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Ezekiel 23
Living Bible
Ezekiel 23
Living Bible
23 The Lord’s message came to me again, saying:
2-3 “Son of dust, there were two sisters who as young girls became prostitutes in Egypt.
4-5 “The older girl was named Oholah; her sister was Oholibah. (I am speaking of Samaria and Jerusalem!) I married them, and they bore me sons and daughters. But then Oholah turned to other gods instead of me and gave her love to the Assyrians, her neighbors, 6 for they were all attractive young men, captains and commanders, in handsome blue, dashing about on their horses. 7 And so she sinned with them—the choicest men of Assyria—worshiping their idols, defiling herself. 8 For when she left Egypt, she did not leave her spirit of prostitution behind, but was still as lewd as in her youth when the Egyptians poured out their lusts upon her and robbed her of her virginity.
9 “And so I delivered her into the evil clutches of the Assyrians whose gods she loved so much. 10 They stripped her and killed her and took away her children as their slaves. Her name was known to every woman in the land as a sinner who had received what she deserved.
11 “But when Oholibah (Jerusalem) saw what had happened to her sister, she went right ahead in the same way and sinned even more than her sister. 12 She fawned over her Assyrian neighbors,[a] those handsome young men on fine steeds, those army officers in handsome uniforms—all of them desirable. 13 I saw the way she was going, following right along behind her older sister.
14-15 “She was in fact more debased than Samaria, for she fell in love with pictures she saw painted on a wall! They were pictures of Babylonian military officers, outfitted in striking red uniforms, with handsome belts, and flowing turbans on their heads. 16 When she saw these paintings, she longed to give herself to the men pictured, so she sent messengers to Chaldea[b] to invite them to come to her. 17 And they came and committed adultery with her, defiling her in the bed of love, but afterward she hated them and broke off all relations with them.[c]
18 “And I despised her, just as I despised her sister, because she flaunted herself before them and gave herself to their lust. 19-20 But that didn’t bother her. She turned to even greater prostitution, sinning with the lustful men she remembered from her youth when she was a prostitute in Egypt.[d] 21 And thus you celebrated those former days when as a young girl you gave your virginity to those from Egypt.
22 “And now the Lord God says that he will raise against you, O Oholibah (Jerusalem), those very nations from which you turned away, disgusted. 23 For the Babylonians will come, and all the Chaldeans from Pekod and Shoa and Koa; and all the Assyrians with them—handsome young men of high rank, riding their steeds. 24 They will come against you from the north with chariots, wagons, and a great army fully prepared for attack. They will surround you on every side with armored men, and I will let them at you, to do with you as they wish. 25 And I will send my jealousy against you and deal furiously with you. They will cut off your nose and ears; your survivors will be killed; your children will be taken away as slaves, and everything left will be burned. 26 They will strip you of your beautiful clothes and jewels.
27 “And so I will put a stop to your lewdness and prostitution brought from the land of Egypt; you will no more long for Egypt and her gods.” 28 For the Lord God says: “I will surely deliver you over to your enemies, to those you loathe. 29 They will deal with you in hatred and rob you of all you own, leaving you naked and bare. And the shame of your prostitution shall be exposed to all the world.
30 “You brought all this upon yourself by worshiping the gods of other nations, defiling yourself with all their idols. 31 You have followed in your sister’s footsteps, so I will punish you with the same terrors that destroyed her. 32 Yes, the terrors that fell upon her will fall upon you—and the cup from which she drank was full and large. And all the world will mock you for your woe. 33 You will reel like a drunkard beneath the awful blows of sorrow and distress, just as your sister Samaria did. 34 In deep anguish you will drain that cup of terror to the very bottom and will lick the inside to get every drop. For I have spoken,” says the Lord. 35 “Because you have forgotten me and turned your backs on me, therefore you must bear the consequence of all your sin.
36 “Son of dust, you must accuse Jerusalem and Samaria of all their awful deeds. 37 For they have committed both adultery and murder; they have worshiped idols and murdered my children whom they bore to me, burning them as sacrifices on their altars. 38 On the same day they defiled my Temple and ignored my Sabbaths, 39 for when they had murdered their children in front of their idols, then even that same day they actually came into my Temple to worship! That is how much regard they have for me!
40 “You even sent away to distant lands for priests to come with other gods for you to serve, and they have come and been welcomed! You bathed yourself, painted your eyelids, and put on your finest jewels for them. 41 You sat together on a beautifully embroidered bed and put my incense and my oil upon a table spread before you. 42 From your apartment came the sound of many men carousing—lewd men and drunkards from the wilderness, who put bracelets on your wrists and beautiful crowns upon your head. 43 Will they commit adultery with these who have become old harlot hags? 44 Yet that is what they did. They went in to them—to Samaria and Jerusalem, these shameless harlots—with all the zest of lustful men who visit prostitutes. 45 But just persons everywhere will judge them for what they really are—adulteresses and murderers. They will mete out to them the sentences the law demands.”
46 The Lord God says: “Bring an army against them and hand them out to be crushed and despised. 47 For their enemies will stone them and kill them with swords; they will butcher their sons and daughters and burn their homes. 48 Thus will I make lewdness and idolatry to cease from the land. My judgment will be a lesson against idolatry for all to see. 49 For you will be fully repaid for all your harlotry, your worshiping of idols. You will suffer the full penalty, and you will know that I alone am God.”
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 23:12 She fawned over her Assyrian neighbors, i.e., when Ahaz paid “protection money” to Tiglath-pileser II (2 Kings 16:7-8).
- Ezekiel 23:16 so she sent messengers to Chaldea. This occurred when Hezekiah entertained the embassy from Babylon (Isaiah 38–39), also during the reign of Manasseh.
- Ezekiel 23:17 and broke off all relations with them. The anti-Babylonian party in Judah looked to Egypt for help during the reigns of the last two Judean kings, Jehoiakim and Zedekiah.
- Ezekiel 23:19 when she was a prostitute in Egypt, i.e., during the reign of Josiah.
Ezekiel 23
New International Version
Ezekiel 23
New International Version
Two Adulterous Sisters
23 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, there were two women, daughters of the same mother.(A) 3 They became prostitutes in Egypt,(B) engaging in prostitution(C) from their youth.(D) In that land their breasts were fondled and their virgin bosoms caressed.(E) 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.(F)
5 “Oholah engaged in prostitution while she was still mine; and she lusted after her lovers, the Assyrians(G)—warriors(H) 6 clothed in blue, governors and commanders, all of them handsome young men, and mounted horsemen. 7 She gave herself as a prostitute to all the elite of the Assyrians and defiled herself with all the idols of everyone she lusted after.(I) 8 She did not give up the prostitution she began in Egypt,(J) when during her youth men slept with her, caressed her virgin bosom and poured out their lust on her.(K)
9 “Therefore I delivered her into the hands(L) of her lovers,(M) the Assyrians, for whom she lusted.(N) 10 They stripped(O) her naked, took away her sons and daughters and killed her with the sword. She became a byword among women,(P) and punishment was inflicted(Q) on her.(R)
11 “Her sister Oholibah saw this,(S) yet in her lust and prostitution she was more depraved than her sister.(T) 12 She too lusted after the Assyrians—governors and commanders, warriors in full dress, mounted horsemen, all handsome young men.(U) 13 I saw that she too defiled herself; both of them went the same way.(V)
14 “But she carried her prostitution still further. She saw men portrayed on a wall,(W) figures of Chaldeans[a] portrayed in red,(X) 15 with belts(Y) 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(Z) to them in Chaldea.(AA) 17 Then the Babylonians(AB) 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.(AC) 18 When she carried on her prostitution openly and exposed her naked body,(AD) I turned away(AE) from her in disgust, just as I had turned away from her sister.(AF) 19 Yet she became more and more promiscuous as she recalled the days of her youth, when she was a prostitute in Egypt. 20 There she lusted after her lovers, whose genitals were like those of donkeys and whose emission was like that of horses. 21 So you longed for the lewdness of your youth, when in Egypt your bosom was caressed and your young breasts fondled.[c](AG)
22 “Therefore, Oholibah, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will stir up your lovers(AH) against you, those you turned away from in disgust, and I will bring them against you from every side(AI)— 23 the Babylonians(AJ) and all the Chaldeans,(AK) the men of Pekod(AL) and Shoa and Koa, and all the Assyrians with them, handsome young men, all of them governors and commanders, chariot officers and men of high rank, all mounted on horses.(AM) 24 They will come against you with weapons,[d] chariots and wagons(AN) and with a throng of people; they will take up positions against you on every side with large and small shields and with helmets. I will turn you over to them for punishment,(AO) and they will punish you according to their standards. 25 I will direct my jealous anger(AP) against you, and they will deal with you in fury. They will cut off your noses and your ears, and those of you who are left will fall by the sword. They will take away your sons and daughters,(AQ) and those of you who are left will be consumed by fire.(AR) 26 They will also strip(AS) you of your clothes and take your fine jewelry.(AT) 27 So I will put a stop(AU) to the lewdness and prostitution you began in Egypt. You will not look on these things with longing or remember Egypt anymore.
28 “For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am about to deliver you into the hands(AV) of those you hate, to those you turned away from in disgust. 29 They will deal with you in hatred and take away everything you have worked for. They will leave you stark naked,(AW) and the shame of your prostitution will be exposed.(AX) Your lewdness(AY) and promiscuity(AZ) 30 have brought this on you, because you lusted after the nations and defiled yourself with their idols.(BA) 31 You have gone the way of your sister; so I will put her cup(BB) into your hand.(BC)
32 “This is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“You will drink your sister’s cup,
a cup large and deep;
it will bring scorn and derision,(BD)
for it holds so much.(BE)
33 You will be filled with drunkenness and sorrow,
the cup of ruin and desolation,
the cup of your sister Samaria.(BF)
34 You will drink it(BG) and drain it dry
and chew on its pieces—
and you will tear your breasts.
I have spoken, declares the Sovereign Lord.(BH)
35 “Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Since you have forgotten(BI) me and turned your back on me,(BJ) you must bear(BK) the consequences of your lewdness and prostitution.”
36 The Lord said to me: “Son of man, will you judge Oholah and Oholibah? Then confront(BL) them with their detestable practices,(BM) 37 for they have committed adultery and blood is on their hands. They committed adultery with their idols; they even sacrificed their children, whom they bore to me, as food for them.(BN) 38 They have also done this to me: At that same time they defiled my sanctuary(BO) and desecrated my Sabbaths.(BP) 39 On the very day they sacrificed their children to their idols, they entered my sanctuary and desecrated(BQ) it. That is what they did in my house.(BR)
40 “They even sent messengers for men who came from far away,(BS) and when they arrived you bathed yourself for them, applied eye makeup(BT) and put on your jewelry.(BU) 41 You sat on an elegant couch,(BV) with a table(BW) spread before it on which you had placed the incense(BX) and olive oil that belonged to me.(BY)
42 “The noise of a carefree(BZ) crowd was around her; drunkards(CA) were brought from the desert along with men from the rabble, and they put bracelets(CB) on the wrists of the woman and her sister and beautiful crowns on their heads.(CC) 43 Then I said about the one worn out by adultery, ‘Now let them use her as a prostitute,(CD) for that is all she is.’ 44 And they slept with her. As men sleep with a prostitute, so they slept with those lewd women, Oholah and Oholibah. 45 But righteous judges will sentence them to the punishment of women who commit adultery and shed blood,(CE) because they are adulterous and blood is on their hands.(CF)
46 “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Bring a mob(CG) against them and give them over to terror and plunder.(CH) 47 The mob will stone them and cut them down with their swords; they will kill their sons and daughters(CI) and burn(CJ) down their houses.(CK)
48 “So I will put an end(CL) to lewdness in the land, that all women may take warning and not imitate you.(CM) 49 You will suffer the penalty for your lewdness and bear the consequences of your sins of idolatry.(CN) Then you will know that I am the Sovereign Lord.(CO)”
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 23:14 Or Babylonians
- Ezekiel 23:15 Or Babylonia; also in verse 16
- Ezekiel 23:21 Syriac (see also verse 3); Hebrew caressed because of your young breasts
- Ezekiel 23:24 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
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