Ezekielchapter 23

A.Oholah's lust for Assyria and her endvv. 1-10

1 Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, there were two women, daughters of the same mother, 3 and they played in Egypt, prostituting themselves from their youth. Their breasts were fondled there, and their virgin bosoms caressed. 4 The older was named Oholah, and her sister was named Oholibah. They became Mine and gave birth to sons and daughters. As for their identities, Oholah is Samaria, and Oholibah is Jerusalem. 5 Oholah prostituted herself while she was still Mine. She lusted after her lovers, the Assyrians—warriors 6 clothed in blue, governors and commanders, all desirable young men, horsemen mounted on steeds. 7 She offered sexual favors to all the elite of Assyria. She defiled herself with all the idols of those for whom she lusted. 8 She did not give up the prostitution she began in Egypt, when men slept with her in her youth, caressed her virgin bosom, and poured out their lust upon her. 9 Therefore I delivered her into the hands of her lovers, the Assyrians for whom she lusted. 10 They exposed her nakedness, seized her sons and daughters, and put her to the sword. Thus she became a byword among women, and they executed judgment against her.

B.Oholibah, the younger sister, who was worsevv. 11-21

11 Her sister Oholibah saw this, yet in her lust and prostitution she was more depraved than her sister. 12 She too lusted after the Assyrians—governors and commanders, warriors dressed in splendor, horsemen riding on steeds, all desirable young men. 13 And I saw that she too had defiled herself; both of them had taken the same path. 14 But Oholibah carried her prostitution even further. She saw the men portrayed on the wall, images of the Chaldeans, engraved in vermilion, 15 wearing belts on their waists and flowing turbans on their heads; all of them looked like officers of the Babylonians in Chaldea, the land of their birth. 16 At the sight of them, she lusted for them and sent messengers to them in Chaldea. 17 Then the Babylonians came to her, to the bed of love, and in their lust they defiled her. But after she had been defiled by them, she turned away in disgust. 18 When Oholibah openly prostituted herself and exposed her nakedness, I turned away from her in disgust, just as I had turned away from her sister. 19 Yet she multiplied her promiscuity, remembering the days of her youth, when she had prostituted herself in the land of Egypt 20 and lusted after their lovers, whose genitals were like those of donkeys and whose emission was like that of stallions. 21 So you revisited the indecency of your youth, when the Egyptians caressed your bosom and pressed your young breasts.

C.The cup of horror pressed into her handvv. 22-35

22 Therefore, Oholibah, this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘I will incite your lovers against you, those from whom you turned away in disgust. And I will bring them against you from every side— 23 the Babylonians and all the Chaldeans, the men of Pekod, Shoa, and Koa, and all the Assyrians with them—all desirable young men, governors and commanders, officers and men of renown, mounted on horses. 24 They will come against you with a host of peoples, with weapons, chariots, and wagons. They will array themselves against you on every side with buckler and shield and helmet. I will delegate judgment to them, and they will punish you according to their own standards. 25 And I will set My jealous rage against you, and they will deal with you in fury. They will cut off your noses and ears, and your survivors will fall by the sword. They will seize your sons and daughters, and your remnant will be consumed by fire. 26 They will strip off your clothes and take your fine jewelry. 27 So I will put an end to your indecency and prostitution, which began in the land of Egypt, and you will not lift your eyes to them or remember Egypt anymore.’ 28 For this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Surely I will deliver you into the hands of those you hate, from whom you turned away in disgust. 29 They will treat you with hatred, take all for which you have worked, and leave you naked and bare, so that the shame of your prostitution will be exposed. Your indecency and promiscuity 30 have brought these things upon you, because you have prostituted yourself with the nations and defiled yourself with their idols. 31 Because you have followed the path of your sister, I will put her cup into your hand.’ 32 This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘You will drink your sister’s cup, a cup deep and wide. It will bring scorn and derision, for it holds so much. 33 You will be filled with drunkenness and grief, with a cup of devastation and desolation, the cup of your sister Samaria. 34 You will drink it and drain it; you will dash it to pieces, and tear your breasts. For I have spoken,’ declares the Lord GOD. 35 Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Because you have forgotten Me and have cast Me behind your back, you must bear the consequences of your indecency and prostitution.’”

D.Both sisters judged by righteous menvv. 36-49

36 Then the LORD said to me: “Son of man, will you pass judgment against Oholah and Oholibah? Then declare to them their abominations. 37 For they have committed adultery, and blood is on their hands. They have committed adultery with their idols. They have even sacrificed their children, whom they bore to Me, in the fire as food for their idols. 38 They have also done this to Me: On that very same day, they defiled My sanctuary and profaned My Sabbaths. 39 On the very day they slaughtered their children for their idols, they entered My sanctuary to profane it. Yes, they did this inside My house. 40 Furthermore, you sisters sent messengers for men who came from afar; and behold, when they arrived, you bathed for them, painted your eyes, and adorned yourself with jewelry. 41 You sat on a couch of luxury with a table spread before it, on which you had set My incense and My oil, 42 accompanied by the sound of a carefree crowd. Drunkards were brought in from the desert along with men from the rabble, who put bracelets on your wrists and beautiful crowns on your head. 43 Then I said of her who had grown old in adulteries: ‘Now let them use her as a prostitute, for that is all she is!’ 44 And they slept with her as with a prostitute; they slept with Oholah and Oholibah, those lewd women. 45 But righteous men will sentence them to the punishment of those who commit adultery and bloodshed, because they are adulteresses with blood on their hands. 46 This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Bring a mob against them and consign them to terror and plunder. 47 The mob will stone them and cut them down with their swords. They will kill their sons and daughters and burn down their houses. 48 So I will put an end to indecency in the land, and all the women will be admonished not to imitate your behavior. 49 They will repay you for your indecency, and you will bear the consequences of your sins of idolatry. Then you will know that I am the Lord GOD.’”

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Chapter summary

Two sisters, Oholah and Oholibah (Samaria and Jerusalem) who played the harlot in Egypt in their youth and never left the habit.

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Two sisters, Oholah and Oholibah (Samaria and Jerusalem) who played the harlot in Egypt in their youth and never left the habit. Oholah doted on the Assyrians, her neighbors clothed in blue, and was given into their hand. Oholibah was more corrupt than her sister: she doted on Assyria too, then on the Chaldeans she saw portrayed in vermilion upon the wall, and sent messengers to Babylon. And when they came, her soul was alienated from them. So her lovers become her judges. The sisters' cup passes from one to the other, 'a cup of astonishment and desolation,' deep and large, to be drunk and then broken and gnawed at its shards.

Drawn from Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory, Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary and John Wesley, Notes on the Old Testament.

Context

Prophecy · Ezekiel — Ezekiel overview

A. 1–10 Oholah's lust for Assyria and her end
B. 11–21 Oholibah, the younger sister, who was worse
C. 22–35 The cup of horror pressed into her hand
D. 36–49 Both sisters judged by righteous men

Top cross-references8 chapters ▾

Ezekiel 2316 verses
- Ezekiel 23:3and they played in Egypt, prostituting themselves from their youth. Their breasts were fondled there, and their virgin bosoms caressed.
- Ezekiel 23:4The older was named Oholah, and her sister was named Oholibah. They became Mine and gave birth to sons and daughters. As for their identities, Oholah is Samaria, and Oholibah is Jerusalem.
- Ezekiel 23:5Oholah prostituted herself while she was still Mine. She lusted after her lovers, the Assyrians—warriors
- Ezekiel 23:9Therefore I delivered her into the hands of her lovers, the Assyrians for whom she lusted.
- Ezekiel 23:17Then the Babylonians came to her, to the bed of love, and in their lust they defiled her. But after she had been defiled by them, she turned away in disgust.
- Ezekiel 23:19Yet she multiplied her promiscuity, remembering the days of her youth, when she had prostituted herself in the land of Egypt
- Read Ezekiel 23: 10 more there →
Ezekiel 1616 verses
- Ezekiel 16:8Then I passed by and saw you, and you were indeed old enough for love. So I spread My cloak over you and covered your nakedness. I pledged Myself to you, entered into a covenant with you, and you became Mine, declares the Lord GOD.
- Ezekiel 16:11I adorned you with jewelry, and I put bracelets on your wrists and a chain around your neck.
- Ezekiel 16:13So you were adorned with gold and silver, and your clothing was made of fine linen, silk, and embroidered cloth. You ate fine flour, honey, and oil. You became very beautiful and rose to be queen.
- Ezekiel 16:17You also took the fine jewelry of gold and silver I had given you, and you made male idols with which to prostitute yourself.
- Ezekiel 16:22And in all your abominations and acts of prostitution, you did not remember the days of your youth when you were naked and bare, wallowing in your own blood.
- Ezekiel 16:26You prostituted yourself with your lustful neighbors, the Egyptians, and increased your promiscuity to provoke Me to anger.
- Read Ezekiel 16: 10 more there →
Ezekiel 205 verses
- Ezekiel 20:4Will you judge them, will you judge them, son of man? Confront them with the abominations of their fathers
- Ezekiel 20:7And I said to them: ‘Each of you must throw away the abominations before his eyes, and you must not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.’
- Ezekiel 20:13Yet the house of Israel rebelled against Me in the wilderness. They did not follow My statutes and they rejected My ordinances—though the man who does these things will live by them—and they utterly profaned My Sabbaths. Then I resolved to pour out My wrath upon them and put an end to them in the wilderness.
- Ezekiel 20:24For they did not practice My ordinances, but they rejected My statutes and profaned My Sabbaths, fixing their eyes on the idols of their fathers.
- Ezekiel 20:26And I pronounced them unclean through their gifts—the sacrifice of every firstborn in the fire—so that I might devastate them, in order that they would know that I am the LORD.
- Read Ezekiel 20 →
2 Kings 173 verses
- 2 Kings 17:3Shalmaneser king of Assyria attacked him, and Hoshea became his vassal and paid him tribute.
- 2 Kings 17:18So the LORD was very angry with Israel, and He removed them from His presence. Only the tribe of Judah remained,
- 2 Kings 17:23Finally, the LORD removed Israel from His presence, as He had declared through all His servants the prophets. So Israel was exiled from their homeland into Assyria, where they are to this day.
- Read 2 Kings 17 →

4 more chapters this one speaks with

2 Kings 213 verses
- 2 Kings 21:4Manasseh also built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD had said, “In Jerusalem I will put My Name.”
- 2 Kings 21:7Manasseh even took the carved Asherah pole he had made and set it up in the temple, of which the LORD had said to David and his son Solomon, “In this temple and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will establish My Name forever.
- 2 Kings 21:13I will stretch out over Jerusalem the measuring line used against Samaria and the plumb line used against the house of Ahab, and I will wipe out Jerusalem as one wipes out a bowl—wiping it and turning it upside down.
- Read 2 Kings 21 →
Ezekiel 223 verses
- Ezekiel 22:2“As for you, son of man, will you judge her? Will you pass judgment on the city of bloodshed? Then confront her with all her abominations
- Ezekiel 22:4you are guilty of the blood you have shed, and you are defiled by the idols you have made. You have brought your days to a close and have come to the end of your years. Therefore I have made you a reproach to the nations and a mockery to all the lands.
- Ezekiel 22:12In you they take bribes to shed blood. You engage in usury, take excess interest, and extort your neighbors. But Me you have forgotten, declares the Lord GOD.
- Read Ezekiel 22 →
Isaiah 512 verses
- Isaiah 51:17Awake, awake! Rise up, O Jerusalem, you who have drunk from the hand of the LORD the cup of His fury; you who have drained the goblet to the dregs—the cup that makes men stagger.
- Isaiah 51:22Thus says your Lord, the LORD, even your God, who defends His people: “See, I have removed from your hand the cup of staggering. From that goblet, the cup of My fury, you will never drink again.
- Read Isaiah 51 →
Jeremiah 32 verses
- Jeremiah 3:7I thought that after she had done all these things, she would return to Me. But she did not return, and her unfaithful sister Judah saw it.
- Jeremiah 3:8She saw that because faithless Israel had committed adultery, I gave her a certificate of divorce and sent her away. Yet that unfaithful sister Judah had no fear and prostituted herself as well.
- Read Jeremiah 3 →

Cross-references from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge and OpenBible.info.