Babylon, the Sword of God

21 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, (A)“Son of man, set your face toward Jerusalem, (B)preach[a] against the holy places, and prophesy against the land of Israel; and say to the land of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Behold, I am (C)against you, and I will draw My sword out of its sheath and cut off both (D)righteous and wicked from you. Because I will cut off both righteous and wicked from you, therefore My sword shall go out of its sheath against all flesh (E)from south to north, that all flesh may know that I, the Lord, have drawn My sword out of its sheath; it (F)shall not return anymore.” ’ (G)Sigh therefore, son of man, with [b]a breaking heart, and sigh with bitterness before their eyes. And it shall be when they say to you, ‘Why are you sighing?’ that you shall answer, ‘Because of the news; when it comes, every heart will melt, (H)all hands will be feeble, every spirit will faint, and all knees will be weak as water. Behold, it is coming and shall be brought to pass,’ says the Lord God.”

Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Son of man, prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the Lord!’ Say:

(I)‘A sword, a sword is sharpened
And also polished!
10 Sharpened to make a dreadful slaughter,
Polished to flash like lightning!
Should we then make mirth?
It despises the scepter of My son,
As it does all wood.
11 And He has given it to be polished,
That it may be handled;
This sword is sharpened, and it is polished
To be given into the hand of (J)the slayer.’

12 “Cry and wail, son of man;
For it will be against My people,
Against all the princes of Israel.
Terrors including the sword will be against My people;
Therefore (K)strike your thigh.

13 “Because it is (L)a testing,
And what if the sword despises even the scepter?
(M)The scepter shall be no more,

says the Lord God.

14 “You therefore, son of man, prophesy,
And (N)strike your hands together.
The third time let the sword do double damage.
It is the sword that slays,
The sword that slays the great men,
That enters their (O)private chambers.
15 I have set the point of the sword against all their gates,
That the heart may melt and many may stumble.
Ah! (P)It is made bright;
It is grasped for slaughter:

16 “Swords(Q)[c] at the ready!
Thrust right!
Set your blade!
Thrust left—
Wherever your [d]edge is ordered!

17 “I also will (R)beat My fists together,
And (S)I will cause My fury to rest;
I, the Lord, have spoken.”

18 The word of the Lord came to me again, saying: 19 “And son of man, appoint for yourself two ways for the sword of the king of Babylon to go; both of them shall go from the same land. Make a sign; put it at the head of the road to the city. 20 Appoint a road for the sword to go to (T)Rabbah of the Ammonites, and to Judah, into fortified Jerusalem. 21 For the king of Babylon stands at the parting of the road, at the fork of the two roads, to use divination: he shakes the arrows, he consults the [e]images, he looks at the liver. 22 In his right hand is the divination for Jerusalem: to set up battering rams, to call for a slaughter, to (U)lift the voice with shouting, (V)to set battering rams against the gates, to heap up a siege mound, and to build a wall. 23 And it will be to them like a false divination in the eyes of those who (W)have sworn oaths with them; but he will bring their iniquity to remembrance, that they may be taken.

24 “Therefore thus says the Lord God: ‘Because you have made your iniquity to be remembered, in that your transgressions are uncovered, so that in all your doings your sins appear—because you have come to remembrance, you shall be taken in hand.

25 ‘Now to you, O (X)profane, wicked prince of Israel, (Y)whose day has come, whose iniquity shall end, 26 thus says the Lord God:

“Remove the turban, and take off the crown;
Nothing shall remain the same.
(Z)Exalt the humble, and humble the exalted.
27 [f]Overthrown, overthrown,
I will make it overthrown!
(AA)It shall be no longer,
Until He comes whose right it is,
And I will give it to (AB)Him.” ’

A Sword Against the Ammonites

28 “And you, son of man, prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God (AC)concerning the Ammonites and concerning their reproach,’ and say:

‘A sword, a sword is drawn,
Polished for slaughter,
For consuming, for flashing—
29 While they (AD)see false visions for you,
While they divine a lie to you,
To bring you on the necks of the wicked, the slain
(AE)Whose day has come,
Whose iniquity shall end.

30 ‘Return(AF) it to its sheath.
(AG)I will judge you
In the place where you were created,
(AH)In the land of your [g]nativity.
31 I will (AI)pour out My indignation on you;
I will (AJ)blow against you with the fire of My wrath,
And deliver you into the hands of brutal men who are skillful to (AK)destroy.
32 You shall be fuel for the fire;
Your blood shall be in the midst of the land.
(AL)You shall not be remembered,
For I the Lord have spoken.’ ”

Sins of Jerusalem

22 Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Now, son of man, (AM)will you judge, will you judge (AN)the bloody city? Yes, show her all her abominations! Then say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “The city sheds (AO)blood in her own midst, that her time may come; and she makes idols within herself to defile herself. You have become guilty by the blood which you have (AP)shed, and have defiled yourself with the idols which you have made. You have caused your days to draw near, and have come to the end of your years; (AQ)therefore I have made you a reproach to the nations, and a mockery to all countries. Those near and those far from you will mock you as [h]infamous and full of tumult.

“Look, (AR)the princes of Israel: each one has used his [i]power to shed blood in you. In you they have (AS)made light of father and mother; in your midst they have (AT)oppressed the stranger; in you they have mistreated the [j]fatherless and the widow. You have despised My holy things and (AU)profaned My Sabbaths. In you are (AV)men who slander to cause bloodshed; (AW)in you are those who eat on the mountains; in your midst they commit lewdness. 10 In you men (AX)uncover their fathers’ nakedness; in you they violate women who are (AY)set apart during their impurity. 11 One commits abomination (AZ)with his neighbor’s wife; (BA)another lewdly defiles his daughter-in-law; and another in you violates his sister, his father’s (BB)daughter. 12 In you (BC)they take bribes to shed blood; (BD)you take usury and increase; you have made profit from your neighbors by extortion, and (BE)have forgotten Me,” says the Lord God.

13 “Behold, therefore, I (BF)beat My fists at the dishonest profit which you have made, and at the bloodshed which has been in your midst. 14 (BG)Can your heart endure, or can your hands remain strong, in the days when I shall deal with you? (BH)I, the Lord, have spoken, and will do it. 15 (BI)I will scatter you among the nations, disperse you throughout the countries, and (BJ)remove your filthiness completely from you. 16 You shall defile yourself in the sight of the nations; then (BK)you shall know that I am the Lord.” ’ ”

Israel in the Furnace

17 The word of the Lord came to me, saying, 18 “Son of man, (BL)the house of Israel has become dross to Me; they are all bronze, tin, iron, and lead, in the midst of a (BM)furnace; they have become dross from silver. 19 Therefore thus says the Lord God: ‘Because you have all become dross, therefore behold, I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem. 20 As men gather silver, bronze, iron, lead, and tin into the midst of a furnace, to blow fire on it, to (BN)melt it; so I will gather you in My anger and in My fury, and I will leave you there and melt you. 21 Yes, I will gather you and blow on you with the fire of My wrath, and you shall be melted in its midst. 22 As silver is melted in the midst of a furnace, so shall you be melted in its midst; then you shall know that I, the Lord, have (BO)poured out My fury on you.’ ”

Israel’s Wicked Leaders

23 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 24 “Son of man, say to her: ‘You are a land that is (BP)not [k]cleansed or rained on in the day of indignation.’ 25 (BQ)The conspiracy of her [l]prophets in her midst is like a roaring lion tearing the prey; they (BR)have devoured [m]people; (BS)they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many widows in her midst. 26 (BT)Her priests have [n]violated My law and (BU)profaned My holy things; they have not (BV)distinguished between the holy and unholy, nor have they made known the difference between the unclean and the clean; and they have hidden their eyes from My Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them. 27 Her (BW)princes in her midst are like wolves tearing the prey, to shed blood, to destroy [o]people, and to get dishonest gain. 28 (BX)Her prophets plastered them with untempered mortar, (BY)seeing false visions, and divining (BZ)lies for them, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord God,’ when the Lord had not spoken. 29 The people of the land have used oppressions, committed robbery, and mistreated the poor and needy; and they wrongfully (CA)oppress the stranger. 30 (CB)So I sought for a man among them who would (CC)make a wall, and (CD)stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one. 31 Therefore I have (CE)poured out My indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath; and I have recompensed (CF)their deeds on their own heads,” says the Lord God.

Two Harlot Sisters

23 The word of the Lord came again to me, saying:

“Son of man, there were (CG)two women,
The daughters of one mother.
(CH)They committed harlotry in Egypt,
They committed harlotry in (CI)their youth;
Their breasts were there embraced,
Their virgin bosom was there pressed.
Their names: [p]Oholah the elder and [q]Oholibah (CJ)her sister;
(CK)They were Mine,
And they bore sons and daughters.
As for their names,
Samaria is Oholah, and Jerusalem is Oholibah.

The Older Sister, Samaria

“Oholah played the harlot even though she was Mine;
And she lusted for her lovers, the neighboring (CL)Assyrians,
Who were clothed in purple,
Captains and rulers,
All of them desirable young men,
Horsemen riding on horses.
Thus she committed her harlotry with them,
All of them choice men of Assyria;
And with all for whom she lusted,
With all their idols, she defiled herself.
She has never given up her harlotry brought (CM)from Egypt,
For in her youth they had lain with her,
Pressed her virgin bosom,
And poured out their immorality upon her.

“Therefore I have delivered her
Into the hand of her lovers,
Into the hand of the (CN)Assyrians,
For whom she lusted.
10 They uncovered her nakedness,
Took away her sons and daughters,
And slew her with the sword;
She became a byword among women,
For they had executed judgment on her.

The Younger Sister, Jerusalem

11 “Now (CO)although her sister Oholibah saw this, (CP)she became more corrupt in her lust than she, and in her harlotry more corrupt than her sister’s harlotry.

12 “She lusted for the neighboring (CQ)Assyrians,
(CR)Captains and rulers,
Clothed most gorgeously,
Horsemen riding on horses,
All of them desirable young men.
13 Then I saw that she was defiled;
Both took the same way.
14 But she increased her harlotry;
She looked at men portrayed on the wall,
Images of (CS)Chaldeans portrayed in vermilion,
15 Girded with belts around their waists,
Flowing turbans on their heads,
All of them looking like captains,
In the manner of the Babylonians of Chaldea,
The land of their nativity.
16 (CT)As soon as her eyes saw them,
She lusted for them
And sent (CU)messengers to them in Chaldea.

17 “Then the [r]Babylonians came to her, into the bed of love,
And they defiled her with their immorality;
So she was defiled by them, (CV)and alienated herself from them.
18 She revealed her harlotry and uncovered her nakedness.
Then (CW)I (CX)alienated Myself from her,
As I had alienated Myself from her sister.

19 “Yet she multiplied her harlotry
In calling to remembrance the days of her youth,
(CY)When she had played the harlot in the land of Egypt.
20 For she lusted for her [s]paramours,
Whose flesh is like the flesh of donkeys,
And whose issue is like the issue of horses.
21 Thus you called to remembrance the lewdness of your youth,
When the (CZ)Egyptians pressed your bosom
Because of your youthful breasts.

Judgment on Jerusalem

22 “Therefore, Oholibah, thus says the Lord God:

(DA)‘Behold, I will stir up your lovers against you,
From whom you have alienated yourself,
And I will bring them against you from every side:
23 The Babylonians,
All the Chaldeans,
(DB)Pekod, Shoa, Koa,
(DC)All the Assyrians with them,
All of them desirable young men,
Governors and rulers,
Captains and men of renown,
All of them riding on horses.
24 And they shall come against you
With chariots, wagons, and war-horses,
With a horde of people.
They shall array against you
Buckler, shield, and helmet all around.

‘I will delegate judgment to them,
And they shall judge you according to their judgments.
25 I will set My (DD)jealousy against you,
And they shall deal furiously with you;
They shall remove your nose and your ears,
And your remnant shall fall by the sword;
They shall take your sons and your daughters,
And your remnant shall be devoured by fire.
26 (DE)They shall also strip you of your clothes
And take away your beautiful jewelry.

27 ‘Thus (DF)I will make you cease your lewdness and your (DG)harlotry
Brought from the land of Egypt,
So that you will not lift your eyes to them,
Nor remember Egypt anymore.’

28 “For thus says the Lord God: ‘Surely I will deliver you into the hand of (DH)those you hate, into the hand of those (DI)from whom you alienated yourself. 29 (DJ)They will deal hatefully with you, take away all you have worked for, and (DK)leave you naked and bare. The nakedness of your harlotry shall be uncovered, both your lewdness and your harlotry. 30 I will do these things to you because you have (DL)gone as a harlot after the Gentiles, because you have become defiled by their idols. 31 You have walked in the way of your sister; therefore I will put her (DM)cup in your hand.’

32 “Thus says the Lord God:

‘You shall drink of your sister’s cup,
The deep and wide one;
(DN)You shall be laughed to scorn
And held in derision;
It contains much.
33 You will be filled with drunkenness and sorrow,
The cup of horror and desolation,
The cup of your sister Samaria.
34 You shall (DO)drink and drain it,
You shall break its [t]shards,
And tear at your own breasts;
For I have spoken,’
Says the Lord God.

35 “Therefore thus says the Lord God:

‘Because you (DP)have forgotten Me and (DQ)cast Me behind your back,
Therefore you shall bear the penalty
Of your lewdness and your harlotry.’ ”

Both Sisters Judged

36 The Lord also said to me: “Son of man, will you (DR)judge Oholah and Oholibah? Then (DS)declare to them their abominations. 37 For they have committed adultery, and (DT)blood is on their hands. They have committed adultery with their idols, and even sacrificed their sons (DU)whom they bore to Me, passing them through the fire, to devour them. 38 Moreover they have done this to Me: They have (DV)defiled My sanctuary on the same day and (DW)profaned My Sabbaths. 39 For after they had slain their children for their idols, on the same day they came into My sanctuary to profane it; and indeed (DX)thus they have done in the midst of My house.

40 “Furthermore you sent for men to come from afar, (DY)to whom a messenger was sent; and there they came. And you (DZ)washed yourself for them, (EA)painted your eyes, and adorned yourself with ornaments. 41 You sat on a stately (EB)couch, with a table prepared before it, (EC)on which you had set My incense and My oil. 42 The sound of a carefree multitude was with her, and [u]Sabeans were brought from the wilderness with men of the common sort, who put bracelets on their [v]wrists and beautiful crowns on their heads. 43 Then I said concerning her who had grown old in adulteries, ‘Will they commit harlotry with her now, and she with them? 44 Yet they went in to her, as men go in to a woman who plays the harlot; thus they went in to Oholah and Oholibah, the lewd women. 45 But righteous men will (ED)judge them after the manner of adulteresses, and after the manner of women who shed blood, because they are adulteresses, and (EE)blood is on their hands.

46 “For thus says the Lord God: (EF)‘Bring up an assembly against them, give them up to trouble and plunder. 47 (EG)The assembly shall stone them with stones and [w]execute them with their swords; (EH)they shall slay their sons and their daughters, and burn their houses with fire. 48 Thus (EI)I will cause lewdness to cease from the land, (EJ)that all women may be taught not to practice your lewdness. 49 They shall repay you for your lewdness, and you shall (EK)pay for your idolatrous sins. (EL)Then you shall know that I am the Lord God.’ ”

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 21:2 proclaim, lit. drop
  2. Ezekiel 21:6 Emotional distress, lit. the breaking of your loins
  3. Ezekiel 21:16 Lit. Sharpen yourself! or Unite yourself!
  4. Ezekiel 21:16 Lit. face
  5. Ezekiel 21:21 Heb. teraphim
  6. Ezekiel 21:27 Or Distortion, Ruin
  7. Ezekiel 21:30 Or origin
  8. Ezekiel 22:5 Lit. defiled of name
  9. Ezekiel 22:6 Lit. arm
  10. Ezekiel 22:7 Lit. orphan
  11. Ezekiel 22:24 So with MT, Syr., Vg.; LXX showered upon
  12. Ezekiel 22:25 So with MT, Vg.; LXX princes; Tg. scribes
  13. Ezekiel 22:25 Lit. souls
  14. Ezekiel 22:26 Lit. done violence to
  15. Ezekiel 22:27 Lit. souls
  16. Ezekiel 23:4 Lit. Her Own Tabernacle
  17. Ezekiel 23:4 Lit. My Tabernacle Is in Her
  18. Ezekiel 23:17 Lit. sons of Babel
  19. Ezekiel 23:20 Illicit lovers
  20. Ezekiel 23:34 Earthenware fragments
  21. Ezekiel 23:42 Or drunkards
  22. Ezekiel 23:42 Lit. hands
  23. Ezekiel 23:47 Lit. cut down

Babylon as God’s Sword of Judgment

21 [a]The word of the Lord came to me:(A) “Son of man, set your face against(B) Jerusalem and preach against the sanctuary.(C) Prophesy against(D) the land of Israel and say to her: ‘This is what the Lord says: I am against you.(E) I will draw my sword(F) from its sheath and cut off from you both the righteous and the wicked.(G) Because I am going to cut off the righteous and the wicked, my sword(H) will be unsheathed against everyone from south to north.(I) Then all people will know that I the Lord have drawn my sword(J) from its sheath; it will not return(K) again.’(L)

“Therefore groan, son of man! Groan before them with broken heart and bitter grief.(M) And when they ask you, ‘Why are you groaning?(N)’ you shall say, ‘Because of the news that is coming. Every heart will melt with fear(O) and every hand go limp;(P) every spirit will become faint(Q) and every leg will be wet with urine.’(R) It is coming! It will surely take place, declares the Sovereign Lord.”

The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, prophesy and say, ‘This is what the Lord says:

“‘A sword, a sword,
    sharpened and polished—
10 sharpened for the slaughter,(S)
    polished to flash like lightning!

“‘Shall we rejoice in the scepter of my royal son? The sword despises every such stick.(T)

11 “‘The sword is appointed to be polished,(U)
    to be grasped with the hand;
it is sharpened and polished,
    made ready for the hand of the slayer.
12 Cry out and wail, son of man,
    for it is against my people;
    it is against all the princes of Israel.
They are thrown to the sword
    along with my people.
Therefore beat your breast.(V)

13 “‘Testing will surely come. And what if even the scepter, which the sword despises, does not continue? declares the Sovereign Lord.’

14 “So then, son of man, prophesy
    and strike your hands(W) together.
Let the sword strike twice,
    even three times.
It is a sword for slaughter—
    a sword for great slaughter,
    closing in on them from every side.(X)
15 So that hearts may melt with fear(Y)
    and the fallen be many,
I have stationed the sword for slaughter[b]
    at all their gates.
Look! It is forged to strike like lightning,
    it is grasped for slaughter.(Z)
16 Slash to the right, you sword,
    then to the left,
    wherever your blade is turned.
17 I too will strike my hands(AA) together,
    and my wrath(AB) will subside.
I the Lord have spoken.(AC)

18 The word of the Lord came to me: 19 “Son of man, mark out two roads for the sword(AD) of the king of Babylon to take, both starting from the same country. Make a signpost(AE) where the road branches off to the city. 20 Mark out one road for the sword to come against Rabbah of the Ammonites(AF) and another against Judah and fortified Jerusalem. 21 For the king of Babylon will stop at the fork in the road, at the junction of the two roads, to seek an omen: He will cast lots(AG) with arrows, he will consult his idols,(AH) he will examine the liver.(AI) 22 Into his right hand will come the lot for Jerusalem, where he is to set up battering rams, to give the command to slaughter, to sound the battle cry,(AJ) to set battering rams against the gates, to build a ramp(AK) and to erect siege works.(AL) 23 It will seem like a false omen to those who have sworn allegiance to him, but he will remind(AM) them of their guilt(AN) and take them captive.

24 “Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘Because you people have brought to mind your guilt by your open rebellion, revealing your sins in all that you do—because you have done this, you will be taken captive.

25 “‘You profane and wicked prince of Israel, whose day has come,(AO) whose time of punishment has reached its climax,(AP) 26 this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Take off the turban, remove the crown.(AQ) It will not be as it was: The lowly will be exalted and the exalted will be brought low.(AR) 27 A ruin! A ruin! I will make it a ruin! The crown will not be restored until he to whom it rightfully belongs shall come;(AS) to him I will give it.’(AT)

28 “And you, son of man, prophesy and say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says about the Ammonites(AU) and their insults:

“‘A sword,(AV) a sword,
    drawn for the slaughter,
polished to consume
    and to flash like lightning!
29 Despite false visions concerning you
    and lying divinations(AW) about you,
it will be laid on the necks
    of the wicked who are to be slain,
whose day has come,
    whose time of punishment has reached its climax.(AX)

30 “‘Let the sword return to its sheath.(AY)
    In the place where you were created,
in the land of your ancestry,(AZ)
    I will judge you.
31 I will pour out my wrath on you
    and breathe(BA) out my fiery anger(BB) against you;
I will deliver you into the hands of brutal men,
    men skilled in destruction.(BC)
32 You will be fuel for the fire,(BD)
    your blood will be shed in your land,
you will be remembered(BE) no more;
    for I the Lord have spoken.’”

Judgment on Jerusalem’s Sins

22 The word of the Lord came to me:

“Son of man, will you judge her? Will you judge this city of bloodshed?(BF) Then confront her with all her detestable practices(BG) and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: You city that brings on herself doom by shedding blood(BH) in her midst and defiles herself by making idols, you have become guilty because of the blood you have shed(BI) and have become defiled by the idols you have made. You have brought your days to a close, and the end of your years has come.(BJ) Therefore I will make you an object of scorn(BK) to the nations and a laughingstock to all the countries.(BL) Those who are near and those who are far away will mock you, you infamous city, full of turmoil.(BM)

“‘See how each of the princes of Israel who are in you uses his power to shed blood.(BN) In you they have treated father and mother with contempt;(BO) in you they have oppressed the foreigner(BP) and mistreated the fatherless and the widow.(BQ) You have despised my holy things and desecrated my Sabbaths.(BR) In you are slanderers(BS) who are bent on shedding blood;(BT) in you are those who eat at the mountain shrines(BU) and commit lewd acts.(BV) 10 In you are those who dishonor their father’s bed;(BW) in you are those who violate women during their period,(BX) when they are ceremonially unclean.(BY) 11 In you one man commits a detestable offense with his neighbor’s wife,(BZ) another shamefully defiles his daughter-in-law,(CA) and another violates his sister,(CB) his own father’s daughter.(CC) 12 In you are people who accept bribes(CD) to shed blood; you take interest(CE) and make a profit from the poor. You extort unjust gain from your neighbors.(CF) And you have forgotten(CG) me, declares the Sovereign Lord.(CH)

13 “‘I will surely strike my hands(CI) together at the unjust gain(CJ) you have made and at the blood(CK) you have shed in your midst.(CL) 14 Will your courage endure(CM) or your hands(CN) be strong in the day I deal with you? I the Lord have spoken,(CO) and I will do it.(CP) 15 I will disperse you among the nations and scatter(CQ) you through the countries; and I will put an end to(CR) your uncleanness.(CS) 16 When you have been defiled[c] in the eyes of the nations, you will know that I am the Lord.’”

17 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 18 “Son of man, the people of Israel have become dross(CT) to me; all of them are the copper, tin, iron and lead left inside a furnace.(CU) They are but the dross of silver.(CV) 19 Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘Because you have all become dross,(CW) I will gather you into Jerusalem. 20 As silver, copper, iron, lead and tin are gathered into a furnace to be melted with a fiery blast, so will I gather you in my anger and my wrath and put you inside the city and melt you.(CX) 21 I will gather you and I will blow(CY) on you with my fiery wrath, and you will be melted inside her.(CZ) 22 As silver is melted(DA) in a furnace, so you will be melted inside her, and you will know that I the Lord have poured out my wrath(DB) on you.’”(DC)

23 Again the word of the Lord came to me: 24 “Son of man, say to the land, ‘You are a land that has not been cleansed or rained on in the day of wrath.’(DD) 25 There is a conspiracy(DE) of her princes[d] within her like a roaring lion(DF) tearing its prey; they devour people,(DG) take treasures and precious things and make many widows(DH) within her. 26 Her priests do violence to my law(DI) and profane my holy things; they do not distinguish between the holy and the common;(DJ) they teach that there is no difference between the unclean and the clean;(DK) and they shut their eyes to the keeping of my Sabbaths, so that I am profaned(DL) among them.(DM) 27 Her officials(DN) within her are like wolves(DO) tearing their prey; they shed blood and kill people(DP) to make unjust gain.(DQ) 28 Her prophets whitewash(DR) these deeds for them by false visions and lying divinations.(DS) They say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says’—when the Lord has not spoken.(DT) 29 The people of the land practice extortion and commit robbery;(DU) they oppress the poor and needy and mistreat the foreigner,(DV) denying them justice.(DW)

30 “I looked for someone among them who would build up the wall(DX) and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found no one.(DY) 31 So I will pour out my wrath on them and consume them with my fiery anger,(DZ) bringing down(EA) on their own heads all they have done, declares the Sovereign Lord.(EB)

Two Adulterous Sisters

23 The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, there were two women, daughters of the same mother.(EC) They became prostitutes in Egypt,(ED) engaging in prostitution(EE) from their youth.(EF) In that land their breasts were fondled and their virgin bosoms caressed.(EG) The older was named Oholah, and her sister was Oholibah. They were mine and gave birth to sons and daughters. Oholah is Samaria, and Oholibah is Jerusalem.(EH)

“Oholah engaged in prostitution while she was still mine; and she lusted after her lovers, the Assyrians(EI)—warriors(EJ) clothed in blue, governors and commanders, all of them handsome young men, and mounted horsemen. She gave herself as a prostitute to all the elite of the Assyrians and defiled herself with all the idols of everyone she lusted after.(EK) She did not give up the prostitution she began in Egypt,(EL) when during her youth men slept with her, caressed her virgin bosom and poured out their lust on her.(EM)

“Therefore I delivered her into the hands(EN) of her lovers,(EO) the Assyrians, for whom she lusted.(EP) 10 They stripped(EQ) her naked, took away her sons and daughters and killed her with the sword. She became a byword among women,(ER) and punishment was inflicted(ES) on her.(ET)

11 “Her sister Oholibah saw this,(EU) yet in her lust and prostitution she was more depraved than her sister.(EV) 12 She too lusted after the Assyrians—governors and commanders, warriors in full dress, mounted horsemen, all handsome young men.(EW) 13 I saw that she too defiled herself; both of them went the same way.(EX)

14 “But she carried her prostitution still further. She saw men portrayed on a wall,(EY) figures of Chaldeans[e] portrayed in red,(EZ) 15 with belts(FA) around their waists and flowing turbans on their heads; all of them looked like Babylonian chariot officers, natives of Chaldea.[f] 16 As soon as she saw them, she lusted after them and sent messengers(FB) to them in Chaldea.(FC) 17 Then the Babylonians(FD) came to her, to the bed of love, and in their lust they defiled her. After she had been defiled by them, she turned away from them in disgust.(FE) 18 When she carried on her prostitution openly and exposed her naked body,(FF) I turned away(FG) from her in disgust, just as I had turned away from her sister.(FH) 19 Yet she became more and more promiscuous as she recalled the days of her youth, when she was a prostitute in Egypt. 20 There she lusted after her lovers, whose genitals were like those of donkeys and whose emission was like that of horses. 21 So you longed for the lewdness of your youth, when in Egypt your bosom was caressed and your young breasts fondled.[g](FI)

22 “Therefore, Oholibah, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will stir up your lovers(FJ) against you, those you turned away from in disgust, and I will bring them against you from every side(FK) 23 the Babylonians(FL) and all the Chaldeans,(FM) the men of Pekod(FN) and Shoa and Koa, and all the Assyrians with them, handsome young men, all of them governors and commanders, chariot officers and men of high rank, all mounted on horses.(FO) 24 They will come against you with weapons,[h] chariots and wagons(FP) and with a throng of people; they will take up positions against you on every side with large and small shields and with helmets. I will turn you over to them for punishment,(FQ) and they will punish you according to their standards. 25 I will direct my jealous anger(FR) against you, and they will deal with you in fury. They will cut off your noses and your ears, and those of you who are left will fall by the sword. They will take away your sons and daughters,(FS) and those of you who are left will be consumed by fire.(FT) 26 They will also strip(FU) you of your clothes and take your fine jewelry.(FV) 27 So I will put a stop(FW) to the lewdness and prostitution you began in Egypt. You will not look on these things with longing or remember Egypt anymore.

28 “For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am about to deliver you into the hands(FX) of those you hate, to those you turned away from in disgust. 29 They will deal with you in hatred and take away everything you have worked for. They will leave you stark naked,(FY) and the shame of your prostitution will be exposed.(FZ) Your lewdness(GA) and promiscuity(GB) 30 have brought this on you, because you lusted after the nations and defiled yourself with their idols.(GC) 31 You have gone the way of your sister; so I will put her cup(GD) into your hand.(GE)

32 “This is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“You will drink your sister’s cup,
    a cup large and deep;
it will bring scorn and derision,(GF)
    for it holds so much.(GG)
33 You will be filled with drunkenness and sorrow,
    the cup of ruin and desolation,
    the cup of your sister Samaria.(GH)
34 You will drink it(GI) and drain it dry
    and chew on its pieces—
    and you will tear your breasts.

I have spoken, declares the Sovereign Lord.(GJ)

35 “Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Since you have forgotten(GK) me and turned your back on me,(GL) you must bear(GM) the consequences of your lewdness and prostitution.”

36 The Lord said to me: “Son of man, will you judge Oholah and Oholibah? Then confront(GN) them with their detestable practices,(GO) 37 for they have committed adultery and blood is on their hands. They committed adultery with their idols; they even sacrificed their children, whom they bore to me, as food for them.(GP) 38 They have also done this to me: At that same time they defiled my sanctuary(GQ) and desecrated my Sabbaths.(GR) 39 On the very day they sacrificed their children to their idols, they entered my sanctuary and desecrated(GS) it. That is what they did in my house.(GT)

40 “They even sent messengers for men who came from far away,(GU) and when they arrived you bathed yourself for them, applied eye makeup(GV) and put on your jewelry.(GW) 41 You sat on an elegant couch,(GX) with a table(GY) spread before it on which you had placed the incense(GZ) and olive oil that belonged to me.(HA)

42 “The noise of a carefree(HB) crowd was around her; drunkards(HC) were brought from the desert along with men from the rabble, and they put bracelets(HD) on the wrists of the woman and her sister and beautiful crowns on their heads.(HE) 43 Then I said about the one worn out by adultery, ‘Now let them use her as a prostitute,(HF) for that is all she is.’ 44 And they slept with her. As men sleep with a prostitute, so they slept with those lewd women, Oholah and Oholibah. 45 But righteous judges will sentence them to the punishment of women who commit adultery and shed blood,(HG) because they are adulterous and blood is on their hands.(HH)

46 “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Bring a mob(HI) against them and give them over to terror and plunder.(HJ) 47 The mob will stone them and cut them down with their swords; they will kill their sons and daughters(HK) and burn(HL) down their houses.(HM)

48 “So I will put an end(HN) to lewdness in the land, that all women may take warning and not imitate you.(HO) 49 You will suffer the penalty for your lewdness and bear the consequences of your sins of idolatry.(HP) Then you will know that I am the Sovereign Lord.(HQ)

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 21:1 In Hebrew texts 21:1-32 is numbered 21:6-37.
  2. Ezekiel 21:15 Septuagint; the meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
  3. Ezekiel 22:16 Or When I have allotted you your inheritance
  4. Ezekiel 22:25 Septuagint; Hebrew prophets
  5. Ezekiel 23:14 Or Babylonians
  6. Ezekiel 23:15 Or Babylonia; also in verse 16
  7. Ezekiel 23:21 Syriac (see also verse 3); Hebrew caressed because of your young breasts
  8. Ezekiel 23:24 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.