Ezekiel 23

Oholah and Oholibah’s Sin and Its Consequences

1The word of the Lord came to me again, saying, 2“Son of man, there were 1two women, the daughters of one mother; 3and they prostituted themselves in Egypt. They 2prostituted themselves in their youth; there their breasts were squeezed and there their virgin breasts were handled. 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 their names, Samaria is Oholah and Jerusalem is Oholibah.

5“Oholah prostituted herself 3while she was Mine; and she lusted after her lovers, after the 4Assyrians, her neighbors, 6who were clothed in purple, 5governors and officials, all of them handsome young men, horsemen riding on horses. 7She bestowed her 6obscene practices on them, all of whom were the choicest 7men of Assyria; and with all whom she lusted after, with all their idols she 8defiled herself. 8She did not abandon her obscene practices 9from the time in Egypt; for in her youth 10men had slept with her, and they handled her virgin breasts and poured out their obscene practice on her. 9Therefore, I handed her over to her 11lovers, to the 12Assyrians, after whom she lusted. 10They 13uncovered her nakedness; they took her sons and her daughters, but they killed her with the sword. So she became a 14subject of gossip among women, and they executed judgments on her.

11“Now her sister Oholibah saw this, yet she was 15more corrupt in her lust than she, and her obscene practices were 16more than the prostitution of her sister. 12She lusted after the 1718Assyrians, governors and officials, the ones near, opulently dressed, horsemen riding on horses, all of them handsome young men. 13And I saw that she had defiled herself; they both took 19the same way. 14So she increased her obscene practices. And she saw men 20carved on the wall, images of the 21Chaldeans drawn in bright red, 15wearing belts around their waists, with flowing turbans on their heads, all of them looking like officers, 22like the 23Babylonians in Chaldea, the land of their birth. 16And 24when she saw them she 25lusted after them and sent messengers to them in Chaldea. 17And the 2627Babylonians came to her to the bed of love and defiled her with their obscene practice. And when she had been defiled by them, 28she turned away from them in disgust. 18She 29exposed her obscene practices and exposed her nakedness; then 30I turned away from her in 31disgust, just as 32I had turned away from her 33sister in disgust. 19Yet she multiplied her obscene practices, remembering the days of her youth, when she prostituted herself in the land of Egypt. 20She 34lusted after their lovers, whose flesh is like the flesh of donkeys and whose discharge is like the discharge of horses. 21So you longed for the 35outrageous sin of your youth, when 36the Egyptians handled your breasts because of the breasts of your youth.

22“Therefore, Oholibah, this is what the Lord 37God says: ‘Behold I am going to incite your lovers against you, from whom 38you turned away in disgust, and I will bring them against you from every side: 23the 3940Babylonians and all the 41Chaldeans, 42Pekod and Shoa and Koa, and all the 4344Assyrians with them; handsome young men, governors and officials all of them, officers and 45men of renown, all of them riding on horses. 24And they will come against you with weapons, 46chariots, and 47wagons, and with a contingent of peoples. They will attack you on every side with shield, 48buckler, and helmet; and I will commit the 49judgment to them, and they will judge you according to their customs. 25I will set My 50jealousy against you, so that they may deal with you in wrath. They will remove your nose and your ears; and your 51survivors will fall by the sword. They will take your 52sons and your daughters; and your 53survivors will be consumed by the fire. 26They will also 54strip you of your clothes and take away your 55beautiful jewelry. 27So 56I will remove from you your outrageous sin and your prostitution that you brought from the land of Egypt, so that you will not raise your eyes to them or remember Egypt anymore.’ 28For this is what the Lord God says: ‘Behold, I am going to hand you over to those whom you 57hate, to those from whom 58you turned away in disgust. 29They will 59deal with you in hatred, take all your property, and leave you naked and bare. And the nakedness of your prostitution will be exposed, both your outrageous sin and your obscene practices. 30These things will be done to you because you have 60adulterously pursued the nations, because you have defiled yourself with their idols. 31You have walked in the way of your sister; therefore I will put 61her cup in your hand.’ 32This is what the Lord God says: ‘You will 62drink your sister’s cup, Which is deep and wide. 63You will be 64laughed at and held in derision; Because it contains much.33You will be filled with 65drunkenness and grief, A cup of horror and desolation, The cup of your sister Samaria.34And you will 66drink it and drain it. Then you will gnaw on its fragments And tear your breasts; for I have spoken,’ declares the Lord God. 35Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: ‘Because you have 67forgotten Me and 68discarded Me behind your back, suffer on your own part the punishment for your outrageous sin and your obscene practices.’”

36Moreover, the Lord said to me, “Son of man, will you 69judge Oholah and Oholibah? Then 70declare to them their abominations. 37For they have committed adultery, and blood is on their hands. So they have committed adultery with their idols, and even made their sons, 71whom they bore to Me, pass through the fire to 72them as food. 38Again, they have done this to Me: they have 73defiled My sanctuary on the same day, and have 74profaned My Sabbaths. 39For when they slaughtered their children for their idols, they entered My 75sanctuary on the same day to profane it; and behold, this is what they did within My house.

40“Furthermore, 76they have even sent for men who come from a great distance, to whom a messenger was sent; and behold, they came--for whom you bathed, 77put makeup on your eyes, and 78adorned yourselves with jewelry; 41and you sat on a splendid 79couch with a 80table arranged in front of it on which you had set My 81incense and My 82oil. 42And the sound of a 8384carefree multitude was with her; and 85heavy drinkers were brought from the wilderness with people from the multitude of humanity. And they put 86bracelets on 87the wrists of the women and beautiful crowns on their heads.

43“Then I said concerning her who was 88worn out by adulteries, ‘89Will they now commit adultery with her when she is like this?’ 4490But they went in to her as they would go in to a prostitute. This is how they went in to Oholah and to Oholibah, the lewd women. 45But they, righteous people, will 91judge 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 this is what the Lord God says: ‘Bring up a contingent against them and turn them over to 92terror and plunder. 47The contingent will 93stone them with stones and cut them down with their swords; they will kill their sons and their daughters and 94burn their houses with fire. 48So I will eliminate outrageous conduct from the land, so that all women will take warning and not commit 95outrageous sin as you have done. 49Your outrageous conduct 96will be 97repaid to you, and you will bear the guilt for your idols; so you will know that I am the Lord God.’”