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Ezequiel 23

BLIVRE · Chapter 23/48

1E veio a mim a palavra do SENHOR, dizendo:

2Filho do homem, houve duas mulheres, filhas de uma [mesma] mãe,

3Estas se prostituíram no Egito; em suas juventudes se prostituíram. Ali foram apertados os seus peitos, e ali foram apalpados os seios de sua virgindade.

4E seus nomes eram: Oolá, a maior, e Oolibá sua irmã; e elas foram minhas, e tiveram filhos e filhas. Estes eram seus nomes: Samaria é Oolá, e Jerusalém Oolibá.

5E Oolá prostituiu-se, mesmo sendo minha; e apaixonou-se por seus amantes, os assírios seus vizinhos,

6Vestidos de azul, governadores e príncipes, todos rapazes cobiçáveis, cavaleiros que andavam a cavalo.

7Assim ela cometeu suas prostituições com eles, os quais eram os mais apreciados dos filhos da Assíria, e com todos aqueles por quem ela se apaixonou; contaminou-se com todos os ídolos deles.

8E não deixou suas fornicações [que trouxe] do Egito; pois com ela se deitaram em sua juventude, e eles apalparam os seios de sua virgindade, e derramaram sua prostituição sobre ela.

9Por isso a entreguei na mão de seus amantes, na mão dos filhos da Assíria, por quem tinha se apaixonado.

10Eles descobriram sua nudez, tomaram seus filhos e suas filhas, e a mataram à espada; e veio a ser famosa entre as mulheres, pois fizeram julgamentos contra ela.

11Sua irmã Oolibá viu isso, porém corrompeu sua paixão mais que ela; e suas prostituições foram mais numerosas que as prostituições de sua irmã.

12Apaixonou-se pelos filhos da Assíria, pelos governadores e príncipes, seus vizinhos, vestidos com luxo, cavaleiros que andavam a cavalo, todos eles rapazes cobiçáveis.

13E vi que ela estava contaminada; ambas tinham um [mesmo] caminho.

14E ela aumentou suas prostituições; pois viu homens pintados na parede, as imagens de caldeus pintadas de vermelho,

15Vestidos com cintos ao redor de seus lombos, e enormes turbantes em suas cabeças, tendo todos eles aparência de capitães, à semelhança dos filhos da Babilônia, nascidos na terra da Caldeia.

16E apaixonou-se deles logo que seus olhos os viram, e enviou-lhes mensageiros à Caldeia.

17Então os filhos da Babilônia vieram até ela à cama dos amores, e a contaminaram com suas prostituições; e ela também se contaminou com eles; então sua alma desgostou deles.

18Assim ela expôs suas prostituições, e expôs sua nudez; então minha alma desgostou dela, assim como já tinha desgostado de sua irmã.

19Porém ela multiplicou suas prostituições, relembrando-se dos dias de sua juventude, nos quais havia se prostituído na terra do Egito.

20E apaixonou-se por seus amantes, cuja carne é como carne de asnos, e cujo fluxo é como fluxo de cavalos.

21Assim relembraste a obscenidade de tua juventude, quando os egípcios apalpavam teus peitos, por causa dos seios de tua juventude.

22Portanto, Oolibá, assim diz o Senhor DEUS: Eis que eu levantarei contra ti os teus amantes, dos quais tua alma desgostou, e eu os trarei contra ti ao redor:

23Os filhos da Babilônia, e todos os caldeus, Pecode, Soa, e Coa, todos os filhos da Assíria com eles; rapazes cobiçáveis, governadores e príncipes todos eles, capitães e líderes, todos os que andam a cavalo.

24E virão sobre ti [com] armamentos, carruagens, carretas, e com ajuntamento de povos. Escudos grandes e pequenos, e capacetes serão postos contra ti ao redor; e eu os designarei para que façam o julgamento, e eles te julgarão conforme seus julgamentos.

25E porei meu zelo contra ti, e te tratarão com furor; tirarão teu nariz e tuas orelhas, e o que restar de ti cairá a espada. Eles tomarão teus filhos e tuas filhas, e o que restar de ti será consumido pelo fogo.

26Também te despirão de tuas vestes, e tomarão as tuas belas joias.

27Assim farei cessar de ti tua obscenidade e tua prostituição da terra do Egito; e não levantarás mais teus olhos a eles, nem te lembrarás mais do Egito.

28Porque assim diz o Senhor DEUS: Eis que eu te entregarei nas mãos daqueles a quem tu odeias, nas mãos daqueles dos quais tua alma se desgostou;

29Eles te tratarão com ódio, e tomarão todo [o ganho] de teu trabalho, e te deixarão nua e despida; e será exposta a nudez de tuas prostituições, tua obscenidade, e tuas promiscuidades.

30Estas coisas serão feitas contigo porque te prostituíste atrás das nações, com as quais te contaminaste com seus ídolos.

31Tu andaste no caminho de tua irmã; por isso darei o cálice dela em tua mão.

32Assim diz o Senhor DEUS: Tu beberás cálice fundo e largo de tua irmã; tu serás motivo de riso e escárnio, pois ele cabe muito.

33De embriaguez e de dor tu serás cheia; o cálice de tua irmã Samaria é cálice de medo e de desolação.

34Tu, pois, o beberás, o esvaziarás, e quebrarás seus cacos; e arrancarás teus peitos; porque eu falei,diz o Senhor DEUS.

35Portanto assim diz o Senhor DEUS: Dado que te esqueceste de mim, e me lançaste por trás de tuas costas, por isso, leva tu também [as consequências de] tua obscenidade e [de] tuas prostituições.

36E disse-me o SENHOR: Filho do homem, julgarás tu a Oolá, e a Oolibá, e lhes denunciarás suas abominações?

37Pois elas cometeram adultério, e há sangue em suas mãos, e com seus ídolos cometeram adultério; e até a seus filhos que me haviam gerado fizeram passar pelo fogo, para [os] consumir.

38Ainda isto me fizeram: contaminaram meu santuário naquele mesmo dia, e profanaram meus sábados;

39Pois havendo sacrificado seus filhos a seus ídolos, vieram ao meu santuário no mesmo dia para profaná-lo; e eis que assim fizeram em meio da minha casa.

40E além disto, mandaram avisar a homens que viriam de longe, aos quais havia sido enviado mensageiro. E eis que vieram; e por causa deles te lavaste, pintaste os teus olhos, e te enfeitaste de joias;

41E te sentaste sobre uma cama luxuosa; diante da qual foi preparada uma mesa, e puseste sobre ela meu perfume e meu óleo.

42E [ouviu-se] nela voz de multidão alegre; e junto dos homens ordinários, foram trazidos os beberrões do deserto; e puseram braceletes em suas mãos, e belas coroas sobre suas cabeças.

43Então eu disse à envelhecida [em] adultérios: Agora eles se prostituirão com ela, assim como ela [faz] .

44E se deitaram com ela como quem se deita com mulher prostituta; assim se deitaram com Oolá e com Oolibá, mulheres indecentes.

45Por isso homens justos as julgarão pela lei que pune as adúlteras, e pela lei que pune as que derramam sangue; pois são adúlteras, e há sangue há nas mãos delas.

46Porque assim diz o Senhor DEUS: Farei subir uma multidão contra elas, e as entregarei a terror e ao saque;

47E a multidão as apedrejará com pedras, e as cortarão com suas espadas; matarão seus filhos e suas filhas, e queimarão com fogo suas casas.

48Assim acabarei com a obscenidade da terra, para que todas as mulheres aprendam a não fazer conforme vossa obscenidade.

49E porão sobre vós [a culpa por] vossa obscenidade, e levareis os pecados de vossos ídolos; e sabereis que eu sou o Senhor DEUS.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Another explicit allegory compares Samaria (Oholah) and Jerusalem (Oholibah) to two sisters who prostitute themselves politically and spiritually with Assyria, Babylon, and Egypt, seeking foreign alliances instead of trusting in God.

Explanation

As in chapter 16, adultery language describes the political and military alliances that Israel and Judah made with foreign empires, which always came accompanied by the adoption of their gods and customs. The fact that Judah (Oholibah) is described as worse than Samaria, even after witnessing her older sister's punishment (the fall of the Northern Kingdom in 722 B.C.), shows how repeating another's mistake, even with the example in plain sight, deepens responsibility. The practical application concerns the temptation to seek security in alliances or solutions that compromise principles, instead of trusting God even when that seems riskier.

Fun facts

  • The names 'Oholah' and 'Oholibah' in Hebrew mean, respectively, 'her own tent' and 'my tent is in her,' a theological wordplay about where each one placed her worship.
  • The detailed description of Babylonian officers and horsemen 'painted in vermilion' (v.14-15) corresponds to real depictions found in Assyrian and Babylonian reliefs preserved to this day.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Ezequiel 23:1Oholah and Oholibah, two sisters with names invented by the text to represent Samaria and Jerusalem, open a political allegory: foreign alliances and imported cults are treated as “marital unfaithfulness” against God, language common among the prophets for describing betrayal of the covenant.
  2. Ezequiel 23:2The chapter introduces two sisters — a new allegory similar to the one in chapter 16, but now comparing Samaria and Jerusalem to each other.
  3. Ezequiel 23:3The two sisters’ unfaithfulness is described as something that began very early, back in Egypt — even before the formal covenant with God.
  4. Ezequiel 23:4The text reveals the symbolic names and their direct identification: Samaria is Oholah, and Jerusalem is Oholibah — the whole allegory is about the two kingdoms, north and south.
  5. Ezequiel 23:5Oholah, Samaria, getting involved with the Assyrians represents the political and military alliances the northern kingdom made with Assyria — the “harlotry” here is symbolic language for dependence on foreign powers, not a report of literal events.
  6. Ezequiel 23:6The description of Samaria’s Assyrian partners emphasizes status and military power — the attraction was, in practice, to political and military alliances, not just affection.
  7. Ezequiel 23:7Samaria’s unfaithfulness is directly tied to idolatry: pursuing these foreign alliances came together with adopting the gods of those same allies.
  8. Ezequiel 23:8The text insists the old patterns, going back to Egypt, were never truly abandoned — Samaria’s unfaithfulness is treated as a continuing habit, not an isolated episode.
  9. Ezequiel 23:9As a consequence, God hands Samaria over to the very power she sought as an ally — the same partners she chose become the instrument of judgment.
  10. Ezequiel 23:10The conquest of Samaria by Assyria is described using the same allegorical language: public humiliation and the loss of everything, including her own children.
  11. Ezequiel 23:11Instead of learning from her older sister’s fate, Jerusalem follows the same path, but even more seriously, according to the text.
  12. Ezequiel 23:12The description of Jerusalem’s Assyrian allies repeats almost word for word the one about Samaria — the allegory shows the two sisters repeating exactly the same pattern.
  13. Ezequiel 23:13God sums up the comparison directly: both followed exactly the same path of unfaithfulness, with no real distinction between them up to this point.
  14. Ezequiel 23:14Jerusalem does not stop with the Assyrian allies: she also becomes enamored with images of Babylonian warriors, widening the circle of alliances she pursues even further.
  15. Ezequiel 23:15The detailed description of the Babylonian garments shows how impressive and desirable these foreign images seemed in Jerusalem’s eyes.
  16. Ezequiel 23:16The initiative comes from Jerusalem herself: upon seeing the images, she herself takes the initiative to seek contact with Babylon, anticipating a real political alliance.
  17. Ezequiel 23:17After pursuing this alliance so eagerly, Jerusalem ends up disappointed even with it — a pattern of insatiable pursuit that never brings lasting satisfaction.
  18. Ezequiel 23:18God’s turning away from Jerusalem is described with the same language used for Samaria — both sisters receive the same kind of judgment.
  19. Ezequiel 23:19Even after everything, Jerusalem goes back to fondly remembering the time in Egypt, reinforcing that the root of the problem goes back to the people’s oldest origins.
  20. Ezequiel 23:20The animal comparison, also used in Jeremiah, directly describes the vigor associated with these allies — a strong image conveying the intensity of the attraction described in the allegory.
  21. Ezequiel 23:21The text closes this section by repeating the memory of Egypt as the point of origin for the whole pattern that repeats throughout the two sisters’ lives.
  22. Ezequiel 23:22The irony of the passage is heavy: Oholibah, Jerusalem, will turn against the very Babylonians she once courted — the text uses this to explain, poetically, why it was exactly Babylon that ended up destroying the city.
  23. Ezequiel 23:23The list of peoples and specific names shows the reach of the coalition that will turn against Jerusalem — it is not a single enemy, but a broad alliance of nations from the region.
  24. Ezequiel 23:24The same group of allies Jerusalem sought becomes the army that attacks her — the allegory’s central reversal repeats here, just as it already happened with Samaria.
  25. Ezequiel 23:25The description of the judgment uses the traditional penalties applied to women accused of adultery at the time — the allegory stays consistent even in the details of the punishment.
  26. Ezequiel 23:26It repeats the image already seen in chapter 16: losing her clothes and jewelry symbolizes losing everything that came from God’s original care.
  27. Ezequiel 23:27The judgment’s ultimate goal is to put a final end to this old pattern — the text describes it as if the memory of Egypt should simply stop influencing Jerusalem’s choices.
  28. Ezequiel 23:28Ironically, Jerusalem ends up handed over to the very allies she had already been disappointed by — the text shows how the search for outside security turned against her.
  29. Ezequiel 23:29The final humiliation publicly exposes everything that was once hidden — the allegory ends as exposed as it began, but now as punishment.
  30. Ezequiel 23:30The text once again sums up the two central motives: wrong political alliances and the idolatry that came along with them.
  31. Ezequiel 23:31Drinking the sister’s “cup” is a recurring image in the prophets for shared judgment — Jerusalem will go through the same kind of punishment that had already fallen on Samaria decades earlier.
  32. Ezequiel 23:32The image of the “cup” is a common poetic device in the Bible for receiving the same consequence someone else already suffered — Jerusalem will drink from the same cup of judgment as Samaria.
  33. Ezequiel 23:33Samaria’s cup, already emptied before, represents the same measure of suffering and ruin now reaching Jerusalem.
  34. Ezequiel 23:34The harsh, physical image of draining the cup to the very end reinforces that the announced judgment will not be partial or cut short before its time.
  35. Ezequiel 23:35The final reason is repeated once more: forgetting God is the root of it all, and the consequence is carrying alone the weight of her own choices.
  36. Ezequiel 23:36God returns to the book’s standard question to confirm Ezekiel’s task: to clearly expose the wrongs of the two sisters, without holding back.
  37. Ezequiel 23:37The final summary gathers the two gravest sins already mentioned in earlier chapters: unfaithfulness through idolatrous alliances and the sacrifice of their own children.
  38. Ezequiel 23:38Beyond all that, the text adds that these practices happened at the same time they were defiling the temple itself and the Sabbath — no part of religious life was left untouched.
  39. Ezequiel 23:39The most shocking detail: on the very day they sacrificed their children to the idols, they still went to the temple as if nothing had happened — the contradiction between false and true worship, side by side.
  40. Ezequiel 23:40The careful preparation to receive these foreign allies — bathing, makeup, jewelry — shows how actively these alliances were courted, not imposed from outside.
  41. Ezequiel 23:41The scene describes an atmosphere of luxury and celebration, made worse still by including incense and oil that belonged to true worship, used here in the wrong context.
  42. Ezequiel 23:42The celebration scene brings together people of varied backgrounds, all taking part in the same atmosphere of alliance and luxury the allegory condemns.
  43. Ezequiel 23:43Even after so much time and wear, the pattern of pursuing these alliances keeps repeating with no sign of change.
  44. Ezequiel 23:44The text closes this scene confirming that both sisters, despite their different histories, end up in the same place: described as women who gave themselves to the same unfaithfulness.
  45. Ezequiel 23:45The final judgment applied to both follows the same legal categories mentioned before: breaking the covenant and bloodshed treated with equal seriousness.
  46. Ezequiel 23:46God confirms He will call up a specific group to carry out the judgment against the two sisters, repeating the structure already announced in earlier verses.
  47. Ezequiel 23:47The description of the judgment’s execution repeats the same elements seen before: stoning, sword, and fire, the traditional penalties associated with a grave breach of the covenant.
  48. Ezequiel 23:48The stated goal of the public punishment is to serve as a warning to others — the allegory also works as an alert for anyone who might still repeat the same pattern.
  49. Ezequiel 23:49The chapter ends with the same conclusion as so many others: the recognition of who God is comes through the direct, proportional fulfillment of the announced judgment.

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