Ezekiel 23

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

The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying,

2 Two women were daughters of one mother,

Son of man, there were two women, the daughters of one mother:

3 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.

And they committed whoredoms in Egypt; they committed whoredoms in their youth: there were their breasts pressed, and there they bruised the teats of their virginity.

4 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.

And the names of them [were] Aholah the elder, and Aholibah her sister: and they were mine, and they bare sons and daughters. Thus [were] their names; Samaria [is] Aholah, and Jerusalem Aholibah.

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

And Aholah played the harlot when she was mine; and she doted on her lovers, on the Assyrians [her] neighbours,

6 Clothed with blue—governors and prefects, All of them desirable young men, Horsemen, riding on horses,

[Which were] clothed with blue, captains and rulers, all of them desirable young men, horsemen riding upon horses.

7 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.

Thus she committed her whoredoms with them, with all them [that were] the chosen men of Assyria, and with all on whom she doted: with all their idols she defiled herself.

8 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.

Neither left she her whoredoms [brought] from Egypt: for in her youth they lay with her, and they bruised the breasts of her virginity, and poured their whoredom upon her.

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

Wherefore I have delivered her into the hand of her lovers, into the hand of the Assyrians, upon whom she doted.

10 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.

These discovered her nakedness: they took her sons and her daughters, and slew her with the sword: and she became famous among women; for they had executed judgment upon her.

11 And her sister Aholibah sees, And she makes her unhealthy love more corrupt than she, And her whoredoms than the whoredoms of her sister.

And when her sister Aholibah saw [this], she was more corrupt in her inordinate love than she, and in her whoredoms more than her sister in [her] whoredoms.

12 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.

She doted upon the Assyrians [her] neighbours, captains and rulers clothed most gorgeously, horsemen riding upon horses, all of them desirable young men.

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

Then I saw that she was defiled, [that] they [took] both one way,

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

And [that] she increased her whoredoms: for when she saw men pourtrayed upon the wall, the images of the Chaldeans pourtrayed with vermilion,

15 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.

Girded with girdles upon their loins, exceeding in dyed attire upon their heads, all of them princes to look to, after the manner of the Babylonians of Chaldea, the land of their nativity:

16 And she lusts on them at the sight of her eyes, And sends messengers to them, to Chaldea.

And as soon as she saw them with her eyes, she doted upon them, and sent messengers unto them into Chaldea.

17 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.

And the Babylonians came to her into the bed of love, and they defiled her with their whoredom, and she was polluted with them, and her mind was alienated from them.

18 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.

So she discovered her whoredoms, and discovered her nakedness: then my mind was alienated from her, like as my mind was alienated from her sister.

19 And she multiplies her whoredoms, To remember the days of her youth, When she went whoring in the land of Egypt.

Yet she multiplied her whoredoms, in calling to remembrance the days of her youth, wherein she had played the harlot in the land of Egypt.

20 And she lusts on their lovers, Whose flesh [is] the flesh of donkeys, And the emission of horses—their emission.

For she doted upon their paramours, whose flesh [is as] the flesh of asses, and whose issue [is like] the issue of horses.

21 You look after the wickedness of your youth, In dealing out of Egypt your loves, For the sake of the breasts of your youth.

Thus thou calledst to remembrance the lewdness of thy youth, in bruising thy teats by the Egyptians for the paps of thy youth.

22 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.

Therefore, O Aholibah, thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will raise up thy lovers against thee, from whom thy mind is alienated, and I will bring them against thee on every side;

23 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.

The Babylonians, and all the Chaldeans, Pekod, and Shoa, and Koa, [and] all the Assyrians with them: all of them desirable young men, captains and rulers, great lords and renowned, all of them riding upon horses.

24 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.

And they shall come against thee with chariots, wagons, and wheels, and with an assembly of people, [which] shall set against thee buckler and shield and helmet round about: and I will set judgment before them, and they shall judge thee according to their judgments.

25 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.

And I will set my jealousy against thee, and they shall deal furiously with thee: they shall take away 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 And they have stripped you of your garments, And have taken your beautiful jewels.

They shall also strip thee out of thy clothes, and take away thy fair jewels.

27 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.

Thus will I make thy lewdness to cease from thee, and thy whoredom [brought] from the land of Egypt: so that thou shalt not lift up thine eyes unto them, nor remember Egypt any more.

28 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.

For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will deliver thee into the hand [of them] whom thou hatest, into the hand [of them] from whom thy mind is alienated:

29 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.

And they shall deal with thee hatefully, and shall take away all thy labour, and shall leave thee naked and bare: and the nakedness of thy whoredoms shall be discovered, both thy lewdness and thy whoredoms.

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

I will do these [things] unto thee, because thou hast gone a whoring after the heathen, [and] because thou art polluted with their idols.

31 You have walked in the way of your sister, And I have given her cup into your hand.

Thou hast walked in the way of thy sister; therefore will I give her cup into thine hand.

32 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.

Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou shalt drink of thy sister’s cup deep and large: thou shalt be laughed to scorn and had in derision; it containeth much.

33 You are filled with drunkenness and sorrow, A cup of astonishment and desolation, The cup of your sister Samaria.

Thou shalt be filled with drunkenness and sorrow, with the cup of astonishment and desolation, with the cup of thy sister Samaria.

34 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,

Thou shalt even drink it and suck [it] out, and thou shalt break the sherds thereof, and pluck off thine own breasts: for I have spoken [it], saith the Lord GOD.

35 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.”

Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou hast forgotten me, and cast me behind thy back, therefore bear thou also thy lewdness and thy whoredoms.

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

The LORD said moreover unto me; Son of man, wilt thou judge Aholah and Aholibah? yea, declare unto them their abominations;

37 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.

That they have committed adultery, and blood [is] in their hands, and with their idols have they committed adultery, and have also caused their sons, whom they bare unto me, to pass for them through [the fire], to devour [them].

38 Again, they have done this to Me, They defiled My sanctuary in that day, And they have defiled My Sabbaths.

Moreover this they have done unto me: they have defiled my sanctuary in the same day, and have profaned my sabbaths.

39 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,

For when they had slain their children to their idols, then they came the same day into my sanctuary to profane it; and, lo, thus have they done in the midst of mine house.

40 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.

And furthermore, that ye have sent for men to come from far, unto whom a messenger [was] sent; and, lo, they came: for whom thou didst wash thyself, paintedst thy eyes, and deckedst thyself with ornaments,

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

And satest upon a stately bed, and a table prepared before it, whereupon thou hast set mine incense and mine oil.

42 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.

And a voice of a multitude being at ease [was] with her: and with the men of the common sort [were] brought Sabeans from the wilderness, which put bracelets upon their hands, and beautiful crowns upon their heads.

43 And I say of the worn-out one in adulteries, Now they commit her whoredoms—she also!

Then said I unto [her that was] old in adulteries, Will they now commit whoredoms with her, and she [with them]?

44 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.

Yet they went in unto her, as they go in unto a woman that playeth the harlot: so went they in unto Aholah and unto Aholibah, the lewd women.

45 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.

And the righteous men, they shall judge them after the manner of adulteresses, and after the manner of women that shed blood; because they [are] adulteresses, and blood [is] in their hands.

46 For thus said Lord YHWH: Bring up an assembly against them, And give them to trembling and to spoiling.

For thus saith the Lord GOD; I will bring up a company upon them, and will give them to be removed and spoiled.

47 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.

And the company shall stone them with stones, and dispatch them with their swords; they shall slay their sons and their daughters, and burn up their houses with fire.

48 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.

Thus will I cause lewdness to cease out of the land, that all women may be taught not to do after your lewdness.

49 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!”

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 GOD.