Ezekiel 23
1 And the word of the Lord was maad to me,
Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
2 and he seide, Thou, sone of man, twei wymmen weren the douytris of o modir, and diden fornycacioun in Egipt;
“Son of man, there were two women, daughters of the same mother,
3 in her yonge wexynge age thei diden fornicacioun; there the brestis of hem weren maad low, and the tetis of the tyme of mariage of hem weren brokun.
and they played in Egypt, prostituting themselves from their youth. Their breasts were fondled there, and their virgin bosoms caressed.
4 Forsothe the names of hem ben, Oolla, the more sistir, and Ooliba the lesse sistir of hir. And Y hadde hem, and thei childiden sones and douytris; certis the names of hem ben Samarie Oolla, and Jerusalem Ooliba.
The older was named Oholah, and her sister was named Oholibah. They became Mine and gave birth to sons and daughters. As for their identities, Oholah is Samaria, and Oholibah is Jerusalem.
5 Therfor Oolla dide fornicacioun on me, and was wood on hir louyeris, on Assiriens neiyinge,
Oholah prostituted herself while she was still Mine. She lusted after her lovers, the Assyrians—warriors
6 clothid with iacinct, princes, and magistratis, yonge men of coueytise, alle kniytis, and stieris of horsis.
clothed in blue, governors and commanders, all desirable young men, horsemen mounted on steeds.
7 And sche yaf hir fornicaciouns on hem, on alle the chosun sones of Assiriens; and in alle on whiche sche was wood, sche was defoulid in the vnclennessis of hem.
She offered sexual favors to all the elite of Assyria. She defiled herself with all the idols of those for whom she lusted.
8 Ferthermore and sche lefte not hir fornicaciouns, whiche sche hadde in Egipt; for whi and thei slepten with hir in the yongthe of hir, and thei braken the tetis of the tyme of mariage of hir, and thei scheden out her fornicacioun on hir.
She did not give up the prostitution she began in Egypt, when men slept with her in her youth, caressed her virgin bosom, and poured out their lust upon her.
9 Therfor Y yaf hir in to the hondis of hir louyeris, in to the hondis of the sones of Assur, on whos letcherie sche was wood.
Therefore I delivered her into the hands of her lovers, the Assyrians for whom she lusted.
10 Thei diskyueriden the schenschipe of hir; thei token awei the sones and the douytris of hir, and killiden hir with swerd; and the wymmen weren maad famouse, that is, sclaundrid, and thei diden domes in hir.
They exposed her nakedness, seized her sons and daughters, and put her to the sword. Thus she became a byword among women, and they executed judgment against her.
11 And whanne hir sistir Ooliba hadde seyn this, sche was wood in letcherie more than that sistre, and yaf vnschamefastli hir fornicacioun on the fornicacioun of hir sistre,
Her sister Oholibah saw this, yet in her lust and prostitution she was more depraved than her sister.
12 to the sones of Assiriens, to duykis and magistratis comynge to hir, that weren clothid with dyuerse cloth, to knyytis that weren borun on horsis, and to yonge men with noble schap, to alle men.
She too lusted after the Assyrians—governors and commanders, warriors dressed in splendor, horsemen riding on steeds, all desirable young men.
13 And Y siy that o weie of both sistris was defoulid,
And I saw that she too had defiled herself; both of them had taken the same path.
14 and sche encreesside hir fornycaciouns. And whanne sche hadde seyn men peyntid in the wal, the ymagis of Caldeis expressid with colouris,
But Oholibah carried her prostitution even further. She saw the men portrayed on the wall, images of the Chaldeans, engraved in vermilion,
15 and gird on the reynes with kniytis girdlis, and cappis peyntid in the heedis of hem, the foormes of alle duykis, the licnesse of the sones of Babiloyne, and of the lond of Caldeis, in which thei weren borun;
wearing belts on their waists and flowing turbans on their heads; all of them looked like officers of the Babylonians in Chaldea, the land of their birth.
16 sche was wood on hem bi coueitise of hir iyen, and sche sente messangeris to hem in to Caldee.
At the sight of them, she lusted for them and sent messengers to them in Chaldea.
17 And whanne the sones of Babiloyne weren comun to hir, to the bed of tetis, thei defouliden hir in her letcheries of virgyns; and sche was defoulid of hem, and the soule of hir was fillid of hem.
Then the Babylonians came to her, to the bed of love, and in their lust they defiled her. But after she had been defiled by them, she turned away in disgust.
18 Also sche made nakid hir fornicaciouns, and diskyuered hir schenschipe; and my soule yede awei fro hir, as my soule hadde go awei fro hir sistir.
When Oholibah openly prostituted herself and exposed her nakedness, I turned away from her in disgust, just as I had turned away from her sister.
19 For sche multiplied hir fornicaciouns, and hadde mynde on the daies of hir yongthe, in whiche sche dide fornicacioun in the lond of Egipt.
Yet she multiplied her promiscuity, remembering the days of her youth, when she had prostituted herself in the land of Egypt
20 And sche was wood in letcherie on the liggyng bi of hem, whos fleischis ben as the fleischis of assis, and as the membris of horsis ben the membris of hem.
and lusted after their lovers, whose genitals were like those of donkeys and whose emission was like that of stallions.
21 And thou visitidist the grete trespas of thi yongthe, whanne thi brestis weren maad low in Egipt, and the tetis of the tyme of thi mariage weren brokun.
So you revisited the indecency of your youth, when the Egyptians caressed your bosom and pressed your young breasts.
22 Therfor, thou Ooliba, the Lord God seith these thingis, Lo! Y schal reise alle thi louyeris ayens thee, of whiche thi soule was fillid, and Y schal gadere hem ayens thee in cumpas;
Therefore, Oholibah, this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘I will incite your lovers against you, those from whom you turned away in disgust. And I will bring them against you from every side—
23 the sones of Babiloyne, and alle Caldeis, noble and miyti men, and princes, alle the sones of Assiriens, and yonge men of noble foorme, duykis, and magistratis, alle princes of princes, and named stieris of horsis.
the Babylonians and all the Chaldeans, the men of Pekod, Shoa, and Koa, and all the Assyrians with them—all desirable young men, governors and commanders, officers and men of renown, mounted on horses.
24 And thei araied with chare and wheel schulen come on thee, the multitude of puplis schulen be armed with haburioun, and scheeld, and basynet, ayens thee on ech side; and Y schal yyue doom bifor hem, and thei schulen deme thee bi her domes.
They will come against you with a host of peoples, with weapons, chariots, and wagons. They will array themselves against you on every side with buckler and shield and helmet. I will delegate judgment to them, and they will punish you according to their own standards.
25 And Y schal sette my feruour in thee, which thei schulen vse with thee in woodnesse; thei schulen kitte awei thi nose and thin eeris, and thei schulen sle with swerd tho thingis that weren left; thei schulen take thi sones and thi douytris, and thi laste thing schal be deuourid bi fier.
And I will set My jealous rage against you, and they will deal with you in fury. They will cut off your noses and ears, and your survivors will fall by the sword. They will seize your sons and daughters, and your remnant will be consumed by fire.
26 And thei schulen make thee nakid of thi clothis, and thei schulen take awei the vessels of thi glorie.
They will strip off your clothes and take your fine jewelry.
27 And Y schal make thi greet trespasse to reste fro thee, and thi fornicacioun fro the lond of Egipt; and thou schalt not reise thin iyen to hem, and thou schalt no more haue mynde on Egipt.
So I will put an end to your indecency and prostitution, which began in the land of Egypt, and you will not lift your eyes to them or remember Egypt anymore.’
28 For the Lord God seith these thingis, Lo! Y schal yyue thee in to the hondis of hem whiche thou hatist, `in to the hondis of hem of whiche thi soule was fillid,
For this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Surely I will deliver you into the hands of those you hate, from whom you turned away in disgust.
29 and thei schulen do with thee in hatrede. And thei schulen take awei alle thi trauels, and thei schulen leeue thee nakid, and ful of schenschipe; and the schenschipe of thi fornicaciouns schal be schewid. Thi greet
They will treat you with hatred, take all for which you have worked, and leave you naked and bare, so that the shame of your prostitution will be exposed. Your indecency and promiscuity
30 trespas and thi fornycaciouns han do these thingis to thee; for thou didist fornicacioun aftir hethene men, among whiche thou were defoulid in the idols of hem.
have brought these things upon you, because you have prostituted yourself with the nations and defiled yourself with their idols.
31 Thou yedist in the weie of thi sister, and Y schal yyue the cuppe of hir in thin hond.
Because you have followed the path of your sister, I will put her cup into your hand.’
32 The Lord God seith these thingis, Thou schalt drinke the cuppe of thi sistir, the depthe, and the broodnesse; thou that art most able to take, schalt be in to scornyng, and in to mouwyng.
This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘You will drink your sister’s cup, a cup deep and wide. It will bring scorn and derision, for it holds so much.
33 Thou schalt be fillid with drunkenesse and sorewe, with the cuppe of mourenyng and of heuynesse, with the cuppe of thi sister Samarie.
You will be filled with drunkenness and grief, with a cup of devastation and desolation, the cup of your sister Samaria.
34 And thou schalt drynke it, and thou schalt drinke of til to the drastis, and thou schalt deuoure the relifs therof, and thou schalt to-reende thi brestis, for Y the Lord spak, seith the Lord God.
You will drink it and drain it; you will dash it to pieces, and tear your breasts. For I have spoken,’
35 Therfor the Lord God seith these thingis, For thou hast foryete me, and hast cast forth me bihynde thi bodi, bere thou also thi greet trespas and thi fornicaciouns.
Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Because you have forgotten Me and have cast Me behind your back, you must bear the consequences of your indecency and prostitution.’”
36 And the Lord God seide to me, and spak, Sone of man, whether thou demest Ooliba and Oolla, and tellist to hem the grete trespassis of hem?
Then the LORD said to me: “Son of man, will you pass judgment against Oholah and Oholibah? Then declare to them their abominations.
37 For thei diden auowtrie, and blood was in the hondis of hem, and thei diden fornicacioun with her idols; ferthermore and thei offriden to tho the sones whiche thei gendriden to me, for to be deuourid.
For they have committed adultery, and blood is on their hands. They have committed adultery with their idols. They have even sacrificed their children, whom they bore to Me, in the fire as food for their idols.
38 But also thei diden this to me, thei defouleden my seyntuarie in that dai, and maden vnhooli my sabatis.
They have also done this to Me: On that very same day, they defiled My sanctuary and profaned My Sabbaths.
39 And whanne thei sacrifisiden her sones to her idols, and entriden in to my seyntuarie in that dai, that thei schulden defoule it, thei diden also these thingis in the myddis of myn hous.
On the very day they slaughtered their children for their idols, they entered My sanctuary to profane it. Yes, they did this inside My house.
40 Thei senten to men comyng fro fer, to whiche thei hadden sent messangeris. Therfor lo! thei camen, to whiche thou waischidist thee, and anoyntidist thin iyen with oynement of wymmen, and thou were ourned with wymmens atier.
Furthermore, you sisters sent messengers for men who came from afar; and behold, when they arrived, you bathed for them, painted your eyes, and adorned yourself with jewelry.
41 Thou satist in a ful fair bed, and a boord was ourned bifor thee; thou settidist myn encense and myn oynement on it.
You sat on a couch of luxury with a table spread before it, on which you had set My incense and My oil,
42 And a vois of multitude makynge ful out ioye was ther ynne; and in men that weren brouyt of the multitude of men, and camen fro desert, thei settiden bies in the hondis of hem, and faire corouns on the heedis of hem.
accompanied by the sound of a carefree crowd. Drunkards were brought in from the desert along with men from the rabble, who put bracelets on your wrists and beautiful crowns on your head.
43 And Y seide to hir, that was defoulid in auoutries, Now also this schal do fornycacioun in hir fornicacioun.
Then I said of her who had grown old in adulteries: ‘Now let them use her as a prostitute, for that is all she is!’
44 And thei entriden to hir; as to a womman, an hoore, so thei entriden to Oolla and to Ooliba, cursid wymmen.
And they slept with her as with a prostitute; they slept with Oholah and Oholibah, those lewd women.
45 Therfor these men ben iust, these schulen deme thilke wymmen bi the doom of auoutressis, and bi the doom of hem that scheden out blood; for thei ben auoutressis, and blood is in the hondis of hem, and thei diden fornicacioun with her idols.
But righteous men will sentence them to the punishment of those who commit adultery and bloodshed, because they are adulteresses with blood on their hands.
46 For the Lord God seith these thingis, Bringe thou multitudis to hem, and yyue thou hem in to noise, and in to raueyn;
This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Bring a mob against them and consign them to terror and plunder.
47 and be thei stoonyd with the stoonys of puplis, and be thei stikid togidere with the swerdis of hem. Thei schulen sle the sones and the douytris of hem, and thei schulen brenne with fier the housis of hem.
The mob will stone them and cut them down with their swords. They will kill their sons and daughters and burn down their houses.
48 And Y schal do awei greet trespas fro the lond; and alle wymmen schulen lerne, that thei do not aftir the greet trespas of hem.
So I will put an end to indecency in the land, and all the women will be admonished not to imitate your behavior.
49 And thei schulen yyue youre grete trespas on you; and ye schulen bere the synnes of youre idols, and ye schulen wite, that Y am the Lord God.
They will repay you for your indecency, and you will bear the consequences of your sins of idolatry. Then you will know that I am the Lord GOD.’”
