Ezekiel 23
1 A message from the Lord came to me, saying,
And the word of Jehovah came unto me, 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.
And they committed whoredom in Egypt; they committed whoredom in their youth: there were their breasts pressed, and there were handled the teats of their virginity.
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.
And their names were Oholah the elder, and Oholibah her sister; and they were mine, and they bore 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 played the harlot when she was mine; and she lusted after her lovers, after the Assyrians [her] neighbours,
6 They were soldiers dressed in blue, leaders and commanders, all of them handsome young men in the cavalry.
clothed with blue, governors and rulers, all of them attractive young men, horsemen riding upon 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 bestowed her whoredoms upon them, all of them the choice of the children of Asshur; and with all after whom she lusted, with all their idols she defiled herself.
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.
Neither left she her whoredoms [brought] from Egypt; for in her youth they had lain with her, and had handled the breasts of her virginity, and poured their fornication upon her.
9 So I handed her over to her lovers, the Assyrians she wanted to have sex with.
Therefore I gave her into the hand of her lovers, into the hand of the children of Asshur, after whom she lusted.
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.
These discovered her nakedness, they took her sons and her daughters, and slew her with the sword; and she became a name among women; and they executed judgment upon her.
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], and was more corrupt in her passion than she, and in her fornications more than the whoredoms 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 lusted after the children of Asshur [her] neighbours, governors and rulers, clothed most gorgeously, horsemen riding upon horses, all of them attractive young men.
13 I saw that she had also made herself unclean—both sisters were doing the same thing.
And I saw that she was defiled: both took one way.
14 However, Oholibah's prostitution was even worse. She saw pictures of Babylonian soldiers wearing bright red uniforms painted on the wall.
And she increased her fornications; for she saw men portrayed upon the wall, the images of the Chaldeans portrayed with vermilion,
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.
girded with girdles upon their loins, with flowing turbans on their heads, all of them captains in appearance, [after] the likeness of the children of Babylon, of Chaldea, the land of their nativity.
16 When she saw the paintings of them, she wanted to have sex with them and sent messengers to them in Chaldea.
And as soon as she saw them with her eyes, she lusted after them, and sent messengers unto them into Chaldea.
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 children of Babylon came to her into the bed of love, and they defiled her with their fornication; she too defiled herself with them, and her soul was alienated 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.
And she discovered her whoredoms, and discovered her nakedness; and my soul was alienated from her, like as my soul was alienated from her sister.
19 But she practiced even more prostitution, remembering how she'd been a prostitute in Egypt when she was young.
Yet she multiplied her whoredoms, calling to remembrance the days of her youth, wherein she played the harlot 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 lusted after their paramours, whose flesh is [as] the flesh of asses, and whose issue is [as] the issue 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 thou didst look back to the lewdness of thy youth, in the handling of thy teats by the Egyptians, for the breasts of thy youth.
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:
Therefore, Oholibah, thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I will raise up thy lovers against thee, from whom thy soul is alienated, and I will bring them against thee 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 children of Babylon, and all the Chaldeans, Pekod and Shoa and Koa, all the children of Asshur with them; all of them attractive young men, governors and rulers, great lords and renowned, all of them riding upon horses.
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 shall come against thee [with] armour, chariots and wheels, and with an assemblage of peoples; they shall set themselves against thee [with] target, and shield, and helmet round about; and I will put judgment before them, and they shall judge thee according to their judgments.
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 I will set my jealousy against thee, and they shall deal furiously with thee: they shall cut off thy nose and thine ears, and thy remnant shall fall by the sword; they shall take thy sons and thy daughters; and thy residue shall be devoured by the fire.
26 They will tear off your clothes and take your beautiful jewelry.
They shall also strip the of thy garments, and take away thy fair jewels.
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.
And I will make thy lewdness to cease from thee, and thy whoredom [brought] from the land of Egypt; and thou shalt not lift up thine eyes unto them, nor remember Egypt any more.
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 thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I will give thee over into the hand of them whom thou hatest, into the hand of them from whom thy soul is alienated.
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 shall deal with thee in hatred, and shall take away all thy labour, and shall leave thee naked and bare; so that the nakedness of thy whoredoms shall be discovered, both thy lewdness and thy fornications.
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.
These things shall be done unto thee, because thou hast gone a whoring after the nations, because thou hast defiled thyself with their idols.
31 Because you did what your sister did, I will give you her cup to drink.
Thou hast walked in the way of thy sister; and I have given her cup into thy 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.
Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Thou shalt drink of thy sister's cup deep and large; thou shalt be for a laughing-stock and a derision, [for] it containeth much.
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.
Thou shalt be filled with drunkenness and sorrow, with the cup of astonishment and desolation, the cup of thy 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.
thou shalt even drink it and suck it out, and thou shalt gnaw the sherds thereof, and pluck off thine own breasts: for I have spoken [it], saith the Lord Jehovah.
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.”
Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Because thou hast forgotten me, and cast me behind thy back, therefore bear thou also thy lewdness and thy fornications.
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!
And Jehovah said unto me, Son of man, wilt thou judge Oholah and Oholibah? yea, declare unto them their abominations.
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 they have committed adultery, and blood is in their hands; and with their idols have they committed adultery, and have also passed over unto them their children, whom they bore unto me, to be devoured.
38 They also did this to me: On the very same day they both made my sanctuary unclean and violated my Sabbaths.
Moreover this have they done unto me: in the same day have they defiled my sanctuary and profaned my sabbaths.
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 they had slaughtered their children unto their idols, they came the same day into my sanctuary to profane it; and behold, thus have they done in the midst of 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 furthermore, they sent for men to come from far, unto whom a messenger was sent; and behold, they came: for whom thou didst wash thyself, paintedst thine eyes, and deckedst thyself with ornaments;
41 You sat on an expensive couch, with my incense and my oil on a table placed in front of it.
and satest upon a stately bed, with a table prepared before it, whereupon thou hadst set mine incense and mine 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 the voice of a multitude living carelessly was with her; and with people of the common sort were brought Sabeans from the wilderness, and they put bracelets upon their hands, and a beautiful crown upon their heads.
43 Then I said about the old worn-out woman, ‘Now they can have her as a prostitute because that's what she is!’
And I said of her that was old in adulteries, Will she now commit her fornications, even she.
44 So they had sex with her like a prostitute. They had sex with Oholah and Oholibah, those immoral women.
And they went in unto her, as they go in unto a whorish woman: so went they in unto Oholah and unto Oholibah the lewd women.
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 righteous men, they shall judge them with the judgment of adulteresses, and with the judgment of women that shed blood; for they are adulteresses, and blood is in their hands.
46 This is what the Lord God says: Have a mob attack them! Make them terrified and rob them.
For thus saith the Lord Jehovah: I will bring up an assemblage against them, and will give them to be driven hither and thither and spoiled.
47 The mob will stone them and kill them with their swords, slaughtering their sons and daughters and burning down their houses.
And the assemblage shall stone them with stones, and despatch them with their swords; they shall kill their sons and their daughters, and burn their houses 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 cause lewdness to cease out of the land, and all women shall receive instruction and shall not do according to your lewdness.
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 they shall recompense your lewdness upon you, and ye shall bear the sins of your idols; and ye shall know that I [am] the Lord Jehovah.
