Beginning
Chapter 23
The Two Sisters. 1 (A)The word of the Lord came to me: 2 Son of man, there were two women, daughters of the same mother.(B) 3 Even as young girls, they were prostitutes, serving as prostitutes in Egypt. There the Egyptians fondled their breasts and caressed their virgin nipples.(C) 4 Oholah was the name of the elder, and the name of her sister was Oholibah.[a] They became mine and gave birth to sons and daughters.(D) As for their names: Samaria was Oholah and Jerusalem, Oholibah. 5 (E)Oholah became a prostitute while married to me and lusted after her lovers, the Assyrians: warriors 6 dressed in purple, governors and officers, all of them handsome young soldiers, mounted on horses. 7 She gave herself as a prostitute to them, to all the Assyrian elite; with all those for whom she lusted, she also defiled herself with their idols. 8 She did not abandon the prostitution she had begun with the Egyptians, who had lain with her when she was young, fondling her virgin breasts and pouring out their lust upon her.(F) 9 Therefore I handed her over to her lovers, to the Assyrians for whom she lusted. 10 (G)They exposed her nakedness; her sons and daughters they took away, and her they killed with the sword. She became a byword for women because of the sentence carried out against her.
11 Although her sister Oholibah saw all this, her lust was more depraved than her sister’s; she outdid her in prostitution.(H) 12 She too lusted after the Assyrians, governors and officers, warriors impeccably clothed, mounted on horses, all of them handsome young soldiers.(I) 13 I saw that she had defiled herself—now both had gone down the same path. 14 She went further in her prostitution: She saw male figures drawn on the wall, images of Chaldeans drawn with vermilion, 15 with sashes tied about their waists, flowing turbans on their heads, all looking like chariot warriors, images of Babylonians, natives of Chaldea. 16 As soon as she set eyes on them she lusted for them, and she sent messengers to them in Chaldea.(J) 17 The Babylonians came to her, to her love couch; they defiled her with their impurities. But as soon as they had defiled her, she recoiled from them. 18 When her prostitution was discovered and her shame revealed, I recoiled from her as I had recoiled from her sister. 19 But she increased her prostitution, recalling the days of her youth when she had served as a prostitute in the land of Egypt. 20 She lusted for the lechers of Egypt, whose members are like those of donkeys, whose thrusts are like those of stallions.
21 You reverted to the depravity of your youth, when Egyptians fondled your breasts, caressing your young nipples. 22 Therefore, Oholibah, thus says the Lord God: I will now stir up your lovers against you, those from whom you recoiled, and I will bring them against you from every side: 23 the men of Babylon and all of Chaldea, Pekod, Shoa and Koa,[b] along with all the Assyrians, handsome young soldiers, all of them governors and officers, charioteers and warriors, all of them horsemen. 24 They shall invade you with armor, chariots and wagons, a horde of peoples; they will array against you on every side bucklers and shields and helmets. I will give them the right of judgment, and they will judge you according to their standards.(K) 25 I will direct my jealousy against you, so that they deal with you in fury, cutting off your nose and ears; what is left of you shall fall by the sword. They shall take away your sons and daughters, and what is left of you shall be devoured by fire. 26 They shall strip off your clothes and seize your splendid jewelry. 27 I will put an end to your depravity and to your prostitution from the land of Egypt; you shall no longer look to them, nor even remember Egypt again.
28 For thus says the Lord God: I am now handing you over to those whom you hate, to those from whom you recoil. 29 They shall treat you with hatred, seizing all that you worked for and leaving you stark naked, so that your indecent nakedness is exposed.(L) Your depravity and prostitution 30 brought these things upon you because you served as a prostitute for the nations, defiling yourself with their idols.(M)
31 Because you followed your sister’s path, I will put her cup into your hand.[c](N)
32 Thus says the Lord God:(O)
The cup of your sister you shall drink,
deep and wide;
It brings ridicule and mockery,
it holds so much;
33 You will be filled with drunkenness and grief—
A cup of horror and devastation,
the cup of your sister Samaria;
34 You shall drink it dry,
its very sherds you will gnaw;
And you shall tear out your breasts;
for I have spoken—oracle of the Lord God.
35 Therefore thus says the Lord God: You have forgotten me and cast me behind your back; now suffer for your depravity and prostitution.
36 [d]Then the Lord said to me: Son of man, would you judge Oholah and Oholibah? Then make known to them their abominations.(P) 37 For they committed adultery, and blood covers their hands. They committed adultery with their idols; even the children they bore for me they burnt as food for them. 38 And they also did this to me: on that day, they defiled my sanctuary and desecrated my sabbaths. 39 On the very day they slaughtered their children for their idols, they entered my sanctuary to desecrate it. Thus they acted within my house!(Q) 40 Moreover, they sent for men who had to come from afar; when a messenger was sent to them, they came. On their account you bathed, painted your eyes, and put on jewelry.(R) 41 You sat on a magnificent couch, set before it a table, on which to lay my incense and oil. 42 The cries of a mob! The shouts of men coming in from the wilderness! They put bracelets on the women’s arms and splendid crowns on their heads. 43 I said: “That worn-out one still has adulteries in her! Now they engage her as a prostitute and she…” 44 And indeed they did come in to her as men come in to a prostitute. Thus they came to Oholah and Oholibah, the depraved women. 45 The righteous shall certainly punish them with sentences given to adulterers and murderers, for they committed adultery, and blood is on their hands.(S)
46 Indeed, thus says the Lord God: Raise up an army against them and hand them over to terror and plunder. 47 The army will stone them and hack them to pieces with their swords. They will kill their sons and daughters and set fire to their houses. 48 Thus I will put an end to depravity in the land, and all women will be warned not to imitate your depravity. 49 They shall inflict on you the penalty of your depravity, and you shall pay for your sins of idolatry. Then you shall know that I am the Lord God.(T)
Chapter 24
Allegory of the Pot.[e] 1 On the tenth day of the tenth month, in the ninth year,[f] the word of the Lord came to me:(U) 2 Son of man, write down today’s date this very day, for on this very day the king of Babylon lays siege to Jerusalem. 3 (V)Propose this parable to the rebellious house and say to them: Thus says the Lord God:
Put the pot on, put it on!
Pour in some water;
4 Add to it pieces of meat,
all choice pieces;
With thigh and shoulder,
with choice cuts fill it.
5 Choose the pick of the flock,
then pile logs beneath it;
Bring it to a boil,
cook all the pieces in it.(W)
6 Therefore thus says the Lord God:
Woe to the city full of blood!(X)
A pot containing filth,
whose filth cannot be removed!
Take out its pieces one by one,
for no lot has fallen on their behalf.
7 For her blood is still in her midst;
on a bare rock she left it;
She did not pour it on the ground
to be covered with dirt.[g]
8 To arouse wrath, to exact vengeance,
I have left her blood on bare rock
not to be covered.
9 Therefore, thus says the Lord God:
Woe to the city full of blood!
I will make the pyre great!
10 Pile on the wood, kindle the fire.
Cook the meat, stir the spicy mixture,
char the bones!
11 Then set it empty on the coals,
to heat up until its copper glows,
So its impurities melt,
its filth disappears.
12 [h]The toil is exhausting,
but the great filth will not come out—
Filth, even with fire.
13 Even in defiling yourself with depravity
I would still have cleansed you,
but you would not have your impurity cleansed.
You will not be cleansed now
until I wreak my fury on you.(Y)
14 I, the Lord, have spoken;
it will happen!
I will do it and not hold back!
I will not have pity or relent.
By your conduct and deeds you shall be judged—
oracle of the Lord God.
Ezekiel as a Sign for the Exiles. 15 The word of the Lord came to me: 16 Son of man, with a sudden blow I am taking away from you the delight of your eyes, but do not mourn or weep or shed any tears.(Z) 17 Groan, moan for the dead, but make no public lament; bind on your turban, put your sandals on your feet, but do not cover your beard or eat the bread of mourners.[i] 18 I spoke to the people in the morning. In the evening my wife died. The next morning I did as I had been commanded.(AA) 19 Then the people asked me, “Will you not tell us what all these things you are doing mean for us?” 20 I said to them, The word of the Lord came to me: 21 Say to the house of Israel: Thus says the Lord God: I will now desecrate my sanctuary, the pride of your strength, the delight of your eyes, the concern of your soul. The sons and daughters you left behind shall fall by the sword.(AB) 22 [j]Then you shall do as I have done, not covering your beards nor eating the bread of mourning. 23 (AC)Your turbans shall remain on your heads, your sandals on your feet. You shall not mourn or weep, but you shall waste away because of your sins and groan to one another. 24 Ezekiel shall be a sign for you: everything he did, you shall do. When it happens, you shall know that I am the Lord God.
End of Ezekiel’s Muteness. 25 (AD)As for you, son of man, truly, on the very day I take away from them their strength, their glorious joy, the delight of their eyes, the desire of their soul, the pride of their hearts, their sons and daughters, 26 on that day a survivor will come to you so that you may hear it with your own ears.(AE) 27 On that day, with the survivor, your mouth shall be opened; you shall speak and be mute[k] no longer. You shall be a sign to them, and they shall know that I am the Lord.
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.