CLARITY EDITION · OLD TESTAMENT
Ezekiel 23
Chapter 23 of 48
Chapter Overview
What happens in Ezekiel 23
God tells the story of two sisters named Oholah and Oholibah, representing Samaria and Jerusalem. Both sisters were unfaithful by chasing after alliances with foreign nations and their gods. Both would be severely punished for their betrayal.
Scripture
Ezekiel 23
The Two Sisters
Study note
The two sisters Oholah and Oholibah represent Samaria (the northern kingdom) and Jerusalem (the southern kingdom). Both began their unfaithfulness in Egypt, even before becoming nations. Oholah means 'her own tent,' suggesting Samaria set up its own unauthorized place of worship. Oholibah means 'my tent is in her,' because God's temple was in Jerusalem. Both belonged to God and had children.
1 The Lord's message came to me again. The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying,
2 "Son of man, there were two sisters born to the same mother." Son of man, there were two women, the daughters of one mother:
3 "While still young in Egypt, they gave themselves over to immoral behavior. That is where their innocence was first taken from them." 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.
4 "The older one was named Oholah, and her sister was Oholibah. They became mine and bore sons and daughters. Oholah represents the city of Samaria, and Oholibah represents Jerusalem." 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.
Oholah (Samaria) and Assyria
Study note
Oholah (Samaria) chased after the Assyrians, attracted by their handsome warriors in their blue uniforms. She became entangled with Assyria politically and religiously. Because of this, God handed her over to the Assyrians themselves, who stripped her, took her children, and killed her with the sword. This was fulfilled when Assyria conquered the northern kingdom in 722 BC.
5 "While she was still mine, Oholah became unfaithful. She lusted after her Assyrian lovers." And Aholah played the harlot when she was mine; and she doted on her lovers, on the Assyrians her neighbours,
6 "These were soldiers dressed in blue uniforms. They were governors and commanders, all of them good-looking young men riding on horses." Which were clothed with blue, captains and rulers, all of them desirable young men, horsemen riding upon horses.
7 "She threw herself at them, all the top men of Assyria. She made herself unclean with every idol of anyone she wanted." 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.
8 "She never abandoned the unfaithfulness she had started back in Egypt, where men had slept with her since her youth." 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.
9 "So I handed her over to her Assyrian lovers, the very ones she had been chasing." Wherefore I have delivered her into the hand of her lovers, into the hand of the Assyrians, upon whom she doted.
10 "They stripped her bare, seized her sons and daughters, and killed her with the sword. She became an infamous example among women because judgment was carried out against her." 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.
Oholibah (Jerusalem) Is Even Worse
Study note
Jerusalem saw what happened to Samaria but did not learn the lesson. She became even more corrupt, chasing after the Assyrians, then the Babylonians, and even reaching back to Egypt. She was attracted by images of Babylonian officers painted in red on walls, with belts and flowing turbans. When the Babylonians came to her, she welcomed them, then became disgusted. God turned away from her just as he had turned away from her sister.
11 "Her sister Oholibah watched all of this happen. Yet she became even worse in her desires and cheating than Oholah had been." 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.
12 "She too lusted after the Assyrians. She craved their rulers and soldiers. They were dashing men in full dress. All were handsome young horsemen." She doted upon the Assyrians her neighbours, captains and rulers clothed most gorgeously, horsemen riding upon horses, all of them desirable young men.
13 "I could see she was following the exact same corrupt path as her sister." Then I saw that she was defiled, that they took both one way,
14 "But she went even further. She spotted figures of Babylonian officers painted on walls in bright red." And that she increased her whoredoms: for when she saw men portrayed upon the wall, the images of the Chaldeans portrayed with vermilion,
15 "They wore sashes around their waists and flowing turbans on their heads. They all had the appearance of Babylonian chariot commanders from the land of the Chaldeans." 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:
16 "The moment she saw them, she was filled with desire. She sent messengers all the way to Babylonia to invite them." And as soon as she saw them with her eyes, she doted upon them, and sent messengers unto them into Chaldea.
17 "The Babylonians came and slept with her. She defiled herself with them, but then she was repulsed by them." 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.
18 "She showed off her unfaithfulness for everyone to see. So I turned away from her in disgust, just as I had turned away from her sister." 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.
19 "Yet she went even deeper into sin. She looked back with longing at her young days in Egypt." 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.
20 "She burned with desire for her lovers there, who were as lustful as donkeys and horses." For she doted upon their paramours, whose flesh is as the flesh of asses, and whose issue is like the issue of horses.
21 "You yearned for the shameful behavior of your youth back in Egypt, when your innocence was first taken." Thus thou calledst to remembrance the lewdness of thy youth, in bruising thy teats by the Egyptians for the paps of thy youth.
Judgment on Jerusalem
Study note
God would bring all of Jerusalem's former lovers against her: the Babylonians, Chaldeans, and all their allies. They would come with their armies and weapons. They would judge her harshly, cutting off her nose and ears (a punishment for adultery in the ancient Near East). God told Jerusalem she would drink the same cup of judgment her sister Samaria drank, a large, deep cup of horror and desolation.
22 "So, Oholibah, the Lord God says: I will stir up the very lovers you now hate. I will bring them against you from every direction --" 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;
23 "I will bring the Babylonians and all the Chaldeans, the men of Pekod, Shoa, and Koa, along with all the Assyrians. They are handsome young men. Every one of them is a governor, commander, chariot officer, or person of high rank. They all ride horses." 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.
24 "They will march against you armed with weapons, chariots, and wagons, backed by a massive army. They will surround you with shields, helmets, and armor on every side. I will let them judge you by their own standards of punishment." 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.
25 "I will aim my jealous fury at you, and they will deal with you brutally. They will cut off your nose and ears. Survivors will be killed by the sword. They will seize your sons and daughters, and whatever remains will be consumed by fire." 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.
26 "They will also tear off your clothing and confiscate all your fine jewelry." They shall also strip thee out of thy clothes, and take away thy fair jewels.
27 "I will put an end to your shameless behavior and the unfaithfulness you started in Egypt. You will never look longingly toward Egypt or think about it again." 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.
28 "The Lord God says: I am about to hand you over to the people you now hate -- to the ones you turned away from in disgust." 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:
29 "They will treat you with hatred and strip away everything you worked for, leaving you bare and exposed. All your shameful unfaithfulness, your corruption, and your lustful behavior will be laid bare for all to see." 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.
30 "All of this will happen because you ran after other nations. You made yourself dirty with their idols." I will do these things unto thee, because thou hast gone a whoring after the heathen, and because thou art polluted with their idols.
31 "You walked the same road as your sister, so I am handing you the same cup of judgment she drank from." Thou hast walked in the way of thy sister; therefore will I give her cup into thine hand.
32 The Lord God says: "You will drink your sister's cup -- a cup that is massive and deep. It will drown you in ridicule and mockery because it holds so much." 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.
33 "You will be overcome with drunkenness and sadness. It is a cup of horror and ruin — the very cup your sister Samaria drank." Thou shalt be filled with drunkenness and sorrow, with the cup of astonishment and desolation, with the cup of thy sister Samaria.
34 "You will drain it down to the last drop, then gnaw on its broken shards and tear at your own chest. I have declared it, says the Lord God." 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.
35 "So the Lord God says this. You forgot me. You threw me behind your back. Now face the full cost of your shameless ways." 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.
The Guilt of Both Sisters
Study note
God told Ezekiel to judge both sisters together. Their sins included adultery with idols, child sacrifice, dishonoring the temple, and breaking the Sabbath. They invited foreign nations in, decorating themselves to receive their lovers while the altar of God sat nearby. Both sisters would be punished, and their unfaithfulness would be brought to an end. Then they would know that God is the Lord.
36 The Lord told me, "Son of man, are you ready to pronounce judgment on Oholah and Oholibah? Then lay their revolting practices out in the open." The LORD said moreover unto me; Son of man, wilt thou judge Aholah and Aholibah? yea, declare unto them their abominations;
37 "They were unfaithful by worshiping their idols. They even burned their own children as food for those idols — the children they had for me." 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.
38 "On top of that, they defiled my temple and profaned my Sabbath days -- all on the same day." Moreover this they have done unto me: they have defiled my sanctuary in the same day, and have profaned my sabbaths.
39 "On the very same day they sacrificed their children to idols, they walked into my temple and polluted it. They did this inside my own house." 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.
40 "They even sent messengers to summon men from distant lands. When those men arrived, you bathed yourself, lined your eyes with makeup, and put on all your jewelry for them." 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,
41 "You sat on a fancy couch next to a table you had set up. On it you placed the incense and olive oil that belonged to me." And satest upon a stately bed, and a table prepared before it, whereupon thou hast set mine incense and mine oil.
42 "The noise of a carefree party crowd filled the air around her. Ordinary drunks were brought in from the desert alongside a rowdy mob. They placed bracelets on the women's arms and beautiful crowns on their heads." 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.
43 "Then I said about the woman worn out by her sin, 'Now they will use her for their pleasure. And that is all she is to them.'" Then said I unto her that was old in adulteries, Will they now commit whoredoms with her, and she with them?
44 "That is precisely what happened. They slept with Oholah and Oholibah, these shameful women, just as men visit a prostitute." 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.
45 "But fair judges will pass the sentence that cheaters and killers deserve. That is what these sisters are. They are unfaithful women with blood on their hands." 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.
46 "The Lord God says: Rally a mob against them and hand them over to terror and plunder." For thus saith the Lord GOD; I will bring up a company upon them, and will give them to be removed and spoiled.
47 "The mob will stone them and hack them down with swords. They will execute their sons and daughters and torch their houses." 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.
48 "In this way I will put a stop to shameful acts in the land. This will warn every woman never to copy what you did." Thus will I cause lewdness to cease out of the land, that all women may be taught not to do after your lewdness.
49 "You will suffer the full penalty for your sinful, idolatrous conduct. Then you will recognize that I am the Lord God." 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.
Key Themes
Themes in Ezekiel 23
Spiritual adulteryIsrael and Judah comparedAlliances with pagan nationsConsequences of unfaithfulness
Apply This Today
Living Ezekiel 23
This graphic chapter shows how seriously God takes spiritual unfaithfulness. Judah watched her sister Israel face consequences for turning away from God and still repeated the same mistakes. Learning from the mistakes of others is one of the wisest things we can do.
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