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Ezekiel 23
Lexham English Bible

Oholah and Oholibah as Symbols of God’s Corrupt People

23 And the word of Yahweh came[a] to me, saying,[b] 2 “Son of man,[c] there were two women, the daughters of one mother, 3 and they prostituted themselves in Egypt in their childhood; they were prostituting themselves there, and their breasts were fondled, and there they caressed the bosoms of their virginity. 4 Now as for their names, the older was Oholah, and Oholibah was her sister. And they became mine,[d] and they bore sons and daughters, and their names[e] are Samaria for Oholah, and Jerusalem for Oholibah. 5 And Oholah prostituted herself while she was still mine,[f] and she lusted for her lovers, for Assyria who was nearby, 6 clothed in blue cloth, governors and prefects, handsome young men[g] and all of them horsemen, experts on horseback.[h] 7 And she bestowed her fornication on them, on the choice ones of the Assyrians,[i] all of them, and with every one after which she lusted; with all of their idols she defiled herself. 8 And her whorings from the time of Egypt she did not abandon, for they slept with her in her childhood, and they caressed the bosoms of her virginity, and they poured out their fornication on her. 9 Therefore I gave her into the hand of her lovers, into the hand of the Assyrians[j] after whom she lusted.[k] 10 They uncovered her nakedness; they took her sons and her daughters, and they killed her with the sword. And she became a name for the women, and they executed judgments against her.

11 “And though Oholibah her sister saw, yet in her lust she behaved more corruptly than her,[l] and her whoring was more than the prostitution of her sister. 12 She lusted after the Assyrians,[m] governors and prefects, warriors[n] clothed in[o] perfection,[p] expert horsemen,[q] all of them handsome young men.[r] 13 And I saw that she was defiled; they had both taken the same path![s] 14 And she increased her whorings, and she saw men carved[t] on the wall, images of Chaldeans[u] carved in red, 15 belted with a belt at[v] their waist with turbans on their heads, all of them giving the appearance of adjutants,[w] the image[x] of the Babylonians;[y] Chaldea was the land of their birth. 16 And she lusted for them when her eyes saw them,[z] and she sent messengers to them at Chaldea. 17 And so the Babylonians[aa] came to her for the bed of lovemaking; and they defiled her with their fornication, and she was defiled by them, and she turned from them. 18 And she revealed her whorings, and she revealed her nakedness, and so I turned from her just as[ab] I turned from her sister. 19 Yet[ac] she increased her whorings, recalling[ad] the days of her childhood when she was prostituted[ae] in the land of Egypt. 20 And she lusted after her male lovers whose genitalia were the genitalia of male donkeys and their seminal emission was the seminal emission of horses. 21 And you longed after the obscene conduct of your youth when your bosom was caressed by Egypt, fondling your young breasts.

22 “Therefore, Oholibah, thus says the Lord Yahweh: ‘Look! I am stirring up your lovers against you concerning whom you turned away, and I will bring them against you from all around: 23 the Babylonians[af] and all of the Chaldeans, Pekod and Shoa and Koa, all of the Assyrians[ag] along with them, handsome young men,[ah] governors and prefects, all of them adjutants[ai] and excellent horsemen.[aj] 24 And they will come against you with an army chariot and wagon and with a crowd[ak] of peoples; they will set themselves against you from all around with large shield and small shield and helmet. And I will give before them[al] judgment, and they will judge you with their judgments. 25 And I will direct my zeal against you, and they will deal with you in anger; your nose and your ears they will remove, and those who are left,[am] they will fall by the sword, and they will take your sons and your daughters, and your remnant[an] will be consumed by fire. 26 And they will strip you of your clothes, and they will take your splendid jewelry.[ao] 27 And I will put an end to your obscene conduct coming from you and your fornication from the land of Egypt, and you will not lift your eyes to them; and you will not remember Egypt again.’ 28 For thus says the Lord Yahweh: ‘Look! I am giving you into the hand of those you hated, into the hand of those from whom[ap] you turned away. 29 And they will deal with you in hatred, and they will take all of your acquisitions, and they will leave you naked and in bareness; and the nakedness of your fornication and your obscene conduct and your whorings will be exposed. 30 These things are accomplished[aq] against[ar] you since you prostituted yourself after the nations, and on account of that, you defiled yourself by their idols. 31 You went in the same way of your sister, and I will give her cup into your hand.”’

32 Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “You will drink the deep and wide[as] cup of your sister; you will be as laughter and as scorn; the cup holds so much![at] 33 You will be filled with drunkenness and sorrow, for a cup of horror and desolation is the cup of your sister, Samaria. 34 And you will drink it, and you will drain it, and its potsherds you will gnaw, and you will tear out your breasts, for I myself[au] spoke,” declares[av] the Lord Yahweh. 35 Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Because you have forgotten me, and you threw me behind your back, now in turn[aw] you bear your obscene conduct and your whorings.”

36 And Yahweh said to me, “Son of man,[ax] will you judge Oholah and Oholibah and declare their abominable deeds to[ay] them? 37 For they committed adultery, and blood is on their hands, and they committed adultery with their idols, and even their children that they had borne for me—they sacrificed them as food! 38 Also they did this to me: they defiled my sanctuary on that day, and they profaned my Sabbaths, 39 and when they slaughtered their children for their idols, they came to my sanctuary on that day to profane it. And look, this is what they did in my house![az] 40 What is worse,[ba] they sent for men who come[bb] from a distant place, to whom a messenger was sent to them, and look! They came! Men for whom you bathed and painted your eyes, and you adorned yourself with an ornament. 41 And you sat on a magnificent couch and a table prepared before her,[bc] and my incense and my olive oil you put on her.[bd] 42 And a sound of a carefree crowd was with it,[be] and in addition to these men, a crowd of drunken men[bf] was brought in[bg] from the desert,[bh] and they put bracelets on their arms and a crown of splendor on their heads. 43 And I said to[bi] the one worn out with adulteries, ‘Now they will prostitute her concerning her fornication, even her.’[bj] 44 And so they went to her like going to a female[bk] prostitute; and thus they went to Oholah and to Oholibah, the women of obscene conduct. 45 But righteous men, they will judge them with the judgment of committing adultery, and with the judgment of shedding blood; for they were committing adultery, and blood was on their hands.”

46 For thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Bring up against them an assembly, and make them as a thing of horror and as plunder. 47 And an assembly must stone them with stones,[bl] and they must cut them down. With their swords they shall kill their sons and their daughters, and with fire they shall burn their houses. 48 And I will cause obscene conduct to cease from the land,[bm] and all of the women will be warned, and they will not do according to your wickedness. 49 And they will repay your obscene conduct upon you, and the guilt of your idols you will bear, and you will know that I am the Lord Yahweh.

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 23:1 Literally “was”
  2. Ezekiel 23:1 Literally “to say”
  3. Ezekiel 23:2 Or “mortal,” or “son of humankind”
  4. Ezekiel 23:4 Literally “they were for me”
  5. Ezekiel 23:4 Hebrew “name”
  6. Ezekiel 23:5 Literally “under me”
  7. Ezekiel 23:6 Literally “young men of handsomeness/beauty”
  8. Ezekiel 23:6 Literally “riders of horsemen”
  9. Ezekiel 23:7 Literally “sons of Assyria”
  10. Ezekiel 23:9 Literally “sons of Assyria”
  11. Ezekiel 23:9 Literally “which she lusted for them”
  12. Ezekiel 23:11 Literally “she behaved corruptly in lust from her”
  13. Ezekiel 23:12 Literally “sons of Assyria”
  14. Ezekiel 23:12 Hebrew uncertain
  15. Ezekiel 23:12 Or “to”
  16. Ezekiel 23:12 Or “in full armor” or “wonderfully dressed”
  17. Ezekiel 23:12 Literally “horsemen, riders of horses”
  18. Ezekiel 23:12 Literally “young men of handsomeness”
  19. Ezekiel 23:13 Literally “way one was for the two of them”
  20. Ezekiel 23:14 Or “portrayed”
  21. Ezekiel 23:14 According to the reading tradition (Qere)
  22. Ezekiel 23:15 Or “around”
  23. Ezekiel 23:15 Or “officers”
  24. Ezekiel 23:15 Or “likeness”
  25. Ezekiel 23:15 Literally “sons of Babylon”
  26. Ezekiel 23:16 Literally “at the sight of her eyes”
  27. Ezekiel 23:17 Literally “sons of Babylon”
  28. Ezekiel 23:18 Literally “as that”
  29. Ezekiel 23:19 Or “And”
  30. Ezekiel 23:19 Or “remembering”
  31. Ezekiel 23:19 Or “prostituted herself”
  32. Ezekiel 23:23 Literally “sons of Babylon”
  33. Ezekiel 23:23 Literally “sons of Assyria”
  34. Ezekiel 23:23 Literally “young men of beauty/handsomeness”
  35. Ezekiel 23:23 Or “officers”
  36. Ezekiel 23:23 Literally “ones called riders of horses”
  37. Ezekiel 23:24 Or “horde” or “host of”
  38. Ezekiel 23:24 Literally “to the face of them”
  39. Ezekiel 23:25 Literally “and remainder your”
  40. Ezekiel 23:25 Literally “and remainder your”
  41. Ezekiel 23:26 Literally “the jewelry of splendor your”; or “your beautiful jewelry”
  42. Ezekiel 23:28 Literally “them”
  43. Ezekiel 23:30 Or “done”
  44. Ezekiel 23:30 Hebrew “in”
  45. Ezekiel 23:32 Or place “drink deep and wide the cup”
  46. Ezekiel 23:32 Literally “a large among to hold”
  47. Ezekiel 23:34 Literally “I, I”
  48. Ezekiel 23:34 Literally “declaration of”
  49. Ezekiel 23:35 Or “also”
  50. Ezekiel 23:36 Or “mortal,” or “son of humankind”
  51. Ezekiel 23:36 Or “for”
  52. Ezekiel 23:39 Literally “thus they did in the midst of house my”
  53. Ezekiel 23:40 Literally “and also for/indeed”
  54. Ezekiel 23:40 Literally “coming”
  55. Ezekiel 23:41 Literally “to the face of her”
  56. Ezekiel 23:41 Or “it”
  57. Ezekiel 23:42 Or “her”
  58. Ezekiel 23:42 A problematic verse; reading according to the reading tradition (Qere)
  59. Ezekiel 23:42 Literally “from an abundance of men being brought in drunken”
  60. Ezekiel 23:42 Or “wilderness”
  61. Ezekiel 23:43 Or “about”
  62. Ezekiel 23:43 Or “that she did”
  63. Ezekiel 23:44 Or “a woman”
  64. Ezekiel 23:47 Hebrew “stone”
  65. Ezekiel 23:48 Or “I will put an end to obscene conduct from the land”
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Ezekiel 23
New International Version

Two Adulterous Sisters

23 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, there were two women, daughters of the same mother.(A) 3 They became prostitutes in Egypt,(B) engaging in prostitution(C) from their youth.(D) In that land their breasts were fondled and their virgin bosoms caressed.(E) 4 The older was named Oholah, and her sister was Oholibah. They were mine and gave birth to sons and daughters. Oholah is Samaria, and Oholibah is Jerusalem.(F)

5 “Oholah engaged in prostitution while she was still mine; and she lusted after her lovers, the Assyrians(G)—warriors(H) 6 clothed in blue, governors and commanders, all of them handsome young men, and mounted horsemen. 7 She gave herself as a prostitute to all the elite of the Assyrians and defiled herself with all the idols of everyone she lusted after.(I) 8 She did not give up the prostitution she began in Egypt,(J) when during her youth men slept with her, caressed her virgin bosom and poured out their lust on her.(K)

9 “Therefore I delivered her into the hands(L) of her lovers,(M) the Assyrians, for whom she lusted.(N) 10 They stripped(O) her naked, took away her sons and daughters and killed her with the sword. She became a byword among women,(P) and punishment was inflicted(Q) on her.(R)

11 “Her sister Oholibah saw this,(S) yet in her lust and prostitution she was more depraved than her sister.(T) 12 She too lusted after the Assyrians—governors and commanders, warriors in full dress, mounted horsemen, all handsome young men.(U) 13 I saw that she too defiled herself; both of them went the same way.(V)

14 “But she carried her prostitution still further. She saw men portrayed on a wall,(W) figures of Chaldeans[a] portrayed in red,(X) 15 with belts(Y) around their waists and flowing turbans on their heads; all of them looked like Babylonian chariot officers, natives of Chaldea.[b] 16 As soon as she saw them, she lusted after them and sent messengers(Z) to them in Chaldea.(AA) 17 Then the Babylonians(AB) came to her, to the bed of love, and in their lust they defiled her. After she had been defiled by them, she turned away from them in disgust.(AC) 18 When she carried on her prostitution openly and exposed her naked body,(AD) I turned away(AE) from her in disgust, just as I had turned away from her sister.(AF) 19 Yet she became more and more promiscuous as she recalled the days of her youth, when she was a prostitute in Egypt. 20 There she lusted after her lovers, whose genitals were like those of donkeys and whose emission was like that of horses. 21 So you longed for the lewdness of your youth, when in Egypt your bosom was caressed and your young breasts fondled.[c](AG)

22 “Therefore, Oholibah, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will stir up your lovers(AH) against you, those you turned away from in disgust, and I will bring them against you from every side(AI)— 23 the Babylonians(AJ) and all the Chaldeans,(AK) the men of Pekod(AL) and Shoa and Koa, and all the Assyrians with them, handsome young men, all of them governors and commanders, chariot officers and men of high rank, all mounted on horses.(AM) 24 They will come against you with weapons,[d] chariots and wagons(AN) and with a throng of people; they will take up positions against you on every side with large and small shields and with helmets. I will turn you over to them for punishment,(AO) and they will punish you according to their standards. 25 I will direct my jealous anger(AP) against you, and they will deal with you in fury. They will cut off your noses and your ears, and those of you who are left will fall by the sword. They will take away your sons and daughters,(AQ) and those of you who are left will be consumed by fire.(AR) 26 They will also strip(AS) you of your clothes and take your fine jewelry.(AT) 27 So I will put a stop(AU) to the lewdness and prostitution you began in Egypt. You will not look on these things with longing or remember Egypt anymore.

28 “For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am about to deliver you into the hands(AV) of those you hate, to those you turned away from in disgust. 29 They will deal with you in hatred and take away everything you have worked for. They will leave you stark naked,(AW) and the shame of your prostitution will be exposed.(AX) Your lewdness(AY) and promiscuity(AZ) 30 have brought this on you, because you lusted after the nations and defiled yourself with their idols.(BA) 31 You have gone the way of your sister; so I will put her cup(BB) into your hand.(BC)

32 “This is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“You will drink your sister’s cup,
    a cup large and deep;
it will bring scorn and derision,(BD)
    for it holds so much.(BE)
33 You will be filled with drunkenness and sorrow,
    the cup of ruin and desolation,
    the cup of your sister Samaria.(BF)
34 You will drink it(BG) and drain it dry
    and chew on its pieces—
    and you will tear your breasts.

I have spoken, declares the Sovereign Lord.(BH)

35 “Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Since you have forgotten(BI) me and turned your back on me,(BJ) you must bear(BK) the consequences of your lewdness and prostitution.”

36 The Lord said to me: “Son of man, will you judge Oholah and Oholibah? Then confront(BL) them with their detestable practices,(BM) 37 for they have committed adultery and blood is on their hands. They committed adultery with their idols; they even sacrificed their children, whom they bore to me, as food for them.(BN) 38 They have also done this to me: At that same time they defiled my sanctuary(BO) and desecrated my Sabbaths.(BP) 39 On the very day they sacrificed their children to their idols, they entered my sanctuary and desecrated(BQ) it. That is what they did in my house.(BR)

40 “They even sent messengers for men who came from far away,(BS) and when they arrived you bathed yourself for them, applied eye makeup(BT) and put on your jewelry.(BU) 41 You sat on an elegant couch,(BV) with a table(BW) spread before it on which you had placed the incense(BX) and olive oil that belonged to me.(BY)

42 “The noise of a carefree(BZ) crowd was around her; drunkards(CA) were brought from the desert along with men from the rabble, and they put bracelets(CB) on the wrists of the woman and her sister and beautiful crowns on their heads.(CC) 43 Then I said about the one worn out by adultery, ‘Now let them use her as a prostitute,(CD) for that is all she is.’ 44 And they slept with her. As men sleep with a prostitute, so they slept with those lewd women, Oholah and Oholibah. 45 But righteous judges will sentence them to the punishment of women who commit adultery and shed blood,(CE) because they are adulterous and blood is on their hands.(CF)

46 “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Bring a mob(CG) against them and give them over to terror and plunder.(CH) 47 The mob will stone them and cut them down with their swords; they will kill their sons and daughters(CI) and burn(CJ) down their houses.(CK)

48 “So I will put an end(CL) to lewdness in the land, that all women may take warning and not imitate you.(CM) 49 You will suffer the penalty for your lewdness and bear the consequences of your sins of idolatry.(CN) Then you will know that I am the Sovereign Lord.(CO)”

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 23:14 Or Babylonians
  2. Ezekiel 23:15 Or Babylonia; also in verse 16
  3. Ezekiel 23:21 Syriac (see also verse 3); Hebrew caressed because of your young breasts
  4. Ezekiel 23:24 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
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Ezekiel 22
Ezekiel 24
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