23
1 The Davar Hashem came again unto me, saying, 2 Ben adam, there were two nashim, the banot of one em; 3 And they committed zonah harlotry in Mitzrayim; they committed zonah harlotry in their youth; there were their breasts pressed, and there their betulah bosom was caressed. 4 And the shmot of them were Oholah the elder, and Oholivah her achot; and they were Mine, and they bore banim and banot. Thus were their shmot: Shomron is Oholah, and Yerushalayim Oholivah.
5 And Oholah (unfaithful to Me) played the zonah when she was Mine; and she lusted for her lovers, for Ashur* warriors, 6 Which were clothed with royal blue, pachot (governors) and seganim (officials), all of them desirable bochurim, parashim (charioteers) driving susim. 7 Thus she committed her zonah harlotry with them, with all them that were the choice Bnei Ashur, and with all for whom she lusted; with all their gillulim (idols) she made herself tameh. 8 Neither did she give up her zonah harlotry brought from Mitzrayim; for in her youth they lay with her, and they caressed her betulah bosom, and poured out their zenut fornication upon her. 9 Therefore I have delivered her into the yad of her lovers, into the yad of the Bnei Ashur, upon whom she lusted. 10 These uncovered her ervah (nakedness); they took her banim and her banot, and slaughtered her with the cherev; and she became a shem (byword) among nashim; for they had executed judgments upon her.
11 And when her achot Oholivah saw this, she was more depraved in her craving than she, her zonah harlotry became worse than the zonah harlotry of her achot. 12 She lusted after the Bnei Ashur warriors, pachot and seganim, clothed most gorgeously, parashim driving susim, all of them desirable bochurim. 13 Then I saw that she had made herself tameh, that both of them had gone derech echad (the same road). 14 And that she increased her zonah harlotry; for when she saw anashim portrayed upon the kir (wall), the tzelamim (idol images) of the Kasdim (Chaldeans) portrayed in bright red, 15 Girded with ezor (belts) upon their waists, with flowing tevulim (turbans) upon their heads, all of them shalishim (ranking officers) to look to, after the demut (appearance) of those of Bnei Bavel Kasdim, their eretz moledet; 16 And as soon as she saw them with her eynayim, she lusted upon them, and sent malachim unto them into Chaldea. 17 And the Bnei Bavel came to her into the mishkav dodim (bed of love), and they made her tameh with their zenut (whoredom), and she was defiled by them, and her nefesh turned away from them in disgust. 18 So she uncovered her zonah harlotry, and uncovered her ervah: then My Nefesh was alienated from her, just as My Nefesh was alienated from her achot. 19 Yet she multiplied her zonah harlotry, in calling to remembrance the days of her youth, wherein she had played the zonah in Eretz Mitzrayim. 20 For she lusted upon their pilagshim (illicit lovers), whose basar is as the basar of chamorim, and whose issue is like the issue of susim. 21 Thus thou calledst to remembrance the zimmah (lewdness) of thy youth, when those of Mitzrayim caressed thy bosom because of thy youthful bosom.
22 Therefore, O Oholivah, thus saith Adonoi Hashem: Hineni, I will stir up thy lovers against thee, from whom thou hast alienated thy nefesh, and I will bring them against thee on every side; 23 The Bnei Bavel, and all the Kasdim, Pekod, Shoa, Koa, and all the Bnei Ashur with them; all of them desirable bochurim, pachot and seganim, shalishim and renowned, all of them riding upon susim. 24 And they shall come against thee with weapons, wheeled chariots, and with a kahal amim, which shall set against thee shield and mogen and kova (helmet) all around; they will array themselves against thee; and I will delegate mishpat to them, and they shall judge thee according to their mishpatim. 25 And I will set My kina (jealousy) against thee, and they shall deal in chemah (wrath) with thee; they shall cut off thy nose and thine oznayim; and thy remnant shall fall by the cherev; they shall take thy banim and thy banot; and thy remnant shall be devoured by the eish. 26 They shall also strip thee out of thy begadim, and take away thy beautiful jewels. 27 Thus will I make thy zimmah (lewdness) to cease from thee, and thy zenut brought from Eretz Mitzrayim; so that thou shalt not lift up thine eynayim unto them, nor remember Mitzrayim any more.
28 For thus saith Adonoi Hashem; Hineni, I will deliver thee into the yad of them whom thou hatest, into the yad of them from whom thy nefesh is alienated; 29 And they shall deal with thee b'sinah (in hatred), and shall take away all thou hast labored for, and shall leave thee erom (naked) and bare; and the ervah of thy zonah harlotry shall be uncovered, both thy zimmah (lewdness) and thy zonah harlotry. 30 I will do these things unto thee, because thou hast gone a-whoring after the Goyim, and because thou art made tameh with their gillulim. 31 Thou hast walked in the derech of thy achot; so will I give her kos into thine yad.
32 Thus saith Adonoi Hashem:
Thou shalt drink of thy achotʼs kos
deep and wide;
thou shalt be laughed to scorn and held in derision;
it containeth so much, filled to the brim.
33 Thou shalt be filled with shikkaron (drunkenness) and sorrow,
with the kos of horror and desolation,
with the kos of thy achot Shomron.
34 Thou shalt even drink it and drain it dry,
and thou shalt break it into shards,
and tear at thine own breasts;
for I have spoken it, saith Adonoi Hashem. 35 Therefore thus saith Adonoi Hashem: Because thou hast forgotten Me, and thrust Me behind thy back, therefore bear thou also thy zimmah and thy zonah harlotry.
36 Hashem said moreover unto me: Ben adam, wilt thou judge Oholah and Oholivah? Indeed, declare unto them their to'avot; 37 That they have committed ni'uf, and dahm is on their hands, and with their gillulim (idols) have they committed ni'uf, and have also caused their banim, whom they bore unto Me, to pass for them through the eish, offering them as [sacrificial] food. 38 Moreover this they have done unto Me: they have defiled My Mikdash in the same day, and have profaned My Shabbatot. 39 For when they had slaughtered their banim to their gillulim (idols), then they came the same day, entering into My Mikdash to profane it; and, hinei, thus have they done in the midst of Mine Bais. 40 And furthermore, they sent for anashim to come from afar, unto whom malach (messenger) had been sent; and, hinei, they came; the men for whom thou didst wash thyself, didst paint thy eynayim, and didst deck thyself with jewelry, 41 And satest upon a glorious mittah (couch), and a shulchan spread before it, whereupon thou hast set Mine ketoret and Mine shemen. 42 And a voice of a carefree multitude was with her; and with the anashim of the common rabble were brought drunkards from the midbar, which put bracelets upon their hands, and ateret tiferet (beautiful crowns) upon their heads.
43 Then said I unto her that was old in niufim (adulteries), Will they now commit zonah harlotry with her, and she with them? 44 Yet they went in unto her, as they go in unto an isha that playeth the zonah; so went they in unto Oholah and unto Oholivah, the women of zimmah (lewdness). 45 And the anashim tzaddikim, they shall judge them after the mishpat of no'afot (adulteresses), and after the mishpat of those guilty of shefach dahm; because they are no'afot (adulteresses), and dahm is on their hands.
46 For thus saith Adonoi Hashem: I will bring up a kahal upon them, and will give them over to be terrorized and plundered. 47 And the kahal shall stone them with stones, and cut them down with their charavot (swords); they shall slay their banim and their banot, and burn up their batim (houses) with eish. 48 Thus will I cause zimmah (lewdness) to cease out of ha'aretz, that all nashim may be warned not to practice your zimmah (lewdness). 49 And they shall bring your zimmah (lewdness) upon you, and ye shall bear sins of your gillulim (idols); and ye shall know that I am Adonoi Hashem.
* 23:5 the Assyrian