EZEKIEL CHAPTER 23

1 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

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

3 and they went a-whoring in Egypt in their youth. There their breasts fell, there they lost their virginity.

4 And their names were Oholah the elder, and Oholibah her sister: and they were Mine, and bore sons and daughters: and as for their names, Samaria was Oholah, and Jerusalem was Oholibah.

5 And Oholah went a-whoring from Me, and doted on her lovers, on the Assyrians that were her neighbors,

6 clothed with purple, princes and captains; they were young men and choice, all horsemen riding on horses.

7 And she bestowed her fornication upon them; all were choice sons of the Assyrians: and on whomsoever she doted herself, with them she defiled herself in all their devices.

8 And she forsook not her fornication with the Egyptians: for in her youth they committed fornication with her, and they deflowered her, and poured out their fornication upon her.

9 Therefore I delivered her into the hands of her lovers, into the hands of the children of the Assyrians, on whom she doted.

10 They uncovered her shame; they took her sons and daughters, and slew her with the sword; and she became a byword among women; and they wrought vengeance in her for the sake of the daughters.

11 And her sister Oholibah saw it, and she indulged in her fondness more corruptly than she, and in her fornication more than the fornication of her sister.

12 She doted upon the sons of the Assyrian, princes and captains, her neighbors, clothed with fine linen, horsemen riding on horses; they were all choice young men.

13 And I saw that they were defiled, that the two had one way.

14 And she increased her fornication, and she saw men painted on the wall, likenesses of the Chaldeans painted with a pencil,

15 having variegated belts on their loins, having also richly dyed turbans upon their heads; all had a princely appearance, the likeness of the children of the Chaldeans, of their native land.

16 And she doted upon them as soon as she saw them, and sent forth messengers to them into the land of the Chaldeans.

17 And the sons of Babylon came to her, into the bed of rest, and they defiled her in her fornication, and she was defiled by them, and her soul was alienated from them.

18 And she exposed her fornication, and exposed her shame. And My soul was alienated from her, even as My soul was alienated from her sister.

19 And you multiplied your fornication, so as to call to remembrance the days of your youth, in which you committed harlotry in Egypt,

20 and you doted upon the Chaldeans, whose flesh is as the flesh of donkeys, and their members as the members of horses.

21 And you looked upon the iniquity of your youth, the things which you did in Egypt in your lodgings, where were the breasts of your youth.

22 Therefore, Oholibah, thus says the Lord: Behold, I will stir up your lovers against you, from whom your soul is alienated, and I will bring them upon you round about,

23 the children of Babylon, and all the Chaldeans, Pekod, and Shoa, and Koa, and all the sons of the Assyrians with them; choice young men, governors and captains, all princes and renowned, riding on horses.

24 And they all shall come upon you from the north, chariots and wheels, with a multitude of nations, shields and targets; and the enemy shall set a watch against you round about;and I will set judgment before them, and they shall take vengeance on you with their judgements.

25 And I will bring upon you My jealousy, and they shall deal with you in great wrath. They shall take away your nose and your ears, and shall cast down your remnant with the sword. They shall take your sons and your daughters, and fire shall devour your remnant.

26 And they shall strip you of your clothing, and take away your ornaments.

27 So I will turn back your ungodliness from you, and your fornication from the land of Egypt; and you shall not lift up your eyes upon them, and shall no more remember Egypt.

28 Wherefore thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will deliver you into the hands of those whom you hate, from whom your soul is alienated.

29 And they shall deal with you in hatred, and shall take all the fruits of your labors and your toils, and you shall be naked and bare; and the shame of your fornication shall be exposed. And your ungodliness and your fornication

30 has brought this upon you, in that you went a-whoring after the nations, and defiled yourself with their devices.

31 You walked in the way of your sister; and I will put her cup into your hands.

32 Thus says the Lord: Drink your sister's cup, deep and large and full, to cause complete drunkenness.

33 And you shall be thoroughly weakened; and the cup of destruction, the cup of your sister Samaria,

34 drink it, and I will take away her feasts and her new moons; for I have spoken it, says the Lord.

35 Therefore thus says the Lord: Because you have forgotten Me, and have cast Me behind your back, therefore receive the reward of your ungodliness and your fornication.

36 And the Lord said to me, Son of man, will you not judge Oholah and Oholibah, and declare to them their iniquities?

37 For they have committed adultery, and blood was in their hands, they committed adultery with their devices, and they passed through the fire to them their children which they bore to Me.

38 So long too as they did these things to Me, they defiled My sanctuary, and profaned My Sabbaths.

39 And when they sacrificed their children to their idols, they also went into My sanctuary to profane it; and whereas they did thus in the midst of My house,

40 and whereas they did thus to the men that came from afar, to whom they sent messengers, and as soon as they came, immediately you washed yourself, and painted your eyes and adorned yourself with ornaments,

41 and sat on a prepared bed, and before it there was a table set out, and as for My incense and My oil, they rejoiced in them,

42 and they raised a sound of music, and that with men coming from the wilderness out of a multitude of men, and they put bracelets on their hands, and a crown of glory on their heads.

43 Therefore I said, Do they not commit adultery with these? And has she also gone a-whoring after the manner of a harlot?

44 And they went in to her, as men go in to a harlot; so they went in to Oholah and to Oholibah, to work iniquity.

45 And they are just men, and shall take vengeance on them with the judgment of an adulteress and the judgment of blood, for they are adulteresses, and blood is on their hands.

46 Thus says the Lord God: Bring up a multitude upon them, and send trouble and plunder into the midst of them.

47 And stone them with the stones of a multitude, and pierce them with their swords; they shall slay their sons and their daughters, and shall burn up their houses.

48 And I will remove ungodliness out of the land, and all the women shall be instructed, and shall not do according to their ungodliness.

49 And your ungodliness shall be recompensed upon you, and you shall bear the guilt of your devices, and you shall know that I am the Lord.