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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.

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Footnotes

  1. 23.5 Meaning of Heb uncertain
  2. 23.12 Meaning of Heb uncertain
  3. 23.21 Heb mss: MT from Egypt
  4. 23.21 Cn: Heb for the sake of
  5. 23.24 Gk: Meaning of Heb uncertain
  6. 23.44 Q ms: MT he has
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Ezekiel 23
Lexham English Bible

Oholah and Oholibah as Symbols of God’s Corrupt People

23 And the word of Yahweh came[a] to me, saying,[b] 2 “Son of man,[c] there were two women, the daughters of one mother, 3 and they prostituted themselves in Egypt in their childhood; they were prostituting themselves there, and their breasts were fondled, and there they caressed the bosoms of their virginity. 4 Now as for their names, the older was Oholah, and Oholibah was her sister. And they became mine,[d] and they bore sons and daughters, and their names[e] are Samaria for Oholah, and Jerusalem for Oholibah. 5 And Oholah prostituted herself while she was still mine,[f] and she lusted for her lovers, for Assyria who was nearby, 6 clothed in blue cloth, governors and prefects, handsome young men[g] and all of them horsemen, experts on horseback.[h] 7 And she bestowed her fornication on them, on the choice ones of the Assyrians,[i] all of them, and with every one after which she lusted; with all of their idols she defiled herself. 8 And her whorings from the time of Egypt she did not abandon, for they slept with her in her childhood, and they caressed the bosoms of her virginity, and they poured out their fornication on her. 9 Therefore I gave her into the hand of her lovers, into the hand of the Assyrians[j] after whom she lusted.[k] 10 They uncovered her nakedness; they took her sons and her daughters, and they killed her with the sword. And she became a name for the women, and they executed judgments against her.

11 “And though Oholibah her sister saw, yet in her lust she behaved more corruptly than her,[l] and her whoring was more than the prostitution of her sister. 12 She lusted after the Assyrians,[m] governors and prefects, warriors[n] clothed in[o] perfection,[p] expert horsemen,[q] all of them handsome young men.[r] 13 And I saw that she was defiled; they had both taken the same path![s] 14 And she increased her whorings, and she saw men carved[t] on the wall, images of Chaldeans[u] carved in red, 15 belted with a belt at[v] their waist with turbans on their heads, all of them giving the appearance of adjutants,[w] the image[x] of the Babylonians;[y] Chaldea was the land of their birth. 16 And she lusted for them when her eyes saw them,[z] and she sent messengers to them at Chaldea. 17 And so the Babylonians[aa] came to her for the bed of lovemaking; and they defiled her with their fornication, and she was defiled by them, and she turned from them. 18 And she revealed her whorings, and she revealed her nakedness, and so I turned from her just as[ab] I turned from her sister. 19 Yet[ac] she increased her whorings, recalling[ad] the days of her childhood when she was prostituted[ae] in the land of Egypt. 20 And she lusted after her male lovers whose genitalia were the genitalia of male donkeys and their seminal emission was the seminal emission of horses. 21 And you longed after the obscene conduct of your youth when your bosom was caressed by Egypt, fondling your young breasts.

22 “Therefore, Oholibah, thus says the Lord Yahweh: ‘Look! I am stirring up your lovers against you concerning whom you turned away, and I will bring them against you from all around: 23 the Babylonians[af] and all of the Chaldeans, Pekod and Shoa and Koa, all of the Assyrians[ag] along with them, handsome young men,[ah] governors and prefects, all of them adjutants[ai] and excellent horsemen.[aj] 24 And they will come against you with an army chariot and wagon and with a crowd[ak] of peoples; they will set themselves against you from all around with large shield and small shield and helmet. And I will give before them[al] judgment, and they will judge you with their judgments. 25 And I will direct my zeal against you, and they will deal with you in anger; your nose and your ears they will remove, and those who are left,[am] they will fall by the sword, and they will take your sons and your daughters, and your remnant[an] will be consumed by fire. 26 And they will strip you of your clothes, and they will take your splendid jewelry.[ao] 27 And I will put an end to your obscene conduct coming from you and your fornication from the land of Egypt, and you will not lift your eyes to them; and you will not remember Egypt again.’ 28 For thus says the Lord Yahweh: ‘Look! I am giving you into the hand of those you hated, into the hand of those from whom[ap] you turned away. 29 And they will deal with you in hatred, and they will take all of your acquisitions, and they will leave you naked and in bareness; and the nakedness of your fornication and your obscene conduct and your whorings will be exposed. 30 These things are accomplished[aq] against[ar] you since you prostituted yourself after the nations, and on account of that, you defiled yourself by their idols. 31 You went in the same way of your sister, and I will give her cup into your hand.”’

32 Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “You will drink the deep and wide[as] cup of your sister; you will be as laughter and as scorn; the cup holds so much![at] 33 You will be filled with drunkenness and sorrow, for a cup of horror and desolation is the cup of your sister, Samaria. 34 And you will drink it, and you will drain it, and its potsherds you will gnaw, and you will tear out your breasts, for I myself[au] spoke,” declares[av] the Lord Yahweh. 35 Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Because you have forgotten me, and you threw me behind your back, now in turn[aw] you bear your obscene conduct and your whorings.”

36 And Yahweh said to me, “Son of man,[ax] will you judge Oholah and Oholibah and declare their abominable deeds to[ay] them? 37 For they committed adultery, and blood is on their hands, and they committed adultery with their idols, and even their children that they had borne for me—they sacrificed them as food! 38 Also they did this to me: they defiled my sanctuary on that day, and they profaned my Sabbaths, 39 and when they slaughtered their children for their idols, they came to my sanctuary on that day to profane it. And look, this is what they did in my house![az] 40 What is worse,[ba] they sent for men who come[bb] from a distant place, to whom a messenger was sent to them, and look! They came! Men for whom you bathed and painted your eyes, and you adorned yourself with an ornament. 41 And you sat on a magnificent couch and a table prepared before her,[bc] and my incense and my olive oil you put on her.[bd] 42 And a sound of a carefree crowd was with it,[be] and in addition to these men, a crowd of drunken men[bf] was brought in[bg] from the desert,[bh] and they put bracelets on their arms and a crown of splendor on their heads. 43 And I said to[bi] the one worn out with adulteries, ‘Now they will prostitute her concerning her fornication, even her.’[bj] 44 And so they went to her like going to a female[bk] prostitute; and thus they went to Oholah and to Oholibah, the women of obscene conduct. 45 But righteous men, they will judge them with the judgment of committing adultery, and with the judgment of shedding blood; for they were committing adultery, and blood was on their hands.”

46 For thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Bring up against them an assembly, and make them as a thing of horror and as plunder. 47 And an assembly must stone them with stones,[bl] and they must cut them down. With their swords they shall kill their sons and their daughters, and with fire they shall burn their houses. 48 And I will cause obscene conduct to cease from the land,[bm] and all of the women will be warned, and they will not do according to your wickedness. 49 And they will repay your obscene conduct upon you, and the guilt of your idols you will bear, and you will know that I am the Lord Yahweh.

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Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 23:1 Literally “was”
  2. Ezekiel 23:1 Literally “to say”
  3. Ezekiel 23:2 Or “mortal,” or “son of humankind”
  4. Ezekiel 23:4 Literally “they were for me”
  5. Ezekiel 23:4 Hebrew “name”
  6. Ezekiel 23:5 Literally “under me”
  7. Ezekiel 23:6 Literally “young men of handsomeness/beauty”
  8. Ezekiel 23:6 Literally “riders of horsemen”
  9. Ezekiel 23:7 Literally “sons of Assyria”
  10. Ezekiel 23:9 Literally “sons of Assyria”
  11. Ezekiel 23:9 Literally “which she lusted for them”
  12. Ezekiel 23:11 Literally “she behaved corruptly in lust from her”
  13. Ezekiel 23:12 Literally “sons of Assyria”
  14. Ezekiel 23:12 Hebrew uncertain
  15. Ezekiel 23:12 Or “to”
  16. Ezekiel 23:12 Or “in full armor” or “wonderfully dressed”
  17. Ezekiel 23:12 Literally “horsemen, riders of horses”
  18. Ezekiel 23:12 Literally “young men of handsomeness”
  19. Ezekiel 23:13 Literally “way one was for the two of them”
  20. Ezekiel 23:14 Or “portrayed”
  21. Ezekiel 23:14 According to the reading tradition (Qere)
  22. Ezekiel 23:15 Or “around”
  23. Ezekiel 23:15 Or “officers”
  24. Ezekiel 23:15 Or “likeness”
  25. Ezekiel 23:15 Literally “sons of Babylon”
  26. Ezekiel 23:16 Literally “at the sight of her eyes”
  27. Ezekiel 23:17 Literally “sons of Babylon”
  28. Ezekiel 23:18 Literally “as that”
  29. Ezekiel 23:19 Or “And”
  30. Ezekiel 23:19 Or “remembering”
  31. Ezekiel 23:19 Or “prostituted herself”
  32. Ezekiel 23:23 Literally “sons of Babylon”
  33. Ezekiel 23:23 Literally “sons of Assyria”
  34. Ezekiel 23:23 Literally “young men of beauty/handsomeness”
  35. Ezekiel 23:23 Or “officers”
  36. Ezekiel 23:23 Literally “ones called riders of horses”
  37. Ezekiel 23:24 Or “horde” or “host of”
  38. Ezekiel 23:24 Literally “to the face of them”
  39. Ezekiel 23:25 Literally “and remainder your”
  40. Ezekiel 23:25 Literally “and remainder your”
  41. Ezekiel 23:26 Literally “the jewelry of splendor your”; or “your beautiful jewelry”
  42. Ezekiel 23:28 Literally “them”
  43. Ezekiel 23:30 Or “done”
  44. Ezekiel 23:30 Hebrew “in”
  45. Ezekiel 23:32 Or place “drink deep and wide the cup”
  46. Ezekiel 23:32 Literally “a large among to hold”
  47. Ezekiel 23:34 Literally “I, I”
  48. Ezekiel 23:34 Literally “declaration of”
  49. Ezekiel 23:35 Or “also”
  50. Ezekiel 23:36 Or “mortal,” or “son of humankind”
  51. Ezekiel 23:36 Or “for”
  52. Ezekiel 23:39 Literally “thus they did in the midst of house my”
  53. Ezekiel 23:40 Literally “and also for/indeed”
  54. Ezekiel 23:40 Literally “coming”
  55. Ezekiel 23:41 Literally “to the face of her”
  56. Ezekiel 23:41 Or “it”
  57. Ezekiel 23:42 Or “her”
  58. Ezekiel 23:42 A problematic verse; reading according to the reading tradition (Qere)
  59. Ezekiel 23:42 Literally “from an abundance of men being brought in drunken”
  60. Ezekiel 23:42 Or “wilderness”
  61. Ezekiel 23:43 Or “about”
  62. Ezekiel 23:43 Or “that she did”
  63. Ezekiel 23:44 Or “a woman”
  64. Ezekiel 23:47 Hebrew “stone”
  65. Ezekiel 23:48 Or “I will put an end to obscene conduct from the land”
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Ezekiel 22
Ezekiel 24
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Lexham English Bible (LEB)

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