Ezekiel 23
1 Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
And the word of the Lord came to me, 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.
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.
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.
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.
5 Oholah prostituted herself while she was still Mine. She lusted after her lovers, the Assyrians—warriors
And Oolla committed fornication against me, and doted on her lovers, on the Assyrians that came to her,
6 clothed in blue, governors and commanders, all desirable young men, horsemen mounted on steeds.
Who were clothed with blue, princes, and rulers, beautiful youths, all horsemen, mounted upon 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 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.
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.
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.
9 Therefore I delivered her into the hands of her lovers, the Assyrians for whom she lusted.
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.
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.
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.
11 Her sister Oholibah saw this, yet in her lust and prostitution she was more depraved than her sister.
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.
12 She too lusted after the Assyrians—governors and commanders, warriors dressed in splendor, horsemen riding on steeds, all desirable young men.
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.
13 And I saw that she too had defiled herself; both of them had taken the same path.
And I saw that she was defiled, and that they both took one 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 she increased her fornications: and when she had seen men painted on the wall, the images of the Chaldeans set forth in colours,
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.
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,
16 At the sight of them, she lusted for them and sent messengers to them in Chaldea.
She doted upon them with the lust of her eyes, and she sent messengers to them into Chaldea.
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 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.
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.
And she discovered her fornications, and discovered her disgrace: and my soul was alienated from her, as my soul was alienated 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
For she multiplied her fornications, remembering the days of her youth, in which she played the harlot 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 mad with lust after lying with them whose flesh is as the flesh of asses: and whose issue as the issue of horses.
21 So you revisited the indecency of your youth, when the Egyptians caressed your bosom and pressed your young breasts.
And thou hast renewed the wickedness of thy youth, when thy breasts were pressed in Egypt, and the papa of thy virginity broken.
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—
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.
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 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.
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 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.
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 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.
26 They will strip off your clothes and take your fine jewelry.
And they shall strip thee of thy garments, and take away the instruments of thy glory.
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.’
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.
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 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.
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 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.
30 have brought these things upon you, because you have prostituted yourself with the nations and defiled yourself with their idols.
They have done these things to thee, because thou hast played the harlot with the nations among which thou wast defiled with their idols.
31 Because you have followed the path of your sister, I will put her cup into your hand.’
Thou hast walked in the way of thy sister, and I will give her cup into thy 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.
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.
33 You will be filled with drunkenness and grief, with a cup of devastation and desolation, the cup of your sister Samaria.
Thou shalt be filled with drunkenness, and sorrow: with the cup of grief, and sadness, with the cup of thy 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 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.
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.’”
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.
36 Then the LORD said to me: “Son of man, will you pass judgment against Oholah and Oholibah? Then declare to them their abominations.
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?
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.
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.
38 They have also done this to Me: On that very same day, they defiled My sanctuary and profaned My Sabbaths.
Yea, and they have done this to me. They polluted my sanctuary on the same day, and profaned my sabbaths.
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.
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.
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.
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.
41 You sat on a couch of luxury with a table spread before it, on which you had set My incense and My oil,
Thou sattest on a very fine bed, and a table was decked before thee: whereupon thou didst set my incense, and my ointment.
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 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.
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!’
And I said to her that was worn out in her adulteries: Now will this woman still continue in her fornication.
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 to a harlot: so went they in unto Oolla, and Ooliba, wicked women.
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.
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.
46 This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Bring a mob against them and consign them to terror and plunder.
For thus saith the Lord God: Bring a multitude upon them, and deliver them over to tumult and rapine:
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 lee 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.
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 take away wickedness out of the land: and all women shall learn, not to do according to the wickedness of them.
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 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.
