Chapter 23

Oholah and Oholibah’s Sin and Its Consequences

1 The word of the Lord came to me again, saying,

2 “Son of man, there were atwo women, the daughters of one mother;

3 and they played the harlot in Egypt. They aplayed the harlot in their youth; there their breasts were pressed and there their virgin bosom was handled.

4 “Their names were Oholah the elder and Oholibah her sister. And they became Mine, and they bore sons and daughters. And as for their names, Samaria is Oholah and Jerusalem is Oholibah.

5 “Oholah played the harlot 1while she was Mine; and she lusted after her lovers, after the aAssyrians, her neighbors,

6 who were clothed in purple, agovernors and officials, all of them desirable young men, horsemen riding on horses.

7 “She bestowed her harlotries on them, all of whom were the choicest 1men of Assyria; and with all whom she lusted after, with all their idols she adefiled herself.

8 “She did not forsake her harlotries afrom the time in Egypt; for in her youth 1men had lain with her, and they handled her virgin bosom and poured out their 2lust on her.

9 “Therefore, I gave her into the hand of her alovers, into the hand of the 1Assyrians, after whom she lusted.

10 “They auncovered her nakedness; they took her sons and her daughters, but they slew her with the sword. Thus she became a 1byword among women, and they executed judgments on her.

11 “Now her sister Oholibah saw this, yet she was amore corrupt in her lust than she, and her harlotries were more than the harlotries of her sister.

12 “She lusted after the 1aAssyrians, governors and officials, the ones near, magnificently dressed, horsemen riding on horses, all of them desirable young men.

13 “I saw that she had defiled herself; they both took 1the same way.

14 “So she increased her harlotries. And she saw men aportrayed on the wall, images of the bChaldeans portrayed with vermilion,

15 girded with belts on their loins, with flowing turbans on their heads, all of them looking like officers, 1like the 2Babylonians in Chaldea, the land of their birth.

16 “1When she saw them she alusted after them and sent messengers to them in Chaldea.

17 “The 1aBabylonians came to her to the bed of love and defiled her with their harlotry. And when she had been defiled by them, 2she became disgusted with them.

18 “She auncovered her harlotries and uncovered her nakedness; then 1I became bdisgusted with her, as 1I had become disgusted with her csister.

19 “Yet she multiplied her harlotries, remembering the days of her youth, when she played the harlot in the land of Egypt.

20 “She alusted after their paramours, whose flesh is like the flesh of donkeys and whose issue is like the issue of horses.

21 “Thus you longed for the alewdness of your youth, when 1the Egyptians handled your bosom because of the breasts of your youth.

22 “Therefore, O Oholibah, thus says the Lord 1God, ‘Behold I will arouse your lovers against you, from whom 2you were alienated, and I will bring them against you from every side:

23 the 1aBabylonians and all the bChaldeans, cPekod and Shoa and Koa, and all the 2dAssyrians with them; desirable young men, governors and officials all of them, officers and 3men of renown, all of them riding on horses.

24 ‘They will come against you with weapons, achariots and 1wagons, and with a company of peoples. They will set themselves against you on every side with buckler and shield and helmet; and I will commit the bjudgment to them, and they will judge you according to their customs.

25 ‘I will set My ajealousy against you, that they may deal with you in wrath. They will remove your nose and your ears; and your 1survivors will fall by the sword. They will take your bsons and your daughters; and your 1survivors will be consumed by the fire.

26 ‘They will also astrip you of your clothes and take away your bbeautiful jewels.

27 ‘Thus aI will make your lewdness and your harlotry brought from the land of Egypt to cease from you, so that you will not lift up your eyes to them or remember Egypt anymore.’

28 “For thus says the Lord God, ‘Behold, I will give you into the hand of those whom you ahate, into the hand of those from whom 1you were alienated.

29 ‘They will adeal with you in hatred, take all your property, and leave you naked and bare. And the nakedness of your harlotries will be uncovered, both your lewdness and your harlotries.

30 ‘These things will be done to you because you have aplayed the harlot with the nations, because you have defiled yourself with their idols.

31 ‘You have walked in the way of your sister; therefore I will give aher cup into your hand.’

32 “Thus says the Lord God,

‘You will adrink your sister’s cup,

Which is deep and wide.

1You will be blaughed at and held in derision;

It contains much.

33 ‘You will be filled with adrunkenness and sorrow,

The cup of horror and desolation,

The cup of your sister Samaria.

34 ‘You will adrink it and drain it.

Then you will gnaw its fragments

And tear your breasts;

for I have spoken,’ declares the Lord God.

35 “Therefore, thus says the Lord God, ‘Because you have aforgotten Me and bcast Me behind your back, bear now the punishment of your lewdness and your harlotries.’ ”

36 Moreover, the Lord said to me, “Son of man, will you ajudge Oholah and Oholibah? Then bdeclare to them their abominations.

37 “For they have committed adultery, and blood is on their hands. Thus they have committed adultery with their idols and even caused their sons, awhom they bore to Me, to pass through the fire to 1them as food.

38 “Again, they have done this to Me: they have adefiled My sanctuary on the same day and have bprofaned My sabbaths.

39 “For when they had slaughtered their children for their idols, they entered My asanctuary on the same day to profane it; and lo, thus they did within My house.

40 “Furthermore, 1they have even sent for men who come from afar, to whom a messenger was sent; and lo, they came—for whom you bathed, apainted your eyes and bdecorated yourselves with ornaments;

41 and you sat on a splendid acouch with a btable arranged before it on which you had set My cincense and My coil.

42 “The sound of a 1acarefree multitude was with her; and bdrunkards were brought from the wilderness with men of the 2common sort. And they put cbracelets on 3the hands of the women and beautiful crowns on their heads.

43 “Then I said concerning her who was aworn out by adulteries, ‘1Will they now commit adultery with her when she is thus?’

44 “1But they went in to her as they would go in to a harlot. Thus they went in to Oholah and to Oholibah, the lewd women.

45 “But they, righteous men, will ajudge them with the judgment of adulteresses and with the judgment of women who shed blood, because they are adulteresses and blood is on their hands.

46 “For thus says the Lord God, ‘Bring up a company against them and give them over to aterror and plunder.

47 ‘The company will astone them with stones and cut them down with their swords; they will slay their sons and their daughters and bburn their houses with fire.

48 ‘Thus I will make lewdness cease from the land, that all women may be admonished and not commit 1lewdness as you have done.

49 ‘Your lewdness 1will be arequited upon you, and you will bear the penalty of worshiping your idols; thus you will know that I am the Lord God.’ ”