Ezekiel 23

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

And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,

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

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

3 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.

And they played the harlot in Egypt; in their youth they played the harlot: there were their breasts pressed, and there they suffered their virgin bosoms to be touched.

4 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.

And their names were Aholah the elder, and Aholibah her sister; but they became mine, and they bore sons and daughters: and their names are, Samaria is Aholah, and Jerusalem, Aholibah.

5 And Oolla committed fornication against me, and doted on her lovers, on the Assyrians that came to her,

And Aholah played the harlot while she was mine; and she longed for her lovers, for the Assyrians that were near [her],

6 Who were clothed with blue, princes, and rulers, beautiful youths, all horsemen, mounted upon horses.

Clothed [as they were] in blue, governors, and rulers, attractive youths all of them, horsemen riding upon horses.

7 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.

Thus she played the harlot with them, all of them the chosen ones of the sons of Asshur: and with all for whom she longed, —with all their idols did she defile herself.

8 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.

But also her lewdness from Egypt forsook she not; for they had lain with her in her youth, and they had touched her virgin bosom, and had lavished their lewd caresses on her.

9 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.

Therefore did I give her up into the hand of her lovers, into the hand of the sons of Asshur, after whom she longed.

10 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.

These were they that laid open her nakedness; her sons and her daughters did they take away, and her they slew with the sword: and she became infamous among women, when they inflicted the decreed punishments on her.

11 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.

And when her sister Aholibah saw this, she became more corrupt in her longing than she, and in her lewd acts more than her sister's lewdness.

12 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.

For the sons of Asshur did she long, the governors and rulers that were near, clothed as they were most gorgeously, horsemen riding upon horses, attractive youths all of them.

13 And I saw that she was defiled, and that they both took one way.

Then saw I that she was defiled, that they followed both one way.

14 And she increased her fornications: and when she had seen men painted on the wall, the images of the Chaldeans set forth in colours,

But she added still more to her acts of lewdness; for when she saw men engraved upon the wall, the images of the Chaldeans portrayed with color,

15 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,

Bound with girdles on their loins, with hanging down colored turbans on their heads, in appearance like commanders, all of them, in the likeness of the sons of Babylon of the Chaldeans, the land of their birth:

16 She doted upon them with the lust of her eyes, and she sent messengers to them into Chaldea.

Then did she long for them as soon as she saw them with her eyes, and she sent messengers unto them to Chaldea.

17 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.

And the sons of Babylon came to her unto the couch of love, and they defiled her with their lewd caresses; and [yet] when she had been defiled with them, she tore her soul away from them.

18 And she discovered her fornications, and discovered her disgrace: and my soul was alienated from her, as my soul was alienated from her sister.

And when she had laid open her lewdness, and had uncovered her nakedness: then my soul tore itself away from her, as my soul had torn itself away from her sister.

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

Yet she multiplied her deeds of lewdness, in calling to remembrance the days of her youth, when she had played the harlot in the land of Egypt.

20 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.

And she longed for her paramours, whose flesh is as the flesh of asses, and whose lustfulness is like the lustfulness of horses.

21 And thou hast renewed the wickedness of thy youth, when thy breasts were pressed in Egypt, and the papa of thy virginity broken.

And thou calledst to mind the incest of thy youth, when thy bosom was touched by the Egyptians for the sake of thy youthful breasts.

22 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.

Therefore, O Aholibah, thus hath said the Lord Eternal, Behold, I will wake up thy lovers against thee, from whom thy soul hath torn itself away, and I will bring them against thee from every side;

23 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.

The sons of Babylon, and all the Chaldeans, Pekod, and Shoa and Koa, and all the sons of Asshur with them, attractive youths, governors and rulers all of them, commanders and chiefs, riding upon horses all of them.

24 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.

And they shall come over thee with weapons, chariots, and wheels, and with an assembly of people, buckler and shield and helmet shall they set up against thee round about: and I will give up before them the right to judge, and they shall judge thee according to their ordinances.

25 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.

And I will set my zealousness against thee, and they shall deal with thee in fury; thy nose and thy ears shall they cut off; and what is left of thee shall fall by the sword: thy sons and thy daughters shall they take away; and what is left of thee shall be devoured by the fire.

26 And they shall strip thee of thy garments, and take away the instruments of thy glory.

And they shall strip thee of thy clothes, and take away thy ornamental attire.

27 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.

Thus will I make thy incest to cease from thee, and thy lewdness brought from the land of Egypt: and thou shalt not lift up thy eyes unto them, and Egypt shalt thou not remember any more.

28 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.

For thus hath said the Lord Eternal, Behold, I will give thee up into the hand of those whom thou hatest, into the hand of those from whom thy soul hath torn itself away;

29 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.

And they shall deal with thee in hate, and shall take away all [things acquired by] thy labor, and they shall leave thee naked and bare: and thus shall be uncovered the nakedness of thy lewdness, and thy incest and thy lewd deeds.

30 They have done these things to thee, because thou hast played the harlot with the nations among which thou wast defiled with their idols.

I will do these things unto thee, because thou hast gone with vile lust after the nations, because thou hast defiled thyself with their idols.

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

On the way of thy sister hast thou walked; therefore will I place her cup into thy hand.

32 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.

Thus hath said the Lord Eternal, The cup of thy sister shalt thou drink, the deep and wide one: thou shalt become to be laughed to scorn and to be held in derision, more than thou canst bear.

33 Thou shalt be filled with drunkenness, and sorrow: with the cup of grief, and sadness, with the cup of thy sister Samaria.

With drunkenness and sorrow shalt thou be filled, [out of] the cup of astonishment and confusion, the cup of thy sister Samaria.

34 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.

Thou shalt even drink it and drain it out, and thou shalt break in pieces its fragments, and tear thy own breasts; for I have spoken it, saith the Lord Eternal.

35 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.

Therefore thus hath said the Lord Eternal, Because thou hast forgotten me, and cast me behind thy back: therefore bear thou also thy incest and thy acts of lewdness.

36 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?

The Lord said moreover unto me, Son of man, wilt thou call Aholah and Aholibah to account? then tell them of their abominations;

37 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.

That they have committed adultery, and there is blood on their hands, and with their idols have they committed adultery, and also their sons whom they had born unto me have they caused to pass for them through [the fire], to devour them.

38 Yea, and they have done this to me. They polluted my sanctuary on the same day, and profaned my sabbaths.

Moreover this have they done unto me: they have defiled my sanctuary on the same day, and my sabbaths have they profaned.

39 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.

And when they had slain their children to their idols, then came they into my sanctuary on the same day to profane it: and, lo, thus have they done in the midst of my house.

40 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.

And farthermore yet, because they sent for men who were to come from afar, unto whom messengers were sent; and, lo, they came, for whom thou didst bathe thyself, paint thy eyes, and deck thyself with ornaments;

41 Thou sattest on a very fine bed, and a table was decked before thee: whereupon thou didst set my incense, and my ointment.

And thou didst sit upon a stately bed, with a table spread before it, and my incense and my oil didst thou set upon it.

42 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.

And the shout of a peaceful joyous multitude was [heard] within her; and with the men of the masses of the common people were brought Sabeans from the wilderness; and these women placed bracelets on their hands, and crowns of glory upon their heads.

43 And I said to her that was worn out in her adulteries: Now will this woman still continue in her fornication.

Then thought I of her that was worn out in adulteries, Will they now [still] commit lewdness with her, when she [is thus]?

44 And they went in to her, as to a harlot: so went they in unto Oolla, and Ooliba, wicked women.

But men went in unto her, as they go in unto a faithless wife: thus went they in unto Aholah and unto Aholibah, the incestuous women.

45 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.

Righteous men, however—these shall judge them as adulteresses are judged, and as women that shed blood are judged; because adulteresses are they, and blood is on their hands.

46 For thus saith the Lord God: Bring a multitude upon them, and deliver them over to tumult and rapine:

For thus hath said the Lord Eternal, I will bring up against them an assemblage of men, and I will give them up to ill-usage and plunder.

47 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.

And the assemblage shall stone them with stones, and cut them down with their swords: their sons and their daughters shall they slay, and their houses shall they burn with fire.

48 And I will take away wickedness out of the land: and all women shall learn, not to do according to the wickedness of them.

Thus will I cause incest to cease out of the land, that all women may be warned by example, and not do after your incestuous course.

49 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.

And they shall lay your incest upon you, and the sins of your idols shall ye bear: and ye shall know that I am the Lord Eternal.