The Two Adulterous Sisters
This chapter, like ch 16, gives the history...
This chapter, like ch 16, gives the history of the northern and southern kingdoms of Israel and Judah in the form of an extended metaphor. It graphically depicts Samaria and Jerusalem, the capital cities, as two immoral women. The metaphor emphasizes that their judgment was inevitable and well-deserved.
1Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 2“Son of man, there were two women, daughters of the same mother, 3and they played in Egypt, prostituting themselves from their youth. Their breasts were fondled there, and their virgin bosoms caressed. 4The older was named Oholah,† and her sister was named Oholibah.† They became Mine and gave birth to sons and daughters. As for their identities, Oholah is Samaria, and Oholibah is Jerusalem.
Oholah: The northern kingdom, far from being converted...
Oholah: The northern kingdom, far from being converted by God’s covenant of grace, was fascinated with the power and prestige of Assyria. Alliances with Assyria were part of Israel’s political strategy from the 800s BC, but in the end, such alliances did not keep Israel safe.
5Oholah prostituted herself while she was still Mine. She lusted after her lovers, the Assyrians—warriors 6clothed in blue, governors and commanders, all desirable young men, horsemen mounted on steeds. 7She offered sexual favors to all the elite of Assyria. She defiled herself with all the idols of those for whom she lusted.
8She did not give up the prostitution she began in Egypt, when men slept with her in her youth, caressed her virgin bosom, and poured out their lust upon her.
The northern kingdom was overrun by the Assyrian...
The northern kingdom was overrun by the Assyrian army in 722 BC, and its people were dispersed throughout the Assyrian Empire.
9Therefore I delivered her into the hands of her lovers, the Assyrians for whom she lusted. 10They exposed her nakedness, seized her sons and daughters, and put her to the sword. Thus she became a byword among women, and they executed judgment against her.
Samaria’s reputation and punishment were known to everyone...
Samaria’s reputation and punishment were known to everyone in Ezekiel’s time. Her sister, Oholibah (Jerusalem), followed the same pattern of life and was even worse than her sister. What a succession of Judah’s kings regarded as wise political maneuvering—seeking alliances with Babylon as well as with Assyria—the prophet presents as a pattern of consistent, ever-deepening spiritual adultery.
11Her sister Oholibah saw this, yet in her lust and prostitution she was more depraved than her sister. 12She too lusted after the Assyrians—governors and commanders, warriors dressed in splendor, horsemen riding on steeds, all desirable young men. 13And I saw that she too had defiled herself; both of them had taken the same path.
14But Oholibah carried her prostitution even further. She saw the men portrayed on the wall, images of the Chaldeans,† engraved in vermilion, 15wearing belts on their waists and flowing turbans on their heads; all of them looked like officers of the Babylonians in Chaldea,† the land of their birth. 16At the sight of them, she lusted for them and sent messengers to them in Chaldea. 17Then the Babylonians came to her, to the bed of love, and in their lust they defiled her. But after she had been defiled by them, she turned away in disgust.
18When Oholibah openly prostituted herself and exposed her nakedness, I turned away from her in disgust, just as I had turned away from her sister.
When the people of Jerusalem thought of Egypt,...
When the people of Jerusalem thought of Egypt, they did not remember the Lord’s deliverance through the Exodus, but the forbidden pleasures they had enjoyed there.
19Yet she multiplied her promiscuity, remembering the days of her youth, when she had prostituted herself in the land of Egypt 20and lusted after their lovers, whose genitals were like those of donkeys and whose emission was like that of stallions. 21So you revisited the indecency of your youth, when the Egyptians caressed your bosom and pressed your young breasts.
Oholibah to Be Plagued
Jerusalem’s depravity made God’s judgment inevitable. The very...
Jerusalem’s depravity made God’s judgment inevitable. The very nations that she courted as her lovers would abuse her. Babylon would bring its allies, Pekod, Shoa, and Koa. The names of these obscure tribes sound like Hebrew words meaning “Punishment,” “War cry,” and “Shriek.” Judah’s sins were greater than her sister’s, and her judgment would also be worse.
22Therefore, Oholibah, this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘I will incite your lovers against you, those from whom you turned away in disgust. And I will bring them against you from every side— 23the Babylonians and all the Chaldeans, the men of Pekod, Shoa, and Koa, and all the Assyrians with them—all desirable young men, governors and commanders, officers and men of renown, mounted on horses.
24They will come against you with a host of peoples,† with weapons, chariots, and wagons. They will array themselves against you on every side with buckler and shield and helmet. I will delegate judgment to them, and they will punish you according to their own standards.
Stripping an adulterous wife naked—to expose in public...
Stripping an adulterous wife naked—to expose in public what she had done in private—was a punishment for adultery (see study note on 16:35–38). The Babylonians similarly stripped Jerusalem and Judah of everything valuable and exposed them to their own shame.
25And I will set My jealous rage against you, and they will deal with you in fury. They will cut off your noses and ears, and your survivors will fall by the sword. They will seize your sons and daughters, and your remnant will be consumed by fire. 26They will strip off your clothes and take your fine jewelry. 27So I will put an end to your indecency and prostitution, which began in the land of Egypt, and you will not lift your eyes to them or remember Egypt anymore.’
28For this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Surely I will deliver you into the hands of those you hate, from whom you turned away in disgust. 29They will treat you with hatred, take all for which you have worked, and leave you naked and bare, so that the shame of your prostitution will be exposed. Your indecency and promiscuity 30have brought these things upon you, because you have prostituted yourself with the nations and defiled yourself with their idols.
your sister’s cup of terror: Jerusalem would have...
your sister’s cup of terror: Jerusalem would have to drink from this bitter cup of judgment, as Samaria had. The pain of that judgment would cause her to beat (or tear at) her breast in anguish.
31Because you have followed the path of your sister, I will put her cup into your hand.’
32This is what the Lord GOD says:
‘You will drink your sister’s cup,a cup deep and wide.It will bring scorn and derision,for it holds so much.33You will be filled with drunkenness and grief,with a cup of devastation and desolation,the cup of your sister Samaria.34You will drink it and drain it;you will dash it to pieces,and tear your breasts.For I have spoken,’declares the Lord GOD.35Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Because you have forgotten Me and have cast Me behind your back, you must bear the consequences of your indecency and prostitution.’”
Judgment on Both Sisters
The prophet again adopted the role of prosecuting...
The prophet again adopted the role of prosecuting attorney, whose task was to confront Jerusalem with her sins (described in detail in ch 22). Far from being holy cities, Jerusalem and Samaria had become worn-out prostitutes whose only attractiveness was in their availability.
36Then the LORD said to me: “Son of man, will you pass judgment against Oholah and Oholibah? Then declare to them their abominations. 37For they have committed adultery, and blood is on their hands. They have committed adultery with their idols. They have even sacrificed their children, whom they bore to Me, in the fire† as food for their idols.
38They have also done this to Me: On that very same day, they defiled My sanctuary and profaned My Sabbaths. 39On the very day they slaughtered their children for their idols, they entered My sanctuary to profane it. Yes, they did this inside My house.
40Furthermore, you sisters sent† messengers for men who came from afar; and behold, when they arrived, you bathed for them, painted your eyes, and adorned yourself with jewelry. 41You sat on a couch of luxury with a table spread before it, on which you had set My incense and My oil, 42accompanied by the sound of a carefree crowd. Drunkards† were brought in from the desert along with men from the rabble, who put bracelets on your wrists and beautiful crowns on your head.
43Then I said of her who had grown old in adulteries: ‘Now let them use her as a prostitute, for that is all she is!’
The sisters’ enemies would stone them like adulteresses...
The sisters’ enemies would stone them like adulteresses and kill them with swords as an invading army would do. In the typical pattern of invasion, not only the prostitutes but also their sons and daughters would die, and the enemy would burn their homes. Those who rebelled against the Lord and pursued idolatry would suffer the full penalty of death.
44And they slept with her as with a prostitute; they slept with Oholah and Oholibah, those lewd women. 45But righteous men will sentence them to the punishment of those who commit adultery and bloodshed, because they are adulteresses with blood on their hands.
46This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Bring a mob against them and consign them to terror and plunder. 47The mob will stone them and cut them down with their swords. They will kill their sons and daughters and burn down their houses. 48So I will put an end to indecency in the land, and all the women will be admonished not to imitate your behavior. 49They will repay you for your indecency, and you will bear the consequences of your sins of idolatry. Then you will know that I am the Lord GOD.’”