Ezekiel 23
New American Standard Bible
Oholah and Oholibah’s Sin and Its Consequences
23 The word of the Lord came to me again, saying, 2 “Son of man, there were (A)two women, the daughters of one mother; 3 and they prostituted themselves in Egypt. They (B)prostituted themselves in their youth; there their breasts were squeezed and there their virgin breasts were handled. 4 Their names were Oholah the elder and Oholibah her sister. And they became Mine, and they gave birth to sons and daughters. And as for their names, Samaria is Oholah and Jerusalem is Oholibah.
5 “Oholah prostituted herself [a]while she was Mine; and she lusted after her lovers, after the (C)Assyrians, her neighbors, 6 who were clothed in purple, (D)governors and officials, all of them handsome young men, horsemen riding on horses. 7 She bestowed her [b]obscene practices on them, all of whom were the choicest [c]men of Assyria; and with all whom she lusted after, with all their idols she (E)defiled herself. 8 She did not abandon her obscene practices (F)from the time in Egypt; for in her youth [d]men had slept with her, and they handled her virgin breasts and poured out their obscene practice on her. 9 Therefore, I handed her over to her (G)lovers, to the [e]Assyrians, after whom she lusted. 10 They (H)uncovered her nakedness; they took her sons and her daughters, but they killed her with the sword. So she became a [f]subject of gossip among women, and they executed judgments on her.
11 “Now her sister Oholibah saw this, yet she was (I)more corrupt in her lust than she, and her obscene practices were [g]more than the prostitution of her sister. 12 She lusted after the [h](J)Assyrians, governors and officials, the ones near, opulently dressed, horsemen riding on horses, all of them handsome young men. 13 And I saw that she had defiled herself; they both took [i]the same way. 14 So she increased her obscene practices. And she saw men (K)carved on the wall, images of the (L)Chaldeans drawn in bright red, 15 wearing belts around their waists, with flowing turbans on their heads, all of them looking like officers, [j]like the [k]Babylonians in Chaldea, the land of their birth. 16 And [l]when she saw them she (M)lusted after them and sent messengers to them in Chaldea. 17 And the [m](N)Babylonians came to her to the bed of love and defiled her with their obscene practice. And when she had been defiled by them, [n]she turned away from them in disgust. 18 She (O)exposed her obscene practices and exposed her nakedness; then [o]I turned away from her in (P)disgust, just as [p]I had turned away from her (Q)sister in disgust. 19 Yet she multiplied her obscene practices, remembering the days of her youth, when she prostituted herself in the land of Egypt. 20 She (R)lusted after their lovers, whose flesh is like the flesh of donkeys and whose discharge is like the discharge of horses. 21 So you longed for the (S)outrageous sin of your youth, when [q]the Egyptians handled your breasts because of the breasts of your youth.
22 “Therefore, Oholibah, this is what the Lord [r]God says: ‘Behold I am going to incite your lovers against you, from whom [s]you turned away in disgust, and I will bring them against you from every side: 23 the [t](T)Babylonians and all the (U)Chaldeans, (V)Pekod and Shoa and Koa, and all the [u](W)Assyrians with them; handsome young men, governors and officials all of them, officers and [v]men of renown, all of them riding on horses. 24 And they will come against you with weapons, (X)chariots, and [w]wagons, and with a contingent of peoples. They will attack you on every side with shield, [x]buckler, and helmet; and I will commit the (Y)judgment to them, and they will judge you according to their customs. 25 I will set My (Z)jealousy against you, so that they may deal with you in wrath. They will remove your nose and your ears; and your [y]survivors will fall by the sword. They will take your (AA)sons and your daughters; and your [z]survivors will be consumed by the fire. 26 They will also (AB)strip you of your clothes and take away your (AC)beautiful jewelry. 27 So (AD)I will remove from you your outrageous sin and your prostitution that you brought from the land of Egypt, so that you will not raise your eyes to them or remember Egypt anymore.’ 28 For this is what the Lord God says: ‘Behold, I am going to hand you over to those whom you (AE)hate, to those from whom [aa]you turned away in disgust. 29 They will (AF)deal with you in hatred, take all your property, and leave you naked and bare. And the nakedness of your prostitution will be exposed, both your outrageous sin and your obscene practices. 30 These things will be done to you because you have (AG)adulterously pursued the nations, because you have defiled yourself with their idols. 31 You have walked in the way of your sister; therefore I will put (AH)her cup in your hand.’ 32 This is what the Lord God says:
‘You will (AI)drink your sister’s cup,
Which is deep and wide.
[ab]You will be (AJ)laughed at and held in derision;
Because it contains much.
33 You will be filled with (AK)drunkenness and grief,
A cup of horror and desolation,
The cup of your sister Samaria.
34 And you will (AL)drink it and drain it.
Then you will gnaw on its fragments
And tear your breasts;
for I have spoken,’ declares the Lord God. 35 Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: ‘Because you have (AM)forgotten Me and (AN)discarded Me behind your back, suffer on your own part the punishment for your outrageous sin and your obscene practices.’”
36 Moreover, the Lord said to me, “Son of man, will you (AO)judge Oholah and Oholibah? Then (AP)declare to them their abominations. 37 For they have committed adultery, and blood is on their hands. So they have committed adultery with their idols, and even made their sons, (AQ)whom they bore to Me, pass through the fire to [ac]them as food. 38 Again, they have done this to Me: they have (AR)defiled My sanctuary on the same day, and have (AS)profaned My Sabbaths. 39 For when they slaughtered their children for their idols, they entered My (AT)sanctuary on the same day to profane it; and behold, this is what they did within My house.
40 “Furthermore, [ad]they have even sent for men who come from a great distance, to whom a messenger was sent; and behold, they came—for whom you bathed, (AU)put makeup on your eyes, and (AV)adorned yourselves with jewelry; 41 and you sat on a splendid (AW)couch with a (AX)table arranged in front of it on which you had set My (AY)incense and My (AZ)oil. 42 And the sound of a [ae](BA)carefree multitude was with her; and (BB)heavy drinkers were brought from the wilderness with people from the multitude of humanity. And they put (BC)bracelets on [af]the wrists of the women and beautiful crowns on their heads.
43 “Then I said concerning her who was (BD)worn out by adulteries, ‘[ag]Will they now commit adultery with her when she is like this?’ 44 [ah]But they went in to her as they would go in to a prostitute. This is how they went in to Oholah and to Oholibah, the lewd women. 45 But they, righteous people, will (BE)judge them with the judgment of adulteresses and with the judgment of women who shed blood, because they are adulteresses and blood is on their hands.
46 “For this is what the Lord God says: ‘Bring up a contingent against them and turn them over to (BF)terror and plunder. 47 The contingent will (BG)stone them with stones and cut them down with their swords; they will kill their sons and their daughters and (BH)burn their houses with fire. 48 So I will eliminate outrageous conduct from the land, so that all women will take warning and not commit [ai]outrageous sin as you have done. 49 Your outrageous conduct [aj]will be (BI)repaid to you, and you will bear the guilt for your idols; so you will know that I am the Lord God.’”
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 23:5 Lit under Me
- Ezekiel 23:7 Lit fornications
- Ezekiel 23:7 Lit sons of Asshur
- Ezekiel 23:8 Lit they
- Ezekiel 23:9 Lit sons of Asshur
- Ezekiel 23:10 Lit name
- Ezekiel 23:11 I.e., more numerous, or worse
- Ezekiel 23:12 Lit sons of Asshur
- Ezekiel 23:13 Lit one
- Ezekiel 23:15 Lit the likeness of
- Ezekiel 23:15 Lit sons of Babel
- Ezekiel 23:16 Lit at the sight of her eyes
- Ezekiel 23:17 Lit sons of Babel
- Ezekiel 23:17 Lit her soul
- Ezekiel 23:18 Lit My soul
- Ezekiel 23:18 Lit My soul
- Ezekiel 23:21 As in two mss; MT from Egypt
- Ezekiel 23:22 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord, and so throughout the ch
- Ezekiel 23:22 Lit your soul
- Ezekiel 23:23 Lit sons of Babylon
- Ezekiel 23:23 Lit sons of Assyria
- Ezekiel 23:23 Lit called ones
- Ezekiel 23:24 Lit wheel
- Ezekiel 23:24 I.e., small shield
- Ezekiel 23:25 Lit remainder
- Ezekiel 23:25 Lit remainder
- Ezekiel 23:28 Lit your soul
- Ezekiel 23:32 Or It will be for laughter and derision because of its great size
- Ezekiel 23:37 I.e., the idols
- Ezekiel 23:40 Or you (women)
- Ezekiel 23:42 Lit at ease
- Ezekiel 23:42 Lit their hands
- Ezekiel 23:43 Or Now they will commit adultery with her, and she with them
- Ezekiel 23:44 Or And
- Ezekiel 23:48 Lit according to your lewdness
- Ezekiel 23:49 Lit they will give
Ezekiel 23
New Living Translation
The Adultery of Two Sisters
23 This message came to me from the Lord: 2 “Son of man, once there were two sisters who were daughters of the same mother. 3 They became prostitutes in Egypt. Even as young girls, they allowed men to fondle their breasts. 4 The older girl was named Oholah, and her sister was Oholibah. I married them, and they bore me sons and daughters. I am speaking of Samaria and Jerusalem, for Oholah is Samaria and Oholibah is Jerusalem.
5 “Then Oholah lusted after other lovers instead of me, and she gave her love to the Assyrian officers. 6 They were all attractive young men, captains and commanders dressed in handsome blue, charioteers driving their horses. 7 And so she prostituted herself with the most desirable men of Assyria, worshiping their idols[a] and defiling herself. 8 For when she left Egypt, she did not leave her spirit of prostitution behind. She was still as lewd as in her youth, when the Egyptians slept with her, fondled her breasts, and used her as a prostitute.
9 “And so I handed her over to her Assyrian lovers, whom she desired so much. 10 They stripped her, took away her children as their slaves, and then killed her. After she received her punishment, her reputation was known to every woman in the land.
11 “Yet even though Oholibah saw what had happened to Oholah, her sister, she followed right in her footsteps. And she was even more depraved, abandoning herself to her lust and prostitution. 12 She fawned over all the Assyrian officers—those captains and commanders in handsome uniforms, those charioteers driving their horses—all of them attractive young men. 13 I saw the way she was going, defiling herself just like her older sister.
14 “Then she carried her prostitution even further. She fell in love with pictures that were painted on a wall—pictures of Babylonian[b] military officers, outfitted in striking red uniforms. 15 Handsome belts encircled their waists, and flowing turbans crowned their heads. They were dressed like chariot officers from the land of Babylonia.[c] 16 When she saw these paintings, she longed to give herself to them, so she sent messengers to Babylonia to invite them to come to her. 17 So they came and committed adultery with her, defiling her in the bed of love. After being defiled, however, she rejected them in disgust.
18 “In the same way, I became disgusted with Oholibah and rejected her, just as I had rejected her sister, because she flaunted herself before them and gave herself to satisfy their lusts. 19 Yet she turned to even greater prostitution, remembering her youth when she was a prostitute in Egypt. 20 She lusted after lovers with genitals as large as a donkey’s and emissions like those of a horse. 21 And so, Oholibah, you relived your former days as a young girl in Egypt, when you first allowed your breasts to be fondled.
The Lord’s Judgment of Oholibah
22 “Therefore, Oholibah, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will send your lovers against you from every direction—those very nations from which you turned away in disgust. 23 For the Babylonians will come with all the Chaldeans from Pekod and Shoa and Koa. And all the Assyrians will come with them—handsome young captains, commanders, chariot officers, and other high-ranking officers, all riding their horses. 24 They will all come against you from the north[d] with chariots, wagons, and a great army prepared for attack. They will take up positions on every side, surrounding you with men armed with shields and helmets. And I will hand you over to them for punishment so they can do with you as they please. 25 I will turn my jealous anger against you, and they will deal harshly with you. They will cut off your nose and ears, and any survivors will then be slaughtered by the sword. Your children will be taken away as captives, and everything that is left will be burned. 26 They will strip you of your beautiful clothes and jewels. 27 In this way, I will put a stop to the lewdness and prostitution you brought from Egypt. You will never again cast longing eyes on those things or fondly remember your time in Egypt.
28 “For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will surely hand you over to your enemies, to those you loathe, those you rejected. 29 They will treat you with hatred and rob you of all you own, leaving you stark naked. The shame of your prostitution will be exposed to all the world. 30 You brought all this on yourself by prostituting yourself to other nations, defiling yourself with all their idols. 31 Because you have followed in your sister’s footsteps, I will force you to drink the same cup of terror she drank.
32 “Yes, this is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“You will drink from your sister’s cup of terror,
a cup that is large and deep.
It is filled to the brim
with scorn and derision.
33 Drunkenness and anguish will fill you,
for your cup is filled to the brim with distress and desolation,
the same cup your sister Samaria drank.
34 You will drain that cup of terror
to the very bottom.
Then you will smash it to pieces
and beat your breast in anguish.
I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!
35 “And because you have forgotten me and turned your back on me, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: You must bear the consequences of all your lewdness and prostitution.”
The Lord’s Judgment on Both Sisters
36 The Lord said to me, “Son of man, you must accuse Oholah and Oholibah of all their detestable sins. 37 They have committed both adultery and murder—adultery by worshiping idols and murder by burning as sacrifices the children they bore to me. 38 Furthermore, they have defiled my Temple and violated my Sabbath day! 39 On the very day that they sacrificed their children to their idols, they boldly came into my Temple to worship! They came in and defiled my house.
40 “You sisters sent messengers to distant lands to get men. Then when they arrived, you bathed yourselves, painted your eyelids, and put on your finest jewels for them. 41 You sat with them on a beautifully embroidered couch and put my incense and my special oil on a table that was spread before you. 42 From your room came the sound of many men carousing. They were lustful men and drunkards[e] from the wilderness, who put bracelets on your wrists and beautiful crowns on your heads. 43 Then I said, ‘If they really want to have sex with old worn-out prostitutes like these, let them!’ 44 And that is what they did. They had sex with Oholah and Oholibah, these shameless prostitutes. 45 But righteous people will judge these sister cities for what they really are—adulterers and murderers.
46 “Now this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Bring an army against them and hand them over to be terrorized and plundered. 47 For their enemies will stone them and kill them with swords. They will butcher their sons and daughters and burn their homes. 48 In this way, I will put an end to lewdness and idolatry in the land, and my judgment will be a warning to all women not to follow your wicked example. 49 You will be fully repaid for all your prostitution—your worship of idols. Yes, you will suffer the full penalty. Then you will know that I am the Sovereign Lord.”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
