Ezekiel 23:5

Ezekiel 23:5 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And Aholah played the harlot when she was mine; and she doted on her lovers, on the Assyrians her neighbours,
• New International Version (NIV)“Oholah engaged in prostitution while she was still mine; and she lusted after her lovers, the Assyrians—warriors
• English Standard Version (ESV)"Oholah played the whore while she was mine, and she lusted after her lovers the Assyrians, warriors
• New King James Version (NKJV)“Oholah played the harlot even though she was Mine; And she lusted for her lovers, the neighboring Assyrians,

Context of Ezekiel 23:5

3and they prostituted themselves in Egypt. From their youth they were grossly immoral; in that place their breasts were embraced and their virgin bosom was grasped. 4Their names were Oholah the elder and Oholibah her sister, and they became Mine and they gave birth to sons and daughters. And as for [the identity of] their names, Oholah is Samaria (capital city of Israel) and Oholibah is Jerusalem (capital city of Judah). “Oholah played the prostitute while she was Mine; and she adored and lusted after her lovers (allies), the Assyrians, her neighbors, 6who were clothed in purple, governors and officials, all of them attractive young men, horsemen riding on horses. 7She bestowed [freely] her immoralities on them, the choicest men of Assyria, all of them; and with all whom she adored and lusted after, she defiled herself with their idols.

Ezekiel 23:5 word by word

וַתִּ֥זֶן אָהֳלָ֖ה תַּחְתָּ֑י וַתַּעְגַּב֙ עַֽל־מְאַהֲבֶ֔יהָ אֶל־אַשּׁ֖וּר קְרוֹבִֽים׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And Aholahאׇהֳלָה'ohŏlâh 'ohŏlâhh · OholahH170
• played the harlotזָנָהzânâh · to fornicateH2181
• when she was mineתַּחַתtachath · underneath: underH8478
• and she dotedעָגַב‛âgab · to lustH5689
• on her loversאָהֵב'âhab 'âhêb · to love: loverH157
• on the Assyriansאַשּׁוּר'ashshûr 'ashshûr · AssyriaH804
• neighboursקָרֹבqârôb qârôb · nearH7138

Cross-references for Ezekiel 23:5

• 1 Kings 14:9but have done more evil than all [the kings] who were before you; for you have gone and made for yourself other gods and molten images to provoke Me to anger, and have cast Me behind your back—
• 1 Kings 15:26He did evil in the sight of the Lord and walked in the way of his father [Jeroboam] and in his sin [of idolatry], with which he made Israel sin.
• 1 Kings 16:31It came about, as if it had been a trivial thing for Ahab to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he married Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and went and served Baal and worshiped him.
• 1 Kings 21:26He acted very repulsively in following idols, in accordance with everything the Amorites had done, whom the Lord expelled [from the land] before the sons of Israel.
• 2 Kings 17:7Now this came about because the Israelites had sinned against the Lord their God, who had brought them up from the land of Egypt, from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and they had feared [and worshiped] other gods
• Ezekiel 23:7She bestowed [freely] her immoralities on them, the choicest men of Assyria, all of them; and with all whom she adored and lusted after, she defiled herself with their idols.
• Ezekiel 16:37therefore, listen, I will gather all your lovers (pagan allies) with whom you took pleasure, and all those whom you loved with all those whom you hated; I will even gather them against you from every direction and will expose your nakedness to them that they may see all your nakedness [making you, Israel, an object of loathing and of mockery, a spectacle among the nations].
• Jeremiah 50:38A drought on her waters, and they will dry up! For it is a land of [worthless] idols, And they are mad over fearsome idols [those objects of terror in which they foolishly trust].
• Ezekiel 16:28You prostituted yourself with the Assyrians because you were not satisfied; you prostituted yourself with them and still were not satisfied.
• 2 Kings 15:19Pul, [Tiglath-pileser III] king of Assyria, came against the land [of Israel], and Menahem gave Pul a thousand talents of silver [as a bribe], so that he might help him to strengthen his control of the kingdom.
• 2 Kings 16:7So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, saying, “I am your servant and son. Come up and rescue me from the hand of the kings of Aram and of Israel, who are rising up against me.”
• 2 Kings 17:3Shalmaneser [V] king of Assyria came up against him, and Hoshea became his servant and paid him tribute (money).
• Hosea 5:13When Ephraim saw his sickness, And Judah his wound, Then Ephraim went to Assyria [instead of the Lord] And sent to [Assyria’s] great King Jareb [for help]. But he cannot heal you Nor will he cure you of your wound [received in judgment].
• Hosea 8:9For they have gone up to Assyria, Like a wild donkey wandering alone and taking her own way; Ephraim has hired lovers (pagan allies).
• Hosea 10:6The golden calf itself will be carried to Assyria As tribute to King Jareb; Ephraim will be seized with shame And Israel will be ashamed of his own counsel [to worship the calf and separate Israel from Judah].
• Hosea 12:1Ephraim feeds on the [emptiness of the] wind And [continually] pursues the [parching] east wind [which brings destruction]; Every day he multiplies lies and violence. Further, he makes a covenant with Assyria And (olive) oil is carried to Egypt [to seek alliances].

Commentaries on Ezekiel 23:5

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 5And Aholah played the harlot - Without entering into detail here, or following the figures, they both became idolatrous, and received the impure rites of the Egyptians, Assyrians, and Chaldeans, of which connection the prophet speaks here as he did in chap. 16, which see. In this chapter there are many of what we would call indelicate expressions, because a parallel is run between idolatry and prostitution, and the circumstances of the latter illustrate…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 5-8Oholah: The northern kingdom did not embrace God's covenant of grace. Instead, it was drawn to Assyria's power and prestige. Israel formed alliances with Assyria as part of its political strategy starting in the 800s BC. However, these alliances did not protect Israel in the end.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 55. when ... mine--literally, "under Me," that is, subject to Me as her lawful husband. neighbours--On the northeast the kingdom of Israel bordered on that of Assyria; for the latter had occupied much of Syria. Their neighborhood in locality was emblematical of their being near in corruption of morals and worship. The alliances of Israel with Assyria, which are the chief subject of reprobation here, tended to this (2Ki 15:19; 16:7, 9; 17:3; Ho 8:9).Read the comment

Topics related to Ezekiel 23:5

• Aholah
• Aholibah
• Idolatry

In the dictionaries

• Adulterer
• Desirable
• Dispatch
• Dote
• Hatefully
• Lewd
• Crime; Crimes
• Ezekiel
• Grace
• Oholah

Commentaries on Ezekiel 23

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings