Ezekiel 23:4-11

23:4 Oholah was the name of the older and Oholibah ¹  the name of her younger sister. They became mine, and gave birth to sons and daughters. ²  Oholah is Samaria and Oholibah is Jerusalem.

23:5 “Oholah engaged in prostitution while she was mine. ³  She lusted after her lovers, the Assyrians ⁴  – warriors ⁵  23:6 clothed in blue, governors and officials, all of them desirable young men, horsemen riding on horses. 23:7 She bestowed her sexual favors on them; all of them were the choicest young men of Assyria. She defiled herself with all whom she desired ⁶  – with all their idols. 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. ⁷  23:9 Therefore I handed her over to her lovers, the Assyrians ⁸  for whom she lusted. 23:10 They exposed her nakedness, seized her sons and daughters, and killed her with the sword. She became notorious ⁹  among women, and they executed judgments against her.

23:11 “Her sister Oholibah watched this, ¹⁰  but she became more corrupt in her lust than her sister had been, and her acts of prostitution were more numerous than those of her sister.

[23:4]  ¹ tn The names Oholah and Oholibah are both derived from the word meaning “tent.” The meaning of Oholah is “her tent,” while Oholibah means “my tent is in her.”

[23:4]  ² sn In this allegory the Lord is depicted as being the husband of two wives. The OT law prohibited a man from marrying sisters (Lev 18:18), but the practice is attested in the OT (cf. Jacob). The metaphor is utilized here for illustrative purposes and does not mean that the Lord condoned such a practice or bigamy in general.

[23:5]  ³ tn Heb “while she was under me.” The expression indicates that Oholah is viewed as the Lord’s wife. See Num 5:19-20, 29.

[23:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “Assyria.”

[23:5]  ⁵ tn The term apparently refers to Assyrian military officers; it is better construed with the description that follows. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:738.

[23:7]  ⁶ tn Heb “lusted after.”

[23:8]  ⁷ tn Heb “and poured out their harlotry on her.”

[23:9]  ⁸ tn Heb “I gave her into the hand of her lovers, into the hand of the sons of Assyria.”

[23:10]  ⁹ tn Heb “name.”

[23:11]  ¹⁰ tn The word “this” is not in the original text.