“Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Will you defile yourselves like your fathers ¹  and engage in prostitution with detestable idols?

“As for you, son of man, are you willing to pronounce judgment, ¹  are you willing to pronounce judgment on the bloody city? ²  Then confront her with all her abominable deeds!

The Lord said to me: “Son of man, are you willing to pronounce judgment ¹  on Oholah and Oholibah? Then declare to them their abominable deeds!

Suppose I say to the wicked, ‘You must certainly die,’ but he turns from his sin and does what is just and right.

None of the sins he has committed will be counted ¹  against him. He has done what is just and right; he will certainly live.

Then they will know that I am the Lord when I turn the land into a desolate ruin because of all the abominable deeds they have committed.’ ¹ 

Then you will remember your evil behavior ¹  and your deeds which were not good; you will loathe yourselves on account of your sins and your abominable deeds.

After ¹  entering into an alliance with him, he will behave treacherously; he will ascend to power with only a small force. ² 

The company of priests is like a gang of robbers, lying in ambush to pounce on a victim. They commit murder on the road to Shechem; they have done heinous crimes!

whenever I want to heal Israel, the sin of Ephraim is revealed, and the evil deeds of Samaria are exposed. For they do what is wrong; thieves break into houses, and gangs rob people out in the streets.

Someday these sinners will cry to the Lord for help, ¹  but he will not answer them. He will hide his face from them at that time, because they have done such wicked deeds.”

“Because ¹  you have acted like a wanton prostitute ²  – a seductive mistress who practices sorcery, ³  who ⁴  enslaves ⁵  nations by her harlotry, ⁶  and entices peoples by her sorcery ⁷  –

On that day I will punish all who leap over the threshold, ¹  who fill the house of their master ²  with wealth taken by violence and deceit. ³ 

by asking both the priests of the temple ¹  of the Lord who rules over all and the prophets, “Should we weep in the fifth month, ²  fasting as we have done over the years?”

“The Lord who rules over all said, ‘Exercise true judgment and show brotherhood and compassion to each other.

These are the things you must do: Speak the truth, each of you, to one another. Practice true and righteous judgment in your courts. ¹ 

So now we consider the arrogant to be happy; indeed, those who practice evil are successful. ¹  In fact, those who challenge ²  God escape!’”

“Enter through the narrow gate, because the gate is wide and the way is spacious that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it.

Everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.

The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather from his kingdom everything that causes sin as well as all lawbreakers. ¹