Yechezkel 23
Orthodox Jewish Bible
23 The Davar Hashem came again unto me, saying,
2 Ben adam, there were two nashim, the banot of one em;
3 And they committed zonah harlotry in Mitzrayim; they committed zonah harlotry in their youth; there were their breasts pressed, and there their betulah bosom was caressed.
4 And the shmot of them were Oholah the elder, and Oholivah her achot; and they were Mine, and they bore banim and banot. Thus were their shmot: Shomron is Oholah, and Yerushalayim Oholivah.
5 And Oholah (unfaithful to Me) played the zonah when she was Mine; and she lusted for her lovers, for Ashur [the Assyrian] warriors,
6 Which were clothed with royal blue, pachot (governors) and seganim (officials), all of them desirable bochurim, parashim (charioteers) driving susim.
7 Thus she committed her zonah harlotry with them, with all them that were the choice Bnei Ashur, and with all for whom she lusted; with all their gillulim (idols) she made herself tameh.
8 Neither did she give up her zonah harlotry brought from Mitzrayim; for in her youth they lay with her, and they caressed her betulah bosom, and poured out their zenut fornication upon her.
9 Therefore I have delivered her into the yad of her lovers, into the yad of the Bnei Ashur, upon whom she lusted.
10 These uncovered her ervah (nakedness); they took her banim and her banot, and slaughtered her with the cherev; and she became a shem (byword) among nashim; for they had executed judgments upon her.
11 And when her achot Oholivah saw this, she was more depraved in her craving than she, her zonah harlotry became worse than the zonah harlotry of her achot.
12 She lusted after the Bnei Ashur warriors, pachot and seganim, clothed most gorgeously, parashim driving susim, all of them desirable bochurim.
13 Then I saw that she had made herself tameh, that both of them had gone derech echad (the same road).
14 And that she increased her zonah harlotry; for when she saw anashim portrayed upon the kir (wall), the tzelamim (idol images) of the Kasdim (Chaldeans) portrayed in bright red,
15 Girded with ezor (belts) upon their waists, with flowing tevulim (turbans) upon their heads, all of them shalishim (ranking officers) to look to, after the demut (appearance) of those of Bnei Bavel Kasdim, their eretz moledet;
16 And as soon as she saw them with her eynayim, she lusted upon them, and sent malachim unto them into Chaldea.
17 And the Bnei Bavel came to her into the mishkav dodim (bed of love), and they made her tameh with their zenut (whoredom), and she was defiled by them, and her nefesh turned away from them in disgust.
18 So she uncovered her zonah harlotry, and uncovered her ervah: then My Nefesh was alienated from her, just as My Nefesh was alienated from her achot.
19 Yet she multiplied her zonah harlotry, in calling to remembrance the days of her youth, wherein she had played the zonah in Eretz Mitzrayim.
20 For she lusted upon their pilagshim (illicit lovers), whose basar is as the basar of chamorim, and whose issue is like the issue of susim.
21 Thus thou calledst to remembrance the zimmah (lewdness) of thy youth, when those of Mitzrayim caressed thy bosom because of thy youthful bosom.
22 Therefore, O Oholivah, thus saith Adonoi Hashem: Hineni, I will stir up thy lovers against thee, from whom thou hast alienated thy nefesh, and I will bring them against thee on every side;
23 The Bnei Baval, and all the Kasdim, Pekod, Shoa, Koa, and all the Bnei Ashur with them; all of them desirable bochurim, pachot and seganim, shalishim and renowned, all of them riding upon susim.
24 And they shall come against thee with weapons, wheeled chariots, and with a kahal amim, which shall set against thee shield and mogen and kova (helmet) all around; they will array themselves against thee; and I will delegate mishpat to them, and they shall judge thee according to their mishpatim.
25 And I will set My kina (jealousy) against thee, and they shall deal in chemah (wrath) with thee; they shall cut off thy nose and thine oznayim; and thy remnant shall fall by the cherev; they shall take thy banim and thy banot; and thy remnant shall be devoured by the eish.
26 They shall also strip thee out of thy begadim, and take away thy beautiful jewels.
27 Thus will I make thy zimmah (lewdness) to cease from thee, and thy zenut brought from Eretz Mitzrayim; so that thou shalt not lift up thine eynayim unto them, nor remember Mitzrayim any more.
28 For thus saith Adonoi Hashem; Hineni, I will deliver thee into the yad of them whom thou hatest, into the yad of them from whom thy nefesh is alienated;
29 And they shall deal with thee b’sinah (in hatred), and shall take away all thou hast labored for, and shall leave thee erom (naked) and bare; and the ervah of thy zonah harlotry shall be uncovered, both thy zimmah (lewdness) and thy zonah harlotry.
30 I will do these things unto thee, because thou hast gone a-whoring after the Goyim, and because thou art made tameh with their gillulim.
31 Thou hast walked in the derech of thy achot; so will I give her kos into thine yad.
32 Thus saith Adonoi Hashem: Thou shalt drink of thy achot’s kos deep and wide; thou shalt be laughed to scorn and held in derision; it containeth so much, filled to the brim.
33 Thou shalt be filled with shikkaron (drunkenness) and sorrow, with the kos of horror and desolation, with the kos of thy achot Shomron.
34 Thou shalt even drink it and drain it dry, and thou shalt break it into shards, and tear at thine own breasts; for I have spoken it, saith Adonoi Hashem.
35 Therefore thus saith Adonoi Hashem: Because thou hast forgotten Me, and thrust Me behind thy back, therefore bear thou also thy zimmah and thy zonah harlotry.
36 Hashem said moreover unto me: Ben adam, wilt thou judge Oholah and Oholivah? Indeed, declare unto them their to’avot;
37 That they have committed ni’uf, and dahm is on their hands, and with their gillulim (idols) have they committed ni’uf, and have also caused their banim, whom they bore unto Me, to pass for them through the eish, offering them as [sacrificial] food.
38 Moreover this they have done unto Me: they have defiled My Mikdash in the same day, and have profaned My Shabbatot.
39 For when they had slaughtered their banim to their gillulim (idols), then they came the same day, entering into My Mikdash to profane it; and, hinei, thus have they done in the midst of Mine Bais.
40 And furthermore, they sent for anashim to come from afar, unto whom malach (messenger) had been sent; and, hinei, they came; the men for whom thou didst wash thyself, didst paint thy eynayim, and didst deck thyself with jewelry,
41 And satest upon a glorious mittah (couch), and a shulchan spread before it, whereupon thou hast set Mine ketoret and Mine shemen.
42 And a voice of a carefree multitude was with her; and with the anashim of the common rabble were brought Sabeans from the midbar, which put bracelets upon their hands, and ateret tiferet (beautiful crowns) upon their heads.
43 Then said I unto her that was old in niufim (adulteries), Will they now commit zonah harlotry with her, and she with them?
44 Yet they went in unto her, as they go in unto an isha that playeth the zonah; so went they in unto Oholah and unto Oholivah, the women of zimmah (lewdness).
45 And the anashim tzaddikim, they shall judge them after the mishpat of no’afot (adulteresses), and after the mishpat of those guilty of shefach dahm; because they are no’afot (adulteresses), and dahm is on their hands.
46 For thus saith Adonoi Hashem: I will bring up a kahal upon them, and will give them over to be terrorized and plundered.
47 And the kahal shall stone them with stones, and cut them down with their charavot (swords); they shall slay their banim and their banot, and burn up their batim (houses) with eish.
48 Thus will I cause zimmah (lewdness) to cease out of ha’aretz, that all nashim may be warned not to practice your zimmah (lewdness).
49 And they shall bring your zimmah (lewdness) upon you, and ye shall bear sins of your gillulim (idols); and ye shall know that I am Adonoi Hashem.
Ezekiel 23
New King James Version
Two Harlot Sisters
23 The word of the Lord came again to me, saying:
2 “Son of man, there were (A)two women,
The daughters of one mother.
3 (B)They committed harlotry in Egypt,
They committed harlotry in (C)their youth;
Their breasts were there embraced,
Their virgin bosom was there pressed.
4 Their names: [a]Oholah the elder and [b]Oholibah (D)her sister;
(E)They were Mine,
And they bore sons and daughters.
As for their names,
Samaria is Oholah, and Jerusalem is Oholibah.
The Older Sister, Samaria
5 “Oholah played the harlot even though she was Mine;
And she lusted for her lovers, the neighboring (F)Assyrians,
6 Who were clothed in purple,
Captains and rulers,
All of them desirable young men,
Horsemen riding on horses.
7 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.
8 She has never given up her harlotry brought (G)from Egypt,
For in her youth they had lain with her,
Pressed her virgin bosom,
And poured out their immorality upon her.
9 “Therefore I have delivered her
Into the hand of her lovers,
Into the hand of the (H)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 (I)although her sister Oholibah saw this, (J)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 (K)Assyrians,
(L)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 (M)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 (N)As soon as her eyes saw them,
She lusted for them
And sent (O)messengers to them in Chaldea.
17 “Then the [c]Babylonians came to her, into the bed of love,
And they defiled her with their immorality;
So she was defiled by them, (P)and alienated herself from them.
18 She revealed her harlotry and uncovered her nakedness.
Then (Q)I (R)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,
(S)When she had played the harlot in the land of Egypt.
20 For she lusted for her [d]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 (T)Egyptians pressed your bosom
Because of your youthful breasts.
Judgment on Jerusalem
22 “Therefore, Oholibah, thus says the Lord God:
(U)‘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,
(V)Pekod, Shoa, Koa,
(W)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 (X)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 (Y)They shall also strip you of your clothes
And take away your beautiful jewelry.
27 ‘Thus (Z)I will make you cease your lewdness and your (AA)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 (AB)those you hate, into the hand of those (AC)from whom you alienated yourself. 29 (AD)They will deal hatefully with you, take away all you have worked for, and (AE)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 (AF)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 (AG)cup in your hand.’
32 “Thus says the Lord God:
‘You shall drink of your sister’s cup,
The deep and wide one;
(AH)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 (AI)drink and drain it,
You shall break its [e]shards,
And tear at your own breasts;
For I have spoken,’
Says the Lord God.
35 “Therefore thus says the Lord God:
‘Because you (AJ)have forgotten Me and (AK)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 (AL)judge Oholah and Oholibah? Then (AM)declare to them their abominations. 37 For they have committed adultery, and (AN)blood is on their hands. They have committed adultery with their idols, and even sacrificed their sons (AO)whom they bore to Me, passing them through the fire, to devour them. 38 Moreover they have done this to Me: They have (AP)defiled My sanctuary on the same day and (AQ)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 (AR)thus they have done in the midst of My house.
40 “Furthermore you sent for men to come from afar, (AS)to whom a messenger was sent; and there they came. And you (AT)washed yourself for them, (AU)painted your eyes, and adorned yourself with ornaments. 41 You sat on a stately (AV)couch, with a table prepared before it, (AW)on which you had set My incense and My oil. 42 The sound of a carefree multitude was with her, and [f]Sabeans were brought from the wilderness with men of the common sort, who put bracelets on their [g]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 (AX)judge them after the manner of adulteresses, and after the manner of women who shed blood, because they are adulteresses, and (AY)blood is on their hands.
46 “For thus says the Lord God: (AZ)‘Bring up an assembly against them, give them up to trouble and plunder. 47 (BA)The assembly shall stone them with stones and [h]execute them with their swords; (BB)they shall slay their sons and their daughters, and burn their houses with fire. 48 Thus (BC)I will cause lewdness to cease from the land, (BD)that all women may be taught not to practice your lewdness. 49 They shall repay you for your lewdness, and you shall (BE)pay for your idolatrous sins. (BF)Then you shall know that I am the Lord God.’ ”
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 23:4 Lit. Her Own Tabernacle
- Ezekiel 23:4 Lit. My Tabernacle Is in Her
- Ezekiel 23:17 Lit. sons of Babel
- Ezekiel 23:20 Illicit lovers
- Ezekiel 23:34 Earthenware fragments
- Ezekiel 23:42 Or drunkards
- Ezekiel 23:42 Lit. hands
- Ezekiel 23:47 Lit. cut down
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 uncertain
- 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
Copyright © 2002, 2003, 2008, 2010, 2011 by Artists for Israel International
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
