< Ezekiel 23 >
1 The word of the LORD came again to me, saying,
And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying, 'Son of man,
2 Son of man, there were two women, the daughters of one mother:
Two women were daughters of one mother,
3 And they committed lewd deeds in Egypt; they committed lewd deeds in their youth: there were their breasts pressed, and there they were first corrupted.
And they go a-whoring in Egypt, In their youth they have gone a-whoring, There they have bruised their breasts, And there they have dealt with the loves of their virginity.
4 And the names of them [were] Aholah the elder, and Aholibah her sister: and they were mine, and they bore sons and daughters. Thus [were] their names; Samaria [is] Aholah, and Jerusalem Aholibah.
And their names [are] Aholah the elder, And Aholibah her sister, And they are Mine, and bear sons and daughters. As to their names — Samaria [is] Aholah, And Jerusalem [is] Aholibah.
5 And Aholah played the harlot when she was mine; and she doted on her lovers, on the Assyrians [her] neighbors.
And go a-whoring doth Aholah under Me, And she doteth on her lovers, On the neighbouring Assyrians,
6 [Who were] clothed with blue, captains and rulers, all of them desirable young men, horsemen riding upon horses.
Clothed with blue — governors and prefects, Desirable young men all of them, Horsemen, riding on horses,
7 Thus she committed her lewd deeds 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.
And she giveth her whoredoms on them, The choice of the sons of Asshur, All of them — even all on whom she doted, By all their idols she hath been defiled.
8 Neither left she her lewd deeds [brought] from Egypt: for in her youth they lay with her, and they first corrupted her, and poured their impurities upon her.
And her whoredoms out of Egypt she hath not forsaken, 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 Wherefore I have delivered her into the hand of her lovers, into the hand of the Assyrians, upon whom she doted.
Therefore I have given her into the hand of her lovers, Into the hand of sons of Asshur on whom she doted.
10 These uncovered 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.
They have uncovered her nakedness, Her sons and her daughters they have taken, And her by sword they have slain, And she is a name for women, And judgments they have done with her.
11 And when her sister Aholibah saw [this], she was more corrupt in her inordinate love than she, and in her prostitutions more than her sister in [her] prostitutions.
And see doth her sister Aholibah, And she maketh her doting love more corrupt than she, And her whoredoms than the whoredoms of her sister.
12 She doted upon the Assyrians [her] neighbors, captains and rulers clothed most gorgeously, horsemen riding upon horses, all of them desirable young men.
On sons of Asshur she hath doted, Governors and prefects, Neighbouring ones — clothed in perfection, Horsemen, riding on horses, Desirable young men all of them.
13 Then I saw that she was defiled, [that] they [took] both one way.
And I see that she hath been defiled, One way [is] to them both.
14 And [that] she increased her prostitutions: for when she saw men pourtrayed upon the wall, the images of the Chaldeans pourtrayed with vermilion.
And she doth add unto her whoredoms, And she seeth graved men on the wall, Pictures of Chaldeans, graved with red lead,
15 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:
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 And as soon as she saw them with her eyes she doted upon them, and sent messengers to them into Chaldea.
And she doteth on them at the sight of her eyes, And sendeth messengers to them, to Chaldea.
17 And the Babylonians came to her into the bed of love, and they defiled her with their lewdness, and she was polluted with them, and her mind was alienated from them.
And come in unto her do sons of Babylon, 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 So she disclosed her lewd deeds, and exposed her nakedness: then my mind was alienated from her, as my mind was alienated from her sister.
And she revealeth her whoredoms, And she revealeth her nakedness, And alienated is My soul from off her, As alienated was My soul from off her sister.
19 Yet she multiplied her prostitutions, in calling to remembrance the days of her youth, in which she had played the harlot in the land of Egypt.
And she multiplieth her whoredoms, To remember the days of her youth, When she went a-whoring in the land of Egypt.
20 For she doted upon their paramours, whose flesh [is as] the flesh of asses, and whose issue [is like] the issue of horses.
And she doteth on their paramours, Whose flesh [is] the flesh of asses, And the issue of horses — their issue.
21 Thus thou calledst to remembrance the lewdness of thy youth, by being corrupted by the Egyptians in thy youth.
Thou lookest after the wickedness of thy youth, In dealing out of Egypt thy loves, For the sake of the breasts of thy youth.
22 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;
Therefore, O Aholibah, thus said the Lord Jehovah: Lo, I am stirring up thy lovers against thee, From whom thy soul hath been alienated, And have brought them in against thee from round about.
23 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.
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, Riding on horses, all of them.
24 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 on every side: and I will set judgment before them, and they shall judge thee according to their judgments.
And they have come in against thee, With arms, rider, and wheel, And with an assembly of peoples; Target, and shield, and helmet, They do set against thee round about, And I have set before them judgment, They have judged thee in their Judgments.
25 And I will set my jealousy against thee, and they shall deal furiously with thee: they shall take away thy nose and thy 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.
And I have set My jealousy against thee, And they have dealt with thee in fury, Thy nose and thine ears they turn aside, And thy posterity by sword falleth, They, thy sons and thy daughters do take away, And thy posterity is devoured by fire.
26 They shall also strip thee of thy clothes, and take away thy fair jewels.
And they have stripped thee of thy garments, And have taken thy beauteous jewels.
27 Thus will I make thy lewdness to cease from thee, and thy adultery [brought] from the land of Egypt: so that thou shalt not lift up thy eyes to them, nor remember Egypt any more.
And I have caused thy wickedness to cease from thee, And thy whoredoms out of the land of Egypt, And thou liftest not up thine eyes unto them, And Egypt thou dost not remember again.
28 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:
For thus said the Lord Jehovah: Lo, I am giving thee into a hand that thou hast hated, Into a hand from which thou wast alienated.
29 And they shall treat thee with hatred, and shall take away all thy labor, and shall leave thee naked and bare: and the nakedness of thy prostitutions shall be disclosed, both thy lewdness and thy prostitutions.
And they have dealt with thee in hatred, And they have taken all thy labour, And they have left thee naked and bare, And revealed hath been the nakedness of thy whoredoms, And the wickedness of thy whoredoms.
30 I will do these [things] to thee, because thou hast gone astray after the heathen, [and] because thou art polluted with their idols.
To do these things to thee, In thy going a-whoring after nations, Because thou hast been defiled with their idols,
31 Thou hast walked in the way of thy sister; therefore will I give her cup into thy hand.
In the way of thy sister thou hast walked, And I have given her cup into thy hand.
32 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou shalt drink of thy sister's cup deep and large: thou shalt be treated with scorn and had in derision; it containeth much.
Thus said the Lord Jehovah: The cup of thy sister thou dost drink, The deep and the wide one, (Thou art for laughter and for scorn, ) Abundant to contain.
33 Thou shalt be filled with drunkenness and sorrow, with the cup of astonishment and desolation, with the cup of thy sister Samaria.
With drunkenness and sorrow thou art filled, A cup of astonishment and desolation, The cup of thy sister Samaria.
34 Thou shalt even drink it, and empty it to the dregs, and thou shalt break its pieces, and pluck off thy own breasts: for I have spoken [it], saith the Lord GOD.
And thou hast drunk it, and hast drained [it], And its earthen ware thou dost gnaw, And thine own breasts thou pluckest off, For I have spoken, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah,
35 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 prostitutions.
Therefore, thus said the Lord Jehovah: Because thou hast forgotten Me, And thou dost cast Me behind thy back, Even thou also bear thy wickedness and thy whoredoms.'
36 The LORD said moreover to me; Son of man, wilt thou judge Aholah and Aholibah? yes, declare to them their abominations;
And Jehovah saith unto me, 'Son of man, Dost thou judge Aholah and Aholibah? Declare then to them their abominations.
37 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 bore to me, to pass for them through [the fire], to devour [them].
For they have committed adultery, And blood [is] in their hands, With their idols they committed adultery, And also their sons whom they bore to Me, They caused to pass over to them for food.
38 Moreover this they have done to me: they have defiled my sanctuary in the same day, and have profaned my sabbaths.
Again, this they have done to Me, They defiled My sanctuary in that day, And My sabbaths they have polluted.
39 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 my house.
And in their slaughtering their sons to their idols They also come in unto My sanctuary in that day to pollute it, And lo, thus they have done in the midst of My house,
40 And furthermore, that ye have sent for men to come from far, to whom a messenger [was] sent; and lo, they came: for whom thou didst wash thyself, paint thy eyes, and deck thyself with ornaments,
And also that they send to men coming from afar, Unto whom a messenger is sent, And lo, they have come in for whom thou hast washed, Painted thine eyes, and put on adornment.
41 And sattest upon a stately bed and a table prepared before it, upon which thou hast set my incense and my oil.
And thou hast sat on a couch of honour, And a table arrayed before it, And My perfume and My oil placed on it.
42 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, who put bracelets upon their hands, and beautiful crowns upon their heads.
And the voice of a multitude at ease [is] with her, And unto men of the common people are brought in Sabeans from the wilderness, And they put bracelets on their hands, And a beauteous crown on their heads.
43 Then said I to [her that was] old in adulteries, Will they now commit lewd deeds with her, and she [with them]?
And I say of the worn-out one in adulteries, Now they commit her whoredoms — she also!
44 Yet they went in to her, as they go in to a woman that playeth the harlot: so they went in to Aholah and to Aholibah, the lewd women.
And they come in unto her, As the coming in unto a whorish woman, So they have come in unto Aholah, And unto Aholibah — the wicked women.
45 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.
As to 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 For thus saith the Lord GOD; I will bring up a company upon them, and will give them to be removed and plundered.
For thus said the Lord Jehovah: Bring up against them an assembly, And give them to trembling and to spoiling.
47 And the company shall stone them with stones, and dispatch them with their swords; they shall slay their sons and their daughters, and burn their houses with fire.
And they have cast at them the stone of the assembly, And cut them with their swords, Their sons and their daughters they do slay, And their houses with fire they burn.
48 Thus will I cause lewdness to cease out of the land, that all women may be taught not to do after your lewdness.
And I have caused wickedness to cease from the land, And instructed have been all the women, And they do not according to your wickedness.
49 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.
And they have put your wickedness on you, And the sins of your idols ye bear, And ye have known that I [am] the Lord Jehovah!