but she hath despised my judgments more than the Gentiles themselves, and broken my commandments more than the nations that lie round about her. For they have cast out mine ordinances, and not walked in my laws.

Thine eldest sister is Samaria, she and her daughters that dwell upon thy left hand. But thy youngest sister that dwelleth on thy righthand, is Sodom and her daughters.

Behold, the sins of thy sister Sodom, were these: Pride, fullness of meat, abundance and Idleness: these things had she and her daughters. Besides that, they reached not their hand to the poor and needy,

The soul that sinneth, she shall die. The son shall not bear part of the father's wickedness. The righteousness of the right shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be on him.

One of her whelps she brought up, and it became a lion: it learned to spoil, and to devour folk.

Now when the dame saw, that all her hope and comfort was away, she took another of her whelps, and made a lion of him.

"As for thy mother, she is like a vine in thy blood, planted by the waterside: her fruits and branches are grown out of many waters,

her stalks were so strong that men might have made staves thereof for officers, she grew so high in her stalks. So when men saw that she exceeded the height and multitude of her branches,

she was rooted out in displeasure, and cast down to the ground. The East wind dried up her fruit; her strong stalks were broken off, withered, and burnt in the fire.

But now she is planted in the wilderness, in a dry and thirsty ground.

And there is a fire gone out of her stalks, which hath burnt up her branches and her fruit: so that she hath no more strong stalks, to be staves for officers. This is a piteous and miserable thing."

Thou shalt feed the fire and thy blood shall be shed in the land, that thou mayest be put out of remembrance. Even I the LORD have spoken it.'"

Thou hast made thyself guilty in the blood that thou hast shed, and defiled thee in the Idols, which thou hast made. Thou hast caused thy days to draw nigh, and made the time of thy years to come. Therefore will I make thee to be confounded among the heathen, and to be despised in all the lands.

Behold, the rulers of Israel have brought every man his power, to shed blood in thee.

Murderers are there in thee, that shed blood, and eat upon the hills, and in thee they use unhappiness.

Yea, gifts have been received in thee to shed blood. Thou hast taken usury and increase, thou hast oppressed thy neighbours by extortion, and forgotten me, sayeth the LORD God.

Behold, I have smitten my hands upon thy covetousness, that thou hast used, and upon the blood which hath been shed in thee.

Thy rulers in thee are like ravishing wolves, to shed blood, and to destroy souls, for their own covetous lucre.

As for Oholah, she began to go a whoring, when I had taken her to me. She was set on fire upon her lovers the Assyrians,

Thus through her whoredom, she cleaved unto all the young men of Assyria: Yea she was mad upon them, and defiled herself with all their Idols.

Neither ceased she from the fornication, that she used with the Egyptians: for in her youth they lay with her, they bruised the breasts of her maidenhead, and poured their whoredom upon her.

Wherefore, I delivered her into the hands of her lovers, even the Assyrians, whom she so loved.

These discovered her shame, took her sons and daughters, and slew her with the sword: An evil name gat she of all people, and they punished her.

"Her sister Oholibah saw this, and destroyed herself with inordinate love, more than she, and exceeded her sister in whoredom:

she loved the Assyrians, which also lay with her: namely, the princes and great lords, that were clothed with all manner of gorgeous apparel, all lusty horsemen and fair young persons.

But she increased still in whoredom: for when she saw men painted upon the wall, the images of the Chaldeans set forth with fresh colors,

immediately, as soon as she saw them, she burnt in love upon them, and sent messengers for them into the land of the Chaldeans.

Now when the Babylonians came to her, they lay with her, and defiled her with their whoredom, and so was she polluted with them. And when her lust was abated from them,

Nevertheless, she used her whoredom ever the longer, the more; and remembered the days of her youth, wherein she had played the harlot in the land of Egypt.

She burnt in lust upon them, whose flesh was like the flesh of Asses, and their seed like the seed of horses.

for the blood is yet in it. Upon a plain dry stone hath she poured it, and not upon the ground, that it might be covered with dust.

"Thou son of man, because that Tyre hath spoken upon Jerusalem, 'Aha, now I trow the ports of the people be broken, and she turned unto me, for I have destroyed my belly full.'

She shall no more be a pricking thorn, and a hurting brier unto the house of Israel, nor unto them that lie round about her and hate her: and they shall know that I am the LORD.

And therefore tell them, 'Thus sayeth the LORD: In the blood have ye eaten, your eyes have ye lift up to Idols, and have shed blood: shall ye then have the land in possession?

Wherefore I poured my wrathful displeasure upon them, because of the blood that they had shed in the land, and because of their Idols, wherewith they had defiled themselves.