Ezekiel 23

Two Sisters, One Corruption

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

2 “Son of man, there were two women, daughters of the same mother.

3 They played the prostitute in Egypt; they prostituted themselves while they were young. Their breasts were pressed there, and their virgin bodies were handled.

4 The older one was named Oholah, and her sister was Oholibah. They became Mine, and they gave birth to sons and daughters. Oholah is Samaria, and Oholibah is Jerusalem.

Oholah’s Unfaithfulness

5 “Oholah prostituted herself while she was Mine. She lusted after her lovers, the Assyrians, warriors dressed in blue,

6 governors and commanders, all of them desirable young men, horsemen riding horses.

7 She gave herself sexually to all the elite of the Assyrians and defiled herself with all the idols of everyone she lusted after.

8 She did not give up the prostitution she started in Egypt, because in her youth men slept with her, handled her virgin body, and poured out their lust on her.

9 So I handed her over to her lovers, the Assyrians she lusted after.

10 They exposed her nakedness, took her sons and daughters, and killed her with the sword. She became infamous among women, because judgment was carried out on her.

Oholibah Worse Than Her Sister

11 “Her sister Oholibah saw this, yet she became more corrupt in her lust than her sister, and her prostitution was worse.

12 She lusted after the Assyrians, governors and commanders, warriors perfectly dressed, horsemen riding horses, all desirable young men.

13 I saw that she defiled herself; both sisters walked the same path.

14 But she went further. She saw men carved on the wall, images of Chaldeans painted in red,

15 wearing belts around their waists and flowing turbans on their heads, all of them looking like officers, copies of Babylonians from the land of Chaldea.

16 As soon as she saw them, she lusted after them and sent messengers to them in Chaldea.

17 Then the Babylonians came to her bed of love and defiled her with their prostitution. After she was defiled by them, she turned away from them in disgust.

18 When she openly practiced her prostitution and exposed her nakedness, I turned away from her in disgust, just as I had turned away from her sister.

19 Yet she multiplied her prostitution, remembering the days of her youth when she prostituted herself in the land of Egypt.

20 She lusted after their lovers, whose bodies were like donkeys and whose emissions were like those of horses.

21 So you revisited the lewdness of your youth, when the Egyptians handled your breasts and pressed your young bosom.

Judgment Announced

22 “Therefore, Oholibah, this is what the Lord GOD says: I am about to stir up your lovers against you, those you turned away from in disgust. I will bring them against you from every side:

23 the Babylonians and all the Chaldeans, Pekod, Shoa, and Koa, and all the Assyrians with them, desirable young men, governors and commanders, officers and men of high rank, all of them riding horses.

24 They will come against you with weapons, chariots, wagons, and a crowd of peoples. They will line up against you on every side with shields, bucklers, and helmets. I will hand judgment over to them, and they will judge you by their standards.

25 I will set My jealousy against you, and they will deal with you in fury. They will cut off your nose and your ears, and those who remain will fall by the sword. They will take your sons and daughters, and what is left of you will be burned by fire.

26 They will strip you of your clothes and take away your beautiful jewelry.

27 So I will put an end to your lewdness and prostitution you started in Egypt. You will not lift your eyes to them or remember Egypt anymore.

28 “For this is what the Lord GOD says: I am about to hand you over to those you hate, to those you turned away from in disgust.

29 They will deal with you in hatred, take all you worked for, and leave you naked and bare. The shame of your prostitution will be exposed, your lewdness and your acts of prostitution.

30 These things will happen to you because you prostituted yourself with the nations and defiled yourself with their idols.

31 You walked the path of your sister, so I will put her cup in your hand.

The Cup of Wrath

32 “This is what the Lord GOD says: You will drink your sister’s cup, deep and wide. It will bring scorn and ridicule, because it holds so much.

33 You will be filled with drunkenness and sorrow, the cup of horror and devastation, the cup of your sister Samaria.

34 You will drink it and drain it dry. You will gnaw its broken pieces and tear your breasts. For I have spoken,” declares the Lord GOD.

35 “Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: Because you forgot Me and threw Me behind your back, you must bear the consequences of your lewdness and prostitution.”

Final Verdict

36 The LORD said to me, “Son of man, will you judge Oholah and Oholibah, Make them know their disgusting acts.

37 For they have committed adultery, and blood is on their hands. They committed adultery with their idols, and they even sacrificed their children, My children, to them, burning them as food.

38 They also did this to Me: At the same time they defiled My sanctuary and profaned My Sabbaths.

39 On the same day they slaughtered their children for their idols, they entered My sanctuary to profane it. This is what they did inside My house.

40 “They even sent for men to come from far away. Messengers were sent to them, and look, they came. You bathed yourself for them, painted your eyes, and put on your jewelry.

41 You sat on a luxurious couch with a table set in front of it, on which you placed My incense and My oil.

42 The noise of a carefree crowd was with her. Drunk men were brought from the wilderness, and they put bracelets on the women’s wrists and beautiful crowns on their heads.

43 “Then I said about her who was worn out by adultery, ‘Now they will keep prostituting themselves with her.’

44 Yet they went in to her like men go in to a prostitute. So they went in to Oholah and Oholibah, those lewd women.

45 But righteous men will judge them with the judgment of adulteresses and 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 a mob against them and hand them over to terror and plunder.

47 The mob will stone them and cut them down with their swords. They will kill their sons and daughters and burn their houses with fire.

48 So I will put an end to lewdness in the land, so all women will be warned and not imitate your lewd behavior.

49 They will repay you for your lewdness, and you will bear the consequences of your sins with idols. Then you will know that I am the Lord GOD.”