Ezekiel, 23

1. The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying,

1. The word of the Lord Yahweh came to me in these terms,

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

2. "Son of man, there were two women, daughters of the same mother.

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

3. They became prostitutes in Egypt, even from their youth. In that land their breasts were fondled and caressed.

4. And the names of them [were] Aholah the elder, and Aholibah her sister: and they were mine, and they bare sons and daughters. Thus [were] their names; Samaria [is] Aholah, and Jerusalem Aholibah.

4. The elder was called Oholah, her sister Oholibah. Both of them were mine and they gave me sons and daughters. Oholah is Samaria and Oholibah is Jerusalem.

5. And Aholah played the harlot when she was mine; and she doted on her lovers, on the Assyrians [her] neighbours,

5. Oholah was mine when she played the harlot; she lusted after her lovers, the Assyrians,

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

6. warriors dressed in purple, governors, commanders, desirable young men, riders on horses.

7. Thus she committed her whoredoms 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.

7. She offered them her harlotry, to those who were the best of Assyria. She dishonored herself with all those for whom she lusted and with their idols.

8. Neither left she her whoredoms [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.

8. But she did not forget her harlotry with the Egyptians who had lain with her and poured their lust on her from the time of her youth.

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

9. That is why I gave her over to her lovers, the Assyrians, the object of her lustful desires.

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

10. They uncovered her nakedness, seized her sons and daughters and slew her. And she became a byword among women because punishment had come to her.

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

11. Her sister, Oholibah, witnessed this but she was even more corrupt in her lust and worse than her sister in her 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.

12. She lusted after the Assyrians, governors, commanders, horsemen, all desirable young men, and

13. Then I saw that she was defiled, [that] they [took] both one way,

13. I saw how she dishonored herself. Both sisters acted in the same way but she went further than her sister.

14. And [that] she increased her whoredoms: for when she saw men pourtrayed upon the wall, the images of the Chaldeans pourtrayed with vermilion,

14. No sooner had she seen men portrayed on walls, pictures of Chaldeans sketched in vermilion than she lusted after these men,

15. 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:

15. tightly belted, heads top-heavy with turbans, all resembling Babylonian cavalry officers.

16. And as soon as she saw them with her eyes, she doted upon them, and sent messengers unto them into Chaldea.

16. She sent messengers to Chaldea and

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

17. they came to her in the bed of love and defiled her with their prostitution. They dishonored her so much that she turned from them in disgust.

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

18. But because she had given herself and exposed her nakedness, I too turned from her in disgust just as I had turned away from her sister.

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

19. She multiplied her harlotry recalling her youth when she played the harlot in Egypt.

20. For she doted upon their paramours, whose flesh [is as] the flesh of asses, and whose issue [is like] the issue of horses.

20. She lusted after her lovers whose bodies were like those of donkeys and whose organs resembled those of horses.

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

21. She returned to the shameful conduct of her youth with the Egyptians.

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;

22. That is why, Oholibah, thus says Yahweh: I am sending against you your lovers from whom you have turned away in disgust and I will bring them against you from all sides,

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.

23. Babylonians and Chaldeans, men of Pekod, Shoa and Koa and all the Assyrians with them, handsome young men, governors, commanders, cavalry officers, titled people, all riding horses.

24. And they shall come against thee with 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 they shall judge thee according to their judgments.

24. They will come against you with chariots, wagons and throngs of people who will assail you from all sides with buckler, shield and helmet.

25. And I will set my jealousy against thee, and they shall deal 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 thy residue shall be devoured by the fire.

25. I will put your case before them and they will judge you according to their laws. I will release my jealousy against you so that they shall deal with you furiously. They will cut off your nose and your ears and what is left of you will fall by the sword. They will seize your sons and daughters and what is left of you will be consumed by the fire;

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

26. they will strip you of your clothes and ornaments.

27. Thus will 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.

27. I will put an end to your shameful behavior and your harlotry dating from your time in Egypt; you will not look towards them again and will no longer dream of Egypt. Thus says

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:

28. the Lord Yahweh: I am handing you over to those you hate, to those from whom you turned in disgust.

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

29. They will treat you with loathing and take from you everything you have worked for, leaving you naked and uncovered and the nakedness of your harlotry will be exposed.

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

30. Your shameful conduct and your promiscuity have brought this upon you, because you lusted after the nations and defiled yourself with their idols.

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

31. Since you have gone the way of your sister, I will place her cup in your hand.

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

32. Thus says Yahweh: You shall drink your sister's cup which is deep and wide. You shall be the butt of derision and mockery: the cup holds so much!

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

33. You shall be filled with drunkenness and sorrow; it is a cup of desolation and horror, the cup of Samaria, your sister!

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

34. You will drink and empty it to the dregs, and then tear your breasts - for I have spoken, word of the Lord Yahweh."

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 whoredoms.

35. That is why the Lord Yahweh speaks thus: "Since you have forgotten me and turned your back on me, you too will pay for your immodesty and harlotry!"

36. The LORD said moreover unto me; Son of man, wilt thou judge Aholah and Aholibah? yea, declare unto them their abominations;

36. Then Yahweh said to me, "Son of man, will you judge Oholah and Oholibah? Confront them with their abominations,

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 bare unto me, to pass for them through [the fire], to devour [them].

37. for they have committed adultery and stained their hands with blood. They committed adultery with their idols and even sacrificed their children - my children - as food for them.

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

38. At that time they defiled my sanctuary and profaned 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 mine house.

39. the same day they sacrificed their children to their idols, they entered my sanctuary to desecrate it. This is what they did in my house.

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

40. Both of them sent messages to men who had come from afar and they came. You bathed yourself for them, painted your eyes and decked yourself with jewels.

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

41. You seated yourself on a stately couch and beside a table on which you put incense and oil that was mine.

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, which put bracelets upon their hands, and beautiful crowns upon their heads.

42. The sound of a carefree crowd was heard there because of their number, not to mention the people brought in from the desert. They put bracelets on the wrists of the women and splendid crowns on their heads.

43. Then said I unto [her that was] old in adulteries, Will they now commit whoredoms with her, and she [with them]?

43. Then I said about this city, worn out and defiled with her adultery: This is indeed harlotry!

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

44. Men go to her as one goes to a prostitute. So they went to Oholah and Oholibah, the dissolute 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.

45. But upright men will judge as adulterous those who have shed blood, for indeed they are adulteresses and blood is on their hands."

46. For thus saith the Lord GOD; I will bring up a company upon them, and will give them to be removed and spoiled.

46. For thus says Yahweh: "Let a great assembly be gathered against them! Let them be delivered to terror and spoil!

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 up their houses with fire.

47. The assembly will stone them, have them cut in pieces by the sword, kill their sons and daughters and burn 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.

48. I will put an end to debauchery in this land; all the women will be warned and no longer will they imitate your immorality.

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.

49. I will make your immorality fall on your own heads and when you receive the punishment of your idolatry, you will know that I am Yahweh."