Ezekiel 23
1 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:
The word of Jehovah came to me again, saying:
2 “Son of man, two women were daughters of one mother,
Son of man, there were two women, 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 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 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.
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 then, Oholah committed fornication against me, and she acted madly with her lovers, with the Assyrians who approached her,
And Aholah played the harlot when she was mine; and she doted on her lovers, on the Assyrians, her neighbors
6 who were clothed with hyacinth: rulers and magistrates, passionate youths and all of the horsemen, mounted on horses.
who were clothed with blue, captains and rulers, 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.
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 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.
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 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.
Wherefore I delivered her into the hand of her lovers, into the hand of the Assyrians, upon whom she doted.
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.
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 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, 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 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 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 been defiled, and that they both took the same path.
Then I saw that she was defiled; that they both took one way.
14 And she increased her fornications. And when she had seen men depicted on the wall, the images of the Chaldeans, expressed in colors,
But she added to her whoredoms; for she saw men portrayed upon the wall, images of Chaldaeans portrayed with vermilion,
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 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 she became mad for them with the desire of her eyes, and she sent messengers to them in Chaldea.
and as soon as she cast her eyes upon them, she doted on them, and sent messengers to them into Chaldaea.
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 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 Also, her fornications were uncovered, and her shame was revealed. And my soul withdrew from her, as my soul had withdrawn 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 For she multiplied her fornications, remembering the days of her youth, in which she fornicated 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 mad with lust after lying with them, whose flesh is like the flesh of donkeys, and whose flow is like the flow 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 you have revisited the crimes of your youth, when your breasts were conquered in Egypt, and the breasts of your adolescence were subdued.
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 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 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 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.
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 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 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 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 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 strip you of your vestments, and take away the articles of your glory.
They shall also strip thee of thy garments, and take away thy fair 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.
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 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 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 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 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 have done these things to you, because you have fornicated after the Gentiles, among whom you were defiled by their idols.
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 walked in the way of your sister, and so I will give her chalice into your hand.
Thou hast walked in the way of thy sister, therefore will I give her cup into thy 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 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 filled with inebriation and sorrow, by the chalice of grief and sadness, by the chalice 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 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.
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 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 saith the Lord Jehovah: Because thou hast forgotten me, and cast me behind thy back, therefore bear thou thy lewdness and thy 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?
Moreover, Jehovah said to me, Son of man, punish Aholah and Aholibah; yea, declare to them their abominations;
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.
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 But they have done even this to me: They have defiled my sanctuary on the same day, and they have profaned my Sabbaths.
This also have they done to me: they have defiled my sanctuary in the same day, and have profaned 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.
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 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.
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 You sat upon a very beautiful bed, and a table was adorned before you, on which you placed my incense and my ointment.
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 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.
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 And I said about her, as she was being worn away by her adulteries, ‘Even now, she continues in her fornication!’
Then said I concerning her that was worn out with adulteries, Will they now commit whoredoms with her, even with her?
44 And they entered to her, as if to a kept woman. So did they enter to Oholah and Oholibah, nefarious women.
They went in to her, as men go to a harlot; so went they in to Aholah and to Aholibah, the lewd 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.
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 thus says the Lord God: Lead upon them a multitude, and hand them over to tumult and to pillaging.
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 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 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 take away wickedness from the land. And all women shall learn not to act according to their wickedness.
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 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 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.
