You are the daughter of your mother, who despised her husband and children. You are the sister of your sisters, who despised their husbands and children. Your mother was a Hittite and your father an Amorite.

Your older sister was Samaria, who lived with her daughters to the north of you, and your younger sister was Sodom, who lived with her daughters to the south of you.

Didn’t you walk in their ways and do their detestable practices? It was only a short time before you behaved more corruptly than they did.

Now this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, plenty of food, and comfortable security, but didn’t support the poor and needy.

before your wickedness was exposed? It was like the time you were scorned by the daughters of Aram and all those around her, and by the daughters of the Philistines—those who treated you with contempt from every side.

But there was another great eagle
with great wings and thick plumage.
And this vine bent its roots toward him!
It stretched out its branches to him
from its planting bed,
so that he might water it.

“As for his father, he will die for his own iniquity because he practiced fraud, robbed his brother, and did what was wrong among his people.

and say:

What was your mother? A lioness!
She lay down among the lions;
she reared her cubs among the young lions.

When the nations heard about him,
he was caught in their pit.
Then they led him away with hooks
to the land of Egypt.

When she saw that she waited in vain,
that her hope was lost,
she took another of her cubs
and made him a young lion.

Then the nations from the surrounding provinces
set out against him.
They spread their net over him;
he was caught in their pit.

Your mother was like a vine in your vineyard,
planted by the water;
it was fruitful and full of branches
because of plentiful waters.

It had strong branches, fit for the scepters of rulers;
its height towered among the clouds.
So it was conspicuous for its height
as well as its many branches.

But it was uprooted in fury,
thrown to the ground,
and the east wind dried up its fruit.
Its strong branches were torn off and dried up;
fire consumed them.

The older one was named Oholah, and her sister was Oholibah. They became Mine and gave birth to sons and daughters. As for their names, Oholah represents Samaria and Oholibah represents Jerusalem.

“Oholah acted like a prostitute even though she was Mine. She lusted after her lovers, the Assyrians: warriors

“Now her sister Oholibah saw this, but she was even more depraved in her lust than Oholah, and made her promiscuous acts worse than those of her sister.

Then the Babylonians came to her, to the bed of love, and defiled her with their lust. But after she was defiled by them, she turned away from them in disgust.

and lusted after their lovers, whose sexual members were like those of donkeys and whose emission was like that of stallions.

“In addition, they sent for men who came from far away when a messenger was dispatched to them. And look how they came! You bathed, painted your eyes, and adorned yourself with jewelry for them.

The sound of a carefree crowd was there. Drunkards from the desert were brought in, along with common men. They put bracelets on the women’s hands and beautiful crowns on their heads.

I spoke to the people in the morning, and my wife died in the evening. The next morning I did just as I was commanded.

Say to the Ammonites: Hear the word of the Lord God: This is what the Lord God says: Because you said, ‘Good!’ about My sanctuary when it was desecrated, about the land of Israel when it was laid waste, and about the house of Judah when they went into exile,

Then they will lament for you and say of you:

How you have perished, city of renown,
you who were populated from the seas!
She who was powerful on the sea,
she and all of her inhabitants
inflicted their terror.

Your realm was in the heart of the sea;
your builders perfected your beauty.

Your sail was made of
fine embroidered linen from Egypt,
and served as your banner.
Your awning was of blue and purple fabric
from the coasts of Elishah.

“Tarshish was your trading partner because of your great wealth of every kind. They exchanged silver, iron, tin, and lead for your merchandise.

Damascus was also your trading partner because of your numerous products and your great wealth of every kind, trading in wine from Helbon and white wool.

Dedan was your merchant in saddlecloths for riding.

In their wailing they lament for you,
mourning over you:
Who was like Tyre,
silenced in the middle of the sea?

When your merchandise was unloaded from the seas,
you satisfied many peoples.
You enriched the kings of the earth
with your abundant wealth and goods.

From the day you were created
you were blameless in your ways
until wickedness was found in you.

“Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made his army labor strenuously against Tyre. Every head was made bald and every shoulder chafed, but he and his army received no compensation from Tyre for the labor he expended against it.

Think of Assyria, a cedar in Lebanon,
with beautiful branches and shady foliage
and of lofty height.
Its top was among the clouds.

The waters caused it to grow;
the underground springs made it tall,
directing their rivers all around
the place where the tree was planted
and sending their channels
to all the trees of the field.

It was beautiful in its greatness,
in the length of its limbs,
for its roots extended to abundant water.

Among the slain
they prepare a resting place for Elam
with all her hordes.
Her graves are all around her.
All of them are uncircumcised,
slain by the sword,
although their terror was once spread
in the land of the living.
They bear their disgrace
with those who descend to the Pit.
They are placed among the slain.

Meshech and Tubal are there,
with all their hordes.
Their graves are all around them.
All of them are uncircumcised, slain by the sword,
although their terror was once spread
in the land of the living.

They do not lie down
with the fallen warriors of the uncircumcised,
who went down to Sheol
with their weapons of war,
whose swords were placed under their heads.
The punishment for their sins
rested on their bones,
although the terror of these warriors
was once in the land of the living.

Now the hand of the Lord had been on me the evening before the fugitive arrived, and He opened my mouth before the man came to me in the morning. So my mouth was opened and I was no longer mute.

“Son of man, those who live in the ruins in the land of Israel are saying, ‘Abraham was only one person, yet he received possession of the land. But we are many; the land has been given to us as a possession.’

My flock went astray on all the mountains and every high hill. They were scattered over the whole face of the earth, and there was no one searching or seeking for them.

“Because you said, ‘These two nations and two lands will be mine, and we will possess them’—though the Lord was there—

“Son of man, while the house of Israel lived in their land, they defiled it with their conduct and actions. Their behavior before Me was like menstrual impurity.

When they came to the nations where they went, they profaned My holy name, because it was said about them, ‘These are the people of Yahweh, yet they had to leave His land in exile.’

Then they will say, ‘This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden. The cities that were once ruined, desolate, and destroyed are now fortified and inhabited.’

Then the nations that remain around you will know that I, Yahweh, have rebuilt what was destroyed and have replanted what was desolate. I, Yahweh, have spoken and I will do it.

The hand of the Lord was on me, and He brought me out by His Spirit and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones.

So I prophesied as I had been commanded. While I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone.

As I looked, tendons appeared on them, flesh grew, and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.

In the twenty-fifth year of our exile, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth day of the month in the fourteenth year after Jerusalem had been captured, on that very day the Lord’s hand was on me, and He brought me there.

In visions of God He took me to the land of Israel and set me down on a very high mountain. On its southern slope was a structure resembling a city.

He brought me there, and I saw a man whose appearance was like bronze, with a linen cord and a measuring rod in his hand. He was standing by the gate.

Now there was a wall surrounding the outside of the temple. The measuring rod in the man’s hand was six units of 21 inches; each unit was the standard length plus three inches. He measured the thickness of the wall structure; it was about 10 feet, and its height was the same.

Then he came to the gate that faced east and climbed its steps. He measured the threshold of the gate; it was 10 feet deep—the first threshold was 10 feet deep.

Each recess was about 10 feet long and 10 feet deep, and there was a space of 8¾ feet between the recesses. The inner threshold of the gate on the temple side next to the gate’s portico was about 10 feet.

it was 14 feet, and its pilasters were 3½ feet. The portico of the gate was on the temple side.

Then he measured the width of the gate’s entrance; it was 17½ feet, while the width of the gateway was 22¾ feet.

There was a barrier of 21 inches in front of the recesses on both sides, and the recesses on each side were 10½ feet square.

Then he measured the gateway from the roof of one recess to the roof of the opposite one; the distance was 43¾ feet. The openings of the recesses faced each other.

The distance from the front of the gate at the entrance to the front of the gate’s portico on the inside was 87½ feet.

The recesses and their pilasters had beveled windows all around the inside of the gateway. The porticoes also had windows all around on the inside. Each pilaster was decorated with palm trees.

which flanked the gates and corresponded to the length of the gates; this was the lower pavement.

Then he measured the distance from the front of the lower gate to the exterior front of the inner court; it was 175 feet. This was the east; next the north is described.

Its windows, portico, and palm trees had the same measurements as those of the gate that faced east. Seven steps led up to the gate, and its portico was ahead of them.

The inner court had a gate facing the north gate, like the one on the east. He measured the distance from gate to gate; it was 175 feet.

He brought me to the south side, and there was also a gate on the south. He measured its pilasters and portico; they had the same measurements as the others.

Both the gate and its portico had windows all around, like the other windows. It was 87½ feet long and 43¾ feet wide.

Its stairway had seven steps, and its portico was ahead of them. It had palm trees on its pilasters, one on each side.

The inner court had a gate on the south. He measured from gate to gate on the south; it was 175 feet.

Its recesses, pilasters, and portico had the same measurements as the others. Both it and its portico had windows all around. It was 87½ feet long and 43¾ feet wide.

Its recesses, pilasters, and portico had the same measurements as the others. Both it and its portico had windows all around. It was 87½ feet long and 43¾ feet wide.

as did its recesses, pilasters, and portico. It also had windows all around. It was 87½ feet long and 43¾ feet wide.

There was a chamber whose door opened into the portico of the gate. The burnt offering was to be washed there.

So there were four tables inside the gate and four outside, eight tables in all on which the slaughtering was to be done.

There were three-inch hooks fastened all around the inside of the room, and the flesh of the offering was to be laid on the tables.

Next he measured the court. It was square, 175 feet long and 175 feet wide. The altar was in front of the temple.

Then he brought me to the portico of the temple and measured the pilasters of the portico; they were 8¾ feet thick on each side. The width of the gateway was 24½ feet, and the side walls of the gate were 5¼ feet wide on each side.

The portico was 35 feet across and 21 feet deep, and 10 steps led up to it. There were pillars by the pilasters, one on each side.

Next he brought me into the great hall and measured the pilasters; on each side the width of the pilaster was 10½ feet.

The width of the entrance was 17½ feet, and the side walls of the entrance were 8¾ feet wide on each side. He also measured the length of the great hall, 70 feet, and the width, 35 feet.

He went inside the next room and measured the pilasters at the entrance; they were 3½ feet wide. The entrance was 10½ feet wide, and the width of the entrance’s side walls on each side was 12¼ feet.

Then he measured the wall of the temple; it was 10½ feet thick. The width of the side rooms all around the temple was seven feet.

The side rooms surrounding the temple widened at each successive story, for the structure surrounding the temple went up by stages. This was the reason for the temple’s broadness as it rose. And so, one would go up from the lowest story to the highest by means of the middle one.

I saw that the temple had a raised platform surrounding it; this foundation for the side rooms was 10½ feet high.

The thickness of the outer wall of the side rooms was 8¾ feet. The free space between the side rooms of the temple

and the outer chambers was 35 feet wide all around the temple.

The side rooms opened into the free space, one entrance toward the north and another to the south. The area of free space was 8¾ feet wide all around.

Now the building that faced the temple yard toward the west was 122½ feet wide. The wall of the building was 8¾ feet thick on all sides, and the building’s length was 157½ feet.

Then the man measured the temple; it was 175 feet long. In addition, the temple yard and the building, including its walls, were 175 feet long.

The width of the front of the temple along with the temple yard to the east was 175 feet.

Next he measured the length of the building facing the temple yard to the west, with its galleries on each side; it was 175 feet.

The interior of the great hall and the porticoes of the court—

reaching to the top of the entrance, and as far as the inner temple and on the outside. On every wall all around, on the inside and outside, was a pattern

carved with cherubim and palm trees. There was a palm tree between each pair of cherubim. Each cherub had two faces:

The altar was made of wood, 5¼ feet high and 3½ feet long. It had corners, and its length and sides were of wood. The man told me, “This is the table that stands before the Lord.”

Cherubim and palm trees were carved on the doors of the great hall like those carved on the walls. There was a wooden canopy outside, in front of the portico.

Along the length of the chambers, which was 175 feet, there was an entrance on the north; the width was 87½ feet.

In front of the chambers was a walkway toward the inside, 17½ feet wide and 175 feet long, and their entrances were on the north.

A wall on the outside ran in front of the chambers, parallel to them, toward the outer court; it was 87½ feet long.

At the base of these chambers there was an entryway on the east side as one enters them from the outer court.