Ezekiel 23:40-41

23:40 “They even sent for men from far away; when the messenger arrived, those men set out. ¹  For them you bathed, ²  painted your eyes, and decorated yourself with jewelry. 23:41 You sat on a magnificent couch, with a table arranged in front of it where you placed my incense and my olive oil.

Ezekiel 16:17

16:17 You also took your beautiful jewelry, made of my gold and my silver I had given to you, and made for yourself male images and engaged in prostitution ³  with them.

Ezekiel 16:29

16:29 Then you multiplied your promiscuity to the land of merchants, Babylonia, ⁴  but you were not satisfied there either.

Ezekiel 16:2

16:2 “Son of man, confront Jerusalem ⁵  with her abominable practices

Ezekiel 2:1

Ezekiel’s Commission

2:1 He said to me, “Son of man, ⁶  stand on your feet and I will speak with you.”

[23:40]  ¹ tn Heb “to whom a messenger was sent, and look, they came.” Foreign alliances are in view here.

[23:40]  ² tn The Hebrew verb form is feminine singular, indicating that Oholibah (Judah) is specifically addressed here. This address continues through verse 42a (note “her”), but then both sisters are described in verse 42b, where the feminine pronouns are again plural.

[16:17]  ³ tn Or perhaps “and worshiped them,” if the word “prostitution” is understood in a figurative rather than a literal sense (cf. CEV, NLT).

[16:29]  ⁴ tn Heb “Chaldea.” The name of the tribal group ruling Babylon (“Chaldeans”) and the territory from which they originated (“Chaldea”) is used as metonymy for the whole empire of Babylon.

[16:2]  ⁵ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[2:1]  ⁶ sn The phrase son of man occurs ninety-three times in the book of Ezekiel. It simply means “human one,” and distinguishes the prophet from the nonhuman beings that are present in the world of his vision.