Hosea 9:1

Fertility Cult Festivals Have Intoxicated Israel

9:1 O Israel, do not rejoice jubilantly ¹  like the nations,

for you are unfaithful ²  to your God.

You love to receive a prostitute's wages ³ 

on all the floors where you thresh your grain.

Leviticus 17:7

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

Leviticus 20:5

20:5 I myself will set my face against that man and his clan. I will cut off from the midst of their people both him and all who follow after him in spiritual prostitution, ⁸  to commit prostitution by worshiping Molech. ⁹ 

Numbers 15:39

15:39 You must have this tassel so that you may look at it and remember all the commandments of the Lord and obey them and so that you do not follow ¹⁰  after your own heart and your own eyes that lead you to unfaithfulness. ¹¹ 

Deuteronomy 31:16

31:16 Then the Lord said to Moses, “You are about to die, ¹²  and then these people will begin to prostitute themselves with the foreign gods of the land into which they ¹³  are going. They ¹⁴  will reject ¹⁵  me and break my covenant that I have made with them. ¹⁶ 

Deuteronomy 31:2

31:2 He said to them, “Today I am a hundred and twenty years old. I am no longer able to get about, ¹⁷  and the Lord has said to me, ‘You will not cross the Jordan.’

Deuteronomy 21:13

21:13 discard the clothing she was wearing when captured, ¹⁸  and stay ¹⁹  in your house, lamenting for her father and mother for a full month. After that you may have sexual relations ²⁰  with her and become her husband and she your wife.

Psalms 73:27

73:27 Yes, ²¹  look! Those far from you ²²  die;

you destroy everyone who is unfaithful to you. ²³ 

Jeremiah 3:1-3

3:1 “If a man divorces his wife

and she leaves him and becomes another man’s wife,

he may not take her back again. ²⁴ 

Doing that would utterly defile the land. ²⁵ 

But you, Israel, have given yourself as a prostitute to many gods. ²⁶ 

So what makes you think you can return to me?” ²⁷ 

says the Lord.

3:2 “Look up at the hilltops and consider this. ²⁸ 

You have had sex with other gods on every one of them. ²⁹ 

You waited for those gods like a thief lying in wait in the desert. ³⁰ 

You defiled the land by your wicked prostitution to other gods. ³¹ 

3:3 That is why the rains have been withheld,

and the spring rains have not come.

Yet in spite of this you are obstinate as a prostitute. ³² 

You refuse to be ashamed of what you have done.

Ezekiel 16:1-63

God’s Unfaithful Bride

16:1 The word of the Lord came to me: 16:2 “Son of man, confront Jerusalem ³³  with her abominable practices 16:3 and say, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says to Jerusalem: Your origin and your birth were in the land of the Canaanites; your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite. 16:4 As for your birth, on the day you were born your umbilical cord was not cut, nor were you washed in water; ³⁴  you were certainly not rubbed down with salt, nor wrapped with blankets. ³⁵  16:5 No eye took pity on you to do even one of these things for you to spare you; ³⁶  you were thrown out into the open field ³⁷  because you were detested on the day you were born.

16:6 “‘I passed by you and saw you kicking around helplessly in your blood. I said to you as you lay there in your blood, “Live!” I said to you as you lay there in your blood, “Live!” ³⁸  16:7 I made you plentiful like sprouts in a field; you grew tall and came of age so that you could wear jewelry. Your breasts had formed and your hair had grown, but you were still naked and bare.

16:8 “‘Then I passed by you and watched you, noticing ³⁹  that you had reached the age for love. ⁴⁰  I spread my cloak ⁴¹  over you and covered your nakedness. I swore a solemn oath to you and entered into a marriage covenant with you, declares the sovereign Lord, and you became mine.

16:9 “‘Then I bathed you in water, washed the blood off you, and anointed you with fragrant oil. 16:10 I dressed you in embroidered clothing and put fine leather sandals on your feet. I wrapped you with fine linen and covered you with silk. 16:11 I adorned you with jewelry. I put bracelets on your hands and a necklace around your neck. 16:12 I put a ring in your nose, earrings on your ears, and a beautiful crown on your head. 16:13 You were adorned with gold and silver, while your clothing was of fine linen, silk, and embroidery. You ate the finest flour, honey, and olive oil. You became extremely beautiful and attained the position of royalty. 16:14 Your fame ⁴²  spread among the nations because of your beauty; your beauty was perfect because of the splendor which I bestowed on you, declares the sovereign Lord. ⁴³ 

16:15 “‘But you trusted in your beauty and capitalized on your fame by becoming a prostitute. You offered your sexual favors to every man who passed by so that your beauty ⁴⁴  became his. 16:16 You took some of your clothing and made for yourself decorated high places; you engaged in prostitution on them. You went to him to become his. ⁴⁵  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 ⁴⁶  with them. 16:18 You took your embroidered clothing and used it to cover them; you offered my olive oil and my incense to them. 16:19 As for my food that I gave you – the fine flour, olive oil, and honey I fed you – you placed it before them as a soothing aroma. That is exactly what happened, declares the sovereign Lord.

16:20 “‘You took your sons and your daughters whom you bore to me and you sacrificed them ⁴⁷  as food for the idols to eat. As if your prostitution not enough, 16:21 you slaughtered my children and sacrificed them to the idols. ⁴⁸  16:22 And with all your abominable practices and prostitution you did not remember the days of your youth when you were naked and bare, kicking around in your blood.

16:23 “‘After all of your evil – “Woe! Woe to you!” declares the sovereign Lord – 16:24 you built yourself a chamber ⁴⁹  and put up a pavilion ⁵⁰  in every public square. 16:25 At the head of every street you erected your pavilion and you disgraced ⁵¹  your beauty when you spread ⁵²  your legs to every passerby and multiplied your promiscuity. 16:26 You engaged in prostitution with the Egyptians, your sexually aroused neighbors, ⁵³  multiplying your promiscuity and provoking me to anger. 16:27 So see here, I have stretched out my hand against you and cut off your rations. I have delivered you into the power of those who hate you, the daughters of the Philistines, who were ashamed by your obscene conduct. 16:28 You engaged in prostitution with the Assyrians because your sexual desires were insatiable; you prostituted yourself with them and yet you were still not satisfied. 16:29 Then you multiplied your promiscuity to the land of merchants, Babylonia, ⁵⁴  but you were not satisfied there either.

16:30 “‘How sick is your heart, declares the sovereign Lord, when you perform all of these acts, the deeds of a bold prostitute. 16:31 When you built your chamber at the head of every street and put up your pavilion in every public square, you were not like a prostitute, because you scoffed at payment. ⁵⁵ 

16:32 “‘Adulterous wife, who prefers strangers instead of her own husband! 16:33 All prostitutes receive payment, ⁵⁶  but instead you give gifts to every one of your lovers. You bribe them to come to you from all around for your sexual favors! 16:34 You were different from other prostitutes ⁵⁷  because no one solicited you. When you gave payment and no payment was given to you, you became the opposite!

16:35 “‘Therefore O prostitute, hear the word of the Lord: 16:36 This is what the sovereign Lord says: Because your lust ⁵⁸  was poured out and your nakedness was uncovered in your prostitution with your lovers, and because of all your detestable idols, and because of the blood of your children you have given to them, 16:37 therefore, take note: I am about to gather all your lovers whom you enjoyed, both all those you loved and all those you hated. I will gather them against you from all around, and I will expose your nakedness to them, and they will see all your nakedness. ⁵⁹  16:38 I will punish you as an adulteress and murderer deserves. ⁶⁰  I will avenge your bloody deeds with furious rage. ⁶¹  16:39 I will give you into their hands and they will destroy your chambers and tear down your pavilions. They will strip you of your clothing and take your beautiful jewelry and leave you naked and bare. 16:40 They will summon a mob who will stone you and hack you in pieces with their swords. 16:41 They will burn down your houses and execute judgments on you in front of many women. Thus I will put a stop to your prostitution, and you will no longer give gifts to your clients. ⁶²  16:42 I will exhaust my rage on you, and then my fury will turn from you. I will calm down and no longer be angry.

16:43 “‘Because you did not remember the days of your youth and have enraged me with all these deeds, I hereby repay you for what you have done, ⁶³  declares the sovereign Lord. Have you not engaged in prostitution on top of all your other abominable practices?

16:44 “‘Observe – everyone who quotes proverbs will quote this proverb about you: “Like mother, like daughter.” 16:45 You are the daughter of your mother, who detested her husband and her sons, and you are the sister of your sisters who detested their husbands and their sons. Your mother was a Hittite and your father an Amorite. 16:46 Your older sister was Samaria, who lived north ⁶⁴  of you with her daughters, and your younger sister, who lived south ⁶⁵  of you, was Sodom ⁶⁶  with her daughters. 16:47 Have you not copied their behavior ⁶⁷  and practiced their abominable deeds? In a short time ⁶⁸  you became even more depraved in all your conduct than they were! 16:48 As surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, your sister Sodom and her daughters never behaved as wickedly as you and your daughters have behaved.

16:49 “‘See here – this was the iniquity ⁶⁹  of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters had majesty, abundance of food, and enjoyed carefree ease, but they did not help ⁷⁰  the poor and needy. 16:50 They were haughty and practiced abominable deeds before me. Therefore when I saw it I removed them. 16:51 Samaria has not committed half the sins you have; you have done more abominable deeds than they did. ⁷¹  You have made your sisters appear righteous with all the abominable things you have done. 16:52 So now, bear your disgrace, because you have given your sisters reason to justify their behavior. ⁷²  Because the sins you have committed were more abominable than those of your sisters; they have become more righteous than you. So now, be ashamed and bear the disgrace of making your sisters appear righteous.

16:53 “‘I will restore their fortunes, the fortunes of Sodom and her daughters, and the fortunes of Samaria and her daughters (along with your fortunes among them), 16:54 so that you may bear your disgrace and be ashamed of all you have done in consoling them. 16:55 As for your sisters, Sodom and her daughters will be restored to their former status, Samaria and her daughters will be restored to their former status, and you and your daughters will be restored to your former status. 16:56 In your days of majesty, ⁷³  was not Sodom your sister a byword in your mouth, 16:57 before your evil was exposed? Now you have become an object of scorn to the daughters of Aram ⁷⁴  and all those around her and to the daughters of the Philistines – those all around you who despise you. 16:58 You must bear your punishment for your obscene conduct and your abominable practices, declares the Lord.

16:59 “‘For this is what the sovereign Lord says: I will deal with you according to what you have done when you despised your oath by breaking your covenant. 16:60 Yet I will remember the covenant I made with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish a lasting ⁷⁵  covenant with you. 16:61 Then you will remember your conduct, and be ashamed when you receive your older and younger sisters. I will give them to you as daughters, but not on account of my covenant with you. 16:62 I will establish my covenant with you, and then you will know that I am the Lord. 16:63 Then you will remember, be ashamed, and remain silent ⁷⁶  when I make atonement for all you have done, ⁷⁷  declares the sovereign Lord.’”

Ezekiel 23:1-49

Two Sisters

23:1 The word of the Lord came to me: 23:2 “Son of man, there were two women who were daughters of the same mother. 23:3 They engaged in prostitution in Egypt; in their youth they engaged in prostitution. Their breasts were squeezed there; lovers ⁷⁸  fondled their virgin nipples there. 23:4 Oholah was the name of the older and Oholibah ⁷⁹  the name of her younger sister. They became mine, and gave birth to sons and daughters. ⁸⁰  Oholah is Samaria and Oholibah is Jerusalem.

23:5 “Oholah engaged in prostitution while she was mine. ⁸¹  She lusted after her lovers, the Assyrians ⁸²  – warriors ⁸³  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 ⁸⁴  – 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. ⁸⁵  23:9 Therefore I handed her over to her lovers, the Assyrians ⁸⁶  for whom she lusted. 23:10 They exposed her nakedness, seized her sons and daughters, and killed her with the sword. She became notorious ⁸⁷  among women, and they executed judgments against her.

23:11 “Her sister Oholibah watched this, ⁸⁸  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. 23:12 She lusted after the Assyrians – governors and officials, warriors in full armor, horsemen riding on horses, all of them desirable young men. 23:13 I saw that she was defiled; both of them followed the same path. 23:14 But she increased her prostitution. She saw men carved on the wall, images of the Chaldeans carved in bright red, ⁸⁹  23:15 wearing belts on their waists and flowing turbans on their heads, all of them looking like officers, the image of Babylonians ⁹⁰  whose native land is Chaldea. 23:16 When she saw them, ⁹¹  she lusted after them and sent messengers to them in Chaldea. ⁹²  23:17 The Babylonians crawled into bed with her. ⁹³  They defiled her with their lust; after she was defiled by them, she ⁹⁴  became disgusted with them. 23:18 When she lustfully exposed her nakedness, ⁹⁵  I ⁹⁶  was disgusted with her, just as I ⁹⁷  had been disgusted with her sister. 23:19 Yet she increased her prostitution, remembering the days of her youth when she engaged in prostitution in the land of Egypt. 23:20 She lusted after their genitals – as large as those of donkeys, ⁹⁸  and their seminal emission was as strong as that of stallions. 23:21 This is how you assessed ⁹⁹  the obscene conduct of your youth, when the Egyptians fondled ¹⁰⁰  your nipples and squeezed ¹⁰¹  your young breasts.

23:22 “Therefore, Oholibah, this is what the sovereign Lord says: Look here, ¹⁰²  I am about to stir up against you the lovers with whom you were disgusted; I will bring them against you from every side: 23:23 the Babylonians and all the Chaldeans, Pekod, ¹⁰³  Shoa, ¹⁰⁴  and Koa, ¹⁰⁵  and all the Assyrians with them, desirable young men, all of them governors and officials, officers and nobles, all of them riding on horses. 23:24 They will attack ¹⁰⁶  you with weapons, ¹⁰⁷  chariots, wagons, and with a huge army; ¹⁰⁸  they will array themselves against you on every side with large shields, small shields, and helmets. I will assign them the task of judgment; ¹⁰⁹  they will punish you according to their laws. 23:25 I will direct ¹¹⁰  my jealous anger against you, and they will deal with you in rage. They will cut off your nose and your ears, ¹¹¹  and your survivors will die ¹¹²  by the sword. They will seize your sons and daughters, and your survivors will be consumed by fire. 23:26 They will strip your clothes off you and take away your beautiful jewelry. 23:27 So I will put an end to your obscene conduct and your prostitution which you have practiced in the land of Egypt. ¹¹³  You will not seek their help ¹¹⁴  or remember Egypt anymore.

23:28 “For this is what the sovereign Lord says: Look here, ¹¹⁵  I am about to deliver you over to ¹¹⁶  those whom you hate, to those with whom you were disgusted. 23:29 They will treat you with hatred, take away all you have labored for, ¹¹⁷  and leave you naked and bare. Your nakedness will be exposed, just as when you engaged in prostitution and obscene conduct. ¹¹⁸  23:30 I will do these things to you ¹¹⁹  because you engaged in prostitution with the nations, polluting yourself with their idols. 23:31 You have followed the ways of your sister, so I will place her cup of judgment ¹²⁰  in your hand. 23:32 “This is what the sovereign Lord says: “You will drink your sister’s deep and wide cup; ¹²¹  you will be scorned and derided, for it holds a great deal. 23:33 You will be overcome by ¹²²  drunkenness and sorrow. The cup of your sister Samaria is a cup of horror and desolation. 23:34 You will drain it dry, ¹²³  gnaw its pieces, ¹²⁴  and tear out your breasts, ¹²⁵  for I have spoken, declares the sovereign Lord.

23:35 “Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: Because you have forgotten me and completely disregarded me, ¹²⁶  you must bear now the punishment ¹²⁷  for your obscene conduct and prostitution.”

23:36 The Lord said to me: “Son of man, are you willing to pronounce judgment ¹²⁸  on Oholah and Oholibah? Then declare to them their abominable deeds! 23:37 For they have committed adultery and blood is on their hands. They have committed adultery with their idols, and their sons, whom they bore to me, ¹²⁹  they have passed through the fire as food to their idols. ¹³⁰  23:38 Moreover, they have done this to me: In the very same day ¹³¹  they desecrated my sanctuary and profaned my Sabbaths. 23:39 On the same day they slaughtered their sons for their idols, they came to my sanctuary to desecrate it. This is what they have done in the middle of my house.

23:40 “They even sent for men from far away; when the messenger arrived, those men set out. ¹³²  For them you bathed, ¹³³  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. 23:42 The sound of a carefree crowd accompanied her, ¹³⁴  including all kinds of men; ¹³⁵  even Sabeans ¹³⁶  were brought from the desert. The sisters ¹³⁷  put bracelets on their wrists and beautiful crowns on their heads. 23:43 Then I said about the one worn out by adultery, ‘Now they will commit immoral acts with her.’ 23:44 They had sex with her ¹³⁸  as one does with a prostitute. In this way they had sex with Oholah and Oholibah, promiscuous women. 23:45 But upright men will punish them appropriately for their adultery and bloodshed, ¹³⁹  because they are adulteresses and blood is on their hands.

23:46 “For this is what the sovereign Lord says: Bring up an army ¹⁴⁰  against them and subject them ¹⁴¹  to terror and plunder. 23:47 That army will pelt them with stones and slash them with their swords; they will kill their sons and daughters and burn their houses. ¹⁴²  23:48 I will put an end to the obscene conduct in the land; all the women will learn a lesson from this and not engage in obscene conduct. 23:49 They will repay you for your obscene conduct, and you will be punished for idol worship. ¹⁴³  Then you will know that I am the sovereign Lord.”

[9:1]  ¹ tn Heb “do not rejoice unto jubilation”; KJV “Rejoice not…for joy”; NASB “Do not rejoice…with exultation.”

[9:1]  ² tn Heb “you have committed adultery”; NRSV “you have played the whore.”

[9:1]  ³ tn Heb “you love the wages of the prostitute” (NIV similar); NAB “loving a harlot’s hire.”

[17:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “sacrifice.” This has been translated as “offer” for stylistic reasons to avoid the redundancy of “sacrifice their sacrifices.”

[17:7]  ⁵ tn On “goat demons” of the desert regions see the note on Lev 16:8.

[17:7]  ⁶ tn Heb “which they are committing harlotry after them.”

[17:7]  ⁷ tn Heb “for your generations.”

[20:5]  ⁸ tn The adjective “spiritual” has been supplied in the translation to clarify that this is not a reference to literal prostitution, but figuratively compares idolatry to prostitution.

[20:5]  ⁹ tn Heb “to commit harlotry after Molech.” The translation employs “worshiping” here for clarity (cf. NAB, NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT). On the “cut off” penalty see the note on Lev 7:20.

[15:39]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “seek out, look into.”

[15:39]  ¹¹ tn This last clause is a relative clause explaining the influence of the human heart and physical sight. It literally says, “which you go whoring after them.” The verb for “whoring” may be interpreted to mean “act unfaithfully.” So, the idea is these influences lead to unfaithful activity: “after which you act unfaithfully.”

[31:16]  ¹² tn Heb “lie down with your fathers” (so NASB); NRSV “ancestors.”

[31:16]  ¹³ tn Heb “he.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “they,” which is necessary in any case in the translation because of contemporary English style. The third person singular also occurs in the Hebrew text twice more in this verse, three times in v. 17, once in v. 18, five times in v. 20, and four times in v. 21. Each time it is translated as third person plural for stylistic reasons.

[31:16]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “he.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “they.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. 16.

[31:16]  ¹⁵ tn Or “abandon” (TEV, NLT).

[31:16]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “him.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “them.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. 16.

[31:2]  ¹⁷ tn Or “am no longer able to lead you” (NIV, NLT); Heb “am no longer able to go out and come in.”

[21:13]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “she is to…remove the clothing of her captivity” (cf. NASB); NRSV “discard her captive’s garb.”

[21:13]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “sit”; KJV, NASB, NRSV “remain.”

[21:13]  ²⁰ tn Heb “go unto,” a common Hebrew euphemism for sexual relations.

[73:27]  ²¹ tn Or “for.”

[73:27]  ²² sn The following line defines the phrase far from you in a spiritual sense. Those “far” from God are those who are unfaithful and disloyal to him.

[73:27]  ²³ tn Heb “everyone who commits adultery from you.”

[3:1]  ²⁴ tn Heb “May he go back to her again?” The question is rhetorical and expects a negative answer.

[3:1]  ²⁵ tn Heb “Would the land not be utterly defiled?” The stative is here rendered actively to connect better with the preceding. The question is rhetorical and expects a positive answer.

[3:1]  ²⁶ tn Heb “But you have played the prostitute with many lovers.”

[3:1]  ²⁷ tn Heb “Returning to me.” The form is the bare infinitive which the KJV and ASV have interpreted as an imperative “Yet, return to me!” However, it is more likely that a question is intended, expressing surprise in the light of the law alluded to and the facts cited. For the use of the infinitive absolute in the place of a finite verb, cf. GKC 346 §113.ee. For the introduction of a question without a question marker, cf. GKC 473 §150.a.

[3:2]  ²⁸ tn Heb “and see.”

[3:2]  ²⁹ tn Heb “Where have you not been ravished?” The rhetorical question expects the answer “nowhere,” which suggests she has engaged in the worship of pagan gods on every one of the hilltops.

[3:2]  ³⁰ tn Heb “You sat for them [the lovers, i.e., the foreign gods] beside the road like an Arab in the desert.”

[3:2]  ³¹ tn Heb “by your prostitution and your wickedness.” This is probably an example of hendiadys where, when two nouns are joined by “and,” one expresses the main idea and the other qualifies it.

[3:3]  ³² tn Heb “you have the forehead of a prostitute.”

[16:2]  ³³ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[16:4]  ³⁴ tn Heb “in water you were not washed for cleansing” or “with water you were not washed smooth” (see D. I. Block, Ezekiel [NICOT], 1:473, n. 57, for a discussion of possible meanings of this hapax legomenon).

[16:4]  ³⁵ sn Arab midwives still cut the umbilical cords of infants and then proceed to apply salt and oil to their bodies.

[16:5]  ³⁶ sn These verbs, “pity” and “spare,” echo the judgment oracles in 5:11; 7:4, 9; 8:18; 9:5, 10.

[16:5]  ³⁷ sn A similar concept is found in Deut 32:10.

[16:6]  ³⁸ tc The translation reflects the Hebrew text, which repeats the statement, perhaps for emphasis. However, a few medieval Hebrew manuscripts, the Old Greek, and the Syriac do not include the repetition. The statement could have been accidentally repeated or the second occurrence could have been accidentally omitted. Based on the available evidence it is difficult to know which is more likely.

[16:8]  ³⁹ tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a participle.

[16:8]  ⁴⁰ tn See similar use of this term in Ezek 23:17; Prov 7:16; Song of Songs 4:10; 7:13.

[16:8]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “wing” or “skirt.” The gesture symbolized acquiring a woman in early Arabia (similarly, see Deut 22:30; Ruth 3:9).

[16:14]  ⁴² tn Heb “name.”

[16:14]  ⁴³ sn The description of the nation Israel in vv. 10-14 recalls the splendor of the nation’s golden age under King Solomon.

[16:15]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “it” (so KJV, ASV); the referent (the beauty in which the prostitute trusted, see the beginning of the verse) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:16]  ⁴⁵ tc The text as written in the MT is incomprehensible (“not coming [plural] and he will not”). Driver has suggested a copying error of similar-sounding words, specifically לֹא (lo’) for לוֹ (lo). The feminine participle בָאוֹת (va’ot) has also been read as the feminine perfect בָאת (va’t). See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 1:228, n. 15.b, and D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:486, n. 137.

[16:17]  ⁴⁶ tn Or perhaps “and worshiped them,” if the word “prostitution” is understood in a figurative rather than a literal sense (cf. CEV, NLT).

[16:20]  ⁴⁷ sn The sacrifice of children was prohibited in Lev 18:21; 20:2; Deut 12:31; 18:10.

[16:21]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “and you gave them, by passing them through to them.” Some believe this alludes to the pagan practice of making children pass through the fire.

[16:24]  ⁴⁹ tn The Hebrew גֶּב (gev) may represent more than one word, each rare in the Old Testament. It may refer to a “mound” or to “rafters.” The LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate interpret this as a brothel.

[16:24]  ⁵⁰ tn Or “lofty place” (NRSV). See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 1:229, and B. Lang, Frau Weisheit, 137.

[16:25]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “treated as if abominable,” i.e., repudiated.

[16:25]  ⁵² tn The only other occurrence of the Hebrew root is found in Prov 13:3 in reference to the talkative person who habitually “opens wide” his lips.

[16:26]  ⁵³ tn Heb “your neighbors, large of flesh.” The word “flesh” is used here of the genitals. It may simply refer to the size of their genitals in general, or, as the translation suggests, depicts them as sexually aroused.

[16:29]  ⁵⁴ 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.

[16:31]  ⁵⁵ tn The Hebrew term, which also occurs in vv. 34 and 41 of this chapter, always refers to the payment of a prostitute (Deut 23:19; Isa 23:17; Hos 9:1; Mic 1:7).

[16:33]  ⁵⁶ tn The Hebrew word occurs only here in the OT.

[16:34]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “With you it was opposite of women in your prostitution.”

[16:36]  ⁵⁸ tn The Hebrew word occurs only here in the OT.

[16:37]  ⁵⁹ sn Harlots suffered degradation when their nakedness was exposed (Jer 13:22, 26; Hos 2:12; Nah 3:5).

[16:38]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “and I will judge you (with) the judgments of adulteresses and of those who shed blood.”

[16:38]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “and I will give you the blood of rage and zeal.”

[16:41]  ⁶² tn The words “to your clients” are not in the Hebrew text but are implied.

[16:43]  ⁶³ tn Heb “your way on (your) head I have placed.”

[16:46]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “left.”

[16:46]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “right.”

[16:46]  ⁶⁶ sn Sodom was the epitome of evil (Deut 29:23; 32:32; Isa 1:9-10; 3:9; Jer 23:14; Lam 4:6; Matt 10:15; 11:23-24; Jude 7).

[16:47]  ⁶⁷ tn Heb “walked in their ways.”

[16:47]  ⁶⁸ tn The Hebrew expression has a temporal meaning as illustrated by the use of the phrase in 2 Chr 12:7.

[16:49]  ⁶⁹ tn Or “guilt.”

[16:49]  ⁷⁰ tn Heb “strengthen the hand of.”

[16:51]  ⁷¹ tn Or “you have multiplied your abominable deeds beyond them.”

[16:52]  ⁷² tn Heb “because you have interceded for your sisters with your sins.”

[16:56]  ⁷³ tn Or “pride.”

[16:57]  ⁷⁴ tc So MT, LXX, and Vulgate; many Hebrew mss and Syriac read “Edom.”

[16:60]  ⁷⁵ tn Or “eternal.”

[16:63]  ⁷⁶ tn Heb “and your mouth will not be open any longer.”

[16:63]  ⁷⁷ tn Heb “when I make atonement for you for all which you have done.”

[23:3]  ⁷⁸ tn In the Hebrew text the subject is left unstated and must be supplied from the context.

[23:4]  ⁷⁹ 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]  ⁸⁰ 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]  ⁸¹ 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]  ⁸² tn Heb “Assyria.”

[23:5]  ⁸³ 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]  ⁸⁴ tn Heb “lusted after.”

[23:8]  ⁸⁵ tn Heb “and poured out their harlotry on her.”

[23:9]  ⁸⁶ tn Heb “I gave her into the hand of her lovers, into the hand of the sons of Assyria.”

[23:10]  ⁸⁷ tn Heb “name.”

[23:11]  ⁸⁸ tn The word “this” is not in the original text.

[23:14]  ⁸⁹ tn The only other occurrence of the Hebrew term is in Jer 22:14.

[23:15]  ⁹⁰ tn Heb “the sons of Babel.”

[23:16]  ⁹¹ tn Heb “at the appearance of her eyes.”

[23:16]  ⁹² sn The Chaldeans were prominent tribal groups of Babylonia. The imagery is reminiscent of events in the reigns of Hezekiah (2 Kgs 20:12-15) and Jehoiakim (2 Kgs 23:34-24:1).

[23:17]  ⁹³ tn Heb “The sons of Babel came to her on a bed of love.”

[23:17]  ⁹⁴ tn Heb “her soul.”

[23:18]  ⁹⁵ tn Heb “She exposed her harlotry and she exposed her nakedness.”

[23:18]  ⁹⁶ tn Heb “my soul.”

[23:18]  ⁹⁷ tn Heb “my soul.”

[23:20]  ⁹⁸ tn Heb “She lusted after their concubines (?) whose flesh was the flesh of donkeys.” The phrase “their concubines” is extremely problematic here. The pronoun is masculine plural, suggesting that the Egyptian men are in view, but how concubines would fit into the picture envisioned here is not clear. Some suggest that Ezekiel uses the term in an idiomatic sense of “paramour,” but this still fails to explain how the pronoun relates to the noun. It is more likely that the term refers here to the Egyptians’ genitals. The relative pronoun that follows introduces a more specific description of their genitals.

[23:21]  ⁹⁹ tn Or “you took note of.” The Hebrew verb פָּקַד (paqad) in the Qal implies evaluating something and then acting in light of that judgment; here the prophet depicts Judah as approving of her youthful unfaithfulness and then magnifying it at the present time. Some translations assume the verb should be repointed as a Niphal, rendering “you missed” or by extension “you longed for,” but such an extension of the Niphal “to be missing” is otherwise unattested.

[23:21]  ¹⁰⁰ tn Heb “when (they) did,” but the verb makes no sense here and is better emended to “when (they) fondled,” a verb used in vv. 3 and 8. See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:43.

[23:21]  ¹⁰¹ tn Heb “for the sake of,” but the expression is awkward and is better emended to read “to squeeze.” See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:43.

[23:22]  ¹⁰² tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.

[23:23]  ¹⁰³ sn Pekod was the name of an Aramean tribe (known as Puqudu in Mesopotamian texts) that lived in the region of the Tigris River.

[23:23]  ¹⁰⁴ sn Shoa was the name of a nomadic people (the Sutu) that lived in Mesopotamia.

[23:23]  ¹⁰⁵ sn Koa was the name of another Mesopotamian people group (the Qutu).

[23:24]  ¹⁰⁶ tn Heb “come against.”

[23:24]  ¹⁰⁷ tn This is the only occurrence of this term in the OT. The precise meaning is uncertain.

[23:24]  ¹⁰⁸ tn Heb “an assembly of peoples.”

[23:24]  ¹⁰⁹ tn Heb “I will place before them judgment.”

[23:25]  ¹¹⁰ tn Heb “give.”

[23:25]  ¹¹¹ tn Heb “they will remove.”

[23:25]  ¹¹² tn Heb “fall.”

[23:27]  ¹¹³ tn Heb “I will cause your obscene conduct to cease from you and your harlotry from the land of Egypt.”

[23:27]  ¹¹⁴ tn Heb “lift your eyes to them.”

[23:28]  ¹¹⁵ tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.

[23:28]  ¹¹⁶ tn Heb “I am giving you into the hand of.”

[23:29]  ¹¹⁷ tn The Hebrew term means “labor,” but by extension it can also refer to that for which one works.

[23:29]  ¹¹⁸ tn Heb “The nakedness of your prostitution will be exposed, and your obscene conduct and your harlotry.”

[23:30]  ¹¹⁹ tn The infinitive absolute continues the sequence begun in v. 28: “Look here, I am about to deliver you.” See Joüon 2:430 §123.w.

[23:31]  ¹²⁰ tn Heb “her cup.” A cup of intoxicating strong drink is used, here and elsewhere, as a metaphor for judgment because both leave one confused and reeling. (See Jer 25:15, 17, 28; Hab 2:16.) The cup of wrath is a theme also found in the NT (Mark 14:36).

[23:32]  ¹²¹ sn The image of a deep and wide cup suggests the degree of punishment; it will be extensive and leave the victim helpless.

[23:33]  ¹²² tn Heb “filled with.”

[23:34]  ¹²³ tn Heb “You will drink it and drain (it).”

[23:34]  ¹²⁴ tn D. I. Block compares this to the idiom of “licking the plate” (Ezekiel [NICOT], 1:754, n. 137). The text is difficult as the word translated “gnaw” is rare. The noun is used of the shattered pieces of pottery and so could envision a broken cup. But the Piel verb form is used in only one other place (Num 24:8), where it is a denominative from the noun “bone” and seems to mean to “break (bones).” Why it would be collocated with “sherds” is not clear. For this reason some emend the phrase to read “consume its dregs” (see L. C. Allen, Ezekiel [WBC], 2:44) or emend the verb to read “swallow,” as if the intoxicated Oholibah breaks the cup and then eats the very sherds in an effort to get every last drop of the beverage that dampens them.

[23:34]  ¹²⁵ sn The severe action is more extreme than beating the breasts in anguish (Isa 32:12; Nah 2:7). It is also ironic for these are the very breasts she so blatantly offered to her lovers (vv. 3, 21).

[23:35]  ¹²⁶ tn Heb “and you cast me behind your back.” The expression pictures her rejection of the Lord (see 1 Kgs 14:9).

[23:35]  ¹²⁷ tn The word “punishment” is not in the Hebrew text but is demanded by the context.

[23:36]  ¹²⁸ tn Heb “will you judge.” Here the imperfect form of the verb is probably used with a desiderative nuance. Addressed to the prophet, “judge” means to warn of or pronounce God’s impending judgment. See 20:4; 22:2.

[23:37]  ¹²⁹ sn The Lord speaks here in the role of the husband of the sisters.

[23:37]  ¹³⁰ tn Heb “they have passed to them for food.” The verb is commonly taken to refer to passing children through fire, especially as an offering to the pagan god Molech. See Jer 32:35.

[23:38]  ¹³¹ tn Heb “in that day.”

[23:40]  ¹³² tn Heb “to whom a messenger was sent, and look, they came.” Foreign alliances are in view here.

[23:40]  ¹³³ 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.

[23:42]  ¹³⁴ tn Heb “(was) in her.”

[23:42]  ¹³⁵ tn Heb “and men from the multitude of mankind.”

[23:42]  ¹³⁶ tn An alternate reading is “drunkards.” Sheba is located in the area of modern day Yemen.

[23:42]  ¹³⁷ tn Heb “they”; the referents (the sisters) have been specified in the translation for the sake of clarity.

[23:44]  ¹³⁸ tn Heb “and they came to her.”

[23:45]  ¹³⁹ tn Heb “and upright men will judge them (with) the judgment of adulteresses and the judgment of those who shed blood.”

[23:46]  ¹⁴⁰ tn Heb “assembly.”

[23:46]  ¹⁴¹ tn Heb “give them to.”

[23:47]  ¹⁴² tn The Hebrew text adds “with fire.”

[23:49]  ¹⁴³ tn Heb “and the sins of your idols you will bear.” By extension it can mean the punishment for the sins.