Keluaran 34:15-16

34:15 Be careful ¹  not to make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, for when ²  they prostitute themselves ³  to their gods and sacrifice to their gods, and someone invites you, ⁴  you will eat from his sacrifice; 34:16 and you then take ⁵  his daughters for your sons, and when his daughters prostitute themselves to their gods, they will make your sons prostitute themselves to their gods as well.

Ulangan 31:16

31:16 Then the Lord said to Moses, “You are about to die, ⁶  and then these people will begin to prostitute themselves with the foreign gods of the land into which they ⁷  are going. They ⁸  will reject ⁹  me and break my covenant that I have made with them. ¹⁰ 

Ulangan 31:2

31:2 He said to them, “Today I am a hundred and twenty years old. I am no longer able to get about, ¹¹  and the Lord has said to me, ‘You will not cross the Jordan.’

Ulangan 21:13

21:13 discard the clothing she was wearing when captured, ¹²  and stay ¹³  in your house, lamenting for her father and mother for a full month. After that you may have sexual relations ¹⁴  with her and become her husband and she your wife.

Mazmur 73:27

73:27 Yes, ¹⁵  look! Those far from you ¹⁶  die;

you destroy everyone who is unfaithful to you. ¹⁷ 

Mazmur 106:39

106:39 They were defiled by their deeds,

and unfaithful in their actions. ¹⁸ 

Yeremia 2:13

2:13 “Do so because my people have committed a double wrong:

they have rejected me,

the fountain of life-giving water, ¹⁹ 

and they have dug cisterns for themselves,

cracked cisterns which cannot even hold water.”

Yeremia 3:1-4

3:1 “If a man divorces his wife

and she leaves him and becomes another man’s wife,

he may not take her back again. ²⁰ 

Doing that would utterly defile the land. ²¹ 

But you, Israel, have given yourself as a prostitute to many gods. ²² 

So what makes you think you can return to me?” ²³ 

says the Lord.

3:2 “Look up at the hilltops and consider this. ²⁴ 

You have had sex with other gods on every one of them. ²⁵ 

You waited for those gods like a thief lying in wait in the desert. ²⁶ 

You defiled the land by your wicked prostitution to other gods. ²⁷ 

3:3 That is why the rains have been withheld,

and the spring rains have not come.

Yet in spite of this you are obstinate as a prostitute. ²⁸ 

You refuse to be ashamed of what you have done.

3:4 Even now you say to me, ‘You are my father! ²⁹ 

You have been my faithful companion ever since I was young.

Yeremia 3:9

3:9 Because she took her prostitution so lightly, she defiled the land ³⁰  through her adulterous worship of gods made of wood and stone. ³¹ 

Yehezkiel 6:9

6:9 Then your survivors will remember me among the nations where they are exiled. They will realize ³²  how I was crushed by their unfaithful ³³  heart which turned from me and by their eyes which lusted after their idols. They will loathe themselves ³⁴  because of the evil they have done and because of all their abominable practices.

Yehezkiel 16:1-63

God’s Unfaithful Bride

16:1 The word of the Lord came to me: 16:2 “Son of man, confront Jerusalem ³⁵  with her abominable practices 16:3 and say, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says to Jerusalem: Your origin and your birth were in the land of the Canaanites; your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite. 16:4 As for your birth, on the day you were born your umbilical cord was not cut, nor were you washed in water; ³⁶  you were certainly not rubbed down with salt, nor wrapped with blankets. ³⁷  16:5 No eye took pity on you to do even one of these things for you to spare you; ³⁸  you were thrown out into the open field ³⁹  because you were detested on the day you were born.

16:6 “‘I passed by you and saw you kicking around helplessly in your blood. I said to you as you lay there in your blood, “Live!” I said to you as you lay there in your blood, “Live!” ⁴⁰  16:7 I made you plentiful like sprouts in a field; you grew tall and came of age so that you could wear jewelry. Your breasts had formed and your hair had grown, but you were still naked and bare.

16:8 “‘Then I passed by you and watched you, noticing ⁴¹  that you had reached the age for love. ⁴²  I spread my cloak ⁴³  over you and covered your nakedness. I swore a solemn oath to you and entered into a marriage covenant with you, declares the sovereign Lord, and you became mine.

16:9 “‘Then I bathed you in water, washed the blood off you, and anointed you with fragrant oil. 16:10 I dressed you in embroidered clothing and put fine leather sandals on your feet. I wrapped you with fine linen and covered you with silk. 16:11 I adorned you with jewelry. I put bracelets on your hands and a necklace around your neck. 16:12 I put a ring in your nose, earrings on your ears, and a beautiful crown on your head. 16:13 You were adorned with gold and silver, while your clothing was of fine linen, silk, and embroidery. You ate the finest flour, honey, and olive oil. You became extremely beautiful and attained the position of royalty. 16:14 Your fame ⁴⁴  spread among the nations because of your beauty; your beauty was perfect because of the splendor which I bestowed on you, declares the sovereign Lord. ⁴⁵ 

16:15 “‘But you trusted in your beauty and capitalized on your fame by becoming a prostitute. You offered your sexual favors to every man who passed by so that your beauty ⁴⁶  became his. 16:16 You took some of your clothing and made for yourself decorated high places; you engaged in prostitution on them. You went to him to become his. ⁴⁷  16:17 You also took your beautiful jewelry, made of my gold and my silver I had given to you, and made for yourself male images and engaged in prostitution ⁴⁸  with them. 16:18 You took your embroidered clothing and used it to cover them; you offered my olive oil and my incense to them. 16:19 As for my food that I gave you – the fine flour, olive oil, and honey I fed you – you placed it before them as a soothing aroma. That is exactly what happened, declares the sovereign Lord.

16:20 “‘You took your sons and your daughters whom you bore to me and you sacrificed them ⁴⁹  as food for the idols to eat. As if your prostitution not enough, 16:21 you slaughtered my children and sacrificed them to the idols. ⁵⁰  16:22 And with all your abominable practices and prostitution you did not remember the days of your youth when you were naked and bare, kicking around in your blood.

16:23 “‘After all of your evil – “Woe! Woe to you!” declares the sovereign Lord – 16:24 you built yourself a chamber ⁵¹  and put up a pavilion ⁵²  in every public square. 16:25 At the head of every street you erected your pavilion and you disgraced ⁵³  your beauty when you spread ⁵⁴  your legs to every passerby and multiplied your promiscuity. 16:26 You engaged in prostitution with the Egyptians, your sexually aroused neighbors, ⁵⁵  multiplying your promiscuity and provoking me to anger. 16:27 So see here, I have stretched out my hand against you and cut off your rations. I have delivered you into the power of those who hate you, the daughters of the Philistines, who were ashamed by your obscene conduct. 16:28 You engaged in prostitution with the Assyrians because your sexual desires were insatiable; you prostituted yourself with them and yet you were still not satisfied. 16:29 Then you multiplied your promiscuity to the land of merchants, Babylonia, ⁵⁶  but you were not satisfied there either.

16:30 “‘How sick is your heart, declares the sovereign Lord, when you perform all of these acts, the deeds of a bold prostitute. 16:31 When you built your chamber at the head of every street and put up your pavilion in every public square, you were not like a prostitute, because you scoffed at payment. ⁵⁷ 

16:32 “‘Adulterous wife, who prefers strangers instead of her own husband! 16:33 All prostitutes receive payment, ⁵⁸  but instead you give gifts to every one of your lovers. You bribe them to come to you from all around for your sexual favors! 16:34 You were different from other prostitutes ⁵⁹  because no one solicited you. When you gave payment and no payment was given to you, you became the opposite!

16:35 “‘Therefore O prostitute, hear the word of the Lord: 16:36 This is what the sovereign Lord says: Because your lust ⁶⁰  was poured out and your nakedness was uncovered in your prostitution with your lovers, and because of all your detestable idols, and because of the blood of your children you have given to them, 16:37 therefore, take note: I am about to gather all your lovers whom you enjoyed, both all those you loved and all those you hated. I will gather them against you from all around, and I will expose your nakedness to them, and they will see all your nakedness. ⁶¹  16:38 I will punish you as an adulteress and murderer deserves. ⁶²  I will avenge your bloody deeds with furious rage. ⁶³  16:39 I will give you into their hands and they will destroy your chambers and tear down your pavilions. They will strip you of your clothing and take your beautiful jewelry and leave you naked and bare. 16:40 They will summon a mob who will stone you and hack you in pieces with their swords. 16:41 They will burn down your houses and execute judgments on you in front of many women. Thus I will put a stop to your prostitution, and you will no longer give gifts to your clients. ⁶⁴  16:42 I will exhaust my rage on you, and then my fury will turn from you. I will calm down and no longer be angry.

16:43 “‘Because you did not remember the days of your youth and have enraged me with all these deeds, I hereby repay you for what you have done, ⁶⁵  declares the sovereign Lord. Have you not engaged in prostitution on top of all your other abominable practices?

16:44 “‘Observe – everyone who quotes proverbs will quote this proverb about you: “Like mother, like daughter.” 16:45 You are the daughter of your mother, who detested her husband and her sons, and you are the sister of your sisters who detested their husbands and their sons. Your mother was a Hittite and your father an Amorite. 16:46 Your older sister was Samaria, who lived north ⁶⁶  of you with her daughters, and your younger sister, who lived south ⁶⁷  of you, was Sodom ⁶⁸  with her daughters. 16:47 Have you not copied their behavior ⁶⁹  and practiced their abominable deeds? In a short time ⁷⁰  you became even more depraved in all your conduct than they were! 16:48 As surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, your sister Sodom and her daughters never behaved as wickedly as you and your daughters have behaved.

16:49 “‘See here – this was the iniquity ⁷¹  of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters had majesty, abundance of food, and enjoyed carefree ease, but they did not help ⁷²  the poor and needy. 16:50 They were haughty and practiced abominable deeds before me. Therefore when I saw it I removed them. 16:51 Samaria has not committed half the sins you have; you have done more abominable deeds than they did. ⁷³  You have made your sisters appear righteous with all the abominable things you have done. 16:52 So now, bear your disgrace, because you have given your sisters reason to justify their behavior. ⁷⁴  Because the sins you have committed were more abominable than those of your sisters; they have become more righteous than you. So now, be ashamed and bear the disgrace of making your sisters appear righteous.

16:53 “‘I will restore their fortunes, the fortunes of Sodom and her daughters, and the fortunes of Samaria and her daughters (along with your fortunes among them), 16:54 so that you may bear your disgrace and be ashamed of all you have done in consoling them. 16:55 As for your sisters, Sodom and her daughters will be restored to their former status, Samaria and her daughters will be restored to their former status, and you and your daughters will be restored to your former status. 16:56 In your days of majesty, ⁷⁵  was not Sodom your sister a byword in your mouth, 16:57 before your evil was exposed? Now you have become an object of scorn to the daughters of Aram ⁷⁶  and all those around her and to the daughters of the Philistines – those all around you who despise you. 16:58 You must bear your punishment for your obscene conduct and your abominable practices, declares the Lord.

16:59 “‘For this is what the sovereign Lord says: I will deal with you according to what you have done when you despised your oath by breaking your covenant. 16:60 Yet I will remember the covenant I made with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish a lasting ⁷⁷  covenant with you. 16:61 Then you will remember your conduct, and be ashamed when you receive your older and younger sisters. I will give them to you as daughters, but not on account of my covenant with you. 16:62 I will establish my covenant with you, and then you will know that I am the Lord. 16:63 Then you will remember, be ashamed, and remain silent ⁷⁸  when I make atonement for all you have done, ⁷⁹  declares the sovereign Lord.’”

Yehezkiel 23:1-49

Two Sisters

23:1 The word of the Lord came to me: 23:2 “Son of man, there were two women who were daughters of the same mother. 23:3 They engaged in prostitution in Egypt; in their youth they engaged in prostitution. Their breasts were squeezed there; lovers ⁸⁰  fondled their virgin nipples there. 23:4 Oholah was the name of the older and Oholibah ⁸¹  the name of her younger sister. They became mine, and gave birth to sons and daughters. ⁸²  Oholah is Samaria and Oholibah is Jerusalem.

23:5 “Oholah engaged in prostitution while she was mine. ⁸³  She lusted after her lovers, the Assyrians ⁸⁴  – warriors ⁸⁵  23:6 clothed in blue, governors and officials, all of them desirable young men, horsemen riding on horses. 23:7 She bestowed her sexual favors on them; all of them were the choicest young men of Assyria. She defiled herself with all whom she desired ⁸⁶  – with all their idols. 23:8 She did not abandon the prostitution she had practiced in Egypt; for in her youth men had sex with her, fondled her virgin breasts, and ravished her. ⁸⁷  23:9 Therefore I handed her over to her lovers, the Assyrians ⁸⁸  for whom she lusted. 23:10 They exposed her nakedness, seized her sons and daughters, and killed her with the sword. She became notorious ⁸⁹  among women, and they executed judgments against her.

23:11 “Her sister Oholibah watched this, ⁹⁰  but she became more corrupt in her lust than her sister had been, and her acts of prostitution were more numerous than those of her sister. 23:12 She lusted after the Assyrians – governors and officials, warriors in full armor, horsemen riding on horses, all of them desirable young men. 23:13 I saw that she was defiled; both of them followed the same path. 23:14 But she increased her prostitution. She saw men carved on the wall, images of the Chaldeans carved in bright red, ⁹¹  23:15 wearing belts on their waists and flowing turbans on their heads, all of them looking like officers, the image of Babylonians ⁹²  whose native land is Chaldea. 23:16 When she saw them, ⁹³  she lusted after them and sent messengers to them in Chaldea. ⁹⁴  23:17 The Babylonians crawled into bed with her. ⁹⁵  They defiled her with their lust; after she was defiled by them, she ⁹⁶  became disgusted with them. 23:18 When she lustfully exposed her nakedness, ⁹⁷  I ⁹⁸  was disgusted with her, just as I ⁹⁹  had been disgusted with her sister. 23:19 Yet she increased her prostitution, remembering the days of her youth when she engaged in prostitution in the land of Egypt. 23:20 She lusted after their genitals – as large as those of donkeys, ¹⁰⁰  and their seminal emission was as strong as that of stallions. 23:21 This is how you assessed ¹⁰¹  the obscene conduct of your youth, when the Egyptians fondled ¹⁰²  your nipples and squeezed ¹⁰³  your young breasts.

23:22 “Therefore, Oholibah, this is what the sovereign Lord says: Look here, ¹⁰⁴  I am about to stir up against you the lovers with whom you were disgusted; I will bring them against you from every side: 23:23 the Babylonians and all the Chaldeans, Pekod, ¹⁰⁵  Shoa, ¹⁰⁶  and Koa, ¹⁰⁷  and all the Assyrians with them, desirable young men, all of them governors and officials, officers and nobles, all of them riding on horses. 23:24 They will attack ¹⁰⁸  you with weapons, ¹⁰⁹  chariots, wagons, and with a huge army; ¹¹⁰  they will array themselves against you on every side with large shields, small shields, and helmets. I will assign them the task of judgment; ¹¹¹  they will punish you according to their laws. 23:25 I will direct ¹¹²  my jealous anger against you, and they will deal with you in rage. They will cut off your nose and your ears, ¹¹³  and your survivors will die ¹¹⁴  by the sword. They will seize your sons and daughters, and your survivors will be consumed by fire. 23:26 They will strip your clothes off you and take away your beautiful jewelry. 23:27 So I will put an end to your obscene conduct and your prostitution which you have practiced in the land of Egypt. ¹¹⁵  You will not seek their help ¹¹⁶  or remember Egypt anymore.

23:28 “For this is what the sovereign Lord says: Look here, ¹¹⁷  I am about to deliver you over to ¹¹⁸  those whom you hate, to those with whom you were disgusted. 23:29 They will treat you with hatred, take away all you have labored for, ¹¹⁹  and leave you naked and bare. Your nakedness will be exposed, just as when you engaged in prostitution and obscene conduct. ¹²⁰  23:30 I will do these things to you ¹²¹  because you engaged in prostitution with the nations, polluting yourself with their idols. 23:31 You have followed the ways of your sister, so I will place her cup of judgment ¹²²  in your hand. 23:32 “This is what the sovereign Lord says: “You will drink your sister’s deep and wide cup; ¹²³  you will be scorned and derided, for it holds a great deal. 23:33 You will be overcome by ¹²⁴  drunkenness and sorrow. The cup of your sister Samaria is a cup of horror and desolation. 23:34 You will drain it dry, ¹²⁵  gnaw its pieces, ¹²⁶  and tear out your breasts, ¹²⁷  for I have spoken, declares the sovereign Lord.

23:35 “Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: Because you have forgotten me and completely disregarded me, ¹²⁸  you must bear now the punishment ¹²⁹  for your obscene conduct and prostitution.”

23:36 The Lord said to me: “Son of man, are you willing to pronounce judgment ¹³⁰  on Oholah and Oholibah? Then declare to them their abominable deeds! 23:37 For they have committed adultery and blood is on their hands. They have committed adultery with their idols, and their sons, whom they bore to me, ¹³¹  they have passed through the fire as food to their idols. ¹³²  23:38 Moreover, they have done this to me: In the very same day ¹³³  they desecrated my sanctuary and profaned my Sabbaths. 23:39 On the same day they slaughtered their sons for their idols, they came to my sanctuary to desecrate it. This is what they have done in the middle of my house.

23:40 “They even sent for men from far away; when the messenger arrived, those men set out. ¹³⁴  For them you bathed, ¹³⁵  painted your eyes, and decorated yourself with jewelry. 23:41 You sat on a magnificent couch, with a table arranged in front of it where you placed my incense and my olive oil. 23:42 The sound of a carefree crowd accompanied her, ¹³⁶  including all kinds of men; ¹³⁷  even Sabeans ¹³⁸  were brought from the desert. The sisters ¹³⁹  put bracelets on their wrists and beautiful crowns on their heads. 23:43 Then I said about the one worn out by adultery, ‘Now they will commit immoral acts with her.’ 23:44 They had sex with her ¹⁴⁰  as one does with a prostitute. In this way they had sex with Oholah and Oholibah, promiscuous women. 23:45 But upright men will punish them appropriately for their adultery and bloodshed, ¹⁴¹  because they are adulteresses and blood is on their hands.

23:46 “For this is what the sovereign Lord says: Bring up an army ¹⁴²  against them and subject them ¹⁴³  to terror and plunder. 23:47 That army will pelt them with stones and slash them with their swords; they will kill their sons and daughters and burn their houses. ¹⁴⁴  23:48 I will put an end to the obscene conduct in the land; all the women will learn a lesson from this and not engage in obscene conduct. 23:49 They will repay you for your obscene conduct, and you will be punished for idol worship. ¹⁴⁵  Then you will know that I am the sovereign Lord.”

Wahyu 17:1-2

The Great Prostitute and the Beast

17:1 Then ¹⁴⁶  one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke to me. ¹⁴⁷  “Come,” he said, “I will show you the condemnation and punishment ¹⁴⁸  of the great prostitute who sits on many waters, 17:2 with whom the kings of the earth committed sexual immorality and the earth’s inhabitants got drunk with the wine of her immorality.” ¹⁴⁹ 

Wahyu 17:5

17:5 On ¹⁵⁰  her forehead was written a name, a mystery: ¹⁵¹  “Babylon the Great, the Mother of prostitutes and of the detestable things of the earth.”

[34:15]  ¹ tn The sentence begins simply “lest you make a covenant”; it is undoubtedly a continuation of the imperative introduced earlier, and so that is supplied here.

[34:15]  ² tn The verb is a perfect with a vav consecutive. In the literal form of the sentence, this clause tells what might happen if the people made a covenant with the inhabitants of the land: “Take heed…lest you make a covenant…and then they prostitute themselves…and sacrifice…and invite…and you eat.” The sequence lays out an entire scenario.

[34:15]  ³ tn The verb זָנָה (zanah) means “to play the prostitute; to commit whoredom; to be a harlot” or something similar. It is used here and elsewhere in the Bible for departing from pure religion and engaging in pagan religion. The use of the word in this figurative sense is fitting, because the relationship between God and his people is pictured as a marriage, and to be unfaithful to it was a sin. This is also why God is described as a “jealous” or “impassioned” God. The figure may not be merely a metaphorical use, but perhaps a metonymy, since there actually was sexual immorality at the Canaanite altars and poles.

[34:15]  ⁴ tn There is no subject for the verb. It could be rendered “and one invites you,” or it could be made a passive.

[34:16]  ⁵ tn In the construction this verb would follow as a possible outcome of the last event, and so remain in the verbal sequence. If the people participate in the festivals of the land, then they will intermarry, and that could lead to further involvement with idolatry.

[31:16]  ⁶ tn Heb “lie down with your fathers” (so NASB); NRSV “ancestors.”

[31:16]  ⁷ tn Heb “he.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “they,” which is necessary in any case in the translation because of contemporary English style. The third person singular also occurs in the Hebrew text twice more in this verse, three times in v. 17, once in v. 18, five times in v. 20, and four times in v. 21. Each time it is translated as third person plural for stylistic reasons.

[31:16]  ⁸ tn Heb “he.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “they.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. 16.

[31:16]  ⁹ tn Or “abandon” (TEV, NLT).

[31:16]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “him.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “them.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. 16.

[31:2]  ¹¹ tn Or “am no longer able to lead you” (NIV, NLT); Heb “am no longer able to go out and come in.”

[21:13]  ¹² tn Heb “she is to…remove the clothing of her captivity” (cf. NASB); NRSV “discard her captive’s garb.”

[21:13]  ¹³ tn Heb “sit”; KJV, NASB, NRSV “remain.”

[21:13]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “go unto,” a common Hebrew euphemism for sexual relations.

[73:27]  ¹⁵ tn Or “for.”

[73:27]  ¹⁶ sn The following line defines the phrase far from you in a spiritual sense. Those “far” from God are those who are unfaithful and disloyal to him.

[73:27]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “everyone who commits adultery from you.”

[106:39]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “and they committed adultery in their actions.” This means that they were unfaithful to the Lord (see Ps 73:27).

[2:13]  ¹⁹ tn It is difficult to decide whether to translate “fresh, running water” which the Hebrew term for “living water” often refers to (e.g., Gen 26:19; Lev 14:5), or “life-giving water” which the idiom “fountain of life” as source of life and vitality often refers to (e.g., Ps 36:9; Prov 13:14; 14:27). The contrast with cisterns, which collected and held rain water, suggests “fresh, running water,” but the reality underlying the metaphor contrasts the Lord, the source of life, health, and vitality, with useless idols that cannot do anything.

[3:1]  ²⁰ tn Heb “May he go back to her again?” The question is rhetorical and expects a negative answer.

[3:1]  sn For the legal background for the illustration that is used here see Deut 24:1-4.

[3:1]  ²¹ tn Heb “Would the land not be utterly defiled?” The stative is here rendered actively to connect better with the preceding. The question is rhetorical and expects a positive answer.

[3:1]  ²² tn Heb “But you have played the prostitute with many lovers.”

[3:1]  ²³ tn Heb “Returning to me.” The form is the bare infinitive which the KJV and ASV have interpreted as an imperative “Yet, return to me!” However, it is more likely that a question is intended, expressing surprise in the light of the law alluded to and the facts cited. For the use of the infinitive absolute in the place of a finite verb, cf. GKC 346 §113.ee. For the introduction of a question without a question marker, cf. GKC 473 §150.a.

[3:2]  ²⁴ tn Heb “and see.”

[3:2]  ²⁵ tn Heb “Where have you not been ravished?” The rhetorical question expects the answer “nowhere,” which suggests she has engaged in the worship of pagan gods on every one of the hilltops.

[3:2]  ²⁶ tn Heb “You sat for them [the lovers, i.e., the foreign gods] beside the road like an Arab in the desert.”

[3:2]  ²⁷ tn Heb “by your prostitution and your wickedness.” This is probably an example of hendiadys where, when two nouns are joined by “and,” one expresses the main idea and the other qualifies it.

[3:3]  ²⁸ tn Heb “you have the forehead of a prostitute.”

[3:4]  ²⁹ tn Heb “Have you not just now called out to me, ‘[you are] my father!’?” The rhetorical question expects a positive answer.

[3:9]  ³⁰ tc The translation reads the form as a causative (Hiphil, תַּהֲנֵף, tahanef) with some of the versions in place of the simple stative (Qal, תֶּחֱנַף, tekhenaf) in the MT.

[3:9]  ³¹ tn Heb “because of the lightness of her prostitution, she defiled the land and committed adultery with stone and wood.”

[6:9]  ³² tn The words “they will realize” are not in the Hebrew text; they are added here for stylistic reasons since this clause assumes the previous verb “to remember” or “to take into account.”

[6:9]  ³³ tn Heb “how I was broken by their adulterous heart.” The image of God being “broken” is startling, but perfectly natural within the metaphorical framework of God as offended husband. The idiom must refer to the intense grief that Israel’s unfaithfulness caused God. For a discussion of the syntax and semantics of the Hebrew text, see M. Greenberg, Ezekiel (AB), 1:134.

[6:9]  ³⁴ tn Heb adds “in their faces.”

[16:2]  ³⁵ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[16:4]  ³⁶ tn Heb “in water you were not washed for cleansing” or “with water you were not washed smooth” (see D. I. Block, Ezekiel [NICOT], 1:473, n. 57, for a discussion of possible meanings of this hapax legomenon).

[16:4]  ³⁷ sn Arab midwives still cut the umbilical cords of infants and then proceed to apply salt and oil to their bodies.

[16:5]  ³⁸ sn These verbs, “pity” and “spare,” echo the judgment oracles in 5:11; 7:4, 9; 8:18; 9:5, 10.

[16:5]  ³⁹ sn A similar concept is found in Deut 32:10.

[16:6]  ⁴⁰ tc The translation reflects the Hebrew text, which repeats the statement, perhaps for emphasis. However, a few medieval Hebrew manuscripts, the Old Greek, and the Syriac do not include the repetition. The statement could have been accidentally repeated or the second occurrence could have been accidentally omitted. Based on the available evidence it is difficult to know which is more likely.

[16:8]  ⁴¹ tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a participle.

[16:8]  ⁴² tn See similar use of this term in Ezek 23:17; Prov 7:16; Song of Songs 4:10; 7:13.

[16:8]  ⁴³ tn Heb “wing” or “skirt.” The gesture symbolized acquiring a woman in early Arabia (similarly, see Deut 22:30; Ruth 3:9).

[16:14]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “name.”

[16:14]  ⁴⁵ sn The description of the nation Israel in vv. 10-14 recalls the splendor of the nation’s golden age under King Solomon.

[16:15]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “it” (so KJV, ASV); the referent (the beauty in which the prostitute trusted, see the beginning of the verse) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:16]  ⁴⁷ tc The text as written in the MT is incomprehensible (“not coming [plural] and he will not”). Driver has suggested a copying error of similar-sounding words, specifically לֹא (lo’) for לוֹ (lo). The feminine participle בָאוֹת (va’ot) has also been read as the feminine perfect בָאת (va’t). See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 1:228, n. 15.b, and D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:486, n. 137.

[16:17]  ⁴⁸ tn Or perhaps “and worshiped them,” if the word “prostitution” is understood in a figurative rather than a literal sense (cf. CEV, NLT).

[16:20]  ⁴⁹ sn The sacrifice of children was prohibited in Lev 18:21; 20:2; Deut 12:31; 18:10.

[16:21]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “and you gave them, by passing them through to them.” Some believe this alludes to the pagan practice of making children pass through the fire.

[16:24]  ⁵¹ tn The Hebrew גֶּב (gev) may represent more than one word, each rare in the Old Testament. It may refer to a “mound” or to “rafters.” The LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate interpret this as a brothel.

[16:24]  ⁵² tn Or “lofty place” (NRSV). See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 1:229, and B. Lang, Frau Weisheit, 137.

[16:25]  ⁵³ tn Heb “treated as if abominable,” i.e., repudiated.

[16:25]  ⁵⁴ tn The only other occurrence of the Hebrew root is found in Prov 13:3 in reference to the talkative person who habitually “opens wide” his lips.

[16:26]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “your neighbors, large of flesh.” The word “flesh” is used here of the genitals. It may simply refer to the size of their genitals in general, or, as the translation suggests, depicts them as sexually aroused.

[16:29]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “Chaldea.” The name of the tribal group ruling Babylon (“Chaldeans”) and the territory from which they originated (“Chaldea”) is used as metonymy for the whole empire of Babylon.

[16:31]  ⁵⁷ tn The Hebrew term, which also occurs in vv. 34 and 41 of this chapter, always refers to the payment of a prostitute (Deut 23:19; Isa 23:17; Hos 9:1; Mic 1:7).

[16:33]  ⁵⁸ tn The Hebrew word occurs only here in the OT.

[16:34]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “With you it was opposite of women in your prostitution.”

[16:36]  ⁶⁰ tn The Hebrew word occurs only here in the OT.

[16:37]  ⁶¹ sn Harlots suffered degradation when their nakedness was exposed (Jer 13:22, 26; Hos 2:12; Nah 3:5).

[16:38]  ⁶² tn Heb “and I will judge you (with) the judgments of adulteresses and of those who shed blood.”

[16:38]  ⁶³ tn Heb “and I will give you the blood of rage and zeal.”

[16:41]  ⁶⁴ tn The words “to your clients” are not in the Hebrew text but are implied.

[16:43]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “your way on (your) head I have placed.”

[16:46]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “left.”

[16:46]  ⁶⁷ tn Heb “right.”

[16:46]  ⁶⁸ sn Sodom was the epitome of evil (Deut 29:23; 32:32; Isa 1:9-10; 3:9; Jer 23:14; Lam 4:6; Matt 10:15; 11:23-24; Jude 7).

[16:47]  ⁶⁹ tn Heb “walked in their ways.”

[16:47]  ⁷⁰ tn The Hebrew expression has a temporal meaning as illustrated by the use of the phrase in 2 Chr 12:7.

[16:49]  ⁷¹ tn Or “guilt.”

[16:49]  ⁷² tn Heb “strengthen the hand of.”

[16:51]  ⁷³ tn Or “you have multiplied your abominable deeds beyond them.”

[16:52]  ⁷⁴ tn Heb “because you have interceded for your sisters with your sins.”

[16:56]  ⁷⁵ tn Or “pride.”

[16:57]  ⁷⁶ tc So MT, LXX, and Vulgate; many Hebrew mss and Syriac read “Edom.”

[16:60]  ⁷⁷ tn Or “eternal.”

[16:63]  ⁷⁸ tn Heb “and your mouth will not be open any longer.”

[16:63]  ⁷⁹ tn Heb “when I make atonement for you for all which you have done.”

[23:3]  ⁸⁰ tn In the Hebrew text the subject is left unstated and must be supplied from the context.

[23:4]  ⁸¹ tn The names Oholah and Oholibah are both derived from the word meaning “tent.” The meaning of Oholah is “her tent,” while Oholibah means “my tent is in her.”

[23:4]  ⁸² sn In this allegory the Lord is depicted as being the husband of two wives. The OT law prohibited a man from marrying sisters (Lev 18:18), but the practice is attested in the OT (cf. Jacob). The metaphor is utilized here for illustrative purposes and does not mean that the Lord condoned such a practice or bigamy in general.

[23:5]  ⁸³ tn Heb “while she was under me.” The expression indicates that Oholah is viewed as the Lord’s wife. See Num 5:19-20, 29.

[23:5]  sn Played the harlot refers to alliances with pagan nations in this context. In Ezek 16 harlotry described the sin of idolatry.

[23:5]  ⁸⁴ tn Heb “Assyria.”

[23:5]  ⁸⁵ tn The term apparently refers to Assyrian military officers; it is better construed with the description that follows. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:738.

[23:7]  ⁸⁶ tn Heb “lusted after.”

[23:8]  ⁸⁷ tn Heb “and poured out their harlotry on her.”

[23:9]  ⁸⁸ tn Heb “I gave her into the hand of her lovers, into the hand of the sons of Assyria.”

[23:10]  ⁸⁹ tn Heb “name.”

[23:11]  ⁹⁰ tn The word “this” is not in the original text.

[23:14]  ⁹¹ tn The only other occurrence of the Hebrew term is in Jer 22:14.

[23:15]  ⁹² tn Heb “the sons of Babel.”

[23:16]  ⁹³ tn Heb “at the appearance of her eyes.”

[23:16]  ⁹⁴ sn The Chaldeans were prominent tribal groups of Babylonia. The imagery is reminiscent of events in the reigns of Hezekiah (2 Kgs 20:12-15) and Jehoiakim (2 Kgs 23:34-24:1).

[23:17]  ⁹⁵ tn Heb “The sons of Babel came to her on a bed of love.”

[23:17]  ⁹⁶ tn Heb “her soul.”

[23:18]  ⁹⁷ tn Heb “She exposed her harlotry and she exposed her nakedness.”

[23:18]  ⁹⁸ tn Heb “my soul.”

[23:18]  ⁹⁹ tn Heb “my soul.”

[23:20]  ¹⁰⁰ tn Heb “She lusted after their concubines (?) whose flesh was the flesh of donkeys.” The phrase “their concubines” is extremely problematic here. The pronoun is masculine plural, suggesting that the Egyptian men are in view, but how concubines would fit into the picture envisioned here is not clear. Some suggest that Ezekiel uses the term in an idiomatic sense of “paramour,” but this still fails to explain how the pronoun relates to the noun. It is more likely that the term refers here to the Egyptians’ genitals. The relative pronoun that follows introduces a more specific description of their genitals.

[23:21]  ¹⁰¹ tn Or “you took note of.” The Hebrew verb פָּקַד (paqad) in the Qal implies evaluating something and then acting in light of that judgment; here the prophet depicts Judah as approving of her youthful unfaithfulness and then magnifying it at the present time. Some translations assume the verb should be repointed as a Niphal, rendering “you missed” or by extension “you longed for,” but such an extension of the Niphal “to be missing” is otherwise unattested.

[23:21]  ¹⁰² tn Heb “when (they) did,” but the verb makes no sense here and is better emended to “when (they) fondled,” a verb used in vv. 3 and 8. See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:43.

[23:21]  ¹⁰³ tn Heb “for the sake of,” but the expression is awkward and is better emended to read “to squeeze.” See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:43.

[23:22]  ¹⁰⁴ tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.

[23:23]  ¹⁰⁵ sn Pekod was the name of an Aramean tribe (known as Puqudu in Mesopotamian texts) that lived in the region of the Tigris River.

[23:23]  ¹⁰⁶ sn Shoa was the name of a nomadic people (the Sutu) that lived in Mesopotamia.

[23:23]  ¹⁰⁷ sn Koa was the name of another Mesopotamian people group (the Qutu).

[23:24]  ¹⁰⁸ tn Heb “come against.”

[23:24]  ¹⁰⁹ tn This is the only occurrence of this term in the OT. The precise meaning is uncertain.

[23:24]  ¹¹⁰ tn Heb “an assembly of peoples.”

[23:24]  ¹¹¹ tn Heb “I will place before them judgment.”

[23:25]  ¹¹² tn Heb “give.”

[23:25]  ¹¹³ tn Heb “they will remove.”

[23:25]  sn This method of punishment is attested among ancient Egyptian and Hittite civilizations. See W. Zimmerli, Ezekiel (Hermeneia), 1:489.

[23:25]  ¹¹⁴ tn Heb “fall.”

[23:27]  ¹¹⁵ tn Heb “I will cause your obscene conduct to cease from you and your harlotry from the land of Egypt.”

[23:27]  ¹¹⁶ tn Heb “lift your eyes to them.”

[23:28]  ¹¹⁷ tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.

[23:28]  ¹¹⁸ tn Heb “I am giving you into the hand of.”

[23:29]  ¹¹⁹ tn The Hebrew term means “labor,” but by extension it can also refer to that for which one works.

[23:29]  ¹²⁰ tn Heb “The nakedness of your prostitution will be exposed, and your obscene conduct and your harlotry.”

[23:30]  ¹²¹ tn The infinitive absolute continues the sequence begun in v. 28: “Look here, I am about to deliver you.” See Joüon 2:430 §123.w.

[23:31]  ¹²² tn Heb “her cup.” A cup of intoxicating strong drink is used, here and elsewhere, as a metaphor for judgment because both leave one confused and reeling. (See Jer 25:15, 17, 28; Hab 2:16.) The cup of wrath is a theme also found in the NT (Mark 14:36).

[23:32]  ¹²³ sn The image of a deep and wide cup suggests the degree of punishment; it will be extensive and leave the victim helpless.

[23:33]  ¹²⁴ tn Heb “filled with.”

[23:34]  ¹²⁵ tn Heb “You will drink it and drain (it).”

[23:34]  ¹²⁶ tn D. I. Block compares this to the idiom of “licking the plate” (Ezekiel [NICOT], 1:754, n. 137). The text is difficult as the word translated “gnaw” is rare. The noun is used of the shattered pieces of pottery and so could envision a broken cup. But the Piel verb form is used in only one other place (Num 24:8), where it is a denominative from the noun “bone” and seems to mean to “break (bones).” Why it would be collocated with “sherds” is not clear. For this reason some emend the phrase to read “consume its dregs” (see L. C. Allen, Ezekiel [WBC], 2:44) or emend the verb to read “swallow,” as if the intoxicated Oholibah breaks the cup and then eats the very sherds in an effort to get every last drop of the beverage that dampens them.

[23:34]  ¹²⁷ sn The severe action is more extreme than beating the breasts in anguish (Isa 32:12; Nah 2:7). It is also ironic for these are the very breasts she so blatantly offered to her lovers (vv. 3, 21).

[23:35]  ¹²⁸ tn Heb “and you cast me behind your back.” The expression pictures her rejection of the Lord (see 1 Kgs 14:9).

[23:35]  ¹²⁹ tn The word “punishment” is not in the Hebrew text but is demanded by the context.

[23:36]  ¹³⁰ tn Heb “will you judge.” Here the imperfect form of the verb is probably used with a desiderative nuance. Addressed to the prophet, “judge” means to warn of or pronounce God’s impending judgment. See 20:4; 22:2.

[23:37]  ¹³¹ sn The Lord speaks here in the role of the husband of the sisters.

[23:37]  ¹³² tn Heb “they have passed to them for food.” The verb is commonly taken to refer to passing children through fire, especially as an offering to the pagan god Molech. See Jer 32:35.

[23:38]  ¹³³ tn Heb “in that day.”

[23:40]  ¹³⁴ tn Heb “to whom a messenger was sent, and look, they came.” Foreign alliances are in view here.

[23:40]  ¹³⁵ tn The Hebrew verb form is feminine singular, indicating that Oholibah (Judah) is specifically addressed here. This address continues through verse 42a (note “her”), but then both sisters are described in verse 42b, where the feminine pronouns are again plural.

[23:42]  ¹³⁶ tn Heb “(was) in her.”

[23:42]  ¹³⁷ tn Heb “and men from the multitude of mankind.”

[23:42]  ¹³⁸ tn An alternate reading is “drunkards.” Sheba is located in the area of modern day Yemen.

[23:42]  ¹³⁹ tn Heb “they”; the referents (the sisters) have been specified in the translation for the sake of clarity.

[23:44]  ¹⁴⁰ tn Heb “and they came to her.”

[23:45]  ¹⁴¹ tn Heb “and upright men will judge them (with) the judgment of adulteresses and the judgment of those who shed blood.”

[23:46]  ¹⁴² tn Heb “assembly.”

[23:46]  ¹⁴³ tn Heb “give them to.”

[23:47]  ¹⁴⁴ tn The Hebrew text adds “with fire.”

[23:49]  ¹⁴⁵ tn Heb “and the sins of your idols you will bear.” By extension it can mean the punishment for the sins.

[17:1]  ¹⁴⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[17:1]  ¹⁴⁷ tn Grk “with me.” The translation “with me” implies that John was engaged in a dialogue with the one speaking to him (e.g., Jesus or an angel) when in reality it was a one-sided conversation, with John doing all the listening. For this reason, μετ᾿ ἐμοῦ (met’ emou, “with me”) was translated as “to me.”

[17:1]  ¹⁴⁸ tn Here one Greek term, κρίμα (krima), has been translated by the two English terms “condemnation” and “punishment.” See BDAG 567 s.v. 4.b, “mostly in an unfavorable sense, of the condemnatory verdict and sometimes the subsequent punishment itself 2 Pt 2:3; Jd 4…τὸ κ. τῆς πόρνης the condemnation and punishment of the prostitute Rv 17:1.”

[17:2]  ¹⁴⁹ tn This is the same word translated “sexual immorality” earlier in the verse, but here the qualifier “sexual” has not been repeated for stylistic reasons.

[17:5]  ¹⁵⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[17:5]  ¹⁵¹ tn Some translations consider the word μυστήριον (musthrion, “mystery”) a part of the name written (“Mystery Babylon the Great,” so KJV, NIV), but the gender of both ὄνομα (onoma, “name”) and μυστήριον are neuter, while the gender of “Babylon” is feminine. This strongly suggests that μυστήριον should be understood as an appositive to ὄνομα (“a name, i.e., a mystery”).