The Bible Part 167

23:11 And when her sister Aholibah saw this, she was more corrupt in her inordinate love than she, and in her wh.o.r.edoms more than her sister in her wh.o.r.edoms.

23:12 She doted upon the a.s.syrians her neighbours, captains and rulers clothed most gorgeously, hors.e.m.e.n riding upon horses, all of them desirable young men.

23:13 Then I saw that she was defiled, that they took both one way, 23:14 And that she increased her wh.o.r.edoms: for when she saw men pourtrayed upon the wall, the images of the Chaldeans pourtrayed with vermilion, 23:15 Girded with girdles upon their loins, exceeding in dyed attire upon their heads, all of them princes to look to, after the manner of the Babylonians of Chaldea, the land of their nativity: 23:16 And as soon as she saw them with her eyes, she doted upon them, and sent messengers unto them into Chaldea.

23:17 And the Babylonians came to her into the bed of love, and they defiled her with their wh.o.r.edom, and she was polluted with them, and her mind was alienated from them.

23:18 So she discovered her wh.o.r.edoms, and discovered her nakedness: then my mind was alienated from her, like as my mind was alienated from her sister.

23:19 Yet she multiplied her wh.o.r.edoms, in calling to remembrance the days of her youth, wherein she had played the harlot in the land of Egypt.

23:20 For she doted upon their paramours, whose flesh is as the flesh of a.s.ses, and whose issue is like the issue of horses.

23:21 Thus thou calledst to remembrance the lewdness of thy youth, in bruising thy teats by the Egyptians for the paps of thy youth.

23:22 Therefore, O Aholibah, thus saith the Lord G.o.d; Behold, I will raise up thy lovers against thee, from whom thy mind is alienated, and I will bring them against thee on every side; 23:23 The Babylonians, and all the Chaldeans, Pekod, and Shoa, and Koa, and all the a.s.syrians with them: all of them desirable young men, captains and rulers, great lords and renowned, all of them riding upon horses.

23:24 And they shall come against thee with chariots, wagons, and wheels, and with an a.s.sembly of people, which shall set against thee buckler and shield and helmet round about: and I will set judgment before them, and they shall judge thee according to their judgments.

23:25 And I will set my jealousy against thee, and they shall deal furiously with thee: they shall take away thy nose and thine ears; and thy remnant shall fall by the sword: they shall take thy sons and thy daughters; and thy residue shall be devoured by the fire.

23:26 They shall also strip thee out of thy clothes, and take away thy fair jewels.

23:27 Thus will I make thy lewdness to cease from thee, and thy wh.o.r.edom brought from the land of Egypt: so that thou shalt not lift up thine eyes unto them, nor remember Egypt any more.

23:28 For thus saith the Lord G.o.d; Behold, I will deliver thee into the hand of them whom thou hatest, into the hand of them from whom thy mind is alienated: 23:29 And they shall deal with thee hatefully, and shall take away all thy labour, and shall leave thee naked and bare: and the nakedness of thy wh.o.r.edoms shall be discovered, both thy lewdness and thy wh.o.r.edoms.

23:30 I will do these things unto thee, because thou hast gone a whoring after the heathen, and because thou art polluted with their idols.

23:31 Thou hast walked in the way of thy sister; therefore will I give her cup into thine hand.

23:32 Thus saith the Lord G.o.d; Thou shalt drink of thy sister's cup deep and large: thou shalt be laughed to scorn and had in derision; it containeth much.

23:33 Thou shalt be filled with drunkenness and sorrow, with the cup of astonishment and desolation, with the cup of thy sister Samaria.

23:34 Thou shalt even drink it and suck it out, and thou shalt break the sherds thereof, and pluck off thine own b.r.e.a.s.t.s: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord G.o.d.

23:35 Therefore thus saith the Lord G.o.d; Because thou hast forgotten me, and cast me behind thy back, therefore bear thou also thy lewdness and thy wh.o.r.edoms.

23:36 The LORD said moreover unto me; Son of man, wilt thou judge Aholah and Aholibah? yea, declare unto them their abominations; 23:37 That they have committed adultery, and blood is in their hands, and with their idols have they committed adultery, and have also caused their sons, whom they bare unto me, to pa.s.s for them through the fire, to devour them.

23:38 Moreover this they have done unto me: they have defiled my sanctuary in the same day, and have profaned my sabbaths.

23:39 For when they had slain their children to their idols, then they came the same day into my sanctuary to profane it; and, lo, thus have they done in the midst of mine house.

23:40 And furthermore, that ye have sent for men to come from far, unto whom a messenger was sent; and, lo, they came: for whom thou didst wash thyself, paintedst thy eyes, and deckedst thyself with ornaments, 23:41 And satest upon a stately bed, and a table prepared before it, whereupon thou hast set mine incense and mine oil.

23:42 And a voice of a mult.i.tude being at ease was with her: and with the men of the common sort were brought Sabeans from the wilderness, which put bracelets upon their hands, and beautiful crowns upon their heads.

23:43 Then said I unto her that was old in adulteries, Will they now commit wh.o.r.edoms with her, and she with them? 23:44 Yet they went in unto her, as they go in unto a woman that playeth the harlot: so went they in unto Aholah and unto Aholibah, the lewd women.

23:45 And the righteous men, they shall judge them after the manner of adulteresses, and after the manner of women that shed blood; because they are adulteresses, and blood is in their hands.

23:46 For thus saith the Lord G.o.d; I will bring up a company upon them, and will give them to be removed and spoiled.

23:47 And the company shall stone them with stones, and dispatch them with their swords; they shall slay their sons and their daughters, and burn up their houses with fire.

23:48 Thus will I cause lewdness to cease out of the land, that all women may be taught not to do after your lewdness.

23:49 And they shall recompense your lewdness upon you, and ye shall bear the sins of your idols: and ye shall know that I am the Lord G.o.d.

24:1 Again in the ninth year, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 24:2 Son of man, write thee the name of the day, even of this same day: the king of Babylon set himself against Jerusalem this same day.

24:3 And utter a parable unto the rebellious house, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord G.o.d; Set on a pot, set it on, and also pour water into it: 24:4 Gather the pieces thereof into it, even every good piece, the thigh, and the shoulder; fill it with the choice bones.

24:5 Take the choice of the flock, and burn also the bones under it, and make it boil well, and let them seethe the bones of it therein.

24:6 Wherefore thus saith the Lord G.o.d; Woe to the b.l.o.o.d.y city, to the pot whose sc.u.m is therein, and whose sc.u.m is not gone out of it! bring it out piece by piece; let no lot fall upon it.

24:7 For her blood is in the midst of her; she set it upon the top of a rock; she poured it not upon the ground, to cover it with dust; 24:8 That it might cause fury to come up to take vengeance; I have set her blood upon the top of a rock, that it should not be covered.

24:9 Therefore thus saith the Lord G.o.d; Woe to the b.l.o.o.d.y city! I will even make the pile for fire great.

24:10 Heap on wood, kindle the fire, consume the flesh, and spice it well, and let the bones be burned.

24:11 Then set it empty upon the coals thereof, that the bra.s.s of it may be hot, and may burn, and that the filthiness of it may be molten in it, that the sc.u.m of it may be consumed.

24:12 She hath wearied herself with lies, and her great sc.u.m went not forth out of her: her sc.u.m shall be in the fire.

24:13 In thy filthiness is lewdness: because I have purged thee, and thou wast not purged, thou shalt not be purged from thy filthiness any more, till I have caused my fury to rest upon thee.

24:14 I the LORD have spoken it: it shall come to pa.s.s, and I will do it; I will not go back, neither will I spare, neither will I repent; according to thy ways, and according to thy doings, shall they judge thee, saith the Lord G.o.d.

24:15 Also the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 24:16 Son of man, behold, I take away from thee the desire of thine eyes with a stroke: yet neither shalt thou mourn nor weep, neither shall thy tears run down.

24:17 Forbear to cry, make no mourning for the dead, bind the tire of thine head upon thee, and put on thy shoes upon thy feet, and cover not thy lips, and eat not the bread of men.

24:18 So I spake unto the people in the morning: and at even my wife died; and I did in the morning as I was commanded.

24:19 And the people said unto me, Wilt thou not tell us what these things are to us, that thou doest so? 24:20 Then I answered them, The word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 24:21 Speak unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord G.o.d; Behold, I will profane my sanctuary, the excellency of your strength, the desire of your eyes, and that which your soul pitieth; and your sons and your daughters whom ye have left shall fall by the sword.

24:22 And ye shall do as I have done: ye shall not cover your lips, nor eat the bread of men.

24:23 And your tires shall be upon your heads, and your shoes upon your feet: ye shall not mourn nor weep; but ye shall pine away for your iniquities, and mourn one toward another.

24:24 Thus Ezekiel is unto you a sign: according to all that he hath done shall ye do: and when this cometh, ye shall know that I am the Lord G.o.d.

24:25 Also, thou son of man, shall it not be in the day when I take from them their strength, the joy of their glory, the desire of their eyes, and that whereupon they set their minds, their sons and their daughters, 24:26 That he that escapeth in that day shall come unto thee, to cause thee to hear it with thine ears? 24:27 In that day shall thy mouth be opened to him which is escaped, and thou shalt speak, and be no more dumb: and thou shalt be a sign unto them; and they shall know that I am the LORD.

25:1 The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying, 25:2 Son of man, set thy face against the Ammonites, and prophesy against them; 25:3 And say unto the Ammonites, Hear the word of the Lord G.o.d; Thus saith the Lord G.o.d; Because thou saidst, Aha, against my sanctuary, when it was profaned; and against the land of Israel, when it was desolate; and against the house of Judah, when they went into captivity; 25:4 Behold, therefore I will deliver thee to the men of the east for a possession, and they shall set their palaces in thee, and make their dwellings in thee: they shall eat thy fruit, and they shall drink thy milk.

25:5 And I will make Rabbah a stable for camels, and the Ammonites a couching place for flocks: and ye shall know that I am the LORD.

25:6 For thus saith the Lord G.o.d; Because thou hast clapped thine hands, and stamped with the feet, and rejoiced in heart with all thy despite against the land of Israel; 25:7 Behold, therefore I will stretch out mine hand upon thee, and will deliver thee for a spoil to the heathen; and I will cut thee off from the people, and I will cause thee to perish out of the countries: I will destroy thee; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD.

25:8 Thus saith the Lord G.o.d; Because that Moab and Seir do say, Behold, the house of Judah is like unto all the heathen; 25:9 Therefore, behold, I will open the side of Moab from the cities, from his cities which are on his frontiers, the glory of the country, Bethjeshimoth, Baalmeon, and Kiriathaim, 25:10 Unto the men of the east with the Ammonites, and will give them in possession, that the Ammonites may not be remembered among the nations.

25:11 And I will execute judgments upon Moab; and they shall know that I am the LORD.

25:12 Thus saith the Lord G.o.d; Because that Edom hath dealt against the house of Judah by taking vengeance, and hath greatly offended, and revenged himself upon them; 25:13 Therefore thus saith the Lord G.o.d; I will also stretch out mine hand upon Edom, and will cut off man and beast from it; and I will make it desolate from Teman; and they of Dedan shall fall by the sword.

25:14 And I will lay my vengeance upon Edom by the hand of my people Israel: and they shall do in Edom according to mine anger and according to my fury; and they shall know my vengeance, saith the Lord G.o.d.

25:15 Thus saith the Lord G.o.d; Because the Philistines have dealt by revenge, and have taken vengeance with a despiteful heart, to destroy it for the old hatred; 25:16 Therefore thus saith the Lord G.o.d; Behold, I will stretch out mine hand upon the Philistines, and I will cut off the Cherethims, and destroy the remnant of the sea coast.

25:17 And I will execute great vengeance upon them with furious rebukes; and they shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall lay my vengeance upon them.

26:1 And it came to pa.s.s in the eleventh year, in the first day of the month, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 26:2 Son of man, because that Tyrus hath said against Jerusalem, Aha, she is broken that was the gates of the people: she is turned unto me: I shall be replenished, now she is laid waste: 26:3 Therefore thus saith the Lord G.o.d; Behold, I am against thee, O Tyrus, and will cause many nations to come up against thee, as the sea causeth his waves to come up.

26:4 And they shall destroy the walls of Tyrus, and break down her towers: I will also sc.r.a.pe her dust from her, and make her like the top of a rock.

26:5 It shall be a place for the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord G.o.d: and it shall become a spoil to the nations.

26:6 And her daughters which are in the field shall be slain by the sword; and they shall know that I am the LORD.

26:7 For thus saith the Lord G.o.d; Behold, I will bring upon Tyrus Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, a king of kings, from the north, with horses, and with chariots, and with hors.e.m.e.n, and companies, and much people.

26:8 He shall slay with the sword thy daughters in the field: and he shall make a fort against thee, and cast a mount against thee, and lift up the buckler against thee.

26:9 And he shall set engines of war against thy walls, and with his axes he shall break down thy towers.

26:10 By reason of the abundance of his horses their dust shall cover thee: thy walls shall shake at the noise of the hors.e.m.e.n, and of the wheels, and of the chariots, when he shall enter into thy gates, as men enter into a city wherein is made a breach.

26:11 With the hoofs of his horses shall he tread down all thy streets: he shall slay thy people by the sword, and thy strong garrisons shall go down to the ground.

26:12 And they shall make a spoil of thy riches, and make a prey of thy merchandise: and they shall break down thy walls, and destroy thy pleasant houses: and they shall lay thy stones and thy timber and thy dust in the midst of the water.

26:13 And I will cause the noise of thy songs to cease; and the sound of thy harps shall be no more heard.

26:14 And I will make thee like the top of a rock: thou shalt be a place to spread nets upon; thou shalt be built no more: for I the LORD have spoken it, saith the Lord G.o.d.

26:15 Thus saith the Lord G.o.d to Tyrus; Shall not the isles shake at the sound of thy fall, when the wounded cry, when the slaughter is made in the midst of thee? 26:16 Then all the princes of the sea shall come down from their thrones, and lay away their robes, and put off their broidered garments: they shall clothe themselves with trembling; they shall sit upon the ground, and shall tremble at every moment, and be astonished at thee.

26:17 And they shall take up a lamentation for thee, and say to thee, How art thou destroyed, that wast inhabited of seafaring men, the renowned city, which wast strong in the sea, she and her inhabitants, which cause their terror to be on all that haunt it! 26:18 Now shall the isles tremble in the day of thy fall; yea, the isles that are in the sea shall be troubled at thy departure.

26:19 For thus saith the Lord G.o.d; When I shall make thee a desolate city, like the cities that are not inhabited; when I shall bring up the deep upon thee, and great waters shall cover thee; 26:20 When I shall bring thee down with them that descend into the pit, with the people of old time, and shall set thee in the low parts of the earth, in places desolate of old, with them that go down to the pit, that thou be not inhabited; and I shall set glory in the land of the living; 26:21 I will make thee a terror, and thou shalt be no more: though thou be sought for, yet shalt thou never be found again, saith the Lord G.o.d.

27:1 The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying, 27:2 Now, thou son of man, take up a lamentation for Tyrus; 27:3 And say unto Tyrus, O thou that art situate at the entry of the sea, which art a merchant of the people for many isles, Thus saith the Lord G.o.d; O Tyrus, thou hast said, I am of perfect beauty.

27:4 Thy borders are in the midst of the seas, thy builders have perfected thy beauty.

27:5 They have made all thy ship boards of fir trees of Senir: they have taken cedars from Lebanon to make masts for thee.

27:6 Of the oaks of Bashan have they made thine oars; the company of the Ashurites have made thy benches of ivory, brought out of the isles of Chittim.

27:7 Fine linen with broidered work from Egypt was that which thou spreadest forth to be thy sail; blue and purple from the isles of Elishah was that which covered thee.

27:8 The inhabitants of Zidon and Arvad were thy mariners: thy wise men, O Tyrus, that were in thee, were thy pilots.

27:9 The ancients of Gebal and the wise men thereof were in thee thy calkers: all the ships of the sea with their mariners were in thee to occupy thy merchandise.

27:10 They of Persia and of Lud and of Phut were in thine army, thy men of war: they hanged the shield and helmet in thee; they set forth thy comeliness.

27:11 The men of Arvad with thine army were upon thy walls round about, and the Gammadims were in thy towers: they hanged their shields upon thy walls round about; they have made thy beauty perfect.

27:12 Tarshish was thy merchant by reason of the mult.i.tude of all kind of riches; with silver, iron, tin, and lead, they traded in thy fairs.

27:13 Javan, Tubal, and Meshech, they were thy merchants: they traded the persons of men and vessels of bra.s.s in thy market.

27:14 They of the house of Togarmah traded in thy fairs with horses and hors.e.m.e.n and mules.

27:15 The men of Dedan were thy merchants; many isles were the merchandise of thine hand: they brought thee for a present horns of ivory and ebony.

27:16 Syria was thy merchant by reason of the mult.i.tude of the wares of thy making: they occupied in thy fairs with emeralds, purple, and broidered work, and fine linen, and coral, and agate.

27:17 Judah, and the land of Israel, they were thy merchants: they traded in thy market wheat of Minnith, and Pannag, and honey, and oil, and balm.

27:18 Damascus was thy merchant in the mult.i.tude of the wares of thy making, for the mult.i.tude of all riches; in the wine of Helbon, and white wool.

27:19 Dan also and Javan going to and fro occupied in thy fairs: bright iron, ca.s.sia, and calamus, were in thy market.

27:20 Dedan was thy merchant in precious clothes for chariots.

27:21 Arabia, and all the princes of Kedar, they occupied with thee in lambs, and rams, and goats: in these were they thy merchants.

27:22 The merchants of Sheba and Raamah, they were thy merchants: they occupied in thy fairs with chief of all spices, and with all precious stones, and gold.

27:23 Haran, and Canneh, and Eden, the merchants of Sheba, a.s.shur, and Chilmad, were thy merchants.

27:24 These were thy merchants in all sorts of things, in blue clothes, and broidered work, and in chests of rich apparel, bound with cords, and made of cedar, among thy merchandise.

27:25 The ships of Tarshish did sing of thee in thy market: and thou wast replenished, and made very glorious in the midst of the seas.

27:26 Thy rowers have brought thee into great waters: the east wind hath broken thee in the midst of the seas.

27:27 Thy riches, and thy fairs, thy merchandise, thy mariners, and thy pilots, thy calkers, and the occupiers of thy merchandise, and all thy men of war, that are in thee, and in all thy company which is in the midst of thee, shall fall into the midst of the seas in the day of thy ruin.

27:28 The suburbs shall shake at the sound of the cry of thy pilots.