The Babylonian Exile

Lo, this hath been the iniquity of Sodom thy sister, Arrogancy, fulness of bread, and quiet ease, Have been to her and to her daughters, And the hand of the afflicted and needy She hath not strengthened.

And they are haughty and do abomination before Me, And I turn them aside when I have seen.

As to Samaria, as the half of thy sins--she hath not sinned, And thou dost multiply thine abominations more than they, And dost justify thy sisters by all thy abominations that thou hast done.

Thou also--bear thy shame, That thou hast adjudged to thy sisters, Because of thy sins that thou hast done more abominably than they, They are more righteous than thou, And thou, also, be ashamed and bear thy shame, In thy justifying thy sisters.

And I have turned back to their captivity, The captivity of Sodom and her daughters, And the captivity of Samaria and her daughters, And the captivity of thy captives in their midst,

So that thou dost bear thy shame, And hast been ashamed of all that thou hast done, In thy comforting them.

And thy sisters, Sodom and her daughters, Do turn back to their former state, And Samaria and her daughters Do turn back to their former state, And thou and thy daughters do turn back to your former state.

And thy sister Sodom hath not been for a report in thy mouth, In the day of thine arrogancy,

Before thy wickedness is revealed, As at the time of the reproach of the daughters of Aram, And of all her neighbours, the daughters of the Philistines, Who are despising thee round about.

Thy devices and thine abominations, Thou hast borne them, an affirmation of Jehovah.

For thus said the Lord Jehovah: I have dealt with thee as thou hast done, In that thou hast despised an oath--to break covenant.

And I--I have remembered My covenant with thee, In the days of thy youth, And I have established for thee a covenant age-during.

And thou hast remembered thy ways, And thou hast been ashamed, In thy receiving thy sisters--Thine elder with thy younger, And I have given them to thee for daughters, And not by thy covenant.

And I--I have established My covenant with thee, And thou hast known that I am Jehovah.

So that thou dost remember, And thou hast been ashamed, And there is not to thee any more an opening of the mouth because of thy shame, In My receiving atonement for thee, For all that thou hast done, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah!'

And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying,

`Son of man, put forth a riddle, and use a simile unto the house of Israel,

and thou hast said: Thus said the Lord Jehovah: The great eagle, great-winged, long-pinioned, Full of feathers, that hath diverse colours, Hath come in unto Lebanon, And it taketh the foliage of the cedar,

The top of its tender twigs it hath cropped, And it bringeth it in to the land of Canaan. In a city of merchants it hath placed it.

And it taketh of the seed of the land, And doth put it in a field of seed, To take by many waters, In a conspicuous place it hath set it.

And it springeth up, and becometh a spreading vine, humble of stature, To turn its thin shoots toward itself, And its roots are under it, And it becometh a vine, and maketh boughs, And sendeth forth beauteous branches.

And there is another great eagle, Great-winged, and abounding with feathers, And lo, this vine hath bent its roots toward him, And its thin shoots it hath sent out toward him, To water it from the furrows of its planting,

On a good field, by many waters, it is planted, To make branches, and to bear fruit, To be for an goodly vine.

Say: Thus said the Lord Jehovah: It prospereth--its roots doth he not draw out, And its fruit cut off, and it is withered? In all the leaves of its springing it withereth, And not by great strength, and by a numerous people, To lift it up by its roots.

And lo, the planted thing--doth it prosper? When come against it doth the east wind, Doth it not utterly wither? On the furrows of its springing it withereth.'