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The word of the LORD came to me:
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“Son of man, there were two women, daughters of one mother.
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They prostituted themselves in Egypt; in their youth they prostituted themselves. There their breasts were handled and their virgin bosoms were fondled.
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The name of the older was Oholah, and the name of her sister was Oholibah. They were mine, and they bore sons and daughters. As for their names, Oholah is Samaria, and Oholibah is Jerusalem.
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Oholah played the harlot while she was mine. She lusted after her lovers, after the Assyrians, warriors,
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clothed in purple, governors and rulers, all of them desirable young men, horsemen.
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She gave herself to them in prostitution, all of them chosen Assyrians; she defiled herself with all whom she desired, and with all their idols.
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She did not give up her prostitution that she had practiced since Egypt, for in her youth men had lain with her, and they had handled her virgin bosom and poured out their prostitution upon her.
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Therefore I gave her into the hand of her lovers, into the hand of the Assyrians, after whom she lusted.
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They uncovered her nakedness; her sons and daughters were taken, and she herself was slain with the sword. Thus she became a byword among women, for judgment had been executed on her.
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Though her sister Oholibah saw this, she was even more lustful and more corrupt in her prostitution than her sister.
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She lusted after the Assyrians, after governors and rulers, after warriors clothed most splendidly, after horsemen, all of them desirable young men.
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I saw that she had defiled herself; both of them followed the same path.
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But she carried her prostitution even further: she saw men engraved on the wall, images of the Chaldeans engraved in vermilion,
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with belts around their waists, flowing turbans on their heads, all of them looking like officers, like the Babylonians of Chaldea, the land of their birth.
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As soon as she saw them, she lusted after them and sent messengers to them in the land of Chaldea.
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Then the Babylonians came to her, to the bed of love, and defiled her with their prostitution; and after she had been defiled by them, she turned away from them.
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When she openly practiced her prostitution and exposed her nakedness, I turned away from her in disgust, as I had turned away from her sister.
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She multiplied her acts of prostitution, remembering the days of her youth, when she played the harlot in the land of Egypt.
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She lusted after her paramours, whose flesh was like the flesh of donkeys and whose issue was like the issue of horses.
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You longed for the lewdness of your youth, when the Egyptians handled your breasts and caressed the bosom of your maidenhood.
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Therefore, O Oholibah, thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will stir up your lovers against you, from whom you have turned away; and I will bring them against you from every side:
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the Babylonians and all the Chaldeans, Pekod, Shoa, and Koa, and all the Assyrians with them, desirable young men, governors and rulers all of them, captains and men of renown, all of them riding on horses.
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They shall come against you with chariots, wagons, and a multitude of peoples; they shall set against you buckler, shield, and helmet all around. I will commit the matter to them, and they shall judge you according to their judgments.
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I will set My jealousy against you, and they shall deal with you in fury. They shall cut off your nose and your ears, and your survivors shall fall by the sword. They shall take your sons and your daughters, and your survivors shall be devoured by fire.
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They shall strip you of your clothes and take away your jewelry.
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So I will put an end to your lewdness and your prostitution brought from the land of Egypt, so that you will no longer look to them or remember Egypt.
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For thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will give you into the hand of those whom you hate, into the hand of those from whom you have turned away.
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They shall deal with you in hatred and take away all the fruit of your labor, leaving you naked and bare, so that the shame of your prostitution is exposed. Your lewdness and your prostitution
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have brought this upon you, because you prostituted yourself after the nations and defiled yourself with their idols.
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You have walked in the way of your sister; therefore I will put her cup into your hand.
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Thus says the Lord GOD:
You shall drink your sister’s cup,
the cup that is deep and wide,
the cup that holds much;
you shall be a laughingstock and an object of scorn.
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You will be filled with drunkenness and sorrow.
The cup of horror and desolation
is the cup of your sister Samaria.
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You shall drink it and drain it dry,
and gnaw its shards,
and tear your breasts.
For I have spoken, declares the Lord GOD.
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Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Because you have forgotten Me and turned your back on Me, you must now bear the penalty of your lewdness and your prostitution.”
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Then the LORD said to me: “Son of man, will you judge Ohola and Oholiba and declare to them their abominations?
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For they have committed adultery, and blood is on their hands; they have committed adultery with their idols, and even their sons, whom they bore to Me, they have offered as a sacrifice to their idols, to be consumed by fire.
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Moreover, they have done this to Me also: they defiled My sanctuary on that day and profaned My Sabbaths.
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And when they had slaughtered their children for their idols, they came on that same day into My sanctuary and profaned it. Indeed, this is what they did in My house.
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Furthermore, they sent for men to come from far away, sending messengers to call them; and indeed, they came. For their coming you bathed yourself, painted your eyes, and adorned yourself with ornaments.
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You sat on a splendid couch, with a table spread before it; and on it you placed My incense and My oil.
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The sound of a carefree crowd was there, and with the people were brought men from the wilderness, drunkards as well. They put bracelets on their wrists and beautiful crowns on their heads.
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Then I said: Does this worn-out harlot still commit adultery? Yet they go in to her, yes, to her.
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As men go in to a prostitute, so they came to Ohola and Oholiba to commit lewdness.
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But righteous men will judge them as women who commit adultery and shed blood are judged, because they are adulteresses, and blood is on their hands.”
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For thus says the Lord GOD: “Bring up a company against them and let them become a terror and a spoil.
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The company shall stone them and cut them down with their swords; they shall kill their sons and their daughters and burn down their houses.
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So I will put an end to lewdness in the land, and all women shall take warning and not do lewdness as you have done.
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People shall repay your lewdness upon you, and you shall bear the penalty of your sins because you worshiped idols. Then you will know that I am the Lord GOD.”
💔👯♀️🔥 Summary of Ezekiel 23 – Two Harlot Sisters: Oholah and Oholibah
Ezekiel 23 presents a severe and startling parable about two sisters, Oholah (Samaria) and Oholibah (Jerusalem), who represent the two kingdoms of Israel: north and south. They are portrayed as women who committed harlotry with foreign nations, symbolizing idolatry and political alliances unfaithful to God. The Lord rebukes both for their betrayal and uncleanness, and declares that they will be severely punished.
📌 1. Two Sisters: Oholah and Oholibah (verses 1–4)
➡️ Oholah = Samaria (the northern kingdom of Israel)
➡️ Oholibah = Jerusalem (the kingdom of Judah)
➡️ They are called the Lord’s wives but committed spiritual adultery
🎯 The Lord describes His people as covenant partners, yet they acted unfaithfully.
📌 2. Oholah’s Sin: Attraction to Assyria (verses 5–10)
➡️ Oholah (Samaria) committed harlotry with the Assyrians — admiring their political and military power
➡️ As a result, the Assyrians she admired attacked and destroyed Samaria
🎯 Dependence on foreign nations was not only futile, but ended in ruin.
📌 3. Oholibah’s Sin: Worse than Oholah (verses 11–21)
➡️ Jerusalem (Oholibah) saw Samaria’s fate, but instead copied and surpassed her sister’s sin
➡️ She committed harlotry with Assyria, and then also with Babylon — deeply eager for foreign alliances
➡️ Oholibah’s sin is described in very graphic and shameful terms
🎯 When warnings from history are ignored, sin grows deeper and more dangerous.
📌 4. The Punishment of Oholibah (verses 22–35)
➡️ The Lord will stir up the nations that Jerusalem once loved to attack her
➡️ Jerusalem will be punished with violence, shamed, and brought into great suffering
➡️ The Lord says, “You will drink your sister’s cup, deep and wide…”
🎯 Persistent sin will reap a fitting wrath.
📌 5. The Lord Summarizes Their Wickedness (verses 36–49)
➡️ The Lord commands Ezekiel to declare the sins of Oholah and Oholibah before all the people
➡️ They burned their children for idols and defiled the Lord’s sanctuary
➡️ Judgment will come because of idolatry and bloodshed
🎯 The Lord will expose all uncleanness so that His people may know that He is the holy God.
📖 Main Teaching
- Idolatry is spiritual adultery against the Lord
- Seeking help and security from foreign nations = rejecting trust in God
- Repeated sin, even after warning, will be judged more severely
- The Lord will not tolerate unfaithfulness in His covenant relationship with His people
✨ Spiritual Meaning (New Testament)
📖 James 4:4
“Friendship with the world is enmity with God.”
➡️ Like Oholah and Oholibah, God’s people must not compromise with the world’s system.
📖 2 Corinthians 11:2–3
“I have betrothed you to one husband… so that you may be a pure virgin for Christ.”
➡️ Christ desires a faithful people, not one that flirts with the world.
📖 Revelation 17:1–5
The picture of the great harlot seated on many waters — a symbol of a world system full of uncleanness
➡️ Similar to Oholah and Oholibah: a global picture of spiritual harlotry.
📖 Ephesians 5:27
“…a glorious congregation, without spot or wrinkle.”
➡️ The Lord desires to cleanse His people so they may be without blemish, unlike Oholah and Oholibah.
🕊️ “Oholah committed harlotry with the Assyrians, men of might.” – Ezekiel 23:5
🕊️ “Jerusalem did not merely imitate her; she became even more depraved.” – Ezekiel 23:11
🕊️ “You will drink your sister’s cup, deep and wide…” – Ezekiel 23:32
🕊️ “They will pour out their hatred upon you… and you will bear your punishment.” – Ezekiel 23:49
