Ezekiel 23

King James Version

Full text for Ezekiel Chapter 23

1¶ The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying,

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

3And 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.

4And 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.

5And Aholah played the harlot when she was mine; and she doted on her lovers, on the Assyrians [her] neighbours,

6[Which were] clothed with blue, captains and rulers, all of them desirable young men, horsemen riding upon horses.

7Thus 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.

8Neither 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.

9Wherefore I have delivered her into the hand of her lovers, into the hand of the Assyrians, upon whom she doted.

10These 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.

11¶ 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.

12She doted upon the Assyrians [her] neighbours, captains and rulers clothed most gorgeously, horsemen riding upon horses, all of them desirable young men.

13Then I saw that she was defiled, [that] they [took] both one way,

14And [that] she increased her whoredoms: for when she saw men pourtrayed upon the wall, the images of the Chaldeans pourtrayed with vermilion,

15Girded 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:

16And as soon as she saw them with her eyes, she doted upon them, and sent messengers unto them into Chaldea.

17And 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.

18So she discovered her whoredoms, and discovered her nakedness: then my mind was alienated from her, like as my mind was alienated from her sister.

19Yet she multiplied her whoredoms, in calling to remembrance the days of her youth, wherein she had played the harlot in the land of Egypt.

20For she doted upon their paramours, whose flesh [is as] the flesh of asses, and whose issue [is like] the issue of horses.

21Thus thou calledst to remembrance the lewdness of thy youth, in bruising thy teats by the Egyptians for the paps of thy youth.

22¶ 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;

23The 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.

24And 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.

25And 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.

26They shall also strip thee out of thy clothes, and take away thy fair jewels.

27Thus 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.

28For 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:

29And 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.

30I will do these [things] unto thee, because thou hast gone a whoring after the heathen, [and] because thou art polluted with their idols.

31Thou hast walked in the way of thy sister; therefore will I give her cup into thine hand.

32Thus 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.

33Thou shalt be filled with drunkenness and sorrow, with the cup of astonishment and desolation, with the cup of thy sister Samaria.

34Thou 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.

35Therefore 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.

36¶ The LORD said moreover unto me; Son of man, wilt thou judge Aholah and Aholibah? yea, declare unto them their abominations;

37That 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].

38Moreover this they have done unto me: they have defiled my sanctuary in the same day, and have profaned my sabbaths.

39For 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.

40And 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,

41And satest upon a stately bed, and a table prepared before it, whereupon thou hast set mine incense and mine oil.

42And 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.

43Then said I unto [her that was] old in adulteries, Will they now commit whoredoms with her, and she [with them]?

44Yet 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.

45And 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.

46For thus saith the Lord GOD; I will bring up a company upon them, and will give them to be removed and spoiled.

47And 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.

48Thus will I cause lewdness to cease out of the land, that all women may be taught not to do after your lewdness.

49And 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.

AI Analysis

AI Summaries

Short Summary

Ezekiel 23 presents an allegory of two sisters, Aholah (Samaria) and Aholibah (Jerusalem), who represent the northern and southern kingdoms of Israel. Both nations engaged in spiritual harlotry by forming alliances with and adopting the idolatry of foreign powers, beginning in Egypt. Aholah was punished by her Assyrian lovers, yet Aholibah surpassed her sister in corruption by doting on Assyrians and then Babylonians. Consequently, the Lord declares that Aholibah will suffer an even more severe judgment at the hands of her former lovers, mirroring and exceeding Aholah's destruction, as a consequence of her profound apostasy and idolatry.

Medium Summary

The chapter opens with the allegory of two sisters, Aholah (Samaria) and Aholibah (Jerusalem), who committed spiritual whoredom from their youth in Egypt. Aholah, representing Samaria, doted upon the Assyrians, defiling herself with their idols, leading the Lord to deliver her into their hands. The Assyrians then stripped her, slew her children, and executed judgment upon her. Despite witnessing her sister's fate, Aholibah, representing Jerusalem, became even more corrupt in her idolatrous alliances, first with Assyrians, then excessively with Chaldeans, sending for them and defiling herself. The Lord declares that He will raise up these very lovers against Aholibah, who will come with great force to judge her. She will endure a devastating punishment, including being stripped, having her children slain, and drinking the cup of desolation, because she forgot the Lord and polluted His sanctuary with her abominations and child sacrifices. This severe judgment is intended to make her lewdness cease and for all to know the Lord God.

Long Summary

The word of the Lord introduces an extended allegory concerning two sisters, Aholah and Aholibah, representing Samaria and Jerusalem respectively, both daughters of one mother, Israel. From their youth in Egypt, they engaged in spiritual whoredom, forming illicit alliances and adopting foreign idolatry. Aholah, symbolizing Samaria, doted upon the Assyrians, defiling herself with their chosen men and idols. For her unfaithfulness, the Lord delivered her into the hands of these Assyrians, who discovered her nakedness, took her children, and slew her, making her a warning to other nations. However, Aholibah, representing Jerusalem, observed her sister's downfall yet became even more corrupt in her inordinate love and whoredoms. She initially doted on the Assyrians but then intensified her apostasy by fixating on the Chaldeans, sending messengers to them and defiling herself with their presence and practices. Even after her mind was alienated from them, she multiplied her whoredoms, recalling her Egyptian past and doting on their paramours. Consequently, the Lord declares a severe judgment upon Aholibah, stating He will raise up her alienated lovers—the Babylonians, Chaldeans, and Assyrians—against her. They will come with military might, judging her according to their customs, dealing furiously with her, and inflicting mutilation, slaying her children, and burning her residue. The Lord will strip her of her finery and make her lewdness cease, ensuring she no longer remembers Egypt or lifts her eyes to foreign powers. She is destined to drink deeply from the cup of astonishment and desolation, the very cup of her sister Samaria, as punishment for forgetting the Lord and polluting herself with heathen idols. The chapter further details their abominations, including adultery with idols, child sacrifice in the sanctuary, and profaning the Sabbaths. The Lord commands Ezekiel to declare these abominations, emphasizing their defilement of His sanctuary and their elaborate preparations for foreign alliances. Ultimately, righteous men will judge them as adulteresses and murderers, and the Lord will bring a company to stone them, slay their children, burn their houses, and recompense their lewdness upon them, so that all women may be taught not to follow their example, and they shall know that He is the Lord God.

Core Concepts

  • Spiritual HarlotryThe central metaphor for Israel's (Samaria and Jerusalem) unfaithfulness to God, depicted as two sisters, Aholah and Aholibah, engaging in illicit sexual relations with foreign nations and their idols.
  • Idolatry and Foreign AlliancesThe specific sin of both sisters, involving doting on and forming political and religious alliances with nations like Assyria and Babylon, adopting their gods and practices, and defiling themselves with their idols.
  • Divine JudgmentThe consequence of the sisters' apostasy, where God delivers them into the hands of the very nations they lusted after, who then inflict severe punishment, including destruction, stripping, and death.
  • Samaria's Fall (Aholah)The historical judgment upon the northern kingdom of Israel, represented by Aholah, who was destroyed by the Assyrians, serving as a warning to her sister.
  • Jerusalem's Greater Guilt (Aholibah)Jerusalem, represented by Aholibah, is portrayed as even more corrupt than Samaria, having witnessed her sister's fate yet multiplying her whoredoms, leading to an even more devastating impending judgment by Babylon.
  • Child Sacrifice and Sanctuary DefilementSpecific abominations committed by the sisters, involving offering their children to idols and simultaneously profaning the Lord's sanctuary and Sabbaths, highlighting the depth of their spiritual corruption.
  • The Cup of DesolationA metaphor for the severe and comprehensive punishment awaiting Aholibah (Jerusalem), signifying a deep and bitter experience of judgment, sorrow, and destruction, mirroring and exceeding that of Samaria.