Ezekiel 23:1-21

Oholah and Oholibah

1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 h "Son of man, there were i two women, the daughters of one mother. 3 j They played the whore in Egypt; j they played the whore k in their youth; there their breasts were pressed and their virgin bosoms 1 handled. 4 Oholah was the name of the elder and Oholibah the name of her sister. l They became mine, and they m bore sons and daughters. As for their names, Oholah is n Samaria, and Oholibah is Jerusalem.

5 "Oholah played the whore o while she was mine, and p she lusted after her lovers q the Assyrians, warriors 6 clothed in purple, r governors and commanders, s all of them desirable young men, t horsemen riding on horses. 7 She bestowed her whoring upon them, the choicest men of Assyria all of them, and she defiled herself with all the idols of everyone after whom she lusted. 8 She did not give up her whoring u that she had begun in Egypt; for in her youth men had lain with her and handled her virgin bosom and poured out their whoring lust upon her. 9 Therefore v I delivered her into the hands of her lovers, into the hands of the Assyrians, after whom she lusted. 10 w These uncovered her nakedness; x they seized her sons and her daughters; and as for her, they killed her with the sword; and she became y a byword among women, z when judgment had been executed on her.

11 a "Her sister Oholibah saw this, and she became b more corrupt than her sister 2 in her lust and in her whoring, which was worse than that of her sister. 12 She lusted after the Assyrians, governors and commanders, warriors clothed in full armor, horsemen riding on horses, s all of them desirable young men. 13 And I saw that she was defiled; they both took the same way. 14 But she carried her whoring further. She saw men c portrayed on the wall, the d images of e the Chaldeans portrayed in vermilion, 15 wearing belts on their waists, with flowing turbans on their heads, all of them having the appearance of officers, a likeness of Babylonians whose native land was Chaldea. 16 When she saw them, she lusted after them and f sent messengers to them e in Chaldea. 17 And the Babylonians came to her g into the bed of love, and they defiled her with their whoring lust. And after she was defiled by them, h she turned from them in disgust. 18 When she carried on her whoring so openly and flaunted her nakedness, I turned in disgust from her, as I had turned in disgust from her sister. 19 Yet she increased her whoring, i remembering the days of her youth, when she played the whore in the land of Egypt 20 and lusted after her paramours there, whose members were like those of donkeys, and whose issue was like that of horses. 21 Thus you longed for the lewdness of your youth, when the Egyptians handled your bosom and pressed 3 your young breasts."

  1. Cross References
    Ezekiel 2:1
    And he said to me, "Son of man, stand on your feet, and I will speak with you.
  2. Cross References
    Ezekiel 16:45 - 46
    You are the daughter of your mother, who loathed her husband and her children; and you are the sister of your sisters, who loathed their husbands and their children. Your mother was a Hittite and your father an Amorite.
  3. Cross References
    Ezekiel 16:15
    But you trusted in your beauty and played the whore because of your renown and lavished your whorings on any passerby; your beauty became his.
  4. Cross References
    Ezekiel 16:15
    But you trusted in your beauty and played the whore because of your renown and lavished your whorings on any passerby; your beauty became his.
  5. Cross References
    Ezekiel 16:22
    And in all your abominations and your whorings you did not remember the days of your youth, when you were naked and bare, wallowing in your blood.
  6. Cross References
    Ezekiel 16:8
    When I passed by you again and saw you, behold, you were at the age for love, and I spread the corner of my garment over you and covered your nakedness; I made my vow to you and entered into a covenant with you, declares the Lord God, and you became mine.
  7. Cross References
    Ezekiel 23:37
    For they have committed adultery, and blood is on their hands. With their idols they have committed adultery, and they have even offered up to them for food the children whom they had borne to me.
  8. Cross References
    Ezekiel 16:46
    And your elder sister is Samaria, who lived with her daughters to the north of you; and your younger sister, who lived to the south of you, is Sodom with her daughters.
  9. Cross References
    Numbers 5:19 - 20
    Then the priest shall make her take an oath, saying, 'If no man has lain with you, and if you have not turned aside to uncleanness while you were under your husband's authority, be free from this water of bitterness that brings the curse.
  10. Cross References
    Hosea 2:5
    For their mother has played the whore; she who conceived them has acted shamefully. For she said, 'I will go after my lovers, who give me my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, my oil and my drink.
  11. Cross References
    2 Kings 15:19
    Pul the king of Assyria came against the land, and Menahem gave Pul a thousand talents of silver, that he might help him to confirm his hold on the royal power.
    2 Kings 17:3
    Against him came up Shalmaneser king of Assyria. And Hoshea became his vassal and paid him tribute.
    Hosea 8:9
    For they have gone up to Assyria, a wild donkey wandering alone; Ephraim has hired lovers.
  12. Cross References
    Ezekiel 23:23
    The Babylonians and all the Chaldeans, Pekod and Shoa and Koa, and all the Assyrians with them, desirable young men, governors and commanders all of them, officers and men of renown, all of them riding on horses.
  13. Cross References
    Ezekiel 23:23
    The Babylonians and all the Chaldeans, Pekod and Shoa and Koa, and all the Assyrians with them, desirable young men, governors and commanders all of them, officers and men of renown, all of them riding on horses.
  14. Cross References
    Ezekiel 38:15
    You will come from your place out of the uttermost parts of the north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great host, a mighty army.
    Isaiah 5:28
    Their arrows are sharp, all their bows bent, their horses' hoofs seem like flint, and their wheels like the whirlwind.
  15. Cross References
    Ezekiel 23:3
    They played the whore in Egypt; they played the whore in their youth; there their breasts were pressed and their virgin bosoms handled.
    Ezekiel 23:19
    Yet she increased her whoring, remembering the days of her youth, when she played the whore in the land of Egypt
  16. Cross References
    2 Kings 15:29
    In the days of Pekah king of Israel, Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria came and captured Ijon, Abel-beth-maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali, and he carried the people captive to Assyria.
    2 Kings 17:4 - 6
    But the king of Assyria found treachery in Hoshea, for he had sent messengers to So, king of Egypt, and offered no tribute to the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year. Therefore the king of Assyria shut him up and bound him in prison.
    2 Kings 17:23
    Until the Lord removed Israel out of his sight, as he had spoken by all his servants the prophets. So Israel was exiled from their own land to Assyria until this day.
    2 Kings 18:9 - 11
    In the fourth year of King Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah, king of Israel, Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against Samaria and besieged it.
  17. Cross References
    Ezekiel 23:29
    And they shall deal with you in hatred and take away all the fruit of your labor and leave you naked and bare, and the nakedness of your whoring shall be uncovered. Your lewdness and your whoring
    Ezekiel 16:37
    Therefore, behold, I will gather all your lovers with whom you took pleasure, all those you loved and all those you hated. I will gather them against you from every side and will uncover your nakedness to them, that they may see all your nakedness.
  18. Cross References
    Ezekiel 23:25
    And I will direct my jealousy against you, that they may deal with you in fury. They shall cut off your nose and your ears, and your survivors shall fall by the sword. They shall seize your sons and your daughters, and your survivors shall be devoured by fire.
  19. Cross References
    Ezekiel 16:14
    And your renown went forth among the nations because of your beauty, for it was perfect through the splendor that I had bestowed on you, declares the Lord God.
  20. Cross References
    Ezekiel 5:8
    Therefore thus says the Lord God : Behold, I, even I, am against you. And I will execute judgments in your midst in the sight of the nations.
  21. Cross References
    Jeremiah 3:8 - 9
    She saw that for all the adulteries of that faithless one, Israel, I had sent her away with a decree of divorce. Yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear, but she too went and played the whore.
  22. Cross References
    Jeremiah 3:11
    And the Lord said to me, "Faithless Israel has shown herself more righteous than treacherous Judah.
    Ezekiel 16:47
    Not only did you walk in their ways and do according to their abominations; within a very little time you were more corrupt than they in all your ways.
  23. Cross References
    Ezekiel 23:6
    Clothed in purple, governors and commanders, all of them desirable young men, horsemen riding on horses.
  24. Cross References
    Ezekiel 8:10
    So I went in and saw. And there, engraved on the wall all around, was every form of creeping things and loathsome beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel.
  25. Cross References
    Ezekiel 16:17
    You also took your beautiful jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given you, and made for yourself images of men, and with them played the whore.
  26. Cross References
    Ezekiel 16:29
    You multiplied your whoring also with the trading land of Chaldea, and even with this you were not satisfied.
    2 Kings 20:12 - 13
    At that time Merodach-baladan the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent envoys with letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that Hezekiah had been sick.
    2 Kings 24:1
    In his days, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant three years. Then he turned and rebelled against him.
  27. Cross References
    Ezekiel 23:40
    They even sent for men to come from afar, to whom a messenger was sent; and behold, they came. For them you bathed yourself, painted your eyes, and adorned yourself with ornaments.
    Isaiah 57:9
    You journeyed to the king with oil and multiplied your perfumes; you sent your envoys far off, and sent down even to Sheol.
  28. Cross References
    Ezekiel 23:14
    But she carried her whoring further. She saw men portrayed on the wall, the images of the Chaldeans portrayed in vermilion.
  29. Cross References
    Ezekiel 23:41
    You sat on a stately couch, with a table spread before it on which you had placed my incense and my oil.
    Isaiah 57:7 - 8
    On a high and lofty mountain you have set your bed, and there you went up to offer sacrifice.
  30. Cross References
    Ezekiel 23:22
    Therefore, O Oholibah, thus says the Lord God : "Behold, I will stir up against you your lovers from whom you turned in disgust, and I will bring them against you from every side:
    Ezekiel 23:28
    For thus says the Lord God : Behold, I will deliver you into the hands of those whom you hate, into the hands of those from whom you turned in disgust.
    Ezekiel 17:15
    But he rebelled against him by sending his ambassadors to Egypt, that they might give him horses and a large army. Will he thrive? Can one escape who does such things? Can he break the covenant and yet escape?
  31. Cross References
    Ezekiel 23:3
    They played the whore in Egypt; they played the whore in their youth; there their breasts were pressed and their virgin bosoms handled.
    Ezekiel 16:15
    But you trusted in your beauty and played the whore because of your renown and lavished your whorings on any passerby; your beauty became his.
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.