Ezekiel 23
Christian Standard Bible
The Two Immoral Sisters
23 The word of the Lord came to me again: 2 “Son of man, there were two women,(A) daughters of the same mother, 3 who acted like prostitutes in Egypt,(B) behaving promiscuously in their youth. Their breasts were fondled there, and their virgin nipples caressed. 4 The older one was named Oholah,[a] and her sister was Oholibah.[b] They became mine and gave birth to sons and daughters. As for their names, Oholah represents Samaria and Oholibah represents Jerusalem.
5 “Oholah acted like a prostitute even though she was mine. She lusted after her lovers, the Assyrians:(C) warriors 6 dressed in blue, governors and prefects, all of them desirable young men, horsemen riding on steeds. 7 She offered her sexual favors to them; all of them were the elite of Assyria. She defiled herself with all those she lusted after and with all their idols. 8 She didn’t give up her promiscuity that began in Egypt,(D) when men slept with her in her youth, caressed her virgin nipples, and poured out their lust on her. 9 Therefore, I handed her over to her lovers,(E) the Assyrians she lusted for. 10 They exposed her nakedness, seized her sons and daughters, and killed her with the sword. Since they executed judgment against her, she became notorious among women.
11 “Now her sister Oholibah saw this, but she was even more depraved in her lust than Oholah, and made her promiscuous acts worse than those of her sister.(F) 12 She lusted after the Assyrians:(G) governors and prefects, warriors splendidly dressed, horsemen riding on steeds, all of them desirable young men. 13 And I saw that she had defiled herself; both of them had taken the same path. 14 But she increased her promiscuity when she saw male figures carved on the wall,(H) images of the Chaldeans, engraved in bright red,(I) 15 wearing belts on their waists and flowing turbans on their heads; all of them looked like officers, a depiction of the Babylonians in Chaldea, their native land. 16 At the sight of them[c] she lusted after them and sent messengers to them in Chaldea.(J) 17 Then the Babylonians came to her,(K) to the bed of love, and defiled her with their lust. But after she was defiled by them, she turned away from them in disgust. 18 When she flaunted her promiscuity and exposed her nakedness, I turned away from her in disgust just as I turned away from her sister.(L) 19 Yet she multiplied her acts of promiscuity, remembering the days of her youth when she acted like a prostitute in the land of Egypt 20 and lusted after their lovers, whose sexual members[d] were like those of donkeys and whose emission was like that of stallions. 21 So you revisited the depravity of your youth, when the Egyptians caressed your nipples to enjoy your youthful breasts.(M)
22 “Therefore, Oholibah, this is what the Lord God says: I am going to incite your lovers against you, those you turned away from in disgust. I will bring them against you from every side: 23 the Babylonians and all the Chaldeans; Pekod, Shoa, and Koa;(N) and all the Assyrians with them—desirable young men, all of them governors and prefects, officers and administrators, all of them riding on steeds. 24 They will come against you with an assembly of peoples and with weapons, chariots, and[e] wagons. They will set themselves against you on every side with large and small shields and helmets. I will delegate judgment to them, and they will judge you by their own standards. 25 When I vent my jealous fury on you,(O) they will deal with you in wrath. They will cut off your nose and ears, and the rest of you[f] will fall by the sword. They will seize your sons and daughters, and the rest of you will be consumed by fire. 26 They will strip off your clothes and take your beautiful jewelry.(P) 27 So I will put an end to your depravity and sexual immorality, which began in the land of Egypt, and you will not look longingly at them or remember Egypt anymore.
28 “For this is what the Lord God says: I am going to hand you over to those you hate, to those you turned away from in disgust. 29 They will treat you with hatred, take all you have worked for, and leave you stark naked,(Q) so that the shame of your debauchery will be exposed, both your depravity and promiscuity. 30 These things will be done to you because you acted like a prostitute with the nations,(R) defiling yourself with their idols. 31 You have followed the path of your sister, so I will put her cup in your hand.”(S)
32 This is what the Lord God says:
“You will drink your sister’s cup,(T)
which is deep and wide.
You will be an object of[g] ridicule and scorn,
for it holds so much.(U)
33 You will be filled with drunkenness and grief,
with a cup of devastation and desolation,
the cup of your sister Samaria.
34 You will drink it and drain it;
then you will gnaw its broken pieces,
and tear your breasts.
For I have spoken.”
This is the declaration of the Lord God.
35 Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: “Because you have forgotten me(V) and cast me behind your back,(W) you must bear the consequences of your indecency and promiscuity.”
36 Then the Lord said to me, “Son of man, will you pass judgment against Oholah and Oholibah?(X) Then declare their detestable practices to them.(Y) 37 For they have committed adultery, and blood is on their hands; they have committed adultery with their idols. And the children they bore to me they have sacrificed in the fire[h] as food for the idols.(Z) 38 They also did this to me: they defiled my sanctuary(AA) on that same day and profaned my Sabbaths.(AB) 39 On the same day they slaughtered their children for their idols, they entered my sanctuary to profane it.(AC) Yes, that is what they did inside my house.
40 “In addition, they sent for men who came from far away when a messenger was dispatched to them. And look how they came! You bathed, painted your eyes,(AD) and adorned yourself with jewelry for them.(AE) 41 You sat on a luxurious couch with a table spread before it,(AF) on which you had set my incense and oil. 42 The sound of a carefree crowd was there. Drunkards[i] from the desert were brought in, along with common men. They put bracelets on the women’s hands and beautiful tiaras on their heads. 43 Then I said concerning this woman worn out by adultery: Will they[j] now have illicit sex with her, even her? 44 Yet they had sex with her as one does with a prostitute. This is how they had sex with Oholah and Oholibah, those depraved women. 45 But righteous men will judge them the way adulteresses(AG) and those who shed blood are judged, for they are adulteresses and blood is on their hands.
46 “This is what the Lord God says: Summon[k] an assembly against them and consign them to terror and plunder.(AH) 47 The assembly will stone them and cut them down with their swords.(AI) They will kill their sons and daughters and burn their houses. 48 So I will put an end to depravity in the land, and all the women will be admonished not to imitate your depraved behavior. 49 They will punish you for your depravity,(AJ) and you will bear the consequences for your sins of idolatry. Then you will know that I am the Lord God.”
Footnotes
- 23:4 = Her Tent
- 23:4 = My Tent Is in Her
- 23:16 Lit of her eyes
- 23:20 Lit whose flesh
- 23:24 LXX reads peoples, from the north, chariots and; Hb obscure
- 23:25 Or and your descendants
- 23:32 Or It will bring
- 23:37 Lit have made pass through the fire
- 23:42 Or Sabeans
- 23:43 Or They will
- 23:46 Or I will summon
Ezekiel 23
English Standard Version
Oholah and Oholibah
23 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 (A)“Son of man, there were (B)two women, the daughters of one mother. 3 (C)They played the whore in Egypt; (D)they played the whore (E)in their youth; there their breasts were pressed and their virgin bosoms[a] handled. 4 Oholah was the name of the elder and Oholibah the name of her sister. (F)They became mine, and they (G)bore sons and daughters. As for their names, Oholah is (H)Samaria, and Oholibah is Jerusalem.
5 “Oholah played the whore (I)while she was mine, and (J)she lusted after her lovers (K)the Assyrians, warriors 6 clothed in purple, (L)governors and commanders, (M)all of them desirable young men, (N)horsemen riding on horses. 7 She bestowed her whoring upon them, the choicest men of Assyria all of them, and she defiled herself with all the idols of everyone after whom she lusted. 8 She did not give up her whoring (O)that she had begun in Egypt; for in her youth men had lain with her and handled her virgin bosom and poured out their whoring lust upon her. 9 Therefore (P)I delivered her into the hands of her lovers, into the hands of the Assyrians, after whom she lusted. 10 (Q)These uncovered her nakedness; (R)they seized her sons and her daughters; and as for her, they killed her with the sword; and she became (S)a byword among women, (T)when judgment had been executed on her.
11 (U)“Her sister Oholibah saw this, and she became (V)more corrupt than her sister[b] in her lust and in her whoring, which was worse than that of her sister. 12 She lusted after the Assyrians, governors and commanders, warriors clothed in full armor, horsemen riding on horses, (W)all of them desirable young men. 13 And I saw that she was defiled; they both took the same way. 14 But she carried her whoring further. She saw men (X)portrayed on the wall, the (Y)images of (Z)the Chaldeans portrayed in vermilion, 15 wearing belts on their waists, with flowing turbans on their heads, all of them having the appearance of officers, a likeness of Babylonians whose native land was Chaldea. 16 When she saw them, she lusted after them and (AA)sent messengers to them (AB)in Chaldea. 17 And the Babylonians came to her (AC)into the bed of love, and they defiled her with their whoring lust. And after she was defiled by them, (AD)she turned from them in disgust. 18 When she carried on her whoring so openly and flaunted her nakedness, I turned in disgust from her, as I had turned in disgust from her sister. 19 Yet she increased her whoring, (AE)remembering the days of her youth, when she played the whore in the land of Egypt 20 and lusted after her lovers there, whose members were like those of donkeys, and whose issue was like that of horses. 21 Thus you longed for the lewdness of your youth, when the Egyptians handled your bosom and pressed[c] your young breasts.”
22 Therefore, O Oholibah, thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I will stir up against you your lovers (AF)from whom you turned in disgust, (AG)and I will bring them against you from every side: 23 the Babylonians and all the Chaldeans, (AH)Pekod and Shoa and Koa, and all the Assyrians with them, (AI)desirable young men, (AJ)governors and commanders all of them, officers and men of renown, all of them riding on horses. 24 And they shall come against you from the north[d] with chariots and wagons and a host of peoples. (AK)They shall set themselves against you on every side with buckler, shield, and helmet; and (AL)I will commit the judgment to them, and (AM)they shall judge you according to their judgments. 25 And I will direct my jealousy against you, (AN)that they may deal with you in fury. They shall cut off your nose and your ears, and your survivors shall fall by the sword. (AO)They shall seize your sons and your daughters, and your survivors shall be devoured by fire. 26 (AP)They shall also strip you of your clothes and take away your beautiful jewels. 27 (AQ)Thus I will put an end to your lewdness and (AR)your whoring begun in the land of Egypt, so that you shall not lift up your eyes to them or remember Egypt anymore.
28 “For thus says the Lord God: (AS)Behold, I will deliver you into the hands of those whom you hate, (AT)into the hands of those from whom you turned in disgust, 29 and (AU)they shall deal with you in hatred and take away all the fruit of your labor (AV)and leave you naked and bare, and (AW)the nakedness of your whoring shall be uncovered. Your lewdness and your whoring 30 have brought this upon you, because (AX)you played the whore with the nations and defiled yourself with their idols. 31 You have gone the way of your sister; (AY)therefore I will give (AZ)her cup into your hand. 32 Thus says the Lord God:
“You shall drink your sister's cup
that is deep and large;
you shall be laughed at and held in derision,
for it contains much;
33 you will be filled with (BA)drunkenness and sorrow.
(BB)A cup of horror and desolation,
the cup of (BC)your sister Samaria;
34 (BD)you shall drink it and drain it out,
and gnaw its shards,
and tear your breasts;
for I have spoken, declares the Lord God. 35 Therefore thus says the Lord God: Because (BE)you have forgotten me and (BF)cast me behind your back, you yourself (BG)must bear the consequences of your lewdness and whoring.”
36 The Lord said to me: (BH)“Son of man, (BI)will you judge Oholah and Oholibah? Declare to them their abominations. 37 For (BJ)they have committed adultery, (BK)and blood is on their hands. With their idols they have committed adultery, and they have even (BL)offered up[e] to them for food the children whom they had borne to me. 38 Moreover, this they have done to me: (BM)they have defiled my sanctuary on the same day and (BN)profaned my Sabbaths. 39 For when (BO)they had slaughtered their children in sacrifice to their idols, on the same day (BP)they came into my sanctuary to profane it. And behold, (BQ)this is what they did in my house. 40 They even sent for men to come from afar, (BR)to whom a messenger was sent; and behold, they came. For them you bathed yourself, (BS)painted your eyes, (BT)and adorned yourself with ornaments. 41 You sat on (BU)a stately couch, with a table spread before it (BV)on which you had placed my incense and (BW)my oil. 42 The (BX)sound of a carefree multitude was with her; and with men of the common sort, drunkards[f] were brought from the wilderness; and they put (BY)bracelets on the hands of the women, and (BZ)beautiful crowns on their heads.
43 “Then I said of her who was worn out by adultery, ‘Now they will continue to use her for a whore, even her!’[g] 44 For they have gone in to her, as men go in to a prostitute. Thus they went in to Oholah and to Oholibah, lewd women! 45 But righteous men (CA)shall pass judgment on them with the sentence of adulteresses, and with the sentence of women who shed blood, because they are adulteresses, and blood is on their hands.”
46 For thus says the Lord God: (CB)“Bring up a vast host against them, and make them (CC)an object of terror and (CD)a plunder. 47 (CE)And the host shall stone them and cut them down with their swords. (CF)They shall kill their sons and their daughters, and (CG)burn up their houses. 48 (CH)Thus will I put an end to lewdness in the land, that all women may take warning and not commit lewdness as you have done. 49 And they shall return your lewdness upon you, and (CI)you shall bear the penalty for your sinful idolatry, and (CJ)you shall know that I am the Lord God.”
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 23:3 Hebrew nipples; also verses 8, 21
- Ezekiel 23:11 Hebrew than she
- Ezekiel 23:21 Vulgate, Syriac; Hebrew bosom for the sake of
- Ezekiel 23:24 Septuagint; the meaning of the Hebrew word is unknown
- Ezekiel 23:37 Or have even made pass through the fire
- Ezekiel 23:42 Or Sabeans
- Ezekiel 23:43 The meaning of the Hebrew verse is uncertain
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
