Ezekiel 23

1 Yahweh said to me,

And the word of the Lord came to 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, two women were 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 fornicated in Egypt; they committed fornication in their youth. In that place, their breasts were conquered; the breasts of their adolescence were subdued.

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.

Now their names were Oholah, the elder, and Oholibah, her younger sister. And I held them, and they bore sons and daughters. As for their names: Oholah is Samaria, and Oholibah is Jerusalem.

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 then, Oholah committed fornication against me, and she acted madly with her lovers, with the Assyrians who approached her,

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.

who were clothed with hyacinth: rulers and magistrates, passionate youths and all of the horsemen, mounted on 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.

And she distributed her fornications to those chosen men, all of them sons of the Assyrians. And she defiled herself with the uncleanness of all those whom she madly desired.

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.

Moreover, she also did not abandon her fornications, which she had done in Egypt. For they also slept with her in her youth, and they bruised the breasts of her virginity, and they poured out their fornication upon her.

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

Because of this, I have delivered her into the hands of her lovers, into the hands of the sons of the Assur, whom she has lustfully desired.

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.

They uncovered her shame; they took away her sons and daughters; and they slew her with the sword. And they became infamous women. And they carried out judgments in 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, Oholibah, had seen this, she was even more mad with lust than the other. And her fornication was beyond the fornication of her sister.

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 shamelessly offered herself to the sons of the Assyrians, to the rulers and magistrates who brought themselves to her clothed with colorful garments, to the horsemen who were carried by horses, and to the youths, all of them exceptional in appearance.

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

And I saw that she had been defiled, and that they both took the same path.

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

And she increased her fornications. And when she had seen men depicted on the wall, the images of the Chaldeans, expressed in colors,

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].

with belts wrapped around the waist, and with dyed headdresses on their heads, having seen the appearance of all the rulers, the likenesses of the sons of Babylon and of the land of the Chaldeans in which they were born,

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

she became mad for them with the desire of her eyes, and she sent messengers to them in 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 when the sons of Babylon had gone to her, to the bed of breasts, they defiled her with their fornications, and she was polluted by them, and her soul was gorged by 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.

Also, her fornications were uncovered, and her shame was revealed. And my soul withdrew from her, as my soul had withdrawn 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.

For she multiplied her fornications, remembering the days of her youth, in which she fornicated 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.

And she was mad with lust after lying with them, whose flesh is like the flesh of donkeys, and whose flow is like the flow 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.”

And you have revisited the crimes of your youth, when your breasts were conquered in Egypt, and the breasts of your adolescence were subdued.

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—

Because of this, Oholibah, thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will raise up against you all of your lovers, with whom your soul has been gorged. And I will gather them together against you all around:

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 sons of Babylon, and all the Chaldeans, the nobles, the sovereigns and princes, all the sons of the Assyrians, youths of exceptional form, all the rulers and magistrates, the leaders among leaders, and the renowned riders of 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 will overwhelm you, well-equipped with chariot and wheel, a multitude of peoples. They will be armed against you on every side with armor and shield and helmet. And I will give judgment to their eyes, and they will judge you with 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 against you, I will set my zeal, which they will execute upon you with fury. They will cut off your nose and your ears. And what remains will fall by the sword. They will seize your sons and your daughters, and your youngest will be devoured by fire.

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

And they will strip you of your vestments, and take away the articles of your glory.

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.’

And I will cause your wickedness to cease from you, and your fornication to cease from the land of Egypt. Neither shall you lift up your eyes toward them, and you shall no longer remember Egypt.

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 hands of those whom you have hated, into the hands by which your soul has been gorged.

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 will act toward you with hatred, and they will take away all your labors, and they will send you away naked and filled with disgrace. And the shame of your fornication will be revealed: your crimes and your fornications.

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.

They have done these things to you, because you have fornicated after the Gentiles, among whom you were defiled by 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, and so I will give her chalice 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 will drink the chalice of your sister, deep and wide. You will be held in derision and in ridicule, to a very great extent.

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 will be filled with inebriation and sorrow, by the chalice of grief and sadness, by the chalice 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.

And you will drink it, and you will empty it, even to the dregs. And you will consume even its particles. And you will wound your own breasts. For I have spoken, 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.’”

Because of this, thus says the Lord God: Since you have forgotten me, and you have cast me behind your body, so also will you bear your wickedness and your fornications.”

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:

And the Lord spoke to me, saying: “Son of man, should you not judge Oholah and Oholibah, and announce to them their crimes?

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.

For they are adulteresses, and blood is in their hands, and they have fornicated with their idols. Moreover, they have offered even their children, whom they bore for me, to them to be devoured.

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.

But they have done even this to me: They have defiled my sanctuary on the same day, and they 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.

And when they immolated their children to their idols, they also entered my sanctuary on the same day, so that they defiled it. They have done these things, even in the midst of my 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.

They sent for men who were coming from far away, to whom they had sent a messenger. And so, behold, they arrived, those for whom you washed yourself, and smeared cosmetics around your eyes, and were adorned with feminine 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.

You sat upon a very beautiful bed, and a table was adorned before you, on which you placed my incense and my ointment.

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 the voice of a multitude was exulting within her. And concerning certain men, who were being led out of a multitude of persons, and who were arriving from the desert, they placed bracelets on their hands and beautiful crowns on 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.’

And I said about her, as she was being worn away by her adulteries, ‘Even now, she continues in her fornication!’

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

And they entered to her, as if to a kept woman. So did they enter to Oholah and Oholibah, nefarious 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.

But there are just men; these shall judge them with the judgment of adulteresses and with the judgment of those who shed blood. For they are adulteresses, and blood is on 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: Lead upon them a multitude, and hand them over to tumult and to pillaging.

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 may they be stoned with the stones of the peoples, and may they be pierced with their own swords. They will put to death their sons and daughters, and they will burn 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.

And I will take away wickedness from the land. And all women shall learn not to act according to their wickedness.

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 will set your own crimes upon you, and you will bear the sins of your idols. And you shall know that I am the Lord God.”