Ezekiel 23
1 And there is a word of YHWH to me, saying, “Son of man,
And the word of the Lord came 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 played the harlot in Egypt; in their youth they played the harlot: there were their breasts pressed, and there they suffered their virgin bosoms to be touched.
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 their names were Aholah the elder, and Aholibah her sister; but they became mine, and they bore sons and daughters: and their names are, 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 while she was mine; and she longed for her lovers, for the Assyrians that were near [her],
6 Clothed with blue—governors and prefects, All of them desirable young men, Horsemen, riding on horses,
Clothed [as they were] in blue, governors, and rulers, attractive youths all of them, 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 played the harlot with them, all of them the chosen ones of the sons of Asshur: and with all for whom she longed, —with all their idols did she defile 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.
But also her lewdness from Egypt forsook she not; for they had lain with her in her youth, and they had touched her virgin bosom, and had lavished their lewd caresses on her.
9 Therefore I have given her into the hand of her lovers, Into the hand of sons of Asshur on whom she lusted.
Therefore did I give her up into the hand of her lovers, into the hand of the sons of Asshur, after whom she longed.
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 were they that laid open her nakedness; her sons and her daughters did they take away, and her they slew with the sword: and she became infamous among women, when they inflicted the decreed punishments on 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 became more corrupt in her longing than she, and in her lewd acts more than her sister's lewdness.
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.
For the sons of Asshur did she long, the governors and rulers that were near, clothed as they were most gorgeously, horsemen riding upon horses, attractive youths all of them.
13 And I see that she has been defiled, One way [is] to them both.
Then saw I that she was defiled, that they followed both one way.
14 And she adds to her whoredoms, And she sees men carved on the wall, Pictures of Chaldeans, carved with vermillion,
But she added still more to her acts of lewdness; for when she saw men engraved upon the wall, the images of the Chaldeans portrayed with color,
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.
Bound with girdles on their loins, with hanging down colored turbans on their heads, in appearance like commanders, all of them, in the likeness of the sons of Babylon of the Chaldeans, the land of their birth:
16 And she lusts on them at the sight of her eyes, And sends messengers to them, to Chaldea.
Then did she long for them as soon as she saw them with her eyes, and she sent messengers unto them to 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 sons of Babylon came to her unto the couch of love, and they defiled her with their lewd caresses; and [yet] when she had been defiled with them, she tore her soul away 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.
And when she had laid open her lewdness, and had uncovered her nakedness: then my soul tore itself away from her, as my soul had torn itself away 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 deeds of lewdness, in calling to remembrance the days of her youth, when 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.
And she longed for her paramours, whose flesh is as the flesh of asses, and whose lustfulness is like the lustfulness 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.
And thou calledst to mind the incest of thy youth, when thy bosom was touched by the Egyptians for the sake of thy youthful breasts.
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 hath said the Lord Eternal, Behold, I will wake up thy lovers against thee, from whom thy soul hath torn itself away, and I will bring them against thee from 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 sons of Babylon, and all the Chaldeans, Pekod, and Shoa and Koa, and all the sons of Asshur with them, attractive youths, governors and rulers all of them, commanders and chiefs, riding upon horses all of them.
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 over thee with weapons, chariots, and wheels, and with an assembly of people, buckler and shield and helmet shall they set up against thee round about: and I will give up before them the right to judge, and they shall judge thee according to their ordinances.
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 zealousness against thee, and they shall deal with thee in fury; thy nose and thy ears shall they cut off; and what is left of thee shall fall by the sword: thy sons and thy daughters shall they take away; and what is left of thee shall be devoured by the fire.
26 And they have stripped you of your garments, And have taken your beautiful jewels.
And they shall strip thee of thy clothes, and take away thy ornamental attire.
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 incest to cease from thee, and thy lewdness brought from the land of Egypt: and thou shalt not lift up thy eyes unto them, and Egypt shalt thou not remember 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 hath said the Lord Eternal, Behold, I will give thee up into the hand of those whom thou hatest, into the hand of those from whom thy soul hath torn itself away;
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 in hate, and shall take away all [things acquired by] thy labor, and they shall leave thee naked and bare: and thus shall be uncovered the nakedness of thy lewdness, and thy incest and thy lewd deeds.
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 with vile lust after the nations, because thou hast defiled thyself with their idols.
31 You have walked in the way of your sister, And I have given her cup into your hand.
On the way of thy sister hast thou walked; therefore will I place her cup into thy 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 hath said the Lord Eternal, The cup of thy sister shalt thou drink, the deep and wide one: thou shalt become to be laughed to scorn and to be held in derision, more than thou canst bear.
33 You are filled with drunkenness and sorrow, A cup of astonishment and desolation, The cup of your sister Samaria.
With drunkenness and sorrow shalt thou be filled, [out of] the cup of astonishment and confusion, 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 drain it out, and thou shalt break in pieces its fragments, and tear thy own breasts; for I have spoken it, saith the Lord Eternal.
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 hath said the Lord Eternal, Because thou hast forgotten me, and cast me behind thy back: therefore bear thou also thy incest and thy acts of lewdness.
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 call Aholah and Aholibah to account? then tell them of 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 there is blood on their hands, and with their idols have they committed adultery, and also their sons whom they had born unto me have they caused 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 have they done unto me: they have defiled my sanctuary on the same day, and my sabbaths have they profaned.
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,
And when they had slain their children to their idols, then came they into my sanctuary on the same day to profane it: and, lo, thus have they done in the midst of my 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 farthermore yet, because they sent for men who were to come from afar, unto whom messengers were sent; and, lo, they came, for whom thou didst bathe thyself, paint thy eyes, and deck 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 thou didst sit upon a stately bed, with a table spread before it, and my incense and my oil didst thou set upon it.
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 the shout of a peaceful joyous multitude was [heard] within her; and with the men of the masses of the common people were brought Sabeans from the wilderness; and these women placed bracelets on their hands, and crowns of glory upon their heads.
43 And I say of the worn-out one in adulteries, Now they commit her whoredoms—she also!
Then thought I of her that was worn out in adulteries, Will they now [still] commit lewdness with her, when she [is thus]?
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.
But men went in unto her, as they go in unto a faithless wife: thus went they in unto Aholah and unto Aholibah, the incestuous 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.
Righteous men, however—these shall judge them as adulteresses are judged, and as women that shed blood are judged; because adulteresses are they, and blood is on their hands.
46 For thus said Lord YHWH: Bring up an assembly against them, And give them to trembling and to spoiling.
For thus hath said the Lord Eternal, I will bring up against them an assemblage of men, and I will give them up to ill-usage and plunder.
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 assemblage shall stone them with stones, and cut them down with their swords: their sons and their daughters shall they slay, and their houses shall they burn 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 incest to cease out of the land, that all women may be warned by example, and not do after your incestuous course.
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 lay your incest upon you, and the sins of your idols shall ye bear: and ye shall know that I am the Lord Eternal.
