Ezekiel 23
1 A message from the Lord came to me, saying,
And the word of the Lord came to 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 fornication in Egypt, in their youth they committed fornication: there were their breasts pressed down, and the teats of their virginity were bruised.
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 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.
5 Oholah prostituted herself while she was still married to me. She wanted to have sex with her lovers, the Assyrians.
And Oolla committed fornication against me, and doted on her lovers, on the Assyrians that came to her,
6 They were soldiers dressed in blue, leaders and commanders, all of them handsome young men in the cavalry.
Who were clothed with blue, princes, and rulers, beautiful youths, all horsemen, mounted 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 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.
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.
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.
9 So I handed her over to her lovers, the Assyrians she wanted to have sex with.
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.
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.
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.
11 Oholibah saw what happened to her sister, but she became even worse than her in her wanting sex and practicing prostitution.
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.
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.
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.
13 I saw that she had also made herself unclean—both sisters were doing the same thing.
And I saw that she was defiled, and that they 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: and when she had seen men painted on the wall, the images of the Chaldeans set forth in colours,
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.
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,
16 When she saw the paintings of them, she wanted to have sex with them and sent messengers to them in Chaldea.
She doted upon them with the lust of her eyes, and she sent messengers to 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 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.
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 fornications, and discovered her disgrace: and my soul was alienated from her, 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.
For she multiplied her fornications, remembering the days of her youth, in which 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 was mad with lust after lying with them whose flesh is as the flesh of asses: and whose issue 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 hast renewed the wickedness of thy youth, when thy breasts were pressed in Egypt, and the papa of thy virginity broken.
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, 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.
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, 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.
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 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.
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, 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.
26 They will tear off your clothes and take your beautiful jewelry.
And they shall strip thee of thy garments, and take away the instruments of thy glory.
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 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.
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 God: Behold, I will deliver thee into the hands of them whom thou hatest, into their hands with whom thy soul hath been glutted.
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 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.
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 have done these things to thee, because thou hast played the harlot with the nations among which thou wast defiled 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 will give 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 God: Thou shalt drink thy sister’s cup, deep, and wide: thou shalt be had in derision and scorn, which containeth very 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 grief, and sadness, with 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.
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.
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 God: Because thou hast forgotten me, and hast cast me off behind thy back, bear thou also thy wickedness, 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 the Lord spoke to me, saying: Son of man, dost thou judge Oolla, and Ooliba, and dost thou declare to them their wicked deeds?
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.
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.
38 They also did this to me: On the very same day they both made my sanctuary unclean and violated my Sabbaths.
Yea, and they have done this to me. They polluted my sanctuary on the same day, 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!
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.
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.
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.
41 You sat on an expensive couch, with my incense and my oil on a table placed in front of it.
Thou sattest on a very fine bed, and a table was decked before thee: whereupon thou didst set my incense, and my ointment.
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 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.
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 to her that was worn out in her adulteries: Now will this woman still continue in her fornication.
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 to a harlot: so went they in unto Oolla, and Ooliba, wicked 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.
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.
46 This is what the Lord God says: Have a mob attack them! Make them terrified and rob them.
For thus saith the Lord God: Bring a multitude upon them, and deliver them over to tumult and rapine:
47 The mob will stone them and kill them with their swords, slaughtering their sons and daughters and burning down their houses.
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.
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 take away wickedness out of the land: and all women shall learn, not to do according to the wickedness of them.
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 render your wickedness upon you, and you shall bear the sins of your idols: and you shall know that I am the Lord God.
