And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

Et factus est sermo Domini ad me, dicens:

Word came to me from the Lord:

Son of man, there were two women, daughters of one mother.

Fili hominis, duæ mulieres filiæ matris unius fuerunt:

There were two women once, son of man, daughters of the same mother,

And they committed fornication in Egypt, in their youth they committed fornication: there were their breasts pressed down, and the teats of their virginity were bruised.

et fornicatæ sunt in Ægypto, in adolescentia sua fornicatæ sunt: ibi subacta sunt ubera earum, et fractæ sunt mammæ pubertatis earum.

that went to Egypt and played the wanton there, so wanton and so young! There those breasts surrendered to the attack, virginity was ravished.

And their names were Oolla the elder, and Ooliba her younger sister: and I took them, and they bore sons and daughters. Now for their names, Samaria is Oolla, and Jerusalem is Ooliba.

Nomina autem earum, Oolla major, et Ooliba soror ejus minor: et habui eas, et pepererunt filios et filias. Porro earum nomina, Samaria Oolla, et Jerusalem Ooliba.

For their names, the elder was called Oölla, the younger Oöliba; both I espoused, and they bore me sons and daughters. (Samaria and Jerusalem are the true names.)

And Oolla committed fornication against me, and doted on her lovers, on the Assyrians that came to her,

Fornicata est igitur super me Oolla, et insanivit in amatores suos, in Assyrios propinquantes,

What did Oölla? She played me false, love-sick for the Assyrians that dwelt hard by, her paramours.

Who were clothed with blue, princes, and rulers, beautiful youths, all horsemen, mounted upon horses.

vestitos hyacintho, principes et magistratus, juvenes cupidinis, universos equites, ascensores equorum.

Gay gallants were these, princes and noblemen that went clad in purple, and proudly they came riding, for they were horsemen all.

And she committed her fornications with those chosen men, all sons of the Assyrians: and she defiled herself with the uncleanness of all them on whom she doted.

Et dedit fornicationes suas super eos electos, filios Assyriorum universos: et in omnibus in quos insanivit, in immunditiis eorum polluta est.

Among the flower of Assyrian chivalry was none but enjoyed her favours; and she, that courted all alike, soiled herself with their idolatry.

Moreover also she did not forsake her fornications which she had committed in Egypt: for they also lay with her in her youth, and they bruised the breasts of her virginity, and poured out their fornication upon her.

Insuper et fornicationes suas, quas habuerat in Ægypto, non reliquit: nam et illi dormierunt cum ea in adolescentia ejus, et illi confregerunt ubera pubertatis ejus, et effuderunt fornicationem suam super eam.

Alas, still unforgotten her dalliance in Egypt; the lovers that bedded her in her youth, mishandled her virgin breast, plied her with their debauchery!

Therefore have I delivered her into the hands of her lovers, into the hands of the sons of the Assyrians, upon whose lust she doted.

Propterea tradidi eam in manus amatorum suorum, in manus filiorum Assur, super quorum insanivit libidine.

Love-sick for new paramours, into their keeping she should be given up, the Assyrians should have the mastery of her.

They discovered her disgrace, took away her sons and daughters, and slew her with the sword: and they became infamous women, and they executed judgments in her.

Ipsi discooperuerunt ignominiam ejus, filios et filias ejus tulerunt, et ipsam occiderunt gladio: et factæ sunt famosæ mulieres, et judicia perpetraverunt in ea.

How they stripped and dishonoured her, robbed her of sons and daughters both, and then put her to the sword! Never fell such signal punishment upon womankind.

And when her sister Ooliba saw this, she was mad with lust more than she: and she carried her fornication beyond the fornication of her sister.

Quod cum vidisset soror ejus Ooliba, plus quam illa insanivit libidine, et fornicationem suam super fornicationem sororis suæ:

That sight before her, what did the other sister, Oöliba? Why, she outwent the first in her wantonness, more lascivious yet;

Impudently prostituting herself to the children of the Assyrians, the princes, and rulers that came to her, clothed with divers colours, to the horsemen that rode upon horses, and to young men all of great beauty.

ad filios Assyriorum præbuit impudenter, ducibus et magistratibus ad se venientibus, indutis veste varia, equitibus qui vectabantur equis, et adolescentibus forma cunctis egregia.

she too cast shame aside, gave herself to the gallants of Assyria that came riding by, horsemen all, princes and noblemen in their broidered cloaks, so young, so fair!

And I saw that she was defiled, and that they both took one way.

Et vidi quod polluta esset via una ambarum.

Light women both; I knew them now.

And she increased her fornications: and when she had seen men painted on the wall, the images of the Chaldeans set forth in colours,

Et auxit fornicationes suas: cumque vidisset viros depictos in pariete, imagines Chaldæorum expressas coloribus,

This other would set no bounds to her lust; her eye fell on some pictured wall, where the men of Chaldaea stood portrayed, all in crimson.

And girded with girdles about their reins, and with dyed turbans on their heads, the resemblance of all the captains, the likeness of the sons of Babylon, and of the land of the Chaldeans wherein they were born,

et accinctos balteis renes, et tiaras tinctas in capitibus eorum, formam ducum omnium, similitudinem filiorum Babylonis, terræque Chaldæorum, in qua orti sunt,

What girdles they had about their loins, these men of Babylon, what gaily-coloured turbans they wore! Sure, they must be princes, all of them, in their own Chaldaean land!

She doted upon them with the lust of her eyes, and she sent messengers to them into Chaldea.

insanivit super eos concupiscentia oculorum suorum, et misit nuntios ad eos in Chaldæam.

And with that, her eye fell a-doting on them, and she must send them a message all the way to Chaldaea.

And when the sons of Babylon were come to her to the bed of love, they defiled her with their fornications, and she was polluted by them, and her soul was glutted with them.

Cumque venissent ad eam filii Babylonis ad cubile mammarum, polluerunt eam stupris suis: et polluta est ab eis, et saturata est anima ejus ab illis.

So the Chaldaeans, too, were her bed-fellows, dishonoured her with their embraces, till even she grew weary of dishonour.

And she discovered her fornications, and discovered her disgrace: and my soul was alienated from her, as my soul was alienated from her sister.

Denudavit quoque fornicationes suas, et discooperuit ignominiam suam: et recessit anima mea ab ea, sicut recesserat anima mea a sorore ejus:

Weary was I too, as once of her sister; the open harlotry, the public shame!

For she multiplied her fornications, remembering the days of her youth, in which she played the harlot in the land of Egypt.

multiplicavit enim fornicationes suas, recordans dies adolescentiæ suæ, quibus fornicata est in terra Ægypti.

Must she still renew her unfaithfulness, hanker still after those old debaucheries in Egypt,

And she was mad with lust after lying with them whose flesh is as the flesh of asses: and whose issue as the issue of horses.

Et insanivit libidine super concubitum eorum, quorum carnes sunt ut carnes asinorum, et sicut fluxus equorum fluxus eorum.

when she was love-sick for gallants lusty as the wild ass, hot as stallions?

And thou hast renewed the wickedness of thy youth, when thy breasts were pressed in Egypt, and the paps of thy virginity broken.

Et visitasti scelus adolescentiæ tuæ, quando subacta sunt in Ægypto ubera tua, et confractæ sunt mammæ pubertatis tuæ.

Alas, Oöliba, are they remembered still, the passions of thy youth, far away in Egypt, when those breasts surrendered to the attack, that virginity was ravished?

Therefore, Ooliba, thus saith the Lord God: Behold I will raise up against thee all thy lovers with whom thy soul hath been glutted: and I will gather them together against thee round about.

Propterea, Ooliba, hæc dicit Dominus Deus: Ecce ego suscitabo omnes amatores tuos contra te, de quibus satiata est anima tua, et congregabo eos adversum te in circuitu:

This doom, then, the Lord God pronounces on thee: They shall be summoned to the attack, all those old lovers thou art wearied of, beleaguer thee round about;

The children of Babylon, and all the Chaldeans, the nobles, and the kings, and princes, all the sons of the Assyrians, beautiful young men, all the captains, and rulers, the princes of princes, and the renowned horsemen.

filios Babylonis, et universos Chaldæos, nobiles, tyrannosque, et principes, omnes filios Assyriorum, juvenes forma egregia, duces et magistratus universos, principes principum, et nominatos ascensores equorum:

all those Chaldaeans from Babylon, nobleman and prince and chieftain, all those gay gallants from Assyria, captains and rulers, lords paramount and knights of renown!

And they shall come upon thee well appointed with chariot and wheel, a multitude of people: they shall be armed against thee on every side with breastplate, and buckler, and helmet: and I will set judgment before them, and they shall judge thee by their judgments.

et venient super te instructi curru et rota, multitudo populorum: lorica, et clypeo, et galea armabuntur contra te undique: et dabo coram eis judicium, et judicabunt te judiciis suis.

What rattling of chariot-wheels, what hordes of warriors in breastplate and shield and helmet, mustered about thy walls! These shall be thy judges; theirs the sentence thou must abide.

And I will set my jealousy against thee, which they shall execute upon thee with fury: they shall cut off thy nose and thy ears: and what remains shall fall by the sword: they shall take thy sons, and thy daughters, and thy residue shall be devoured by fire.

Et ponam zelum meum in te, quem exercent tecum in furore: nasum tuum et aures tuas præcident, et quæ remanserint, gladio concident. Ipsi filios tuos et filias tuas capient, et novissimum tuum devorabitur igni:

Ministers of my jealous anger, they shall cut nose and ears off thee, and there shall be sword-strokes yet; carry off thy sons and thy daughters, and the fire shall have work to do yet.

And they shall strip thee of thy garments, and take away the instruments of thy glory.

et denudabunt te vestimentis tuis, et tollent vasa gloriæ tuæ.

They shall strip thee of thy clothes, rifle thy proud ornaments;

And I will put an end to thy wickedness in thee, and thy fornication brought out of the land of Egypt: neither shalt thou lift up thy eyes to them, nor remember Egypt any more.

Et requiescere faciam scelus tuum de te, et fornicationem tuam de terra Ægypti: nec levabis oculos tuos ad eos, et Ægypti non recordaberis amplius.

gone the memory of thy harlotries in Egypt, no hankering for them now, no thought of Egypt now!

For thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I will deliver thee into the hands of them whom thou hatest, into their hands with whom thy soul hath been glutted.

Quia hæc dicit Dominus Deus: Ecce ego tradam te in manus eorum quos odisti, in manus de quibus satiata est anima tua.

Weary thou art and disdainful of them, says the Lord God, but they shall have the mastery of thee;

And they shall deal with thee in hatred, and they shall take away all thy labours, and shall let thee go naked, and full of disgrace, and the disgrace of thy fornication shall be discovered, thy wickedness, and thy fornications.

Et agent tecum in odio, et tollent omnes labores tuos, et dimittent te nudam et ignominia plenam: et revelabitur ignominia fornicationum tuarum, scelus tuum, et fornicationes tuæ.

and they shall use thee cruelly enough; carry all thy harvest away, and leave thee stripped and humbled; lay bare the secret of thy shame. Lust it is and lechery of thine

They have done these things to thee, because thou hast played the harlot with the nations among which thou wast defiled with their idols.

Fecerunt hæc tibi, quia fornicata es post gentes inter quas polluta es in idolis earum.

that has brought thee to this pass; so wantonly didst thou court the heathen, till at last their idolatry infected thee.

Thou hast walked in the way of thy sister, and I will give her cup into thy hand.

In via sororis tuæ ambulasti, et dabo calicem ejus in manu tua.

Thy sister’s counterpart, the cup of thy sister’s doom thou shalt inherit;

Thus saith the Lord God: Thou shalt drink thy sister’s cup, deep and wide: thou shalt be had in derision and scorn, which containeth very much.

Hæc dicit Dominus Deus: Calicem sororis tuæ bibes profundum et latum: eris in derisum et in subsannationem quæ est capacissima.

deep thy cup shall be as hers, wide as hers; full of mockery and reproach, so much it holds,

Thou shalt be filled with drunkenness, and sorrow: with the cup of grief, and sadness, with the cup of thy sister Samaria.

Ebrietate et dolore repleberis: calice mœroris et tristitiæ, calice sororis tuæ Samariæ.

full of dizziness and dismay, full of despair and melancholy, the cup of thy sister Samaria.

And thou shalt drink it, and shalt drink it up even to the dregs, and thou shalt devour the fragments thereof, thou shalt rend thy breasts: because I have spoken it, saith the Lord God.

Et bibes illum, et epotabis usque ad fæces: et fragmenta ejus devorabis, et ubera tua lacerabis, quia ego locutus sum, ait Dominus Deus.

Drink it thou shalt, ay, drain it to the dregs, till thou art ready to devour cup itself piecemeal, or mutilate thy own breasts in thy madness.

Therefore thus saith the Lord God: Because thou hast forgotten me, and hast cast me off behind thy back, bear thou also thy wickedness, and thy fornications.

Propterea hæc dicit Dominus Deus: Quia oblita es mei, et projecisti me post corpus tuum, tu quoque porta scelus tuum et fornicationes tuas.

Me thou didst forget; on me thy back was turned; wanton and faithless, thou shalt be held to account.

And the Lord spoke to me, saying: Son of man, dost thou judge Oolla, and Ooliba, and dost thou declare to them their wicked deeds?

Et ait Dominus ad me, dicens: Fili hominis, numquid judicas Oollam et Oolibam, et annuntias eis scelera earum?

Arraign them, son of man, the Lord God said to me; confront Oölla and Oöliba with the record of their foul deeds.

Because they have committed adultery, and blood is in their hands, and they have committed fornication with their idols: moreover also their children, whom they bore to me, they have offered to them to be devoured.

Quia adulteratæ sunt, et sanguis in manibus earum, et cum idolis suis fornicatæ sunt: insuper et filios suos quos genuerunt mihi, obtulerunt eis ad devorandum.

Blood-stained those adulterous hands; false gods they have taken for their paramours, and to the greed of false gods sacrificed their own children and mine.

Yea, and they have done this to me. They polluted my sanctuary on the same day, and profaned my sabbaths.

Sed et hoc fecerunt mihi: polluerunt sanctuarium meum in die illa, et sabbata mea profanaverunt.

Theirs to defile my sanctuary, profane my sabbath;

And when they sacrificed their children to their idols, and went into my sanctuary the same day to profane it: they did these things even in the midst of my house.

Cumque immolarent filios suos idolis suis, et ingrederentur sanctuarium meum in die illa ut polluerent illud, etiam hæc fecerunt in medio domus meæ.

no sooner had they done offering their sons to false gods, than my sanctuary must be violated; so would they treat me in my own house.

They sent for men coming from afar, to whom they had sent a messenger: and behold they came: for whom thou didst wash thyself, and didst paint thy eyes, and wast adorned with women’s ornaments.

Miserunt ad viros venientes de longe, ad quos nuntium miserant: itaque ecce venerunt quibus te lavisti, et circumlinisti stibio oculos tuos, et ornata es mundo muliebri.

And then they sent word to their paramours, summoning them from afar.They came, those paramours; and thou, fresh from the bath, eyes painted, all thy ornaments hung about thee,

Thou sattest on a very fine bed, and a table was decked before thee: whereupon thou didst set my incense, and my ointment.

Sedisti in lecto pulcherrimo, et mensa ornata est ante te: thymiama meum et unguentum meum posuisti super eam.

didst await them, sitting on a fine bed with a table before it; incense of mine, oil of mine was there.

And there was in her the voice of a multitude rejoicing: and to some that were brought of the multitude of men, and that came from the desert, they put bracelets on their hands, and beautiful crowns on their heads.

Et vox multitudinis exsultantis erat in ea: et in viris, qui de multitudine hominum adducebantur, et veniebant de deserto, posuerunt armillas in manibus eorum, et coronas speciosas in capitibus eorum.

What a stir was heard there, as of a great throng taking their ease! They had brought in a rabble of desert folk with them, and these must be given bracelets for their arms, fine garlands for their heads.

And I said to her that was worn out in her adulteries: Now will this woman still continue in her fornication.

Et dixi ei, quæ attrita est in adulteriis: Nunc fornicabitur in fornicatione sua etiam hæc.

And I wondered whether she would grant them her favours, even she, that had grown so old in unfaithfulness;

And they went in to her, as to a harlot: so went they in unto Oolla, and Ooliba, wicked women.

Et ingressi sunt ad eam quasi ad mulierem meretricem: sic ingrediebantur ad Oollam et Oolibam, mulieres nefarias.

but sure enough they went in, boldly as to a harlot’s bed. Such lovers had Oölla and Oöliba, wantons both.

They therefore are just men: these shall judge them as adulteresses are judged, and as shedders of blood are judged: because they are adulteresses, and blood is in their hands.

Viri ergo justi sunt: hi judicabunt eas judicio adulterarum, et judicio effundentium sanguinem: quia adulteræ sunt, et sanguis in manibus earum.

Yet honest folk there be, that can judge their deeds as adultery should be judged and murder; adulterous they are and murderous both at once.

For thus saith the Lord God: Bring a multitude upon them, and deliver them over to tumult and rapine:

Hæc enim dicit Dominus Deus: Adduc ad eas multitudinem, et trade eas in tumultum et in rapinam.

Muster me a company of such men, the Lord God says, and let them make a fearful example of these women, their prize.

And let the people stone them with stones, and let them be stabbed with their swords: they shall kill their sons and daughters, and their houses they shall burn with fire.

Et lapidentur lapidibus populorum, et confodiantur gladiis eorum: filios et filias earum interficient, et domos earum igne succendent.

With stones from many hands, with swords from every side dispatch them; death for their children, the fire for their homes!

And I will take away wickedness out of the land: and all women shall learn, not to do according to the wickedness of them.

Et auferam scelus de terra, et discent omnes mulieres ne faciant secundum scelus earum.

Rid we the land of its guilt; of such harlotry let all women beware!

And they shall render your wickedness upon you, and you shall bear the sins of your idols: and you shall know that I am the Lord God.

Et dabunt scelus vestrum super vos, et peccata idolorum vestrorum portabitis: et scietis quia ego Dominus Deus.

Wantonness punished, idolatry’s guilt uncondoned; you shall know the Lord’s power at last.