Ezekiel 23

1 Yahweh said to me,

The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying,

2 “You human, [listen to this parable about Jerusalem and Samaria]. Once there were two women, daughters of the same mother.

Son of man, there were two women, the daughters of one mother:

3 They lived in Egypt. And from the time that they were young women, they became prostitutes. In that land, [men] fondled their breasts and caressed their bosoms [DOU].

And they committed whoredoms in Egypt; they committed whoredoms in their youth: there were their breasts pressed, and there they bruised the teats of their virginity.

4 The older [sister] was Oholah, and her [younger] sister was Oholibah. [It was as though] they became my [wives. Later] they gave birth to sons and daughters. Oholah represents Samaria, and Oholibah represents Jerusalem.

And the names of them were Aholah the elder, and Aholibah her sister: and they were mine, and they bare sons and daughters. Thus were their names; Samaria is Aholah, and Jerusalem Aholibah.

5 Oholah acted like a prostitute while she was [still] my wife. She desired to have sex with those she loved—soldiers from Assyria.

And Aholah played the harlot when she was mine; and she doted on her lovers, on the Assyrians her neighbours,

6 [Some of them] were army officers and commanders. They wore [beautiful] blue [uniforms. They were] all handsome young men. Some of them rode horses.

Which were clothed with blue, captains and rulers, all of them desirable young men, horsemen riding upon horses.

7 She acted like a prostitute toward all the important Assyrian officials, and became unacceptable to me by worshiping all the idols of the men she wanted to have sex with.

Thus she committed her whoredoms with them, with all them that were the chosen men of Assyria, and with all on whom she doted: with all their idols she defiled herself.

8 When she was a young woman in Egypt, she started being a prostitute, and [young] men caressed her breasts and had sex with her; and when she became older, she did not quit acting like a prostitute.

Neither left she her whoredoms brought from Egypt: for in her youth they lay with her, and they bruised the breasts of her virginity, and poured their whoredom upon her.

9 So I allowed the Assyrian soldiers, whom she wanted to have sex with, to capture her.

Wherefore I have delivered her into the hand of her lovers, into the hand of the Assyrians, upon whom she doted.

10 They stripped all her clothes off her. They took away her sons and daughters. And then they killed her with a sword. [Other] women started talking about what had happened to her, about how she had been punished.

These discovered her nakedness: they took her sons and her daughters, and slew her with the sword: and she became famous among women; for they had executed judgment upon her.

11 [younger] sister Oholibah saw those [that happened to Oholah], but she was a prostitute, and she desired to have sex with men more than [older] sister had desired.

And when her sister Aholibah saw this, she was more corrupt in her inordinate love than she, and in her whoredoms more than her sister in her whoredoms.

12 Oholibah [also] wanted to have sex with the Assyrian soldiers. [Some of them were] army officers and commanders. [They all] wore beautiful blue uniforms. They were all handsome young men. [Some of] them rode horses.

She doted upon the Assyrians her neighbours, captains and rulers clothed most gorgeously, horsemen riding upon horses, all of them desirable young men.

13 I saw what she did that caused her to became unacceptable to me, just like [older] sister.

Then I saw that she was defiled, that they took both one way,

14 But she did [even] worse things. She saw drawings of men from Babylonia on the walls, painted in red.

And that she increased her whoredoms: for when she saw men portrayed upon the wall, the images of the Chaldeans portrayed with vermilion,

15 The [in the drawings] had belts around their waists and long turbans on their heads. They all resembled officers from Babylonia [DOU] [who rode in chariots].

Girded with girdles upon their loins, exceeding in dyed attire upon their heads, all of them princes to look to, after the manner of the Babylonians of Chaldea, the land of their nativity:

16 As soon as she saw those drawings, she wanted to have sex with those men, and she sent messages to them in Babylonia.

And as soon as she saw them with her eyes, she doted upon them, and sent messengers unto them into Chaldea.

17 Then the soldiers from Babylonia came to her, they lay in bed with her, and they had sex with her. Then she became disgusted with them and turned away from them.

And the Babylonians came to her into the bed of love, and they defiled her with their whoredom, and she was polluted with them, and her mind was alienated from them.

18 But when she continued to openly/boldly act like a prostitute [DOU], I became disgusted with her, and I rejected her like I had rejected [older] sister.

So she discovered her whoredoms, and discovered her nakedness: then my mind was alienated from her, like my mind was alienated from her sister.

19 But she became even more immoral, as she remembered when she was a young woman who was a prostitute in Egypt.

Yet she multiplied her whoredoms, in calling to remembrance the days of her youth, wherein she had played the harlot in the land of Egypt.

20 There she wanted to have sex with those who loved her, whose genitals were [very long], like [SIM] those of donkeys, and whose sexual emissions were huge, [like] those of horses.

For she doted upon their paramours, whose flesh is as the flesh of asses, and whose issue is like the issue of horses.

21 So she desired to be immoral like she was when she was young, when men in Egypt caressed her bosom and fondled her breasts.”

Thus you called to remembrance the lewdness of your youth, in bruising your teats by the Egyptians for the breast of your youth.

22 “[represents you people of Jerusalem]. Therefore, this is what [I], Yahweh the Lord say: ‘I will cause those [soldiers] who loved you but whom you turned away from because you became disgusted with them, to be angry with you. I will cause them to come and attack you from every side—

Therefore, O Aholibah, thus says the Lord GOD; Behold, I will raise up your lovers against you, from whom your mind is alienated, and I will bring them against you on every side;

23 soldiers from Babylon and all the other places in Babylonia, [their allies] from Pekod and Shoa and [regions], and all the army of Assyria. [Yes], all of them are handsome young men, army officers and commanders, officers who ride in chariots, all riding on horses.

The Babylonians, and all the Chaldeans, Pekod, and Shoa, and Koa, and all the Assyrians with them: all of them desirable young men, captains and rulers, great lords and renowned, all of them riding upon horses.

24 Their huge army will attack you with weapons, riding in chariots and pulling wagons [that will carry their army supplies]. They will surround you, carrying large and small shields, and wearing helmets. I will allow them to capture you and punish you in the way that they [always] [their enemies].

And they shall come against you with chariots, wagons, and wheels, and with an assembly of people, which shall set against you buckler and shield and helmet round about: and I will set judgment before them, and they shall judge you according to their judgments.

25 Because I am very angry with you, I will cause them to act [very] furiously toward you. They will cut off your noses and your ears. Then, those who are still alive, they will kill with their swords. They will take away your sons and daughters, and a fire will burn up those who remain alive.

And I will set my jealousy against you, and they shall deal furiously with you: they shall take away your nose and your ears; and your remnant shall fall by the sword: they shall take your sons and your daughters; and your residue shall be devoured by the fire.

26 They will strip off your clothes and your fine jewelry and take them away.

They shall also strip you out of your clothes, and take away your fair jewels.

27 In that way, I will stop all the immoral behavior that began when you became a prostitute in Egypt. You will no longer desire to do those things, or think [what you did in] Egypt.’

Thus will I make your lewdness to cease from you, and your whoredom brought from the land of Egypt: so that you shall not lift up your eyes unto them, nor remember Egypt any more.

28 This is what [I], Yahweh the Lord say: ‘I am about to allow those whom you hate, those you became disgusted with and turned away from, to capture you.

For thus says the Lord GOD; Behold, I will deliver you into the hand of them whom you hate, into the hand of them from whom your mind is alienated:

29 They will be cruel and take away everything that you have worked hard to acquire. They will leave you completely naked [DOU], and everyone will see that you truly are a prostitute.

And they shall deal with you hatefully, and shall take away all your labour, and shall leave you naked and bare: and the nakedness of your whoredoms shall be discovered, both your lewdness and your whoredoms.

30 It is because of what you have done that you will be punished like that; you have been an immoral prostitute; you have had sex with men of other nations, and you have caused yourselves to become unacceptable to me [worshiping] their idols.

I will do these things unto you, because you have gone a whoring after the heathen, and because you are polluted with their idols.

31 You have behaved [the people of Samaria, who are like] your [older] sister. So I will cause you to be punished [MET] like they were punished.’

You have walked in the way of your sister; therefore will I give her cup into your hand.

32 This is what [I], Yahweh the Lord, say: ‘[You will suffer like people suffer when they drink from a cup a lot of strong alcoholic drink]: [It will be as though] you will drink from the cup that the people of Samaria drank from; a big and tall cup. Because of your drinking what is in that cup, many people will scorn you and make fun of you because there is a lot of liquid in that cup.

Thus says the Lord GOD; You shall drink of your sister's cup deep and large: you shall be laughed to scorn and had in derision; it contains much.

33 When you become very drunk, you will become very sad, [drinking what is in] that cup [MTY] will cause you to become ruined and deserted, like what happened [MET] to [the people of] Samaria, [who are like] [MET] your sister.

You shall be filled with drunkenness and sorrow, with the cup of astonishment and desolation, with the cup of your sister Samaria.

34 You will drink all the liquid that is in that cup; then you will break that cup into pieces [use those pieces to] gash/cut your [because you will be very sad].’ [That will surely happen because] I, Yahweh, have said it.

You shall even drink it and suck it out, and you shall break the earthen ware thereof, and pluck off your own breasts: for I have spoken it, says the Lord GOD.

35 Therefore, this is what [I], Yahweh the Lord, say: ‘Because you have forgotten me and rejected me [IDM], you must be punished for your immoral behavior and for [like] a prostitute.’”

Therefore thus says the Lord GOD; Because you have forgotten me, and cast me behind your back, therefore bear you also your lewdness and your whoredoms.

36 Yahweh said to me, “You human, you must [RHQ] [the people of those two cities represented by] Oholah and Oholibah. You must remind them of their detestable behavior:

The LORD said moreover unto me; Son of man, will you judge Aholah and Aholibah? yea, declare unto them their abominations;

37 [It is as though the people of those cities] have committed adultery and have murdered [MTY] people. They have been unfaithful to me by [worshiping] idols. They have even sacrificed their own children, who belonged to me, to be food for their idols.

That they have committed adultery, and blood is in their hands, and with their idols have they committed adultery, and have also caused their sons, whom they bare unto me, to pass for them through the fire, to devour them.

38 They have done [disgraceful things]: They have caused my temple to be an unacceptable place for worship, and have not respected the Sabbath days.

Moreover this they have done unto me: they have defiled my sanctuary in the same day, and have profaned my sabbaths.

39 On the same day that they sacrificed their children to their idols, they entered my temple, which caused it to be an unacceptable place for worshiping me.

For when they had slain their children to their idols, then they came the same day into my sanctuary to profane it; and, lo, thus have they done in the midst of mine house.

40 They sent messages to men [in countries] far away. And when those men arrived, [the women of those two cities] bathed themselves for them, painted their eyebrows, and put on jewelry.

And furthermore, that all of you have sent for men to come from far, unto whom a messenger was sent; and, lo, they came: for whom you did wash yourself, painted your eyes, and decked yourself with ornaments,

41 They sat on a beautiful couch, with a table in front of it on which they had put incense and [olive] oil that belonged to me.

And sat upon a stately bed, and a table prepared before it, whereupon you have set mine incense and mine oil.

42 Soon there was a noisy crowd around them. Among the crowd there were men from Sheba who had come from the [of Arabia]. They put bracelets on the arms of the [two] sisters and put beautiful crowns on their heads.

And a voice of a multitude being at ease was with her: and with the men of the common sort were brought Sabeans from the wilderness, which put bracelets upon their hands, and beautiful crowns upon their heads.

43 Then I said about the woman who had become exhausted by her having sex with many men, ‘Now allow those men to act toward her as though she is a prostitute, because that is all that she is.’

Then said I unto her that was old in adulteries, Will they now commit whoredoms with her, and she with them?

44 So they had sex [EUP] with those two women, Oholah and Oholibah, like men have sex with prostitutes.

Yet they went in unto her, as they go in unto a woman that plays the harlot: so went they in unto Aholah and unto Aholibah, the lewd women.

45 But righteous men will condemn them to be punished, like women who commit adultery and who murder others are punished, because those women commit adultery and they murder [MTY] others.

And the righteous men, they shall judge them after the manner of adulteresses, and after the manner of women that shed blood; because they are adulteresses, and blood is in their hands.

46 So this is what [I], Yahweh the Lord, say: Bring a mob to attack Samaria and Jerusalem, and allow that mob to cause the people of those cities to be terrified, and to rob them.

For thus says the Lord GOD; I will bring up a company upon them, and will give them to be removed and spoiled.

47 The mob will throw stones at [to kill them]; they will cut them into pieces with their swords, they will kill their sons and daughters, and burn down their houses.

And the company shall stone them with stones, and dispatch them with their swords; they shall slay their sons and their daughters, and burn up their houses with fire.

48 In that way I will cause them to stop their immoral behavior. It will warn other women to not imitate/do what you people of Jerusalem are doing.

Thus will I cause lewdness to cease out of the land, that all women may be taught not to do after your lewdness.

49 [people of Jerusalem] will be punished for your immoral behavior and for your worshiping idols. Then you will know that I, Yahweh the Lord, [have the power to do what I say that I will do].”

And they shall recompense your lewdness upon you, and all of you shall bear the sins of your idols: and all of you shall know that I am the Lord GOD.