Ezekiel 23

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

And there is a word of YHWH to me, saying, “Son of man,

2 “Son of man, two women were daughters of one mother,

Two women were daughters of one mother,

3 and they fornicated in Egypt; they committed fornication in their youth. In that place, their breasts were conquered; the breasts of their adolescence were subdued.

And they go whoring in Egypt, They have gone whoring in their youth, There they have bruised their breasts, And there they have dealt with the loves of their virginity.

4 Now their names were Oholah, the elder, and Oholibah, her younger sister. And I held them, and they bore sons and daughters. As for their names: Oholah is Samaria, and Oholibah is Jerusalem.

And their names [are] Aholah the older, And Aholibah her sister, And they are Mine, and bear sons and daughters. As for their names—Samaria [is] Aholah, And Jerusalem [is] Aholibah.

5 And then, Oholah committed fornication against me, and she acted madly with her lovers, with the Assyrians who approached her,

And Aholah goes whoring under Me, and she lusts on her lovers, on the neighboring Assyrians,

6 who were clothed with hyacinth: rulers and magistrates, passionate youths and all of the horsemen, mounted on horses.

Clothed with blue—governors and prefects, All of them desirable young men, Horsemen, riding on horses,

7 And she distributed her fornications to those chosen men, all of them sons of the Assyrians. And she defiled herself with the uncleanness of all those whom she madly desired.

And she gives her whoredoms on them, The choice of the sons of Asshur, All of them—even all on whom she lusted, She has been defiled by all their idols.

8 Moreover, she also did not abandon her fornications, which she had done in Egypt. For they also slept with her in her youth, and they bruised the breasts of her virginity, and they poured out their fornication upon her.

And she has not forsaken her whoredoms out of Egypt, For with her they lay in her youth, And they dealt with the loves of her virginity, And they pour out their whoredoms on her.

9 Because of this, I have delivered her into the hands of her lovers, into the hands of the sons of the Assur, whom she has lustfully desired.

Therefore I have given her into the hand of her lovers, Into the hand of sons of Asshur on whom she lusted.

10 They uncovered her shame; they took away her sons and daughters; and they slew her with the sword. And they became infamous women. And they carried out judgments in her.

They have uncovered her nakedness, They have taken her sons and her daughters, And they have slain her by sword, And she is a name for women, And they have done judgments with her.

11 And when her sister, Oholibah, had seen this, she was even more mad with lust than the other. And her fornication was beyond the fornication of her sister.

And her sister Aholibah sees, And she makes her unhealthy love more corrupt than she, And her whoredoms than the whoredoms of her sister.

12 She shamelessly offered herself to the sons of the Assyrians, to the rulers and magistrates who brought themselves to her clothed with colorful garments, to the horsemen who were carried by horses, and to the youths, all of them exceptional in appearance.

She has lusted on sons of Asshur, Governors and prefects, Neighboring ones—clothed in perfection, Horsemen, riding on horses, All of them desirable young men.

13 And I saw that she had been defiled, and that they both took the same path.

And I see that she has been defiled, One way [is] to them both.

14 And she increased her fornications. And when she had seen men depicted on the wall, the images of the Chaldeans, expressed in colors,

And she adds to her whoredoms, And she sees men carved on the wall, Pictures of Chaldeans, carved with vermillion,

15 with belts wrapped around the waist, and with dyed headdresses on their heads, having seen the appearance of all the rulers, the likenesses of the sons of Babylon and of the land of the Chaldeans in which they were born,

Girded with a girdle on their loins, Dyed attire spread out on their heads, The appearance of rulers—all of them, The likeness of sons of Babylon, Chaldea is the land of their birth.

16 she became mad for them with the desire of her eyes, and she sent messengers to them in Chaldea.

And she lusts on them at the sight of her eyes, And sends messengers to them, to Chaldea.

17 And when the sons of Babylon had gone to her, to the bed of breasts, they defiled her with their fornications, and she was polluted by them, and her soul was gorged by them.

And sons of Babylon come in to her, To the bed of loves, And they defile her with their whoredoms, And she is defiled with them, And her soul is alienated from them.

18 Also, her fornications were uncovered, and her shame was revealed. And my soul withdrew from her, as my soul had withdrawn from her sister.

And she reveals her whoredoms, And she reveals her nakedness, And My soul is alienated from off her, As My soul was alienated from off her sister.

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

And she multiplies her whoredoms, To remember the days of her youth, When she went whoring in the land of Egypt.

20 And she was mad with lust after lying with them, whose flesh is like the flesh of donkeys, and whose flow is like the flow of horses.

And she lusts on their lovers, Whose flesh [is] the flesh of donkeys, And the emission of horses—their emission.

21 And you have revisited the crimes of your youth, when your breasts were conquered in Egypt, and the breasts of your adolescence were subdued.

You look after the wickedness of your youth, In dealing out of Egypt your loves, For the sake of the breasts of your youth.

22 Because of this, Oholibah, thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will raise up against you all of your lovers, with whom your soul has been gorged. And I will gather them together against you all around:

Therefore, O Aholibah, thus said Lord YHWH: Behold, I am stirring up your lovers against you, From whom your soul has been alienated, And have brought them in against you from all around.

23 the sons of Babylon, and all the Chaldeans, the nobles, the sovereigns and princes, all the sons of the Assyrians, youths of exceptional form, all the rulers and magistrates, the leaders among leaders, and the renowned riders of horses.

Sons of Babylon, and of all Chaldea, Pekod, and Shoa, and Koa, All the sons of Asshur with them, Desirable young men, governors and prefects, All of them—rulers and proclaimed ones, All of them riding on horses.

24 And they will overwhelm you, well-equipped with chariot and wheel, a multitude of peoples. They will be armed against you on every side with armor and shield and helmet. And I will give judgment to their eyes, and they will judge you with their judgments.

And they have come in against you, With arms, rider, and wheel, And with an assembly of peoples; Buckler, and shield, and helmet, They set against you all around, And I have set judgment before them, They have judged you in their judgments.

25 And against you, I will set my zeal, which they will execute upon you with fury. They will cut off your nose and your ears. And what remains will fall by the sword. They will seize your sons and your daughters, and your youngest will be devoured by fire.

And I have set My jealousy against you, And they have dealt with you in fury, They turn aside your nose and your ears, And your posterity falls by sword, They take away your sons and your daughters, And your posterity is devoured by fire.

26 And they will strip you of your vestments, and take away the articles of your glory.

And they have stripped you of your garments, And have taken your beautiful jewels.

27 And I will cause your wickedness to cease from you, and your fornication to cease from the land of Egypt. Neither shall you lift up your eyes toward them, and you shall no longer remember Egypt.

And I have caused your wickedness to cease from you, And your whoredoms out of the land of Egypt, And you do not lift up your eyes to them, And you do not remember Egypt again.

28 For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will deliver you into the hands of those whom you have hated, into the hands by which your soul has been gorged.

For thus said Lord YHWH: Behold, I am giving you into a hand that you have hated, Into a hand from which you were alienated.

29 And they will act toward you with hatred, and they will take away all your labors, and they will send you away naked and filled with disgrace. And the shame of your fornication will be revealed: your crimes and your fornications.

And they have dealt with you in hatred, And they have taken all your labor, And they have left you naked and bare, And the nakedness of your whoredoms has been revealed, And the wickedness of your whoredoms.

30 They have done these things to you, because you have fornicated after the Gentiles, among whom you were defiled by their idols.

To do these things to you, In your going whoring after nations, Because you have been defiled with their idols,

31 You have walked in the way of your sister, and so I will give her chalice into your hand.

You have walked in the way of your sister, And I have given her cup into your hand.

32 Thus says the Lord God: You will drink the chalice of your sister, deep and wide. You will be held in derision and in ridicule, to a very great extent.

Thus said Lord YHWH: You drink the cup of your sister, The deep and the wide one (You are for laughter and for scorn), Abundant to contain.

33 You will be filled with inebriation and sorrow, by the chalice of grief and sadness, by the chalice of your sister Samaria.

You are filled with drunkenness and sorrow, A cup of astonishment and desolation, The cup of your sister Samaria.

34 And you will drink it, and you will empty it, even to the dregs. And you will consume even its particles. And you will wound your own breasts. For I have spoken, says the Lord God.

And you have drunk it, and have drained [it], And you gnaw its earthen ware, And you pluck off your own breasts, For I have spoken, A declaration of Lord YHWH,

35 Because of this, thus says the Lord God: Since you have forgotten me, and you have cast me behind your body, so also will you bear your wickedness and your fornications.”

Therefore, thus said Lord YHWH: Because you have forgotten Me, And you cast Me behind your back, Even you also bear your wickedness and your whoredoms.”

36 And the Lord spoke to me, saying: “Son of man, should you not judge Oholah and Oholibah, and announce to them their crimes?

And YHWH says to me, “Son of man, Do you judge Aholah and Aholibah? Then declare their abominations to them.

37 For they are adulteresses, and blood is in their hands, and they have fornicated with their idols. Moreover, they have offered even their children, whom they bore for me, to them to be devoured.

For they have committed adultery, And blood [is] in their hands, They committed adultery with their idols, And also their sons whom they bore to Me, They caused to pass over to them for food.

38 But they have done even this to me: They have defiled my sanctuary on the same day, and they have profaned my Sabbaths.

Again, they have done this to Me, They defiled My sanctuary in that day, And they have defiled My Sabbaths.

39 And when they immolated their children to their idols, they also entered my sanctuary on the same day, so that they defiled it. They have done these things, even in the midst of my house.

And in their slaughtering their sons to their idols They also come into My sanctuary in that day to defile it, And behold, thus they have done in the midst of My house,

40 They sent for men who were coming from far away, to whom they had sent a messenger. And so, behold, they arrived, those for whom you washed yourself, and smeared cosmetics around your eyes, and were adorned with feminine ornaments.

And also that they send to men coming from afar, To whom a messenger is sent, And behold, they have come in for whom you have washed, Painted your eyes, and put on adornment.

41 You sat upon a very beautiful bed, and a table was adorned before you, on which you placed my incense and my ointment.

And you have sat on a couch of honor, And a table arrayed before it, And placed My incense and My oil on it.

42 And the voice of a multitude was exulting within her. And concerning certain men, who were being led out of a multitude of persons, and who were arriving from the desert, they placed bracelets on their hands and beautiful crowns on their heads.

And the voice of a multitude at ease [is] with her, And Sabeans from the wilderness are brought in to men of the common people, And they put bracelets on their hands, And a beautiful crown on their heads.

43 And I said about her, as she was being worn away by her adulteries, ‘Even now, she continues in her fornication!’

And I say of the worn-out one in adulteries, Now they commit her whoredoms—she also!

44 And they entered to her, as if to a kept woman. So did they enter to Oholah and Oholibah, nefarious women.

And they come in to her, As the coming in to a whorish woman, So they have come in to Aholah, And to Aholibah—the wicked women.

45 But there are just men; these shall judge them with the judgment of adulteresses and with the judgment of those who shed blood. For they are adulteresses, and blood is on their hands.

As for righteous men, they judge them with the judgment of adulteresses, And the judgment of women shedding blood, For they [are] adulteresses, And blood [is] in their hands.

46 For thus says the Lord God: Lead upon them a multitude, and hand them over to tumult and to pillaging.

For thus said Lord YHWH: Bring up an assembly against them, And give them to trembling and to spoiling.

47 And may they be stoned with the stones of the peoples, and may they be pierced with their own swords. They will put to death their sons and daughters, and they will burn their houses with fire.

And they have cast the stone of the assembly at them, And cut them with their swords, They slay their sons and their daughters, And they burn their houses with fire.

48 And I will take away wickedness from the land. And all women shall learn not to act according to their wickedness.

And I have caused wickedness to cease from the land, And all the women have been instructed, And they do not do according to your wickedness.

49 And they will set your own crimes upon you, and you will bear the sins of your idols. And you shall know that I am the Lord God.”

And they have put your wickedness on you, And you bear the sins of your idols, And you have known that I [am] Lord YHWH!”