Ezekiel 23

1 Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

The word of the Lord came to me again, saying,

2 “Son of man, there were two women, daughters of the same mother,

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

3 and they played in Egypt, prostituting themselves from their youth. Their breasts were fondled there, and their virgin bosoms caressed.

They were acting like loose women in Egypt; when they were young their behaviour was loose: there their breasts were crushed, even the points of their young breasts were crushed.

4 The older was named Oholah, and her sister was named Oholibah. They became Mine and gave birth to sons and daughters. As for their identities, Oholah is Samaria, and Oholibah is Jerusalem.

Their names were Oholah, the older, and Oholibah, her sister: and they became mine, and gave birth to sons and daughters. As for their names, Samaria is Oholah, and Jerusalem, Oholibah.

5 Oholah prostituted herself while she was still Mine. She lusted after her lovers, the Assyrians—warriors

And Oholah was untrue to me when she was mine; she was full of desire for her lovers, even for the Assyrians, her neighbours,

6 clothed in blue, governors and commanders, all desirable young men, horsemen mounted on steeds.

Who were clothed in blue, captains and rulers, all of them young men to be desired, horsemen seated on horses.

7 She offered sexual favors to all the elite of Assyria. She defiled herself with all the idols of those for whom she lusted.

And she gave her unclean love to them, all of them the noblest men of Assyria: and she made herself unclean with the images of all who were desired by her.

8 She did not give up the prostitution she began in Egypt, when men slept with her in her youth, caressed her virgin bosom, and poured out their lust upon her.

And she has not given up her loose ways from the time when she was in Egypt; for when she was young they were her lovers, and by them her young breasts were crushed, and they let loose on her their unclean desire.

9 Therefore I delivered her into the hands of her lovers, the Assyrians for whom she lusted.

For this cause I gave her up into the hands of her lovers, into the hands of the Assyrians on whom her desire was fixed.

10 They exposed her nakedness, seized her sons and daughters, and put her to the sword. Thus she became a byword among women, and they executed judgment against her.

By these her shame was uncovered: they took her sons and daughters and put her to death with the sword: and she became a cause of wonder to women; for they gave her the punishment which was right.

11 Her sister Oholibah saw this, yet in her lust and prostitution she was more depraved than her sister.

And her sister Oholibah saw this, but her desire was even more unmeasured, and her loose behaviour was worse than that of her sister.

12 She too lusted after the Assyrians—governors and commanders, warriors dressed in splendor, horsemen riding on steeds, all desirable young men.

She was full of desire for the Assyrians, captains and rulers, her neighbours, clothed in blue, horsemen going on horses, all of them young men to be desired.

13 And I saw that she too had defiled herself; both of them had taken the same path.

And I saw that she had become unclean; the two of them went the same way.

14 But Oholibah carried her prostitution even further. She saw the men portrayed on the wall, images of the Chaldeans, engraved in vermilion,

And her loose behaviour became worse; for she saw men pictured on a wall, pictures of the Chaldaeans painted in bright red,

15 wearing belts on their waists and flowing turbans on their heads; all of them looked like officers of the Babylonians in Chaldea, the land of their birth.

With bands round their bodies and with head-dresses hanging round their heads, all of them looking like rulers, like the Babylonians, the land of whose birth is Chaldaea.

16 At the sight of them, she lusted for them and sent messengers to them in Chaldea.

And when she saw them she was full of desire for them, and sent servants to them in Chaldaea.

17 Then the Babylonians came to her, to the bed of love, and in their lust they defiled her. But after she had been defiled by them, she turned away in disgust.

And the Babylonians came to her, into the bed of love, and made her unclean with their loose desire, and she became unclean with them, and her soul was turned from them.

18 When Oholibah openly prostituted herself and exposed her nakedness, I turned away from her in disgust, just as I had turned away from her sister.

So her loose behaviour was clearly seen and her shame uncovered: then my soul was turned from her as it had been turned from her sister.

19 Yet she multiplied her promiscuity, remembering the days of her youth, when she had prostituted herself in the land of Egypt

But still she went on the more with her loose behaviour, keeping in mind the early days when she had been a loose woman in the land of Egypt.

20 and lusted after their lovers, whose genitals were like those of donkeys and whose emission was like that of stallions.

And she was full of desire for her lovers, whose flesh is like the flesh of asses and whose seed is like the seed of horses.

21 So you revisited the indecency of your youth, when the Egyptians caressed your bosom and pressed your young breasts.

And she made the memory of the loose ways of her early years come back to mind, when her young breasts were crushed by the Egyptians.

22 Therefore, Oholibah, this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘I will incite your lovers against you, those from whom you turned away in disgust. And I will bring them against you from every side—

For this cause, O Oholibah, this is what the Lord has said: See, I will make your lovers come up against you, even those from whom your soul is turned away in disgust; and I will make them come up against you on every side;

23 the Babylonians and all the Chaldeans, the men of Pekod, Shoa, and Koa, and all the Assyrians with them—all desirable young men, governors and commanders, officers and men of renown, mounted on horses.

The Babylonians and all the Chaldaeans, Pekod and Shoa and Koa, and all the Assyrians with them: young men to be desired, captains and rulers all of them, and chiefs, her neighbours, all of them on horseback.

24 They will come against you with a host of peoples, with weapons, chariots, and wagons. They will array themselves against you on every side with buckler and shield and helmet. I will delegate judgment to them, and they will punish you according to their own standards.

And they will come against you from the north on horseback, with war-carriages and a great band of peoples; they will put themselves in order against you with breastplate and body-cover and metal head-dress round about you: and I will make them your judges, and they will give their decision against you as seems right to them.

25 And I will set My jealous rage against you, and they will deal with you in fury. They will cut off your noses and ears, and your survivors will fall by the sword. They will seize your sons and daughters, and your remnant will be consumed by fire.

And my bitter feeling will be working against you, and they will take you in hand with passion; they will take away your nose and your ears, and the rest of you will be put to the sword: they will take your sons and daughters, and the rest of you will be burned up in the fire.

26 They will strip off your clothes and take your fine jewelry.

And they will take all your clothing off you and take away your ornaments.

27 So I will put an end to your indecency and prostitution, which began in the land of Egypt, and you will not lift your eyes to them or remember Egypt anymore.’

So I will put an end to your evil ways and your loose behaviour which came from the land of Egypt: and your eyes will never be lifted up to them again, and you will have no more memory of Egypt.

28 For this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Surely I will deliver you into the hands of those you hate, from whom you turned away in disgust.

For this is what the Lord has said: See, I will give you up into the hands of those who are hated by you, into the hands of those from whom your soul is turned away in disgust:

29 They will treat you with hatred, take all for which you have worked, and leave you naked and bare, so that the shame of your prostitution will be exposed. Your indecency and promiscuity

And they will take you in hand with hate, and take away all the fruit of your work, and let you be unveiled and without clothing: and the shame of your loose behaviour will be uncovered, your evil designs and your loose ways.

30 have brought these things upon you, because you have prostituted yourself with the nations and defiled yourself with their idols.

They will do these things to you because you have been untrue to me, and have gone after the nations, and have become unclean with their images.

31 Because you have followed the path of your sister, I will put her cup into your hand.’

You have gone in the way of your sister; and I will give her cup into your hand.

32 This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘You will drink your sister’s cup, a cup deep and wide. It will bring scorn and derision, for it holds so much.

This is what the Lord has said: You will take a drink from your sister's cup, which is deep and wide: you will be laughed at and looked down on, more than you are able to undergo.

33 You will be filled with drunkenness and grief, with a cup of devastation and desolation, the cup of your sister Samaria.

You will be broken and full of sorrow, with the cup of wonder and destruction, with the cup of your sister Samaria.

34 You will drink it and drain it; you will dash it to pieces, and tear your breasts. For I have spoken,’

And after drinking it and draining it out, you will take the last drops of it to the end, pulling off your breasts: for I have said it, says the Lord.

35 Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Because you have forgotten Me and have cast Me behind your back, you must bear the consequences of your indecency and prostitution.’”

So this is what the Lord has said: Because you have not kept me in your memory, and because your back has been turned to me, you will even undergo the punishment of your evil designs and your loose ways.

36 Then the LORD said to me: “Son of man, will you pass judgment against Oholah and Oholibah? Then declare to them their abominations.

Then the Lord said to me: Son of man, will you be the judge of Oholibah? then make clear to her the disgusting things she has done.

37 For they have committed adultery, and blood is on their hands. They have committed adultery with their idols. They have even sacrificed their children, whom they bore to Me, in the fire as food for their idols.

For she has been false to me, and blood is on her hands, and with her images she has been untrue; and more than this, she made her sons, whom she had by me, go through the fire to them to be burned up.

38 They have also done this to Me: On that very same day, they defiled My sanctuary and profaned My Sabbaths.

Further, this is what she has done to me: she has made my holy place unclean and has made my Sabbaths unclean.

39 On the very day they slaughtered their children for their idols, they entered My sanctuary to profane it. Yes, they did this inside My house.

For when she had made an offering of her children to her images, she came into my holy place to make it unclean; see, this is what she has done inside my house.

40 Furthermore, you sisters sent messengers for men who came from afar; and behold, when they arrived, you bathed for them, painted your eyes, and adorned yourself with jewelry.

And she even sent for men to come from far away, to whom a servant was sent, and they came: for whom she was washing her body and painting her eyes and making herself fair with ornaments.

41 You sat on a couch of luxury with a table spread before it, on which you had set My incense and My oil,

And she took her seat on a great bed, with a table put ready before it on which she put my perfume and my oil.

42 accompanied by the sound of a carefree crowd. Drunkards were brought in from the desert along with men from the rabble, who put bracelets on your wrists and beautiful crowns on your head.

... and they put jewels on her hands and beautiful crowns on her head.

43 Then I said of her who had grown old in adulteries: ‘Now let them use her as a prostitute, for that is all she is!’

Then I said ... now she will go on with her loose ways.

44 And they slept with her as with a prostitute; they slept with Oholah and Oholibah, those lewd women.

And they went in to her, as men go to a loose woman: so they went in to Oholibah, the loose woman.

45 But righteous men will sentence them to the punishment of those who commit adultery and bloodshed, because they are adulteresses with blood on their hands.

And upright men will be her judges, judging her as false wives and women who take lives are judged; because she has been untrue to me and blood is on her hands.

46 This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Bring a mob against them and consign them to terror and plunder.

For this is what the Lord has said: I will make a great meeting of the people come together against her, and will send on her shaking fear and take everything from her.

47 The mob will stone them and cut them down with their swords. They will kill their sons and daughters and burn down their houses.

And the meeting, after stoning her with stones, will put an end to her with their swords; they will put her sons and daughters to death and have her house burned up with fire.

48 So I will put an end to indecency in the land, and all the women will be admonished not to imitate your behavior.

And I will put an end to evil in all the land, teaching all women not to do as you have done.

49 They will repay you for your indecency, and you will bear the consequences of your sins of idolatry. Then you will know that I am the Lord GOD.’”

And I will send on you the punishment of your evil ways, and you will be rewarded for your sins with your images: and you will be certain that I am the Lord.