Ezekiel 23

Chapter 23

The Adultery of Two Sisters

1 This message came to me from the LORD:2 “Son of man, once there were two sisters who were daughters of the same mother.3 They became prostitutes in Egypt. Even as young girls, they allowed men to fondle their breasts.

4 The older girl was named Oholah, and her sister was Oholibah. I married them, and they bore me sons and daughters. I am speaking of Samaria and Jerusalem, for Oholah is Samaria and Oholibah is Jerusalem.
5 “Then Oholah lusted after other lovers instead of me, and she gave her love to the Assyrian officers.6 They were all attractive young men, captains and commanders dressed in handsome blue, charioteers driving their horses.7 And so she prostituted herself with the most desirable men of Assyria, worshiping their idolst and defiling herself.

8 For when she left Egypt, she did not leave her spirit of prostitution behind. She was still as lewd as in her youth, when the Egyptians slept with her, fondled her breasts, and used her as a prostitute.
9 “And so I handed her over to her Assyrian lovers, whom she desired so much.

10 They stripped her, took away her children as their slaves, and then killed her. After she received her punishment, her reputation was known to every woman in the land.
11 “Yet even though Oholibah saw what had happened to Oholah, her sister, she followed right in her footsteps. And she was even more depraved, abandoning herself to her lust and prostitution.12 She fawned over all the Assyrian officers—those captains and commanders in handsome uniforms, those charioteers driving their horses—all of them attractive young men.

13 I saw the way she was going, defiling herself just like her older sister.
14 “Then she carried her prostitution even further. She fell in love with pictures that were painted on a wall—pictures of Babyloniant military officers, outfitted in striking red uniforms.15 Handsome belts encircled their waists, and flowing turbans crowned their heads. They were dressed like chariot officers from the land of Babylonia.t16 When she saw these paintings, she longed to give herself to them, so she sent messengers to Babylonia to invite them to come to her.

17 So they came and committed adultery with her, defiling her in the bed of love. After being defiled, however, she rejected them in disgust.
18 “In the same way, I became disgusted with Oholibah and rejected her, just as I had rejected her sister, because she flaunted herself before them and gave herself to satisfy their lusts.19 Yet she turned to even greater prostitution, remembering her youth when she was a prostitute in Egypt.20 She lusted after lovers with genitals as large as a donkey’s and emissions like those of a horse.

21 And so, Oholibah, you relived your former days as a young girl in Egypt, when you first allowed your breasts to be fondled.

The LORD’s Judgment of Oholibah

22 “Therefore, Oholibah, this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will send your lovers against you from every direction—those very nations from which you turned away in disgust.23 For the Babylonians will come with all the Chaldeans from Pekod and Shoa and Koa. And all the Assyrians will come with them—handsome young captains, commanders, chariot officers, and other high-ranking officers, all riding their horses.24 They will all come against you from the northt with chariots, wagons, and a great army prepared for attack. They will take up positions on every side, surrounding you with men armed with shields and helmets. And I will hand you over to them for punishment so they can do with you as they please.25 I will turn my jealous anger against you, and they will deal harshly with you. They will cut off your nose and ears, and any survivors will then be slaughtered by the sword. Your children will be taken away as captives, and everything that is left will be burned.26 They will strip you of your beautiful clothes and jewels.

27 In this way, I will put a stop to the lewdness and prostitution you brought from Egypt. You will never again cast longing eyes on those things or fondly remember your time in Egypt.
28 “For this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will surely hand you over to your enemies, to those you loathe, those you rejected.29 They will treat you with hatred and rob you of all you own, leaving you stark naked. The shame of your prostitution will be exposed to all the world.30 You brought all this on yourself by prostituting yourself to other nations, defiling yourself with all their idols.

31 Because you have followed in your sister’s footsteps, I will force you to drink the same cup of terror she drank.

32 “Yes, this is what the Sovereign LORD says:
“You will drink from your sister’s cup of terror,
a cup that is large and deep.
It is filled to the brim
with scorn and derision.33 Drunkenness and anguish will fill you,
for your cup is filled to the brim with distress and desolation,
the same cup your sister Samaria drank.34 You will drain that cup of terror
to the very bottom.
Then you will smash it to pieces
and beat your breast in anguish.
I, the Sovereign LORD, have spoken!

35 “And because you have forgotten me and turned your back on me, this is what the Sovereign LORD says: You must bear the consequences of all your lewdness and prostitution.”

The LORD’s Judgment on Both Sisters

36 The LORD said to me, “Son of man, you must accuse Oholah and Oholibah of all their detestable sins.37 They have committed both adultery and murder—adultery by worshiping idols and murder by burning as sacrifices the children they bore to me.38 Furthermore, they have defiled my Temple and violated my Sabbath day!

39 On the very day that they sacrificed their children to their idols, they boldly came into my Temple to worship! They came in and defiled my house.
40 “You sisters sent messengers to distant lands to get men. Then when they arrived, you bathed yourselves, painted your eyelids, and put on your finest jewels for them.41 You sat with them on a beautifully embroidered couch and put my incense and my special oil on a table that was spread before you.42 From your room came the sound of many men carousing. They were lustful men and drunkardst from the wilderness, who put bracelets on your wrists and beautiful crowns on your heads.43 Then I said, ‘If they really want to have sex with old worn-out prostitutes like these, let them!’44 And that is what they did. They had sex with Oholah and Oholibah, these shameless prostitutes.

45 But righteous people will judge these sister cities for what they really are—adulterers and murderers.
46 “Now this is what the Sovereign LORD says: Bring an army against them and hand them over to be terrorized and plundered.47 For their enemies will stone them and kill them with swords. They will butcher their sons and daughters and burn their homes.48 In this way, I will put an end to lewdness and idolatry in the land, and my judgment will be a warning to others not to follow their wicked example.

49 You will be fully repaid for all your prostitution—your worship of idols. Yes, you will suffer the full penalty. Then you will know that I am the Sovereign LORD.”

EZEKIEL 23

Two Sinful Sisters

1 The [Lord] said:
2 Ezekiel, son of man, listen to this story about two sisters. 3 While they were young and living in Egypt, they became prostitutes.

4 The older one was named Oholah, which stands for Samaria; the younger one was Oholibah, which stands for Jerusalem.t They became my wives and gave birth to my children.
5 Even though Oholah was my wife, she continued to be a prostitute and chased after Assyrian lovers. 6 She offered herself to soldiers in purple uniforms: handsome, high-ranking officers and cavalry troops. 7 She had sex with all the important Assyrian officials and even worshiped their disgusting idols.

8 Once she started doing these things in Egypt, she never stopped. Men slept with her, and she was always ready for sex.
9 So I gave Oholah to the Assyrian lovers she wanted so badly.

10 They ripped off her clothes, then captured her children and killed her. Women everywhere talked about what had happened to Oholah.
11 Oholibah saw all this, but she was more sinful and wanted sex more than her sister Oholah ever did. 12 Oholibah also chased after good-looking Assyrian officers, uniformed soldiers, and cavalry troops.

13 Just like her sister, she did vulgar things.
14 But Oholibah behaved worse than her sister. Oholibah saw images of Babylonian men carved into walls and painted red. 15 They had belts around their waists and large turbans on their heads, and they reminded her of Babylonian cavalry officers. 16 As soon as she looked at them, she wanted to have sex with them. And so, she sent messengers to bring them to her. 17 Men from Babylonia came and had sex with her so many times that she got disgusted with them.

18 She let everyone see her naked body and didn't care if they knew she was a prostitute. That's why I turned my back on her, just as I had done with her older sister.
19 Oholibah didn't stop there, but became even more immoral and acted as she had back in Egypt. 20 She eagerly wanted to go to bed with Egyptian men, who were famous for their sexual powers.

21 And she longed for the days when she was a young prostitute, when men enjoyed caressing her body.

The [Lord] Will Punish //Oholibah

22 The [Lord] God said:
Oholibah, t though you no longer want to be around your lovers, they will surround you like enemies, when I turn them against you. 23 I will gather all the handsome young officials and the high-ranking cavalry officers from Babylonia and Assyria, as well as from the Chaldean tribes of Pekod, Shoa, and Koa. 24 Their large armies will come from the northt with chariots and wagons carrying weapons. They will wear shields and helmets and will surround you, and I will let them judge and sentence you according to their own laws. 25 I am angry with you, so I will let them be very cruel. They will cut off your nose and ears; they will kill your children and burn alive anyone in your family who survives. 26 Your clothes and jewelry will be torn off.

27 I will stop your wickedness and the prostitution you started back in Egypt. You will never want to think about those days again.
28 I, the [Lord] God, am ready to hand you over to those hateful enemies that you find so disgusting. 29 They will cruelly take away everything you have worked for and strip you naked. Then everyone will see you for the prostitute you really are. Your own vulgar sins 30 have led to this. You were the one determined to have sex with men from other nations and to worship their idols.

31 You have turned out no better than your older sister, and now you must drink from the cup filled with my anger.
32 I, the [Lord] God, gave your sister a large, deep cup filled with my anger. And when you drink from that cup, you will be mocked and insulted. 33 You will end up drunk and devastated, because that cup is filled with horror and ruin.

34 But you must drink every drop! Then smash the cup and chew on its broken pieces. Use them to cut your breasts in sorrow. I, the [Lord] God, have spoken.

35 You have completely rejected me, and so I promise that you will be punished for the disgusting things you did as a prostitute.

The Two Sisters //Are Condemned

36 The [Lord] said:
Ezekiel, son of man, it's time for you to tell Oholah and Oholibaht that they are guilty. Remind them of their evil ways! 37 They have been unfaithful by worshiping idols, and they have committed murder by sacrificing my own children as offerings to idols.

38-39 They came into my temple that same day, and that made it unfit as a place to worship me. They have even stopped respecting the Sabbath.
40 They sent messengers to attract men from far away. When those men arrived, the two sisters bathed themselves and put on eye shadow and jewelry. 41 They sat on a fancy couch, and in front of them was a table for the olive oil and incense that had belonged to me. 42 Their room was always filled with a noisy crowd of drunkards brought in from the desert. These men gave the women bracelets and beautiful crowns, 43 and I noticed that the men were eager to have sex with these women, though they were exhausted from being prostitutes.t 44 In fact, the men had sex over and over with Oholah and Oholibah, the two sinful sisters.

45 But honest judges will someday accuse those two of murder and of being unfaithful, because they are certainly guilty.

46 So I, the [Lord] God, now say to these sisters:
I will call together an angry mob that will abuse and rob you. 47 They will stone you to death and cut you to pieces; they will kill your children and burn down your houses. 48 I will get rid of sinful prostitution in this country, so that women everywhere will be warned not to act as you have. 49 You will be punished for becoming prostitutes and for worshiping idols. Then you will know that I am the [Lord] God.