Ezekiel 23:1–21

Two Adulterous Sisters

23The word of the Lord came to me: ²“Son of man, there were two women, daughters of the same mother.^{y 3}They became prostitutes in Egypt,^z engaging in prostitution^a from their youth.^b In that land their breasts were fondled and their virgin bosoms caressed.^{c 4}The older was named Oholah, and her sister was Oholibah. They were mine and gave birth to sons and daughters. Oholah is Samaria, and Oholibah is Jerusalem.^d

⁵“Oholah engaged in prostitution while she was still mine; and she lusted after her lovers, the Assyrians^e—warriors^{f 6}clothed in blue, governors and commanders, all of them handsome young men, and mounted horsemen. ⁷She gave herself as a prostitute to all the elite of the Assyrians and defiled herself with all the idols of everyone she lusted after.^{g 8}She did not give up the prostitution she began in Egypt,^h when during her youth men slept with her, caressed her virgin bosom and poured out their lust on her.ⁱ

⁹“Therefore I delivered her into the hands^j of her lovers,^k the Assyrians, for whom she lusted.^{l 10}They stripped^m her naked, took away her sons and daughters and killed her with the sword. She became a byword among women,ⁿ and punishment was inflicted^o on her.^p

¹¹“Her sister Oholibah saw this,^q yet in her lust and prostitution she was more depraved than her sister.^{r 12}She too lusted after the Assyrians—governors and commanders, warriors in full dress, mounted horsemen, all handsome young men.^{s 13}I saw that she too defiled herself; both of them went the same way.^t

¹⁴“But she carried her prostitution still further. She saw men portrayed on a wall,^u figures of Chaldeans^a portrayed in red,^{v 15}with belts^w around their waists and flowing turbans on their heads; all of them looked like Babylonian chariot officers, natives of Chaldea.^{b 16}As soon as she saw them, she lusted after them and sent messengers^x to them in Chaldea.^{y 17}Then the Babylonians^z came to her, to the bed of love, and in their lust they defiled her. After she had been defiled by them, she turned away from them in disgust.^{a 18}When she carried on her prostitution openly and exposed her naked body,^b I turned away^c from her in disgust, just as I had turned away from her sister.^{d 19}Yet she became more and more promiscuous as she recalled the days of her youth, when she was a prostitute in Egypt. ²⁰There she lusted after her lovers, whose genitals were like those of donkeys and whose emission was like that of horses. ²¹So you longed for the lewdness of your youth, when in Egypt your bosom was caressed and your young breasts fondled.^ce