Jerusalem the Unfaithful
1 The Lord spoke to me again. 2 “Mortal man,” he said, “point out to Jerusalem what disgusting things she has done. 3 Tell Jerusalem what the Sovereign Lord is saying to her:
“You were born in the land of Canaan. Your father was an Amorite, and your mother was a Hittite. 4 When you were born, no one cut your umbilical cord or washed you or rubbed you with salt or wrapped you in cloths. 5 No one took enough pity on you to do any of these things for you. When you were born, no one loved you. You were thrown out in an open field.
6 “Then I passed by and saw you squirming in your own blood. You were covered with blood, but I wouldn't let you die. 7 I made you grow like a healthy plant. You grew strong and tall and became a young woman. Your breasts were well-formed, and your hair had grown, but you were naked.
8 “As I passed by again, I saw that the time had come for you to fall in love. I covered your naked body with my coat and promised to love you. Yes, I made a marriage covenant with you, and you became mine.” This is what the Sovereign Lord says.
9 “Then I took water and washed the blood off you. I rubbed olive oil on your skin. 10 I dressed you in embroidered gowns and gave you shoes of the best leather, a linen headband, and a silk cloak. 11 I put jewels on you—bracelets and necklaces. 12 I gave you a nose ring and earrings and a beautiful crown to wear. 13 You had ornaments of gold and silver, and you always wore clothes of embroidered linen and silk. You ate bread made from the best flour, and had honey and olive oil to eat. Your beauty was dazzling, and you became a queen. 14 You became famous in every nation for your perfect beauty, because I was the one who made you so lovely.” This is what the Sovereign Lord says.
15 “But you took advantage of your beauty and fame to sleep with everyone who came along. 16 You used some of your clothes to decorate your places of worship, and just like a prostitute, you gave yourself to everyone. 17 You took the silver and gold jewelry that I had given you, used it to make male images, and committed adultery with them. 18 You took the embroidered clothes I gave you and put them on the images, and you offered to the images the olive oil and incense I had given you. 19 I gave you food—the best flour, olive oil, and honey—but you offered it as a sacrifice to win the favor of idols.” This is what the Sovereign Lord says.
20 “Then you took the sons and the daughters you had borne me and offered them as sacrifices to idols. Wasn't it bad enough to be unfaithful to me, 21 without taking my children and sacrificing them to idols? 22 During your disgusting life as a prostitute you never once remembered your childhood—when you were naked, squirming in your own blood.”
Jerusalem's Life as a Prostitute
23 The Sovereign Lord said, “You are doomed! Doomed! You did all that evil, and then 24 by the side of every road you built places to worship idols and practice prostitution. 25 You dragged your beauty through the mud. You offered yourself to everyone who came by, and you were more of a prostitute every day. 26 You let your lustful neighbors, the Egyptians, go to bed with you, and you used your prostitution to make me angry.
27 “Now I have raised my hand to punish you and to take away your share of my blessing. I have handed you over to the Philistines, who hate you and are disgusted with your immoral actions.
28 “Because you were not satisfied by the others, you went running after the Assyrians. You were their prostitute, but they didn't satisfy you either. 29 You were also a prostitute for the Babylonians, that nation of merchants, but they didn't satisfy you either.”
30 This is what the Sovereign Lord is saying: “You have done all this like a shameless prostitute. 31 On every street you built places to worship idols and practice prostitution. But you are not out for money like a common prostitute. 32 You are like a woman who commits adultery with strangers instead of loving her husband. 33 A prostitute is paid, but you gave presents to all your lovers and bribed them to come from everywhere to sleep with you. 34 You are a special kind of prostitute. No one forced you to become one. You didn't get paid; you paid them! Yes, you are different.”
God's Judgment on Jerusalem
35 Now then, Jerusalem, you whore! Hear what the Lord is saying.
36 This is what the Sovereign Lord says: “You stripped off your clothes, and like a prostitute, you gave yourself to your lovers and to all your disgusting idols, and you killed your children as sacrifices to idols. 37 Because of this I will bring all your former lovers together—the ones you liked and the ones you hated. I will bring them around you in a circle, and then I will strip off your clothes and let them see you naked. 38 I will condemn you for adultery and murder, and in my anger and fury I will punish you with death. 39 I will put you in their power, and they will tear down the places where you engage in prostitution and worship idols. They will take away your clothes and jewels and leave you completely naked.
40 “They will stir up a crowd to stone you, and they will cut you to pieces with their swords. 41 They will burn your houses down and let crowds of women see your punishment. I will make you stop being a prostitute and make you stop giving gifts to your lovers. 42 Then my anger will be over, and I will be calm. I will not be angry or jealous any more. 43 You have forgotten how I treated you when you were young, and you have made me angry by all the things you did. That is why I have made you pay for them all. Why did you add sexual immorality to all the other disgusting things you did?” The Sovereign Lord has spoken.
Like Mother, Like Daughter
44 The Lord said, “People will use this proverb about you, Jerusalem: ‘Like mother, like daughter.’ 45 You really are your mother's daughter. She detested her husband and her children. You are like your sisters, who hated their husbands and their children. You and your sister cities had a Hittite mother and an Amorite father.
46 “Your older sister, with her villages, is Samaria, in the north. Your younger sister, with her villages, is Sodom, in the south. 47 Were you satisfied to follow in their footsteps and copy their disgusting actions? No, in only a little while you were acting worse than they were in everything you did.
48 “As surely as I am the living God,” the Sovereign Lord says, “your sister Sodom and her villages never did the evil that you and your villages have done. 49 She and her daughters were proud because they had plenty to eat and lived in peace and quiet, but they did not take care of the poor and the underprivileged. 50 They were proud and stubborn and did the things that I hate, so I destroyed them, as you well know.
51 “Samaria did not sin half as much as you have. You have acted more disgustingly than she ever did. Your corruption makes your sisters look innocent by comparison. 52 And now you will have to endure your disgrace. Your sins are so much worse than those of your sisters that they look innocent beside you. Now blush and bear your shame, because you make your sisters look pure.”
Sodom and Samaria Will Be Restored
53 The Lord said to Jerusalem, “I will make them prosperous again—Sodom and her villages and Samaria and her villages. Yes, I will make you prosperous too. 54 You will be ashamed of yourself, and your disgrace will show your sisters how well-off they are. 55 They will become prosperous again, and you and your villages will also be restored. 56 Didn't you joke about Sodom in those days when you were proud 57 and before the evil you did had been exposed? Now you are just like her—a joke to the Edomites, the Philistines, and your other neighbors who hate you. 58 You must suffer for the obscene, disgusting things you have done.” The Lord has spoken.
A Covenant That Lasts Forever
59 The Sovereign Lord says, “I will treat you the way you deserve, because you ignored your promises and broke the covenant. 60 But I will honor the covenant I made with you when you were young, and I will make a covenant with you that will last forever. 61 You will remember how you have acted, and be ashamed of it when you get your older sister and your younger sister back. I will let them be like daughters to you, even though this was not part of my covenant with you. 62 I will renew my covenant with you, and you will know that I am the Lord. 63 I will forgive all the wrongs you have done, but you will remember them and be too ashamed to open your mouth.” The Sovereign Lord has spoken.
Ombwada oififahoni yomuJerusalem
1 Ondjovo yOmwene ye uya vali kwaame ndele tai ti: 2 “Kaana komunhu, hololela Jerusalem oixuna yasho,” 3 u tye: Omwene Kalunga ta lombwele Jerusalem ngaha: “Efina lepata loye nokudalwa kwoye okwa li medu lOvakaanan. Xo okwa li Omuamori nanyoko Omuheti. 4 Ndele okudalwa kwoye okwa li ngaha: Efiku tuu linya wa dalwa okanghowa koye inaka tetwa, ndele ove ino koshwa nomeva u yele. Nosho yo ino fetifwa nomongwa, noino dingilwa omalapi. 5 Inapa kala nande umwe e ku uditile olukeno, ye e ku ningile ngeno sha shomoinima ei noku ku filonghenda. Ndelenee ove wa ekelwashi wa tulwa mehenene longaho. Osho ngaha va nyonyodola omwenyo woye mefiku linya ove wa dalwa. 6 Ndele Ame nda enda po pwoove nonde ku mona, eshi to fangaula mohonde yoye. Opo nee Ame nde ku lombwela fimbo wa li mohonde yoye: Kala nomwenyo! Heeno, Ame nde ku lombwela: Kala nomwenyo, fimbo wa li mohonde yoye! 7 Ame nde ku hapupalifa, ngaashi omumeno womepya muhapu uhe shii kuvalwa! Ndele ove wa kula, wa kulilila, ndele wa fika mouwa wa wapalelela, omavele oye a tumba neexwiki dokomutwe dakula. Ndele natango ove wa li hamunghele uhe na sha.
8 “Ndele Ame onda enda po pwoove, ndele nde ku mona, ndele tala, efimbo loye ola li efimbo lohole. Opo nee Ame nde ku uvika noshikutu shange nonda tuvika ouhamunghele woye. Heeno, Ame nde ku anenene ndele nda ninga ehangano naave, ndele ove wa ninga wange, Omwene Kalunga ta ti. 9 Ame nde ku kosha nomeva ndele nda feta po ohonde yoye ndele nde ku vaeka omaadi. 10 Ame nde ku dika yo noikutu yeefoloto dihapu, ndele nde ku ningila eenghaku doshipa shoshinamwenyo shomomeva ndele nde ku tuvika noshiyata shiwa sholiina ndele nde ku uvika noshiyata shofei. 11 Natango onde ku wapeka nomawapaleko noivela komaoko oye nokalyenge mofingo yoye. 12 Ndele Ame nda tula okalinga meyulu loye, noulinga momatwi oye noshishani shiwa komutwe woye. 13 Heeno, Ame nde ku wapeka noshingoldo noshisiliveli, noikutu yoye ya li oliina iwa ipu nofei noshiyata sheefoloto di lili nodi lili. Ndele ove wa lya oufila wa nakwa eenyiki nomaadi, ndele ove wa li muwa unene uhe shii kuyelekwa ndele ove wa wana okuninga ouhamba. 14 Ndele etumbalo loye la tandavela moiwana molwouwa woye, osheshi oo wa wanenena omolwomawapaleko ange aa nde ku dika, Omwene Kalunga ta ti.
15 “Ndelenee ove we lineekela ewapalo loye ndele we litula mokuhaelwa omolwokushiivika kwoye. Ndele oluhaelo loye we li tilila kombada yakeshe ou a enda po: naye yo na kale mulo. 16 Ove wa kufa oikutu yoye ndele we li ningila oikulundu yondomo ndele wa haelwa kombada yayo. Sha tya ngaha inashi ningwa nale noitashi ka ningwa. 17 Ndele omawapaleko oye wa kufa moshingoldo shange nomoshisiliveli shange, eshi nde shi ku pele, ndele ove we li ningila omafano ovalumenhu nokuhaelwa nao. 18 Ndele ove wa kufa oikutu yoye yomaludi mahapu, ndele wa uvika omafano aa. Omaadi ange noitwimino yange ove we i tula moipafi yao. 19 Nomungome wange ou nde u ku pele, oufila wa nakwa nomaadi nonomaadi eenyiki nao nde ku palula, oo ove we a tula moipafi yao ngaashi edimba liwa. Heeno, osho sha kala, Omwene Kalunga ta ti.
20 “Natango ove wa kufa ovana voye ovamati noukadona, ovo wa dalela nge, ndele vo we ve a yambela a lye. Oluhaelo loye inali ku wanenena mbela, 21 ove eshi wa dipaa ovana vange, ndele we va yandjela ngaashi eyambo kuwo okuxwikwa po momundilo. 22 Ove moixuna yoye aishe nomokuhaelwa kwoye ino dimbulukwa vali omafiku ounyasha woye, fimbo wa li hamunghele uhe na sha, ndele wa nangala nokufangaula mohonde yoye.
23 “Omwene Kalunga ta ti: Woo, woo ove! Ndele mokuhapupalifa owii woye 24 ove we litungila onhele ya tumba nowe liningila oshikulundu mondabo keshe. 25 Peshakeneno keshe ove wa tunga oshikulundu shoye ndele ouwa woye we u fifa ohoni, noito fyohoni okupandjulila omutokoli po keshe omaulu oye, ndele ove wa hapupalifa oluhaelo loye. 26 Ndele ove wa haelwa yo kovana vomuEgipiti, ovashiinda voye ve noinhimbu inene. Ndele wa hapupalifa okuhaelwa kwoye, u handukife nge.
27 “Ndele tala, Ame nda nana eke lange kwoove ndele nda xupipikifa oshitukulwa shoye shomeendja. Ndele Ame nde ku efela ehandu laava have ku tondo, nokutya ovana oukadona Ovafilisti, ava va fya omolwokweenda kwoye kwa nyonyodolwa. 28 Natango ove wa haelwa kovana vaAsiria, osheshi ino kuta mboli. Heeno, ove wa haelwa kuvo nonatango ino kuta. 29 Ndele ove wa hapupalifa okuhaelwa kwoye langhele lwokoshilongo shovalandifi langhele lwokuKaldea. Ndele nasho yo ove ino kuta natango.
30 “Omutima woye wa xwama ouhalu u fike peni, Omwene Kalunga ta ti, shaashi wa ninga oinima aishe ei, oshilonga shombwadelela, 31 ove eshi to tungu onhele yoye ya tumba peshakeneno keshe ndele to ningi oikulundu yoye mondabo keshe! Ndelenee ove wa li uhe li ngaashi eembwada dikweni, eshi wa dina ondjabi yoluhaelo. 32 Akutu ove, ngaashi omukainhu ta teya ohombo, osheshi ta tambula ovanhu ponhele yomulumenhu waye. 33 Vo ohava pe eembwada adishe oyoonda, ndelenee ove wa yandja oyoonda kovaholike voye aveshe, ndele ove we liondela ovahaeli vo ve uya kwoove keembinga adishe. 34 Hano ove wa monika onakupilika weenghedi dovakainhu, vo inave ku shikulila oluhaelo, ndele ove wa yandja oyoonda, ndele haave wa pewa oyoonda. Hano osho ngaha wa ninga onakupilika.
35 “Onghee hano, ombwada ove, uda ondjovo yOmwene. 36 Omwene Kalunga osho ta ti: Oihole yoye eshi ya tilwashi noukainhu woye eshi wa monika mokuhaelwa kwoye novaholike voye noikalunga yoye aishe tai nyonyodolwa, naashi we i tilila ohonde yovana voye, 37 onghee hano, tala, Ame ohandi ka ongela ovaholike voye aveshe, ava we va hokwa, aveshe ava ve holike kwoove, naaveshe ava wa li uhe va hole, heeno, vo aveshe ohandi ke va ongela keembinga adishe oku ku lwifa, ndele handi va hololele oukainhu woye, opo va tale ohoni yoye aishe. 38 Ndele Ame ohandi ke ku tokola ngaashi sha pangelwa momhangela yovatei vohombo novatilishi vohonde, ndele Ame handi ku efele efyo lohonde moupyuhandu nomouladi. 39 Ndele Ame ohandi ke ku yandja momake avo, ndele vo otava ka teya po onhele yoye ya tumba nokungumauna po oikulundu yoye, otava kufa kwoove oikutu yoye nomawapeko oye, ndele tave ku efa u li hamunghele uhe na sha. 40 Opo vo otave ku shivile ongudu yovanhu ndele tai ku kupula nomamanya ndele tai ku tetaula nomaongamukonda. 41 Vo otava ka xwika po omaumbo eni yo nomundilo noku mu wanifila omahandukilo moipafi yovalikadi vahapu. Ndele Ame ohandi xulifa po okuhaelwa kwoye, naave yo ito ka yandja vali oyoonda. 42 Ndele Ame ohandi ka dima oupyuhandu wange mwoove, opo nee ehandu lange tali kanduka po pwoove, ndele Ame ohandi ka kala nda mwena ndele itandi handuka vali. 43 Ove eshi ino dimbulukwa omafiku enya ounyasha woye ndele wa pendula ehandu lange noinima ei aishe, tala, osho naame yo ohandi wilifa okweenda kwoye komutwe woye, Omwene Kalunga ta ti. Mboli ove ino ninga oshififahoni kombada yoixuna yoye aishe?
44 “Tala, keshe umwe ou ta toto oitevo, ote shi ku ningile yo, nokutya: ‘Ngaashi ina nosho yo omona okakadona.’ 45 Oove omona okakadona kanyoko, ou a tunyukwa omulumenhu waye novana vaye; ndele oove omumwaina wovamwanyoko, ava va tunyukwa ovalumenhu vavo novana vavo. Nyoko okwa li Omuheti, naxo okwa li Omuamori. 46 Ndele omukulu woye omukainhu oye Samaria, ye pamwe novana vaye oukadona, ava ve li koumbangalanhu woye. Ndelenee ondenge yoye omukainhu, ou e li koumbuwanhu woye, oye Sodom novana vaye oukadona. 47 Ndelenee nye inamu enda neendjila davo ndele inamu longa oixuna yavo. Okafimbo kaxupi ndele nye mwe va dula meenghedi dii ngaashi vo meendjila davo adishe. 48 Oshili ngaashi Ame ndi nomwenyo, Omwene Kalunga ta ti, oshilielela, Sodom, omumwanyoko omukainhu, ye pamwe novana vaye oukadona ina longa ngaashi ove wa longa, ove novana voye oukadona. 49 Tala, oulunde womumwanyoko omukainhu Sodom owo: ye novana vaye oukadona va kala melinenepeko nomeloolo leendja nometulumuko lihe na oshisho, ndelenee ye ina pameka okwooko kwohepele nokwomukwanaluhepo. 50 Ndele vo eshi ve linenepeka ndele va ninga oixuna koshipala shange, Ame eshi nde shi mona, onde va ta po. 51 Samaria mokunyona ina fika nande ketata loulunde woye. Ove wa hapupalifa oixuna yoye, u va dule, ndele ove noixuna yoye aishe we i longa, wa yukipalifa ovamwanyoko ovakainhu. 52 Humbata hano yo ohoni yoye, ove eshi wa yukipalifa ovamwanyoko ovakainhu. Omolwomatimba oye e dule aavenya mokunyonenena, vo ove ku dule mouyuki. Kala hano wa fya ohoni ndele humbata elengwa loye, shaashi wa yukipalifa ovamwanyoko ovakainhu.
53 “Ndele Ame ohandi ka lundulula okukala kwavo, okukala kwaSodom novana vaye oukadona, nokukala kwaSamaria novana vaye oukadona. Ndele Ame ohandi ka lundulula okukala kwoye, ove ou u li pokati kavo, 54 opo ove u humbate elengwa loye ndele ove u shiive okufya ohoni molwaaishe ei wa ningile, u va hekeleke. 55 Ndele ovamwanyoko ovakainhu Sodom pamwe novana vaye oukadona tava ka shuna moukali wavo wonale. NaSamaria pamwe novana vaye oukadona ta ka shuna moukali wavo wonale. Naave pamwe novana voye oukadona tamu ka shuna moukali weni wonale. 56 Heeno, omumwanyoko omukainhu Sodom ino mu tumbula kokanya koye mefiku lelinenepeko loye, 57 manga owii woye inau holoka, ngaashi mefimbo linya ove wa shekwa keembinga adishe, eshi ovana oukadona vaEdom naaveshe ava ve ku dingilila novana oukadona Ovafilisti ve ku dina. 58 Oshilonga shoye shi fifa ohoni noixuna yoye ove u noku i humbata, Omwene Kalunga ta ti.
59 “Osheshi Omwene Kalunga ota ti ngaha: Heeno, Ame ohandi ku ningi ngaashi ove wa ningile, ove ou wa dina eano nowa teya po ehangano. 60 Nande ngaha Ame ohandi ka dimbulukwa ehangano letu naave lomomafiku enya ounyasha woye, ndele Ame ohandi ka dika naave ehangano laalushe. 61 Opo nee ove oto ka dimbulukwa eendjila doye nokufya ohoni, ngeenge ove ho tambula ovamwanyoko ovakainhu ovakulu voye neendenge doye, ndele Ame ohandi ve ku pe ngaashi ovana oukadona. Nande ihandi shi ningi meenghono dehangano letu naave. 62 Ndele Ame ohandi ka dika ehangano letu naave ndele ove to ka shiiva nokutya, Aame Omwene, 63 opo ove u shiive okudimbulukwa nokufya ohoni ndele ito makula vali okanya koye omolwohoni, Ame ngeenge handi ku longele ekwatakanifo omolwaaishe ei we i ningile, Omwene Kalunga ta ti.”
