Ezekiel 23:1-22
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:
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 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 23:1-22
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:
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 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 23:1-22
King James Version
23 The word of the Lord came again unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, there were two women, the daughters of one mother:
3 And they committed whoredoms in Egypt; they committed whoredoms in their youth: there were their breasts pressed, and there they bruised the teats of their virginity.
4 And the names of them were Aholah the elder, and Aholibah her sister: and they were mine, and they bare sons and daughters. Thus were their names; Samaria is Aholah, and Jerusalem Aholibah.
5 And Aholah played the harlot when she was mine; and she doted on her lovers, on the Assyrians her neighbours,
6 Which were clothed with blue, captains and rulers, all of them desirable young men, horsemen riding upon horses.
7 Thus she committed her whoredoms with them, with all them that were the chosen men of Assyria, and with all on whom she doted: with all their idols she defiled herself.
8 Neither left she her whoredoms brought from Egypt: for in her youth they lay with her, and they bruised the breasts of her virginity, and poured their whoredom upon her.
9 Wherefore I have delivered her into the hand of her lovers, into the hand of the Assyrians, upon whom she doted.
10 These discovered her nakedness: they took her sons and her daughters, and slew her with the sword: and she became famous among women; for they had executed judgment upon her.
11 And when her sister Aholibah saw this, she was more corrupt in her inordinate love than she, and in her whoredoms more than her sister in her whoredoms.
12 She doted upon the Assyrians her neighbours, captains and rulers clothed most gorgeously, horsemen riding upon horses, all of them desirable young men.
13 Then I saw that she was defiled, that they took both one way,
14 And that she increased her whoredoms: for when she saw men pourtrayed upon the wall, the images of the Chaldeans pourtrayed with vermilion,
15 Girded with girdles upon their loins, exceeding in dyed attire upon their heads, all of them princes to look to, after the manner of the Babylonians of Chaldea, the land of their nativity:
16 And as soon as she saw them with her eyes, she doted upon them, and sent messengers unto them into Chaldea.
17 And the Babylonians came to her into the bed of love, and they defiled her with their whoredom, and she was polluted with them, and her mind was alienated from them.
18 So she discovered her whoredoms, and discovered her nakedness: then my mind was alienated from her, like as my mind was alienated from her sister.
19 Yet she multiplied her whoredoms, in calling to remembrance the days of her youth, wherein she had played the harlot in the land of Egypt.
20 For she doted upon their paramours, whose flesh is as the flesh of asses, and whose issue is like the issue of horses.
21 Thus thou calledst to remembrance the lewdness of thy youth, in bruising thy teats by the Egyptians for the paps of thy youth.
22 Therefore, O Aholibah, thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will raise up thy lovers against thee, from whom thy mind is alienated, and I will bring them against thee on every side;
Read full chapterThe Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
