Ezekiel 23
1 A message from the Lord came to me, saying,
The word of the Lord came to me again, saying,
2 “Son of man, there were once two women. They were daughters of the same mother.
Son of man, there were two women, daughters of one mother:
3 They became prostitutes in Egypt. In fact, they were prostitutes from the time they were young. They allowed their virgin breasts to be fondled and their nipples squeezed.
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.
4 The older girl was called Oholah, and her sister Oholibah. I married them both and they had sons and daughters. Oholah represents Samaria, and Oholibah represents Jerusalem.
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.
5 Oholah prostituted herself while she was still married to me. She wanted to have sex with her lovers, the Assyrians.
And Oholah was untrue to me when she was mine; she was full of desire for her lovers, even for the Assyrians, her neighbours,
6 They were soldiers dressed in blue, leaders and commanders, all of them handsome young men in the cavalry.
Who were clothed in blue, captains and rulers, all of them young men to be desired, horsemen seated on horses.
7 She gave away herself sexually to all the important men of Assyria. She made herself unclean by her worship of all the idols of those men she wanted to have sex with.
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.
8 She didn't stop her prostitution that she started in Egypt—men sleeping with her when she was young, squeezing her virgin breasts and using her to satisfy their sexual appetite.
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.
9 So I handed her over to her lovers, the Assyrians she wanted to have sex with.
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.
10 They stripped her naked, took away her sons and daughters, and killed her with the sword. She became infamous among women, and they punished her.
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.
11 Oholibah saw what happened to her sister, but she became even worse than her in her wanting sex and practicing prostitution.
And her sister Oholibah saw this, but her desire was even more unmeasured, and her loose behaviour was worse than that of her sister.
12 She also wanted to have sex with the Assyrians: their leaders and commanders, their splendidly-dressed soldiers—all of them handsome young men in the cavalry.
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.
13 I saw that she had also made herself unclean—both sisters were doing the same thing.
And I saw that she had become unclean; the two of them went the same way.
14 However, Oholibah's prostitution was even worse. She saw pictures of Babylonian soldiers wearing bright red uniforms painted on the wall.
And her loose behaviour became worse; for she saw men pictured on a wall, pictures of the Chaldaeans painted in bright red,
15 They were wearing belts on their waists and large turbans on their heads. They all looked like Babylonian officers in Chaldea, the country where they were born.
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.
16 When she saw the paintings of them, she wanted to have sex with them and sent messengers to them in Chaldea.
And when she saw them she was full of desire for them, and sent servants to them in Chaldaea.
17 The Babylonians came to her and her love bed, and made her unclean with their sexual desire. However, after she had been dishonored by them, she rejected them in disgust.
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.
18 When Oholibah so blatantly prostituted herself, exposing herself naked, I turned away from her in disgust, just as I had done to her sister.
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.
19 But she practiced even more prostitution, remembering how she'd been a prostitute in Egypt when she was young.
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.
20 She wanted to have sex with her lovers who had genitals like donkeys and who ejaculated like stallions.
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.
21 You went back to the indecent acts when you were young, when the Egyptians squeezed your nipples and fondled your young breasts.
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.
22 So Oholibah, this is what the Lord God says: I'm going to encourage your lovers to attack you, those you rejected in disgust. I will bring them to attack you from every direction:
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;
23 the Babylonians and all the Chaldeans, the men of Pekod, Shoa, and Koa, and all the Assyrians along with them—all handsome young men, leaders and commanders, chariot captains and important officers, all riding horses.
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.
24 They will attack you from the north, invading with a great army, chariots, and wagons. They will come with their shields and helmets and surround you. I will hand you over to them for punishment, and they will judge and punish you following their own laws.
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.
25 I feel so strongly about what you've done that I will oppose you, and they will treat you very badly. They will cut off your noses and ears, and they will kill those of you who are left. They will take away your sons and daughters as prisoners, and those of you who are left will be destroyed by fire.
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.
26 They will tear off your clothes and take your beautiful jewelry.
And they will take all your clothing off you and take away your ornaments.
27 I'm going to put a stop to your immorality and prostitution, which started in Egypt. You won't think longingly about those times, and you'll forget all about Egypt.
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.
28 For this is what the Lord God says: Believe it when I say that I'm going to hand you over to the people you hate, the ones you rejected in disgust.
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:
29 They will treat you with hatred. They will take away everything you've worked for, leaving you stark naked with nothing, so that so that the indecent acts of your prostitution will be exposed. Your immorality and prostitution
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.
30 is why all this has happened to you, because you acted as a prostitute with the nations and made yourself unclean by worshiping their idols.
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.
31 Because you did what your sister did, I will give you her cup to drink.
You have gone in the way of your sister; and I will give her cup into your hand.
32 This is what the Lord God says: You will drink from your sister's cup—a large, deep cup. You will be laughed at and insulted. You'll have to endure much of this.
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.
33 It will make you drunk and full of grief because it's a cup of that brings horror and destruction, the cup your sister Samaria drank from.
You will be broken and full of sorrow, with the cup of wonder and destruction, with the cup of your sister Samaria.
34 You will drink it all down, smash it to pieces on the ground, and tear at your breasts. This is what I have spoken, declares the Lord God.
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.
35 In summary this is what the Lord God says: Because you have forgotten about me and have ignored me, you will have to experience the consequences of your immorality and prostitution.”
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.
36 Then the Lord said to me: “Son of man, are you going to condemn Oholah and Oholibah? Expose the disgusting things they've done!
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.
37 For they have committed adultery, and they are guilty of murder. They have committed adultery with their idols, and have even offered their children, whom they had for me, as sacrifices to their idols.
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.
38 They also did this to me: On the very same day they both made my sanctuary unclean and violated my Sabbaths.
Further, this is what she has done to me: she has made my holy place unclean and has made my Sabbaths unclean.
39 On very day that they killed their children for their idols, they went my sanctuary and made it unclean. Look at what they did right inside my Temple!
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.
40 They even kept on sending messengers for men to come from far away. When the men arrived, you would get yourselves ready for them by bathing, doing your eye makeup, and putting in your jewelry.
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.
41 You sat on an expensive couch, with my incense and my oil on a table placed in front of it.
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.
42 The room was full of the noise of people partying. Drunk men were brought in from the desert along with some common people and they put bracelets on your wrists and beautiful crowns on your head.
... and they put jewels on her hands and beautiful crowns on her head.
43 Then I said about the old worn-out woman, ‘Now they can have her as a prostitute because that's what she is!’
Then I said ... now she will go on with her loose ways.
44 So they had sex with her like a prostitute. They had sex with Oholah and Oholibah, those immoral women.
And they went in to her, as men go to a loose woman: so they went in to Oholibah, the loose woman.
45 But men who believe in what's right will judge them and impose the punishment for committing commit adultery and murder, because they are adulterers and murderers.
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.
46 This is what the Lord God says: Have a mob attack them! Make them terrified and rob them.
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.
47 The mob will stone them and kill them with their swords, slaughtering their sons and daughters and burning down their houses.
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.
48 This is how I will put an end to immorality in the country, and all the women will be warned not to do what you have done.
And I will put an end to evil in all the land, teaching all women not to do as you have done.
49 They will punish you for your immorality, and you will have to experience the consequences of your idol worship. Then you will know that I am the Lord God.”
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.
