Samaria and Jerusalem Are Like Two Impure Sisters
1A message from the Lord came to me. The Lord said, 2“Son of man, once there were two women. They had the same mother. 3They became prostitutes in Egypt. They have been unfaithful to me since they were young. In that land they allowed their breasts to be touched. They permitted their virgin breasts to be kissed. 4The older sister was named Oholah. The younger one was Oholibah. They belonged to me. Sons and daughters were born to them. Oholah stands for Samaria. And Oholibah stands for Jerusalem.
5“Oholah was unfaithful to me even while she still belonged to me. She longed for her Assyrian lovers. They included soldiers 6who wore blue uniforms. They also included governors and commanders. All of them were young and handsome. They rode horses. 7She gave herself as a prostitute to all Assyria’s finest warriors. She made herself impure with the statues of the gods of everyone she longed for. 8She started being a prostitute in Egypt. And she never stopped. When she was young, men had sex with her. They kissed her virgin breasts. They used up all their sinful desires on her.
9“So I handed her over to her Assyrian lovers. She longed for them. 10They stripped her naked. They took away her sons and daughters. And they killed her with their swords. Other women laughed when that happened. I was the one who had punished her.
11“Her sister Oholibah saw it. But her evil desire for sexual sin was worse than her sister’s. 12She too longed for the men of Assyria. They included governors and commanders. They included soldiers who wore fancy uniforms. They also included men who rode horses. All of them were young and handsome. 13I saw that she too made herself impure. So both sisters did the same evil things.
14“But Oholibah went even further with her sexual sins. She saw pictures of men drawn on a wall. They were figures of Babylonians drawn in red. 15They had belts around their waists. They wore flowing turbans on their heads. All of them looked like Babylonian chariot officers. They were from the land of the Chaldeans. 16As soon as she saw the pictures, she longed for the men. So she sent messengers to them in Babylon. 17Then the Babylonians came to her. They went to bed with her. They had sex with her. They made her impure when they had sex with her. After they did it, she became sick of them. So she turned away from them. 18She acted like a prostitute who had no shame at all. She openly showed her naked body. I became sick of what she was doing. So I turned away from her. I had also turned away from her sister. 19But Oholibah offered her body to her lovers again and again. She remembered the days when she was a young prostitute in Egypt. 20There she had longed for her lovers. Their private parts seemed as big as those of donkeys. And their flow of semen appeared to be as much as that of horses. 21So you wanted to return to the days when you were young. You longed for the time when you first became impure in Egypt. That was when you allowed your breasts to be kissed. And you permitted your young breasts to be touched.”
22So the Lord and King says, “Oholibah, I will stir up your lovers against you. You became sick of them. You turned away from them. But I will bring them against you from every side. 23They include the Babylonians and all the Chaldeans. They include the men from Pekod, Shoa and Koa. They also include all the Assyrians. They are young and handsome. Some of them are governors and commanders. Others are chariot officers. Still others are very high officials. All of them ride horses. 24So a huge army will come against you with weapons, chariots and wagons. They will take up positions against you on every side. They will carry large and small shields. They will wear helmets. I will turn you over to them to be punished. They will punish you in their own way. 25I will pour out my jealous anger on you. And the army’s anger will burn against you. They will cut off your noses and ears. Some of you who are left will be killed by swords. They will take away your sons and daughters. Others of you who are left will be burned up. 26The army will also strip off your clothes. They will take your fine jewelry away from you. 27You became an impure prostitute in Egypt. But I will put a stop to all of that. You will no longer want to do any of it. You will not remember Egypt anymore.”
28The Lord and King says, “I am about to hand you over to people you hate. You became sick of them. You turned away from them. 29They will punish you because they hate you so much. They will take away from you everything you have worked for. They will leave you completely naked. Then everyone will see that you are a prostitute who has no shame at all. You were impure. You offered your body to your lovers again and again. 30That is why you will be punished. You longed for lovers in other nations. You made yourself impure by worshiping their gods. 31You did the same things your sister Oholah did. So I will put her cup in your hand. It is filled with the wine of my anger.”
32The Lord and King says to Oholibah,
“You will drink from your sister’s cup.
It is large and deep.
It is filled with the wine of my anger.
So others will laugh at you.
They will make fun of you.
33You will become drunk and sad.
The cup of my anger will completely destroy you.
It is the same cup your sister Samaria drank from.
34You will drink from it until it is empty.
Then you will chew on its pieces.
And you will claw at your breasts.
I have spoken,” announces the Lord and King.
35So the Lord and King says, “You have forgotten me. You have turned your back on me. You have been impure. You have acted like a prostitute. So I will punish you.”
36The Lord said to me, “Son of man, are you going to judge Oholah and Oholibah? Then tell them they have done many evil things. I hate those things. 37They have committed adultery. Their hands are covered with the blood of the people they have murdered. They have worshiped other gods. They have not been faithful to me. They have even sacrificed their children as food to other gods. Those children belonged to me. 38Here are some other things the sisters have done to me. They have made my temple ‘unclean.’ They have misused my Sabbath days. 39They have sacrificed their children to their gods. On that same day they entered my temple and made it ‘unclean.’ That is what they have done in my house.
40“They even sent messengers to bring men from far away. When the men arrived, Oholibah took a bath. She put makeup on her eyes. She put her jewelry on. 41She sat down on a beautiful couch. A table was in front of it. There she put the incense and olive oil that belonged to me.
42“The noise of a carefree crowd was all around her. Men who drink too much were brought from the desert. Other men were brought along with them. They put bracelets on the wrists of the two sisters. They put beautiful crowns on their heads. 43Then I spoke about Oholibah. She was worn out by adultery. I said, ‘Let them use her as a prostitute. After all, that is what she is.’ 44So they slept with her. In fact, they slept with both of these impure women, Oholah and Oholibah. They slept with them just as men sleep with prostitutes. 45But judges who are right with God will sentence the sisters to be punished. They will be punished in the same way as women who commit adultery and murder. After all, they have committed adultery. And their hands are covered with the blood of the people they have murdered.”
46The Lord and King says, “Bring an angry crowd against the sisters. Hand them over to those who will terrify them and steal everything they have. 47The crowd will kill them by throwing stones at them. They will use swords to cut them down. They will kill their sons and daughters. And they will burn down their houses.
48“So I will put an end to impurity in the land. Then all its women will be warned. They will not want to be like the sisters. 49Those sisters will be punished because of the impure things they have done. They will be judged because they have worshiped other gods. Then they will know that I am the Lord and King.”
Las dos hermanas adúlteras
1El Señor me habló diciendo: 2«Hijo de hombre, hubo dos mujeres, hijas de una misma madre. 3Desde jóvenes se dejaron manosear los senos; en Egipto se prostituyeron y dejaron que les acariciaran sus pechos virginales. 4La mayor se llamaba Aholá, y la menor, Aholibá. Me uní a ellas, y me dieron hijos e hijas. (Aholá representa a Samaria, y su hermana Aholibá, a Jerusalén). 5Mientras Aholá me pertenecía, me fue infiel y se enamoró perdidamente de sus amantes los asirios, 6todos ellos guerreros vestidos de púrpura, gobernadores y oficiales, jóvenes apuestos y hábiles jinetes. 7Como una prostituta, se entregó a lo mejor de los asirios; se contaminó con todos los ídolos que pertenecían a sus amantes. 8Jamás abandonó la prostitución que había comenzado a practicar en Egipto. Desde su juventud, fueron muchos los que se acostaron con ella; fueron muchos los que acariciaron sus pechos virginales y se apasionaron con ella. 9Por eso la entregué en manos de sus amantes, los asirios, con quienes ella se apasionó. 10Y ellos la desnudaron, le quitaron a sus hijos y a sus hijas, y a ella la mataron a filo de espada. Fue tal el castigo que ella recibió que su caso se volvió una advertencia para las mujeres.
11»Aunque su hermana Aholibá vio esto, dio rienda suelta a sus pasiones y se prostituyó aún más que su hermana. 12Ella también se enamoró perdidamente de los asirios, todos ellos gobernadores y oficiales, guerreros vestidos con mucho lujo, hábiles jinetes, y jóvenes muy apuestos. 13Yo pude darme cuenta de que ella se había contaminado y seguido el ejemplo de su hermana. 14Pero Aholibá llevó más allá sus prostituciones. Vio en la pared figuras de caldeos pintadas de rojo, 15con cinturones y amplios turbantes en la cabeza. Todos ellos tenían aspecto de oficiales, y se parecían a los babilonios originarios de Caldea. 16Al verlos, se enamoró de ellos perdidamente y envió mensajeros a Caldea. 17Los babilonios vinieron y se acostaron con ella en el lecho de sus pasiones. A tal punto la contaminaron con sus prostituciones que se hastió de ellos. 18Pero, exhibiendo su desnudez, practicó con descaro la prostitución. Entonces me hastié de ella, como antes me había hastiado de su hermana. 19Pero ella multiplicó sus prostituciones, recordando los días de su juventud cuando en Egipto había sido una prostituta. 20Allí se había enamorado perdidamente de sus amantes, cuyos genitales eran como los de un asno y su semen como el de un caballo. 21Así echó de menos la lujuria de su juventud, cuando los egipcios le manoseaban los senos y le acariciaban sus pechos virginales.
22»Por eso, Aholibá, así dice el Señor omnipotente: “Voy a incitar contra ti a tus amantes, de los que ahora estás hastiada. De todas partes traeré contra ti 23a los babilonios y a todos los caldeos, a los de Pecod, Soa y Coa, y con ellos a los asirios, todos ellos jóvenes apuestos, gobernantes y oficiales, guerreros y hombres distinguidos, montados a caballo. 24Vendrán contra ti con muchos carros y carretas, y con una multitud de ejércitos, cascos y escudos. Les encargaré que te juzguen, y te juzgarán según sus costumbres. 25Descargaré sobre ti el furor de mi ira, y ellos te maltratarán con saña. Te cortarán la nariz y las orejas, y a tus sobrevivientes los matarán a filo de espada. Te arrebatarán a tus hijos y a tus hijas, y los que aún queden con vida serán consumidos por el fuego. 26Te arrancarán tus vestidos y te quitarán tus joyas. 27Así pondré fin a tu lujuria y a tu prostitución, que comenzaste en Egipto. Ya no desearás esas cosas ni te acordarás más de Egipto.
28»”Así dice el Señor omnipotente: Voy a entregarte en manos de los que odias, en manos de quienes te hartaron. 29Ellos te tratarán con odio y te despojarán de todas tus posesiones. Te dejarán completamente desnuda, y tus prostituciones quedarán al descubierto. Tu lujuria y tu promiscuidad 30son la causa de todo esto, porque te prostituiste con las naciones y te contaminaste con sus ídolos. 31Por cuanto has seguido los pasos de tu hermana, en castigo beberás la misma copa.
32»”Así dice el Señor omnipotente:
»”Beberás la copa de tu hermana,
una copa grande y profunda.
Llena está de burla y escarnio,
33llena de embriaguez y dolor.
Es la copa de ruina y desolación;
¡es la copa de tu hermana Samaria!
34La beberás hasta las heces,
la romperás en mil pedazos,
y te desgarrarás los pechos
porque yo lo he dicho.
Lo afirma el Señor omnipotente.
35»”Por eso, así dice el Señor omnipotente: Por cuanto me has olvidado y me has dado la espalda, sufrirás las consecuencias de tu lujuria y de tus prostituciones”».
36El Señor me dijo: «Hijo de hombre, ¿acaso no juzgarás a Aholá y a Aholibá? ¡Échales en cara sus actos detestables! 37Ellas han cometido adulterio, y tienen las manos manchadas de sangre. Han cometido adulterio con sus ídolos, han sacrificado a los hijos que me dieron, y los han ofrecido como alimento a esos ídolos. 38Además, me han ofendido contaminando mi santuario y, a la vez, profanando mis sábados. 39El mismo día que sacrificaron a sus hijos para adorar a sus ídolos, entraron a mi santuario y lo profanaron. ¡Y lo hicieron en mi propia casa!
40»Y por si fuera poco, mandaron a traer gente de muy lejos. Cuando esa gente llegó, ellas se bañaron, se pintaron los ojos y se adornaron con joyas; 41luego se sentaron en un diván lujoso, frente a una mesa donde previamente habían colocado el incienso y el aceite que me pertenecen. 42Podía escucharse el bullicio de una multitud: eran los sabeos, que venían del desierto. Adornaron a las mujeres poniéndoles brazaletes en los brazos y hermosas coronas sobre la cabeza. 43Pensé entonces en esa mujer desgastada por sus adulterios: “Ahora van a seguir aprovechándose de esa mujer prostituida”. 44Y se acostaron con ella como quien se acuesta con una prostituta. Fue así como se acostaron con esas mujeres lascivas llamadas Aholá y Aholibá. 45Pero los hombres justos les darán el castigo que merecen las mujeres asesinas y adúlteras, ¡porque son unas adúlteras, y tienen las manos manchadas de sangre!
46»En efecto, así dice el Señor: ¡Que se convoque a una multitud contra ellas, y que sean entregadas al terror y al saqueo! 47¡Que la multitud las apedree y las despedace con la espada! ¡Que maten a sus hijos y a sus hijas, y les prendan fuego a sus casas! 48Yo pondré fin en el país a esta conducta llena de lascivia. Todas las mujeres quedarán advertidas y no seguirán su ejemplo. 49Sobre estas dos hermanas recaerá su propia lascivia, y pagarán las consecuencias de sus pecados de idolatría. Entonces sabrán que yo soy el Señor omnipotente».
