Ezekiel 23:3

23:3 They engaged in prostitution in Egypt; in their youth they engaged in prostitution. Their breasts were squeezed there; lovers ¹  fondled their virgin nipples there.

Ezekiel 23:8

23:8 She did not abandon the prostitution she had practiced in Egypt; for in her youth men had sex with her, fondled her virgin breasts, and ravished her. ² 

Leviticus 17:7

17:7 So they must no longer offer ³  their sacrifices to the goat demons, ⁴  acting like prostitutes by going after them. ⁵  This is to be a perpetual statute for them throughout their generations. ⁶ 

Leviticus 18:3

18:3 You must not do as they do in the land of Egypt where you have been living, ⁷  and you must not do as they do in the land of Canaan into which I am about to bring you; ⁸  you must not ⁹  walk in their statutes.

Deuteronomy 29:16-18

The Results of Disobedience

29:16 “(For you know how we lived in the land of Egypt and how we crossed through the nations as we traveled. 29:17 You have seen their detestable things ¹⁰  and idols of wood, stone, silver, and gold.) ¹¹  29:18 Beware that the heart of no man, woman, clan, or tribe among you turns away from the Lord our God today to pursue and serve the gods of those nations; beware that there is among you no root producing poisonous and bitter fruit. ¹² 

Joshua 24:14

24:14 Now ¹³  obey ¹⁴  the Lord and worship ¹⁵  him with integrity and loyalty. Put aside the gods your ancestors ¹⁶  worshiped ¹⁷  beyond the Euphrates ¹⁸  and in Egypt and worship ¹⁹  the Lord.

¹ tn In the Hebrew text the subject is left unstated and must be supplied from the context.

² tn Heb “and poured out their harlotry on her.”

³ tn Heb “sacrifice.” This has been translated as “offer” for stylistic reasons to avoid the redundancy of “sacrifice their sacrifices.”

⁴ tn On “goat demons” of the desert regions see the note on Lev 16:8.

⁵ tn Heb “which they are committing harlotry after them.”

⁶ tn Heb “for your generations.”

⁷ tn Heb “As the work [or “deed”] of the land of Egypt, which you were dwelling in it, you must not do.”

⁸ tn Heb “and as the work [or “deed”] of the land of Canaan which I am bringing you to there, you must not do.” The participle “I am bringing” is inceptive; the Lord is “about to” bring them into the land of Canaan, as opposed to their having dwelt previously in the land of Egypt (see the first part of the verse).

⁹ tn Heb “and you shall not walk.”

¹⁰ tn The Hebrew term שִׁקּוּץ (shiquts) refers to anything out of keeping with the nature and character of Yahweh and therefore to be avoided by his people Israel. It is commonly used with or as a synonym for תּוֹעֵבָה (to’evah, “detestable, abhorrent”; 2 Kgs 23:13; Jer 16:18; Ezek 5:11; 7:20; 11:18, 21; see note on the term “abhorrent” in Deut 7:25). See M. Grisanti, NIDOTTE 4:243-46.

¹¹ tn The Hebrew text includes “which were with them.” Verses 16-17 constitute a parenthetical comment.

¹² tn Heb “yielding fruit poisonous and wormwood.” The Hebrew noun לַעֲנָה (la’anah) literally means “wormwood” (so KJV, ASV, NAB, NASB), but is used figuratively for anything extremely bitter, thus here “fruit poisonous and bitter.”

¹³ sn Joshua quotes the Lord’s words in vv. 2b-13 (note that the Lord speaks in the first person in these verses); in vv. 14-15 Joshua himself exhorts the people (note the third person references to the Lord).

¹⁴ tn Heb “fear.”

¹⁵ tn Or “and serve.”

¹⁶ tn Heb “your fathers.”

¹⁷ tn Or “served.”

¹⁸ tn Heb “the river,” referring to the Euphrates. This has been specified in the translation for clarity; see v. 3.

¹⁹ tn Or “and serve.”