Self-interpreting Bible

« back to list of books

« back to list of chapters

Ezekiel 23

1The whoredoms of Aholah and Aholibah. 22Aholibah shall be punished by her own lovers. 36Their adulteries reproved, 45and their judgments declared.

1 THE word of the LORD came again unto me, saying,

    2 Son of man, there were atwo women, the daughters of one mother:

    3 And they committed bwhoredoms cin Egypt; they committed whoredoms in their dyouth: there were their breasts pressed, and there they bruised the teats of their virginity.

    4 And the names of them were 1Aholah the eelder, and 2Aholibah her sister: and they were fmine, and they bare sons and daughters. Thus were their names; Samaria is Aholah, and Jerusalem Aholibah.

    5 And Aholah gplayed the harlot when she was mine; and she hdoted on her lovers, on the Assyrians her neighbours,

    6 Which were clothed with blue, captains and rulers, all of them desirable young men, ihorsemen riding upon horses.

    7 Thus she 3committed her whoredoms with them, with all them that were 4the chosen men of Assyria, and with all on whom she doted: with all their idols she defiled herself.

    • 3: Heb. bestowed her whoredoms upon.
    • 4: Heb. the choice of the children of Asshur.

    8 Neither left she her jwhoredoms brought from Egypt: for in her youth they lay with her, and they bruised the breasts of her virginity, and poured their whoredom upon her.

    9 Wherefore kI have delivered her into the hand of her lovers, into the hand of the Assyrians, upon whom she doted.

    10 These *discovered her lnakedness: they took her sons and her daughters, and slew her with the sword: and she became 5famous among women; for they had executed judgment upon her.

    11 And when her sister Aholibah saw this, 6she was mmore corrupt in her inordinate love than she, and in her whoredoms 7more than her sister in her whoredoms.

    12 She doted upon the nAssyrians her neighbours, captains and rulers clothed most gorgeously, horsemen riding upon horses, all of them desirable young men.

    13 Then I saw that she was defiled, that othey took both one way,

    14 And that pshe increased her whoredoms: for when she saw men *pourtrayed upon the qwall, the rimages of the Chaldeans pourtrayed with *vermilion,

    15 s*Girded with girdles upon their loins, exceeding in dyed attire upon their heads, all of them princes to *look to, after the *manner of the Babylonians of Chaldea, the land of their nativity:

    • s: 1Sa. 18:4 , Is. 22:21
    • *: Girded-secured with bands or belts, encircled. , look to-look upon. , manner-custom, habit.

    16 And 8as soon as she tsaw them with her eyes, she doted upon them, and usent messengers unto them into Chaldea.

    17 And the 9Babylonians came to her into the bed of vlove, and they defiled her with their whoredom, and she was polluted with them, and her mind was 10alienated from them.

    18 So she *discovered her whoredoms, and discovered her nakedness: then my mind wwas alienated from her, like as my mind was alienated from her sister.

    19 Yet she xmultiplied her whoredoms, yin calling to remembrance the days of her youth, wherein she had played the harlot in the land of Egypt.

    20 For she zdoted upon their *paramours, whose flesh is as the flesh of asses, and whose issue is like the issue of horses.

    21 Thus athou calledst to remembrance the lewdness of thy youth, in bruising thy teats by the Egyptians for the *paps of thy youth.

    22 ¶Therefore, O Aholibah, thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, bI will raise up thy lovers against thee, from whom cthy mind is alienated, and I will bring them against thee on devery side;

    23 The eBabylonians, and all the Chaldeans, Pekod, and Shoa, and Koa, and all the Assyrians with them: all of them fdesirable young men, captains and rulers, great lords and renowned, all of them riding upon horses.

    24 And they shall come against thee gwith chariots, wagons, and wheels, and with an assembly of people, which shall set against thee *buckler and shield and helmet round about: and I will set judgment before them, and hthey shall judge thee according to their ijudgments.

    25 And jI will set my jealousy against thee, and they shall kdeal furiously with thee: they shall take away thy nose and thine ears; and thy remnant shall fall by the sword: they shall take thy sons and thy daughters; and lthy residue shall be devoured by the fire.

    26 They shall also mstrip thee out of thy clothes, and take away thy 11fair jewels.

    27 Thus nwill I make thy lewdness to cease from thee, and thy whoredom brought from the land of Egypt: so that thou shalt not lift up thine eyes unto them, nor remember Egypt any more.

    28 For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, oI will deliver thee into the hand of them whom thou hatest, into the hand of them from whom thy mind is alienated:

    29 And pthey shall deal with thee hatefully, and shall take away all thy labour, and shall leave thee naked and bare: and the qnakedness of thy whoredoms shall be r*discovered, both thy lewdness and thy whoredoms.

    30 I will do these things unto thee, sbecause thou hast gone a whoring after the heathen, and because thou art polluted with their idols.

    31 Thou thast walked in the way of thy sister; therefore will I give uher cup into thine hand.

    32 Thus saith the Lord GOD; vThou shalt drink of thy sister's cup deep and large: wthou shalt be laughed to scorn and had in derision; it containeth much.

    33 Thou shalt be filled xwith drunkenness and sorrow, with the cup of astonishment and desolation, with the cup of ythy sister Samaria.

    34 Thou zshalt even drink it and suck it out, and thou shalt break athe *sherds thereof, and bpluck off thine own breasts: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.

    35 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; cBecause thou hast forgotten me, and cast me behind thy back, therefore dbear thou also thy lewdness and thy whoredoms.

    36 ¶The LORD said moreover unto me; Son of man, ewilt thou 12judge Aholah and Aholibah? yea, fdeclare unto them their abominations;

    37 That gthey have committed adultery, and hblood is in their hands, and with their idols have they committed adultery, and have ialso caused their sons, whom they bare unto me, to pass for them through the fire, to devour them.

    38 Moreover this they have done unto me: they jhave defiled my sanctuary in the same day, and have profaned my sabbaths.

    39 For when kthey had slain their children to their idols, then they came the same day linto my sanctuary to profane it; and, lo, mthus have they done in the midst of mine house.

    40 And furthermore, nthat ye have sent for men 13to come from far, unto whom a messenger was sent; and, lo, they came: for whom thou odidst wash thyself, paintedst thy eyes, and deckedst thyself with ornaments,

    41 And satest upon a 14stately bed, and pa table prepared before it, whereupon thou hast set mine incense and mine oil.

    42 And a voice of qa multitude being at ease was with her: and 15with the men of the common sort were brought 16Sabeans from the wilderness, which put bracelets upon their hands, and beautiful crowns upon their heads.

    43 Then said I unto her that was rold in adulteries, Will they now commit 17whoredoms with her, and she with them?

    44 Yet sthey went in unto her, as they go in unto a woman that tplayeth the harlot: so went they in unto Aholah and unto Aholibah, the lewd women.

    45 ¶And the righteous men, they shall judge them uafter the manner of adulteresses, and after the manner of women that shed blood; because they are adulteresses, and blood is in their hands.

    46 For thus saith the Lord GOD; vI will bring up a company upon them, and will give them wto be 18removed and xspoiled.

    47 And ythe company shall stone them with stones, and 19dispatch them with their swords; they shall zslay their sons and their daughters, and burn up their houses with fire.

    48 Thus awill I cause lewdness to cease out of the land, bthat all women may be taught not to do after your lewdness.

    49 And cthey shall recompense your lewdness upon you, and ye dshall bear the sins of your idols: and ye eshall know that I am the Lord GOD.