Ê-xê-chi-ên 23

Two sisters, Oholah and Oholibah

¹The word of the LORD came to me: ²Son of man, there were two women who were daughters of one mother. ³They prostituted themselves in Egypt; even in their youth they prostituted themselves. There their breasts were fondled, and there men caressed them while they were still virgins. ⁴The older was named Oholah, and her sister Oholibah. They became mine and bore sons and daughters. As for their names, Oholah is Samaria, and Oholibah is Jerusalem.^{a 5}While she was still mine, Oholah prostituted herself. She lusted after her lovers, the Assyrians, warriors ⁶clothed in blue, governors and commanders, all of them handsome young men, horsemen mounted on horses. ⁷She gave herself as a prostitute to them, to all the elite of Assyria, and she defiled herself with all the idols of everyone she lusted after. ⁸She did not give up the prostitution she had begun in Egypt, for in her youth men lay with her, fondled her breasts while she was still a virgin and poured out their lust on her. ⁹So I handed her over to her lovers, the Assyrians she lusted after. ¹⁰They stripped her naked, took away her sons and daughters and killed her with the sword. She became a byword among women, because of the judgments carried out on her.

Oholibah follows her sister

¹¹Her sister Oholibah saw this, yet she was even more depraved in her lust than Oholah, and her prostitution was worse than her sister’s. ¹²She lusted after the Assyrians, governors and commanders, warriors in splendid dress, horsemen mounted on horses, all of them handsome young men. ¹³I saw that she had defiled herself; both of them went the same way. ¹⁴But she carried her prostitution further. She saw men pictured on a wall, figures of Chaldeans drawn in red, ¹⁵with belts around their waists and flowing turbans on their heads, all of them looking like officers, like the Babylonians whose native land is Chaldea. ¹⁶The moment her eyes fell on them, she lusted after them, and she sent messengers to them in Chaldea. ¹⁷The Babylonians came to her, to the bed of love, and defiled her with their lust. After she had been defiled by them, she turned away from them in disgust. ¹⁸When she carried on her prostitution openly and exposed her nakedness, I turned away from her in disgust, as I had turned away from her sister. ¹⁹Yet she prostituted herself more and more, remembering the days of her youth when she prostituted herself in the land of Egypt. ²⁰She lusted after her lovers there, men with genitals like a donkey’s and emissions like a stallion’s. ²¹So you longed for the lewdness of your youth, when the Egyptians fondled your nipples and your young breasts.

Her lovers turned against her

²²Therefore, Oholibah, the Lord GOD says this: I am about to stir up your lovers against you, the ones you turned away from in disgust, and I will bring them upon you from all sides: ²³the Babylonians and all the Chaldeans, Pekod, Shoa and Koa, together with all the Assyrians, handsome young men, all of them governors and commanders, officers and men of renown, all mounted on horses.^{b 24}They will come against you with weapons, chariots and wagons and a horde of peoples. They will take up positions against you on every side with large shields, small shields and helmets. I will hand over judgment to them, and they will judge you by their own standards.^{c 25}I will direct my jealous anger against you, and they will treat you with wrath. They will cut off your nose and your ears, and those of you who are left will fall by the sword. They will take your sons and daughters, and what is left of you will be consumed by fire. ²⁶They will strip off your clothes and take away your fine jewelry. ²⁷So I will put an end to your lewdness and to the prostitution you began in the land of Egypt. You will not look to the Egyptians with longing or remember Egypt any more.

²⁸For the Lord GOD says this: I am about to hand you over to those you hate, to those you turned away from in disgust. ²⁹They will deal with you in hatred, take away everything you have worked for and leave you naked and bare. The shame of your prostitution will be exposed, your lewdness and your prostitution. ³⁰This will be done to you because you prostituted yourself with the nations and defiled yourself with their idols. ³¹You have walked in your sister’s way, so I will put her cup into your hand.

The cup of her sister

³²The Lord GOD says this: Your sister’s cup you will drink, deep and wide. It will bring you scorn and mockery, for it holds so much. ³³You will be filled with drunkenness and sorrow. It is a cup of horror and ruin, the cup of your sister Samaria. ³⁴You will drink it and drain it dry; you will chew on its broken pieces and tear at your breasts. For I have spoken, declares the Lord GOD.

³⁵Therefore the Lord GOD says this: Because you have forgotten me and thrown me behind your back, you must bear the punishment for your lewdness and your prostitution.

Judgment on both sisters

³⁶The LORD said to me: Son of man, will you judge Oholah and Oholibah? If so, confront them with their detestable practices. ³⁷For they have committed adultery, and there is blood on their hands. They have committed adultery with their idols, and they have even offered up to them as food the children they bore to me. ³⁸They have also done this to me: on that same day they defiled my sanctuary and dishonored my Sabbaths. ³⁹After they had slaughtered their children for their idols, they came into my sanctuary that same day and profaned it. That is what they did inside my house! ⁴⁰They even sent for men to come from far away; a messenger was sent to them, and they came. For them you bathed, painted your eyes and put on your jewelry. ⁴¹You sat on a splendid couch with a table laid out in front of it, where you had placed my incense and my oil. ⁴²The noise of a carefree crowd was around her. Along with men from the common people, drunkards were brought in from the desert, and they put bracelets on the women’s arms and beautiful crowns on their heads.^{d 43}Then I said of the woman worn out by adulteries, “Even now men will commit prostitution with her!”^{e 44}Men went to bed with her as they would with a prostitute; in the same way they went to Oholah and Oholibah, those lewd women. ⁴⁵But righteous men will sentence them as adulteresses and as women who shed blood are sentenced, because they are adulteresses and there is blood on their hands.

⁴⁶For the Lord GOD says this: Bring up a crowd against them, and hand them over to terror and plunder. ⁴⁷The crowd will stone them and hack them down with their swords; their sons and daughters they will kill, and their houses they will set on fire. ⁴⁸So I will put an end to lewdness in the land, and all women will take warning and not act as lewdly as you did.^{f 49}Your lewdness will be repaid on you, and you will bear the penalty for your sins with idols. Then you will know that I am the Lord GOD.