""Her prophets whitewashed all of these things through false visions and lying divinations. They kept on saying, "This is what the Lord GOD says"", when the LORD has not spoken.

"Son of Man, here are two sisters who are daughters from the same mother.

The older one was named Oholah and her sister was named Oholibah. They belonged to me and gave birth to sons and daughters. Now as to their real identities, Oholah refers to Samaria and Oholibah to Jerusalem."

She bestowed her sexual favors on them all of them, the best of the Assyrians and with whomever she lusted for.

"She defiled herself with all their idols. She never abandoned the immorality that she practiced in Egypt during her youth, where they laid down with her and fondled her virgin breasts, lavishing her with all kinds of favors.

Therefore, I turned her over to the control of her lovers, that is, into the control of the Assyrians for whom she lusted.

They stripped her naked, took away her sons and daughters, and executed her with a sword. She became an object of ridicule among other nations when they punished her."

"Her sister Oholibah saw this, but she was more corrupt in her lust and sexual immorality than her sister had been in her own sexual immorality.

The Babylonians came to her love nest and defiled her with their sexual immorality. As a result, she was defiled by them. Even so, she turned away from them in disgust.

She displayed her immorality publicly and stripped herself naked, so I turned away in disgust from her, just as I had turned away in disgust from her sister.

She lusted after her paramours, whose genitals are like those of donkeys, and whose emissions are like those of horses.

You took the path of your sister, so I'll place her cup in your hand.'

The sound of a carefree multitude accompanied her. Men from a multitude of nations were coming including Sabeans from the wilderness, adorned with bracelets on their hands and beautiful crowns on their heads.

"After she had worn herself out by her adulterous behavior, I asked her, "Will they continue with their sexual immorality and with their prostitution?'

They've gone to her, like men do, to have sex with a prostitute. They had sex with Oholah and Oholibah, those licentious women.

Her blood was in it. She poured it out onto bare rock. She didn't pour it out on the ground, intending to cover it with dirt.

and will destroy the city walls of Tyre. After they break down her fortified towers, I'll scrape away the city's debris, right down to the bare bedrock,

Furthermore, her citizens who live on the mainland will be executed with swords. That's how they'll learn that I am the LORD.'"

They'll sing this mourning song for you: "How lost you are, you inhabited city, that was built in the middle of the sea! How famous you were! How strong on the sea! She and her inhabitants inflicted terror to everyone who lived within her."

"Son of Man, turn your attention to Sidon and prophesy against her.

Tell her: "Pay attention to me, Sidon! I'm against you, and I'm going to glorify myself right in your midst.' They'll learn that I am the LORD when I carry out these punishments and manifest my holiness in her midst.

I'm going to send disease into that city and blood into her streets. People will drop dead in her midst from the violence done to her from every side. Then they'll learn that I am the Lord GOD."

I'll see to it that Egypt becomes a devastated land in the midst of devastated lands. Her cities deep inside her territories will be laid waste and desolate for 40 years. I will scatter Egypt among the nations and disperse them throughout the land.'"

Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: "I'm going to give the land of Egypt to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. He's going to carry off her wealth, confiscate her war implements, and use it all to pay wages for his army!

"Son of Man, here's what you are to prophesy and announce, "This is what the Lord GOD says: "Wail out loud! Oh no! The day!

War will come to Egypt, and Ethiopia will be in anguish when the slain fall in Egypt, when her wealth is carried off, and her foundations are demolished.

"This is what the LORD says: "Those who are supporting Egypt will fall; her majestic strength that she brought from the Aswan fortress will collapse by the sword that invades her,' declares the Lord GOD.

They will know that I am the LORD when I kindle my fire in Egypt and all who help her are crushed.

It will be a dark day for Tahpanhes when I break the yokes of Egypt. That's when her arrogant power will come to an end. She'll be covered by a cloud, and her citizens will go into captivity.

"Son of Man, mourn about the hordes of Egypt. Bring them down that is, her and the citizens of those majestic nations whose destiny is the deep part of the Pit.

Assyria will be there, along with all of those who keep company with her, all of them killed violently.

Her grave will be set in the remotest part of the Pit, surrounded by those who accompanied her. All of them will have been killed, executed violently, who spread terror throughout the land of the living.

They have prepared a bed for her and for her hordes that surround her graves. All of them are uncircumcised, having been killed violently, because they had spread terror throughout the land of the living. They will bear the shame of those who descend to the Pit and will take their place among the dead.

"Meshech and Tubal will be there, along with all of the hordes that surround her grave. Every one of them is uncircumcised, killed violently, because they spread terror throughout the land of the living.

Then I'll turn the land into a desolate ruin and her arrogant strength will come to an abrupt end. The mountains of Israel will become so desolate that no one will be able to travel over them."

"Therefore this is what you are to prophesy: "Here's what the Lord GOD says, "You've been turned into a desolate wasteland and crushed by everyone who surrounds you for a very, very good reason. You've become the property of all the other nations and you've become the object of gossip and whispering campaigns of the nations."'"

He led me here and there throughout the valley, and I was amazed to see that the surface of the entire valley was covered with myriads of very dry bones!

This is what the man told me: "Son of Man, watch carefully, listen closely, and remember everything I'm going to be showing you, because you've been brought here to be shown what you're about to see. Be sure that you tell the house of Israel everything that you observe."

"Here are the measurements of the altar in cubits that were a cubit and a handbreadth long: its base is a cubit long and a cubit wide, and its border around the edge at one handbreadth is to be the height of the altar.

"Here are the standards for presenting offerings: a sixth of an ephah that is based on the standard omer of wheat, and a sixth of an ephah based on the standard omer of barley.

In reply the king told the Chaldeans, "Here is what I have commanded: If you don't tell me both the dream and its meaning, you'll be destroyed and your houses will be reduced to rubble.

Then Nebuchadnezzar approached the opening of the blazing fire furnace. He shouted out, "Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out and come here!" So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out of the fire.

After a number of years, they'll become allies and the daughter of the southern king will go to the northern king in order to craft alliances. But she won't remain in power, nor will he retain his power. Instead, she'll be surrendered, along with her entourage, the one who fathered her, and the one who supported her at that time.

""One of her family line will replace him. He'll come against the army and enter the fortress of the northern king, conquering them and becoming victorious.

When a message from the LORD came to Hosea, the LORD told him, "Go marry a prostitute and have children with her, because the land is prostituting itself by departing from the LORD."

Gomer conceived again and gave birth to a daughter, so the LORD told Hosea, "Name her "Lo-ruhamah,' because I will no longer be showing mercy to the house of Israel, nor will I forgive them.

"Call your mother to account, call her for she is not my wife, and I'm not her husband. Let her do away with her seductive looks and remove her adultery from between her breasts.

Otherwise, I'll strip her naked as she was on the day she was born make her like a wilderness, turn her into a parched land, and cause her to die of thirst.

Furthermore, I'll not show pity on her children, since they are children of prostitution.

"Look how I'm blocking her path with thorns and building a wall to hinder her, so she can't find her way.

She will pursue her lovers, but she won't catch up with them. She will seek them, but she won't find them. Then she will say, "I'll go back and return to my first husband, because it was better for me then than now.'

She didn't recognize that it was I who provided her grain, wine, and oil, and it was I who gave her silver, while they crafted gold for Baal.

"Therefore I'll return and take back my grain at harvest time and my new wine in its season. I'll take back my wool and my flax that was to have covered her nakedness.

So now I'll reveal her lewdness to the eyes of her lovers, and no man will rescue her from my control.

I'll put a stop to her mirth, along with her celebrations, her New Moons, her Sabbaths, and all of her festive assemblies.

I'll destroy her vines and her fig trees, about which she said, "These are the earnings that my lovers paid me. I'll make them grow into a forest, and the wild animals will eat from them.'

I'll punish her for the time she has devoted to the Baals, to whom she burned incense, and for whom she put on her earrings and jewels so she could go after her lovers and forget me," declares the LORD.

"Therefore, look! I will now allure her. I will make her go out to the wilderness, and will speak to her heart.

There I will restore her vineyards to her, and the Valley of Achor will become a doorway to hope. There she will respond as she did in her youth, when she came up from Egypt."

I will remove the names of the Baals from her vocabulary they will not be remembered by their names anymore.

I will plant my people in the land for myself. I will show mercy on her who has received no mercy I will say to those who are not my people, "You are my people!' and they will say, "You are my God.'"

Then the LORD told me: "Go love your wife again, even though she is being loved by another and is committing adultery. Love her the same way the LORD loves the people of Israel, even though they look to other gods and love raisin cakes."

So I bought her back for myself for fifteen pieces of silver and one and a half omers of barley.

I told her, "You will remain with me a long time, you won't be promiscuous, you won't be involved with any man, and I'll do the same."

Neither threshing floor nor winepress will sustain them, and the new wine will disappoint her.

The time for your judgment has now come; payday is here and Israel knows it. The prophet is a fool, and the spiritual man is insane. Because of your great sin, the hatred against you is great.

"Ephraim, the well-trained heifer, loves to thresh grain, so I will spare her neck. I will turn Ephraim into a pack animal. Judah will pull the plow, and Jacob will turn up the fallow ground.

I will confront them like a bear deprived of her cubs; I will tear open their ribs. I will devour them like a lion the wild beasts will rip them apart.

Samaria will be held guilty, because she has rebelled against her God. By the sword they will fall with their infants dashed to pieces, and their pregnant women torn open."

"Grieve like a virgin, who, dressed in her mourner's clothes, cries out in memory of the man she was going to marry.

Gather the people! Dedicate the congregation! Bring in the elders. Gather the youngsters and even the nursing infants. Call the bridegroom from his wedding preparations, and the bride from her dressing room.

"And truly you will know that I am the LORD your God, dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain. Then Jerusalem will be holy, and no foreigners will invade her again.

Fallen is Israel the virgin never to rise again! She is abandoned on her own land, with no one to raise her up.'

because Amos is saying this: "By the sword will Jeroboam die, and Israel will surely go into exile far from her homeland.'"

So Amaziah kept saying to Amos, "Get out of here, you seer! Go back to the land of Judah. Live there and prophesy there.

1Obadiah's vision: This is what the Lord God has to say about Edom. We have heard a report from the Lord, and a messenger has been dispatched among the nations to say "Get up! Let us rise up against her to fight!"

No man or animal, herd or flock, is to taste anything, graze, or drink water. Instead, let both man and animal clothe themselves with sackcloth and cry out to God forcefully. Let every person turn from his evil ways and from his tendency to do violence.

Look here! The LORD is coming from his place! He will come down and will trample down the high places throughout the land.

"So I will turn Samaria into a mound of dirt in a field, a place to plant vineyards. And I will dump her building stones into the valley, uncovering her foundation.

All of her carved images will be crushed to pieces, all the earnings of her prostitution will be burned up, and I will destroy all her idols; because she collected the wages of prostitution, and to the wages of prostitution they will return."

"Get up and go, because there's no rest for you here! Since everything is polluted, it can only cause destruction, even heavy destruction.

Her leaders judge for the money, her priests teach only when they're paid, and her prophets prophesy for cash. Even so, don't they all rely on the LORD as they ask, "The LORD is among us, is he not? Nothing bad can possibly happen to us!'

"Now many nations have gathered against you, saying, "Let her be defiled,' and "Let's look down on Zion.'

Her rich people are filled with violence, and her inhabitants tell lies their tongues speak deceitfully!

The son disrespects his father, the daughter rebels against her mother, the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, and a man's enemies are the people of his own house.

It has been determined: The woman is unveiled and sent away, her servant girls mourn. Beating their breasts, they whimper like doves.

Nineveh is devastated, deserted, and desolate. Her heart melts, her knees knock. Every stomach is upset, every face grows pale.

Innumerable are the harlotries of this well-favored whore, this mistress of witchcraft, who enslaves nations through her fornication and families through her sorcery.

It will be that everyone who looks at you will run away, saying, "Nineveh has been violently overthrown! Who will mourn for her? Where will I find anyone to comfort you?'"

"Are you any better than Thebes, which sits by the upper Nile, surrounded by water? The sea was her defense, the waters her wall of protection.

Sudan was her source of strength, along with Egypt there were no limits. Put and the Libyans were her allies.

But she, too, was exiled she went into captivity! Her young children were dashed to pieces at every crossroad of their streets, and her famous citizens were sold by lottery, while all of her aristocrats were put in chains.

Even though the fig tree does not blossom, and there are no grapes on the vines; even if the olive harvest fails, and the fields produce nothing edible; even if the flock is snatched from the sheepfold, and there is no herd in the stalls

Flocks will lie down in her midst, along with animals of every kind. Desert owls and screeching owls will nest at the top of the pillars, hooting through the vacant windows, "Ruin sits at these doorsills,' for he will expose even the cedar framework.

This is that carefree city that lived irresponsibly, that told herself, "Me first!' and, "There will be no one else!' How ruined she has become a habitat for wild animals! Everyone who passes by her will sneer at her and make obscene gestures!"

The righteous LORD who lives within her will do no wrong; he will bring justice to light morning by morning. He never fails, but the unjust are shameless.

That is why the heavens keep withholding dew from you, and the earth withholds her fruit.

I myself will be an encircling rampart of fire,' declares the LORD, "and I will be the glory in her midst.'

"This is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies says: "If you will live according to my ways, and if you will keep what I have entrusted to you, then you will also administer my Temple, and you will also guard my courtyards. And I will give you access to these who serve here.

And the angel said, "This is evil!" So he shoved her back into the basket and snapped the round, lead cover over the opening.