2 “Son of man, there were atwo women, The daughters of one mother.
3aThey committed harlotry in Egypt, They committed harlotry in btheir youth; Their breasts were there embraced, Their virgin bosom was there pressed.
4 Their names:1 Oholah the elder and Oholibah aher sister; bThey were Mine, And they bore sons and daughters. Asfor their names, Samaria is Oholah, and Jerusalem is Oholibah.
The Older Sister, Samaria
5 “Oholah played the harlot even though she was Mine; And she lusted for her lovers, the neighboring aAssyrians,
6Whowere clothed in purple, Captains and rulers, All of them desirable young men, Horsemen riding on horses.
7 Thus she committed her harlotry with them, All of them choice men of Assyria; And with all for whom she lusted, With all their idols, she defiled herself.
8 She has never given up her harlotry broughtafrom Egypt, For in her youth they had lain with her, Pressed her virgin bosom, And poured out their immorality upon her.
9 “Therefore I have delivered her Into the hand of her lovers, Into the hand of the aAssyrians, For whom she lusted.
10 They uncovered her nakedness, Took away her sons and daughters, And slew her with the sword; She became a byword among women, For they had executed judgment on her.
The Younger Sister, Jerusalem
11 “Now aalthough her sister Oholibah saw this,bshe became more corrupt in her lust than she, and in her harlotry more corrupt than her sister’s harlotry.
12 “She lusted for the neighboring aAssyrians, bCaptains and rulers, Clothed most gorgeously, Horsemen riding on horses, All of them desirable young men.
13 Then I saw that she was defiled; Both took the same way.
14 But she increased her harlotry; She looked at men portrayed on the wall, Images of aChaldeans portrayed in vermilion,
15 Girded with belts around their waists, Flowing turbans on their heads, All of them looking like captains, In the manner of the Babylonians of Chaldea, The land of their nativity.
16aAs soon as her eyes saw them, She lusted for them And sent bmessengers to them in Chaldea.
17 “Then the1 Babylonians came to her, into the bed of love, And they defiled her with their immorality; So she was defiled by them, aand alienated herself from them.
18 She revealed her harlotry and uncovered her nakedness. Then aI balienated Myself from her, As I had alienated Myself from her sister.
Son of man, there were two women - All the Hebrews were derived from one source, Abraham and Sarah; and, till the schism under Rehoboam, formed but one people: but as these ten tribes and a half separated from Judah and Benjamin, they became two distinct people under different kings; called the kingdom of Judah, and the kingdom of Israel. They are called here, because of their consanguinity, two sisters. The elder, Samaria, (for there was the seat of government for the kingdom of Israel), was called aholah , "a tent." The younger, Judah, was called aholibah , "my tent is in her," because the temple of God was in Jerusalem, the seat of the government of the kingdom of Judah.
Other Adam Clarke entries containing Ezekiel 23:2:
DISCLAIMER: Church of the Great God (CGG) provides these resources to aid the individual in studying the Bible. However, it is up to the individual to "prove all things, and hold fast to that which is good" (I Thessalonians 5:21). The content of these resources does not necessarily reflect the views of CGG. They are provided for information purposes only.
