Ezekiel 23
1 The word of the LORD came again to me, saying,
A message from the Lord came to me, saying,
2 Son of man, there were two women, the daughters of one mother:
“Son of man, there were once two women. They were daughters of the same mother.
3 And they committed harlotries in Egypt; they committed harlotries in their youth: there were their breasts pressed, and there they bruised the teats of their virginity.
They became prostitutes in Egypt. In fact, they were prostitutes from the time they were young. They allowed their virgin breasts to be fondled and their nipples squeezed.
4 And the names of them were Aholah the elder, and Aholibah her sister: and they were mine, and they bore sons and daughters. Thus were their names; Samaria is Aholah, and Jerusalem Aholibah.
The older girl was called Oholah, and her sister Oholibah. I married them both and they had sons and daughters. Oholah represents Samaria, and Oholibah represents Jerusalem.
5 And Aholah played the harlot when she was mine; and she doted on her lovers, on the Assyrians her neighbours,
Oholah prostituted herself while she was still married to me. She wanted to have sex with her lovers, the Assyrians.
6 Who were clothed with blue, captains and rulers, all of them desirable young men, horsemen riding upon horses.
They were soldiers dressed in blue, leaders and commanders, all of them handsome young men in the cavalry.
7 Thus she committed her harlotries 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.
She gave away herself sexually to all the important men of Assyria. She made herself unclean by her worship of all the idols of those men she wanted to have sex with.
8 Neither left she her harlotries brought from Egypt: for in her youth they lay with her, and they bruised the breasts of her virginity, and poured their lust upon her.
She didn't stop her prostitution that she started in Egypt—men sleeping with her when she was young, squeezing her virgin breasts and using her to satisfy their sexual appetite.
9 Therefore I have delivered her into the hand of her lovers, into the hand of the Assyrians, upon whom she doted.
So I handed her over to her lovers, the Assyrians she wanted to have sex with.
10 These uncovered her nakedness: they took her sons and her daughters, and slew her with the sword: and she became a byword among women; for they had executed judgment upon her.
They stripped her naked, took away her sons and daughters, and killed her with the sword. She became infamous among women, and they punished her.
11 And when her sister Aholibah saw this, she was more corrupt in her inordinate love than she, and in her harlotries more than her sister in her harlotries.
Oholibah saw what happened to her sister, but she became even worse than her in her wanting sex and practicing prostitution.
12 She doted upon the Assyrians her neighbours, captains and rulers clothed most gorgeously, horsemen riding upon horses, all of them desirable young men.
She also wanted to have sex with the Assyrians: their leaders and commanders, their splendidly-dressed soldiers—all of them handsome young men in the cavalry.
13 Then I saw that she was defiled, that they took both one way,
I saw that she had also made herself unclean—both sisters were doing the same thing.
14 And that she increased her harlotries: for when she saw men portrayed upon the wall, the images of the Chaldeans portrayed with vermilion,
However, Oholibah's prostitution was even worse. She saw pictures of Babylonian soldiers wearing bright red uniforms painted on the wall.
15 Girded with belts upon their loins, flowing turbans upon their heads, all of them princes to look to, after the manner of the Babylonians of Chaldea, the land of their nativity:
They were wearing belts on their waists and large turbans on their heads. They all looked like Babylonian officers in Chaldea, the country where they were born.
16 And as soon as she saw them with her eyes, she doted upon them, and sent messengers to them into Chaldea.
When she saw the paintings of them, she wanted to have sex with them and sent messengers to them in Chaldea.
17 And the Babylonians came to her into the bed of love, and they defiled her with their immorality, and she was polluted with them, and her mind was alienated from them.
The Babylonians came to her and her love bed, and made her unclean with their sexual desire. However, after she had been dishonored by them, she rejected them in disgust.
18 So she revealed her harlotries, and uncovered her nakedness: then my mind was alienated from her, as my mind was alienated from her sister.
When Oholibah so blatantly prostituted herself, exposing herself naked, I turned away from her in disgust, just as I had done to her sister.
19 Yet she multiplied her harlotries, in calling to remembrance the days of her youth, when she had played the harlot in the land of Egypt.
But she practiced even more prostitution, remembering how she'd been a prostitute in Egypt when she was young.
20 For she doted upon their paramours, whose flesh is as the flesh of donkeys, and whose issue is like the issue of horses.
She wanted to have sex with her lovers who had genitals like donkeys and who ejaculated like stallions.
21 Thus thou didst call to remembrance the lewdness of thy youth, in bruising thy teats by the Egyptians for the breasts of thy youth.
You went back to the indecent acts when you were young, when the Egyptians squeezed your nipples and fondled your young breasts.
22 Therefore, O Aholibah, thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will raise up thy lovers against thee, from whom thy mind is alienated, and I will bring them against thee on every side;
So Oholibah, this is what the Lord God says: I'm going to encourage your lovers to attack you, those you rejected in disgust. I will bring them to attack you from every direction:
23 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.
the Babylonians and all the Chaldeans, the men of Pekod, Shoa, and Koa, and all the Assyrians along with them—all handsome young men, leaders and commanders, chariot captains and important officers, all riding horses.
24 And they shall come against thee with chariots, wagons, and wheels, and with an assembly of people, which shall commit against thee buckler and shield and helmet on every side: and I will set judgment before them, and they shall judge thee according to their judgments.
They will attack you from the north, invading with a great army, chariots, and wagons. They will come with their shields and helmets and surround you. I will hand you over to them for punishment, and they will judge and punish you following their own laws.
25 And I will set my jealousy against thee, and they shall deal furiously with thee: they shall take away thy nose and thy ears; and thy remnant shall fall by the sword: they shall take thy sons and thy daughters; and thy remnant shall be devoured by the fire.
I feel so strongly about what you've done that I will oppose you, and they will treat you very badly. They will cut off your noses and ears, and they will kill those of you who are left. They will take away your sons and daughters as prisoners, and those of you who are left will be destroyed by fire.
26 They shall also strip thee of thy clothes, and take away thy fair jewels.
They will tear off your clothes and take your beautiful jewelry.
27 Thus will I make thy lewdness to cease from thee, and thy harlotry brought from the land of Egypt: so that thou shalt not lift up thy eyes to them, nor remember Egypt any more.
I'm going to put a stop to your immorality and prostitution, which started in Egypt. You won't think longingly about those times, and you'll forget all about Egypt.
28 For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will deliver thee into the hand of them whom thou hatest, into the hand of them from whom thy mind is alienated:
For this is what the Lord God says: Believe it when I say that I'm going to hand you over to the people you hate, the ones you rejected in disgust.
29 And they shall deal with thee in hatred, and shall take away all thy labour, and shall leave thee naked and bare: and the nakedness of thy harlotries shall be uncovered, both thy lewdness and thy harlotries.
They will treat you with hatred. They will take away everything you've worked for, leaving you stark naked with nothing, so that so that the indecent acts of your prostitution will be exposed. Your immorality and prostitution
30 I will do these things to thee, because thou hast played the harlot with the heathen, and because thou art polluted with their idols.
is why all this has happened to you, because you acted as a prostitute with the nations and made yourself unclean by worshiping their idols.
31 Thou hast walked in the way of thy sister; therefore will I give her cup into thy hand.
Because you did what your sister did, I will give you her cup to drink.
32 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou shalt drink of thy sister’s cup deep and large: thou shalt be laughed at and had in derision; it containeth much.
This is what the Lord God says: You will drink from your sister's cup—a large, deep cup. You will be laughed at and insulted. You'll have to endure much of this.
33 Thou shalt be filled with drunkenness and sorrow, with the cup of horror and desolation, with the cup of thy sister Samaria.
It will make you drunk and full of grief because it's a cup of that brings horror and destruction, the cup your sister Samaria drank from.
34 Thou shalt even drink it and drain it, and thou shalt break its pieces, and pluck off thy own breasts: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.
You will drink it all down, smash it to pieces on the ground, and tear at your breasts. This is what I have spoken, declares the Lord God.
35 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou hast forgotten me, and cast me behind thy back, therefore bear thou also thy lewdness and thy harlotries.
In summary this is what the Lord God says: Because you have forgotten about me and have ignored me, you will have to experience the consequences of your immorality and prostitution.”
36 The LORD said moreover to me; Son of man, wilt thou judge Aholah and Aholibah? yea, declare to them their abominations;
Then the Lord said to me: “Son of man, are you going to condemn Oholah and Oholibah? Expose the disgusting things they've done!
37 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 bore to me, to pass for them through the fire, to devour them.
For they have committed adultery, and they are guilty of murder. They have committed adultery with their idols, and have even offered their children, whom they had for me, as sacrifices to their idols.
38 Moreover this they have done to me: they have defiled my sanctuary in the same day, and have profaned my sabbaths.
They also did this to me: On the very same day they both made my sanctuary unclean and violated my Sabbaths.
39 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 my house.
On very day that they killed their children for their idols, they went my sanctuary and made it unclean. Look at what they did right inside my Temple!
40 And furthermore, that ye have sent for men to come from far, to whom a messenger was sent; and, lo, they came: for whom thou didst wash thyself, didst paint thy eyes, and didst deck thyself with ornaments,
They even kept on sending messengers for men to come from far away. When the men arrived, you would get yourselves ready for them by bathing, doing your eye makeup, and putting in your jewelry.
41 And satest upon a stately bed, and a table prepared before it, upon which thou hast set my incense and my oil.
You sat on an expensive couch, with my incense and my oil on a table placed in front of it.
42 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, who put bracelets upon their hands, and beautiful crowns upon their heads.
The room was full of the noise of people partying. Drunk men were brought in from the desert along with some common people and they put bracelets on your wrists and beautiful crowns on your head.
43 Then said I to her that was old in adulteries, Will they now commit harlotries with her, and she with them?
Then I said about the old worn-out woman, ‘Now they can have her as a prostitute because that's what she is!’
44 Yet they went in to her, as they go in to a woman that playeth the harlot: so they went in to Aholah and to Aholibah, the lewd women.
So they had sex with her like a prostitute. They had sex with Oholah and Oholibah, those immoral women.
45 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.
But men who believe in what's right will judge them and impose the punishment for committing commit adultery and murder, because they are adulterers and murderers.
46 For thus saith the Lord GOD; I will bring up a company upon them, and will give them to be removed and plundered.
This is what the Lord God says: Have a mob attack them! Make them terrified and rob them.
47 And the company shall stone them with stones, and dispatch them with their swords; they shall slay their sons and their daughters, and burn their houses with fire.
The mob will stone them and kill them with their swords, slaughtering their sons and daughters and burning down their houses.
48 Thus will I cause lewdness to cease out of the land, that all women may be taught not to do after your lewdness.
This is how I will put an end to immorality in the country, and all the women will be warned not to do what you have done.
49 And they shall recompense your lewdness upon you, and ye shall bear the sins of your idols: and ye shall know that I am the Lord GOD.
They will punish you for your immorality, and you will have to experience the consequences of your idol worship. Then you will know that I am the Lord God.”
