Beginning
23 The word of the Eternal came to me with a parable about two sisters.
Eternal One: 2 Son of man, there were two women born of the same mother. 3 They became promiscuous in Egypt at a young age. Their breasts were fondled, and their virgin bodies were caressed. 4 The older sister was named Oholah, and her younger sister was named Oholibah. They married Me, and they gave birth to many sons and daughters.
Oholah is Samaria (the mother city of Israel), and Oholibah is Jerusalem (the mother city of Judah).
After King Solomon’s death, Israel splits into two kingdoms, the two sisters described in this parable. Israel is ruled from Samaria; Judah is ruled from Jerusalem. Both kingdoms are ruled autonomously until Assyria dominates Israel, forcing her to pay tribute. Eventually the Assyrians conquer Israel in 722 b.c. and annex her land. Throughout this struggle, the various kings of Israel turn for help to everyone they can—everyone, that is, except God. Israel’s last cry for help is raised to Egypt in the 730s b.c. by her last king, Hoshea (2 Kings 17:4). Unfortunately, surviving historical records are incomplete, and what happens next is unclear. But in the end, Egypt proves to be no help to Israel.
Eternal One: 5 Oholah played the whore while she was still Mine. She coveted many lovers, lusting after her neighbors, the Assyrians— 6 sharply dressed in handsome blue, governors and commanders—all attractive young men mounted on great horses. 7 She offered herself as a prostitute to all of the fine Assyrian men and anyone who desired her. She degraded herself with the idols of her lovers. 8 She didn’t stop the promiscuity she began in Egypt, for when she was young she slept with men who caressed her virgin breasts and poured out their lust on her. 9 So I handed her over to those she loved, the Assyrians whom she desired. 10 They stripped her naked, stole her children, and slaughtered her during the war. So among women, her name became synonymous with disgrace, when they saw the punishment she received.
Unfortunately Judah, the younger sister, repeats Israel’s mistakes. She turns to Egypt against a conquering Babylonian Empire; but this is a grave mistake, for soon she will be completely destroyed.
11 Her younger sister, Oholibah, witnessed all that happened; yet Oholibah became more corrupt than her sister. Her wanton lust and prostitution were even worse than her sister’s. 12 She was obsessed with the Assyrians, too, lusting after the elite—governors and commanders, sharply-dressed warriors—all attractive young men mounted atop great horses. 13 I saw how she degraded herself. Both she and her sister followed the same path, 14 but Oholibah’s path went further and she traveled longer. She added the Babylonians to her list of paramours. She was captivated by images of men painted on a wall: figures of Chaldeans dressed in red, 15 with expensive belts wrapped around their waists and flowing turbans adorning their heads. All of them looked highly distinguished, like Babylonian officers from the land of Chaldea. 16 As soon as her eyes met these portraits, she lusted after them. And so she sent messengers to them in Chaldea. 17 And the Babylonians accepted her invitation and came into her bed of love, degrading her with their lust. When they had completely defiled her, she turned away from them in disgust. 18 Because she carried on her whoring so publicly and exposed herself to so many, I was repulsed by her just as I was her sister. 19 Yet she went deeper into prostitution when she remembered how she played the whore when she was young in the land of Egypt. 20 She lusted for lovers whose genitals were as large as a donkey’s and whose emissions were like a horse’s.
21 You, Judah, longed for the lewd promiscuity of your youth in Egypt,
when men fondled your breasts and caressed your virgin body.”[a]
22 Pay attention, Oholibah! I will turn your forgotten lovers against you,
the ones whom you turned away from in disgust.
I will bring them against you from every direction.
23 Babylonians and all the Chaldeans,
the people of Pekod, Shoa, and Koa, and all the Assyrians,
All attractive young men, governors and commanders,
sharply-dressed officers and high-ranking officials mounted atop great horses.
24 They will come after you with lethal weapons[b] in hand,
shields in place, dressed in armor;
And troops will storm you from every side
in war chariots and wagons.
I will hand you over to their judgment,
and they will punish you according to their customs.
25 I will unleash My jealous fury against you.
They will slice off your nose and ears and kill the rest of your people in battle.
They will steal your children,
and they will burn any who survive in a fire.
26 They will strip you and take away your clothes;
they will rob you of your expensive jewelry.
27 This is how I will put a stop to the promiscuities
and prostitution you brought from the land of Egypt.
You will not admire or remember Egypt with yearning anymore.
28 Here is what the Eternal Lord has to say:
Eternal One: Pay attention! I am a moment away from handing you over to those whom you loathe, the ones whom you turned away from in disgust. 29 They will treat you with hatred and rob you of your lot. They will rip off your clothes in public and leave you naked. The marks of your prostitution—your lewd, promiscuous life—will be apparent. 30 You have brought this upon yourself because you played the whore with your neighboring nations, degraded yourself with profane images and breathless idols. 31 You have followed the same path as your sister; therefore, I will let you drink from her very own cup.
32 You will drink from your sister’s cup,
a cup deep and wide.
It will bring you shame and scorn
and a lot of it.
33 You will drink your fill of drunkenness and agony,
with tears of sorrow running down your cheeks.
This is the cup of ruination, of destruction—
the cup of your sister Samaria!
34 You will drink it down and drain it dry;
then you will smash the cup to pieces
And gnaw on its shattered remains;
you will tear at the breasts your enemies once fondled.
For I, the Eternal Lord, have spoken.
35 Because you have forgotten Me and tossed Me over your shoulder like a piece of trash, you must reap the consequences of your promiscuities and prostitution.
36 (to Ezekiel) Son of man, will you judge Oholah and Oholibah? You must! Confront them about their shocking actions— 37 the adulterous liaisons they commit with bloody hands, even sacrificing their sons and daughters, My children, as burnt offerings to breathless idols. 38-39 Not only that, but they have also polluted My sanctuary and profaned My Sabbaths by sacrificing their children to the breathless idols on the same day they came into My house. This is what they did to Me and My house. This is how they profaned it. 40 They even sent a special invitation to men who lived far away. When they arrived, you had bathed in fragrant waters, painted around your eyes, dressed in seductive garments, and adorned your body with shiny jewelry for your honored guests. 41 You reclined on a silky couch in front of a table set for your visitors with the incense and oils that belonged to Me. 42 As for Oholibah, the mellowed crowd gathered around her—drunkards from the desert and noisy commoners. They adorned the arms of the sisters with bracelets I’d given them and placed ostentatious crowns on the heads of My queens. 43 Then I wondered about this woman who was exhausted from adulterous sex: “Will they still want to sleep with her, here and now?”[c] 44 Yes, they all went into her bed, one after another, and used her as a prostitute. This is what they did to both these wanton women: Oholah and Oholibah. 45 But righteous people will condemn these sisters to punishment befitting adulterous and murderous women! For they are indeed adulteresses and their hands are covered with innocent blood.
46 This is what the Eternal Lord has to say:
Eternal One: Bring a vast army against them! Overtake them with terror and plunder their goods! 47 Their enemies will crush them with large rocks and hack them down in battle. They will massacre their children—My children—and burn down their houses!
(to the sisters) 48 This is how I will put an end to the lewdness practiced in the land and make you an example to all women, that they may learn from your mistakes and never commit the wicked acts you did. 49 You will suffer the consequences of your promiscuity; you will bear the penalty for worshiping your idols. Then you will know that I am the Eternal Lord.
This memorable allegory traces the fate of two sisters who represent the two capital cities of Israel and Judah: Samaria and Jerusalem. The graphic portrayals of their sexual exploits are some of the most disturbing in Scripture; they highlight the disgust God and His prophet must feel toward God’s wayward people. Anyone who hears Ezekiel speak this message must come to the same conclusion: God must judge His unfaithful wives. It is right. It is just. It is necessary.
24 The word of the Eternal came to me in the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth day.
Eternal One: 2 Son of man, remember this date. Write it down. The Babylonian king laid siege to Jerusalem today. 3 Tell this rebellious crowd a parable. Here is what the Eternal Lord has to say:
Put the cooking pot on the fire;
put it on and fill it with water.
4 Put the finest cuts of meat into it—legs and brisket;
fill it with the best bones.
5 Pick out the best from the flock,
stack wood beneath the pot,
Bring it to a rolling boil,
and cook what’s in the pot.
No one is safe in the cauldron of Jerusalem.
6 Woe to this city polluted with blood—
that pot thickly corroded, whose filth is impossible to clean!
Empty the pot one piece at a time;
don’t bother choosing one or the other!
7 The blood she shed is still polluting the city.
She poured it out on bare rock
Instead of into the ground
to be absorbed by the dust where blood belongs.
8 I have spilled her blood on bare rock
so that it may not be covered,
knowing My anger would be ignited and My revenge accomplished.
9 That’s why I, the Eternal Lord, speak out:
Woe to this city polluted with blood;
I will stack the wood Myself—
10 Stack it high beneath the pot
to feed the fire.
Mix spices and seasoning into the boiling brew
and cook the meat and then burn the bones.
11 Set the empty pot on the coals
until it grows so hot its metal begins to glow,
its filth melts inside, and no trace of corrosion remains.
12 But she has thwarted My efforts!
Her massive corrosion remains when the fire should have cleansed her.
13 Jerusalem, I tried to cleanse your lewd impurity, but you would not stay pure. Because of this, you will not be clean again until after you have suffered the full punishment of My wrath. 14 I, the Eternal One, have spoken. Your day of judgment has arrived, and I will act. I will not be easy on you; I will not feel sorry for you; I will not regret My actions. You will be judged by what you have done and get only what you deserve.
So said the Eternal Lord.
15 The word of the Eternal came to me regarding my wife.
Eternal One: 16 Son of man, in the blink of an eye, I am going to take away the delight of your eyes. Do not weep or grieve or shed a tear. 17 Any groaning must be inward and silent, but do not grieve for the dead. Dress as you always dress: with a turban on your head and sandals on your feet. Don’t do any of the things mourners do. Don’t eat the food others bring to comfort you or cover your upper lip.
18 It happened as such: I preached to the people in the morning, and that evening, my wife passed away. The next morning, I did exactly as I had been instructed to do.
People: 19 Tell us what all of this has to do with us. Why are you acting this way?
Ezekiel: 20 The word of the Eternal came to me 21 with a message for the people of Israel: “Look! I will desecrate My sanctuary—the magnificent house in which you take pride, the desire of your eyes, your complete delight—and all of the children you left behind in Jerusalem will be put to the sword and slaughtered.” 22 You will do exactly as I have done in hiding your grief: You will not eat the food others bring to comfort you or cover your upper lips. 23 You will dress as you always dress: with turbans on your heads and sandals on your feet. You will not mourn or grieve. God tells me, “Instead, you will rot away from within because of your wickedness and moan among yourselves. 24 In this way, Ezekiel will be a living example for you. You must do exactly as he has done. When this happens, you will know that I am the Eternal Lord.”
Eternal One: 25 As for you, son of man, on the day I seize their fortress—the joyous aspect of their pride, the desire of their eyes, their complete delight—and all of their children, 26 a fugitive will escape from the destruction and will come to you in Babylon with news of what happened. 27 The day you learn of My judgment, your mouth will be opened, and your silence will be broken. Then you will be able to converse with the fugitive. You will be a living example to them, and they will know that I am the Eternal One.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.