Ezekiel 23
1 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:
The word of Yahweh came to me, saying,
2 Son of man, there were two women, daughters of one mother.
“Son of man, there were two women, daughters of the same 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.
They acted as prostitutes in Egypt in the time of their youth. They acted as prostitutes there. Their breasts were squeezed and their virgin nipples were fondled there.
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.
Their names were Oholah—the older sister—and Oholibah—her younger sister. Then they became mine and bore sons and daughters. Their names mean this: Oholah means Samaria, and Oholibah means Jerusalem.
5 And Oolla committed fornication against me, and doted on her lovers, on the Assyrians that came to her,
But Oholah acted as a prostitute even when she was mine; she lusted for her lovers, for the Assyrians who were dominant,
6 Who were clothed with blue, princes, and rulers, beautiful youths, all horsemen, mounted upon horses.
the governor who wore blue, and for his officials, who were strong and handsome, all of them men riding on 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.
So she gave herself as a prostitute to them, to all the best of Assyria's men, and she made herself unclean with everyone she lusted for—and with all their idols.
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.
For she had not left her prostitute behavior behind in Egypt, when they had slept with her when she had been a young girl, when they first began to fondle her virgin breasts, when they first began to pour out their promiscuous behavior 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 I gave her into the hand of her lovers, into the hand of the Assyrians for whom she lusted.
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.
They uncovered her nakedness, took her sons and daughters, killed her with the sword, and she became notorious among other women, so they executed judgment 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.
Her sister Oholibah saw this, but she lusted even more passionately and acted like a prostitute even more than her sister.
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.
She lusted for the Assyrians, the governors and the dominating officials who dressed impressively, who were men riding horses. All of them were strong, handsome men.
13 And I saw that she was defiled, and that they both took one way.
I saw that she had made herself unclean. It was the same for both sisters.
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,
Then she increased her prostitution even more. She saw men carved on walls, figures of Chaldeans painted in red,
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,
wearing belts around their waists, with flowing turbans on their heads. All of them had the appearance of officers of chariot troops, the likeness of sons of Babylonia, whose native land is Chaldea.
16 She doted upon them with the lust of her eyes, and she sent messengers to them into Chaldea.
As soon as her eyes saw them, she lusted for them, so she sent out messengers to them in 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.
Then the Babylonians came to her and to her bed of lust, and they made her unclean with their promiscuousness. By what she had done she was made unclean, so she turned herself away from them in disgust.
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.
When she displayed her acts of prostitution and uncovered her nakedness, I turned away from her, just as I had turned away in disgust 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.
Then she increased her prostitution as she remembered the days of her youth, when she was a prostitute 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.
So she lusted for her lovers, whose private parts were like those of donkeys, and whose reproductive emissions were like those 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.
This is how you committed shameful acts of your youth, when the Egyptians fondled your nipples and squeezed your young 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, Oholibah, the Lord Yahweh says this, 'Behold! I will turn your lovers against you. Those from whom you turned away, I will bring them against you 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 Babylonians and all the Chaldeans, Pekod, Shoa, and Koa, and all the Assyrians with them, strong, handsome men, governors and commanders, all of them are officers and men of reputation, all of them riding on horses.
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.
They will come against you with weapons, and with chariots and wagons, and with a great crowd of people. They will set large shields, small shields, and helmets against you all around. I will give them the opportunity to punish you, and they will punish you with their actions.
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.
For I will set my jealous anger on you, and they will deal with you in fury. They will cut off your noses and your ears, and your survivors will fall by the sword. They will take away your sons and your daughters, and your survivors will be devoured by fire.
26 And they shall strip thee of thy garments, and take away the instruments of thy glory.
They will strip you of your clothes and take away all of your jewelry.
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.
So I will remove your shameful behavior from you and your acts of prostitution from the land of Egypt. You will not lift up your eyes toward them with longing, and you will think of Egypt no longer.'
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 the Lord Yahweh says this, 'Behold! I will give you into the hand of the ones you hate, back into the hand of the ones from whom you had turned 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.
They will deal with you hatefully; they will take all your possessions and abandon you naked and bare, and your nakedness will be uncovered just as when you engaged in promiscuity and prostitutions.
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.
These things will be done to you in your acting like a prostitute, lusting after nations by which you became unclean with their idols.
31 Thou hast walked in the way of thy sister, and I will give her cup into thy hand.
You have walked in the way of your sister, so I will put her cup of punishment into your 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.
The Lord Yahweh says this, 'You will drink your sister's cup that is deep and large. You will become a laughingstock and a subject for derision—this cup contains a great amount.
33 Thou shalt be filled with drunkenness, and sorrow: with the cup of grief, and sadness, with the cup of thy sister Samaria.
You will be filled with drunkenness and sorrow, the cup of horror and devastation; the cup of your 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.
You will drink it and drain it empty; then you will shatter it and tear your breasts with the pieces. For I have declared it—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration.'
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, the Lord Yahweh says this, 'Because you have forgotten me and thrown me away behind your back, so also you will bear the consequences of your shameful behavior and acts of sexual immorality.'”
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?
Yahweh said to me, “Son of man, will you judge Oholah and Oholibah? So present to them their disgusting actions,
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.
since they have committed adultery, and since there is blood on their hands. They have committed adultery with their idols, and they have even caused their sons to pass through the fire, as food for their idols.
38 Yea, and they have done this to me. They polluted my sanctuary on the same day, and profaned my sabbaths.
Then they continue to do this to me: They make my sanctuary unclean, and on the same day they defile my Sabbaths.
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.
For when they had slaughtered their children for their idols, then they came to my sanctuary on the same day to defile it! So behold! This is what they have done in the middle 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.
You sent out for men who came from far away, to whom messengers had been sent—now behold. They indeed came, those for whom you bathed, painted your eyes, and adorned yourself with jewelry.
41 Thou sattest on a very fine bed, and a table was decked before thee: whereupon thou didst set my incense, and my ointment.
There you sat on a beautiful bed and at a table arranged before it where you placed my incense and my oil.
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.
So the sound of a noisy crowd was around her; including all kinds of men, even Sabeans were brought in from the wilderness, and they put bracelets on their hands and beautiful crowns on 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 I said of her who was worn out by adultery, 'Now they will be sexually immoral with her, and she with them.'
44 And they went in to her, as to a harlot: so went they in unto Oolla, and Ooliba, wicked women.
They went in to her and slept with her as men go in to be with a prostitute. In this way they slept with Oholah and Oholibah, who were immoral 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.
But righteous men will pass judgment and punish them as adulteresses, and they will punish them with the sentence for those who shed blood, because they are adulteresses 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:
So the Lord Yahweh says this: I will raise up a company against them and give them up to be terrorized and plundered.
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.
Then that company will stone them with stones and cut them down with their swords. They will kill their sons and daughters and burn down their houses.
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.
For I will remove shameful behavior from the land and discipline all the women so they will no longer act like prostitutes.
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.
So they will set your shameful behavior against you. You will bear the guilt of your sins with your idols, and in this way you will know that I am the Lord Yahweh.”
