EzekielChapter 23

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¹Again the LORD gave me this message. He said, ²"Son of man, there were two women. They were daughters of the same mother. ³They acted like prostitutes in Egypt. They did this from the time they were young. There men touched their breasts and fondled their young bodies when they were still virgins. ⁴The older sister was named Oholah. Her younger sister was named Oholibah. They became mine, and they had sons and daughters. Here is who they are: Oholah is Samaria, and Oholibah is Jerusalem.a ⁵Oholah acted like a prostitute while she was still mine. She longed for her lovers, the Assyrians. They were warriors ⁶dressed in blue. They were governors and commanders. All of them were handsome young men, riding on horses. ⁷She gave herself as a prostitute to all the leading men of Assyria. She made herself unclean with all the idols of the men she wanted. ⁸She did not give up the prostitution she started in Egypt. When she was young, men slept with her there. They touched her young body when she was a virgin. They poured out their lust on her. ⁹So I handed her over to her lovers. I gave her to the Assyrians she wanted so much. ¹⁰They stripped her naked. They took away her sons and daughters. They killed her with the sword. So her name became a warning among women. They carried out judgment on her. ¹¹Her sister Oholibah saw this. But she was even more wicked than her sister in her lust and prostitution. ¹²She also longed for the Assyrians. They were governors and commanders, warriors in fine clothes, and men riding horses. All of them were handsome young men. ¹³I saw that she also had made herself unclean. Both sisters had gone down the same path. ¹⁴But Oholibah took her prostitution even further. She saw pictures of men carved on a wall. They were pictures of Chaldeans, painted in bright red. ¹⁵They wore belts around their waists. They had long turbans on their heads. All of them looked like Babylonian officers from Chaldea, the land where they were born. ¹⁶As soon as she saw them, she wanted them. She sent messengers to them in Chaldea. ¹⁷Then the Babylonians came to her, to her bed of love. In their lust they made her unclean. But after they had made her unclean, she turned away from them in disgust. ¹⁸Oholibah was a prostitute in the open. She showed her naked body. So I turned away from her in disgust, just as I had turned away from her sister. ¹⁹But she slept around more and more. She remembered when she was young. Back then she had been a prostitute in the land of Egypt. ²⁰There she had longed for her lovers. Their sex organs were like those of donkeys. Their flow of semen was like that of horses. ²¹So you went back to the shameful ways of your youth. Back then the Egyptians touched your breasts and fondled your young body. ²²So, Oholibah, this is what the Lord GOD says: 'I will stir up your lovers against you. They are the ones you turned away from in disgust. I will bring them against you from every side. ²³I will bring the Babylonians and all the Chaldeans. I will bring the men of Pekod, Shoa, and Koa, and all the Assyrians with them. They are all handsome young men, governors and commanders. They are officers and famous men, all riding on horses. ²⁴They will come against you with a huge army of peoples. They will bring weapons, chariots, and wagons. They will line up against you on every side with small shields, large shields, and helmets. I will let them judge you. They will punish you by their own laws. ²⁵I will turn my jealous anger against you. They will deal with you in fury. They will cut off your noses and ears. Those of you who are left will be killed by the sword. They will take away your sons and daughters. Those of you who are still left will be burned up by fire. ²⁶They will tear off your clothes. They will take your beautiful jewelry. ²⁷So I will put an end to your shameful ways and your prostitution. These began in the land of Egypt. You will not look to them with longing anymore. You will not remember Egypt anymore.' ²⁸For this is what the Lord GOD says: 'I will surely hand you over to the people you hate. They are the ones you turned away from in disgust. ²⁹They will treat you with hatred. They will take everything you worked for. They will leave you naked and bare. Then the shame of your prostitution will be seen by all. Your shameful ways and your sleeping around ³⁰have brought these things on you. This is because you acted like a prostitute with the nations. You made yourself unclean with their idols. ³¹You have followed the path of your sister. So I will put her cup in your hand.' ³²This is what the Lord GOD says:
'You will drink your sister's cup.
It is a deep and wide cup.
People will laugh at you and make fun of you,
for the cup holds so much. ³³You will be filled with drunkenness and sorrow.
It is a cup of ruin and terror.
It is the cup of your sister Samaria. ³⁴You will drink it and drain it.
You will smash it to pieces.
You will tear at your breasts.
For I have spoken,' declares the Lord GOD. ³⁵So this is what the Lord GOD says: 'You have forgotten me. You have thrown me behind your back. So you must suffer for your shameful ways and your prostitution.'" ³⁶Then the LORD said to me, "Son of man, will you judge Oholah and Oholibah? Then tell them about the disgusting things they have done. ³⁷For they have committed adultery, and blood is on their hands. They have committed adultery with their idols. They even burned their children in the fire as food for their idols. These were the children they had for me. ³⁸They have also done this to me: On that same day they made my temple unclean. They dishonored my Sabbaths. ³⁹On the same day they killed their children for their idols, they came into my temple and dishonored it. Yes, they did this inside my house. ⁴⁰You sisters even sent messengers for men who came from far away. And look! When they came, you took a bath for them. You painted your eyes and put on your jewelry. ⁴¹You sat on a fancy couch. A table was set in front of it. On it you had put my incense and my oil. ⁴²The noise of a carefree crowd was all around. Drunks were brought in from the desert, along with common men. They put bracelets on your wrists and beautiful crowns on your heads. ⁴³Then I said about the one worn out by adultery, 'Now let them use her as a prostitute, for that is all she is!' ⁴⁴And they slept with her as men sleep with a prostitute. That is how they slept with Oholah and Oholibah, those shameful women. ⁴⁵But righteous men will judge them. They will give them the punishment for women who commit adultery and murder. For they are adulterers, and blood is on their hands. ⁴⁶This is what the Lord GOD says: 'Bring a mob against them. Hand them over to terror and robbery. ⁴⁷The mob will stone them. They will cut them down with their swords. They will kill their sons and daughters. They will burn down their houses. ⁴⁸So I will put an end to shameful acts in the land. All the women will be warned not to act the way you did. ⁴⁹They will pay you back for your shameful acts. You will suffer for your sins of worshiping idols. Then you will know that I am the Lord GOD.'"