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- " 'Woe! Woe to you, declares the Sovereign LORD. In addition to all your other wickedness,
- you built a mound for yourself and made a lofty shrine in every public square.
- At the head of every street you built your lofty shrines and degraded your beauty, offering your body with increasing promiscuity to anyone who passed by.
- You engaged in prostitution with the Egyptians, your lustful neighbors, and provoked me to anger with your increasing promiscuity.
- So I stretched out my hand against you and reduced your territory; I gave you over to the greed of your enemies, the daughters of the Philistines, who were shocked by your lewd conduct.
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- "Then it came about after all your wickedness ('Woe, woe to you!' declares the Lord GOD),
- that you built yourself a shrine and made yourself a high place in every square.
- "You built yourself a high place at the top of every street and made your beauty abominable, and you spread your legs to every passer-by to multiply your harlotry.
- "You also played the harlot with the Egyptians, your lustful neighbors, and multiplied your harlotry to make Me angry.
- "Behold now, I have stretched out My hand against you and diminished your rations. And I delivered you up to the desire of those who hate you, the daughters of the Philistines, who are ashamed of your lewd conduct.
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- You engaged in prostitution with the Assyrians too, because you were insatiable; and even after that, you still were not satisfied.
- Then you increased your promiscuity to include Babylonia, a land of merchants, but even with this you were not satisfied.
- " 'How weak-willed you are, declares the Sovereign LORD, when you do all these things, acting like a brazen prostitute!
- When you built your mounds at the head of every street and made your lofty shrines in every public square, you were unlike a prostitute, because you scorned payment.
- " 'You adulterous wife! You prefer strangers to your own husband!
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- "Moreover, you played the harlot with the Assyrians because you were not satisfied; you played the harlot with them and still were not satisfied.
- "You also multiplied your harlotry with the land of merchants, Chaldea, yet even with this you were not satisfied."'"
- "How languishing is your heart," declares the Lord GOD, "while you do all these things, the actions of a bold-faced harlot.
- "When you built your shrine at the beginning of every street and made your high place in every square, in disdaining money, you were not like a harlot.
- "You adulteress wife, who takes strangers instead of her husband!
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- Every prostitute receives a fee, but you give gifts to all your lovers, bribing them to come to you from everywhere for your illicit favors.
- So in your prostitution you are the opposite of others; no one runs after you for your favors. You are the very opposite, for you give payment and none is given to you.
- " 'Therefore, you prostitute, hear the word of the LORD!
- This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Because you poured out your wealth and exposed your nakedness in your promiscuity with your lovers, and because of all your detestable idols, and because you gave them your children's blood,
- therefore I am going to gather all your lovers, with whom you found pleasure, those you loved as well as those you hated. I will gather them against you from all around and will strip you in front of them, and they will see all your nakedness.
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- "Men give gifts to all harlots, but you give your gifts to all your lovers to bribe them to come to you from every direction for your harlotries.
- "Thus you are different from those women in your harlotries, in that no one plays the harlot as you do, because you give money and no money is given you; thus you are different."
- Therefore, O harlot, hear the word of the LORD.
- Thus says the Lord GOD, "Because your lewdness was poured out and your nakedness uncovered through your harlotries with your lovers and with all your detestable idols, and because of the blood of your sons which you gave to idols,
- therefore, behold, I will gather all your lovers with whom you took pleasure, even all those whom you loved and all those whom you hated So I will gather them against you from every direction and expose your nakedness to them that they may see all your nakedness.
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- I will sentence you to the punishment of women who commit adultery and who shed blood; I will bring upon you the blood vengeance of my wrath and jealous anger.
- Then I will hand you over to your lovers, and they will tear down your mounds and destroy your lofty shrines. They will strip you of your clothes and take your fine jewelry and leave you naked and bare.
- They will bring a mob against you, who will stone you and hack you to pieces with their swords.
- They will burn down your houses and inflict punishment on you in the sight of many women. I will put a stop to your prostitution, and you will no longer pay your lovers.
- Then my wrath against you will subside and my jealous anger will turn away from you; I will be calm and no longer angry.
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- "Thus I will judge you like women who commit adultery or shed blood are judged; and I will bring on you the blood of wrath and jealousy.
- "I will also give you into the hands of your lovers, and they will tear down your shrines, demolish your high places, strip you of your clothing, take away your jewels, and will leave you naked and bare.
- "They will incite a crowd against you and they will stone you and cut you to pieces with their swords.
- "They will burn your houses with fire and execute judgments on you in the sight of many women Then I will stop you from playing the harlot, and you will also no longer pay your lovers.
- "So I will calm My fury against you and My jealousy will depart from you, and I will be pacified and angry no more.
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- " 'Because you did not remember the days of your youth but enraged me with all these things, I will surely bring down on your head what you have done, declares the Sovereign LORD. Did you not add lewdness to all your other detestable practices?
- " 'Everyone who quotes proverbs will quote this proverb about you: "Like mother, like daughter."
- You are a true daughter of your mother, who despised her husband and her children; and you are a true sister of your sisters, who despised their husbands and their children. Your mother was a Hittite and your father an Amorite.
- Your older sister was Samaria, who lived to the north of you with her daughters; and your younger sister, who lived to the south of you with her daughters, was Sodom.
- You not only walked in their ways and copied their detestable practices, but in all your ways you soon became more depraved than they.
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- "Because you have not remembered the days of your youth but have enraged Me by all these things, behold, I in turn will bring your conduct down on your own head," declares the Lord GOD, "so that you will not commit this lewdness on top of all your other abominations.
- "Behold, everyone who quotes proverbs will quote this proverb concerning you, saying, 'Like mother, like daughter.'
- "You are the daughter of your mother, who loathed her husband and children. You are also the sister of your sisters, who loathed their husbands and children. Your mother was a Hittite and your father an Amorite.
- "Now your older sister is Samaria, who lives north of you with her daughters; and your younger sister, who lives south of you, is Sodom with her daughters.
- "Yet you have not merely walked in their ways or done according to their abominations; but, as if that were too little, you acted more corruptly in all your conduct than they.
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- As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, your sister Sodom and her daughters never did what you and your daughters have done.
- " 'Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy.
- They were haughty and did detestable things before me. Therefore I did away with them as you have seen.
- Samaria did not commit half the sins you did. You have done more detestable things than they, and have made your sisters seem righteous by all these things you have done.
- Bear your disgrace, for you have furnished some justification for your sisters. Because your sins were more vile than theirs, they appear more righteous than you. So then, be ashamed and bear your disgrace, for you have made your sisters appear righteous.
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- "As I live," declares the Lord GOD, "Sodom, your sister and her daughters have not done as you and your daughters have done.
- "Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had arrogance, abundant food and careless ease, but she did not help the poor and needy.
- "Thus they were haughty and committed abominations before Me Therefore I removed them when I saw it.
- "Furthermore, Samaria did not commit half of your sins, for you have multiplied your abominations more than they. Thus you have made your sisters appear righteous by all your abominations which you have committed.
- "Also bear your disgrace in that you have made judgment favorable for your sisters. Because of your sins in which you acted more abominably than they, they are more in the right than you. Yes, be also ashamed and bear your disgrace, in that you made your sisters appear righteous.
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- " 'However, I will restore the fortunes of Sodom and her daughters and of Samaria and her daughters, and your fortunes along with them,
- so that you may bear your disgrace and be ashamed of all you have done in giving them comfort.
- And your sisters, Sodom with her daughters and Samaria with her daughters, will return to what they were before; and you and your daughters will return to what you were before.
- You would not even mention your sister Sodom in the day of your pride,
- before your wickedness was uncovered. Even so, you are now scorned by the daughters of Edom and all her neighbors and the daughters of the Philistines--all those around you who despise you.
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- "Nevertheless, I will restore their captivity, the captivity of Sodom and her daughters, the captivity of Samaria and her daughters, and along with them your own captivity,
- in order that you may bear your humiliation and feel ashamed for all that you have done when you become a consolation to them.
- "Your sisters, Sodom with her daughters and Samaria with her daughters, will return to their former state, and you with your daughters will also return to your former state.
- "As the name of your sister Sodom was not heard from your lips in your day of pride,
- before your wickedness was uncovered, so now you have become the reproach of the daughters of Edom and of all who are around her, of the daughters of the Philistines--those surrounding you who despise you.
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- You will bear the consequences of your lewdness and your detestable practices, declares the LORD.
- " 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will deal with you as you deserve, because you have despised my oath by breaking the covenant.
- Yet I will remember the covenant I made with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish an everlasting covenant with you.
- Then you will remember your ways and be ashamed when you receive your sisters, both those who are older than you and those who are younger. I will give them to you as daughters, but not on the basis of my covenant with you.
- So I will establish my covenant with you, and you will know that I am the LORD.
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- "You have borne the penalty of your lewdness and abominations," the LORD declares.
- For thus says the Lord GOD, "I will also do with you as you have done, you who have despised the oath by breaking the covenant.
- "Nevertheless, I will remember My covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish an everlasting covenant with you.
- "Then you will remember your ways and be ashamed when you receive your sisters, both your older and your younger; and I will give them to you as daughters, but not because of your covenant.
- "Thus I will establish My covenant with you, and you shall know that I am the LORD,
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- Then, when I make atonement for you for all you have done, you will remember and be ashamed and never again open your mouth because of your humiliation, declares the Sovereign LORD.' "
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- so that you may remember and be ashamed and never open your mouth anymore because of your humiliation, when I have forgiven you for all that you have done," the Lord GOD declares.
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