children to them, making them pass through fire. 22 In all your abominations and prostitutions you did not remember the days of your youth when you were stark naked, struggling in your blood.(Z)

23 Then after all your evildoing—woe, woe to you! oracle of the Lord God 24 you built yourself a platform and raised up a dais[j] in every public place.(AA) 25 (AB)At every intersection you built yourself a dais so that you could degrade your beauty by spreading your legs for every passerby, multiplying your prostitutions. 26 You served as a prostitute with the Egyptians, your big-membered neighbors, and multiplied your prostitutions to provoke me. 27 Therefore I stretched out my hand against you and reduced your allotment, and delivered you over to the whim of your enemies, the Philistines,[k] who were revolted by your depraved conduct.(AC) 28 You also served as a prostitute for the Assyrians, because you were not satisfied. Even after serving as a prostitute for them, you were still not satisfied.(AD) 29 You increased your prostitutions again, now going to Chaldea, the land of traders; but despite this, you were still not satisfied.(AE)

30 How wild your lust!—oracle of the Lord God—that you did all these works of a shameless prostitute, 31 when you built your platform at every intersection and set up your high place in every public square. But unlike a prostitute, you disdained payment. 32 Adulterous wife, taking strangers in place of her husband! 33 Prostitutes usually receive gifts. But you bestowed gifts on all your lovers, bribing them to come to you for prostitution from every side.(AF) 34 Thus in your prostitution you were different from any other woman. No one solicited you for prostitution. Instead, you yourself offered payment; what a reversal!

35 Therefore, prostitute, hear the word of the Lord! 36 Thus says the Lord God: Because you poured out your lust and exposed your nakedness in your prostitution with your lovers and your abominable idols, because you gave the life-blood of your children to them, 37 (AG)therefore, I will now gather together all your lovers with whom you found pleasure, both those you loved and those you hated; I will gather them against you from all sides and expose you naked for them to see. 38 [l]I will inflict on you the sentence of adultery and murder; I will bring on you bloody wrath and jealous anger.(AH) 39 I will hand you over to them to tear down your platform and demolish your high place, to strip you of your garments and take away your splendid ornaments, leaving you stark naked.(AI) 40 They shall lead an assembly against you to stone you and hack you to pieces with their swords.(AJ) 41 (AK)They shall set fire to your homes and inflict punishments on you while many women watch. Thus I will put an end to your prostitution, and you shall never again offer payment. 42 When I have spent my fury upon you I will stop being jealous about you, and calm down, no longer angry. 43 Because you did not remember the days of your youth but enraged me with all these things, see, I am bringing down your ways upon your head—oracle of the Lord God. Have you not added depravity to your other abominations?

44 See, everyone who makes proverbs will make this proverb about you, “Like mother, like daughter.” 45 Yes, you are truly the daughter of your mother[m] who rejected her husband and children: you are truly a sister to your sisters who rejected their husbands and children—your mother was a Hittite and your father an Amorite.(AL) 46 [n]Your elder sister was Samaria with her daughters to the north of you; and your younger sister was Sodom and her daughters, south of you.(AM) 47 Not only did you walk in their ways and act as abominably as they did, but in a very short time you became more corrupt in all your ways than they were.(AN) 48 As I live—oracle of the Lord God—I swear that your sister Sodom with her daughters have not done the things you and your daughters have done!(AO) 49 (AP)Now look at the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters were proud, sated with food, complacent in prosperity. They did not give any help to the poor and needy. 50 Instead, they became arrogant and committed abominations before me; then, as you have seen, I removed them.(AQ) 51 Samaria did not commit half the sins you did. You have done more abominable things than they did. You even made your sisters look righteous, with all the abominations you have done. 52 You, then, must bear your disgrace, for you have made a case for your sisters! Because your sins are more abominable than theirs, they seem righteous compared to you. Blush for shame, and bear the disgrace of having made your sisters appear righteous.

53 I will restore their fortunes, the fortunes of Sodom and her daughters, the fortunes of Samaria and her daughters—and your fortunes along with them. 54 Thus you must bear your disgrace and be ashamed of all you have done to bring them comfort. 55 Yes, your sisters, Sodom and her daughters, Samaria and her daughters, shall return to the way they were,(AR) and you and your daughters shall return to the way you were. 56 Did you not hold your sister Sodom in bad repute while you felt proud of yourself, 57 before your evil was exposed? Now you are like her, reproached by the Arameans and all their neighbors, despised on all sides by the Philistines.(AS) 58 The penalty of your depravity and your abominations—you must bear it all—oracle of the Lord.

59 For thus says the Lord God: I will deal with you for what you did; you despised an oath by breaking a covenant.(AT) 60 But I will remember the covenant I made with you when you were young; I will set up an everlasting covenant[o] with you.(AU) 61 Then you shall remember your ways and be ashamed when you receive your sisters, those older and younger than you; I give them to you as daughters, but not by reason of your covenant. 62 For I will re-establish my covenant with you, that you may know that I am the Lord,(AV) 63 that you may remember and be ashamed, and never again open your mouth because of your disgrace, when I pardon you for all you have done—oracle of the Lord God.(AW)

Chapter 17

The Eagles and the Vine. The word of the Lord came to me: Son of man, propose a riddle, and tell this proverb to the house of Israel: Thus says the Lord God:

The great eagle, with wide wingspan
    and long feathers, with thick plumage,
    many-hued, came to Lebanon.
He plucked the crest of the cedar,(AX)
    broke off its topmost branch,
And brought it to a land of merchants,
    set it in a city of traders.
Then he took some native seed
    and planted it in fertile soil;
A shoot beside plentiful waters,
    like a willow he planted it,(AY)
That it might sprout and become a vine,
    dense and low-lying,
With its branches turned toward him,
    its roots beneath it.
Thus it became a vine, produced branches,
    and put forth shoots.
Then another great eagle appeared,
    with wide wingspan, rich in plumage,
And see! This vine bent its roots to him,
    sent out branches for him to water.
From the bed where it was planted,(AZ)
    it was transplanted to a fertile field
By abundant waters, to produce branches,
    to bear fruit, to become a majestic vine.
Say: Thus says the Lord God: Can it thrive?
Will he not tear up its roots
    and strip its fruit?
Then all its green leaves will wither—
    neither strong arm nor mighty nation
    is needed to uproot it.
10 True, it is planted; but will it thrive?
    Will it not wither up
When the east wind strikes it,
    wither in the very bed where it sprouted?(BA)

11 [p]The word of the Lord came to me:

12 Now say to the rebellious house:
    Do you not understand this? Tell them!
The king of Babylon came to Jerusalem
    and took away its king and officials
    and brought them to him in Babylon.(BB)
13 After removing the nobles from the land,
    he then took one of the royal line
And made a covenant with him,
    binding him under oath,(BC)
14 To be a humble kingdom,
    without high aspirations,
    to keep his covenant and so survive.
15 But this one rebelled against him
    by sending envoys to Egypt
To obtain horses and a mighty army.
    Can he thrive?
Can he escape if he does this?
    Can he break a covenant and go free?(BD)
16 As I live—oracle of the Lord God
    in the house of the king who set him up to rule,
Whose oath he ignored and whose covenant he broke,
    there in Babylon I swear he shall die!(BE)
17 Pharaoh shall not help him on the day of battle,
    with a great force and mighty horde,
When ramps are thrown up and siege works built
    for the cutting down of many lives.
18 He ignored his oath, breaking his covenant;
    even though he gave his hand, he did all these things—
    he shall not escape!(BF)
19 Therefore, thus says the Lord God:
    As I live, my oath which he spurned,
And my covenant which he broke,
    I will bring down on his head.
20 I will spread my net over him,
    and he will be caught in my snare.
I will bring him to Babylon
    to judge him there
    because he broke faith with me.(BG)
21 Any among his forces who escape
    will fall by the sword,
And whoever might survive
    will be scattered to the winds.(BH)
Thus you will know that I the Lord have spoken.
22 Thus says the Lord God:
I, too, will pluck from the crest of the cedar
    the highest branch.
From the top a tender shoot
    I will break off and transplant[q]
    on a high, lofty mountain.
23 On the mountain height of Israel
    I will plant it.
It shall put forth branches and bear fruit,
    and become a majestic cedar.
Every small bird will nest under it,
    all kinds of winged birds will dwell
    in the shade of its branches.(BI)
24 Every tree of the field will know
    that I am the Lord.
I bring low the high tree,
    lift high the lowly tree,
Wither up the green tree,
    and make the dry tree bloom.(BJ)
As I, the Lord, have spoken, so will I do!

Chapter 18

Personal Responsibility. The word of the Lord came to me: Son of man, what is the meaning of this proverb you recite in the land of Israel:

“Parents eat sour grapes,(BK)
    but the children’s teeth are set on edge”?[r]

As I live—oracle of the Lord God: I swear that none of you will ever repeat this proverb in Israel. For all life is mine: the life of the parent is like the life of the child, both are mine. Only the one who sins shall die!

If a man is just—if he does what is right, if he does not eat on the mountains,[s] or raise his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel; if he does not defile a neighbor’s wife, or have relations with a woman during her period;(BL) (BM)if he oppresses no one, gives back the pledge received for a debt, commits no robbery; gives food to the hungry and clothes the naked; if he does not lend at interest or exact usury; if he refrains from evildoing and makes a fair judgment between two opponents;(BN) if he walks by my statutes and is careful to observe my ordinances, that man is just—he shall surely live—oracle of the Lord God.(BO)

10 But if he begets a son who is violent and commits murder, or does any of these things,(BP) 11 even though the father does none of them—a son who eats on the mountains, defiles the wife of his neighbor, 12 oppresses the poor and needy, commits robbery, does not give back a pledge, raises his eyes to idols, does abominable things, 13 lends at interest and exacts usury—this son certainly shall not live. Because he practiced all these abominations, he shall surely be put to death; his own blood shall be on him.(BQ)

14 But, in turn, if he begets a son who sees all the sins his father commits, yet fears and does not imitate him— 15 a son who does not eat on the mountains, or raise his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, or defile a neighbor’s wife; 16 who does not oppress anyone, or exact a pledge, or commit robbery; who gives his food to the hungry and clothes the naked;(BR) 17 who refrains from evildoing, accepts no interest or usury, but keeps my ordinances and walks in my statutes—this one shall not die for the sins of his father. He shall surely live! 18 Only the father, since he committed extortion and robbed his brother, and did what was not good among his people—he will die because of his sin! 19 You ask: “Why is not the son charged with the guilt of his father?” Because the son has done what is just and right and has been careful to observe all my statutes—he shall surely live! 20 (BS)Only the one who sins shall die. The son shall not be charged with the guilt of his father, nor shall the father be charged with the guilt of his son. Justice belongs to the just, and wickedness to the wicked.

21 But if the wicked man turns away from all the sins he has committed, if he keeps all my statutes and does what is just and right, he shall surely live. He shall not die! 22 None of the crimes he has committed shall be remembered against him; he shall live because of the justice he has shown. 23 (BT)Do I find pleasure in the death of the wicked—oracle of the Lord God? Do I not rejoice when they turn from their evil way and live?

24 And if the just turn from justice and do evil, like all the abominations the wicked do, can they do this evil and still live? None of the justice they did shall be remembered, because they acted treacherously and committed these sins; because of this, they shall die.(BU) 25 (BV)You say, “The Lord’s way is not fair!”[t] Hear now, house of Israel: Is it my way that is unfair? Are not your ways unfair? 26 When the just turn away from justice to do evil and die, on account of the evil they did they must die. 27 But if the wicked turn from the wickedness they did and do what is right and just, they save their lives; 28 since they turned away from all the sins they committed, they shall live; they shall not die. 29 But the house of Israel says, “The Lord’s way is not fair!” Is it my way that is not fair, house of Israel? Is it not your ways that are not fair?

30 (BW)Therefore I will judge you, house of Israel, all of you according to your ways—oracle of the Lord God. Turn, turn back from all your crimes, that they may not be a cause of sin for you ever again. 31 Cast away from you all the crimes you have committed, and make for yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. Why should you die, house of Israel?(BX) 32 (BY)For I find no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies—oracle of the Lord God. Turn back and live!

Chapter 19

Allegory of the Lions[u]

As for you, raise a lamentation over the princes of Israel, and say:

What a lioness was your mother,
    a lion among lions!
She made her lair among young lions,
    to raise her cubs;
One cub she raised up,
    a young lion he became;
He learned to tear apart prey,
    he devoured people.(BZ)
Nations heard about him;
    in their pit he was caught;
They took him away with hooks
    to the land of Egypt.[v](CA)
When she realized she had waited in vain,
    she lost hope.
She took another of her cubs,
    and made him a young lion.
He prowled among the lions,
    became a young lion;
He learned to tear apart prey,
    he devoured people.(CB)
He ravaged their strongholds,
    laid waste their cities.
The earth and everything in it were terrified
    at the sound of his roar.
Nations laid out against him
    snares all around;
They spread their net for him,
    in their pit he was caught.(CC)
They put him in fetters and took him away
    to the king of Babylon,
So his roar would no longer be heard
    on the mountains of Israel.

Allegory of the Vine Branch

10 Your mother was like a leafy vine[w]
    planted by water,
Fruitful and full of branches
    because of abundant water.
11 One strong branch grew
    into a royal scepter.
So tall it towered among the clouds,
    conspicuous in height,
    with dense foliage.(CD)
12 But she was torn out in fury
    and flung to the ground;
The east wind withered her up,
    her fruit was plucked away;
Her strongest branch dried up,
    fire devoured it.(CE)
13 Now she is planted in a wilderness,
    in a dry, parched land.(CF)
14 Fire flashed from her branch,
    and devoured her shoots;
Now she does not have a strong branch,
    a royal scepter!(CG)

This is a lamentation and serves as a lamentation.

Chapter 20

Israel’s History of Infidelity. In the seventh year, on the tenth day of the fifth month,[x] some of the elders of Israel came to consult the Lord and sat down before me.(CH) Then the word of the Lord came to me: Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel and say to them: Thus says the Lord God: Have you come to consult me? As I live, I will not allow myself to be consulted by you!—oracle of the Lord God.

Will you judge them? Will you judge, son of man? Tell them about the abominations of their ancestors,(CI) and say to them: Thus says the Lord God: The day I chose Israel, I swore to the descendants of the house of Jacob; I revealed myself to them in the land of Egypt and swore to them, saying: I am the Lord, your God. That day I swore to bring them out of the land of Egypt to the land I had searched out for them, a land flowing with milk and honey, a jewel among all lands.(CJ) Then I said to them: Throw away, each of you, the detestable things[y] that held your eyes; do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt: I am the Lord, your God.(CK)

But they rebelled and refused to listen to me; none of them threw away the detestable things that held their eyes, nor did they abandon the idols of Egypt. Then I considered pouring out my fury and spending my anger against them there in the land of Egypt.(CL) I acted for the sake of my name, that it should not be desecrated in the eyes of the nations among whom they were: in the eyes of the nations I had made myself known to them, to bring them out of the land of Egypt.(CM) 10 Therefore I led them out of the land of Egypt and brought them into the wilderness. 11 (CN)Then I gave them my statutes and made known to them my ordinances, so that everyone who keeps them has life through them. 12 (CO)I also gave them my sabbaths to be a sign between me and them, to show that it is I, the Lord, who makes them holy.

13 But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness. They did not observe my statutes, and they rejected my ordinances that bring life to those who keep them. My sabbaths, too, they desecrated grievously. Then I considered pouring out my fury on them in the wilderness to put an end to them,(CP) 14 but I acted for the sake of my name, so it would not be desecrated in the eyes of the nations in whose sight I had brought them out.(CQ) 15 Nevertheless in the wilderness I swore to them that I would not bring them into the land I had given them—a land flowing with milk and honey, a jewel among all the lands. 16 Their hearts followed after their idols so closely that they did not live by my statutes, but rejected my ordinances and desecrated my sabbaths. 17 But I looked on them with pity, not wanting to destroy them, so I did not put an end to them in the wilderness.

18 Then I said to their children in the wilderness: Do not follow the statutes of your parents. Do not keep their ordinances. Do not defile yourselves with their idols. 19 I am the Lord, your God: follow my statutes and be careful to observe my ordinances; 20 keep holy my sabbaths as a sign between me and you so that you may know that I am the Lord, your God.(CR) 21 But their children rebelled against me: they did not follow my statutes or keep my ordinances that bring life to those who observe them; my sabbaths they desecrated. Then I considered pouring out my fury on them, spending my anger against them in the wilderness; 22 but I stayed my hand, acting for the sake of my name, lest it be desecrated in the eyes of the nations, in whose sight I had brought them out. 23 Nevertheless I swore to them in the wilderness that I would disperse them among the nations and scatter them in other lands, 24 because they did not carry out my ordinances, but rejected my statutes and desecrated my sabbaths, having eyes only for the idols of their ancestors. 25 Therefore I gave them statutes that were not good,[z] and ordinances through which they could not have life.(CS) 26 I let them become defiled by their offerings, by having them make a fiery offering of every womb’s firstborn, in order to ruin them so they might know that I am the Lord.(CT)

27 Therefore speak to the house of Israel, son of man, and tell them: Thus says the Lord God: In this way also your ancestors blasphemed me, breaking faith with me. 28 When I brought them to the land I had sworn to give them, and they saw all its high hills and leafy trees, there they offered sacrifices, there they made offerings to provoke me, there they sent up sweet-smelling oblations, there they poured out their libations.(CU) 29 So I said to them, “What is this high place[aa] to which you go?” Thus its name became “high place” even to this day.(CV) 30 Therefore say to the house of Israel: Thus says the Lord God: Will you defile yourselves in the way your ancestors did? Will you lust after their detestable idols? 31 By offering your gifts, by making your children pass through the fire, you defile yourselves with all your idols even to this day. Shall I let myself be consulted by you, house of Israel? As I live—oracle of the Lord God—I swear I will not let myself be consulted by you!(CW)

32 What has entered your mind shall never happen: You are thinking, “We shall be like the nations, like the peoples of foreign lands, serving wood and stone.” 33 As I live—oracle of the Lord God—with mighty hand and outstretched arm, with wrath poured out, I swear I will be king over you!(CX) 34 With mighty hand and outstretched arm, with wrath poured out, I will bring you out from the nations and gather you from the countries over which you are scattered;(CY) 35 [ab]I will lead you to the wilderness of the peoples and enter into judgment with you face to face. 36 Just as I entered into judgment with your ancestors in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so will I enter into judgment with you—oracle of the Lord God. 37 Thus I will make you pass under the staff[ac] and will impose on you the terms of the covenant.(CZ) 38 I will sort out from you those who defied me and rebelled against me; from the land where they resided as aliens I will bring them out, but they shall not return to the land of Israel. Thus you shall know that I am the Lord.

39 As for you, house of Israel, thus says the Lord God: Go! each of you, and worship your idols. Listen to me! You shall never again desecrate my holy name with your offerings and your idols!(DA) 40 For on my holy mountain,[ad] on the highest mountain in Israel—oracle of the Lord God—there the whole house of Israel shall worship me; there in the land I will accept them all, there I will claim your tributes, the best of your offerings, from all your holy things.(DB) 41 As a sweet-smelling oblation I will accept you, when I bring you from among the nations and gather you out of the lands over which you were scattered; and through you I will manifest my holiness in the sight of the nations.(DC) 42 Thus you shall know that I am the Lord, when I bring you back to the soil of Israel, the land I swore to give your ancestors. 43 There you shall remember your ways, all the deeds by which you defiled yourselves; and you shall loathe yourselves because of all the evil you did.(DD) 44 And you shall know that I am the Lord when I deal with you thus, for the sake of my name, not according to your evil ways and wanton deeds, house of Israel—oracle of the Lord God.(DE)

Chapter 21

The Sword of the Lord. The word of the Lord came to me: [ae]Son of man, turn your face to the south: preach against the south, prophesy against the forest land in the south. Say to the forest in the south: Hear the word of the Lord! Thus says the Lord God: See! I am kindling a fire in you that shall devour every green tree as well as every dry tree. The blazing flame shall not be quenched so that from south to north every face shall be scorched by it. All flesh shall see that I, the Lord, have kindled it; it shall not be quenched.(DF)

But I said, “Ah! Lord God, they are saying about me, ‘Is not this the one who is forever spinning parables?’” Then the word of the Lord came to me: Son of man, turn your face toward Jerusalem: preach against its sanctuary, prophesy against the land of Israel.(DG) Say to the land of Israel: Thus says the Lord: See! I am coming against you; I will draw my sword from its scabbard and cut off from you the righteous and the wicked.[af] Thus my sword shall come out from its scabbard against all flesh from south to north 10 and all flesh shall know that I, the Lord, have drawn my sword from its scabbard. It cannot return again.(DH)

Act Symbolic of the City’s Fall. 11 As for you, son of man, groan! with shattered loins and bitter grief, groan in their sight. 12 When they ask you, “Why are you groaning?” you shall say: Because of what I heard![ag] When it comes every heart shall melt, every hand fall helpless; every spirit will grow faint, and every knee run with water. See, it is coming, it is here!—oracle of the Lord God.

Song of the Sword. 13 The word of the Lord came to me:(DI) 14 Son of man, prophesy! say: Thus says the Lord:

A sword, a sword has been sharpened,
    a sword, a sword has been burnished:(DJ)
15 Sharpened to make a slaughter,
    burnished to flash lightning!
Why should I stop now?
    You have rejected the rod and every judgment!
16 I have given it over to the burnisher
    that he might hold it in his hand,
A sword sharpened and burnished
    to be put in the hands of an executioner.
17 Cry out and howl, son of man,
    for it is destined for my people,
For all the princes of Israel,
    victims of the sword with my people.
Therefore, slap your thigh,[ah]
18     for it is tested, and why not?
Since you rejected my staff,
    should it not happen?—
    oracle of the Lord God.
19 As for you, son of man, prophesy,
    and clap your hands!
Let the sword strike twice, a third time.
    It is a sword of slaughter,
A sword for slaughtering,
    whirling around them all,
20 That every heart may tremble;
    for many will be made to stumble.
At all their gates
    I have stationed the sword for slaughter,
Made it flash lightning,
    drawn for slaughter.
21 Slash to the right!
    turn to the left,
    Wherever your edge is directed!(DK)
22 Then I, too, shall clap my hands,[ai]
    and spend my fury.
I, the Lord, have spoken.

Nebuchadnezzar at the Crossroads. 23 The word of the Lord came to me: 24 Son of man, make for yourself two roads over which the sword of the king of Babylon can come. Both roads shall start out from the same land. Then put a signpost at the head of each road 25 so the sword can come to Rabbah of the Ammonites or to Judah and its fortress, Jerusalem. 26 For the king of Babylon is standing at the fork of the two roads to read the omens:[aj] he shakes out the arrows, inquires of the teraphim, inspects the liver.(DL) 27 Into his right hand has fallen the lot marked “Jerusalem”:[ak] to order the slaughter, to raise the battle cry, to set the battering rams against the gates, to throw up a ramp, to build siege works. 28 In the eyes of those bound by oath this seems like a false omen; yet the lot taken in hand exposes the wickedness for which they, still bound by oath, will be taken in hand.

29 Therefore thus says the Lord God: Because your guilt has been exposed, your crimes laid bare, your sinfulness revealed in all your deeds—because you have been exposed, you shall be taken in hand.(DM) 30 And as for you, depraved and wicked prince of Israel, a day is coming to end your life of crime.(DN) 31 Thus says the Lord God: Off with the turban and away with the crown! Nothing shall be as it was! Exalt the lowly and bring the exalted low! 32 A ruin, a ruin, a ruin, I shall make it! Nothing will be the same until the one comes to whom I have given it for judgment.(DO)

To the Ammonites.[al] 33 As for you, son of man, prophesy: Thus says the Lord God to the Ammonites and their insults:

O sword, sword drawn for slaughter,
    burnished to consume, to flash lightning!
34 Your false visions and lying omens,
Set you over the necks of the slain,
    the wicked whose day had come—
    an end to their life of crime.
35 Return to your scabbard!
    In the place you were created,
In the land of your origin,
    I will judge you.
36 I will pour out my anger upon you,
    breathing my fiery wrath against you;
I will hand you over to ravagers,
    artisans of destruction!
37 You shall be fuel for the fire,
    your blood shall flow throughout the land;
You shall not be remembered,
    for I, the Lord, have spoken.

Chapter 22

Crimes of Jerusalem. The word of the Lord came to me: You,[am] son of man, will you judge? will you judge the city of bloodshed? Then make known all its abominations, and say: Thus says the Lord God: O city that sheds blood within itself so that its time has come, that has made idols for its own defilement: By the blood you shed you have become guilty, and by the idols you made you have become defiled. You have brought on your day, you have come to the end of your years. Therefore I make you an object of scorn for the nations and a laughingstock for all lands.(DP) Those near and those far off will mock you: “Defiled of Name! Queen of Tumult!” See! the princes of Israel within you use their power to shed blood.[an] Within you, father and mother are dishonored; they extort the resident alien in your midst; within you, they oppress orphans and widows.(DQ) What I consider holy you have rejected, and my sabbaths you have desecrated. [ao]In you are those who slander to cause bloodshed; within you are those who feast on the mountains; in your midst are those whose actions are depraved.(DR) 10 In you are those who uncover the nakedness of their fathers; in you those who coerce women to intercourse during their period.(DS) 11 (DT)There are those in you who do abominable things with their neighbors’ wives, men who defile their daughters-in-law by incest, men who coerce their sisters to intercourse, the daughters of their own fathers. 12 There are those in you who take bribes to shed blood. You exact interest and usury; you extort profit from your neighbor by violence. But me you have forgotten—oracle of the Lord God.(DU)

13 See, I am clapping my hands because of the profits you extorted and the blood shed in your midst. 14 Will your heart remain firm, will your hands be strong, in the days when I deal with you? I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will act! 15 I will disperse you among the nations and scatter you over other lands, so that I may purge your filth. 16 In you I will allow myself to be desecrated in the eyes of the nations; thus you shall know that I am the Lord.

17 The word of the Lord came to me: 18 [ap]Son of man, the house of Israel has become dross to me. All of them are copper, tin, iron, and lead within a furnace; they have become the dross from silver.(DV) 19 Therefore thus says the Lord God: Because all of you have become dross, See! I am gathering you within Jerusalem. 20 Just as silver, copper, iron, lead, and tin are gathered within a furnace to be blasted with fire to smelt it, so I will gather you together in my furious wrath, put you in, and smelt you.(DW) 21 When I have assembled you, I will blast you with the fire of my anger and smelt you with it. 22 Just as silver is smelted in a furnace, so you shall be smelted in it. Thus you shall know that I, the Lord, have poured out my fury on you.

23 The word of the Lord came to me: 24 [aq]Son of man, say to her: You are an unclean land receiving no rain at the time of my fury. 25 A conspiracy of its princes is like a roaring lion tearing prey; they devour people, seizing their wealth and precious things, making many widows within her.(DX) 26 Her priests violate my law and desecrate what I consider holy; they do not distinguish between holy and common, nor teach the difference between unclean and clean; they pay no attention to my sabbaths, so that I have been desecrated in their midst.(DY) 27 (DZ)Within her, her officials are like wolves tearing prey, shedding blood and destroying lives to extort profit. 28 (EA)And her prophets cover them with whitewash, seeing false visions and performing lying divinations, saying, “Thus says the Lord God,” although the Lord has not spoken. 29 The people of the land practice extortion and commit robbery; they wrong the poor and the needy, and oppress the resident alien without justice. 30 Thus I have searched among them for someone who would build a wall or stand in the breach before me to keep me from destroying the land; but I found no one. 31 Therefore I have poured out my fury upon them; with my fiery wrath I have consumed them, bringing down their ways upon their heads—oracle of the Lord God.

Chapter 23

The Two Sisters. (EB)The word of the Lord came to me: Son of man, there were two women, daughters of the same mother.(EC) Even as young girls, they were prostitutes, serving as prostitutes in Egypt. There the Egyptians fondled their breasts and caressed their virgin nipples.(ED) Oholah was the name of the elder, and the name of her sister was Oholibah.[ar] They became mine and gave birth to sons and daughters.(EE) As for their names: Samaria was Oholah and Jerusalem, Oholibah. (EF)Oholah became a prostitute while married to me and lusted after her lovers, the Assyrians: warriors dressed in purple, governors and officers, all of them handsome young soldiers, mounted on horses. She gave herself as a prostitute to them, to all the Assyrian elite; with all those for whom she lusted, she also defiled herself with their idols. She did not abandon the prostitution she had begun with the Egyptians, who had lain with her when she was young, fondling her virgin breasts and pouring out their lust upon her.(EG) Therefore I handed her over to her lovers, to the Assyrians for whom she lusted. 10 (EH)They exposed her nakedness; her sons and daughters they took away, and her they killed with the sword. She became a byword for women because of the sentence carried out against her.

11 Although her sister Oholibah saw all this, her lust was more depraved than her sister’s; she outdid her in prostitution.(EI) 12 She too lusted after the Assyrians, governors and officers, warriors impeccably clothed, mounted on horses, all of them handsome young soldiers.(EJ) 13 I saw that she had defiled herself—now both had gone down the same path. 14 She went further in her prostitution: She saw male figures drawn on the wall, images of Chaldeans drawn with vermilion, 15 with sashes tied about their waists, flowing turbans on their heads, all looking like chariot warriors, images of Babylonians, natives of Chaldea. 16 As soon as she set eyes on them she lusted for them, and she sent messengers to them in Chaldea.(EK) 17 The Babylonians came to her, to her love couch; they defiled her with their impurities. But as soon as they had defiled her, she recoiled from them. 18 When her prostitution was discovered and her shame revealed, I recoiled from her as I had recoiled from her sister. 19 But she increased her prostitution, recalling the days of her youth when she had served as a prostitute in the land of Egypt. 20 She lusted for the lechers of Egypt, whose members are like those of donkeys, whose thrusts are like those of stallions.

21 You reverted to the depravity of your youth, when Egyptians fondled your breasts, caressing your young nipples. 22 Therefore, Oholibah, thus says the Lord God: I will now stir up your lovers against you, those from whom you recoiled, and I will bring them against you from every side: 23 the men of Babylon and all of Chaldea, Pekod, Shoa and Koa,[as] along with all the Assyrians, handsome young soldiers, all of them governors and officers, charioteers and warriors, all of them horsemen. 24 They shall invade you with armor, chariots and wagons, a horde of peoples; they will array against you on every side bucklers and shields and helmets. I will give them the right of judgment, and they will judge you according to their standards.(EL) 25 I will direct my jealousy against you, so that they deal with you in fury, cutting off your nose and ears; what is left of you shall fall by the sword. They shall take away your sons and daughters, and what is left of you shall be devoured by fire. 26 They shall strip off your clothes and seize your splendid jewelry. 27 I will put an end to your depravity and to your prostitution from the land of Egypt; you shall no longer look to them, nor even remember Egypt again.

28 For thus says the Lord God: I am now handing you over to those whom you hate, to those from whom you recoil. 29 They shall treat you with hatred, seizing all that you worked for and leaving you stark naked, so that your indecent nakedness is exposed.(EM) Your depravity and prostitution 30 brought these things upon you because you served as a prostitute for the nations, defiling yourself with their idols.(EN)

31 Because you followed your sister’s path, I will put her cup into your hand.[at](EO)

32 Thus says the Lord God:(EP)
The cup of your sister you shall drink,
    deep and wide;
It brings ridicule and mockery,
    it holds so much;
33 You will be filled with drunkenness and grief—
    A cup of horror and devastation,
    the cup of your sister Samaria;
34 You shall drink it dry,
    its very sherds you will gnaw;
And you shall tear out your breasts;
    for I have spoken—oracle of the Lord God.

35 Therefore thus says the Lord God: You have forgotten me and cast me behind your back; now suffer for your depravity and prostitution.

36 [au]Then the Lord said to me: Son of man, would you judge Oholah and Oholibah? Then make known to them their abominations.(EQ) 37 For they committed adultery, and blood covers their hands. They committed adultery with their idols; even the children they bore for me they burnt as food for them. 38 And they also did this to me: on that day, they defiled my sanctuary and desecrated my sabbaths. 39 On the very day they slaughtered their children for their idols, they entered my sanctuary to desecrate it. Thus they acted within my house!(ER) 40 Moreover, they sent for men who had to come from afar; when a messenger was sent to them, they came. On their account you bathed, painted your eyes, and put on jewelry.(ES) 41 You sat on a magnificent couch, set before it a table, on which to lay my incense and oil. 42 The cries of a mob! The shouts of men coming in from the wilderness! They put bracelets on the women’s arms and splendid crowns on their heads. 43 I said: “That worn-out one still has adulteries in her! Now they engage her as a prostitute and she…” 44 And indeed they did come in to her as men come in to a prostitute. Thus they came to Oholah and Oholibah, the depraved women. 45 The righteous shall certainly punish them with sentences given to adulterers and murderers, for they committed adultery, and blood is on their hands.(ET)

46 Indeed, thus says the Lord God: Raise up an army against them and hand them over to terror and plunder. 47 The army will stone them and hack them to pieces with their swords. They will kill their sons and daughters and set fire to their houses. 48 Thus I will put an end to depravity in the land, and all women will be warned not to imitate your depravity. 49 They shall inflict on you the penalty of your depravity, and you shall pay for your sins of idolatry. Then you shall know that I am the Lord God.(EU)

Footnotes

  1. 14:9 The ancient Israelites thought that God could use deception as a means of promoting divine justice; cf. 2 Sm 24:1–3; 1 Kgs 22:19–23.
  2. 14:12–23 According to Ezekiel, the people in Jerusalem deserve destruction because they are corrupt. Yet he admits an exception to the principle of individual responsibility when he affirms that some of those deserving death will survive and be reunited with family in exile. The depravity of Jerusalem testifies that the punishment of Jerusalem was just and necessary.
  3. 14:14 Noah, Daniel, and Job: righteous folk heroes whom Israel shared with other ancient Near Eastern cultures. Daniel was the just judge celebrated in Ugaritic literature, perhaps the model for the hero of Dn 13.
  4. 15:1–8 Verses 2–5 point out that the wood of the vinestock may be burned for fuel, fit only for destruction. In vv. 6–8 Ezekiel asserts that Jerusalem has the same destiny.
  5. 16:3–4 By origin and birth…Hittite: Jerusalem’s pre-Israelite origins are the breeding ground for its inability to respond faithfully to the Lord’s generosity.
  6. 16:4–5 In this chapter, Ezekiel represents Jerusalem and Samaria as unwanted, abandoned sisters whom the Lord rescues and cares for. Here the prophet depicts Jerusalem as a newborn female, abandoned and left to die, an accepted practice in antiquity for females, who were considered financial liabilities by their families. That the infant has no one, not even her mother, to tie off her umbilical cord, wash her clean, and wrap her in swaddling clothes emphasizes Jerusalem’s death-like isolation and accentuates the Lord’s gracious action in her behalf. The practice of rubbing the skin of newborns with salt is an attested Palestinian custom that survived into the twentieth century.
  7. 16:8 I spread the corner of my cloak: one way to acquire a woman for marriage; cf. Ru 3:9. In Dt 23:1 a son’s illicit sexual relations with his father’s wife is described as “uncovering the edge of the father’s garment.”
  8. 16:16 In the allegory of this chapter the viewpoint often shifts from the figure (prostitution) to the reality (idolatry). A symbol of the woman’s depravity supersedes her parents’ cruel abandonment when she was an infant. It overrides the loyalty she owes her covenant partner and the care she owes their children.
  9. 16:20–21 Also a reference to the practice of child sacrifice introduced under Judah’s impious kings; cf. 2 Kgs 16:3; 17:17; Jer 7:31; 19:5; 32:35.
  10. 16:24 A platform…a dais: associated with rituals borrowed from the Canaanites.
  11. 16:27 Philistines: lit., “daughters of the Philistines,” a common expression when referring to the various towns that make up a territory.
  12. 16:38 As a jealous husband, Yhwh severely punishes Jerusalem for her adultery: i.e., her worship of idols. Adultery was considered a capital crime in ancient Israel; cf. Lv 20:10–14; Nm 5:11–28; Dt 22:22.
  13. 16:45 Truly the daughter of your mother: Jerusalem’s depraved behavior follows from the bad behavior of its non-Israelite forebears; cf. v. 3.
  14. 16:46–47 Jerusalem is so much more corrupt than Samaria, the elder sister in size, and the smaller Sodom that both now appear just and righteous. Ezekiel’s reference to Sodom indicates that the city’s identification with wickedness and evil was already an established tradition in fifth century B.C. Judah.
  15. 16:60 Everlasting covenant: Ezekiel foresees God renewing the covenant of Sinai in a new and spirit-empowered way that will not be fatally broken as in the present exile or force God to abandon Israel again; cf. 11:19–21; 36:25–27; 37:26–28.
  16. 17:11–21 These verses explain the allegory in vv. 3–10. In 597 B.C., Nebuchadnezzar removed Jehoiachin from the throne and took him into exile; in his place he set Zedekiah, Jehoiachin’s uncle, on the throne and received from him the oath of loyalty. But Zedekiah was persuaded to rebel by Pharaoh Hophra of Egypt and thus deserved punishment; cf. 2 Kgs 24:10–25:7.
  17. 17:22–23 The Lord will undo the actions of the Babylonian king by rebuilding the Davidic dynasty so the nations realize that only Israel’s God can restore a people’s destiny.
  18. 18:2 Parents…on edge: a proverb the people quoted to complain that they were being punished for their ancestors’ sins; cf. Jer 31:29.
  19. 18:6 Eat on the mountains: take part in meals after sacrifice at the high places.
  20. 18:25 The Lord’s way is not fair: this chapter rejects the idea that punishment is transferred from one generation to the next and emphasizes individual responsibility and accountability.
  21. 19:1–9 Some commentators identify Jehoahaz and Zedekiah, sons of the same mother, as the “two young lions”; they were deported to Egypt and Babylon respectively. Cf. 2 Kgs 23:31–34; 24:18–20.
  22. 19:4 A common fate for royal prisoners: e.g., Assurbanipal claims he put a ring in the jaw of a captive king and a dog collar around his neck (cf. v. 9). A wall relief shows Esarhaddon holding two royal captives with ropes tied to rings in their lips.
  23. 19:10–14 Vine: Judah. One strong branch: the Davidic king. This allegory describes the deportation of the Davidic dynasty to Babylon and laments the destruction of the house of David. From Ezekiel’s perspective, the arrogance of Judah’s kings leads to this tragedy (vv. 12–14).
  24. 20:1 The seventh year…the fifth month: August 14, 591 B.C.
  25. 20:7 Detestable things: in the Book of Ezekiel, Israel’s continued worship of idols in Egypt and in the wilderness, despite the Lord’s powerful deeds on their behalf, is the reason God punishes them so severely; they must learn and acknowledge that he is their only Lord. Cf., e.g., Exodus (5:1–6:9; 14:10–30; 16:1–36) and Numbers (11:1–15; 14:1–12; 20:1–9), where the people’s failure to trust Moses and the Lord brings punishment.
  26. 20:25–26 I gave them statutes that were not good: because Israel rejected the Lord’s life-giving laws, he “gave” laws (e.g., the sacrifice of every firstborn) that would lead only to death and destruction. Dt 12:29–31; Jer 7:31; 19:4–5 may address a popular assumption that the Lord accepted and perhaps required child sacrifice, especially as evidence of great trust during national emergencies (2 Kgs 3:27; Mi 6:7). By combining language from Ex 22:28 with the vocabulary of child sacrifice, Ezekiel suggests that firstborn sons were regularly sacrificed in Israel.
  27. 20:29 High place: a cultic site, originally a hilltop, but often a raised platform in a sacred area. Until Deuteronomy’s insistence that official and legitimate worship of the Lord take place only in Jerusalem, these local shrines were popular places for worship (e.g., 1 Sm 9–10) or for consulting the Lord (1 Kgs 3:4–5). In order to unite the Kingdom of Judah politically and religiously, Dt 12:2 demands destruction of the high places. Ezekiel, like other prophets, condemns Israelite worship at these places and identifies this illegitimate worship as one reason for the punishment of exile.
  28. 20:35–38 Exile among other lands occasions a new exodus and a new wilderness journey back to Israel. The Lord will eliminate the rebellious, as he did on the first journey, and use the surviving remnant to reveal his power to the nations.
  29. 20:37 Pass under the staff: in Lv 27:32–33, a method of counting off animals to select those to be dedicated for the tithe. In Ezekiel, on the other hand, those who survive the selection process are marked for destruction for violating the covenant.
  30. 20:40 Holy mountain: the Temple mount and Jerusalem in contrast to “every high hill” in v. 28 (cf. the royal Zion theology in Ps 48:2). Acceptable worship takes place here among a restored people, a theme taken up in chaps. 40–48 (cf. 40:2).
  31. 21:2–4 In Babylon Ezekiel looks toward Judah, pictured as a forest about to be destroyed by fire.
  32. 21:8 Cut off from you the righteous and the wicked: a more complete devastation of Jerusalem than that described in 9:6.
  33. 21:12 What I heard: the news of the fall of Jerusalem; cf. 33:21–22.
  34. 21:17 Slap your thigh: a gesture signifying grief and dread; cf. Jer 31:19.
  35. 21:22 Clap my hands: the Lord declares himself no longer responsible for Judah; cf. 22:13; Nm 24:10; Jb 27:23; Lam 2:15.
  36. 21:26 Three forms of divination are mentioned: arrow divination, consisting in the use of differently marked arrows extracted or shaken from a case at random; the consultation of the teraphim or household idols; and liver divination, scrutiny of the configurations of the livers of newly slaughtered animals, a common form of divination in Mesopotamia.
  37. 21:27–28 A lot marked “Jerusalem” falls out, which marks the guilt of the city’s inhabitants.
  38. 21:33–37 In vv. 23–32 Ezekiel imagines Nebuchadnezzar deciding whether to attack Jerusalem or Rabbath-Ammon. As it happened, the Babylonians decided to attack Jerusalem first. Here (vv. 33–37) Ezekiel prophesies to the Ammonites that a nation which serves as an instrument of the Lord’s judgment will itself be judged.
  39. 22:2–16 This first oracle focuses on Jerusalem as a “city of bloodshed” (cf. Na 3:1). Here transgressions involving blood, the oppression of the poor, and improper cultic practices are seen as interrelated, for blood as the carrier of life is fundamental to both the cultic and social spheres of life.
  40. 22:6 To shed blood: a very serious charge in light of the solemn command of God to Noah in Gn 9:6 against human bloodshed.
  41. 22:9–11 The charges against Jerusalem echo the commandments of Lv 20:10–18.
  42. 22:18–22 The image of smelting metals for purifying the people by the attacks of their enemies is common among the prophets; cf. Is 1:22, 25; Jer 6:27–30.
  43. 22:24–31 For a similar oracle, cf. Zep 3:1–8.
  44. 23:4 Oholah…Oholibah: symbolic names for Samaria, “her own tent,” and Jerusalem, “my tent is in her.” Cf. Ps 15:1 where “tent” is a synonym for “holy mountain.” The names refer to the temple set up in the Northern Kingdom of Samaria (1 Kgs 12:28–29) and the Jerusalem Temple.
  45. 23:23 Pekod, Shoa and Koa: nations along the Tigris River, part of “greater Babylonia.”
  46. 23:31 The cup is a metaphor for divine punishment, the lot of all who rebel against the Lord (cf. Ps 75:9; Jer 25:15–16; 51:7; Is 51:21–23; Lam 4:21; Hb 2:15–16).
  47. 23:36–49 Unlike vv. 1–35, this short poem juxtaposes the careers of the two sisters and looks to a future punishment. The male lovers of the first poem become the sisters’ executioners, and the guests at the love feast a lynch mob. So corrupt and depraved are the two sisters that their executioners win the esteemed title “righteous,” for they have acted appropriately as agents of the Lord’s judgment.