Ezekiel 23

1 A message from the Lord came to me, saying,

And there is a word of YHWH to me, saying, “Son of man,

2 “Son of man, there were once two women. They were daughters of the same mother.

Two women were 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 go whoring in Egypt, They have gone whoring in their youth, There they have bruised their breasts, And there they have dealt with the loves 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 [are] Aholah the older, And Aholibah her sister, And they are Mine, and bear sons and daughters. As for their names—Samaria [is] Aholah, And Jerusalem [is] Aholibah.

5 Oholah prostituted herself while she was still married to me. She wanted to have sex with her lovers, the Assyrians.

And Aholah goes whoring under Me, and she lusts on her lovers, on the neighboring Assyrians,

6 They were soldiers dressed in blue, leaders and commanders, all of them handsome young men in the cavalry.

Clothed with blue—governors and prefects, All of them desirable young men, Horsemen, riding 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 gives her whoredoms on them, The choice of the sons of Asshur, All of them—even all on whom she lusted, She has been defiled by all their idols.

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 forsaken her whoredoms out of Egypt, For with her they lay in her youth, And they dealt with the loves of her virginity, And they pour out their whoredoms on her.

9 So I handed her over to her lovers, the Assyrians she wanted to have sex with.

Therefore I have given her into the hand of her lovers, Into the hand of sons of Asshur on 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.

They have uncovered her nakedness, They have taken her sons and her daughters, And they have slain her by sword, And she is a name for women, And they have done judgments with 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 Aholibah sees, And she makes her unhealthy love more corrupt than she, And her whoredoms 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 has lusted on sons of Asshur, Governors and prefects, Neighboring ones—clothed in perfection, Horsemen, riding on horses, All of them desirable young men.

13 I saw that she had also made herself unclean—both sisters were doing the same thing.

And I see that she has been defiled, One way [is] to them both.

14 However, Oholibah's prostitution was even worse. She saw pictures of Babylonian soldiers wearing bright red uniforms painted on the wall.

And she adds to her whoredoms, And she sees men carved on the wall, Pictures of Chaldeans, carved with vermillion,

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 a girdle on their loins, Dyed attire spread out on their heads, The appearance of rulers—all of them, The likeness of sons of Babylon, Chaldea is the land of their birth.

16 When she saw the paintings of them, she wanted to have sex with them and sent messengers to them in Chaldea.

And she lusts on them at the sight of her eyes, And sends messengers to them, to 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 sons of Babylon come in to her, To the bed of loves, And they defile her with their whoredoms, And she is defiled with them, And her soul is 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 reveals her whoredoms, And she reveals her nakedness, And My soul is alienated from off her, As My soul was alienated from off her sister.

19 But she practiced even more prostitution, remembering how she'd been a prostitute in Egypt when she was young.

And she multiplies her whoredoms, To remember the days of her youth, When she went whoring 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 lusts on their lovers, Whose flesh [is] the flesh of donkeys, And the emission of horses—their emission.

21 You went back to the indecent acts when you were young, when the Egyptians squeezed your nipples and fondled your young breasts.

You look after the wickedness of your youth, In dealing out of Egypt your loves, For the sake of the breasts of your 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, O Aholibah, thus said Lord YHWH: Behold, I am stirring up your lovers against you, From whom your soul has been alienated, And have brought them in against you from all around.

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.

Sons of Babylon, and of all Chaldea, Pekod, and Shoa, and Koa, All the sons of Asshur with them, Desirable young men, governors and prefects, All of them—rulers and proclaimed ones, All of them riding on 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 have come in against you, With arms, rider, and wheel, And with an assembly of peoples; Buckler, and shield, and helmet, They set against you all around, And I have set judgment before them, They have judged you in 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 have set My jealousy against you, And they have dealt with you in fury, They turn aside your nose and your ears, And your posterity falls by sword, They take away your sons and your daughters, And your posterity is devoured by fire.

26 They will tear off your clothes and take your beautiful jewelry.

And they have stripped you of your garments, And have taken your beautiful 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 have caused your wickedness to cease from you, And your whoredoms out of the land of Egypt, And you do not lift up your eyes to them, And you do not remember Egypt again.

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 said Lord YHWH: Behold, I am giving you into a hand that you have hated, Into a hand from which you were 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 have dealt with you in hatred, And they have taken all your labor, And they have left you naked and bare, And the nakedness of your whoredoms has been revealed, And the wickedness of your whoredoms.

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.

To do these things to you, In your going whoring after nations, Because you have been defiled with their idols,

31 Because you did what your sister did, I will give you her cup to drink.

You have walked in the way of your sister, And I have given 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.

Thus said Lord YHWH: You drink the cup of your sister, The deep and the wide one (You are for laughter and for scorn), Abundant to contain.

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 are filled with drunkenness and sorrow, A cup of astonishment and desolation, 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 you have drunk it, and have drained [it], And you gnaw its earthen ware, And you pluck off your own breasts, For I have spoken, A declaration of Lord YHWH,

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 said Lord YHWH: Because you have forgotten Me, And you cast Me behind your back, Even you also bear your wickedness and your whoredoms.”

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 YHWH says to me, “Son of man, Do you judge Aholah and Aholibah? Then declare their abominations to them.

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, They committed adultery with their idols, And also their sons whom they bore to Me, They caused to pass over to them for food.

38 They also did this to me: On the very same day they both made my sanctuary unclean and violated my Sabbaths.

Again, they have done this to Me, They defiled My sanctuary in that day, And they have defiled 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 in their slaughtering their sons to their idols They also come into My sanctuary in that day to defile it, And behold, thus they have 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 also that they send to men coming from afar, To whom a messenger is sent, And behold, they have come in for whom you have washed, Painted your eyes, and put on adornment.

41 You sat on an expensive couch, with my incense and my oil on a table placed in front of it.

And you have sat on a couch of honor, And a table arrayed before it, And placed My incense and My oil on it.

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 at ease [is] with her, And Sabeans from the wilderness are brought in to men of the common people, And they put bracelets on their hands, And a beautiful crown 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 say of the worn-out one in adulteries, Now they commit her whoredoms—she also!

44 So they had sex with her like a prostitute. They had sex with Oholah and Oholibah, those immoral women.

And they come in to her, As the coming in to a whorish woman, So they have come in to Aholah, And to Aholibah—the 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.

As for righteous men, they judge them with the judgment of adulteresses, And the judgment of women shedding 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 said Lord YHWH: Bring up an assembly against them, And give them to trembling and to spoiling.

47 The mob will stone them and kill them with their swords, slaughtering their sons and daughters and burning down their houses.

And they have cast the stone of the assembly at them, And cut them with their swords, They slay their sons and their daughters, And they 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 have caused wickedness to cease from the land, And all the women have been instructed, And they do not do according to your wickedness.

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 have put your wickedness on you, And you bear the sins of your idols, And you have known that I [am] Lord YHWH!”