Ezekiel 23:1–49

Two Harlot Sisters

23 The word of the Lord came again to me, saying:

2 “Son of man, there were atwo women,

The daughters of one mother.

3 bThey committed harlotry in Egypt,

They committed harlotry in ctheir youth;

Their breasts were there embraced,

Their virgin bosom was there pressed.

4 Their names: 1Oholah the elder and 2Oholibah dher sister;

eThey 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 fAssyrians,

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 gfrom 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 hAssyrians,

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 ialthough her sister Oholibah saw this, jshe 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 kAssyrians,

lCaptains 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 mChaldeans 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 nAs soon as her eyes saw them,

She lusted for them

And sent omessengers to them in Chaldea.

17 “Then the 3Babylonians came to her, into the bed of love,

And they defiled her with their immorality;

So she was defiled by them, pand alienated herself from them.

18 She revealed her harlotry and uncovered her nakedness.

Then qI ralienated 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,

sWhen she had played the harlot in the land of Egypt.

20 For she lusted for her 4paramours,

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 tEgyptians 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,

vPekod, Shoa, Koa,

wAll 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 xjealousy 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 yThey shall also strip you of your clothes

And take away your beautiful jewelry.

27 ‘Thus zI will make you cease your lewdness and your aharlotry

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 bthose you hate, into the hand of those cfrom whom you alienated yourself. 29 dThey will deal hatefully with you, take away all you have worked for, and eleave 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 fgone 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 gcup in your hand.’

32 “Thus says the Lord God:

‘You shall drink of your sister’s cup,

The deep and wide one;

hYou 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 idrink and drain it,

You shall break its 5shards,

And tear at your own breasts;

For I have spoken,’

Says the Lord God.

35 “Therefore thus says the Lord God:

‘Because you jhave forgotten Me and kcast 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 ljudge Oholah and Oholibah? Then mdeclare to them their abominations. 37 For they have committed adultery, and nblood is on their hands. They have committed adultery with their idols, and even sacrificed their sons owhom they bore to Me, passing them through the fire, to devour them. 38 Moreover they have done this to Me: They have pdefiled My sanctuary on the same day and qprofaned 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 rthus they have done in the midst of My house.

40 “Furthermore you sent for men to come from afar, sto whom a messenger was sent; and there they came. And you twashed yourself for them, upainted your eyes, and adorned yourself with ornaments. 41 You sat on a stately vcouch, with a table prepared before it, won which you had set My incense and My oil. 42 The sound of a carefree multitude was with her, and 6Sabeans were brought from the wilderness with men of the common sort, who put bracelets on their 7wrists 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 xjudge them after the manner of adulteresses, and after the manner of women who shed blood, because they are adulteresses, and yblood is on their hands.

46 “For thus says the Lord God: z‘Bring up an assembly against them, give them up to trouble and plunder. 47 aThe assembly shall stone them with stones and 8execute them with their swords; bthey shall slay their sons and their daughters, and burn their houses with fire. 48 Thus cI will cause lewdness to cease from the land, dthat all women may be taught not to practice your lewdness. 49 They shall repay you for your lewdness, and you shall epay for your idolatrous sins. fThen you shall know that I am the Lord God.’ ”