Eze 16, Eze 20, Eze 23 | ESV | STEP | Again the word of the Lord came to me:

1 Again the word of the Lord came to me: 2 ^a“Son of man, ^bmake known to Jerusalem her abominations, 3 and say, Thus says the Lord God to Jerusalem: Your origin and your birth are of the land of the Canaanites; your father was an ^cAmorite and your mother a ^dHittite. 4 And as for your birth, ^eon the day you were born your cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water to cleanse you, nor rubbed with salt, nor wrapped in swaddling cloths. 5 No eye pitied you, to do any of these things to you out of compassion for you, ^fbut you were cast out on the open field, for you were abhorred, ^gon the day that you were born.

6 “And when I passed by you and saw you wallowing ^hin your blood, I said to you ⁱin your blood, ‘Live!’ I said to you ^jin your blood, ‘Live!’ 7 ^kI made you flourish like a plant of the field. And you grew up and became tall ^land arrived at full adornment. Your breasts were formed, and your hair had grown; yet ^myou were naked and bare.

8 “When I passed by you again and saw you, behold, you were at the age for love, and ⁿI spread the corner of my garment over you and covered your nakedness; I made my vow to you ^oand entered into a covenant with you, declares the Lord God, ^pand you became mine. 9 Then I bathed you with water and washed off your blood from you and ^qanointed you with oil. 10 ^rI clothed you also with embroidered cloth and shod you with fine leather. I wrapped you in fine linen and covered you with silk. ^{▼▼Or with rich fabric} 11 ^tAnd I adorned you with ornaments and ^uput bracelets on your wrists and a chain on your neck. 12 And I put a ring on your nose and earrings in your ears and a beautiful crown on your head. 13 Thus you were adorned with gold and silver, and your clothing was of fine linen and silk and embroidered cloth. ^vYou ate fine flour and honey and oil. ^wYou grew exceedingly beautiful and advanced to royalty. 14 And ^xyour 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.

15 ^y“But you trusted in your beauty ^zand played the whore ^{▼▼Or were unfaithful; also verses 16, 17, 26, 28} because of your renown ^aband lavished your whorings ^{▼▼Or unfaithfulness; also verses 20, 22, 25, 26, 29, 33, 34, 36} on any passerby; your beauty ^{▼▼Hebrew it} became his. 16 You took some of your garments and made for yourself colorful shrines, and on them played the whore. The like has never been, nor ever shall be. ^{▼▼The meaning of this Hebrew sentence is uncertain} 17 You also took ^afyour beautiful jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given you, and ^agmade for yourself images of men, and with them played the whore. 18 And you took your embroidered garments to cover them, ^ahand set my oil and my incense before them. 19 ^aiAlso my bread that I gave you— ^ajI fed you with fine flour and oil and honey—you set before them for ^aka pleasing aroma; and so it was, declares the Lord God. 20 ^alAnd you took your sons and your daughters, whom you had borne to me, and ^amthese you sacrificed to them to be devoured. Were your whorings so small a matter 21 that you slaughtered my children and delivered them up as an offering by fire to them? 22 And in all your abominations and your whorings you did not remember ^anthe days of your youth, ^aowhen you were naked and bare, wallowing in your blood.

23 “And after all your wickedness (woe, woe to you! declares the Lord God), 24 you built yourself ^apa vaulted chamber and made yourself a lofty place in every square. 25 At the head of every street ^aqyou built your lofty place and made ^aryour beauty an abomination, ^asoffering yourself ^{▼▼Hebrew spreading your legs} to any passerby and multiplying your whoring. 26 ^auYou also played the whore ^avwith the Egyptians, your lustful neighbors, ^awmultiplying your whoring, ^axto provoke me to anger. 27 Behold, therefore, I stretched out my hand against you ^ayand diminished your allotted portion ^azand delivered you to the greed of your enemies, ^bathe daughters of the Philistines, who were ashamed of your lewd behavior. 28 ^bbYou played the whore also ^bcwith the Assyrians, because you were not satisfied; yes, you played the whore with them, and still you were not satisfied. 29 You multiplied your whoring also with the trading land ^bdof Chaldea, and even with this you were not satisfied.

30 “How sick is your heart, ^{▼▼Revocalization yields How I am filled with anger against you} declares the Lord God, because you did all these things, the deeds of a brazen prostitute, 31 building your vaulted chamber at the head of every street, and making your lofty place in every square. Yet you were not like a prostitute, ^bfbecause you scorned payment. 32 Adulterous wife, who receives strangers instead of her husband! 33 Men give gifts to all prostitutes, ^bgbut you gave your gifts to all your lovers, bribing them to come to you from every side with your whorings. 34 So you were different from other women in your whorings. No one solicited you to play the whore, and ^bhyou gave payment, while no payment was given to you; therefore you were different.

35 “Therefore, O prostitute, hear the word of the Lord: 36 Thus says the Lord God, Because your lust was poured out and your nakedness uncovered in your whorings with your lovers, and with all your abominable idols, ^biand because of the blood of your children that you gave to them, 37 therefore, behold, ^bjI will gather all your lovers with whom you took pleasure, all those you loved and ^bkall those you hated. ^blI will gather them against you from every side ^bmand will uncover your nakedness to them, that ^bnthey may see all your nakedness. 38 ^boAnd I will judge you ^bpas women who commit adultery and ^bqshed blood are judged, and bring upon you the blood of wrath and jealousy. 39 And I will give you into their hands, and they shall throw down your ^brvaulted chamber and break down ^bsyour lofty places. ^btThey shall strip you of your clothes and take ^buyour beautiful jewels and leave you ^bvnaked and bare. 40 ^bwThey shall bring up a crowd against you, ^bxand they shall stone you and cut you to pieces with their swords. 41 ^byAnd they shall ^bzburn your houses and ^caexecute judgments upon you in the sight of many women. ^cbI will make you stop playing the whore, and ^ccyou shall also give payment no more. 42 ^cdSo will I satisfy my wrath on you, and my jealousy shall depart from you. I will be calm and will no more be angry. 43 Because you have not remembered ^cethe days of your youth, but have enraged me with all these things, therefore, behold, ^cfI have returned your deeds upon your head, declares the Lord God. Have you not ^cgcommitted lewdness in addition to all your abominations?

44 “Behold, everyone ^chwho uses proverbs will use this proverb about you: ‘Like mother, like daughter.’ 45 You are the daughter of your mother, who loathed her husband and her children; and you are the sister of ^ciyour sisters, who loathed their husbands and their children. ^cjYour mother was a Hittite and ^ckyour father an Amorite. 46 And ^clyour elder sister is Samaria, who lived with her daughters to the north of you; and ^cmyour younger sister, who lived to the south of you, is Sodom with her daughters. 47 ^cnNot only did you walk in their ways and do according to their abominations; within a very little time ^coyou were more corrupt than they in all your ways. 48 ^cpAs I live, declares the Lord God, your sister ^cqSodom and her daughters have not done as you and your daughters have done. 49 Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, ^crexcess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy. 50 They were haughty and ^csdid an abomination before me. So ^ctI removed them, when I saw it. 51 ^cuSamaria has not committed half your sins. You have committed more abominations than they, and ^cvhave made your sisters appear righteous by all the abominations that you have committed. 52 ^cwBear your disgrace, you also, for you have intervened on behalf of your sisters. Because of your sins in which you acted more abominably than they, they are more in the right than you. So be ashamed, you also, and bear your disgrace, for you have made your sisters appear righteous.

53 ^cx“I will restore their fortunes, both the fortunes of Sodom and her daughters, and the fortunes of Samaria and her daughters, and I will restore your own fortunes in their midst, 54 that you may bear your disgrace ^cyand be ashamed of all that you have done, ^czbecoming a consolation to them. 55 As for your sisters, Sodom and her daughters shall return to their former state, ^daand Samaria and her daughters shall return ^dbto their former state, ^dcand you and your daughters shall return ^ddto your former state. 56 Was not your sister Sodom a byword in your mouth ^dein the day of your pride, 57 before your wickedness was uncovered? Now you have become ^dfan object of reproach for the daughters of Syria ^{▼▼Some manuscripts (compare Syriac) of Edom} and all those around her, and for ^dhthe daughters of the Philistines, ^dithose all around who despise you. 58 ^djYou bear the penalty of your lewdness and your abominations, declares the Lord.

The Lord’s Everlasting Covenant

59 “For thus says the Lord God: I will deal with you as you have done, you ^dkwho have despised the oath in breaking the covenant, 60 yet ^dlI will remember my covenant with you ^dmin the days of your youth, ^dnand I will establish for you an everlasting covenant. 61 ^doThen you will remember your ways ^dpand be ashamed when you take ^dqyour sisters, both your elder and your younger, and I give them to you ^dras daughters, but not on account of ^{▼▼Or not apart from} the covenant with you. 62 I will establish my covenant with you, ^dtand you shall know that I am the Lord, 63 that you may remember and be confounded, and ^dunever open your mouth again because of your shame, when I atone for you for all that you have done, declares the Lord God.”

Ezekiel 20

Israel’s Continuing Rebellion

1 ^dvIn the seventh year, in the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month, certain of ^dwthe elders of Israel came to inquire of the Lord, ^dxand sat before me. 2 And the word of the Lord came to me: 3 ^dy“Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God, Is it to inquire of me that you come? ^dzAs I live, declares the Lord God, ^eaI will not be inquired of by you. 4 ^ebWill you judge them, son of man, will you judge them? ^ecLet them know the abominations of their fathers, 5 and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: ^edOn the day when I chose Israel, ^eeI swore ^{▼▼Hebrew I lifted my hand; twice in this verse; also verses 6, 15, 23, 28, 42} to the offspring of the house of Jacob, ^egmaking myself known to them in the land of Egypt; ^ehI swore to them, saying, I am the Lord your God. 6 On that day I swore to them that ^eiI would bring them out of the land of Egypt into a land that I had searched out for them, a land ^ejflowing with milk and honey, ^ekthe most glorious of all lands. 7 And I said to them, ' ^elCast away the detestable things ^emyour eyes feast on, every one of you, and do not defile yourselves with ^enthe idols of Egypt; ^eoI am the Lord your God.' 8 ^epBut they rebelled against me and were not willing to listen to me. ^eqNone of them cast away the detestable things their eyes feasted on, nor did they forsake the idols of Egypt.

“Then I said I would pour out my wrath upon them ^erand spend my anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt. 9 ^esBut I acted ^etfor the sake of my name, ^euthat it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations among whom they lived, ^evin whose sight I made myself known to them in bringing them out of the land of Egypt. 10 ^ewSo I led them out of the land of Egypt and brought them into the wilderness. 11 ^exI gave them my statutes and made known to them my rules, ^eyby which, if a person does them, he shall live. 12 Moreover, I gave them ^ezmy Sabbaths, as a sign between me and them, ^fathat they might know that I am the Lord who sanctifies them. 13 ^fbBut the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness. ^fcThey did not walk in my statutes but rejected my rules, by which, if a person does them, he shall live; ^fdand my Sabbaths they greatly profaned.

^fe“Then I said I would pour out my wrath upon them in the wilderness, to make a full end of them. 14 But I acted for the sake of my name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, ^ffin whose sight I had brought them out. 15 Moreover, ^fgI swore to them in the wilderness ^fhthat I would not bring them into the land that I had given them, a land ^fiflowing with milk and honey, ^fjthe most glorious of all lands, 16 because they rejected my rules and did not walk in my statutes, and profaned my Sabbaths; ^fkfor their heart went after their idols. 17 Nevertheless, ^flmy eye spared them, and I did not destroy them or ^fmmake a full end of them in the wilderness.

18 “And I said to ^fntheir children in the wilderness, 'Do not walk ^foin the statutes of your fathers, nor keep their rules, ^fpnor defile yourselves with their idols. 19 ^fqI am the Lord your God; ^frwalk in my statutes, and be careful to obey my rules, 20 and ^fskeep my Sabbaths holy that ^ftthey may be a sign between me and you, that you may know that I am the Lord your God.' 21 ^fuBut the children ^fvrebelled against me. ^fwThey did not walk in my statutes and were not careful to obey my rules, by which, if a person does them, he shall live; they profaned my Sabbaths.

^fx“Then I said I would pour out my wrath upon them and spend my anger against them in the wilderness. 22 ^fyBut I withheld my hand ^fzand acted for the sake of my name, ^gathat it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, in whose sight I had brought them out. 23 ^gbMoreover, ^gcI swore to them in the wilderness ^gdthat I would scatter them among the nations and disperse them through the countries, 24 because they had not obeyed my rules, but had rejected my statutes and profaned my Sabbaths, ^geand their eyes were set on their fathers’ idols. 25 ^gfMoreover, I gave them statutes that were not good and rules by which they could not have life, 26 and I defiled them through ^ggtheir very gifts ^ghin their offering up all their firstborn, that I might devastate them. I did it ^githat they might know that I am the Lord.

27 “Therefore, ^gjson of man, speak to the house of Israel and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: In this also your fathers blasphemed me, by ^gkdealing treacherously with me. 28 For when I had brought them into the land that ^glI swore to give them, then wherever they saw ^gmany high hill or any leafy tree, there they offered their sacrifices and there they presented ^gnthe provocation of their offering; there they sent up their pleasing aromas, and there they poured out their drink offerings. 29 (I said to them, ^go'What is the high place to which you go?' So its name is called Bamah ^{▼▼ Bamah means high place} to this day.)

30 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: ^gqWill you defile yourselves after the manner of your fathers and go ^grwhoring after their detestable things? 31 When you present your gifts and ^gsoffer up your children in fire, ^{▼▼Hebrew and make your children pass through the fire} you defile yourselves with all your idols to this day. And ^gushall I be inquired of by you, O house of Israel? ^gvAs I live, declares the Lord God, I will not be inquired of by you.

32 ^gw“What is in your mind shall never happen—the thought, ^gx‘Let us be like the nations, like the tribes of the countries, ^gyand worship wood and stone.’

The Lord Will Restore Israel

33 ^gz“As I live, declares the Lord God, ^hasurely with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and ^hbwith wrath poured out I will be king over you. 34 ^hcI will bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you are scattered, with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, and with wrath poured out. 35 ^hdAnd I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, ^heand there I will enter into judgment with you ^hfface to face. 36 ^hgAs I entered into judgment with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will enter into judgment with you, declares the Lord God. 37 I will make you ^hhpass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant. 38 ^hiI will purge out the rebels from among you, and those who transgress against me. ^hjI will bring them out of the land where they sojourn, ^hkbut they shall not enter the land of Israel. ^hlThen you will know that I am the Lord.

39 “As for you, O house of Israel, thus says the Lord God: ^hmGo serve every one of you his idols, now and hereafter, if you will not listen to me; ^hnbut my holy name you shall no more profane with your gifts and your idols.

40 ^ho“For on my holy mountain, the mountain height of Israel, declares the Lord God, there ^hpall the house of Israel, all of them, shall serve me in the land. ^hqThere I will accept them, and there I will require your contributions and the choicest of your gifts, with all your sacred offerings. 41 As a pleasing aroma I will accept you, when ^hrI bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you have been scattered. And ^hsI will manifest my holiness among you in the sight of the nations. 42 ^htAnd you shall know that I am the Lord, when I bring you into the land of Israel, the country that ^huI swore to give to your fathers. 43 ^hvAnd there you shall remember your ways and all your deeds with which you have defiled yourselves, ^hwand you shall loathe yourselves for all the evils that you have committed. 44 And you shall know that I am the Lord, ^hxwhen I deal with you for my name’s sake, ^hynot according to your evil ways, nor according to your corrupt deeds, O house of Israel, declares the Lord God.”

45 ^{▼▼Ch 21:1 in Hebrew} And the word of the Lord came to me: 46 ^ia“Son of man, ^ibset your face toward the southland; ^{▼▼Or toward Teman} ^idpreach against the south, and prophesy against the forest land in the Negeb. 47 Say to the forest of the Negeb, Hear the word of the Lord: Thus says the Lord God, Behold, ^ieI will kindle a fire in you, and it shall devour every ^ifgreen tree in you and every ^igdry tree. The blazing flame shall not be quenched, and ^ihall faces from south to north shall be scorched by it. 48 ⁱⁱAll flesh shall see that I the Lord have kindled it; it shall not be quenched.” 49 Then I said, ^ij“Ah, Lord God! They are saying of me, ^ik‘Is he not a maker of parables?’”

Ezekiel 23

Oholah and Oholibah

1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 ^il“Son of man, there were ^imtwo women, the daughters of one mother. 3 ⁱⁿThey played the whore in Egypt; ^iothey played the whore ^ipin their youth; there their breasts were pressed and their virgin bosoms ^{▼▼Hebrew nipples; also verses 8, 21} handled. 4 Oholah was the name of the elder and Oholibah the name of her sister. ^irThey became mine, and they ^isbore sons and daughters. As for their names, Oholah is ^itSamaria, and Oholibah is Jerusalem.

5 “Oholah played the whore ^iuwhile she was mine, and ^ivshe lusted after her lovers ^iwthe Assyrians, warriors 6 clothed in purple, ^ixgovernors and commanders, ^iyall of them desirable young men, ^izhorsemen 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 ^jathat 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 ^jbI delivered her into the hands of her lovers, into the hands of the Assyrians, after whom she lusted. 10 ^jcThese uncovered her nakedness; ^jdthey seized her sons and her daughters; and as for her, they killed her with the sword; and she became ^jea byword among women, ^jfwhen judgment had been executed on her.

11 ^jg“Her sister Oholibah saw this, and she became ^jhmore corrupt than her sister ^{▼▼Hebrew than she} 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, ^jjall 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 ^jkportrayed on the wall, the ^jlimages of ^jmthe 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 ^jnsent messengers to them ^join Chaldea. 17 And the Babylonians came to her ^jpinto the bed of love, and they defiled her with their whoring lust. And after she was defiled by them, ^jqshe 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, ^jrremembering the days of her youth, when she played the whore in the land of Egypt 20 and lusted after her lovers 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 ^{▼▼Vulgate, Syriac; Hebrew bosom for the sake of} your young breasts.”

22 Therefore, O Oholibah, thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I will stir up against you your lovers ^jtfrom whom you turned in disgust, ^juand I will bring them against you from every side: 23 the Babylonians and all the Chaldeans, ^jvPekod and Shoa and Koa, and all the Assyrians with them, ^jwdesirable young men, ^jxgovernors and commanders all of them, officers and men of renown, all of them riding on horses. 24 And they shall come against you from the north ^{▼▼Septuagint; the meaning of the Hebrew word is unknown} with chariots and wagons and a host of peoples. ^jzThey shall set themselves against you on every side with buckler, shield, and helmet; and ^kaI will commit the judgment to them, and ^kbthey shall judge you according to their judgments. 25 And I will direct my jealousy against you, ^kcthat they may deal with you in fury. They shall cut off your nose and your ears, and your survivors shall fall by the sword. ^kdThey shall seize your sons and your daughters, and your survivors shall be devoured by fire. 26 ^keThey shall also strip you of your clothes and take away your beautiful jewels. 27 ^kfThus I will put an end to your lewdness and ^kgyour whoring begun in the land of Egypt, so that you shall not lift up your eyes to them or remember Egypt anymore.

28 “For thus says the Lord God: ^khBehold, I will deliver you into the hands of those whom you hate, ^kiinto the hands of those from whom you turned in disgust, 29 and ^kjthey shall deal with you in hatred and take away all the fruit of your labor ^kkand leave you naked and bare, and ^klthe nakedness of your whoring shall be uncovered. Your lewdness and your whoring 30 have brought this upon you, because ^kmyou played the whore with the nations and defiled yourself with their idols. 31 You have gone the way of your sister; ^kntherefore I will give ^koher cup into your hand. 32 Thus says the Lord God:

“You shall drink your sister’s cup
that is deep and large;
you shall be laughed at and held in derision,
for it contains much;
33 you will be filled with ^kpdrunkenness and sorrow.
^kqA cup of horror and desolation,
the cup of ^kryour sister Samaria;
34 ^ksyou shall drink it and drain it out,
and gnaw its shards,
and tear your breasts;
for I have spoken, declares the Lord God. 35 Therefore thus says the Lord God: Because ^ktyou have forgotten me and ^kucast me behind your back, you yourself ^kvmust bear the consequences of your lewdness and whoring.”

36 The Lord said to me: ^kw“Son of man, ^kxwill you judge Oholah and Oholibah? Declare to them their abominations. 37 For ^kythey have committed adultery, ^kzand blood is on their hands. With their idols they have committed adultery, and they have even ^laoffered up ^{▼▼Or have even made pass through the fire} to them for food the children whom they had borne to me. 38 Moreover, this they have done to me: ^lcthey have defiled my sanctuary on the same day and ^ldprofaned my Sabbaths. 39 For when ^lethey had slaughtered their children in sacrifice to their idols, on the same day ^lfthey came into my sanctuary to profane it. And behold, ^lgthis is what they did in my house. 40 They even sent for men to come from afar, ^lhto whom a messenger was sent; and behold, they came. For them you bathed yourself, ^lipainted your eyes, ^ljand adorned yourself with ornaments. 41 You sat on ^lka stately couch, with a table spread before it ^llon which you had placed my incense and ^lmmy oil. 42 The ^lnsound of a carefree multitude was with her; and with men of the common sort, drunkards ^{▼▼Or Sabeans} were brought from the wilderness; and they put ^lpbracelets on the hands of the women, and ^lqbeautiful crowns on their heads.

43 “Then I said of her who was worn out by adultery, 'Now they will continue to use her for a whore, even her!' ^{▼▼The meaning of the Hebrew verse is uncertain} 44 For they have gone in to her, as men go in to a prostitute. Thus they went in to Oholah and to Oholibah, lewd women! 45 But righteous men ^lsshall pass judgment on them with the sentence of adulteresses, and with the sentence of women who shed blood, because they are adulteresses, and blood is on their hands.”

46 For thus says the Lord God: ^lt“Bring up a vast host against them, and make them ^luan object of terror and ^lva plunder. 47 ^lwAnd the host shall stone them and cut them down with their swords. ^lxThey shall kill their sons and their daughters, and ^lyburn up their houses. 48 ^lzThus will I put an end to lewdness in the land, that all women may take warning and not commit lewdness as you have done. 49 And they shall return your lewdness upon you, and ^mayou shall bear the penalty for your sinful idolatry, and ^mbyou shall know that I am the Lord God.”