Ezekiel 23
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Oholah and Oholibah
23 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 Mortal, there were two women, the daughters of one mother; 3 they prostituted themselves in Egypt; they prostituted themselves in their youth; their breasts were caressed there, and their virgin bosoms were fondled.(A) 4 Oholah was the name of the older and Oholibah the name of her sister. They became mine, and they bore sons and daughters. As for their names, Oholah is Samaria, and Oholibah is Jerusalem.(B)
5 Oholah prostituted herself while she was mine; she lusted after her lovers the Assyrians, warriors[a](C) 6 clothed in blue, governors and commanders, all of them handsome young men, mounted horsemen. 7 She bestowed her sexual favors upon them, the choicest men of Assyria all of them, and she defiled herself with all the idols of everyone for whom she lusted.(D) 8 She did not give up her prostitutions that she had practiced since Egypt, for in her youth men had lain with her and fondled her virgin bosom and poured out their lust upon her.(E) 9 Therefore I delivered her into the hands of her lovers, into the hands of the Assyrians, for whom she lusted.(F) 10 These uncovered her nakedness; they seized her sons and her daughters, and they killed her with the sword. Judgment was executed upon her, and she became a byword among women.(G)
11 Her sister Oholibah saw this, yet she was more corrupt than she in her lusting and in her prostitutions, which were worse than those of her sister.(H) 12 She lusted after the Assyrians, governors and commanders, warriors[b] clothed in full armor, mounted horsemen, all of them handsome young men.(I) 13 And I saw that she was defiled; they both took the same way. 14 But she carried her prostitutions further; she saw male figures carved on the wall, images of the Chaldeans portrayed in vermilion,(J) 15 with belts around their waists, with flowing turbans on their heads, all of them looking like officers—a picture of Babylonians whose native land was Chaldea. 16 When she saw them she lusted after them and sent messengers to them in Chaldea. 17 And the Babylonians came to her into the bed of love, and they defiled her with their lust, and after she defiled herself with them, she turned from them in disgust. 18 When she carried on her prostitutions so openly and flaunted her nakedness, I turned in disgust from her, as I had turned from her sister.(K) 19 Yet she increased her prostitutions, remembering the days of her youth, when she prostituted herself in the land of Egypt 20 and lusted after her paramours there, whose members were like those of donkeys and whose emission was like that of stallions.(L) 21 Thus you longed for the lewdness of your youth, when the Egyptians[c] fondled your bosom and caressed[d] your young breasts.(M)
22 Therefore, O Oholibah, thus says the Lord God: I will rouse against you your lovers from whom you turned in disgust, and I will bring them against you from every side:(N) 23 the Babylonians and all the Chaldeans, Pekod and Shoa and Koa, and all the Assyrians with them, handsome young men, governors and commanders all of them, officers and select leaders, all of them riding on horses.(O) 24 They shall come against you from the north[e] with chariots and wagons and a host of peoples; they shall set themselves against you on every side with buckler, shield, and helmet, and I will commit the judgment to them, and they shall judge you according to their ordinances.(P) 25 I will direct my indignation against you, in order 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. They shall seize your sons and your daughters, and your survivors shall be devoured by fire. 26 They shall also strip you of your clothes and take away your fine jewels.(Q) 27 So I will put an end to your lewdness and your prostitution brought from the land of Egypt; you shall not long for them or remember Egypt any more.(R) 28 For thus says the Lord God: I will deliver you into the hands of those whom you hate, into the hands of those from whom you turned in disgust, 29 and they shall deal with you in hatred and take away all the fruit of your labor and leave you naked and bare, and the nakedness of your prostitutions shall be exposed. Your lewdness and your prostitutions(S) 30 have brought this upon you, because you prostituted yourself with the nations and polluted yourself with their idols. 31 You have gone the way of your sister; therefore I will give her cup into your hand. 32 Thus says the Lord God:
You shall drink your sister’s cup,
deep and wide;
it will bring scorn and derision;
it holds so much.(T)
33 You shall be filled with drunkenness and sorrow.
A cup of horror and desolation
is the cup of your sister Samaria;
34 you shall drink it and drain it out
and gnaw its sherds
and tear out your breasts,
for I have spoken, says the Lord God.(U) 35 Therefore thus says the Lord God: Because you have forgotten me and cast me behind your back, therefore bear the consequences of your lewdness and prostitutions.(V)
36 The Lord said to me: Mortal, will you judge Oholah and Oholibah? Then declare to them their abominable deeds.(W) 37 For they have committed adultery, and blood is on their hands; with their idols they have committed adultery, and they have even offered up to them for food the children whom they had borne to me.(X) 38 Moreover, this they have done to me: they have defiled my sanctuary on the same day and profaned my Sabbaths. 39 For when they had slaughtered their children for their idols, on the same day they came into my sanctuary to profane it. This is what they did in my house.(Y)
40 They even sent for men to come from far away, to whom a messenger was sent, and they came. For them you bathed yourself, painted your eyes, and decked yourself with ornaments;(Z) 41 you sat on a stately couch, with a table spread before it on which you had placed my incense and my oil.(AA) 42 The sound of a raucous multitude was around her, with many of the rabble brought in drunken from the wilderness, and they put bracelets on the arms of the women and beautiful crowns upon their heads.(AB)
43 Then I said, “Ah, she is worn out with adulteries, but they carry on their sexual acts with her.” 44 They have[f] gone in to her as one goes in to a prostitute. Thus they went in to Oholah and to Oholibah, wanton women. 45 But righteous judges shall declare them guilty of adultery and of bloodshed, because they are adulteresses, and blood is on their hands.(AC)
46 For thus says the Lord God: Bring up an assembly against them, and make them an object of terror and of plunder. 47 The assembly shall stone them, and with their swords they shall cut them down; they shall kill their sons and their daughters and burn up their houses.(AD) 48 Thus will I put an end to lewdness in the land, so that all women may take warning and not commit lewdness as you have done.(AE) 49 They shall repay you for your lewdness, and you shall bear the penalty for your sinful idolatry, and you shall know that I am the Lord God.
Ezekiel 23
Common English Bible
Two sisters
23 The Lord’s word came to me: 2 Human one, there were two women, daughters of one woman. 3 When they were girls in Egypt, they began to prostitute themselves by allowing their young and nubile breasts to be touched and fondled. 4 The older sister was named Oholah, and the younger sister was named Oholibah. They became mine and gave birth to sons and daughters. Now Oholah is Samaria, and Oholibah is Jerusalem. 5 But Oholah became unfaithful to me and lusted after her lovers the Assyrians: 6 warriors dressed in fine blue cloth, governors and officers, charioteers and horsemen, all of them the most handsome of men. 7 She sought them out to seduce them, all of them men of the highest rank of Assyria. She defiled herself by everyone she lusted after and also by all their idols. 8 But she never gave up her promiscuities with the Egyptians, who had slept with her in her girlhood and fondled her nubile breasts, and who continued to seduce her. 9 Therefore, I handed her over to her lovers, to the Assyrians for whom she lusted. 10 They stripped her naked, took her sons and daughters, and killed her with the sword. And she became notorious among women for the punishments they enacted against her.
11 Her sister Oholibah saw it, and she proceeded to outdo her sister in her lust and in her seductions. 12 She lusted after the Assyrians, governors and officers, warriors richly clothed, charioteers and horsemen, all of them the most handsome of men. 13 I saw that she too defiled herself. Both had the same tendencies, 14 but she was even more promiscuous. She saw men carved in wall reliefs, images of Chaldeans outlined in vermilion, 15 wearing only loincloths around their hips and flowing headbands on their heads. All of them had the appearance of warriors of the third rank, the likeness of Babylonians whose native land is Chaldea. 16 Aroused just by looking at them, she sent messengers to them in Chaldea. 17 The Babylonians came to her to lie down and make love with her, defiling her with their seductions. But once she had defiled herself with them, she recoiled from them in disgust. 18 When her seductions became known and her nakedness exposed, I recoiled from her just as I had recoiled from her sister. 19 But she added to her promiscuities, bringing to mind her youthful days when she was a prostitute in the land of Egypt. 20 She lusted after their male consorts, whose sexual organs were like those of donkeys, and whose ejaculation was like that of horses. 21 She relived the wicked days of her youth, when the Egyptians touched and fondled her young and nubile breasts.
22 So Oholibah, the Lord God proclaims: I’m now inciting your lovers against you, all those from whom you recoiled, and I will bring them against you from all around— 23 Babylonians and all the Chaldeans, Pekod and Shoa and Koa, all the Assyrians with them, the most handsome young men, all of them governors and officers, career officers and conscripts, all of them on horseback. 24 They will come against you with weapons,[a] chariots, and wagons, and with a great army, with shield, buckler, and helmet; and they will surround you. I will hand your punishment over to them, and they will judge you according to their laws. 25 I will direct my passion against you, and they will deal with you in wrath. They will cut off your nose and ears, and those who are left will fall by the sword. They will seize your sons and daughters, and those who are left will be burned with fire. 26 They will strip your clothing from you and remove your beautiful crown. 27 That’s how I will put an end to your lewdness and your Egyptian-styled promiscuity. Never again will you stare at them, and you won’t remember Egypt anymore. 28 The Lord God proclaims: I’m now handing you over to those whom you hate and from whom you recoil. 29 They will deal hatefully with you: They will seize your pay and leave you completely naked. Your promiscuity, betrayal, and seductions will be exposed. 30 This will be done to you because you sold yourself to the nations and became defiled by their idols. 31 You followed in your sister’s path, so I have put her cup into your hand.
32 The Lord God proclaims:
Deep and wide is your sister’s cup. Drink!
Appointed for abuse and scorn, it overflows.
33 You will be filled with drunken sadness.
A cup of devastation and dismay
is the cup of your sister Samaria.
34 Drink it, drain it dry, break it into pieces,
and tear off your breasts, for I have spoken.
This is what the Lord God says.
35 So now the Lord God proclaims: Because you forgot me and turned your back on me, you alone will bear the consequences of your betrayal and promiscuities.
36 Then the Lord said to me, Human one, judge Oholah and Oholibah, and make known their detestable practices to them. 37 They committed adultery, so now blood is on their hands. They committed adultery with their idols, and they even took their children whom they had borne to me and offered them up to be consumed for them. 38 They also did this to me: On the same day, they made my sanctuary unclean and made my sabbaths impure. 39 When they slaughtered their children for their idols, they came into my sanctuary and made it impure on that very same day. They actually did this inside my temple. 40 They even sent for men who came from a great distance. No sooner than a messenger was sent, they arrived! For these men you bathed, you painted your eyes, and you put on your jewelry. 41 You took your place on a splendid couch with a richly set table in front of it, and you set my incense and my oil on it. 42 The sound of a noisy crowd was around her. Men from the common multitude, drinkers of wine, were brought from the desert. They put bracelets on their wrists and beautiful crowns on their heads. 43 Then I thought, For a foolish woman they become adulterers! Incited by her seduction, they prostitute themselves—for her![b] 44 They come as if coming to a prostitute, first to Oholah, and then to Oholibah, those traitorous women. 45 But men who do the right thing will judge them, and they will be punished as adulterers and murderers, because they are in fact adulterers, and blood is on their hands.
46 The Lord God proclaims: Bring up an assembly against them, and decree terror and plunder for them. 47 Let the assembly stone them! Let them carve them up with their swords, slay their sons and daughters, and burn their houses with fire! 48 So I will put an end to betrayal in the land. Taking warning, no woman will betray as you have done. 49 You will be held accountable for your betrayals, and you will bear the sins of your idols. Then you will know that I am the Lord God.
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 23:24 Heb uncertain
- Ezekiel 23:43 Heb uncertain
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible