*THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET
EZEKIEL
Ezekiel 23 ©
Under the names of two women, Aholah and Aholibah, God describes at large the whoredoms and adulteries of Samaria and Jerusalem, or Israel and Judah, vs. 1, 2, etc. Likewise, 36, etc. For which cause both these insatiable adulteresses were to be sentenced and dealt with according to justice therein required, 22, etc. Likewise, 45, etc.
THE word of the LORD came again unto me, saying,
Son of man, there were 1two women, the daughters of one mother:
And they 2committed whoredoms in Egypt;a they committed whoredoms in their 3youth: there were their breasts pressed, and there they 4bruised the teats of their virginity.
And the 5names of them were 6Aholah the 7elder, and 8Aholibah her sister: and they were 9mine, and they bare sons and daughters. Thus were 10their names; Samaria is Aholah, and Jerusalem Aholibah.
And Aholah played the harlot when she was 11mine; and she doted on her 12lovers, on the 13Assyrians her 14neighbours,
Which were clothed with blue, captains and rulers, all of them 15desirable young men, horsemen riding upon horses.
Thus she 16committed her whoredoms with them, with all them that were the chosen 17men of Assyria, and 18with all on whom she doted: with all their idols she defiled herself.
Neither left she her whoredoms brought from 19Egypt: for in her youth they lay with her, and they 20bruised the breasts of her virginity, and poured their whoredom upon her.
Wherefore I have delivered her into the hand of her lovers, into the hand of the Assyrians,b upon whom she 21doted.
These 22discovered her nakedness: they took her sons and her daughters, and slew 23her with the sword: and she became 24famous among women; for they had executed 25judgment upon her.
And when her sister 26Aholibah saw this, she was more corrupt in her inordinate love than 27she, and in her whoredoms more than her sister in her whoredoms.
She doted upon the 28Assyrianscher 29neighbours, captains and rulers clothed most 30gorgeously, horsemen riding upon horses, all of them 31desirable young men.
Then I saw that she was defiled, that they 32took both one way,
And that she increased her whoredoms: for when she saw 33men pourtrayed upon the 34wall, the images of the Chaldeans pourtrayed with 35vermilion,d
Girded with girdles upon their loins, 36exceeding in dyed attire upon their heads, all of them princes to look to, after the manner of the Babylonians of Chaldea, the 37land of their nativity:
And as soon as she saw them 38with her eyes, she 39doted upon them, and sent messengers unto them into Chaldea.
And the Babylonians came to her into the 40bed of love, and they defiled her with their whoredom, and she was polluted with them, and her mind was 41alienated from 42them.
So she discovered her whoredoms, and discovered her nakedness: then my mind was alienated from her, like as my mind was alienated from her 43sister.
Yet she multiplied her whoredoms, in calling to remembrance the days of her youth, 44wherein she had played the harlot in the land of 45Egypt.
For she doted upon their 46paramours,e47whose flesh is as the flesh of asses, and whose issue is like the issue of 48horses.
Thus thou 49calledst to remembrance the lewdness of thy youth, in bruising thy teats by the Egyptians for the paps of thy youth.
¶Therefore, O Aholibah, thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will raise up thy 50lovers against thee, from whom thy mind is 51alienated, and I will bring them against thee on every side;
The Babylonians, and all the Chaldeans, 52Pekod, 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.
And they shall come against thee with 53chariots, wagons, and wheels, and with an assembly of people, which shall 54set against thee buckler and shield and helmet round about: and I will set 55judgment before them, and they shall judge thee according to their 56judgments.
And I will set my 57jealousy against thee, and they shall deal furiously with thee: they shall 58take away thy nose and thine ears; and 59thy remnant shall fall by the sword: they shall take thy sons and thy daughters; and thy residue shall be devoured by the fire.
They shall also stripf thee out of thy clothes, and take away thy fair jewels.
Thus will I make thy lewdness to 60cease from thee, and thy whoredom brought from the land of Egypt: so that thou shalt not lift up thine eyes unto 61them, nor remember Egypt any more.
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:
And they shall deal with thee hatefully, and shall take away all thy 62labour, and shall leave thee nakedg and bare: and the nakedness of thy whoredoms shall be discovered, both thy lewdness and thy whoredoms.
I 63will do these things unto thee, because thou hast gone a whoring after the heathen, and because thou art polluted with their idols.
Thou hast walked in the 64way of thy sister; therefore will I give her 65cup into thine hand.
Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou shalt drink of thy sister's cup deep and large: thou shalt be 66laughed to scorn and had in derision; it containeth 67much.
Thou shalt be filled with drunkenness and 68sorrow, with 69the cup of astonishment and desolation, with the cup of thy sister Samaria.
Thou shalt even drink it and suck it out, and thou shalt break 70the sherdsh thereof, and pluck off thine own 71breasts: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.
Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou hast forgotteni me, and cast me behind thy 72back, therefore bear thou also thy 73lewdness and thy whoredoms.
¶The LORD said moreover unto me; Son of man, wilt thou 74judgej75Aholah and Aholibah? yea, declare unto them their abominations;
That they have committed adultery, and 76blood is in their hands, and with their idols have they committed adultery, and have also caused their sons, whom they bare unto 77me, to pass for them 78through the fire,k to 79devour them.
Moreover this they have done 80unto me: they have defiled 81my sanctuary in the same day, and have profaned my sabbaths.l
For when they had 82slainm their children to their idols, then they came the same day into my 83sanctuary to profane it; and, lo, thusn have they done in the midst of mine house.
And furthermore, that ye have 84sent 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,
And satest upon a stately bed, and a table prepared before it, whereupono thou hast set 85mine incense and mine oil.
And a voice of a multitude 86being at ease was with 87her: and with the men of the 88common sort were brought 89Sabeans from the wilderness, which put 90bracelets upon 91their hands, and 92beautiful crowns upon their heads.
Then 93said I unto her that was 94old in adulteries, 95Will they now commit whoredoms with her, 96and she with them?
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 97lewd women.
¶And the 98righteous men, they shall 99judgep them after the manner of adulteresses, and after the 100manner of women that shed blood; because they are adulteresses, and 101blood is in their hands.
For thus saith the Lord GOD; 102I will bring up a company upon them, and will give them to be removed and spoiled.
And the company shall stone them with stones,q and dispatch them with their swords; they shall slay their sons and their daughters, and burnr up their houses with fire.
Thus will I cause lewdness to cease out of the land, that all women may be taught not to do after your lewdness.
And they shall recompense your lewdness 103upon you, and ye shall bear the 104sins of your idols: and ye shall know that I am the Lord GOD.