Ezekiel 23

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

The word of Jehovah came to me again, saying:

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

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

3 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.

and they committed fornication in Egypt; in their youth they committed fornication. There they allowed their breasts to be pressed, and their virgin teats to be handled.

4 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.

Their names were Aholah, the elder, and Aholibah, her sister; and they became mine, and bore sons and daughters; as to their names, moreover, Aholah is Samaria, and Aholibah, Jerusalem.

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

And Aholah played the harlot when she was mine; and she doted on her lovers, on the Assyrians, her neighbors

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

who were clothed with blue, captains and rulers, all of them desirable young men, horsemen, riding on horses.

7 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.

Thus she committed fornication with them, with all the choice young men of Assyria, and with all on whom she doted; with all their idols she defiled herself.

8 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.

Neither forsook she her whoredoms brought from Egypt; for they lay with her in her youth, and handled the breasts of her virginity, and poured their fornication upon her.

9 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.

Wherefore I delivered her into the hand of her lovers, into the hand of the Assyrians, upon whom she doted.

10 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.

These uncovered her nakedness; they took her sons and her daughters, and slew her with the sword; and she became famous among women, when they had executed judgment upon her.

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

And her sister, Aholibah, saw this, but she was more corrupt in her inordinate love than she, and in her whoredoms more than her sister in her whoredoms.

12 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.

She doted upon the Assyrians, her neighbors, prefects and rulers clothed most gorgeously, horsemen riding upon horses, all of them desirable young men.

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

Then I saw that she was defiled; that they both took one way.

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

But she added to her whoredoms; for she saw men portrayed upon the wall, images of Chaldaeans portrayed with vermilion,

15 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.

girded with girdles upon their loins, and having long mitres hanging down from their heads, in their appearance all of them princes, after the manner of the sons of Babylon, of Chaldaea, the land of their nativity;

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

and as soon as she cast her eyes upon them, she doted on them, and sent messengers to them into Chaldaea.

17 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.

And the sons of Babylon came to her into the bed of love, and they defiled her with their whoredoms, and she was polluted with them. She then became alienated from them.

18 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.

So she discovered her fornications, and discovered her nakedness. Then my mind was alienated from her, as it had been alienated from her sister.

19 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.

For she multiplied her whoredoms in calling to remembrance the days of her youth, wherein she played the harlot in the land of Egypt;

20 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.

for she doted on their paramours, whose members were as the members of asses, and whose issue was as the issue of horses.

21 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.

Thus thou calledst to remembrance the lewdness of thy youth, when thy teats were handled by the Egyptians, on account of the paps of thy youth.

22 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;

Therefore, O Aholibah, thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I will raise up against thee thy lovers, from whom thou art alienated, and I will bring them against thee on every side,

23 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.

the Babylonians and all the Chaldaeans, prefects, rich men, and nobles, and all the Assyrians with them, all of them desirable young men, prefects and rulers, captains and men of renown, all of them riding upon horses.

24 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.

And they shall come against thee with arms, chariots and wheels, and with hosts of people; with buckler and shield and helmet shall they set themselves against thee on every side. And I will commit to them judgment, and they shall punish thee according to their punishments.

25 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.

And I will set my jealousy against thee, and they shall deal with thee in fury; they shall take away thy nose and thine ears, and thy posterity shall fall by the sword. They shall take away thy sons and thy daughters, and thy posterity shall be consumed with fire.

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

They shall also strip thee of thy garments, and take away thy fair jewels.

27 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.

Thus will I make thy lewdness to cease from thee, and thy whoredom brought from the land of Egypt, so that thou shalt not lift thine eyes to them, nor remember Egypt any more.

28 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:

For thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I will deliver thee into the hand of them whom thou hatest, into the hand of them from whom thou art alienated.

29 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.

And they shall deal with thee in hatred, and take away all the fruits of thy labor from thee, and shall leave thee naked and bare; and thy nakedness shall be uncovered, with which thou hast committed lewdness and fornication and foul whoredom.

30 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.

These things will I do to thee, because thou hast committed whoredom with the nations, and hast been polluted with their idols.

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

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

32 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.

Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Thou shalt drink of thy sister's cup, which is deep and large; it shall make thee a laughing-stock and a derision, for it containeth much.

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

Thou shalt be filled with drunkenness and sorrow. A cup of astonishment and amazement is the cup of thy sister Samaria.

34 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.

Thou shalt even drink it and suck it out, and lick the sherds, and thou shalt tear thy breasts. For I have spoken it, saith the Lord Jehovah.

35 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.

Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Because thou hast forgotten me, and cast me behind thy back, therefore bear thou thy lewdness and thy whoredoms.

36 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.

Moreover, Jehovah said to me, Son of man, punish Aholah and Aholibah; yea, declare to them their abominations;

37 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.

that they have committed adultery, and blood is upon their hands, and that with their idols they have committed adultery, and have also caused their sons, whom they bore to me, to pass through the fire to them for food.

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

This also have they done to me: they have defiled my sanctuary in the same day, and have profaned my sabbaths.

39 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.

For when they had slain their children to their idols, then they came into my sanctuary the same day to profane it; behold, thus have they done in my house.

40 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.

Yea, ye sent for men to come from afar; messengers were sent to them, and behold, they came; for them didst thou wash thyself, and paint thine eyes, and deck thyself with ornaments.

41 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.

And thou didst seat thyself upon a stately bed before which a table was prepared, and thereon didst thou set my incense and my oil.

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

Also the voice of a multitude at ease was with her; and together with men from the common multitude were brought deep-drinkers from the desert, who put bracelets upon their hands, and beautiful crowns upon their heads.

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

Then said I concerning her that was worn out with adulteries, Will they now commit whoredoms with her, even with her?

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

They went in to her, as men go to a harlot; so went they in to Aholah and to Aholibah, the lewd women.

45 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.

But righteous men shall judge them, as adulteresses are judged, and as women that shed blood are judged; for they are adulteresses, and blood is upon their hands.

46 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.

For thus saith the Lord Jehovah: I will bring a great company against them, and will give them up to be harassed and spoiled,

47 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.

and the company shall stone them with stones, and cut them in pieces with their swords; they shall slay their sons and their daughters, and burn their houses with fire.

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

Thus will I cause lewdness to cease out of the land, that all women may take warning, and not follow them in their lewdness.

49 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.

And they shall recompense your lewdness upon you, and ye shall bear the sins of your idols; that ye may know that I am the Lord Jehovah.