Ezekiel 23:11-21

Why does Jerusalem repeat what she saw destroy her sister?

Berean Standard Bible

11 Her sister Oholibah saw this, yet in her lust and prostitution she was more depraved than her sister. 12 She too lusted after the Assyrians—governors and commanders, warriors dressed in splendor, horsemen riding on steeds, all desirable young men. 13 And I saw that she too had defiled herself; both of them had taken the same path.
14 But Oholibah carried her prostitution even further. She saw the men portrayed on the wall, images of the Chaldeans, engraved in vermilion, 15 wearing 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. 16 At the sight of them, she lusted for them and sent messengers to them in Chaldea. 17 Then 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. 18 When Oholibah openly prostituted herself and exposed her nakedness, I turned away from her in disgust, just as I had turned away from her sister.
19 Yet she multiplied her promiscuity, remembering the days of her youth, when she had prostituted herself in the land of Egypt 20 and lusted after their lovers, whose genitals were like those of donkeys and whose emission was like that of stallions. 21 So you revisited the indecency of your youth, when the Egyptians caressed your bosom and pressed your young breasts.

What is the context?

Jerusalem sees Samaria’s unfaithfulness and its outcome, yet follows the same path and goes further. The accusation is not that she lacked an example, but that she refused to learn from it.

Assyria’s warriors first attract her. Then images of Babylonian officers stir her desire, and she sends messengers to them. After the Babylonians defile her, she turns away in disgust, while the Lord also turns away from her.

Her changing attachments do not become a return to God. Instead, she remembers Egypt and renews the desire associated with her youth. The deliberately graphic language exposes a consuming appetite beneath the attraction to impressive foreign powers.

How is this passage commonly understood?

Henry treats the sisters’ story as an exposure of persistent departure from God. Wesley connects Jerusalem’s return to Egypt with renewed idolatry and alliance, after growing weary of the Chaldeans.

The passage portrays the city’s restless pursuit of other sources of security and worship. Its sexual imagery describes that betrayal; it does not establish a general claim about the bodies or character of the peoples it names.

What is our position?

We don't have a position on this passage yet. When our study reaches a conclusion the text supports, it will appear here.

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