The Bible (Old and New Testaments)

And I will judge thee, as women that break wedlock and shed blood are judged; and I will bring upon thee the blood of fury and jealousy.

I will also give thee into their hand, and they shall throw down thine eminent place, and break down thy lofty places; and they shall strip thee of thy clothes, and take thy fair jewels; and they shall leave thee naked and bare.

They shall also bring up an assembly against thee, and they shall stone thee with stones, and thrust thee through with their swords.

And they shall burn thy houses with fire, and execute judgments upon thee in the sight of many women; and I will cause thee to cease from playing the harlot, and thou shalt also give no hire any more.

So will I satisfy My fury upon thee, and My jealousy shall depart from thee, and I will be quiet, and will be no more angry.

Because thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, but hast fretted Me in all these things; lo, therefore I also will bring thy way upon thy head, saith the Lord GOD; or hast thou not committed this lewdness above all thine abominations?

Behold, every one that useth proverbs shall use this proverb against thee, saying: As the mother, so her daughter.

Thou art thy mother's daughter, that loatheth her husband and her children; and thou art the sister of thy sisters, who loathed their husbands and their children; your mother was a Hittite, and your father an Amorite.

And thine elder sister is Samaria, that dwelleth at thy left hand, she and her daughters; and thy younger sister, that dwelleth at thy right hand, is Sodom and her daughters.

Yet hast thou not walked in their ways, nor done after their abominations; but in a very little while thou didst deal more corruptly than they in all thy ways.

As I live, saith the Lord GOD, Sodom thy sister hath not done, she nor her daughters, as thou hast done, thou and thy daughters.

Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom: pride, fulness of bread, and careless ease was in her and in her daughters; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.

And they were haughty, and committed abomination before Me; therefore I removed them when I saw it.

Neither hath Samaria committed even half of thy sins; but thou hast multiplied thine abominations more than they, and hast justified thy sisters by all thine abominations which thou hast done.

Thou also, bear thine own shame, in that thou hast given judgment for thy sisters; through thy sins that thou hast committed more abominable than they, they are more righteous than thou; yea, be thou also confounded, and bear thy shame, in that thou hast justified thy sisters.

And I will turn their captivity, the captivity of Sodom and her daughters, and the captivity of Samaria and her daughters, and the captivity of thy captives in the midst of them;

that thou mayest bear thine own shame, and mayest be ashamed because of all that thou hast done, in that thou art a comfort unto them.

And thy sisters, Sodom and her daughters, shall return to their former estate, and Samaria and her daughters shall return to their former estate, and thou and thy daughters shall return to your former estate.

For thy sister Sodom was not mentioned by thy mouth in the day of thy pride;

before thy wickedness was uncovered, as at the time of the taunt of the daughters of Aram, and of all that are round about her, the daughters of the Philistines, that have thee in disdain round about.

Thou hast borne thy lewdness and thine abominations, saith the LORD.

For thus saith the Lord GOD: I will even deal with thee as thou hast done, who hast despised the oath in breaking the covenant.

Nevertheless I will remember My covenant with thee in the days of thy youth, and I will establish unto thee an everlasting covenant.

Then shalt thou remember thy ways, and be ashamed, when thou shalt receive thy sisters, thine elder sisters and thy younger; and I will give them unto thee for daughters, but not because of thy covenant.

And I will establish My covenant with thee, and thou shalt know that I am the LORD;

that thou mayest remember, and be confounded, and never open thy mouth any more, because of thy shame; when I have forgiven thee all that thou hast done, saith the Lord GOD.'

And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying:

'Son of man, put forth a riddle, and speak a parable unto the house of Israel,

and say: Thus saith the Lord GOD: A great eagle with great wings and long pinions, full of feathers, which had divers colours, came unto Lebanon, and took the top of the cedar;

He cropped off the topmost of the young twigs thereof, and carried it into a land of traffic; he set it in a city of merchants.

He took also of the seed of the land, and planted it in a fruitful soil; he placed it beside many waters, he set it as a slip.

And it grew, and became a spreading vine of low stature, whose tendrils might turn toward him, and the roots thereof be under him; so it became a vine, and brought forth branches, and shot forth sprigs.

There was also another great eagle with great wings and many feathers; and, behold, this vine did bend its roots toward him, and shot forth its branches toward him, from the beds of its plantation, that he might water it.

It was planted in a good soil by many waters, that it might bring forth branches, and that it might bear fruit, that it might be a stately vine.

Say thou: Thus saith the Lord GOD: Shall it prosper? shall he not pull up the roots thereof, and cut off the fruit thereof, that it wither, yea, wither in all its sprouting leaves? neither shall great power or much people be at hand when it is plucked up by the roots thereof.

Yea, behold, being planted, shall it prosper? Shall it not utterly wither, when the east wind toucheth it? In the beds where it grew it shall wither.'

Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying:

'Say now to the rebellious house: Know ye not what these things mean? tell them: Behold, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, and took the king thereof, and the princes thereof, and brought them to him to Babylon;

and he took of the seed royal, and made a covenant with him, and brought him under an oath, and the mighty of the land he took away;

that his might be a lowly kingdom, that it might not lift itself up, but that by keeping his covenant it might stand.

But he rebelled against him in sending his ambassadors into Egypt, that they might give him horses and much people. Shall he prosper? shall he escape that doeth such things? shall he break the covenant, and yet escape?

As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely in the place where the king dwelleth that made him king, whose oath he despised, and whose covenant he broke, even with him in the midst of Babylon he shall die.

Neither shall Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company succour him in the war, when they cast up mounds and build forts, to cut off many souls;

seeing he hath despised the oath by breaking the covenant, when, lo, he had given his hand, and hath done all these things, he shall not escape.

Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD: As I live, surely Mine oath that he hath despised, and My covenant that he hath broken, I will even bring it upon his own head.

And I will spread My net upon him, and he shall be taken in My snare, and I will bring him to Babylon, and will plead with him there for his treachery that he hath committed against Me.

And all his mighty men in all his bands shall fall by the sword, and they that remain shall be scattered toward every wind; and ye shall know that I the LORD have spoken it.

Thus saith the Lord GOD: Moreover I will take, even I, of the lofty top of the cedar, and will set it; I will crop off from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one, and I will plant it upon a high mountain and eminent;

in the mountain of the height of Israel will I plant it; and it shall bring forth boughs, and bear fruit, and be a stately cedar; and under it shall dwell all fowl of every wing, in the shadow of the branches thereof shall they dwell.

And all the trees of the field shall know that I the LORD have brought down the high tree, have exalted the low tree, have dried up the green tree, and have made the dry tree to flourish; I the LORD have spoken and have done it.'

And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying:

'What mean ye, that ye use this proverb in the land of Israel, saying: The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge?

As I live, saith the Lord GOD, ye shall not have occasion any more to use this proverb in Israel.

Behold, all souls are Mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is Mine; the soul that sinneth, it shall die.

But if a man be just, and do that which is lawful and right,

and hath not eaten upon the mountains, neither hath lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, neither hath defiled his neighbour's wife, neither hath come near to a woman in her impurity;

and hath not wronged any, but hath restored his pledge for a debt, hath taken nought by robbery, hath given his bread to the hungry, and hath covered the naked with a garment;

he that hath not given forth upon interest, neither hath taken any increase, that hath withdrawn his hand from iniquity, hath executed true justice between man and man,

hath walked in My statutes, and hath kept Mine ordinances, to deal truly; he is just, he shall surely live, saith the Lord GOD.

If he beget a son that is a robber, a shedder of blood, and that doeth to a brother any of these things,

whereas he himself had not done any of these things, for he hath even eaten upon the mountains, and defiled his neighbour's wife,

hath wronged the poor and needy, hath taken by robbery, hath not restored the pledge, and hath lifted up his eyes to the idols, hath committed abomination,

hath given forth upon interest, and hath taken increase; shall he then live? he shall not live — he hath done all these abominations; he shall surely be put to death, his blood shall be upon him.

Now, lo, if he beget a son, that seeth all his father's sins, which he hath done, and considereth, and doeth not such like,

that hath not eaten upon the mountains, neither hath lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, hath not defiled his neighbour's wife,

neither hath wronged any, hath not taken aught to pledge, neither hath taken by robbery, but hath given his bread to the hungry, and hath covered the naked with a garment,

that hath withdrawn his hand from the poor, that hath not received interest nor increase, hath executed Mine ordinances, hath walked in My statutes; he shall not die for the iniquity of his father, he shall surely live.

As for his father, because he cruelly oppressed, committed robbery on his brother, and did that which is not good among his people, behold, he dieth for his iniquity.

Yet say ye: Why doth not the son bear the iniquity of the father with him? When the son hath done that which is lawful and right, and hath kept all My statutes, and hath done them, he shall surely live.

The soul that sinneth, it shall die; the son shall not bear the iniquity of the father with him, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son with him; the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.

But if the wicked turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all My statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die.

None of his transgressions that he hath committed shall be remembered against him; for his righteousness that he hath done he shall live.

Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord GOD; and not rather that he should return from his ways, and live?

But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? None of his righteous deeds that he hath done shall be remembered; for his trespass that he trespassed, and for his sin that he hath sinned, for them shall he die.

Yet ye say: The way of the Lord is not equal. Hear now, O house of Israel: Is it My way that is not equal? is it not your ways that are unequal?

When the righteous man turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, he shall die therefor; for his iniquity that he hath done shall he die.

Again, when the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness that he hath committed, and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive.

Because he considereth, and turneth away from all his transgressions that he hath committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die.

Yet saith the house of Israel: The way of the Lord is not equal. O house of Israel, is it My ways that are not equal? is it not your ways that are unequal?

Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord GOD. Return ye, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so shall they not be a stumblingblock of iniquity unto you.

Cast away from you all your transgressions, wherein ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?

For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord GOD; wherefore turn yourselves, and live.

Moreover, take thou up a lamentation for the princes of Israel,

and say: How was thy mother a lioness; among lions she couched, in the midst of the young lions she reared her whelps!

And she brought up one of her whelps, he became a young lion; and he learned to catch the prey, he devoured men.

Then the nations assembled against him, he was taken in their pit; and they brought him with hooks unto the land of Egypt.

Now when she saw that she was disappointed, and her hope was lost, then she took another of her whelps, and made him a young lion.

And he went up and down among the lions, he became a young lion; and he learned to catch the prey, he devoured men.

And he knew their castles, and laid waste their cities; and the land was desolate, and the fulness thereof, because of the noise of his roaring.

Then the nations cried out against him on every side from the provinces; and they spread their net over him, he was taken in their pit.

And they put him in a cage with hooks, and brought him to the king of Babylon; that they might bring him into strongholds, so that his voice should no more be heard upon the mountains of Israel.

Thy mother was like a vine, in thy likeness, planted by the waters; she was fruitful and full of branches by reason of many waters.

And she had strong rods to be sceptres for them that bore rule; and her stature was exalted among the thick branches, and she was seen in her height with the multitude of her tendrils.

But she was plucked up in fury, she was cast down to the ground, and the east wind dried up her fruit; her strong rods were broken off and withered, the fire consumed her.

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

And fire is gone out of the rod of her branches, it hath devoured her fruit, so that there is in her no strong rod to be a sceptre to rule.' This is a lamentation, and it was for a lamentation.

And it came to pass in the seventh year, in the fifth month, the tenth day of the month, that certain of the elders of Israel came to inquire of the LORD, and sat before me.

And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying:

'Son of man, speak unto the elders of Israel, and say unto them: Thus saith the Lord GOD: Are ye come to inquire of Me? As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will not be inquired of by you.

Wilt thou judge them, son of man, wilt thou judge them? cause them to know the abominations of their fathers;