Ezekiel 23
Two Sisters
1 The Lord’s message came to me: 2“Son of man, there were two women who were daughters of the same mother. 3They engaged in prostitution in Egypt; in their youth they engaged in prostitution. Their breasts were squeezed there; lovers ▼▼tn In the Hebrew text the subject is left unstated and must be supplied from the context.
fondled their virgin nipples there. 4Oholah was the name of the older and Oholibah ▼▼tn The names Oholah and Oholibah are both derived from the word meaning “tent.” The meaning of Oholah is “her tent,” while Oholibah means “my tent is in her.”
the name of her younger sister. They became mine and gave birth to sons and daughters. ▼▼sn In this allegory the Lord is depicted as being the husband of two wives. The OT law prohibited a man from marrying sisters (Lev 18:18), but the practice is attested in the OT (cf. Jacob). The metaphor is utilized here for illustrative purposes and does not mean that the Lord condoned such a practice or bigamy in general.
Oholah is Samaria, and Oholibah is Jerusalem. 5 “Oholah engaged in prostitution while she was mine. ▼▼tn Heb “while she was under me.” The expression indicates that Oholah is viewed as the Lord’s wife. See Num 5:19-20, 29.
▼ She lusted after her lovers, the Assyrians ▼▼tn Heb “Assyria.”
—warriors ▼▼tn The term apparently refers to Assyrian military officers; it is better construed with the description that follows. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:738.
6clothed in blue, governors and officials, all of them desirable young men, horsemen riding on horses. 7She bestowed her sexual favors ▼▼tn Heb “her harlotries.”
on them; all of them were the choicest young men of Assyria. She defiled herself with all whom she desired ▼▼tn Heb “lusted after.”
—with all their idols. 8She did not abandon the prostitution she had practiced in Egypt, for in her youth men went to bed ▼▼tn Heb “lied down with.” The verb שָׁכַב (shakav) “to lie down” can imply going to bed to sleep or be a euphemism for sexual relations.
with her, fondled her virgin breasts, and ravished her. ▼▼tn Heb “and poured out their harlotry on her.”
9Therefore I handed her over to her lovers, the Assyrians ▼▼tn Heb “I gave her into the hand of her lovers, into the hand of the sons of Assyria.”
for whom she lusted. 10They exposed her nakedness, seized her sons and daughters, and killed her with the sword. She became notorious ▼▼tn Heb “name.”
among women, and they executed judgments against her. 11 “Her sister Oholibah watched this, ▼▼tn The word “this” is not in the original text.
but she became more corrupt in her lust than her sister had been, and her acts of prostitution were more numerous than those of her sister. 12She lusted after the Assyrians—governors and officials, warriors in full armor, horsemen riding on horses, all of them desirable young men. 13I saw that she was defiled; both of them followed the same path. 14But she increased her prostitution. She saw men carved on the wall, images of the Chaldeans carved in bright red, ▼ 15wearing belts on their waists and flowing turbans on their heads, all of them looking like officers, the image of Babylonians ▼▼tn Heb “the sons of Babel.”
whose native land is Chaldea. 16When she saw them, ▼▼tn Heb “at the appearance of her eyes.”
she lusted after them and sent messengers to them in Chaldea. ▼▼sn The Chaldeans were prominent tribal groups of Babylonia. The imagery is reminiscent of events in the reigns of Hezekiah (2 Kgs 20:12-15) and Jehoiakim (2 Kgs 23:34-24:1).
17The Babylonians crawled into bed with her. ▼▼tn Heb “The sons of Babel came to her on a bed of love.”
They defiled her with their lust; after she was defiled by them, she ▼▼tn Heb “her soul.”
became disgusted with them. 18When she lustfully exposed her nakedness, ▼▼tn Heb “She exposed her harlotry and exposed her nakedness.”
I ▼▼tn Heb “my soul.”
was disgusted with her, just as I ▼▼tn Heb “my soul.”
had been disgusted with her sister. 19Yet she increased her prostitution, remembering the days of her youth when she engaged in prostitution in the land of Egypt. 20She lusted after her lovers there, whose genitals were like those of donkeys ▼▼tn Heb “She lusted after their concubines (?), whose flesh was the flesh of donkeys.” The phrase “their concubines” is difficult here. The pronoun is masculine plural, suggesting that the Egyptian men are in view, but how concubines would fit into the picture envisioned here is not clear. It is possible that the term refers here to the Egyptians’ genitals. The relative pronoun that follows introduces a more specific description of them. Some suggest that Ezekiel uses the term in an idiomatic sense of “paramour,” which is reflected in the translation above.
and whose emission was like that of stallions. 21This is how you assessed ▼▼tn Or “you took note of.” The Hebrew verb פָּקַד (paqad) in the Qal implies evaluating something and then acting in light of that judgment; here the prophet depicts Judah as approving of her youthful unfaithfulness and then magnifying it at the present time. Some translations assume the verb should be repointed as a Niphal, rendering “you missed” or by extension “you longed for,” but such an extension of the Niphal “to be missing” is otherwise unattested.
the obscene conduct of your youth, when the Egyptians fondled ▼ your nipples and squeezed ▼▼tn Heb “for the sake of,” but the expression is awkward and is better emended to read “to squeeze.” See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:43.
your young breasts. 22 “Therefore, Oholibah, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Look here, ▼▼tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
I am about to stir up against you the lovers with whom you were disgusted; I will bring them against you from every side: 23the Babylonians and all the Chaldeans, Pekod, ▼▼sn Pekod was the name of an Aramean tribe (known as Puqudu in Mesopotamian texts) that lived in the region of the Tigris River.
Shoa, ▼▼sn Shoa was the name of a nomadic people (the Sutu) that lived in Mesopotamia.
and Koa, ▼▼sn Koa was the name of another Mesopotamian people group (the Qutu).
and all the Assyrians with them, desirable young men, all of them governors and officials, officers and nobles, all of them riding on horses. 24They will attack ▼▼tn Heb “come against.”
you with weapons, ▼▼tn This is the only occurrence of this term in the OT. The precise meaning is uncertain.
chariots, wagons, and with a huge army; ▼▼tn Heb “an assembly of peoples.”
they will array themselves against you on every side with large shields, small shields, and helmets. I will assign them the task of judgment; ▼▼tn Heb “I will place before them judgment.”
they will punish you according to their laws. 25I will direct ▼▼tn Heb “give.”
my jealous anger against you, and they will deal with you in rage. They will cut off your nose and your ears, ▼▼tn Heb “they will remove.”
▼▼sn This method of punishment is attested among ancient Egyptian and Hittite civilizations. See W. Zimmerli, Ezekiel (Hermeneia), 1:489.
and your survivors will die ▼▼tn Heb “fall.”
by the sword. They will seize your sons and daughters, and your survivors will be consumed by fire. 26They will strip your clothes off you and take away your beautiful jewelry. 27So I will put an end to your obscene conduct and your prostitution that you have practiced in the land of Egypt. ▼▼tn Heb “I will cause your obscene conduct to cease from you and your harlotry from the land of Egypt.”
You will not seek their help ▼▼tn Heb “lift your eyes to them.”
or remember Egypt anymore. 28 “For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Look here, ▼▼tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
I am about to deliver you over to ▼▼tn Heb “I am giving you into the hand of.”
those whom you hate, to those with whom you were disgusted. 29They will treat you with hatred, take away all you have labored for, ▼▼tn The Hebrew term means “labor,” but by extension it can also refer to that for which one works.
and leave you naked and bare. Your nakedness will be exposed, just as when you engaged in prostitution and obscene conduct. ▼▼tn Heb “The nakedness of your prostitution will be exposed, and your obscene conduct and your harlotry.”
30I will do these things to you ▼ because you engaged in prostitution with the nations, polluting yourself with their idols. 31You have followed the ways of your sister, so I will place her cup of judgment ▼ in your hand. 32This is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘You will drink your sister’s deep and wide cup; ▼▼sn The image of a deep and wide cup suggests the degree of punishment; it will be extensive and leave the victim helpless.
you will be scorned and derided, for it holds a great deal. 33You will be overcome by ▼▼tn Heb “filled with.”
drunkenness and sorrow. The cup of your sister Samaria is a cup of horror and desolation. 34You will drain it dry, ▼▼tn Heb “You will drink it and drain (it).”
gnaw its pieces, ▼▼tn D. I. Block compares this to the idiom of “licking the plate” (Ezekiel [NICOT], 1:754, n. 137). The text is difficult as the word translated “gnaw” is rare. The noun is used of the shattered pieces of pottery and so could envision a broken cup. But the Piel verb form is used in only one other place (Num 24:8), where it is a denominative from the noun “bone” and seems to mean to “break (bones).” Why it would be collocated with “sherds” is not clear. For this reason some emend the phrase to read “consume its dregs” (see L. C. Allen, Ezekiel [WBC], 2:44) or emend the verb to read “swallow,” as if the intoxicated Oholibah breaks the cup and then eats the very sherds in an effort to get every last drop of the beverage that dampens them.
and tear out your breasts, ▼ for I have spoken, declares the Sovereign Lord.’ 35 “Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because you have forgotten me and completely disregarded me, ▼▼tn Heb “and you cast me behind your back.” The expression pictures her rejection of the Lord (see 1 Kgs 14:9).
you must bear now the punishment for ▼▼tn The word “punishment” is not in the Hebrew text but is demanded by the context.
your obscene conduct and prostitution.” 36 The Lord said to me: “Son of man, are you willing to pronounce judgment ▼ on Oholah and Oholibah? Then declare to them their abominable deeds! 37For they have committed adultery, and blood is on their hands. They have committed adultery with their idols; and their sons, whom they bore to me, ▼▼sn The Lord speaks here in the role of the husband of the sisters.
they have passed through the fire as food to their idols. ▼ 38Moreover, they have done this to me: In the very same day ▼▼tn Heb “in that day.”
they desecrated my sanctuary and profaned my Sabbaths. 39On the same day they slaughtered their sons for their idols, they came to my sanctuary to desecrate it. This is what they have done in the middle of my house. 40 “They even sent for men from far away; when the messenger arrived, those men set out. ▼▼tn Heb “to whom a messenger was sent, and look, they came.” Foreign alliances are in view here.
For them you bathed, ▼ painted your eyes, and decorated yourself with jewelry. 41You sat on a magnificent couch, with a table arranged in front of it where you placed my incense and my olive oil. 42The sound of a carefree crowd accompanied her, ▼▼tn Heb “(was) in her.”
including all kinds of men; ▼▼tn Heb “and men from the multitude of mankind.”
even Sabeans ▼▼tn An alternate reading is “drunkards.” Sheba is located in the area of modern day Yemen.
were brought from the desert. The sisters ▼▼tn Heb “they”; the referents (the sisters) have been specified in the translation for the sake of clarity.
put bracelets on their wrists and beautiful crowns on their heads. 43Then I said about the one worn out by adultery, ‘Now they will commit immoral acts with her.’ 44They slept with her ▼▼tn Heb “approached.” The verb בּוֹא (boʾ) with the preposition אֶל (ʾel) means “come to” or “approach” but is also used as a euphemism for sexual relations.
the way someone sleeps with a prostitute. In this way they slept with Oholah and Oholibah, promiscuous women. 45But upright men will punish them appropriately for their adultery and bloodshed, ▼▼tn Heb “and upright men will judge them (with) the judgment of adulteresses and the judgment of those who shed blood.”
because they are adulteresses and blood is on their hands. 46 “For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Bring up an army ▼▼tn Heb “assembly.”
against them and subject them ▼▼tn Heb “give them to.”
to terror and plunder. 47That army will pelt them with stones and slash them with their swords; they will kill their sons and daughters and burn their houses. ▼▼tn The Hebrew text adds: “with fire.”
48I will put an end to the obscene conduct in the land; all the women will learn a lesson from this and not engage in obscene conduct. 49They will repay you for your obscene conduct, and you will be punished for idol worship. ▼▼tn Heb “and the sins of your idols you will bear.” By extension it can mean the punishment for the sins.
Then you will know that I am the Sovereign Lord.”
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